MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_01D5C24D.F892AC90" This document is a Single File Web Page, also known as a Web Archive file. If you are seeing this message, your browser or editor doesn't support Web Archive files. Please download a browser that supports Web Archive, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer. ------=_NextPart_01D5C24D.F892AC90 Content-Location: file:///C:/E12AA88E/GodfreyMorgan.htm Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii"
Godfrey Morgan
By
Jules Verne
GODFREY
MORGAN.
IN WHICH THE READER HAS THE OPPORTUNITY OF
BUYING AN ISLAND IN THE
"An island to sell, for cash, to the
highest bidder!" said Dean Felporg,
the auctioneer, standing behind his rostru=
m in
the room where the
conditions of the singular sale were being
noisily discussed.
"
again Gingrass, the crier, who was threadi=
ng
his way in and out of the
excited crowd closely packed inside the
largest saloon in the auction
mart at No. 10, Sacramento Street
The crowd consisted not only of a goodly
number of Americans from the
States of
form quite a sixth of the population.
Mexicans were there enveloped in their
sarapes; Chinamen in their
large-sleeved tunics, pointed shoes, and
conical hats; one or two
Kanucks from the coast; and even a sprinkl=
ing
of Black Feet,
Grosventres, or Flatheads, from the banks =
of
the
The scene is in
period when the placer-mining fever was
raging--from 1849 to 1852. San
Francisco was no longer what it had been t=
hen,
a caravanserai, a
terminus, an inn, where for a night there
slept the busy men who were
hastening to the gold-fields west of the <=
st1:place
w:st=3D"on">Sierra Nevada. At the end of
some twenty years the old unknown Yerba-Bu=
ena
had given place to a town
unique of its kind, peopled by 100,000
inhabitants, built under the
shelter of a couple of hills, away from the
shore, but stretching off to
the farthest heights in the background--a =
city
in short which has
dethroned
the Americans have made the queen of the
Pacific, the "glory of the
western coast!"
It was the 15th of May, and the weather was
still cold. In
subject as it is to the direct action of t=
he
polar currents, the first
weeks of this month are somewhat similar to
the last weeks of March in
auction crowd. The bell with its incessant
clangour had brought
together an enormous throng, and quite a
summer temperature caused the
drops of perspiration to glisten on the
foreheads of the spectators
which the cold outside would have soon
solidified.
Do not imagine that all these folks had co=
me
to the auction-room with
the intention of buying. I might say that =
all
of them had but come to
see. Who was going to be mad enough, even =
if
he were rich enough, to
purchase an isle of the Pacific, which the
government had in some
eccentric moment decided to sell? Would the
reserve price ever be
reached? Could anybody be found to work up=
the
bidding? If not, it would
scarcely be the fault of the public crier,=
who
tried his best to tempt
buyers by his shoutings and gestures, and =
the
flowery metaphors of his
harangue. People laughed at him, but they =
did
not seem much influenced
by him.
"An island! an isle to sell!" re=
peated
Gingrass.
"But not to buy!" answered an
Irishman, whose pocket did not hold enough
to pay for a single pebble.
"An island which at the valuation will
not fetch six dollars an acre!"
said the auctioneer.
"And which won't pay an eighth per
cent.!" replied a big farmer, who was
well acquainted with agricultural
speculations.
"An isle which measures quite sixty-f=
our
miles round and has an area of
two hundred and twenty-five thousand
acres!"
"Is it solid on its foundation?"
asked a Mexican, an old customer at the
liquor-bars, whose personal solidity seemed
rather doubtful at the
moment.
"An isle with forests still virgin!&q=
uot;
repeated the crier, "with prairies,
hills, watercourses--"
"Warranted?" asked a Frenchman, =
who
seemed rather inclined to nibble.
"Yes! warranted!" added Felporg,
much too old at his trade to be moved
by the chaff of the public.
"For two years?"
"To the end of the world!"
"Beyond that?"
"A freehold island!" repeated the
crier, "an island without a single
noxious animal, no wild beasts, no
reptiles!--"
"No birds?" added a wag.
"No insects?" inquired another.<= o:p>
"An island for the highest bidder!&qu=
ot;
said Dean Felporg, beginning again.
"Come, gentlemen, come! Have a little
courage in your pockets! Who wants
an island in perfect state of repair, never
been used, an island in the
Pacific, that ocean of oceans? The valuati=
on
is a mere nothing! It is
put at eleven hundred thousand dollars, is
there any one will bid? Who
speaks first? You, sir?--you, over there
nodding your head like a
porcelain mandarin? Here is an island! a
really good island! Who says an
island?"
"Pass it round!" said a voice as=
if
they were dealing with a picture or
a vase.
And the room shouted with laughter, but no=
t a
half-dollar was bid.
However, if the lot could not be passed ro=
und,
the map of the island was
at the public disposal. The whereabouts of=
the
portion of the globe
under consideration could be accurately
ascertained. There was neither
surprise nor disappointment to be feared in
that respect. Situation,
orientation, outline, altitudes, levels,
hydrography, climatology, lines
of communication, all these were easily to=
be
verified in advance.
People were not buying a pig in a poke, and
most undoubtedly there could
be no mistake as to the nature of the good=
s on
sale. Moreover, the
innumerable journals of the
monthlies, their reviews, magazines,
bulletins, &c., had been for several months directing constant attentio=
n to
the island whose sale by auction had been authorized by Act of
Congress. The island was Bay of 15' north latitude, and 145° 18' west
longitude, reckoning from quite out of the way of all maritime or
commercial traffic, although practically in American waters. But
thereabouts the regular currents diverging to the north and south have form=
ed a
kind of lake of calms, which is sometimes known as the
"Whirlpool of Fleurieu." It is in the centre of this enormous eddy,
which has hardly an appreciable movement, that sighted by very few ships. The main routes=
of
the Pacific, which join the new to the old continent, and lead awa=
y to
more southerly direction. Sailing-vessels
would meet with endless calms in the Whirlpool of Fleurieu; and steamers,
which always take the shortest road, would gain no advantage by
crossing it. Hence ships of neither class know anything of waters like the isolated summit of one of =
the
submarine mountains of the Pacific. Truly, for a man wishing to flee =
from
the noise of the world, seeking quiet in solitude, what could be
better than this island, lost within a few hundred miles of the coast? F=
or a
voluntary Robinson Crusoe, it would be the very ideal of its
kind! Only of course he must pay for it. And now, why did the it for some whim? No! A great nation cannot
act on caprice in any matter, however simple. The truth was this:
situated as it was, Spencer Island had for a long time been known as a
station perfectly useless. There could be no practical result from
settling there. In a military point of view it was of no importance, for=
it
only commanded an absolutely deserted portion of the Pacific=
. In
a commercial point of view there was a similar want of importanc=
e,
for the products would not pay the freight either inwards or outwards.
For a criminal colony it was too far from the coast. And to occupy it in
any way, would be a very expensive undertaking. So it had remained
deserted from time immemorial, and Congress, composed of "eminently
practical" men, had resolved to put it up for sale--on one condition only, and
that was, that its purchaser should be a free American citizen. There w=
as
no intention of giving away the island for nothing, and so the reserve
price had been fixed at $1,100,000. This amount for a financial
society dealing with such matters was a mere bagatelle, if the
transaction could offer any advantages; but as we need hardly repeat, =
it
offered none, and competent men attached no more value to this detached
portion of the United States, than to one of the islands lost
beneath the glaciers of the Pole. In one sense, however, the amount was
considerable. A man must be rich to pay for this hobby, for in any case it
would not return him a halfpenny per cent. He would even have to =
be
immensely rich for the transaction was to be a "cash" o=
ne,
and even in the as yet rare to find citizens with $1,100,0=
00 in
their pockets, who would care to throw them into the water without =
hope
of return. And Congress had decided not to sell the
island under the price. Eleven hundred thousand dollars, not a cent less,=
or remain the property of the It was hardly likely that any one would be=
mad
enough to buy it on the terms. Besides, it was expressly reserved that the
proprietor, if one offered, should not become king of He would gain no right to have subjects, b=
ut
only fellow-citizens, who could elect him for a fixed time, and woul=
d be
free from re-electing him indefinitely. Under any circumstances he w=
as
forbidden to play at monarchy. The matter how small, in American waters. This reservation was enough to keep off ma=
ny
an ambitious millionaire, many an aged nabob, who might like to comp=
ete
with the kings of the In short, for one reason or other, nobody
presented himself. Time was getting on, the crier was out of breath in=
his
efforts to secure a buyer, the auctioneer orated without obtai=
ning
a single specimen of those nods which his estimable fraternity =
are
so quick to discover; and the reserve price was not even mentioned.<=
o:p> However, if the hammer was not wearied with
oscillating above the rostrum, the crowd was not wearied with
waiting around it. The joking continued to increase, and the chaff never
ceased for a moment. One individual offered two dollars for the isl=
and,
costs included. Another said that a man ought to be paid that for
taking it. And all the time the crier was heard with,=
-- "An island to sell! an island for
sale!" And there was no one to buy it. "Will you guarantee that there are fl=
ats
there?" said Stumpy, the grocer of gold-mining. "No," answered the auctioneer,
"but it is not impossible that there are, and the State abandons all its rights over=
the
gold lands." "Haven't you got a volcano?" ask=
ed
Oakhurst, the bar-keeper of "No volcanoes," replied Dean
Felporg, "if there were, we could not sell at this price!" An immense shout of laughter followed. "An island to sell! an island for
sale!" yelled Gingrass, whose lungs tired themselves out to no purpose. "Only a dollar! only a half-dollar! o=
nly
a cent above the reserve!" said the auctioneer for the last time, "an=
d I
will knock it down! Once! Twice!" Perfect silence. "If nobody bids we must put the lot b=
ack!
Once! Twice! "Twelve hundred thousand dollars!&quo=
t; The four words rang through the room like =
four
shots from a revolver. The crowd, suddenly speechless, turned tow=
ards
the bold man who had dared to bid. It was William W. Kolderup, of HOW WILLIAM W. KOLDERUP, OF A man extraordinarily rich, who counted
dollars by the million as other men do by the thousand; such was William W.
Kolderup. People said he was richer than the Duke of
Westminster, whose income is some $4,000,000 a year, and who can spend =
his
$10,000 a day, or seven dollars every minute; richer than Senator
Jones, of $35,000,000 in the funds; richer than Mr.
Mackay himself, whose annual $13,750,000 give him $1560 per hour, or
half-a-dollar to spend every second of his life. I do not mention such minor millionaires as
the Rothschilds, the Vanderbilts, the Dukes of Northumberland, =
or
the Stewarts, nor the directors of the powerful bank of
CHAPTER II.
personages of the old and new worlds whom
William W. Kolderup would have
been able to comfortably pension. He could,
without inconvenience, have
given away a million just as you and I mig=
ht
give away a shilling.
It was in developing the early placer-mini=
ng
enterprises in
that our worthy speculator had laid the so=
lid
foundations of his
incalculable fortune. He was the principal
associate of Captain Sutter,
the Swiss, in the localities, where, in 18=
48,
the first traces were
discovered. Since then, luck and shrewdness
combined had helped him on,
and he had interested himself in all the g=
reat
enterprises of both
worlds. He threw himself boldly into
commercial and industrial
speculations. His inexhaustible funds were=
the
life of hundreds of
factories, his ships were on every sea. His
wealth increased not in
arithmetical but in geometrical progressio=
n.
People spoke of him as one
of those few "milliardaires" who
never know how much they are worth. In
reality he knew almost to a dollar, but he
never boasted of it.
At this very moment when we introduce him =
to
our readers with all the
consideration such a many-sided man merits,
William W. Kolderup had 2000
branch offices scattered over the globe,
80,000 employés in
Europe, and
which continually ploughed the ocean for h=
is
profit, and he was spending
not less than a million a year in bill-sta=
mps
and postages. In short, he
was the honour and glory of opulent
Frisco--the nickname familiarly
given by the Americans to the Californian
capital.
A bid from William W. Kolderup could not b=
ut
be a serious one. And when
the crowd in the auction room had recogniz=
ed
who it was that by $100,000
had capped the reserve price of
irresistible sensation, the chaffing ceased
instantly, jokes gave place
to interjections of admiration, and cheers
resounded through the saloon.
Then a deep silence succeeded to the hubbu=
b,
eyes grew bigger, and ears
opened wider. For our part had we been the=
re
we would have had to hold
our breath that we might lose nothing of t=
he
exciting scene which would
follow should any one dare to bid against
William W. Kolderup.
But was it probable? Was it even possible?=
No! And at the outset it was only necessar=
y to
look at William W.
Kolderup to feel convinced that he could n=
ever
yield on a question where
his financial gallantry was at stake.
He was a big, powerful man, with huge head,
large shoulders, well-built
limbs, firmly knit, and tough as iron. His
quiet but resolute look was
not willingly cast downwards, his grey hai=
r,
brushed up in front, was as
abundant as if he were still young. The
straight lines of his nose
formed a geometrically-drawn right-angled
triangle. No moustache; his
beard cut in Yankee fashion bedecked his c=
hin,
and the two upper points
met at the opening of the lips and ran up =
to
the temples in
pepper-and-salt whiskers; teeth of snowy
whiteness were symmetrically
placed on the borders of a clean-cut mouth.
The head of one of those
true kings of men who rise in the tempest =
and
face the storm. No
hurricane could bend that head, so solid w=
as
the neck which supported
it. In these battles of the bidders each of
its nods meant an additional
hundred thousand dollars.
There was no one to dispute with him.
"Twelve hundred thousand dollars--twe=
lve
hundred thousand!" said the
auctioneer, with that peculiar accent which
men of his vocation find
most effective.
"Going at twelve hundred thousand
dollars!" repeated Gingrass the crier.
"You could safely bid more than
that," said Oakhurst, the bar-keeper;
"William Kolderup will never give
in."
"He knows no one will chance it,"
answered the grocer from Merchant
Street.
Repeated cries of "Hush!" told t=
he
two worthy tradesmen to be quiet. All
wished to hear. All hearts palpitated. Dare
any one raise his voice in
answer to the voice of William W. Kolderup?
He, magnificent to look
upon, never moved. There he remained as ca=
lm
as if the matter had no
interest for him. But--and this those near=
to
him noticed--his eyes were
like revolvers loaded with dollars, ready =
to
fire.
"Nobody speaks?" asked Dean Felp=
org.
Nobody spoke.
"Once! Twice!"
"Once! Twice!" repeated Gingrass,
quite accustomed to this little
dialogue with his chief.
"Going!"
"Going!"
"For
twelve--hundred--thousand--dollars--Spencer--
"For
twelve--hundred--thousand--dollars!"
"That is so? No mistake?"
"No withdrawal?"
"For twelve hundred thousand dollars,=
The waistcoats rose and fell convulsively.
Could it be possible that at
the last second a higher bid would come?
Felporg with his right hand
stretched on the table was shaking his ivo=
ry
hammer--one rap, two raps,
and the deed would be done.
The public could not have been more absorb=
ed
in the face of a summary
application of the law of Justice Lynch!
The hammer slowly fell, almost touched the
table, rose again, hovered
an instant like a sword which pauses ere t=
he
drawer cleaves the victim
in twain; then it flashed swiftly downward=
s.
But before the sharp rap could be given, a
voice was heard giving
utterance to these four words,--
"Thirteen--hundred--thousand--dollars=
!"
There was a preliminary "Ah!" of
general stupefaction, then a second
"Ah!" of not less general
satisfaction. Another bidder had presented
himself! There was going to be a fight aft=
er
all!
But who was the reckless individual who had
dared to come to dollar
strokes with William W. Kolderup of
It was J. R. Taskinar, of
J. R. Taskinar was rich, but he was more t=
han
proportionately fat. He
weighed 490 lbs. If he had only run second=
in
the last fat-man show at
dinner, and had lost about a dozen pounds.=
This colossus, who had had to have special
chairs made for his portly
person to rest upon, lived at
one of the most important cities in
for the mines of the south, the rival of <=
st1:City
w:st=3D"on">
mines of the north. There the ships embark=
the
largest quantity of
Californian corn.
Not only had the development of the mines =
and
speculations in wheat
furnished J. R. Taskinar with the occasion=
of
gaining an enormous
fortune, but petroleum, like another Pacto=
lus,
had run through his
treasury. Besides, he was a great gambler,=
a
lucky gambler, and he had
found "poker" most prodigal of i=
ts
favours to him.
But if he was a Croesus, he was also a ras=
cal;
and no one would have
addressed him as "honourable,"
although the title in those parts is so
much in vogue. After all, he was a good
war-horse, and perhaps more was
put on his back than was justly his due. O=
ne
thing was certain, and that
was that on many an occasion he had not
hesitated to use his
"Derringer"--the Californian
revolver.
Now J. R. Taskinar particularly detested
William W. Kolderup. He envied
him for his wealth, his position, and his
reputation. He despised him as
a fat man despises a lean one. It was not =
the
first time that the
merchant of
out of some business or other, good or bad,
simply owing to a feeling of
rivalry. William W. Kolderup thoroughly kn=
ew
his man, and on all
occasions treated him with scorn enough to
drive him to distraction.
The last success which J. R. Taskinar could
not forgive his opponent
was that gained in the struggle over the s=
tate
elections.
Notwithstanding his efforts, his threats, =
and
his libels, not to mention
the millions of dollars squandered by his
electoral courtiers, it was
William W. Kolderup who sat in his seat in=
the
Legislative Council of
J. R. Taskinar had learnt--how, I cannot
tell--that it was the intention
of William W. Kolderup to acquire possessi=
on
of
island seemed doubtless as useless to him =
as
it did to his rival. No
matter. Here was another chance for fighti=
ng,
and perhaps for
conquering. J. R. Taskinar would not allow=
it
to escape him.
And that is why J. R. Taskinar had come to=
the
auction room among the
curious crowd who could not be aware of his
designs, why at all points
he had prepared his batteries, why before
opening fire, he had waited
till his opponent had covered the reserve,=
and
why when William W.
Kolderup had made his bid of--
"Twelve hundred thousand dollars!&quo=
t;
J. R. Taskinar at the moment when William =
W.
Kolderup thought he had
definitely secured the island, woke up with
the words shouted in
stentorian tones,--
"Thirteen hundred thousand dollars!&q=
uot;
Everybody as we have seen turned to look at
him.
"Fat Taskinar!"
The name passed from mouth to mouth. Yes. =
Fat
Taskinar! He was known
well enough! His corpulence had been the t=
heme
of many an article in the
journals of the
I am not quite sure which mathematician it=
was
who had demonstrated by
transcendental calculations, that so great=
was
his mass that it actually
influenced that of our satellite and in an
appreciable manner disturbed
the elements of the lunar orbit.
But it was not J. R. Taskinar's physical
composition which interested
the spectators in the room. It was somethi=
ng
far different which excited
them; it was that he had entered into dire=
ct
public rivalry with William
W. Kolderup. It was a fight of heroes, dol=
lar
versus dollar, which had
opened, and I do not know which of the two
coffers would turn out to be
best lined. Enormously rich were both these
mortal enemies! After the
first sensation, which was rapidly suppres=
sed,
renewed silence fell on
the assembly. You could have heard a spider
weaving his web.
It was the voice of Dean Felporg which bro=
ke
the spell.
"For thirteen hundred thousand dollar=
s,
drawing himself up so as to better command=
the
circle of bidders.
William W. Kolderup had turned towards J. =
R.
Taskinar. The bystanders
moved back, so as to allow the adversaries=
to
behold each other. The
man of
staring, at their ease. Truth compels me to
state that they made the
most of the opportunity. Never would one of
them consent to lower his
eyes before those of his rival.
"Fourteen hundred thousand dollars,&q=
uot;
said William W. Kolderup.
"Fifteen hundred thousand!" reto=
rted
J. R. Taskinar.
"Sixteen hundred thousand!"
"Seventeen hundred thousand!"
Have you ever heard the story of the two
mechanics of Glasgow, who tried
which should raise the other highest up the
factory chimney at the risk
of a catastrophe? The only difference was =
that
here the chimney was of
ingots of gold.
Each time after the capping bid of J. R.
Taskinar, William W. Kolderup
took a few moments to reflect before he bid
again. On the contrary
Taskinar burst out like a bomb, and did not
seem to require a second to
think.
"Seventeen hundred thousand
dollars!" repeated the auctioneer. "Now,
gentlemen, that is a mere nothing! It is
giving it away!"
And one can well believe that, carried awa=
y by
the jargon of his
profession, he was about to add,--
"The frame alone is worth more than
that!" When--
"Seventeen hundred thousand
dollars!" howled Gingrass, the crier.
"Eighteen hundred thousand!" rep=
lied
William W. Kolderup.
"Nineteen hundred thousand!"
retorted J. R. Taskinar.
"Two millions!" quoth William W.
Kolderup, and so quickly that this time
he evidently had not taken the trouble to
think. His face was a little
pale when these last words escaped his lip=
s,
but his whole attitude was
that of a man who did not intend to give i=
n.
J. R. Taskinar was simply on fire. His
enormous face was like one of
those gigantic railway bull's-eyes which,
screened by the red, signal
the stoppage of the train. But it was high=
ly
probable that his rival
would disregard the block, and decline to =
shut
off steam.
This J. R. Taskinar felt. The blood mounte=
d to
his brows, and seemed
apoplectically congested there. He wriggled
his fat fingers, covered
with diamonds of great price, along the hu=
ge
gold chain attached to his
chronometer. He glared at his adversary, a=
nd
then shutting his eyes so
as to open them with a more spiteful
expression a moment afterwards.
"Two million, four hundred thousand
dollars!" he remarked, hoping by
this tremendous leap to completely rout his
rival.
"Two million, seven hundred
thousand!" replied William W. Kolderup in a
peculiarly calm voice.
"Two million, nine hundred thousand!&=
quot;
"Three millions!"
Yes! William W. Kolderup, of San Francisco,
said three millions of
dollars!
Applause rang through the room, hushed,
however, at the voice of the
auctioneer, who repeated the bid, and whose
oscillating hammer
threatened to fall in spite of himself by =
the
involuntary movement of
his muscles. It seemed as though Dean Felp=
org,
surfeited with the
surprises of public auction sales, would be
unable to contain himself
any longer.
All glances were turned on J. R. Taskinar.
That voluminous personage was
sensible of this, but still more was he
sensible of the weight of these
three millions of dollars, which seemed to
crush him. He would have
spoken, doubtless to bid higher--but he co=
uld
not. He would have liked
to nod his head--he could do so no more.
After a long pause, however, his voice was
heard; feeble it is true, but
sufficiently audible.
"Three millions, five hundred
thousand!"
"Four millions," was the answer =
of
William W. Kolderup.
It was the last blow of the bludgeon. J. R=
. Taskinar
succumbed. The
hammer gave a hard rap on the marble table
and--
Spencer Island fell for four millions of
dollars to William W. Kolderup,
of San Francisco.
"I will be avenged!" muttered J.=
R.
Taskinar, and throwing a glance of
hatred at his conqueror, he returned to the
Occidental Hotel.
But "hip, hip, hurrah," three ti=
mes
thrice, smote the ears of William W.
Kolderup, then cheers followed him to
Montgomery Street, and such was
the delirious enthusiasm of the Americans =
that
they even forgot to
favour him with the customary bars of
"Yankee Doodle."
THE CONVERSATION OF PHINA HOLLANEY AND GOD=
FREY
MORGAN, WITH A PIANO
ACCOMPANIMENT.
William W. Kolderup had returned to his
mansion in
This thoroughfare is the
Italiens of
crosses the city parallel with its quays is
astir with life and
movement; trams there are innumerable;
carriages with horses, carriages
with mules; men bent on business, hurrying=
to
and fro over its stone
pavements, past shops thronged with custom=
ers;
men bent on pleasure,
crowding the doors of the "bars,"
where at all hours are dispensed the
Californian's drinks.
There is no need for us to describe the
mansion of a Frisco nabob. With
so many millions, there was proportionate
luxury. More comfort than
taste. Less of the artistic than the
practical. One cannot have
everything.
So the reader must be contented to know th=
at
there was a magnificent
reception-room, and in this reception-room=
a
piano, whose chords were
permeating the mansion's warm atmosphere w=
hen
the opulent Kolderup
walked in.
"Good!" he said. "She and he
are there! A word to my cashier, and then
we can have a little chat."
And he stepped towards his office to arran=
ge
the little matter of
realize a few certificates in his portfolio
and the acquisition was
settled for. Half-a-dozen lines to his
broker--no more. Then William W.
Kolderup devoted himself to another
"combination" which was much more to
his taste.
Yes! she and he were in the drawing-room--=
she,
in front of the piano;
he, half reclining on the sofa, listening
vaguely to the pearly
arpeggios which escaped from the fingers of
the charmer.
"Are you listening?" she said.
"Of course."
"Yes! but do you understand it?"=
"Do I understand it, Phina! Never have
you played those 'Auld Robin
Gray' variations more superbly."
"But it is not 'Auld Robin Gray,'
Godfrey: it is 'Happy Moments.'"
"Oh! ah! yes! I remember!" answe=
red
Godfrey, in a tone of indifference
which it was difficult to mistake. The lady
raised her two hands, held
them suspended for an instant above the ke=
ys
as if they were about to
grasp another chord, and then with a half-=
turn
on her music-stool she
remained for a moment looking at the too
tranquil Godfrey, whose eyes
did their best to avoid hers.
Phina Hollaney was the goddaughter of Will=
iam
W. Kolderup. An orphan, he
had educated her, and given her the right =
to
consider herself his
daughter, and to love him as her father. S=
he
wanted for nothing. She was
young, "handsome in her way" as
people say, but undoubtedly fascinating,
a blonde of sixteen with the ideas of a wo=
man
much older, as one could
read in the crystal of her blue-black eyes=
. Of
course, we must compare
her to a lily, for all beauties are compar=
ed
to lilies in the best
American society. She was then a lily, but=
a
lily grafted into an
eglantine. She certainly had plenty of spi=
rit,
but she had also plenty
of practical common-sense, a somewhat self=
ish
demeanour, and but little
sympathy with the illusions and dreams so
characteristic of her sex and
age.
Her dreams were when she was asleep, not w=
hen
she was awake. She was not
asleep now, and had no intention of being =
so.
"Godfrey?" she continued.
"Phina?" answered the young man.=
"Where are you now?"
"Near you--in this room--"
"Not near me, Godfrey! Not in this ro=
om!
But far far away, over the
seas, is it not so?"
And mechanically Phina's hand sought the
key-board and rippled along a
series of sinking sevenths, which spoke of=
a
plaintive sadness,
unintelligible perhaps to the nephew of
William W. Kolderup.
For such was this young man, such was the
relationship he bore towards
the master of the house. The son of a sist=
er
of this buyer of islands,
fatherless and motherless for a good many
years, Godfrey Morgan, like
Phina, had been brought up in the house of=
his
uncle, in whom the fever
of business had still left a place for the
idea of marrying these two to
each other.
Godfrey was in his twenty-third year. His
education now finished, had
left him with absolutely nothing to do. He=
had
graduated at the
University, but had found it of little use.
For him life opened out but
paths of ease; go where he would, to the r=
ight
or the left, whichever
way he went, fortune would not fail him.
Godfrey was of good presence, gentlemanly,
elegant--never tying his
cravat in a ring, nor starring his fingers,
his wrists or his
shirt-front with those jewelled gimcracks =
so
dear to his
fellow-citizens.
I shall surprise no one in saying that God=
frey
Morgan was going to
marry Phina Hollaney. Was he likely to do
otherwise? All the proprieties
were in favour of it. Besides, William W.
Kolderup desired the marriage.
The two people whom he loved most in this
world were sure of a fortune
from him, without taking into consideration
whether Phina cared for
Godfrey, or Godfrey cared for Phina. It wo=
uld
also simplify the
bookkeeping of the commercial house. Ever
since their births an account
had been opened for the boy, another for t=
he
girl. It would then be only
necessary to rule these off and transfer t=
he
balances to a joint account
for the young couple. The worthy merchant
hoped that this would soon be
done, and the balances struck without erro=
r or
omission.
But it is precisely that there had been an
omission and perhaps an error
that we are about to show.
An error, because at the outset Godfrey fe=
lt
that he was not yet old
enough for the serious undertaking of
marriage; an omission, because he
had not been consulted on the subject.
In fact, when he had finished his studies
Godfrey had displayed a quite
premature indifference to the world, in wh=
ich
he wanted for nothing, in
which he had no wish remaining ungratified,
and nothing whatever to do.
The thought of travelling round the world =
was
always present to him. Of
the old and new continents he knew but one
spot--
was born, and which he had never left exce=
pt
in a dream. What harm was
there in a young man making the tour of the
globe twice or
thrice--especially if he were an American?
Would it do him any good?
Would he learn anything in the different
adventures he would meet with
in a voyage of any length? If he were not
already satiated with a life
of adventure, how could he be answered?
Finally, how many millions of
leagues of observation and instruction were
indispensable for the
completion of the young man's education?
Things had reached this pass; for a year or
more Godfrey had been
immersed in books of voyages of recent dat=
e,
and had passionately
devoured them. He had discovered the
d'Urville. He had conceived the idea of go=
ing
where these illustrious
travellers had been without him. In truth,=
he
would not have considered
an exploring expedition of several years to
cost him too dear at the
price of a few attacks of Malay pirates,
several ocean collisions, and a
shipwreck or two on a desert island where =
he
could live the life of a
Selkirk or a Robinson Crusoe! A Crusoe! To
become a Crusoe! What young
imagination has not dreamt of this in read=
ing
as Godfrey had often, too
often done, the adventures of the imaginary
heroes of Daniel de Foe and
De Wyss?
Yes! The nephew of William W. Kolderup was=
in
this state when his uncle
was thinking of binding him in the chains =
of
marriage. To travel in this
way with Phina, then become Mrs. Morgan, w=
ould
be clearly impossible! He
must go alone or leave it alone. Besides, =
once
his fancy had passed
away, would not she be better disposed to =
sign
the settlements? Was it
for the good of his wife that he had not b=
een
to
even to
And hence it was that Godfrey was now abse=
nt
in the presence of Phina,
indifferent when she spoke to him, deaf wh=
en
she played the airs which
used to please him; and Phina, like a
thoughtful, serious girl, soon
noticed this.
To say that she did not feel a little
annoyance mingled with some
chagrin, is to do her a gratuitous injusti=
ce.
But accustomed to look
things in the face, she had reasoned thus,=
--
"If we must part, it had better be be=
fore
marriage than afterwards!"
And thus it was that she had spoken to God=
frey
in these significant
words.
"No! You are not near me at this
moment--you are beyond the seas!"
Godfrey had risen. He had walked a few ste=
ps
without noticing Phina,
and unconsciously his index finger touched=
one
of the keys of the piano.
A loud C# of the octave below the staff, a
note dismal enough, answered
for him.
Phina had understood him, and without more
discussion was about to bring
matters to a crisis, when the door of the =
room
opened.
William W. Kolderup appeared, seemingly a
little preoccupied as usual.
Here was the merchant who had just finished
one negotiation and was
about to begin another.
"Well," said he, "there is
nothing more now than for us to fix the
date."
"The date?" answered Godfrey, wi=
th a
start. "What date, if you please,
uncle?"
"The date of your wedding!" said=
William
W. Kolderup. "Not the date of
mine, I suppose!"
"Perhaps that is more urgent?" s=
aid
Phina.
"Hey?--what?" exclaimed the
uncle--"what does that matter? We are only
talking of current affairs, are we not?&qu=
ot;
"Godfather Will," answered the l=
ady.
"It is not of a wedding that we are
going to fix the date to-day, but of a
departure."
"A departure!"
"Yes, the departure of Godfrey,"
continued Phina, "of Godfrey who,
before he gets married, wants to see a lit=
tle
of the world!"
"You want to go away--you?" said
William W. Kolderup, stepping towards
the young man and raising his arms as if he
were afraid that this
"rascal of a nephew" would escape
him.
"Yes; I do, uncle," said Godfrey
gallantly.
"And for how long?"
"For eighteen months, or two years, or
more, if--"
"If--"
"If you will let me, and Phina will w=
ait
for me."
"Wait for you! An intended who intends
until he gets away!" exclaimed
William W. Kolderup.
"You must let Godfrey go," plead=
ed
Phina; "I have thought it carefully
over. I am young, but really Godfrey is
younger. Travel will age him,
and I do not think it will change his tast=
e!
He wishes to travel, let
him travel! The need of repose will come to
him afterwards, and he will
find me when he returns."
"What!" exclaimed William W.
Kolderup, "you consent to give your bird
his liberty?"
"Yes, for the two years he asks."=
;
"And you will wait for him?"
"Uncle Will, if I could not wait for =
him
I could not love him!" and so
saying Phina returned to the piano, and
whether she willed it or no,
her fingers softly played a portion of the
then fashionable "Départ du
Fiancé," which was very
appropriate under the circumstances. But Phina,
without perceiving it perhaps, was playing=
in
"A minor," whereas it was
written in "A major," and all the
sentiment of the melody was
transformed, and its plaintiveness chimed =
in
well with her hidden
feelings.
But Godfrey stood embarrassed, and said no=
t a
word. His uncle took him
by the head and turning it to the light lo=
oked
fixedly at him for a
moment or two. In this way he questioned h=
im
without having to speak,
and Godfrey was able to reply without havi=
ng
occasion to utter a
syllable.
And the lamentations of the
"Départ du Fiancé" continued their sorrowful
theme, and then William W. Kolderup, having
made the turn of the room,
returned to Godfrey, who stood like a crim=
inal
before the judge. Then
raising his voice,--
"You are serious," he asked.
"Quite serious!" interrupted Phi=
na,
while Godfrey contented himself with
making a sign of affirmation.
"You want to try travelling before you
marry Phina! Well! You shall try
it, my nephew!"
He made two or three steps and stopping wi=
th
crossed arms before
Godfrey, asked,--
"Where do you want to go to?"
"Everywhere."
"And when do you want to start?"=
"When you please, Uncle Will."
"All right," replied William W.
Kolderup, fixing a curious look on his
nephew.
Then he muttered between his teeth,--
"The sooner the better."
At these last words came a sudden interrup=
tion
from Phina. The little
finger of her left hand touched a G#, and =
the
fourth had, instead of
falling on the key-note, rested on the
"sensible," like Ralph in the
"Huguenots," when he leaves at t=
he
end of his duet with Valentine.
Perhaps Phina's heart was nearly full, she=
had
made up her mind to say
nothing.
It was then that William W. Kolderup, with=
out
noticing Godfrey,
approached the piano.
"Phina," said he gravely, "=
you
should never remain on the 'sensible'!"
And with the tip of his large finger he
dropped vertically on to one of
the keys and an "A natural" reso=
unded
through the room.
IN WHICH T. ARTELETT, OTHERWISE TARTLET, IS
DULY INTRODUCED TO THE
READER.
If T. Artelett had been a Parisian, his
compatriots would not have
failed to nickname him Tartlet, but as he =
had
already received this
title we do not hesitate to describe him by
it. If Tartlet was not a
Frenchman he ought to have been one.
In his "Itinéraire de Paris
à Jérusalem," Chateaubriand tells of a
little man "powdered and frizzed in t=
he
old-fashioned style, with a coat
of apple green, a waistcoat of drouget,
shirt-frill and cuffs of muslin,
who scraped a violin and made the Iroquois
dance 'Madeleine Friquet.'"
The Californians are not Iroquois, far from
it; but Tartlet was none the
less professor of dancing and deportment i=
n the
capital of their state.
If they did not pay him for his lessons, as
they had his predecessor in
beaver-skins and bear-hams, they did so in
dollars. If in speaking of
his pupils he did not talk of the "bu=
cks
and their squaws," it was
because his pupils were highly civilized, =
and
because in his opinion he
had contributed considerably to their
civilization.
Tartlet was a bachelor, and aged about
forty-five at the time we
introduce him to our readers. But for a do=
zen
years or so his marriage
with a lady of somewhat mature age had been
expected to take place.
Under present circumstances it is perhaps
advisable to give "two or
three lines" concerning his age,
appearance, and position in life. He
would have responded to such a request we
imagine as follows, and thus
we can dispense with drawing his portrait =
from
a moral and physical
point of view.
"He was born on the 17th July, 1835, =
at a
quarter-past three in the
morning.
"His height is five feet, two inches,
three lines.
"His girth is exactly two feet, three
inches.
"His weight, increased by some six po=
unds
during the last year, is one
hundred and fifty one pounds, two ounces.<= o:p>
"He has an oblong head.
"His hair, very thin above the forehe=
ad,
is grey chestnut, his forehead
is high, his face oval, his complexion fre=
sh
coloured.
"His eyes--sight excellent--a greyish
brown, eyelashes and eyebrows
clear chestnut, eyes themselves somewhat s=
unk
in their orbits beneath
the arches of the brows.
"His nose is of medium size, and has a
slight indentation towards the
end of the left nostril.
"His cheeks and temples are flat and
hairless.
"His ears are large and flat.
"His mouth, of middling size, is
absolutely free from bad teeth.
"His lips, thin and slightly pinched,=
are
covered with a heavy moustache
and imperial, his chin is round and also
shaded with a many-tinted
beard.
"A small mole ornaments his plump
neck--in the nape.
"Finally, when he is in the bath it c=
an
be seen that his skin is white
and smooth.
"His life is calm and regular. Without
being robust, thanks to his great
temperance, he has kept his health uninjur=
ed
since his birth. His lungs
are rather irritable, and hence he has not
contracted the bad habit of
smoking. He drinks neither spirits, coffee,
liqueurs, nor neat wine. In
a word, all that could prejudicially affect
his nervous system is
vigorously excluded from his table. Light
beer, and weak wine and water
are the only beverages he can take without
danger. It is on account of
his carefulness that he has never had to
consult a doctor since his life
began.
"His gesture is prompt, his walk quic=
k,
his character frank and open.
His thoughtfulness for others is extreme, =
and
it is on account of this
that in the fear of making his wife unhapp=
y,
he has never entered into
matrimony."
Such would have been the report furnished =
by
Tartlet, but desirable as
he might be to a lady of a certain age, the
projected union had hitherto
failed. The professor remained a bachelor,=
and
continued to give lessons
in dancing and deportment.
It was in this capacity that he entered th=
e
Kolderup. As time rolled on his pupils
gradually abandoned him, and he
ended by becoming one wheel more in the
machinery of the wealthy
establishment.
After all, he was a brave man, in spite of=
his
eccentricities. Everybody
liked him. He liked Godfrey, he liked Phin=
a,
and they liked him. He had
only one ambition in the world, and that w=
as
to teach them all the
secrets of his art, to make them in fact, =
as
far as deportment was
concerned, two highly accomplished individ=
uals.
Now, what would you think? It was he, this
Professor Tartlet, whom
William W. Kolderup had chosen as his neph=
ew's
companion during the
projected voyage. Yes! He had reason to
believe that Tartlet had not a
little contributed to imbue Godfrey with t=
his
roaming mania, so as to
perfect himself by a tour round the world.
William W. Kolderup had
resolved that they should go together. On =
the
morrow, the 16th of April,
he sent for the professor to his office.
The request of the nabob was an order for
Tartlet. The professor left
his room, with his pocket violin--generally
known as a kit--so as to be
ready for all emergencies. He mounted the
great staircase of the mansion
with his feet academically placed as was
fitting for a dancing-master;
knocked at the door of the room, entered--=
his
body half inclined, his
elbows rounded, his mouth on the grin--and
waited in the third position,
after having crossed his feet one before t=
he
other, at half their
length, his ankles touching and his toes
turned out. Any one but
Professor Tartlet placed in this sort of
unstable equilibrium would have
tottered on his base, but the professor
preserved an absolute
perpendicularity.
"Mr. Tartlet," said William W.
Kolderup, "I have sent for you to tell
you some news which I imagine will rather
surprise you."
"As you think best!" answered the
professor.
"My nephew's marriage is put off for a
year or eighteen months, and
Godfrey, at his own request, is going to v=
isit
the different countries
of the old and new world."
"Sir," answered Tartlet, "my
pupil, Godfrey, will do honour to the
country of his birth, and--"
"And, to the professor of deportment =
who
has initiated him into
etiquette," interrupted the merchant,=
in
a tone of which the guileless
Tartlet failed to perceive the irony.
And, in fact, thinking it the correct thin=
g to
execute an "assemblée,"
he first moved one foot and then the other=
, by
a sort of semi-circular
side slide, and then with a light and grac=
eful
bend of the knee, he
bowed to William W. Kolderup.
"I thought," continued the latte=
r,
"that you might feel a little regret
at separating from your pupil?"
"The regret will be extreme,"
answered Tartlet, "but should it be
necessary--"
"It is not necessary," answered
William W. Kolderup, knitting his bushy
eyebrows.
"Ah!" replied Tartlet.
Slightly troubled, he made a graceful move=
ment
to the rear, so as to
pass from the third to the fourth position;
but he left the breadth of a
foot between his feet, without perhaps bei=
ng
conscious of what he was
doing.
"Yes!" added the merchant in a
peremptory tone, which admitted not of
the ghost of a reply; "I have thought=
it
would really be cruel to
separate a professor and a pupil so well m=
ade
to understand each other!"
"Assuredly!--the journey?" answe=
red
Tartlet, who did not seem to want to
understand.
"Yes! Assuredly!" replied Willia=
m W.
Kolderup; "not only will his
travels bring out the talents of my nephew,
but the talents of the
professor to whom he owes so correct a
bearing."
Never had the thought occurred to this gre=
at
baby that one day he would
leave
had never entered the brain of a man more
absorbed in choregraphy than
geography, and who was still ignorant of t=
he
suburbs of the capital
beyond ten miles radius. And now this was
offered to him. He was to
understand that nolens volens he was to
expatriate himself, he himself
was to experience with all their costs and
inconveniences the very
adventures he had recommended to his pupil!
Here, decidedly, was
something to trouble a brain much more sol=
id
than his, and the
unfortunate Tartlet for the first time in =
his
life felt an involuntary
yielding in the muscles of his limbs, supp=
led
as they were by
thirty-five years' exercise.
"Perhaps," said he, trying to re=
call
to his lips the stereotyped smile
of the dancer which had left him for an
instant,--"perhaps--am I not--"
"You will go!" answered William =
W.
Kolderup like a a man with whom
discussion was useless.
To refuse was impossible. Tartlet did not =
even
think of such a thing.
What was he in the house? A thing, a parce=
l, a
package to be sent to
every corner of the world. But the project=
ed
expedition troubled him not
a little.
"And when am I to start?" demand=
ed
he, trying to get back into an
academical position.
"In a month."
"And on what raging ocean has Mr.
Kolderup decided that his vessel
should bear his nephew and me?"
"The Pacific, at first."
"And on what point of the terrestrial
globe shall I first set foot?"
"On the soil of
remarked that the New Zealanders always st=
ick
their elbows out! Now you
can teach them to turn them in!"
And thus was Professor Tartlet selected as=
the
travelling-companion of
Godfrey Morgan.
A nod from the merchant gave him to unders=
tand
that the audience had
terminated. He retired, considerably agita=
ted,
and the performance of
the special graces which he usually displa=
yed
in this difficult act left
a good deal to be desired. In fact, for the
first time in his life,
Professor Tartlet, forgetting in his
preoccupation the most elementary
principles of his art, went out with his t=
oes
turned in!
IN WHICH THEY PREPARE TO GO, AND AT THE EN=
D OF
WHICH THEY GO FOR GOOD.
Before the long voyage together through li=
fe,
which men call marriage,
Godfrey then was to make the tour of the
world--a journey sometimes even
more dangerous. But he reckoned on returni=
ng
improved in every respect;
he left a lad, he would return a man. He w=
ould
have seen, noted,
compared. His curiosity would be satisfied.
There would only remain for
him to settle down quietly, and live happi=
ly
at home with his wife, whom
no temptation would take him from. Was he
wrong or right? Was he to
learn a valuable lesson? The future will s=
how.
In short, Godfrey was enchanted.
Phina, anxious without appearing to be so,=
was
resigned to this
apprenticeship.
Professor Tartlet, generally so firm on his
limbs, had lost all his
dancing equilibrium. He had lost all his u=
sual
self-possession, and
tried in vain to recover it; he even totte=
red
on the carpet of his room
as if he were already on the floor of a ca=
bin,
rolling and pitching on
the ocean.
As for William W. Kolderup, since he had
arrived at a decision, he had
become very uncommunicative, especially to=
his
nephew. The closed lips,
and eyes half hidden beneath their lids,
showed that there was some
fixed idea in the head where generally flo=
ated
the highest commercial
speculations.
"Ah! you want to travel," mutter=
ed
he every now and then; "travel
instead of marrying and staying at home! W=
ell,
you shall travel."
Preparations were immediately begun.
In the first place, the itinerary had to be
projected, discussed, and
settled.
Was Godfrey to go south, or east, or west?
That had to be decided in the
first place.
If he went southwards, the British Columbia
Company, or the Southampton and Rio Janeiro
Company would have to take
him to
If he went eastwards, the Union Pacific
Railway would take him in a few
days to
Hamburg-American, or French-Transatlantic
Companies would land him on
the shores of the old world.
If he went westwards, the Golden Age Steam
Transoceanic would render it
easy for him to reach
of
The means of transport were abundant, and
thanks to their mathematical
agreement the round of the world was but a
simple pleasure tour.
But it was not thus that the nephew and he=
ir
of the nabob of Frisco was
to travel.
No! William W. Kolderup possessed for the
requirements of his business
quite a fleet of steam and sailing-vessels=
. He
had decided that one of
these ships should be "put at the
disposal" of Godfrey Morgan, as if he
were a prince of the blood, travelling for=
his
pleasure--at the expense
of his father's subjects.
By his orders the Dream, a substantial ste=
amer
of 600 tons and 200
horse-power, was got ready. It was to be
commanded by Captain Turcott, a
tough old salt, who had already sailed in
every latitude in every sea. A
thorough sailor, this friend of tornadoes,
cyclones, and typhoons, had
already spent of his fifty years of life,
forty at sea. To bring to in a
hurricane was quite child's play to this
mariner, who was never
disconcerted, except by land-sickness when=
he
was in port. His
incessantly unsteady existence on a vessel=
's
deck had endowed him with
the habit of constantly balancing himself =
to
the right or the left, or
behind or in front, as though he had the
rolling and pitching variety of
St. Vitus's dance.
A mate, an engineer, four stokers, a dozen
seamen, eighteen men in all,
formed the crew of the Dream. And if the s=
hip
was contented to get
quietly through eight miles an hour, she
possessed a great many
excellent nautical qualities. If she was n=
ot
swift enough to race the
waves when the sea was high, the waves cou=
ld
not race over her, and that
was an advantage which quite compensated f=
or
the mediocrity of her
speed, particularly when there was no hurr=
y.
The Dream was brigantine
rigged, and in a favourable wind, with her=
400
square yards of canvas,
her steaming rate could be considerably
increased.
It should be borne in mind all through that
the voyage of the Dream
was carefully planned, and would be punctu=
ally
performed. William W.
Kolderup was too practical a man not to pu=
t to
some purpose a journey of
15,000 or 16,000 leagues across all the oc=
eans
of the globe. His ship
was to go without cargo, undoubtedly, but =
it
was easy to get her down to
her right trim by means of water ballast, =
and
even to sink her to her
deck, if it proved necessary.
The Dream was instructed to communicate wi=
th
the different branch
establishments of the wealthy merchant. She
was to go from one market to
another.
Captain Turcott, never fear, would not fin=
d it
difficult to pay the
expenses of the voyage! Godfrey Morgan's w=
him
would not cost the
avuncular purse a single dollar! That is t=
he
way they do business in the
best commercial houses!
All this was decided at long, very secret
interviews between William W.
Kolderup and Captain Turcott. But it appea=
red
that the regulation of
this matter, simple as it seemed, could no=
t be
managed alone, for the
captain paid numerous visits to the mercha=
nt's
office. When he came
away, it would be noticed that his face bo=
re a
curious expression, that
his hair stood on end as if he had been
ruffling it up with fevered
hands, and that all his body rolled and
pitched more than usual. High
words were constantly heard, proving that =
the
interviews were stormy.
Captain Turcott, with his plain speaking, =
knew
how to withstand William
W. Kolderup, who loved and esteemed him en=
ough
to permit him to
contradict him.
And now all was arranged. Who had given in?
William W. Kolderup or
Turcott? I dare not say, for I do not even=
know
the subject of their
discussion. However, I rather think it must
have been the captain.
Anyhow, after eight days of interviewing, =
the
merchant and the captain
were in accord, but Turcott did not cease =
to
grumble between his teeth.
"May five hundred thousand Davy Jones=
es
drag me to the bottom if ever I
had a job like this before!"
However, the Dream fitted out rapidly, and=
her
captain neglected
nothing which would enable him to put to s=
ea
in the first fortnight in
June. She had been into dock, and the hull=
had
been gone over with
composition, whose brilliant red contrasted
vividly with the black of
her upper works.
A great number of vessels of all kinds and
nationalities came into the
built straight along the shore, would have
been insufficient for the
embarkation and disembarkation of their
cargoes, if engineers had not
devised subsidiary wharves. Piles of red d=
eal
were driven into the
water, and many square miles of planks wer=
e laid
on them and formed huge
platforms. A good deal of the bay was thus
taken up, but the bay is
enormous. There were also regular
landing-stages, with numberless cranes
and crabs, at which steamers from both oce=
ans,
steamboats from the
Californian rivers, clippers from all
countries, and coasters from the
American seaboard were ranged in proper or=
der,
so as not to interfere
one with the other.
It was at one of these artificial quays, at
the extremity of
Wharf Street, that the Dream had been secu=
rely
moored after she had
come out of dock.
Nothing was neglected, and the steamer wou=
ld
start under the most
favourable conditions. Provisioning, outfi=
t,
all were minutely studied.
The rigging was perfect, the boilers had b=
een
tested and the screw was
an excellent one. A steam launch was even
carried, to facilitate
communication with the shore, and this wou=
ld
probably be of great
service during the voyage.
Everything was ready on the 10th of June. =
They
had only to put to sea.
The men shipped by Captain Turcott to work=
the
sails or drive the engine
were a picked crew, and it would have been
difficult to find a better
one. Quite a stock of live animals, agouti=
es,
sheep, goats, poultry,
&c., were stowed between decks, the
material wants of the travellers
were likewise provided for by numerous cas=
es
of preserved meats of the
best brands.
The route the Dream was to follow had
doubtless been the subject of
the long conferences which William W. Kold=
erup
had had with his captain.
All knew that they were first bound for Auckland, in
want of coal necessitated by the persisten=
ce
of contrary winds obliged
them to refill perhaps at one of the islan=
ds
of the Pacific or some
Chinese port.
All this detail mattered little to Godfrey
once he was on the sea, and
still less to Tartlet, whose troubled spir=
it
exaggerated from day to day
the dangers of navigation. There was only =
one
formality to be gone
through--the formality of being photograph=
ed.
An engaged man could not decently start on=
a
long voyage round the world
without taking with him the image of her he
loved, and in return leaving
his own image behind him.
Godfrey in tourist costume accordingly han=
ded
himself over to Messrs
Stephenson and Co., photographers of
her walking-dress, confided in like manner=
to
the sun the task of fixing
her charming but somewhat sorrowing featur=
es
on the plate of those able
operators.
It is also the custom to travel together, =
and
so Phina's portrait had
its allotted place in Godfrey's cabin, and
Godfrey's portrait its
special position in Phina's room. As for
Tartlet, who had no betrothed
and who was not thinking of having one at
present, he thought it better
to confide his image to sensitised paper. =
But
although great was the
talent of the photographers they failed to
present him with a
satisfactory proof. The negative was a
confused fog in which it was
impossible to recognize the celebrated
professor of dancing and
deportment.
This was because the patient could not keep
himself still, in spite of
all that was said about the invariable rul=
e in
studios devoted to
operations of this nature.
They tried other means, even the instantan=
eous
process. Impossible.
Tartlet pitched and rolled in anticipation=
as
violently as the captain
of the Dream.
The idea of obtaining a picture of the
features of this remarkable man
had thus to be abandoned. Irreparable woul=
d be
the misfortune if--but
far from us be the thought!--if in imagini=
ng
he was leaving the new
world for the old world Tartlet had left t=
he
new world for the other
world from which nobody returns.
On the 9th of June all was ready. The Dream
was complete. Her papers,
bills of lading, charter-party, assurance
policy, were all in order, and
two days before the ship-broker had sent on
the last signatures.
On that day a grand farewell breakfast was
given at the mansion in
safe return.
Godfrey was rather agitated, and he did not
strive to hide it. Phina
showed herself much the most composed. As =
for
Tartlet he drowned his
apprehensions in several glasses of champa=
gne,
whose influence was
perceptible up to the moment of departure.=
He
even forgot his kit, which
was brought to him as they were casting off
the last hawsers of the
Dream.
The last adieux were said on board, the la=
st
handshakings took place on
the poop, then the engine gave two or three
turns of the screw and the
steamer was under way.
"Good-bye, Phina!"
"Good-bye, Godfrey!"
"May Heaven protect you!" said t=
he
uncle.
"And above all may it bring us
back!" murmured Professor Tartlet.
"And never forget, Godfrey," add=
ed
William W. Kolderup, "the device
which the Dream bears on her stern, 'Confi=
de,
recte agens.'"
"Never, Uncle Will! Good-bye,
Phina!"
"Good-bye, Godfrey!"
The steamer moved off, handkerchiefs were
shaken as long as she remained
in sight from the quay, and even after. So=
on
the
the largest in the world, was crossed, the
Dream passed the narrow
throat of the
IN WHICH THE READER MAKES THE ACQUAINTANCE=
OF
A NEW PERSONAGE. The voyage had begun. There had not been m=
uch
difficulty so far, it must be admitted. Professor Tartlet, with incontestable logi=
c,
often repeated,-- "Any voyage can begin! But where and =
how
it finishes is the important point." The cabin occupied by Godfrey was below the
poop of the Dream and opened on to the dining-saloon. Our young
traveller was lodged there as comfortably as possible. He had given Phin=
a's
photograph the best place on the best lighted panel of his room. A c=
ot
to sleep on, a lavatory for toilet purposes, some chests of drawers for
his clothes and his linen, a table to work at, an armchair to sit upon,
what could a young man in his twenty-second year want more? Under such
circumstances he might have gone twenty-two times round the world! Was=
he
not at the age of that practical philosophy which consists in good
health and good humour? Ah! young people, travel if you can, and if you
cannot--travel all the same! Tartlet was not in a good humour. His cabi=
n,
near that of his pupil, seemed to him too narrow, his bed too hard,
the six square yards which he occupied quite insufficient for his ste=
ps
and strides. Would not the traveller in him absorb the professor of
dancing and deportment? No! It was in the blood, and when Tartlet reached=
the
hour of his last sleep his feet would be found placed in a horizo=
ntal
line with the heels one against the other, in the first position.<=
o:p> Meals were taken in common. Godfrey and
Tartlet sat opposite to each other, the captain and mate occupying each=
end
of the rolling table. This alarming appellation, the "rolli=
ng
table," is enough to warn us that the professor's place would too often=
be
vacant. At the start, in the lovely month of June,
there was a beautiful breeze from the north-east, and Captain Turcott w=
as
able to set his canvas so as to increase his speed. The Dream thus
balanced hardly rolled at all, and as the waves followed her, her
pitching was but slight. This mode of progressing was not such as to aff=
ect
the looks of the passengers and give them pinched noses, ho=
llow
eyes, livid foreheads, or colourless cheeks. It was supportable. They
steered south-west over a splendid sea, hardly lifting in the least,=
and
the American coast soon disappeared below the horizon. For two days nothing occurred worthy of
mention. The Dream made good progress. The commencement of the voyage
promised well--so that Captain Turcott seemed occasionally to feel an anx=
iety
which he tried in vain to hide. Each day as the sun crossed the meri=
dian
he carefully took his observations. But it could be noticed that
immediately afterwards he retired with the mate into his cabin, and =
then
they remained in secret conclave as if they were discussing some g=
rave
eventuality. This performance passed probably unnoticed by
Godfrey, who understood nothing about the details of navigation, but the
boatswain and the crew seemed somewhat astonished at it, particularly as=
for
two or three times during the first week, when there was not the lea=
st
necessity for the manoeuvre, the course of the Dream at night
was completely altered, and resumed again in the morning. In a
sailing-ship this might be intelligible; but in a steamer, which could
keep on the great circle line and only use canvas when the wind was
favourable, it was somewhat extraordinary. During the morning of the 12th of June a v=
ery
unexpected incident occurred on board. Captain Turcott, the mate, and Godfrey, we=
re
sitting down to breakfast when an unusual noise was heard on deck.
Almost immediately afterwards the boatswain opened the door and appeared=
on
the threshold. "Captain!" he said. "What's up?" asked Turcott, sail=
or
as he was, always on the alert. "Here's a--Chinee!" said the
boatswain. "A Chinese!" "Yes! a genuine Chinese we have just
found by chance at the bottom of the hold!" "At the bottom of the hold!"
exclaimed Turcott. "Well, by all the--somethings--of "All right!" answered the boatsw=
ain. And that excellent man with all the contem=
pt
of a Californian for a son of the have had not the slightest compunction in
executing it. However, Captain Turcott rose from his cha=
ir,
and followed by Godfrey and the mate, left the saloon and walked
towards the forecastle of the Dream. There stood a Chinaman, tightly handcuffed,
and held by two or three sailors, who were by no means sparing of t=
heir
nudges and knocks. He was a man of from five-and-thirty to forty, wi=
th
intelligent features, well built, of lithe figure, but a little
emaciated, owing to his sojourn for sixteen hours at the bottom of a badly ven=
tilated
hold. Captain Turcott made a sign to his men to
leave the unhappy intruder alone. "Who are you?" he asked. "A son of the sun." "And what is your name?" "Seng Vou," answered the Chinese,
whose name in the Celestial language signifies "he who does not live."=
; "And what are you doing on board
here?" "I am out for a sail!" coolly
answered Seng Vou, "but am doing you as little harm as I can." "Really! as little harm!--and you sto=
wed
yourself away in the hold when we started?" "Just so, captain." "So that we might take you for nothing
from other side of the Pacific?" "If you will have it so." "And if I don't wish to have it so, y=
ou
yellow-skinned nigger. If I will have it that you have to swim to "I will try," said the Chinaman =
with
a smile, "but I shall probably sink on the road!" "Well, John," exclaimed Captain
Turcott, "I am going to show you how to save your passage-money." And Captain Turcott, much more angry than
circumstances necessitated, was perhaps about to put his threat into
execution, when Godfrey intervened. "Captain," he said, "one mo=
re
Chinee on board the Dream is one Chinee less in "A great deal too many!" answered
Captain Turcott. "Yes, too many. Well, if this poor be=
ggar
wishes to relieve San Francisco of his presence, he ought to be
pitied! Bah! we can throw him on shore at
CHAPTER VI.
In saying that there were too many Chinese=
in
California Godfrey held
the same language as every true California=
n.
The emigration of the sons
of the Celestial Empire--there are 300,000=
,000
in
30,000,000 of Americans in the
the provinces of the
itself, are much concerned at this new
epidemic of invasion, to which
the Yankees have given the name of the
"yellow-plague."
At this period there were more than 50,000=
Chinese,
in the State of
patient, living on a pinch of rice, a mout=
hful
of tea, and a whiff of
opium, did an immense deal to bring down t=
he
price of manual labour, to
the detriment of the native workmen. They =
had
to submit to special laws,
contrary to the American constitution--laws
which regulated their
immigration, and withheld from them the ri=
ght
of naturalization, owing
to the fear that they would end by obtaini=
ng a
majority in the Congress.
Generally ill-treated, much as Indians or
negroes, so as to justify the
title of "pests" which was appli=
ed
to them, they herded together in a
sort of ghetto, where they carefully kept =
up
the manners and customs of
the
In the Californian capital, it is in the <=
st1:Street
w:st=3D"on">
decked with their banners and lanterns, th=
at
this foreign race has taken
up its abode. There they can be met in
thousands, trotting along in
their wide-sleeved blouses, conical hats, =
and
turned-up shoes. Here, for
the most part, they live as grocers,
gardeners, or laundresses--unless
they are working as cooks or belong to one=
of
those dramatic troupes
which perform Chinese pieces in the French
theatre at
And--there is no reason why we should conc=
eal
the fact--Seng Vou
happened to form part of one of these trou=
pes,
in which he filled the
rôle of "comic lead," if s=
uch
a description can apply to any Chinese
artiste. As a matter of fact they are so
serious, even in their fun,
that the Californian romancer, Bret Harte,=
has
told us that he never
saw a genuine Chinaman laugh, and has even
confessed that he is unable
to say whether one of the national pieces =
he
witnessed was a tragedy or
a farce.
In short, Seng Vou was a comedian. The sea=
son
had ended, crowned with
success--perhaps out of proportion to the =
gold
pieces he had amassed--he
wished to return to his country otherwise =
than
as a corpse, for Chinamen
always like to get buried at home and there
are special steamers who
carry dead Celestials and nothing else. At=
all
risks, therefore, he had
secretly slipped on board the Dream.
Loaded with provisions, did he hope to get
through, incognito, a passage
of several weeks, and then to land on the
coast of
seen?
It is just possible. At any rate, the case=
was
hardly one for a death
penalty.
So Godfrey had good reason to interfere in
favour of the intruder, and
Captain Turcott, who pretended to be angri=
er
than he really was, gave up
the idea of sending Seng Vou overboard to =
battle
with the waves of the
Pacific.
Seng Vou, however, did not return to his
hiding-place in the hold,
though he was rather an incubus on board.
Phlegmatic, methodic, and by
no means communicative, he carefully avoid=
ed
the seamen, who had always
some prank to play off on him, and he kept=
to
his own provisions. He
was thin enough in all conscience, and his
additional weight but
imperceptibly added to the cost of navigat=
ing
the Dream. If Seng Vou
got a free passage it was obvious that his
carriage did not cost William
W. Kolderup very much.
His presence on board put into Captain
Turcott's head an idea which his
mate probably was the only one to understa=
nd
thoroughly.
"He will bother us a bit--this confou=
nded
Chinee!--after all, so much
the worse for him."
"What ever made him stow himself away=
on
board the Dream?" answered
the mate.
"To get to
John's sons too!"
IN WHICH IT WILL BE SEEN THAT WILLIAM W.
KOLDERUP WAS PROBABLY RIGHT IN
INSURING HIS SHIP.
During the following days, the 13th, 14th,=
and
15th of June, the
barometer slowly fell, without an attempt =
to
rise in the slightest
degree, and the weather became variable,
hovering between rain and wind
or storm. The breeze strengthened
considerably, and changed to
south-westerly. It was a head-wind for the
Dream, and the waves had
now increased enormously, and lifted her
forward. The sails were all
furled, and she had to depend on her screw
alone; under half steam,
however, so as to avoid excessive labourin=
g.
Godfrey bore the trial of the ship's motion
without even losing his
good-humour for a moment. Evidently he was
fond of the sea.
But Tartlet was not fond of the sea, and it
served him out.
It was pitiful to see the unfortunate prof=
essor
of deportment deporting
himself no longer, the professor of dancing
dancing contrary to every
rule of his art. Remain in his cabin, with=
the
seas shaking the ship
from stem to stern, he could not.
"Air! air!" he gasped.
And so he never left the deck. A roll sent=
him
rolling from one side to
the other, a pitch sent him pitching from =
one
end to the other. He clung
to the rails, he clutched the ropes, he
assumed every attitude that is
absolutely condemned by the principles of =
the
modern choregraphic art.
Ah! why could he not raise himself into the
air by some balloon-like
movement, and escape the eccentricities of
that moving plane? A dancer
of his ancestors had said that he only
consented to set foot to the
ground so as not to humiliate his companio=
ns,
but Tartlet would
willingly never have come down at all on t=
he
deck, whose perpetual
agitation threatened to hurl him into the
abyss.
What an idea it was for the rich William W.
Kolderup to send him here.
"Is this bad weather likely to
last?" asked he of Captain Turcott twenty
times a day.
"Dunno! barometer is not very
promising!" was the invariable answer of
the captain, knitting his brows.
"Shall we soon get there?"
"Soon, Mr. Tartlet? Hum! soon!"<= o:p>
"And they call this the
between a couple of shocks and oscillation=
s.
It should be stated that, not only did
Professor Tartlet suffer from
sea-sickness, but also that fear had seized
him as he watched the great
seething waves breaking into foam level wi=
th
the bulwarks of the
Dream, and heard the valves, lifted by the
violent beats, letting the
steam off through the waste-pipes, as he f=
elt
the steamer tossing like a
cork on the mountains of water.
"No," said he with a lifeless lo=
ok
at his pupil, "it is not impossible
for us to capsize."
"Take it quietly, Tartlet," repl=
ied
Godfrey. "A ship was made to float!
There are reasons for all this."
"I tell you there are none."
And, thinking thus, the professor had put =
on
his life-belt. He wore it
night and day, tightly buckled round his
waist. He would not have taken
it off for untold gold. Every time the sea
gave him a moment's respite
he would replenish it with another puff. In
fact, he never blew it out
enough to please him.
We must make some indulgence for the terro=
rs
of Tartlet. To those
unaccustomed to the sea, its rolling is of=
a
nature to cause some
alarm, and we know that this
passenger-in-spite-of-himself had not even
till then risked his safety on the peaceab=
le
waters of the
Francisco; so that we can forgive his being
ill on board a ship in a
stiffish breeze, and his feeling terrified=
at
the playfulness of the
waves.
The weather became worse and worse, and
threatened the Dream with a
gale, which, had she been near the shore,
would have been announced to
her by the semaphores.
During the day the ship was dreadfully kno=
cked
about, though running at
half steam so as not to damage her engines.
Her screw was continually
immerging and emerging in the violent
oscillations of her liquid bed.
Hence, powerful strokes from its wings in =
the
deeper water, or fearful
tremors as it rose and ran wild, causing h=
eavy
thunderings beneath the
stern, and furious gallopings of the pisto=
ns
which the engineer could
master but with difficulty.
One observation Godfrey made, of which at
first he could not discover
the cause. This was, that during the night=
the
shocks experienced by the
steamer were infinitely less violent than
during the day. Was he then to
conclude that the wind then fell, and that=
a
calm set in after sundown?
This was so remarkable that, on the night
between the 21st and 22nd of
June, he endeavoured to find out some
explanation of it. The day had
been particularly stormy, the wind had
freshened, and it did not appear
at all likely that the sea would fall at
night, lashed so capriciously
as it had been for so many hours.
Towards midnight then Godfrey dressed, and,
wrapping himself up warmly,
went on deck.
The men on watch were forward, Captain Tur=
cott
was on the bridge.
The force of the wind had certainly not
diminished. The shock of the
waves, which should have dashed on the bow=
s of
the Dream, was,
however, very much less violent. But in
raising his eyes towards the top
of the funnel, with its black canopy of sm=
oke,
Godfrey saw that the
smoke, instead of floating from the bow af=
t,
was, on the contrary,
floating from aft forwards, and following =
the
same direction as the
ship.
"Has the wind changed?" he said =
to
himself.
And extremely glad at the circumstance he
mounted the bridge. Stepping
up to Turcott,--
"Captain!" he said.
The latter, enveloped in his oilskins, had=
not
heard him approach, and
at first could not conceal a movement of
annoyance in seeing him close
to him.
"You, Mr. Godfrey, you--on the
bridge?"
"Yes, I, captain. I came to ask--&quo=
t;
"What?" answered Captain Turcott
sharply.
"If the wind has not changed?"
"No, Mr. Godfrey, no. And, unfortunat=
ely,
I think it will turn to a
storm!"
"But we now have the wind behind
us!"
"Wind behind us--yes--wind behind
us!" replied the captain, visibly
disconcerted at the observation. "But=
it
is not my fault."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that in order not to endanger=
the
vessel's safety I have had to
put her about and run before the storm.&qu=
ot;
"That will cause us a most lamentable
delay!" said Godfrey.
"Very much so," answered Captain
Turcott, "but when day breaks, if the
sea falls a little, I shall resume our
westerly route. I should
recommend you, Mr. Godfrey, to get back to
your cabin. Take my advice,
try and sleep while we are running before =
the
wind. You will be less
knocked about."
Godfrey made a sign of affirmation; turnin=
g a
last anxious glance at the
low clouds which were chasing each other w=
ith
extreme swiftness, he left
the bridge, returned to his cabin, and soon
resumed his interrupted
slumbers. The next morning, the 22nd of Ju=
ne,
as Captain Turcott had
said, the wind having sensibly abated, the
Dream was headed in proper
direction.
This navigation towards the west during the
day, towards the east during
the night, lasted for forty-eight hours mo=
re;
but the barometer showed
some tendency to rise, its oscillations be=
came
less frequent; it was to
be presumed that the bad weather would end=
in
northerly winds. And so in
fact it happened.
On the 25th of June, about eight o'clock in
the morning, when Godfrey
stepped on deck, a charming breeze from the
north-east had swept away
the clouds, the sun's rays were shining
through the rigging and tipping
its projecting points with touches of fire.
The sea, deep green in
colour, glittered along a large section of=
its
surface beneath the
direct influence of its beams. The wind bl=
ew
only in feeble gusts which
laced the wave-crests with delicate foam. =
The
lower sails were set.
Properly speaking, they were not regular w=
aves
on which the sea rose and
fell, but only lengthened undulations which
gently rocked the steamer.
Undulations or waves, it is true, it was a=
ll
one to Professor Tartlet,
as unwell when it was "too mild,"=
; as
when it was "too rough." There he
was, half crouching on the deck, with his
mouth open like a carp fainted
out of water.
The mate on the poop, his telescope at his
eye, was looking towards the
north-east.
Godfrey approached him.
"Well, sir," said he gaily,
"to-day is a little better than yesterday."
"Yes, Mr. Godfrey," replied the
mate, "we are now in smooth water."
"And the Dream is on the right
road!"
"Not yet."
"Not yet? and why?"
"Because we have evidently drifted
north-eastwards during this last
spell, and we must find out our position
exactly."
"But there is a good sun and a horizon
perfectly clear."
"At noon in taking its height we shall
get a good observation, and then
the captain will give us our course."=
"Where is the captain?" asked
Godfrey.
"He has gone off."
"Gone off?"
"Yes! our look-outs saw from the
whiteness of the sea that there were
some breakers away to the east; breakers w=
hich
are not shown on the
chart. So the steam launch was got out, and
with the boatswain and three
men, Captain Turcott has gone off to
explore."
"How long ago?"
"About an hour and a half!"
"Ah!" said Godfrey, "I am s=
orry
he did not tell me. I should like to
have gone too."
"You were asleep, Mr. Godfrey,"
replied the mate, "and the captain did
not like to wake you."
"I am sorry; but tell me, which way d=
id
the launch go?"
"Over there," answered the mate,
"over the starboard bow,
north-eastwards."
"And can you see it with the
telescope?"
"No, she is too far off."
"But will she be long before she comes
back?"
"She won't be long, for the captain is
going to take the sights himself,
and to do that he must be back before
noon."
At this Godfrey went and sat on the
forecastle, having sent some one for
his glasses. He was anxious to watch the
return of the launch. Captain
Turcott's reconnaissance did not cause him=
any
surprise. It was natural
that the Dream should not be run into dang=
er
on a part of the sea
where breakers had been reported.
Two hours passed. It was not until half-pa=
st
ten that a light line of
smoke began to rise on the horizon.
It was evidently the steam launch which,
having finished the
reconnaissance, was making for the ship.
It amused Godfrey to follow her in the fie=
ld
of his glasses. He saw her
little by little reveal herself in clearer
outline, he saw her grow on
the surface of the sea, and then give defi=
nite
shape to her smoke
wreath, as it mingled with a few curls of
steam on the clear depth of
the horizon.
She was an excellent little vessel, of imm=
ense
speed, and as she came
along at full steam, she was soon visible =
to
the naked eye. Towards
eleven o'clock, the wash from her bow as s=
he
tore through the waves was
perfectly distinct, and behind her the long
furrow of foam gradually
growing wider and fainter like the tail of=
a
comet.
At a quarter-past eleven, Captain Turcott
hailed and boarded the
Dream.
"Well, captain, what news?" asked
Godfrey, shaking his hand.
"Ah! Good morning, Mr. Godfrey!"=
"And the breakers?"
"Only show!" answered Captain
Turcott. "We saw nothing suspicious, our
men must have been deceived, but I am rath=
er
surprised at that, all the
same."
"We are going ahead then?" said
Godfrey.
"Yes, we are going on now, but I must
first take an observation."
"Shall we get the launch on board?&qu=
ot;
asked the mate.
"No," answered the captain, &quo=
t;we
may want it again. Leave it in tow!"
The captain's orders were executed, and the
launch, still under steam,
dropped round to the stern of the Dream.
Three-quarters of an hour afterwards, Capt=
ain
Turcott, with his sextant
in his hand, took the sun's altitude, and
having made his observation,
he gave the course. That done, having give=
n a
last look at the horizon,
he called the mate, and taking him into his
cabin, the two remained
there in a long consultation.
The day was a very fine one. The sails had
been furled, and the Dream
steamed rapidly without their help. The wi=
nd
was very slight, and with
the speed given by the screw there would n=
ot
have been enough to fill
them.
Godfrey was thoroughly happy. This sailing
over a beautiful sea, under a
beautiful sky, could anything be more
cheering, could anything give more
impulse to thought, more satisfaction to t=
he
mind? And it is scarcely to
be wondered at that Professor Tartlet also
began to recover himself a
little. The state of the sea did not inspi=
re
him with immediate
inquietude, and his physical being showed a
little reaction. He tried to
eat, but without taste or appetite. Godfrey
would have had him take off
the life-belt which encircled his waist, b=
ut
this he absolutely refused
to do. Was there not a chance of this
conglomeration of wood and iron,
which men call a vessel, gaping asunder at=
any
moment.
The evening came, a thick mist spread over=
the
sky, without descending
to the level of the sea. The night was to =
be
much darker than would have
been thought from the magnificent daytime.=
There was no rock to fear in these parts, =
for
Captain Turcott had just
fixed his exact position on the charts; but
collisions are always
possible, and they are much more frequent =
on
foggy nights.
The lamps were carefully put into place as
soon as the sun set. The
white one was run up the mast, and the gre=
en
light to the right and the
red one to the left gleamed in the shrouds=
. If
the Dream was run down,
at the least it would not be her fault--th=
at
was one consolation. To
founder even when one is in order is to
founder nevertheless, and if any
one on board made this observation it was =
of
course Professor Tartlet.
However, the worthy man, always on the roll
and the pitch, had regained
his cabin, Godfrey his; the one with the
assurance, the other in the
hope that he would pass a good night, for =
the
Dream scarcely moved on
the crest of the lengthened waves.
Captain Turcott, having handed over the wa=
tch
to the mate, also came
under the poop to take a few hours' rest. =
All
was in order. The steamer
could go ahead in perfect safety, although=
it
did not seem as though
the thick fog would lift.
In about twenty minutes Godfrey was asleep,
and the sleepless Tartlet,
who had gone to bed with his clothes on as
usual, only betrayed himself
by distant sighs. All at once--at about on=
e in
the morning--Godfrey was
awakened by a dreadful clamour.
He jumped out of bed, slipped on his cloth=
es,
his trousers, his
waistcoat and his sea-boots.
Almost immediately a fearful cry was heard=
on
deck, "We are sinking! we
are sinking!"
In an instant Godfrey was out of his cabin=
and
in the saloon. There he
cannoned against an inert mass which he did
not recognize. It was
Professor Tartlet.
The whole crew were on deck, hurrying abou=
t at
the orders of the mate
and captain.
"A collision?" asked Godfrey.
"I don't know, I don't know--this bea=
stly
fog--" answered the mate; "but
we are sinking!"
"Sinking?" exclaimed Godfrey.
And in fact the Dream, which had doubtless
struck on a rock was
sensibly foundering. The water was creepin=
g up
to the level of the deck.
The engine fires were probably already out
below.
"To the sea! to the sea, Mr.
Morgan!" exclaimed the captain. "There is
not a moment to lose! You can see the ship
settling down! It will draw
you down in the eddy!"
"And Tartlet?"
"I'll look after him!--We are only ha=
lf a
cable from the shore!"
"But you?"
"My duty compels me to remain here to=
the
last, and I remain!" said the
captain. "But get off! get off!"=
Godfrey still hesitated to cast himself in=
to
the waves, but the water
was already up to the level of the deck.
Captain Turcott knowing that Godfrey swam =
like
a fish, seized him by the
shoulders, and did him the service of thro=
wing
him overboard.
It was time! Had it not been for the darkn=
ess,
there would doubtless
have been seen a deep raging vortex in the
place once occupied by the
Dream.
But Godfrey, in a few strokes in the calm
water, was able to get swiftly
clear of the whirlpool, which would have
dragged him down like the
maelstrom.
All this was the work of a minute.
A few minutes afterwards, amid shouts of d=
espair,
the lights on board
went out one after the other.
Doubt existed no more; the Dream had sunk =
head
downwards!
As for Godfrey he had been able to reach a
large lofty rock away from
the surf. There, shouting vainly in the
darkness, hearing no voice in
reply to his own, not knowing if he should
find himself on an isolated
rock or at the extremity of a line of reef=
s,
and perhaps the sole
survivor of the catastrophe, he waited for=
the
dawn.
WHICH LEADS GODFREY TO BITTER REFLECTIONS =
ON THE
MANIA FOR TRAVELLING.
Three long hours had still to pass before =
the
sun reappeared above the
horizon. These were such hours that they m=
ight
rather be called
centuries.
The trial was a rough one to begin with, b=
ut,
we repeat, Godfrey had not
come out for a simple promenade. He himself
put it very well when he
said he had left behind him quite a lifeti=
me
of happiness and repose,
which he would never find again in his sea=
rch
for adventures. He tried
his utmost therefore to rise to the situat=
ion.
He was, temporarily, under shelter. The sea
after all could not drive
him off the rock which lay anchored alone =
amid
the spray of the surf.
Was there any fear of the incoming tide so=
on
reaching him? No, for on
reflection he concluded that the wreck had
taken place at the highest
tide of the new moon.
But was the rock isolated? Did it command a
line of breakers scattered
on this portion of the sea? What was this
coast which Captain Turcott
had thought he saw in the darkness? To whi=
ch
continent did it belong? It
was only too certain that the Dream had be=
en
driven out of her route
during the storm of the preceding days. The
position of the ship could
not have been exactly fixed. How could the=
re
be a doubt of this when the
captain had two hours before affirmed that=
his
charts bore no indication
of breakers in these parts! He had even do=
ne
better and had gone himself
to reconnoitre these imaginary reefs which=
his
look-outs had reported
they had seen in the east.
It nevertheless had been only too true, and
Captain Turcott's
reconnaissance would have certainly preven=
ted
the catastrophe if it had
only been pushed far enough. But what was =
the
good of returning to the
past?
The important question in face of what had
happened--a question of life
or death--was for Godfrey to know if he was
near to some land. In what
part of the Pacific there would be time la=
ter
on to determine. Before
everything he must think as soon as the day
came of how to leave the
rock, which in its biggest part could not
measure more that twenty yards
square. But people do not leave one place
except to go to another. And
if this other did not exist, if the captain
had been deceived in the
fog, if around the breakers there stretche=
d a
boundless sea, if at the
extreme point of view the sky and the water
seemed to meet all round the
horizon?
The thoughts of the young man were thus
concentrated on this point. All
his powers of vision did he employ to disc=
over
through the black night
if any confused mass, any heap of rocks or
cliffs, would reveal the
neighbourhood of land to the eastward of t=
he
reef.
Godfrey saw nothing. Not a smell of earth
reached his nose, not a
sensation of light reached his eyes, not a
sound reached his ears. Not a
bird traversed the darkness. It seemed that
around him there was nothing
but a vast desert of water.
Godfrey did not hide from himself that the
chances were a thousand to
one that he was lost. He no longer thought=
of
making the tour of the
world, but of facing death, and calmly and
bravely his thoughts rose to
that
creatures, though the creatures can do not=
hing
of themselves. And so
Godfrey had to wait for the day to resign
himself to his fate, if safety
was impossible; and, on the contrary, to t=
ry
everything, if there was
any chance of life.
Calmed by the very gravity of his reflecti=
ons,
Godfrey had seated
himself on the rock. He had stripped off s=
ome
of his clothes which had
been saturated by the sea-water, his wooll=
en
waistcoat and his heavy
boots, so as to be ready to jump into the =
sea
if necessary.
However, was it possible that no one had
survived the wreck? What! not
one of the men of the Dream carried to sho=
re?
Had they all been sucked
in by the terrible whirlpool which the ship
had drawn round herself as
she sank? The last to whom Godfrey had spo=
ken
was Captain Turcott,
resolved not to quit his ship while one of=
his
sailors was still there!
It was the captain himself who had hurled =
him
into the sea at the moment
the Dream was disappearing.
But the others, the unfortunate Tartlet, a=
nd
the unhappy Chinese,
surprised without doubt, and swallowed up,=
the
one in the poop, the
other in the depths of the hold, what had
become of them? Of all those
on board the Dream, was he the only one sa=
ved?
And had the steam
launch remained at the stern of the steame=
r?
Could not a few passengers
or sailors have saved themselves therein, =
and
found time to flee from
the wreck? But was it not rather to be fea=
red
that the launch had been
dragged down by the ship under several fat=
homs
of water?
Godfrey then said to himself, that if in t=
his
dark night he could not
see, he could at least make himself heard.
There was nothing to prevent
his shouting and hailing in the deep silen=
ce.
Perhaps the voice of one
of his companions would respond to his.
Over and over again then did he call, givi=
ng
forth a prolonged shout
which should have been heard for a
considerable distance round. Not a
cry answered to his.
He began again, many times, turning
successively to every point of the
horizon.
Absolute silence.
"Alone! alone!" he murmured.
Not only had no cry answered to his, but no
echo had sent him back the
sound of his own voice. Had he been near a
cliff, not far from a group
of rocks, such as generally border the sho=
re,
it was certain that his
shouts, repelled by the obstacles, would h=
ave
returned to him. Either
eastwards of the reef, therefore, stretche=
d a
low-lying shore
ill-adapted for the production of an echo,=
or
there was no land in his
vicinity, the bed of breakers on which he =
had
found refuge was isolated.
Three hours were passed in these anxieties.
Godfrey, quite chilled,
walked about the top of the rock, trying to
battle with the cold. At
last a few pale beams of light tinged the
clouds in the zenith. It was
the reflection of the first colouring of t=
he
horizon.
Godfrey turned to this side--the only one
towards which there could be
land--to see if any cliff outlined itself =
in
the shadow. With its early
rays the rising sun might disclose its
features more distinctly.
But nothing appeared through the misty daw=
n. A
light fog was rising
over the sea, which did not even admit of =
his
discovering the extent of
the breakers.
[Illustration: Nothing appeared through the
mist. page 82]
He had, therefore, to satisfy himself with
illusions. If Godfrey were
really cast on an isolated rock in the
Pacific, it was death to him
after a brief delay, death by hunger, by
thirst, or if necessary, death
at the bottom of the sea as a last resourc=
e!
However, he kept constantly looking, and it
seemed as though the
intensity of his gaze increased enormously,
for all his will was
concentrated therein.
At length the morning mist began to fade a=
way.
Godfrey saw the rocks
which formed the reef successively defined=
in
relief on the sea, like a
troop of marine monsters. It was a long and
irregular assemblage of dark
boulders, strangely worn, of all sizes and
forms, whose direction was
almost west and east. The enormous block on
the top of which Godfrey
found himself emerged from the sea on the
western edge of the bank
scarcely thirty fathoms from the spot where
the Dream had gone down.
The sea hereabouts appeared to be very dee=
p,
for of the steamer nothing
was to be seen, not even the ends of her
masts. Perhaps by some
under-current she had been drawn away from=
the
reefs.
A glance was enough for Godfrey to take in
this state of affairs.
There was no safety on that side. All his
attention was directed towards
the other side of the breakers, which the
lifting fog was gradually
disclosing. The sea, now that the tide had
retired, allowed the rocks to
stand out very distinctly. They could be s=
een
to lengthen as there humid
bases widened. Here were vast intervals of
water, there a few shallow
pools. If they joined on to any coast, it
would not be difficult to
reach it.
Up to the present, however, there was no s=
ign
of any shore. Nothing yet
indicated the proximity of dry land, even =
in
this direction.
The fog continued to lift, and the field of
view persistently watched by
Godfrey continued to grow. Its wreaths had=
now
rolled off for about half
a mile or so. Already a few sandy flats
appeared among the rocks,
carpeted with their slimy sea-weed.
Did not this sand indicate more or less the
presence of a beach, and if
the beach existed, could there be a doubt =
but
what it belonged to the
coast of a more important land? At length a
long profile of low hills,
buttressed with huge granitic rocks, became
clearly outlined and seemed
to shut in the horizon on the east. The sun
had drunk up all the morning
vapours, and his disc broke forth in all i=
ts
glory.
"Land! land!" exclaimed Godfrey.=
And he stretched his hands towards the
shore-line, as he knelt on the
reef and offered his thanks to Heaven.
It was really land. The breakers only form=
ed a
projecting ridge,
something like the southern cape of a bay,
which curved round for about
two miles or more. The bottom of the curve
seemed to be a level beach,
bordered by trifling hills, contoured here=
and
there with lines of
vegetation, but of no great size.
From the place which Godfrey occupied, his
view was able to grasp the
whole of this side.
Bordered north and south by two unequal
promontories, it stretched away
for, at the most, five or six miles. It was
possible, however, that it
formed part of a large district. Whatever =
it
was, it offered at the
least temporary safety. Godfrey, at the si=
ght,
could not conceive a
doubt but that he had not been thrown on t=
o a
solitary reef, and that
this morsel of ground would satisfy his
earliest wants.
"To land! to land!" he said to
himself.
But before he left the reef, he gave a look
round for the last time. His
eyes again interrogated the sea away up to=
the
horizon. Would some raft
appear on the surface of the waves, some
fragment of the Dream, some
survivor, perhaps?
Nothing. The launch even was not there, and
had probably been dragged
into the common abyss.
Then the idea occurred to Godfrey that amo=
ng
the breakers some of his
companions might have found a refuge, and
were, like him, waiting for
the day to try and reach the shore.
There was nobody, neither on the rocks, no=
r on
the beach! The reef was
as deserted as the ocean!
But in default of survivors, had not the s=
ea
thrown up some of the
corpses? Could not Godfrey find among the
rocks, along to the utmost
boundary of the surf, the inanimate bodies=
of
some of his companions?
No! Nothing along the whole length of the
breakers, which the last
ripples of the ebb had now left bare.
Godfrey was alone! He could only count on
himself to battle with the
dangers of every sort which environed him!=
Before this reality, however, Godfrey, let=
it
be said to his credit, did
not quail. But as before everything it was
best for him to ascertain the
nature of the ground from which he was
separated by so short a distance,
he left the summit of the rock and began to
approach the shore.
When the interval which separated the rocks
was too great to be cleared
at a bound, he got down into the water, and
sometimes walking and
sometimes swimming he easily gained the one
next in order. When there
was but a yard or two between, he jumped f=
rom
one rock to the other.
His progress over these slimy stones, carp=
eted
with glistening
sea-weeds, was not easy, and it was long.
Nearly a quarter of a mile had
thus to be traversed.
But Godfrey was active and handy, and at
length he set foot on the land
where there probably awaited him, if not e=
arly
death, at least a
miserable life worse than death. Hunger,
thirst, cold, and nakedness,
and perils of all kinds; without a weapon =
of
defence, without a gun to
shoot with, without a change of clothes--s=
uch
the extremities to which
he was reduced.
How imprudent he had been! He had been
desirous of knowing if he was
capable of making his way in the world und=
er
difficult circumstances! He
had put himself to the proof! He had envied
the lot of a Crusoe! Well,
he would see if the lot were an enviable o=
ne!
And then there returned to his mind the
thought of his happy existence,
that easy life in San Francisco
family, which he had abandoned to throw
himself into adventures. He
thought of his Uncle Will, of his betrothed
Phina, of his friends who
would doubtless never see him again.
As he called up these remembrances his hea=
rt
swelled, and in spite of
his resolution a tear rose to his eyes.
And again, if he was not alone, if some ot=
her
survivor of the shipwreck
had managed, like him, to reach the shore,=
and
even in default of the
captain or the mate, this proved to be
Professor Tartlet, how little he
could depend on that frivolous being, and =
how
slightly improved the
chances of the future appeared! At this po=
int,
however, he still had
hope. If he had found no trace among the
breakers, would he meet with
any on the beach?
Who else but he had already touched the sh=
ore,
seeking a companion who
was seeking him?
Godfrey took another long look from north =
to
south. He did not notice a
single human being. Evidently this portion=
of
the earth was uninhabited.
In any case there was no sign, not a trace=
of
smoke in the air, not a
vestige.
"Let us get on!" said Godfrey to
himself.
And he walked along the beach towards the
north, before venturing to
climb the sand dunes, which would allow hi=
m to
reconnoitre the country
over a larger extent.
The silence was absolute. The sand had
received no other footmark. A few
sea-birds, gulls or guillemots, were skimm=
ing
along the edge of the
rocks, the only living things in the solit=
ude.
Godfrey continued his walk for a quarter o=
f an
hour. At last he was
about to turn on to the talus of the most
elevated of the dunes, dotted
with rushes and brushwood, when he suddenly
stopped.
A shapeless object, extraordinarily disten=
ded,
something like the
corpse of a sea monster, thrown there,
doubtless, by the late storm, was
lying about thirty paces off on the edge of
the reef.
Godfrey hastened to run towards it.
The nearer he approached the more rapidly =
did
his heart beat. In truth,
in this stranded animal he seemed to recog=
nize
a human form.
Godfrey was not ten paces away from it, wh=
en
he stopped as if rooted to
the soil, and exclaimed,--
"Tartlet!"
It was the professor of dancing and
deportment.
Godfrey rushed towards his companion, who
perhaps still breathed.
A moment afterwards he saw that it was the
life-belt which produced this
extraordinary distension, and gave the asp=
ect
of a monster of the sea to
the unfortunate professor.
But although Tartlet was motionless, was he
dead? Perhaps this natatory
clothing had kept him above water, while t=
he
surf had borne him to
shore?
Godfrey set to work. He knelt down by Tart=
let;
he unloosed the life-belt
and rubbed him vigorously. He noticed at l=
ast
a light breath on the
half-opened lips! He put his hand on his
heart! The heart still beat.
Godfrey spoke to him.
Tartlet shook his head, then he gave utter=
ance
to a hoarse exclamation,
followed by incoherent words.
Godfrey shook him violently.
Tartlet then opened his eyes, passed his l=
eft
hand over his brow, lifted
his right hand and assured himself that his
precious kit and bow, which
he tightly held, had not abandoned him.
"Tartlet! My dear Tartlet!" shou=
ted Godfrey,
lightly raising his head.
The head with his mass of tumbled hair gav=
e an
affirmative nod.
"It is I! I! Godfrey!"
"Godfrey?" asked the professor.<= o:p>
And then he turned over, and rose on to his
knees, and looked about, and
smiled, and rose to his feet! He had
discovered that at last he was on a
solid base! He had gathered that he was no
longer on the ship's deck,
exposed to all the uncertainties of its
pitches and its rolls! The sea
had ceased to carry him! He stood on firm
ground!
And then Professor Tartlet recovered the
aplomb which he had lost since
his departure; his feet placed themselves
naturally, with their toes
turned out, in the regulation position; his
left hand seized his kit,
his right hand grasped his bow.
Then, while the strings, vigorously attack=
ed,
gave forth a humid sound
of melancholy sonorousness, these words
escaped his smiling lips,--
"In place, miss!"
The good man was thinking of Phina.
IN WHICH IT IS SHOWN THAT CRUSOES DO NOT H=
AVE
EVERYTHING AS THEY WISH.
That done, the professor and his pupil rus=
hed
into one another's arms.
"My dear Godfrey!" exclaimed
Tartlet.
"My good Tartlet!" replied Godfr=
ey.
"At last we are arrived in port!"
observed the professor in the tone of
a man who had had enough of navigation and=
its
accidents.
He called it arriving in port!
Godfrey had no desire to contradict him.
"Take off your life-belt," he sa=
id.
"It suffocates you and hampers your
movements."
"Do you think I can do so without
inconvenience?" asked Tartlet.
"Without any inconvenience,"
answered Godfrey. "Now put up your fiddle,
and let us take a look round."
"Come on," replied the professor;
"but if you don't mind, Godfrey, let
us go to the first restaurant we see. I am
dying of hunger, and a dozen
sandwiches washed down with a glass or two=
of
wine will soon set me on
my legs again."
"Yes! to the first restaurant!"
answered Godfrey, nodding his head; "and
even to the last, if the first does not su=
it
us."
"And," continued Tartlet, "=
we
can ask some fellow as we go along the
road to the telegraph office so as to send=
a
message off to your Uncle
Kolderup. That excellent man will hardly
refuse to send on some
necessary cash for us to get back to
got a cent with me!"
"Agreed, to the first telegraph
office," answered Godfrey, "or if there
isn't one in this country, to the first po=
st
office. Come on, Tartlet."
The professor took off his swimming appara=
tus,
and passed it over his
shoulder like a hunting-horn, and then both
stepped out for the edge of
the dunes which bordered the shore.
What more particularly interested Godfrey,
whom the encounter with
Tartlet had imbued with some hope, was to =
see
if they too were the only
survivors of the Dream.
A quarter of an hour after the explorers h=
ad
left the edge of the reef
they had climbed a dune about sixty or eig=
hty
feet high, and stood on
its crest. Thence they looked on a large
extent of coast, and examined
the horizon in the east, which till then h=
ad
been hidden by the hills on
the shore.
Two or three miles away in that direction a
second line of hills formed
the background, and beyond them nothing was
seen of the horizon.
Towards the north the coast trended off to=
a
point, but it could not be
seen if there was a corresponding cape beh=
ind.
On the south a creek ran
some distance into the shore, and on this =
side
it looked as though the
ocean closed the view. Whence this land in=
the
Pacific was probably a
peninsula, and the isthmus which joined it=
to
the continent would have
to be sought for towards the north or
north-east.
The country, however, far from being barre=
n,
was hidden beneath an
agreeable mantle of verdure; long prairies,
amid which meandered many
limpid streams, and high and thick forests,
whose trees rose above one
another to the very background of hills. It
was a charming landscape.
But of houses forming town, village, or
hamlet, not one was in sight! Of
buildings grouped and arranged as a farm of
any sort, not a sign! Of
smoke in the sky, betraying some dwelling
hidden among the trees, not a
trace. Not a steeple above the branches, n=
ot a
windmill on an isolated
hill. Not even in default of houses a cabi=
n, a
hut, an ajoupa, or a
wigwam? No! nothing. If human beings inhab=
ited
this unknown land, they
must live like troglodytes, below, and not
above the ground. Not a road
was visible, not a footpath, not even a tr=
ack.
It seemed that the foot
of man had never trod either a rock of the
beach or a blade of the grass
on the prairies.
"I don't see the town," remarked
Tartlet, who, however, remained on
tiptoe.
"That is perhaps because it is not in
this part of the province!"
answered Godfrey.
"But a village?"
"There's nothing here."
"Where are we then?"
"I know nothing about it."
"What! You don't know! But Godfrey, we
had better make haste and find
out."
"Who is to tell us?"
"What will become of us then?"
exclaimed Tartlet, rounding his arms and
lifting them to the sky.
"Become a couple of Crusoes!"
At this answer the professor gave a bound =
such
as no clown had ever
equalled.
Crusoes! They! A Crusoe! He! Descendants of
that Selkirk who had lived
for long years on the
imaginary heroes of Daniel Defoe and De Wy=
ss
whose adventures they had
so often read! Abandoned, far from their
relatives, their friends;
separated from their fellow-men by thousan=
ds
of miles, destined to
defend their lives perhaps against wild
beasts, perhaps against savages
who would land there, wretches without
resources, suffering from hunger,
suffering from thirst, without weapons,
without tools, almost without
clothes, left to themselves. No, it was
impossible!
"Don't say such things, Godfrey,"
exclaimed Tartlet. "No! Don't joke
about such things! The mere supposition wi=
ll
kill me! You are laughing
at me, are you not?"
"Yes, my gallant Tartlet," answe=
red
Godfrey. "Reassure yourself. But in
the first place, let us think about matters
that are pressing."
In fact, they had to try and find some cav=
ern,
a grotto or hole, in
which to pass the night, and then to colle=
ct
some edible mollusks so as
to satisfy the cravings of their stomachs.=
Godfrey and Tartlet then commenced to desc=
end
the talus of the dunes in
the direction of the reef. Godfrey showed
himself very ardent in his
researches, and Tartlet considerably stupe=
fied
by his shipwreck
experiences. The first looked before him,
behind him, and all around
him; the second hardly saw ten paces in fr=
ont
of him.
"If there are no inhabitants on this
land, are there any animals?"
asked Godfrey.
He meant to say domestic animals, such as =
furred
and feathered game, not
wild animals which abound in tropical regi=
ons,
and with which they were
not likely to have to do.
Several flocks of birds were visible on the
shore, bitterns, curlews,
bernicle geese, and teal, which hovered and
chirped and filled the air
with their flutterings and cries, doubtless
protesting against the
invasion of their domain.
Godfrey was justified in concluding that w=
here
there were birds there
were nests, and where there were nests the=
re
were eggs. The birds
congregated here in such numbers, because
rocks provided them with
thousands of cavities for their
dwelling-places. In the distance a few
herons and some flocks of snipe indicated =
the
neighbourhood of a marsh.
Birds then were not wanting, the only
difficulty was to get at them
without fire-arms. The best thing to do now
was to make use of them in
the egg state, and consume them under that
elementary but nourishing
form.
But if the dinner was there, how were they=
to
cook it? How were they to
set about lighting a fire? An important
question, the solution of which
was postponed.
Godfrey and Tartlet returned straight towa=
rds
the reef, over which some
sea-birds were circling. An agreeable surp=
rise
there awaited them.
Among the indigenous fowl which ran along =
the
sand of the beach and
pecked about among the sea-weed and under =
the
tufts of aquatic plants,
was it a dozen hens and two or three cocks=
of
the American breed that
they beheld? No! There was no mistake, for=
at
their approach did not a
resounding cock-a-doodle-do-oo-oo rend the=
air
like the sound of a
trumpet?
And farther off, what were those quadrupeds
which were gliding in and
out of the rocks, and making their way tow=
ards
the first slopes of the
hills, or grubbing beneath some of the gre=
en
shrubs? Godfrey could not
be mistaken. There were a dozen agouties, =
five
or six sheep, and as many
goats, who were quietly browsing on the fi=
rst
vegetation on the very
edge of the prairie.
"Look there, Tartlet!" he exclai=
med.
And the professor looked, but saw nothing,=
so
much was he absorbed with
the thought of this unexpected situation.<= o:p>
A thought flashed across the mind of Godfr=
ey,
and it was correct: it was
that these hens, agouties, goats, and sheep
had belonged to the Dream.
At the moment she went down, the fowls had
easily been able to reach the
reef and then the beach. As for the
quadrupeds, they could easily have
swum ashore.
"And so," remarked Godfrey,
"what none of our unfortunate companions
have been able to do, these simple animals,
guided by their instinct,
have done! And of all those on board the
Dream, none have been saved
but a few beasts!"
"Including ourselves!" answered
Tartlet naively.
As far as he was concerned, he had come as=
hore
unconsciously, very much
like one of the animals. It mattered littl=
e.
It was a very fortunate
thing for the two shipwrecked men that a
certain number of these animals
had reached the shore. They would collect
them, fold them, and with the
special fecundity of their species, if the=
ir
stay on this land was a
lengthy one, it would be easy to have quit=
e a
flock of quadrupeds, and a
yard full of poultry.
But on this occasion, Godfrey wished to ke=
ep
to such alimentary
resources as the coast could furnish, eith=
er
in eggs or shell-fish.
Professor Tartlet and he set to work to fo=
rage
among the interstices of
the stones, and beneath the carpet of
sea-weeds, and not without
success. They soon collected quite a notab=
le
quantity of mussels and
periwinkles, which they could eat raw. A f=
ew
dozen eggs of the bernicle
geese were also found among the higher roc=
ks
which shut in the bay on
the north. They had enough to satisfy a go=
od
many; and, hunger pressing,
Godfrey and Tartlet hardly thought of maki=
ng
difficulties about their
first repast.
"And the fire?" said the profess=
or.
"Yes! The fire!" said Godfrey.
It was the most serious of questions, and =
it
led to an inventory being
made of the contents of their pockets. Tho=
se
of the professor were empty
or nearly so. They contained a few spare
strings for his kit, and a
piece of rosin for his bow. How would you =
get
a light from that, I
should like to know? Godfrey was hardly be=
tter
provided. However, it was
with extreme satisfaction that he discover=
ed
in his pocket an excellent
knife, whose leather case had kept it from=
the
sea-water. This knife,
with blade, gimlet, hook, and saw, was a
valuable instrument under the
circumstances. But besides this tool, Godf=
rey
and his companion had only
their two hands; and as the hands of the
professor had never been used
except in playing his fiddle, and making h=
is
gestures, Godfrey concluded
that he would have to trust to his own.
He thought, however, of utilizing those of
Tartlet for procuring a fire
by means of rubbing two sticks of wood rap=
idly
together. A few eggs
cooked in the embers would be greatly
appreciated at their second meal
at noon.
While Godfrey then was occupied in robbing=
the
nests in spite of the
proprietors, who tried to defend their pro=
geny
in the shell, the
professor went off to collect some pieces =
of
wood which had been dried
by the sun at the foot of the dunes. These
were taken behind a rock
sheltered from the wind from the sea. Tart=
let
then chose two very dry
pieces, with the intention of gradually
obtaining sufficient heat by
rubbing them vigorously and continuously
together. What simple
Polynesian savages commonly did, why should
not the professor, so much
their superior in his own opinion, be able=
to
do?
Behold him then, rubbing and rubbing, in a=
way
to dislocate the muscles
of his arm and shoulder. He worked himself
into quite a rage, poor man!
But whether it was that the wood was not
right, or its dryness was not
sufficient, or the professor held it wrong=
ly,
or had not got the
peculiar turn of hand necessary for operat=
ions
of this kind, if he did
not get much heat out of the wood, he succ=
eeded
in getting a good deal
out of himself. In short, it was his own
forehead alone which smoked
under the vapours of his own perspiration.=
When Godfrey returned with his collection =
of
eggs, he found Tartlet in a
rage, in a state to which his choregraphic=
exercises
had never doubtless
provoked him.
"Doesn't it do?" he asked.
"No, Godfrey, it does not do,"
replied the professor. "And I begin to
think that these inventions of the savages=
are
only imaginations to
deceive the world."
"No," answered Godfrey. "Bu=
t in
that, as in all things, you must know
how to do it."
"These eggs, then?"
"There is another way. If you attach =
one
of these eggs to the end of a
string and whirl it round rapidly, and
suddenly arrest the movement of
rotation, the movement may perhaps transfo=
rm
itself into heat, and
then--"
"And then the egg will be cooked?&quo=
t;
"Yes, if the rotation has been swift
enough and the stoppage sudden
enough. But how do you produce the stoppage
without breaking the egg?
Now, there is a simpler way, dear Tartlet.
Behold!"
And carefully taking one of the eggs of the
bernicle goose, he broke the
shell at its end, and adroitly swallowed t=
he
inside without any further
formalities.
Tartlet could not make up his mind to imit=
ate
him, and contented himself
with the shell-fish.
It now remained to look for a grotto or so=
me
shelter in which to pass
the night.
"It is an unheard-of thing,"
observed the professor, "that Crusoes
cannot at the least find a cavern, which,
later on, they can make their
home!"
"Let us look," said Godfrey.
It was unheard of. We must avow, however, =
that
on this occasion the
tradition was broken. In vain did they sea=
rch
along the rocky shore on
the southern part of the bay. Not a cavern,
not a grotto, not a hole was
there that would serve as a shelter. They =
had
to give up the idea.
Godfrey resolved to reconnoitre up to the
first trees in the background
beyond the sandy coast.
Tartlet and he then remounted the first li=
ne
of sandhills and crossed
the verdant prairies which they had seen a=
few
hours before.
A very odd circumstance, and a very fortun=
ate
one at the time, that the
other survivors of the wreck voluntarily
followed them. Evidently, cocks
and hens, and sheep, goats and agouties,
driven by instinct, had
resolved to go with them. Doubtless they f=
elt
too lonely on the beach,
which did not yield sufficient food.
Three-quarters of an hour later Godfrey and
Tartlet--they had scarcely
spoken during the exploration--arrived at =
the
outskirt of the trees. Not
a trace was there of habitation or inhabit=
ant.
Complete solitude. It
might even be doubted if this part of the
country had ever been trodden
by human feet.
In this place were a few handsome trees, in
isolated groups, and others
more crowded about a quarter of a mile in =
the
rear formed a veritable
forest of different species.
Godfrey looked out for some old trunk,
hollowed by age, which could
offer a shelter among its branches, but his
researches were in vain,
although he continued them till night was
falling.
Hunger made itself sharply felt, and the t=
wo
contented themselves with
mussels, of which they had thoughtfully
brought an ample supply from the
beach. Then, quite tired out, they lay dow=
n at
the foot of a tree, and
trusting to Providence, slept through the
night.
IN WHICH GODFREY DOES WHAT ANY OTHER
SHIPWRECKED MAN WOULD HAVE DONE
UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
The night passed without incident. The two
men, quite knocked up with
excitement and fatigue, had slept as
peacefully as if they had been in
the most comfortable room in the mansion in
Montgomery Street.
On the morrow, the 27th of June, at the fi=
rst
rays of the rising sun,
the crow of the cock awakened them.
Godfrey immediately recognized where he wa=
s,
but Tartlet had to rub his
eyes and stretch his arms for some time be=
fore
he did so.
"Is breakfast this morning to resemble
dinner yesterday?" was his first
observation.
"I am afraid so," answered Godfr=
ey.
"But I hope we shall dine better
this evening."
The professor could not restrain a signifi=
cant
grimace. Where were the
tea and sandwiches which had hitherto been
brought to him when he
awoke? How could he wait till breakfast-ti=
me,
the bell for which would
perhaps never sound, without this preparat=
ory
repast?
But it was necessary to make a start. Godf=
rey
felt the responsibility
which rested on him, on him alone, for he
could in no way depend on his
companion. In that empty box which served =
the
professor for a cranium
there could be born no practical idea; God=
frey
would have to think,
contrive, and decide for both.
His first thought was for Phina, his
betrothed, whom he had so stupidly
refused to make his wife; his second for h=
is
Uncle Will, whom he had so
imprudently left, and then turning to
Tartlet,--
"To vary our ordinary," he said,
"here are some shell-fish and half a
dozen eggs."
"And nothing to cook them with!"=
"Nothing!" said Godfrey. "B=
ut
if the food itself was missing, what would
you say then, Tartlet?"
"I should say that nothing was not
enough," said Tartlet drily.
Nevertheless, they had to be content with =
this
repast.
The very natural idea occurred to Godfrey =
to
push forward the
reconnaissance commenced the previous even=
ing.
Above all it was
necessary to know as soon as possible in w=
hat
part of the Pacific Ocean
the Dream had been lost, so as to discover
some inhabited place on
the shore, where they could either arrange=
the
way of returning home or
await the passing of some ship.
Godfrey observed that if he could cross the
second line of hills, whose
picturesque outline was visible beyond the
first, that he might perhaps
be able to do this. He reckoned that they
could get there in an hour or
two, and it was to this urgent exploration
that he resolved to devote
the first hours of the day. He looked round
him. The cocks and hens were
beginning to peck about among the high
vegetation. Agouties, goats,
sheep, went and came on the skirt of the
forest.
Godfrey did not care to drag all this floc=
k of
poultry and quadrupeds
about with him. But to keep them more safe=
ly
in this place, it would be
necessary to leave Tartlet in charge of th=
em.
Tartlet agreed to remain alone, and for
several hours to act as shepherd
of the flock.
He made but one observation,--
"If you lose yourself, Godfrey?"=
"Have no fear of that," answered=
the
young man, "I have only this forest
to cross, and as you will not leave its ed=
ge I
am certain to find you
again."
"Don't forget the telegram to your Un=
cle
Will, and ask him for a good
many hundred dollars."
"The telegram--or the letter! It is a=
ll
one!" answered Godfrey, who so
long as he had not fixed on the position of
this land was content to
leave Tartlet to his illusions.
Then having shaken hands with the professo=
r,
he plunged beneath the
trees, whose thick branches scarcely allow=
ed
the sun's rays to
penetrate. It was their direction, however,
which was to guide our young
explorer towards the high hill whose curta=
in
hid from his view the whole
of the eastern horizon.
Footpath there was none. The ground, howev=
er,
was not free from all
imprint. Godfrey in certain places remarked
the tracks of animals. On
two or three occasions he even believed he=
saw
some rapid ruminants
moving off, either elans, deer, or wapiti,=
but
he recognized no trace of
ferocious animals such as tigers or jaguar=
s,
whose absence, however, was
no cause for regret.
The first floor of the forest, that is to =
say
all that portion of the
trees comprised between the first fork and=
the
branches, afforded an
asylum to a great number of birds--wild
pigeons by the hundred beneath
the trees, ospreys, grouse, aracaris with
beaks like a lobster's claw,
and higher, hovering above the glades, two=
or
three of those
lammergeiers whose eye resembles a cockade.
But none of the birds were
of such special kinds that he could theref=
rom
make out the latitude of
this continent.
So it was with the trees of this forest.
Almost the same species as
those in that part of the United States wh=
ich
comprises Lower
California, the Bay of Monterey, and New
Mexico.
Arbutus-trees, large-flowered cornels, map=
les,
birches, oaks, four or
five varieties of magnolias and sea-pines,
such as are met with in South
Carolina, then in the centre of vast
clearances, olive-trees, chestnuts,
and small shrubs. Tufts of tamarinds, myrt=
les,
and mastic-trees, such as
are produced in the temperate zone. Genera=
lly,
there was enough space
between the trees to allow him to pass wit=
hout
being obliged to call on
fire or the axe. The sea breeze circulated
freely amid the higher
branches, and here and there great patches=
of
light shone on the ground.
And so Godfrey went along striking an obli=
que
line beneath these large
trees. To take any precautions never occur=
red
to him. The desire to
reach the heights which bordered the fores=
t on
the east entirely
absorbed him. He sought among the foliage =
for
the direction of the solar
rays so as to march straight on his goal. =
He
did not even see the
guide-birds, so named because they fly bef=
ore
the steps of the
traveller, stopping, returning, and dartin=
g on
ahead as if they were
showing the way. Nothing could distract hi=
m.
His state of mind was intelligible. Before=
an
hour had elapsed his fate
would be settled! Before an hour he would =
know
if it were possible to
reach some inhabited portion of the contin=
ent.
Already Godfrey, reasoning on what had been
the route followed and the
way made by the Dream during a navigation =
of
seventeen days, had
concluded that it could only be on the
Japanese or Chinese coast that
the ship had gone down.
Besides the position of the sun, always in=
the
south, rendered it quite
certain that the Dream had not crossed the
line.
Two hours after he had started Godfrey
reckoned the distance he had
travelled at about five miles, considering
several circuits which he had
had to make owing to the density of the
forest. The second group of
hills could not be far away.
Already the trees were getting farther apa=
rt
from each other, forming
isolated groups, and the rays of light
penetrated more easily through
the lofty branches. The ground began sligh=
tly
to slope, and then
abruptly to rise.
Although he was somewhat fatigued, Godfrey=
had
enough will not to
slacken his pace. He would doubtless have =
run
had it not been for the
steepness of the earlier ascents.
He had soon got high enough to overlook the
general mass of the verdant
dome which stretched away behind him, and
whence several heads of trees
here and there emerged.
But Godfrey did not dream of looking back.=
His
eyes never quitted the
line of the denuded ridge, which showed it=
self
about 400 or 500 feet
before and above him. That was the barrier
which all the time hid him
from the eastern horizon.
A tiny cone, obliquely truncated, overlook=
ed
this rugged line and joined
on with its gentle slope to the sinuous cr=
est
of the hills.
"There! there!" said Godfrey,
"that is the point I must reach! The top
of that cone! And from there what shall I
see?--A town?--A village?--A
desert?"
Highly excited, Godfrey mounted the hill,
keeping his elbows at his
chest to restrain the beating of his heart.
His panting tired him, but
he had not the patience to stop so as to
recover himself. Were he to
have fallen half fainting on the summit of=
the
cone which shot up about
100 feet above his head, he would not have
lost a minute in hastening
towards it.
A few minutes more and he would be there. =
The
ascent seemed to him steep
enough on his side, an angle perhaps of th=
irty
or thirty-five degrees.
He helped himself up with hands and feet; =
he
seized on the tufts of
slender herbs on the hill-side, and on a f=
ew
meagre shrubs, mastics
and myrtles, which stretched away up to the
top.
A last effort was made! His head rose above
the platform of the cone,
and then, lying on his stomach, his eyes g=
azed
at the eastern horizon.
It was the sea which formed it. Twenty mil=
es
off it united with the line
of the sky!
He turned round.
Still sea--west of him, south of him, nort=
h of
him! The immense ocean
surrounding him on all sides!
"An island!"
[Illustration: "An Island!" page
111]
As he uttered the word Godfrey felt his he=
art
shrink. The thought had
not occurred to him that he was on an isla=
nd.
And yet such was the case!
The terrestrial chain which should have
attached him to the continent
was abruptly broken. He felt as though he =
had
been a sleeping man in a
drifted boat, who awoke with neither oar n=
or
sail to help him back to
shore.
But Godfrey was soon himself again. His pa=
rt
was taken, to accept the
situation. If the chances of safety did not
come from without, it was
for him to contrive them.
He set to work at first then as exactly as
possible to ascertain the
disposition of this island which his view =
embraced
over its whole
length. He estimated that it ought to meas=
ure
about sixty miles round,
being, as far as he could see, about twenty
miles long from south to
north, and twelve miles wide from east to
west.
Its central part was screened by the green=
depths
of forest which
extended up to the ridge dominated by the
cone, whose slope died away on
the shore.
All the rest was prairie, with clumps of
trees, or beach with rocks,
whose outer ring was capriciously tapered =
off
in the form of capes and
promontories. A few creeks cut out the coa=
st,
but could only afford
refuge for two or three fishing-boats.
The bay at the bottom of which the Dream l=
ay
shipwrecked was the only
one of any size, and that extended over so=
me
seven or eight miles. An
open roadstead, no vessel would have found=
it
a safe shelter, at least
unless the wind was blowing from the east.=
But what was this island? To what geograph=
ical
group did it belong? Did
it form part of an archipelago, or was it
alone in this portion of the
Pacific?
In any case, no other island, large or sma=
ll,
high or low, appeared
within the range of vision.
Godfrey rose and gazed round the horizon.
Nothing was to be seen along
the circular line where sea and sky ran in=
to
each other. If, then, there
existed to windward or to leeward any isla=
nd
or coast of a continent, it
could only be at a considerable distance.<= o:p>
Godfrey called up all his geographical
reminiscences, in order to
discover what island of the Pacific this c=
ould
be. In reasoning it out
he came to this conclusion.
The Dream for seventeen days had steered v=
ery
nearly south-west. Now
with a speed of from 150 to 180 miles every
four-and-twenty hours, she
ought to have covered nearly fifty degrees.
Now it was obvious that she
had not crossed the equator.
The situation of the island, or of the gro=
up
to which it belonged, would
therefore have to be looked for in that pa=
rt
of the ocean comprised
between the 160th and 170th degrees of west
longitude.
In this portion of the Pacific it seemed to
Godfrey that the map showed
no other archipelago than that of the Sand=
wich
Islands, but outside this
archipelago were there not any isolated
islands whose names escaped him
and which were dotted here and there over =
the
sea up to the coast of the
Celestial Empire?
It was not of much consequence. There exis=
ted
no means of his going in
search of another spot on the ocean which
might prove more hospitable.
"Well," said Godfrey to himself,
"if I don't know the name of this
island, I'll call it Phina Island, in memo=
ry
of her I ought never to
have left to run about the world, and perh=
aps
the name will bring us
some luck."
Godfrey then occupied himself in trying to
ascertain if the island was
inhabited in the part which he had not yet
been able to visit.
From the top of the cone he saw nothing wh=
ich
betrayed the presence of
aborigines, neither habitations on the pra=
irie
nor houses on the skirt
of the trees, not even a fisherman's hut on
the shore.
But if the island was deserted, the sea wh=
ich
surrounded it was none the
less so, for not a ship showed itself with=
in
the limits of what, from
the height of the cone, was a considerable
circuit.
Godfrey having finished his exploration had
now only to get down to the
foot of the hill and retake the road throu=
gh
the forest so as to rejoin
Tartlet. But before he did so his eyes were
attracted by a sort of
cluster of trees of huge stature, which ro=
se
on the boundary of the
prairie towards the north. It was a gigant=
ic
group, it exceeded by a
head all those which Godfrey had previously
seen.
"Perhaps," he said, "it wou=
ld
be better to take up our quarters over
there, more especially as if I am not mist=
aken
I can see a stream which
should rise in the central chain and flow
across the prairie."
This was to be looked into on the morrow.<= o:p>
Towards the south the aspect of the island=
was
slightly different.
Forests and prairies rapidly gave place to=
the
yellow carpet of the
beach, and in places the shore was bounded
with picturesque rocks.
But what was Godfrey's surprise, when he
thought he saw a light smoke,
which rose in the air beyond this rocky
barrier.
"Are there any of our companions?&quo=
t;
he exclaimed. "But no, it is not
possible! Why should they have got so far =
from
the bay since yesterday,
and round so many miles of reef? Is it a
village of fishermen, or the
encampment of some indigenous tribe?"=
Godfrey watched it with the closest attent=
ion.
Was this gentle vapour
which the breeze softly blew towards the w=
est
a smoke? Could he be
mistaken? Anyhow it quickly vanished, a few
minutes afterwards nothing
could be seen of it.
It was a false hope.
Godfrey took a last look in its direction,=
and
then seeing nothing,
glided down the slope, and again plunged
beneath the trees.
An hour later he had traversed the forest =
and
found himself on its
skirt.
There Tartlet awaited him with his two-foo=
ted
and four-footed flock. And
how was the obstinate professor occupying
himself? In the same way. A
bit of wood was in his right hand another
piece in his left, and he
still continued his efforts to set them
alight. He rubbed and rubbed
with a constancy worthy of a better fate.<= o:p>
"Well," he shouted as he perceiv=
ed
Godfrey some distance off--"and the
telegraph office?"
"It is not open!" answered Godfr=
ey,
who dared not yet tell him anything
of the situation.
"And the post?"
"It is shut! But let us have somethin=
g to
eat!--I am dying with hunger!
We can talk presently."
And this morning Godfrey and his companion=
had
again to content
themselves with a too meagre repast of raw
eggs and shell-fish.
"Wholesome diet!" repeated Godfr=
ey
to Tartlet, who was hardly of that
opinion and picked his food with considera=
ble
care.
IN WHICH THE QUESTION OF LODGING IS SOLVED=
AS
WELL AS IT COULD BE.
The day was already far advanced. Godfrey
resolved to defer till the
morrow the task of proceeding to a new abo=
de.
But to the pressing
questions which the professor propounded on
the results of his
exploration he ended by replying that it w=
as
an island,
which they both had been cast, and that th=
ey
must think of the means of
living before dreaming of the means of
departing.
"An island!" exclaimed Tartlet.<= o:p>
"Yes! It is an island!"
"Which the sea surrounds?"
"Naturally."
"But what is it?"
"I have told you, Phina Island, and y=
ou
understand why I gave it that
name."
"No, I do not understand!" answe=
red
Tartlet, making a grimace; "and I
don't see the resemblance! Miss Phina is
surrounded by land, not water!"
After this melancholy reflection, he prepa=
red
to pass the night with as
little discomfort as possible. Godfrey went
off to the reef to get a new
stock of eggs and mollusks, with which he =
had
to be contented, and then,
tired out, he came back to the tree and so=
on
fell asleep, while Tartlet,
whose philosophy would not allow him to ac=
cept
such a state of affairs,
gave himself over to the bitterest
meditations. On the morrow, the 28th
of June, they were both afoot before the c=
ock
had interrupted their
slumbers.
To begin with, a hasty breakfast, the same=
as
the day before. Only water
from a little brook was advantageously
replaced by a little milk given
by one of the goats.
Ah! worthy Tartlet! Where were the "m=
int
julep," the "port wine
sangaree," the "sherry
cobbler," the "sherry cocktail," which he hardly
drank, but which were served him at all ho=
urs
in the bars and taverns of
San Francisco? How he envied the poultry, =
the
agouties, and the sheep,
who cheerfully quenched their thirst witho=
ut
the addition of such
saccharine or alcoholic mixtures to their
water from the stream! To
these animals no fire was necessary to cook
their food; roots and herbs
and seeds sufficed, and their breakfast was
always served to the minute
on their tablecloth of green.
"Let us make a start," said Godf=
rey.
And behold the two on their way, followed =
by a
procession of domestic
animals, who refused to be left behind.
Godfrey's idea was to explore,
in the north of the island, that portion of
the coast on which he had
noticed the group of gigantic trees in his
view from the cone. But to
get there he resolved to keep along the sh=
ore.
The surf might perhaps
have cast up some fragment of the wreck.
Perhaps they might find on the
beach some of their companions in the Drea=
m to
which they could give
Christian burial. As for finding any one of
them living, it was hardly
to be hoped for, after a lapse of six-and-=
thirty
hours.
The first line of hills was surmounted, and
Godfrey and his companion
reached the beginning of the reef, which
looked as deserted as it had
when they had left it. There they renewed
their stock of eggs and
mollusks, in case they should fail to find
even such meagre resources
away to the north. Then, following the fri=
nge
of sea-weed left by the
last tide, they again ascended the dunes, =
and
took a good look round.
Nothing! always nothing!
We must certainly say that if misfortune h=
ad made
Crusoes of these
survivors of the Dream, it had shown itself
much more rigorous towards
them than towards their predecessors, who
always had some portion of the
vessel left to them, and who, after bringi=
ng
away crowds of objects of
necessity had been able to utilize the tim=
bers
of the wreck. Victuals
for a considerable period, clothes, tools,
weapons, had always been left
them with which to satisfy the elementary
exigencies of existence. But
here there was nothing of all this! In the
middle of that dark night the
ship had disappeared in the depths of the =
sea,
without leaving on the
reefs the slightest traces of its wreck! It
had not been possible to
save a thing from her--not even a
lucifer-match--and to tell the truth,
the want of that match was the most seriou=
s of
all wants.
I know well, good people comfortably insta=
lled
in your easy-chairs
before a comfortable hearth at which is
blazing brightly a fire of wood
or coals, that you will be apt to say,--
"But nothing was more easy than for t=
hem
to get a fire! There are a
thousand ways of doing that! Two pebbles! A
little dry moss! A little
burnt rag,"--and how do you burn the =
rag?
"The blade of a knife would do
for a steel, or two bits of wood rubbed
briskly together in Polynesian
fashion!"
Well, try it!
It was about this that Godfrey was thinkin=
g as
he walked, and this it
was that occupied his thoughts more than
anything else. Perhaps he too,
poking his coke fire and reading his
travellers' tales, had thought the
same as you good people! But now he had to=
put
matters to the test, and
he saw with considerable disquietude the w=
ant
of a fire, that
indispensable element which nothing could
replace.
He kept on ahead, then, lost in thought,
followed by Tartlet, who by his
shouts and gestures, kept together the flo=
ck
of sheep, agouties, goats,
and poultry.
Suddenly his look was attracted by the bri=
ght
colours of a cluster of
small apples which hung from the branches =
of
certain shrubs, growing in
hundreds at the foot of the dunes. He
immediately recognized them as
"manzanillas," which serve as fo=
od
to the Indians in certain parts of
California.
"At last," he exclaimed, "t=
here
is something which will be a change from
our eggs and mussels."
"What? Do you eat those things?"
said Tartlet with his customary
grimace.
"You shall soon see!" answered
Godfrey.
And he set to work to gather the manzanill=
as,
and eat them greedily.
They were only wild apples, but even their
acidity did not prevent them
from being agreeable. The professor made
little delay in imitating his
companion, and did not show himself
particularly discontented at the
work. Godfrey thought, and with reason, th=
at
from these fruits there
could be made a fermented liquor which wou=
ld
be preferable to the water.
The march was resumed. Soon the end of the=
sand
dunes died away in a
prairie traversed by a small stream. This =
was
the one Godfrey had seen
from the top of the cone. The large trees
appeared further on, and after
a journey of about nine miles the two
explorers, tired enough by their
four hours' walk, reached them a few minut=
es
after noon.
The site was well worth the trouble of loo=
king
at, of visiting, and,
doubtless, occupying.
On the edge of a vast prairie, dotted with
manzanilla bushes and other
shrubs, there rose a score of gigantic tre=
es
which could have even borne
comparison with the same species in the
forests of California. They were
arranged in a semi-circle. The carpet of
verdure, which stretched at
their feet, after bordering the stream for
some hundreds of feet, gave
place to a long beach, covered with rocks,=
and
shingle, and sea-weed,
which ran out into the water in a narrowing
point to the north.
These "big trees," as they are
commonly called in Western America,
belong to the genus Sequoia, and are conif=
ers
of the fir family. If
you ask the English for their distinguishi=
ng
name, you will be told
"Wellingtonias," if you ask the
Americans they will reply
"Washingtonias." But whether they
recall the memory of the phlegmatic
victor of Waterloo, or of the illustrious
founder of the American
Republic, they are the hugest products kno=
wn
of the Californian and
Nevadan floras. In certain districts in th=
ese
states there are entire
forests of these trees, such as the groups=
at
Mariposa and Calaveras,
some of the trees of which measure from si=
xty
to eighty feet in
circumference, and some 300 feet in height.
One of them, at the entrance
of the Yosemite Valley, is quite 100 feet
round. When living--for it is
now prostrate--its first branches could ha=
ve
overtopped Strasburg
Cathedral, or, in other words, were above
eighty feet from the ground.
Besides this tree there are "The Moth=
er
of the Forest," "The Beauty of
the Forest," "The Hut of the
Pioneer," "The Two Sentinels," "General
Grant," "Miss Emma," "=
Miss
Mary," "Brigham Young and his Wife," "The
Three Graces," "The Bear,"
&c., &c.; all of them veritable vegetable
phenomena. One of the trees has been sawn
across at its base, and on it
there has been built a ball-room, in which=
a
quadrille of eight or ten
couples can be danced with ease.
But the giant of giants, in a forest which=
is
the property of the state,
about fifteen miles from Murphy, is "=
The
Father of the Forest," an old
sequoia, 4000 years old, which rises 452 f=
eet
from the ground, higher
than the cross of St. Peter's, at Rome, hi=
gher
than the great pyramid
of Ghizeh, higher than the iron bell-turret
which now caps one of the
towers of Rouen Cathedral, and which ought=
to
be looked upon as the
highest monument in the world.
It was a group of some twenty of these col=
ossi
that nature had planted
on this point of the island, at the epoch,
probably, when Solomon was
building that temple at Jerusalem which has
never risen from its ruins.
The largest was, perhaps, 300 feet high, t=
he
smallest nearly 200.
Some of them, hollowed out by age, had
enormous arches through their
bases, beneath which a troop of horsemen c=
ould
have ridden with ease.
Godfrey was struck with admiration in the
presence of these natural
phenomena, as they are not generally found=
at
altitudes of less than
from 5000 to 6000 feet above the level of =
the
sea. He even thought that
the view alone was worth the journey. Noth=
ing
he had seen was comparable
to these columns of clear brown, which
outlined themselves almost
without sensible diminution of their diame=
ters
to their lowest fork. The
cylindrical trunks rising from 80 to 100 f=
eet
above the earth, ramified
into such thick branches that they themsel=
ves
looked like tree-stems of
huge dimensions bearing quite a forest in =
the
air.
One of these specimens of Sequoia
gigantea--one of the biggest in the
group--more particularly attracted Godfrey=
's
attention.
Gazing at its base it displayed an opening=
of
from four to five feet in
width, and ten feet high, which gave entra=
nce
to its interior. The
giant's heart had disappeared, the alburnum
had been dissipated into
soft whitish dust; but if the tree did not
depend so much on its
powerful roots as on its solid bark, it co=
uld
still keep its position
for centuries.
"In default of a cavern or a
grotto," said Godfrey, "here is a
ready-made dwelling. A wooden house, a tow=
er,
such as there is in no
inhabited land. Here we can be sheltered a=
nd
shut in. Come along,
Tartlet! come!"
And the young man, catching hold of his
companion, dragged him inside
the sequoia.
The base was covered with a bed of vegetab=
le
dust, and in diameter could
not be less than twenty feet.
As for the height to which its vault exten=
ded,
the gloom prevented even
an estimate. For not a ray of light found =
its
way through the bark wall.
Neither cleft nor fault was there through
which the wind or rain could
come. Our two Crusoes would therein find
themselves in a position to
brave with impunity the inclemency of the
weather. No cave could be
firmer, or drier, or compacter. In truth it
would have been difficult to
have anywhere found a better.
"Eh, Tartlet, what do you think of our
natural house?" asked Godfrey.
"Yes, but the chimney?" answered
Tartlet.
"Before we talk about the chimney,&qu=
ot;
replied Godfrey, "let us wait till
we have got the fire!"
This was only logical.
Godfrey went to reconnoitre the neighbourh=
ood.
As we have said, the
prairie extended to this enormous mass of
sequoias which formed its
edge. The small stream meandering through =
the
grassy carpet gave a
healthy freshness to its borders, and ther=
eon
grew shrubs of different
kinds; myrtles, mastic bushes, and among
others a quantity of
manzanillas, which gave promise of a large
crop of their wild apples.
Farther off, on ground that grew gradually
higher, were scattered
several clumps of trees, made up of oaks a=
nd
beeches, sycamores and
nettle-trees, but trees of great stature as
they were, they seemed but
simple underwood by the side of the
"mammoths," whose huge shadows the
sun was throwing even into the sea. Across=
the
prairie lay minor lines
of bushes, and vegetable clumps and verdant
thickets, which Godfrey
resolved to investigate on the following d=
ay.
If the site pleased him, it did not disple=
ase
the domestic animals.
Agouties, goats, and sheep had soon taken
possession of this domain,
which offered them roots to nibble at, and
grass to browse on far beyond
their needs. As for the fowls they were
greedily pecking away at the
seeds and worms in the banks of the rivule=
t.
Animal life was already
manifesting itself in such goings and comi=
ngs,
such flights and gambols,
such bleatings and gruntings and cluckings=
as
had doubtless never been
heard of in these parts before.
Then Godfrey returned to the clump of
sequoias, and made a more
attentive examination of the tree in which=
he
had chosen to take up his
abode. It appeared to him that it would be
difficult, if not impossible,
to climb into the first branches, at least=
by
the exterior; for the
trunk presented no protuberances. Inside it
the ascent might be easier,
if the tree were hollow up to the fork.
In case of danger it would be advisable to
seek refuge among the thick
boughs borne by the enormous trunk. But th=
is
matter could be looked into
later on.
When he had finished his inquiries the sun=
was
low on horizon, and it
seemed best to put off till to-morrow the
preparations for their
definitely taking up their abode.
But, after a meal with dessert composed of
wild apples, what could they
do better than pass the night on a bed of =
the
vegetable dust which
covered the ground inside the sequoia?
And this, under the keeping of Providence,=
was
what was done, but not
until after Godfrey, in remembrance of his
uncle, William W. Kolderup,
had given to the giant the name of "W=
ill
Tree," just as its prototypes
in the forests of California and the
neighbouring states bear the names
of the great citizens of the American
Republic.
WHICH ENDS WITH A THUNDER-BOLT.
It must be acknowledged that Godfrey was i=
n a
fair way to become a new
man in this completely novel position to o=
ne
so frivolous, so
light-minded, and so thoughtless. He had
hitherto only had to allow
himself to live. Never had care for the mo=
rrow
disquieted his rest. In
the opulent mansion in Montgomery Street,
where he slept his ten hours
without a break, not the fall of a rose le=
af
had ever troubled his
slumbers.
It was so no longer. On this unknown land =
he
found himself thoroughly
shut off from the rest of the world, left
entirely to his own resources,
obliged to face the necessities of life un=
der
conditions in which a man
even much more practical might have been in
great difficulty. Doubtless
when it was found that the Dream did not
return, a search for him
would be made. But what were these two? Le=
ss
than a needle in a hayrick
or a sand-grain on the sea-bottom! The
incalculable fortune of Uncle
Kolderup could not do everything.
When Godfrey had found his fairly acceptab=
le
shelter, his sleep in it
was by no means undisturbed. His brain
travelled as it had never done
before. Ideas of all kinds were associated
together: those of the past
which he bitterly regretted, those of the
present of which he sought the
realization, those of the future which
disquieted him more than all!
But in these rough trials, the reason and,=
in
consequence, the reasoning
which naturally flows from it, were little=
by
little freed from the
limbo in which they had hitherto slept.
Godfrey was resolved to strive
against his ill-luck, and to do all he cou=
ld
to get out of his
difficulties. If he escaped, the lesson wo=
uld
certainly not be lost on
him for the future.
At daybreak he was astir, with the intenti=
on
of proceeding to a more
complete installation. The question of foo=
d,
above all that of fire,
which was connected with it, occupied the
first place; then there were
tools or arms to make, clothes to procure,
unless they were anxious of
soon appearing attired in Polynesian costu=
me.
Tartlet still slumbered. You could not see=
him
in the shadow, but you
could hear him. That poor man, spared from=
the
wreck, remained as
frivolous at forty-five as his pupil had
formerly been. He was a gain
in no sense. He even might be considered an
incubus, for he had to be
cared for in all ways. But he was a compan=
ion!
He was worth more in that than the most
intelligent dog, although he was
probably of less use! He was a creature ab=
le
to talk--although only at
random; to converse--if the matter were ne=
ver
serious; to complain--and
this he did most frequently! As it was,
Godfrey was able to hear a human
voice. That was worth more than the parrot=
's
in Robinson Crusoe! Even
with a Tartlet he would not be alone, and
nothing was so disheartening
as the thought of absolute solitude.
"Crusoe before Friday, Crusoe after
Friday; what a difference!" thought
he.
However, on this morning, that of June 29t=
h,
Godfrey was not sorry to be
alone, so as to put into execution his pro=
ject
of exploring the group of
sequoias. Perhaps he would be fortunate en=
ough
to discover some fruit,
some edible root, which he could bring
back--to the extreme satisfaction
of the professor. And so he left Tartlet to
his dreams, and set out.
A light fog still shrouded the shore and t=
he
sea, but already it had
commenced to lift in the north and east un=
der
the influence of the solar
rays, which little by little were condensi=
ng
it. The day promised to be
fine. Godfrey, after having cut himself a =
substantial
walking-stick,
went for two miles along that part of the
beach which he did not know,
and whose return formed the outstretched p=
oint
of Phina Island.
There he made a first meal of shell-fish,
mussels, clams, and especially
some capital little oysters which he found=
in
great abundance.
"If it comes to the worst," he s=
aid
to himself, "we need never die of
hunger! Here are thousands of dozens of
oysters to satisfy the calls of
the most imperious stomach! If Tartlet
complains, it is because he does
not like mollusks! Well, he will have to l=
ike
them!"
Decidedly, if the oyster did not absolutely
replace bread and meat, it
furnished an aliment in no whit less nutri=
tive
and in a condition
capable of being absorbed in large quantit=
ies.
But as this mollusk is of
very easy digestion, it is somewhat danger=
ous
in its use, to say nothing
of its abuse.
This breakfast ended, Godfrey again seized=
his
stick, and struck off
obliquely towards the south-east, so as to
walk up the right bank of the
stream. In this direction, he would cross =
the
prairie up to the groups
of trees observed the night before beyond =
the
long lines of shrubs and
underwood, which he wished to carefully
examine.
Godfrey then advanced in this direction for
about two miles. He
followed the bank of the stream, carpeted =
with
short herbage and smooth
as velvet. Flocks of aquatic birds noisily
flew round this being, who,
new to them, had come to trouble their dom=
ain.
Fish of many kinds were
seen darting about in the limpid waters of=
the
brook, here abouts some
four or five yards wide.
It was evident that there would be no
difficulty in catching these fish,
but how to cook them? Always this insoluble
question!
Fortunately, when Godfrey reached the first
line of shrubs he recognized
two sorts of fruits or roots. One sort had=
to
pass through the fiery
trial before being eaten, the other was ed=
ible
in its natural state. Of
these two vegetables the American Indians =
make
constant use.
The first was a shrub of the kind called
"camas," which thrives even in
lands unfit for culture. With these onion-=
like
roots, should it not be
found preferable to treat them as potatoes,
there is made a sort of
flour very rich and glutinous. But either =
way,
they have to be subjected
to a certain cooking, or drying.
The other bush produces a species of bulb =
of
oblong form, bearing the
indigenous name of "yamph," and =
if
it possesses less nutritive
principles than the camas, it is much the
better for one thing,--it can
be eaten raw.
Godfrey, highly pleased at his discovery, =
at
once satisfied his hunger
on a few of these excellent roots, and not
forgetting Tartlet's
breakfast, collected a large bundle, and
throwing it over his shoulder,
retook the road to Will Tree.
That he was well received on his arrival w=
ith
the crop of yamphs need
not be insisted on. The professor greedily
regaled himself, and his
pupil had to caution him to be moderate.
"Ah!" he said. "We have got
some roots to-day. Who knows whether we
shall have any to-morrow?"
"Without any doubt," replied
Godfrey, "to-morrow and the day after, and
always. There is only the trouble of going=
and
fetching them."
"Well, Godfrey, and the camas?"<= o:p>
"Of the camas we will make flour and
bread when we have got a fire."
"Fire!" exclaimed the professor,
shaking his head. "Fire! And how shall
we make it?"
"I don't know yet, but somehow or oth=
er
we will get at it."
"May Heaven hear you, my dear Godfrey!
And when I think that there are
so many fellows in this world who have only
got to rub a bit of wood on
the sole of their boot to get it, it annoys
me! No! Never would I have
believed that ill-luck would have reduced =
me
to this state! You need
not take three steps down Montgomery Stree=
t,
before you will meet with a
gentleman, cigar in mouth, who thinks it a
pleasure to give you a light,
and here--"
"Here we are not in San Francisco,
Tartlet, nor in Montgomery Street,
and I think it would be wiser for us not to
reckon on the kindness of
those we meet!"
"But, why is cooking necessary for br=
ead
and meat? Why did not nature
make us so that we might live upon
nothing?"
"That will come, perhaps!" answe=
red
Godfrey with a good-humoured smile.
"Do you think so?"
"I think that our scientists are prob=
ably
working out the subject."
"Is it possible! And how do they star=
t on
their research as to this new
mode of alimentation?"
"On this line of reasoning,"
answered Godfrey, "as the functions of
digestion and respiration are connected, t=
he
endeavour is to substitute
one for the other. Hence the day when
chemistry has made the aliments
necessary for the food of man capable of
assimilation by respiration,
the problem will be solved. There is nothi=
ng
wanted beyond rendering the
air nutritious. You will breathe your dinn=
er
instead of eating it, that
is all!"
"Ah! Is it not a pity that this preci=
ous
discovery is not yet made!"
exclaimed the professor. "How cheerfu=
lly
would I breathe half a dozen
sandwiches and a silverside of beef, just =
to
give me an appetite!"
And Tartlet plunged into a semi-sensuous
reverie, in which he beheld
succulent atmospheric dinners, and at them
unconsciously opened his
mouth and breathed his lungs full, oblivio=
us
that he had scarcely the
wherewithal to feed upon in the ordinary w=
ay.
Godfrey roused him from his meditation, and
brought him back to the
present. He was anxious to proceed to a mo=
re
complete installation in
the interior of Will Tree.
The first thing to do was to clean up their
future dwelling-place. It
was at the outset necessary to bring out
several bushels of that
vegetable dust which covered the ground an=
d in
which they sank almost up
to their knees. Two hours' work hardly
sufficed to complete this
troublesome task, but at length the chamber
was clear of the pulverulent
bed, which rose in clouds at the slightest
movement.
The ground was hard and firm, as if floored
with joists, the large roots
of the sequoia ramifying over its surface.=
It
was uneven but solid. Two
corners were selected for the beds and of
these several bundles of
herbage, thoroughly dried in the sun, were=
to
form the materials. As for
other furniture, benches, stools, or table=
s,
it was not impossible to
make the most indispensable things, for
Godfrey had a capital knife,
with its saw and gimlet. The companions wo=
uld
have to keep inside during
rough weather, and they could eat and work
there. Daylight did not fail
them, for it streamed through the opening.
Later on, if it became
necessary to close this aperture for great=
er
safety, Godfrey could try
and pierce one or two embrasures in the ba=
rk
of the sequoia to serve as
windows.
As for discovering to what height the open=
ing
ran up into the trunk,
Godfrey could not do so without a light. A=
ll
that he could do was to
find out with the aid of a pole ten or twe=
lve
feet long, held above his
head, that he could not touch the top.
The question, however, was not an urgent o=
ne.
It would be solved
eventually.
The day passed in these labours, which were
not ended at sunset. Godfrey
and Tartlet, tired as they were, found the=
ir
novel bed-clothes formed of
the dried herbage, of which they had an am=
ple
supply, most excellent;
but they had to drive away the poultry who
would willingly have roosted
in the interior of Will Tree. Then occurre=
d to
Godfrey the idea of
constructing a poultry-house in some other
sequoia, as, to keep them out
of the common room, he was building up a
hurdle of brushwood.
Fortunately neither the sheep nor the
agouties, nor the goats
experienced the like temptation. These ani=
mals
remained quietly outside,
and had no fancy to get through the
insufficient barrier.
The following days were employed in differ=
ent
jobs, in fitting up the
house or bringing in food; eggs and shell-=
fish
were collected, yamph
roots and manzanilla apples were brought i=
n,
and oysters, for which each
morning they went to the bank or the shore.
All this took time, and the
hours passed away quickly.
The "dinner things" consisted no=
w of
large bivalve shells, which served
for dishes or plates. It is true that for =
the
kind of food to which the
hosts of Will Tree were reduced, others we=
re
not needed.
There was also the washing of the linen in=
the
clear water of the
stream, which occupied the leisure of Tart=
let.
It was to him that this
task fell; but he only had to see to the t=
wo
shirts, two handkerchiefs,
and two pairs of socks, which composed the
entire wardrobe of both.
While this operation was in progress, Godf=
rey
and Tartlet had to wear
only waistcoat and trousers, but in the
blazing sun of that latitude the
clothes quickly dried. And so matters went=
on
without either rain or
wind till July 3rd. Already they had begun=
to
be fairly comfortable in
their new home, considering the condition =
in
which they had been cast on
the island.
However, it was advisable not to neglect t=
he
chances of safety which
might come from without. Each day Godfrey
examined the whole sector of
sea which extended from the east to the
north-west beyond the
promontory.
This part of the Pacific was always desert=
ed.
Not a vessel, not a
fishing-boat, not a ribbon of smoke detach=
ing
itself from the horizon,
proclaimed the passage of a steamer. It se=
emed
that Phina Island was
situated out of the way of all the itinera=
ries
of commerce. All they
could do was to wait, trusting in the Almi=
ghty
who never abandons the
weak.
Meanwhile, when their immediate necessities
allowed them leisure,
Godfrey, incited by Tartlet, returned to t=
hat
important and vexed
question of the fire.
He tried at first to replace amadou, which=
he
so unfortunately lacked,
by another and analogous material. It was
possible that some of the
varieties of mushrooms which grew in the
crevices of the old trees,
after having been subjected to prolonged
drying, might be transformed
into a combustible substance.
Many of these mushrooms were collected and
exposed to the direct action
of the sun, until they were reduced to pow=
der.
Then with the back of his
knife, Godfrey endeavoured to strike some
sparks off with a flint, so
that they might fall on this substance. It=
was
useless. The spongy
stuff would not catch fire. Godfrey then t=
ried
to use that fine
vegetable dust, dried during so many
centuries, which he had found in
the interior of Will Tree. The result was
equally discouraging.
In desperation he then, by means of his kn=
ife
and flint, strove to
secure the ignition of a sort of sponge wh=
ich
grew under the rocks. He
fared no better. The particle of steel,
lighted by the impact of the
silex, fell on to the substance, but went =
out
immediately. Godfrey and
Tartlet were in despair. To do without fire
was impossible. Of their
fruits and mollusks they were getting tire=
d,
and their stomachs began to
revolt at such food. They eyed, the profes=
sor
especially, the sheep,
agouties, and fowls which went and came ro=
und
Will Tree. The pangs of
hunger seized them as they gazed. With the=
ir
eyes they ate the living
meat!
No! It could not go on like this!
But an unexpected circumstance, a providen=
tial
one if you will, came to
their aid.
In the night of the 3rd of July the weathe=
r,
which had been on the
change for a day or so, grew stormy, after=
an
oppressive heat which the
sea-breeze had been powerless to temper.
Godfrey and Tartlet at about one o'clock in
the morning were awakened by
heavy claps of thunder, and most vivid fla=
shes
of lightning. It did not
rain as yet, but it soon promised to do so,
and then regular cataracts
would be precipitated from the cloudy zone,
owing to the rapid
condensation of the vapour.
Godfrey got up and went out so as to obser=
ve
the state of the sky.
There seemed quite a conflagration above t=
he
domes of the giant trees
and the foliage appeared on fire against t=
he
sky, like the fine network
of a Chinese shadow.
Suddenly, in the midst of the general upro=
ar,
a vivid flash illuminated
the atmosphere. The thunder-clap followed
immediately, and Will Tree was
permeated from top to bottom with the elec=
tric
force.
Godfrey, staggered by the return shock, st=
ood
in the midst of a rain of
fire which showered around him. The lightn=
ing
had ignited the dry
branches above him. They were incandescent
particles of carbon which
crackled at his feet.
Godfrey with a shout awoke his companion.<= o:p>
"Fire! Fire!"
"Fire!" answered Tartlet.
"Blessed be Heaven which sends it to us!"
Instantly they possessed themselves of the
flaming twigs, of which some
still burned, while others had been consum=
ed
in the flames. Hurriedly,
at the same time, did they heap together a
quantity of dead wood such
as was never wanting at the foot of the
sequoia, whose trunk had not
been touched by the lightning.
Then they returned into their gloomy
habitation as the rain, pouring
down in sheets, extinguished the fire which
threatened to devour the
upper branches of Will Tree.
IN WHICH GODFREY AGAIN SEES A SLIGHT SMOKE
OVER ANOTHER PART OF THE
ISLAND.
That was a storm which came just when it w=
as
wanted! Godfrey and Tartlet
had not, like Prometheus, to venture into
space to bring down the
celestial fire! "It was," said
Tartlet, "as if the sky had been obliging
enough to send it down to them on a lightn=
ing
flash."
With them now remained the task of keeping=
it!
"No! we must not let it go out!"
Godfrey had said.
"Not until the wood fails us to feed
it!" had responded Tartlet, whose
satisfaction showed itself in little cries=
of
joy.
"Yes! but who will keep it in?"<= o:p>
"I! I will! I will watch it day and
night, if necessary," replied
Tartlet, brandishing a flaming bough.
And he did so till the sun rose.
Dry wood, as we have said, abounded beneath
the sequoias. Until the dawn
Godfrey and the professor, after heaping u=
p a
considerable stock, did
not spare to feed the fire. By the foot of=
one
of the large trees in a
narrow space between the roots the flames
leapt up, crackling clearly
and joyously. Tartlet exhausted his lungs
blowing away at it, although
his doing so was perfectly useless. In this
performance he assumed the
most characteristic attitudes in following=
the
greyish smoke whose
wreaths were lost in the foliage above.
But it was not that they might admire it t=
hat
they had so longingly
asked for this indispensable fire, not to =
warm
themselves at it. It was
destined for a much more interesting use.
There was to be an end of
their miserable meals of raw mollusks and
yamph roots, whose nutritive
elements boiling water and simple cooking =
in
the ashes had never
developed. It was in this way that Godfrey=
and
Tartlet employed it
during the morning.
"We could eat a fowl or two!" ex=
claimed
Tartlet, whose jaws moved in
anticipation. "Not to mention an agou=
ti
ham, a leg of mutton, a quarter
of goat, some of the game on the prairie,
without counting two or three
freshwater fish and a sea fish or so."=
;
"Not so fast," answered Godfrey,=
whom
the declaration of this modest
bill of fare had put in good humour. "=
;We
need not risk indigestion to
satisfy a fast! We must look after our
reserves, Tartlet! Take a couple
of fowls--one apiece--and if we want bread=
, I
hope that our camsa roots
can be so prepared as to replace it with
advantage!" This cost the lives
of two innocent hens, who, plucked, trusse=
d,
and dressed by the
professor, were stuck on a stick, and soon
roasted before the crackling
flames.
Meanwhile, Godfrey was getting the camas r=
oots
in a state to figure
creditably at the first genuine breakfast =
on
Phina Island. To render
them edible it was only necessary to follow
the Indian method, which the
Californians were well acquainted with.
This was what Godfrey did.
A few flat stones selected from the beach =
were
thrown in the fire so as
to get intensely hot. Tartlet seemed to th=
ink
it a great shame to use
such a good fire "to cook stones
with," but as it did not hinder the
preparation of his fowls in any way he had=
no
other complaint to make.
While the stones were getting warm Godfrey
selected a piece of ground
about a yard square from which he tore up =
the
grass; then with his hands
armed with large scallop shells he dug the
soil to the depth of about
ten inches. That done he laid at the botto=
m of
the cavity a fire of dry
wood, which he so arranged as to communica=
te
to the earth heaped up at
its bottom some considerable heat.
When all the wood had been consumed and the
cinders taken away, the
camas roots, previously cleaned and scrape=
d,
were strewn in the hole, a
thin layer of sods thrown over them and the
glowing stones placed on the
top, so as to serve as the basis of a new =
fire
which was lighted on
their surface.
In fact, it was a kind of oven which had b=
een
prepared; and in a very
short time--about half an hour or so--the
operation was at an end.
Beneath the double layer of stones and sods
lay the roots cooked by this
violent heating. On crushing them there was
obtainable a flour well
fitted for making into bread, but, even ea=
ten
as they were, they proved
much like potatoes of highly nutritive
quality.
It was thus that this time the roots were
served and we leave our
readers to imagine what a breakfast our two
friends made on the chickens
which they devoured to the very bones, and=
on
the excellent camas roots,
of which they had no need to be sparing. T=
he
field was not far off where
they grew in abundance. They could be pick=
ed
up in hundreds by simply
stooping down for them.
The repast over, Godfrey set to work to
prepare some of the flour, which
keeps for any length of time, and which co=
uld
be transformed into bread
for their daily wants.
The day was passed in different occupation=
s.
The fire was kept up with
great care. Particularly was the fuel heap=
ed
on for the night; and
Tartlet, nevertheless, arose on many occas=
ions
to sweep the ashes
together and provoke a more active combust=
ion.
Having done this, he
would go to bed again, to get up as soon as
the fire burnt low, and thus
he occupied himself till the day broke. The
night passed without
incident, the cracklings of the fire and t=
he
crow of the cock awoke
Godfrey and his companion, who had ended h=
is
performances by falling off
to sleep.
At first Godfrey was surprised at feeling a
current of air coming down
from above in the interior of Will Tree. He
was thus led to think that
the sequoia was hollow up to the junction =
of
the lower branches where
there was an opening which they would have=
to
stop up if they wished to
be snug and sheltered.
"But it is very singular!" said
Godfrey to himself.
"How was it that during the preceding
nights I did not feel this current
of air? Could it have been the
lightning?"
And to get an answer to this question, the
idea occurred to him to
examine the trunk of the sequoia from the =
out
side.
When he had done so, he understood what had
happened during the storm.
The track of the lightning was visible on =
the
tree, which had had a
long strip of its bark torn off from the f=
ork
down to the roots.
Had the electric spark found its way into =
the
interior of the sequoia in
place of keeping to the outside, Godfrey a=
nd
his companion would have
been struck. Most decidedly they had had a
narrow escape.
"It is not a good thing to take refuge
under trees during a storm," said
Godfrey. "That is all very well for
people who can do otherwise. But
what way have we to avoid the danger who l=
ive
inside the tree? We must
see!"
Then examining the sequoia from the point
where the long lightning trace
began--"It is evident," said he,
"that where the flash struck the tree
has been cracked. But since the air penetr=
ates
by this orifice the tree
must be hollow along its whole length and =
only
lives in its bark? Now
that is what I ought to see about!"
And Godfrey went to look for a resinous pi=
ece
of wood that might do for
a torch.
A bundle of pine twigs furnished him with =
the
torch he needed, as from
them exuded a resin which, once inflamed, =
gave
forth a brilliant light.
Godfrey then entered the cavity which serv=
ed
him for his house. To
darkness immediately succeeded light, and =
it
was easy to see the state
of the interior of Will Tree. A sort of va=
ult
of irregular formation
stretched across in a ceiling some fifteen
feet above the ground.
Lifting his torch Godfrey distinctly saw t=
hat
into this there opened a
narrow passage whose further development w=
as
lost in the shadow. The
tree was evidently hollow throughout its
length; but perhaps some
portion of the alburnum still remained int=
act.
In that case, by the help
of the protuberances it would be possible =
if
not easy to get up to the
fork.
Godfrey, who was thinking of the future,
resolved to know without delay
if this were so.
He had two ends in view; one, to securely
close the opening by which the
rain and wind found admission, and so rend=
er
Will Tree almost habitable;
the other, to see if in case of danger, or=
an
attack from animals or
savages, the upper branches of the tree wo=
uld
not afford a convenient
refuge.
He could but try. If he encountered any
insurmountable obstacle in the
narrow passage, Godfrey could be got down
again.
After firmly sticking his torch between tw=
o of
the roots below, behold
him then commencing to raise himself on to=
the
first interior knots of
the bark. He was lithe, strong, and accust=
omed
to gymnastics like all
young Americans. It was only sport to him.
Soon he had reached in this
uneven tube a part much narrower, in which,
with the aid of his back and
knees, he could work his way upwards like a
chimney-sweep. All he feared
was that the hole would not continue large
enough for him to get up.
However, he kept on, and each time he reac=
hed
a projection he would stop
and take breath.
Three minutes after leaving the ground,
Godfrey had mounted about sixty
feet, and consequently could only have abo=
ut
twenty feet further to go.
In fact, he already felt the air blowing m=
ore
strongly on his face. He
inhaled it greedily, for the atmosphere in=
side
the sequoia was not,
strictly speaking, particularly fresh.
After resting for a minute, and shaking off
the fine dust which he had
rubbed on to him off the wall, Godfrey sta=
rted
again up the long tunnel,
which gradually narrowed.
But at this moment his attention was attra=
cted
by a peculiar noise,
which appeared to him somewhat suspicious.
There was a sound as of
scratching, up the tree. Almost immediatel=
y a
sort of hissing was heard.
Godfrey stopped.
"What is that?" he asked. "=
Some
animal taken refuge in the sequoia? Was
it a snake? No! We have not yet seen one on
the island! Perhaps it is a
bird that wants to get out!"
Godfrey was not mistaken; and as he contin=
ued
to mount, a cawing,
followed by a rapid flapping of wings, sho=
wed
him that it was some bird
ensconced in the tree whose sleep he was
doubtless disturbing.
Many a "frrr-frrr!" which he gave
out with the whole power of his lungs,
soon determined the intruder to clear off.=
It proved to be a kind of jackdaw, of huge
stature, which scuttled out
of the opening, and disappeared into the
summit of Will Tree.
A few seconds afterwards, Godfrey's head
appeared through the same
opening, and he soon found himself quite at
his ease, installed on a
fork of the tree where the lower branches =
gave
off, at about eighty feet
from the ground.
There, as has been said, the enormous stem=
of
the sequoia supported
quite a forest. The capricious network of =
its
upper boughs presented the
aspect of a wood crowded with trees, which=
no
gap rendered passable.
However, Godfrey managed, not without
difficulty, to get along from one
branch to another, so as to gain little by
little the upper story of
this vegetable phenomenon.
A number of birds with many a cry flew off=
at
his approach, and hastened
to take refuge in the neighbouring members=
of
the group, above which
Will Tree towered by more than a head.
Godfrey continued to climb as well as he
could, and did not stop until
the ends of the higher branches began to b=
end
beneath his weight.
A huge horizon of water surrounded Phina
Island, which lay unrolled like
a relief-map at his feet. Greedily his eyes
examined that portion of the
sea. It was still deserted. He had to conc=
lude
once more, that the
island lay away from the trade routes of t=
he
Pacific.
Godfrey uttered a heavy sigh; then his look
fell on the narrow domain on
which fate had condemned him to live,
doubtless for long, perhaps for
ever.
But what was his surprise when he saw, this
time away to the north, a
smoke similar to that which he had already
thought he had seen in the
south. He watched it with the keenest
attention.
[Illustration: There was the column of smo=
ke.
page 152]
A very light vapour, calm and pure, greyish
blue at its tip, rose
straight in the air.
"No! I am not mistaken!" exclaim=
ed
Godfrey. "There is a smoke, and
therefore a fire which produces it! And th=
at
fire could not have been
lighted except by--By whom?"
Godfrey then with extreme precision took t=
he
bearings of the spot in
question.
The smoke was rising in the north-east of =
the
island, amid the high
rocks which bordered the beach. There was =
no
mistake about that. It was
less than five miles from Will Tree. Strik=
ing
straight to the north-east
across the prairie, and then following the
shore, he could not fail
to find the rocks above which the vapour r=
ose.
With beating heart Godfrey made his way do=
wn
the scaffolding of branches
until he reached the fork. There he stoppe=
d an
instant to clear off the
moss and leaves which clung to him, and th=
at
done he slid down the
opening, which he enlarged as much as
possible, and rapidly gained the
ground. A word to Tartlet not to be uneasy=
at
his absence, and Godfrey
hastened off in the north-easterly directi=
on
so as to reach the shore.
It was a two hours' walk across the verdant
prairie, through clumps of
scattered trees, or hedges of spiny shrubs,
and then along the beach. At
length the last chain of rocks was reached=
.
But the smoke which Godfrey had seen from =
the
top of the tree he
searched for in vain when he had reached t=
he
ground. As he had taken the
bearings of the spot with great care, he c=
ame
towards it without any
mistake.
There Godfrey began his search. He careful=
ly
explored every nook and
corner of this part of the shore. He calle=
d.
No one answered to his
shout. No human being appeared on the beac=
h.
Not a rock gave him a trace
of a newly lighted fire--nor of a fire now
extinct, which could have
been fed by sea herbs and dry algæ
thrown up by the tide.
"But it is impossible that I should h=
ave
been mistaken!" repeated
Godfrey to himself. "I am sure it was
smoke that I saw! And besides!--"
As Godfrey could not admit that he had been
the dupe of a delusion, he
began to think that there must exist some =
well
of heated water, or kind
of intermittent geyser, which he could not
exactly find, but which had
given forth the vapour.
There was nothing to show that in the isla=
nd
there were not many of such
natural wells, and the apparition of the
column of smoke could be easily
explained by so simple a geological
phenomenon.
Godfrey left the shore and returned towards
Will Tree, observing the
country as he went along a little more
carefully than he had done as he
came. A few ruminants showed themselves,
amongst others some wapiti, but
they dashed past with such speed that it w=
as
impossible to get near
them.
In about four hours Godfrey got back. Just
before he reached the tree he
heard the shrill "twang! squeak!"=
; of
the kit, and soon found himself
face to face with Professor Tartlet, who, =
in
the attitude of a vestal,
was watching the sacred fire confided to h=
is
keeping.
WHEREIN GODFREY FINDS SOME WRECKAGE, TO WH=
ICH
HE AND HIS COMPANION GIVE
A HEARTY WELCOME.
To put up with what you cannot avoid is a
philosophical principle, that
may not perhaps lead you to the accomplish=
ment
of great deeds, but is
assuredly eminently practical. On this
principle Godfrey had resolved to
act for the future. If he had to live in t=
his
island, the wisest thing
for him to do was to live there as comfort=
ably
as possible until an
opportunity offered for him to leave it.
And so, without delay, he set to work to g=
et
the interior of Will Tree
into some order. Cleanliness was of the fi=
rst
importance. The beds of
dried grass were frequently renewed. The
plates and dishes were only
scallop shells, it is true, but no American
kitchen could show cleaner
ones. It should be said to his praise that
Professor Tartlet was a
capital washer. With the help of his knife
Godfrey, by flattening out a
large piece of bark, and sticking four
uprights into the ground, had
contrived a table in the middle of the roo=
m.
Some large stumps served
for stools. The comrades were no longer
reduced to eating on their
knees, when the weather prevented their di=
ning
in the open air.
There was still the question of clothing,
which was of great interest to
them, and they did the best they could. In
that climate, and under that
latitude, there was no reason why they sho=
uld
not go about half naked;
but, at length, trousers, waistcoat, and l=
inen
shirt were all worn out.
How could they replace them? Were the sheep
and the goats to provide
them with skins for clothing, after furnis=
hing
them with flesh for food?
It looked like it. Meanwhile, Godfrey had =
the
few garments he possessed
frequently washed. It was on Tartlet,
transformed into a laundress, that
this task fell, and he acquitted himself o=
f it
to the general
satisfaction.
Godfrey busied himself specially in provid=
ing
food, and in arranging
matters generally. He was, in fact, the ca=
terer.
Collecting the edible
roots and the manzanilla fruit occupied him
some hours every day; and so
did fishing with plaited rushes, sometimes=
in
the waters of the stream,
and sometimes in the hollows of the rocks =
on
the beach when the tide had
gone out. The means were primitive, no dou=
bt,
but from time to time a
fine crustacean or a succulent fish figure=
d on
the table of Will Tree,
to say nothing of the mollusks, which were
easily caught by hand.
But we must confess that the pot--of all t=
he
pieces in the battery of
the cook undoubtedly the most essential--t=
he
simple iron pot, was
wanting. Its absence could not but be deep=
ly
felt. Godfrey knew not how
to replace the vulgar pipkin, whose use is
universal. No hash, no stew,
no boiled meat, no fish, nothing but roasts
and grills. No soup appeared
at the beginning of a meal. Constantly and
bitterly did Tartlet
complain--but how to satisfy the poor man?=
Godfrey was busied with other cares. In
visiting the different trees of
the group he had found a second sequoia of
great height, of which the
lower part, hollowed out by the weather, w=
as
very rugged and uneven.
Here he devised his poultry-house, and in =
it
the fowls took up their
abode. The hens soon became accustomed to
their home, and settled
themselves to set on eggs placed in the dr=
ied
grass, and chickens began
to multiply. Every evening the broods were
driven in and shut up, so as
to keep them from birds of prey, who, alof=
t in
the branches, watched
their easy victims, and would, if they cou=
ld,
have ended by destroying
them.
As for the agoutis, the sheep, and the goa=
ts,
it would have been useless
then to have looked out a stable or a shel=
ter
for them. When the bad
weather came, there would be time enough to
see to that. Meanwhile they
prospered on the luxuriant pasturage of the
prairie, with its abundance
of sainfoin and edible roots, of which the
porcine representatives
showed genuine appreciation. A few kids had
been dropped since the
arrival in the island, and as much milk as
possible was left to the
goats with which to nourish their little o=
nes.
From all this it resulted that the
surroundings of Will Tree were quite
lively. The well-fed domestic animals came
during the warm hours of the
day to find there a refuge from the heat of
the sun. No fear was there
of their wandering abroad, or of their fal=
ling
a prey to wild beasts, of
which Phina Island seemed to contain not a
single specimen.
And so things went on, with a present fair=
ly
comfortable perhaps, but a
future very disquieting, when an unexpected
incident occurred which
bettered the position considerably.
It was on the 29th of July.
Godfrey was strolling in the morning along
that part of the shore which
formed the beach of the large bight to whi=
ch
he had given the name of
Dream Bay. He was exploring it to see if it
was as rich in shell-fish as
the coast on the north. Perhaps he still h=
oped
that he might yet come
across some of the wreck, of which it seem=
ed
to him so strange that the
tide had as yet brought in not a single
fragment.
On this occasion he had advanced to the
northern point which terminated
in a sandy spit, when his attention was
attracted by a rock of curious
shape, rising near the last group of
algæ and sea-weeds.
A strange presentiment made him hasten his
steps. What was his surprise,
and his joy, when he saw that what he had
taken for a rock was a box,
half buried in the sand.
Was it one of the packages of the Dream? H=
ad
it been here ever since
the wreck? Was it not rather all that rema=
ined
of another and more
recent catastrophe? It was difficult to sa=
y.
In any case no matter
whence it came or what it held, the box wa=
s a
valuable prize.
Godfrey examined it outwardly. There was no
trace of an address not even
a name, not even one of those huge initials
cut out of thin sheet metal
which ornament the boxes of the Americans.
Perhaps he would find inside
it some paper which would indicate the ori=
gin,
or nationality, or name
of the proprietor? Any how it was apparent=
ly
hermetically sealed, and
there was hope that its contents had not b=
een
spoiled by their sojourn
in the sea-water. It was a very strong woo=
den
box, covered with thick
leather, with copper corner plates at the
angles, and large straps all
over it.
Impatient as he was to view the contents of
the box, Godfrey did not
think of damaging it, but of opening it af=
ter
destroying the lock; as to
transporting it from the bottom of Dream B=
ay
to Will Tree, its weight
forbade it, and he never gave that a thoug=
ht.
"Well," said Godfrey to himself,
"we must empty it where it is, and make
as many journeys as may be necessary to ta=
ke
away all that is inside."
It was about four miles from the end of the
promontory to the group of
sequoias. It would therefore take some tim=
e to
do this, and occasion
considerable fatigue. Time did not press,
however. As for the fatigue,
it was hardly worth thinking about.
What did the box contain? Before returning=
to
Will Tree, Godfrey had a
try at opening it.
He began by unbuckling the straps, and once
they were off he very
carefully lifted the leather shield which =
protected
the lock. But how
was he to force it?
It was a difficult job. Godfrey had no lev=
er
with which to bring his
strength to bear. He had to guard against =
the
risk of breaking his
knife, and so he looked about for a heavy
stone with which he could
start the staple.
The beach was strewn with lumps of hard si=
lex
in every form which could
do for a hammer.
Godfrey picked out one as thick as his wri=
st,
and with it he gave a
tremendous whack on the plate of copper.
To his extreme surprise the bolt shot thro=
ugh
the staple immediately
gave way.
Either the staple was broken by the blow, =
or
the lock was not turned.
Godfrey's heart beat high as he stooped to
lift up the box lid.
It rose unchecked, and in truth had Godfrey
had to get it to pieces he
would not have done so without trouble. The
trunk was a regular
strong-box. The interior was lined with sh=
eet
zinc, so that the
sea-water had failed to penetrate. The obj=
ects
it contained, however
delicate they might be, would be found in a
perfect state of
preservation.
And what objects! As he took them out Godf=
rey
could not restrain
exclamations of joy! Most assuredly the box
must have belonged to some
highly practical traveller, who had reckon=
ed
on getting into a country
where he would have to trust to his own re=
sources.
In the first place there was linen--shirts,
table-cloths, sheets,
counterpanes; then clothes--woollen jersey=
s,
woollen socks, cotton
socks, cloth trousers, velveteen trousers,
knitted waistcoats,
waistcoats of good heavy stuffs; then two
pairs of strong boots, and
hunting-shoes and felt hats.
Then came a few kitchen and toilet utensil=
s;
and an iron pot--the famous
pot which was wanted so badly--a kettle, a
coffee-pot, a tea-pot, some
spoons, some forks, some knives, a
looking-glass, and brushes of all
kinds, and, what was by no means to be
despised, three cans, containing
about fifteen pints of brandy and tafia, a=
nd
several pounds of tea and
coffee.
Then, in the third place, came some tools-=
-an
auger, a gimlet, a
handsaw, an assortment of nails and brads,=
a
spade, a shovel, a pickaxe,
a hatchet, an adze, &c., &c.
In the fourth place, there were some weapo=
ns,
two hunting-knives in
their leather sheaths, a carbine and two
muskets, three six-shooter
revolvers, a dozen pounds of powder, many
thousand caps, and an
important stock of lead and bullets, all t=
he
arms seeming to be of
English make. There was also a small
medicine-chest, a telescope, a
compass, and a chronometer. There were als=
o a
few English books, several
quires of blank paper, pencils, pens, and =
ink,
an almanac, a Bible with
a New York imprint, and a "Complete
Cook's Manual."
Verily this is an inventory of what under =
the
circumstances was an
inestimable prize.
Godfrey could not contain himself for joy.=
Had
he expressly ordered the
trousseau for the use of shipwrecked folks=
in
difficulties, he could not
have made it more complete.
Abundant thanks were due for it to Provide=
nce.
And Providence had the
thanks, and from an overflowing heart.
Godfrey indulged himself in the pleasure of
spreading out all his
treasure on the beach. Every object was lo=
oked
over, but not a scrap of
paper was there in the box to indicate to =
whom
it belonged, or the ship
on which it had been embarked.
Around, the sea showed no signs of a recent
wreck.
Nothing was there on the rocks, nothing on=
the
sands. The box must have
been brought in by the flood, after being
afloat for perhaps many days.
In fact, its size in proportion to its wei=
ght
had assured for it
sufficient buoyancy.
The two inhabitants of Phina Island would =
for
some time be kept provided
in a large measure with the material wants=
of
life,--tools, arms,
instruments, utensils, clothes--due to the
luckiest of chances.
Godfrey did not dream of taking all the th=
ings
to Will Tree at once.
Their transport would necessitate several
journeys but he would have to
make haste for fear of bad weather.
Godfrey then put back most of the things in
the box. A gun, a revolver,
a certain quantity of powder and lead, a
hunting-knife, the telescope,
and the iron pot, he took as his first loa=
d.
The box was carefully closed and strapped =
up,
and with a rapid step
Godfrey strode back along the shore.
Ah! What a reception he had from Tartlet, =
an
hour later! And the delight
of the Professor when his pupil ran over t=
he
list of their new riches!
The pot--that pot above everything--threw =
him
into transports of joy,
culminating in a series of
"hornpipes" and "cellar-flaps," wound up by a
triumphant "six-eight breakdown."=
;
It was only noon as yet. Godfrey wished af=
ter
the meal to get back at
once to Dream Bay. He would never rest unt=
il
the whole was in safety at
Will Tree.
Tartlet made no objection, and declared
himself ready to start. It was
no longer necessary to watch the fire. With
the powder they could always
get a light. But the Professor was desirous
that during their absence
the soup which he was thinking about might=
be
kept gently on the simmer.
The wonderful pot was soon filled with wat=
er
from the stream, a whole
quarter of a goat was thrown in, accompani=
ed
by a dozen yamph roots, to
take the place of vegetables, and then a p=
inch
or two of salt found in
the crevices of the rocks gave seasoning to
the mixture.
"It must skim itself," exclaimed
Tartlet, who seemed highly satisfied
at his performance.
And off they started for Dream Bay by the
shortest road. The box had not
been disturbed. Godfrey opened it with car=
e.
Amid a storm of admiring
exclamations from Tartlet, he began to pick
out the things.
In this first journey Godfrey and his
companion, transformed into beasts
of burden, carried away to Will Tree the a=
rms,
the ammunition, and a
part of the wearing apparel.
Then they rested from their fatigue beside=
the
table, on which there
smoked the stewed agouti, which they
pronounced most excellent. As for
the meat, to listen to the Professor it wo=
uld
have been difficult even
to imagine anything more exquisite! Oh! the
marvellous effect of
privation!
On the 30th, the next day, Godfrey and Tar=
tlet
set forth at dawn, and in
three other journeys succeeded in emptying=
and
carrying away all that
the box contained. Before the evening, too=
ls,
weapons, instruments,
utensils, were all brought, arranged, and
stowed away in Will Tree.
On the 1st of August, the box itself, drag=
ged
along the beach not
without difficulty, found a place in the t=
ree,
and was transformed into
a linen-closet.
Tartlet, with the fickleness of his mind, =
now
looked upon the future
through none but rosy glasses. We can hard=
ly
feel astonished then that
on this day, with his kit in his hand, he =
went
out to find his pupil,
and said to him in all seriousness, as if =
he
were in the drawing-room of
Kolderup's mansion,--
"Well, Godfrey, my boy, don't you thi=
nk
it is time to resume our dancing
lessons?"
IN WHICH THERE HAPPENS WHAT HAPPENS AT LEA=
ST
ONCE IN THE LIFE OF EVERY
CRUSOE, REAL OR IMAGINARY.
And now the future looked less gloomy. But=
if
Tartlet saw in the
possession of the instruments, the tools, =
and
the weapons only the means
of making their life of isolation a little
more agreeable, Godfrey was
already thinking of how to escape from Phi=
na
Island. Could he not now
construct a vessel strong enough to enable
them to reach if not some
neighbouring land, at least some ship pass=
ing
within sight of the
island?
Meanwhile the weeks which followed were
principally spent in carrying
out not these ideas, but those of Tartlet.=
The
wardrobe at Will Tree was
now replenished, but it was decided to use=
it
with all the discretion
which the uncertainty of the future requir=
ed.
Never to wear any of the
clothes unless necessity compelled him to =
do
so, was the rule to which
the professor was forced to submit.
"What is the good of that?" grum=
bled
he. "It is a great deal too
stingy, my dear Godfrey! Are we savages, t=
hat
we should go about half
naked?"
"I beg your pardon, Tartlet,"
replied Godfrey; "we are savages, and
nothing else."
"As you please; but you will see that=
we
shall leave the island before
we have worn the clothes!"
"I know nothing about it, Tartlet, an=
d it
is better to have than to
want."
"But on Sunday now, surely on Sunday,=
we
might dress up a little?"
"Very well, on Sundays then, and perh=
aps
on public holidays," answered
Godfrey, who did not wish to anger his
frivolous companion; "but as to
day is Monday we shall have to wait a whole
week before we come out in
our best."
We need hardly mention that from the momen=
t he
arrived on the island
Godfrey had not omitted to mark each day a=
s it
passed. By the aid of the
calendar he found in the box he was able to
verify that the day was
really Monday.
Each performed his daily task according to=
his
ability. It was no longer
necessary for them to keep watch by day and
night over a fire which they
had now the means of relighting.
Tartlet therefore abandoned, not without
regret, a task which suited
him so well. Henceforwards he took charge =
of
the provisioning with yamph
and camas roots--of that in short which fo=
rmed
the daily bread of the
establishment, so that the professor went
every day and collected them,
up to the lines of shrubs with which the
prairie was bordered behind
Will Tree. It was one or two miles to walk,
but he accustomed himself to
it. Between whiles he occupied his time in
collecting oysters or other
mollusks, of which they consumed a great
quantity.
Godfrey reserved for himself the care of t=
he
domestic animals and the
poultry. The butchering trade was hardly to
his taste, but he soon
overcame his repugnance. Thanks to him, bo=
iled
meats appeared frequently
on the table, followed by an occasional jo=
int
of roast meat to afford a
sufficiently varied bill of fare. Game
abounded in the woods of Phina
Island, and Godfrey proposed to begin his
shooting when other more
pressing cares allowed him time. He though=
t of
making good use of the
guns, powder, and bullets in his arsenal, =
but
he in the first place
wished to complete his preparations. His t=
ools
enabled him to make
several benches inside and outside Will Tr=
ee.
The stools were cut out
roughly with the axe, the table made a lit=
tle
less roughly became more
worthy of the dishes and dinner things with
which Professor Tartlet
adorned it. The beds were arranged in wood=
en
boxes and their litter of
dry grass assumed a more inviting aspect. =
If
mattresses and palliasses
were still wanting, counterpanes at least =
were
not. The various cooking
utensils stood no longer on the ground, but
had their places on planks
fixed along the walls. Stores, linen, and
clothes were carefully put
away in cavities hollowed out in the bark =
of
the sequoia. From strong
pegs were suspended the arms and instrumen=
ts,
forming quite a trophy on
the walls.
Godfrey was also desirous of putting a doo=
r to
the house, so that the
other living creatures--the domestic
animals--should not come during the
night and trouble their sleep. As he could=
not
cut out boards with his
only saw, the handsaw, he used large and t=
hick
pieces of bark, which he
got off very easily. With these he made a =
door
sufficiently massive to
close the opening into Will Tree, at the s=
ame
time he made two little
windows, one opposite to the other, so as =
to
let light and air into the
room. Shutters allowed him to close them at
night, but from the morning
to the evening it was no longer necessary =
to
take refuge in flaring
resinous torches which filled the dwelling
with smoke. What Godfrey
would think of to yield them light during =
the
long nights of winter he
had as yet no idea. He might take to making
candles with the mutton fat,
or he might be contented with resinous tor=
ches
more carefully prepared.
We shall see.
Another of his anxieties was how to constr=
uct
a chimney in Will Tree.
While the fine weather lasted, the fire
outside among the roots of the
sequoia sufficed for all the wants of the
kitchen, but when the bad
weather came and the rain fell in torrents,
and they would have to
battle with the cold, whose extreme rigour
during a certain time they
reasonably feared, they would have to have=
a
fire inside their house,
and the smoke from it must have some vent.
This important question
therefore had to be settled.
One very useful work which Godfrey underto=
ok
was to put both banks of
the river in communication with each other=
on
the skirt of the
sequoia-trees.
He managed, after some difficulty, to driv=
e a
few stakes into the
river-bed, and on them he fixed a staging =
of
planks, which served for a
bridge. They could thus get away to the no=
rthern
shore without crossing
the ford, which led them a couple of miles=
out
of their road.
But if Godfrey took all these precautions =
so
as to make existence a
little more possible on this lone isle of =
the
Pacific, in case he and
his companion were destined to live on it =
for
some time, or perhaps live
on it for ever, he had no intention of
neglecting in any way the chances
of rescue.
Phina Island was not on the routes taken by
the ships--that was only too
evident. It offered no port of call, nor m=
eans
of revictualling. There
was nothing to encourage ships to take not=
ice
of it. At the same time
it was not impossible that a war-ship or a
merchant-vessel might come in
sight. It was advisable therefore to find =
some
way of attracting
attention, and showing that the island was
inhabited.
With this object Godfrey erected a flagsta=
ff
at the end of the cape
which ran out to the north, and for a flag=
he
sacrificed a piece of one
of the cloths found in the trunk. As he
thought that the white colour
would only be visible in a strong light, he
tried to stain his flag with
the berries of a sort of shrub which grew =
at
the foot of the dunes. He
obtained a very vivid red, which he could =
not
make indelible owing to
his having no mordant, but he could easily
re-dye the cloth when the
wind or rain had faded it.
These varied employments occupied him up to
the 15th of August. For many
weeks the sky had been constantly clear, w=
ith
the exception of two or
three storms of extreme violence which had
brought down a large quantity
of water, to be greedily drunk in by the s=
oil.
About this time Godfrey began his shooting
expeditions. But if he was
skilful enough in the use of the gun, he c=
ould
not reckon on Tartlet,
who had yet to fire his first shot.
Many days of the week did Godfrey devote to
the pursuit of fur and
feather, which, without being abundant, we=
re
yet plentiful enough for
the requirements of Will Tree.
A few partridges, some of the red-legged
variety, and a few snipes, came
as a welcome variation of the bill of fare.
Two or three antelopes fell
to the prowess of the young stalker; and
although he had had nothing to
do with their capture, the professor gave =
them
a no less welcome than he
did when they appeared as haunches and
cutlets.
But while he was out shooting, Godfrey did=
not
forget to take a more
complete survey of the island. He penetrat=
ed
the depths of the dense
forests which occupied the central distric=
ts.
He ascended the river to
its source. He again mounted the summit of=
the
cone, and redescended by
the talus on the eastern shore, which he h=
ad
not, up to then, visited.
"After all these explorations,"
repeated Godfrey to himself, "there can
be no doubt that Phina Island has no dange=
rous
animals, neither wild
beasts, snakes, nor saurians! I have not
caught sight of one! Assuredly
if there had been any, the report of the g=
un
would have woke them up! It
is fortunate, indeed. If it were to become
necessary to fortify Will
Tree against their attacks, I do not know =
how
we should get on!"
Then passing on to quite a natural deducti=
on--
"It must also be concluded,"
continued he, "that the island is not
inhabited at all. Either natives or people
shipwrecked here would have
appeared before now at the sound of the gu=
n!
There is, however, that
inexplicable smoke which I twice thought I
saw."
The fact is, that Godfrey had never been a=
ble
to trace any fire. As for
the hot water springs to which he attribut=
ed
the origin of the vapour he
had noticed, Phina Island being in no way
volcanic did not appear to
contain any, and he had to content himself
with thinking that he had
twice been the victim of an illusion.
Besides, this apparition of the smoke or t=
he
vapour was not repeated.
When Godfrey the second time ascended the
central cone, as also when he
again climbed up into Will Tree, he saw
nothing to attract his
attention. He ended by forgetting the
circumstance altogether.
Many weeks passed in different occupations
about the tree, and many
shooting excursions were undertaken. With
every day their mode of life
improved.
Every Sunday, as had been agreed, Tartlet
donned his best clothes. On
that day he did nothing but walk about und=
er
the big trees, and indulge
in an occasional tune on the kit. Many were
the glissades he performed,
giving lessons to himself, as his pupil had
positively refused to
continue his course.
"What is the good of it?" was
Godfrey's answer to the entreaties of the
professor. "Can you imagine Robinson
Crusoe taking lessons in dancing
and deportment?"
"And why not?" asked Tartlet
seriously. "Why should Robinson Crusoe
dispense with deportment? Not for the good=
of
others, but of himself, he
should acquire refined manners."
To which Godfrey made no reply. And as he
never came for his lesson, the
professor became professor
"emeritus."
The 13th of September was noted for one of=
the
greatest and cruellest
deceptions to which, on a desert island, t=
he
unfortunate survivors of a
shipwreck could be subjected.
Godfrey had never again seen that inexplic=
able
and undiscoverable smoke
on the island; but on this day, about three
o'clock in the afternoon,
his attention was attracted by a long line=
of
vapour, about the origin
of which he could not be deceived.
He had gone for a walk to the end of Flag
Point--the name which he had
given to the cape on which he had erected =
his
flagstaff. While he was
looking through his glass he saw above the
horizon a smoke driven by the
west wind towards the island.
Godfrey's heart beat high.
"A ship!" he exclaimed.
But would this ship, this steamer, pass in
sight of Phina Island? And if
it passed, would it come near enough for t=
he
signal thereon to be seen
on board?
Or would not rather the semi-visible smoke
disappear with the vessel
towards the north-west or south-west of the
horizon?
For two hours Godfrey was a prey to
alternating emotions more easy to
indicate than to describe.
The smoke got bigger and bigger. It increa=
sed
when the steamer re-stoked
her fires, and diminished almost to
vanishing-point as the fuel was
consumed. Continually did the vessel visib=
ly
approach. About four
o'clock her hull had come up on the line
between the sky and the sea.
She was a large steamer, bearing north-eas=
t.
Godfrey easily made that
out. If that direction was maintained, she
would inevitably approach
Phina Island.
Godfrey had at first thought of running ba=
ck
to Will Tree to inform
Tartlet. What was the use of doing so? The
sight of one man making
signals could do as much good as that of t=
wo.
He remained there, his
glass at his eye, losing not a single move=
ment
of the ship.
The steamer kept on her course towards the
coast, her bow steered
straight for the cape. By five o'clock the
horizon-line was already
above her hull, and her rig was visible.
Godfrey could even recognize
the colours at her gaff.
She carried the United States' ensign.
"But if I can see their flag, cannot =
they
see mine? The wind keeps it
out, so that they could easily see my flag
with their glasses. Shall I
make signals, by raising it and lowering i=
t a
few times, so as to show
that I want to enter into communication wi=
th
them? Yes! I have not an
instant to lose."
It was a good idea. Godfrey ran to the end=
of
Flag Point, and began to
haul his flag up and down, as if he were
saluting. Then he left it
half-mast high, so as to show, in the way
usual with seafaring people,
that he required help and succour.
The steamer still approached to within thr=
ee
miles of the shore, but her
flag remained immovable at the peak, and
replied not to that on Flag
Point. Godfrey felt his heart sink. He wou=
ld
not be noticed! It was
half-past six, and the sun was about to se=
t!
The steamer was now about two miles from t=
he
cape, which she was rapidly
nearing. At this moment the sun disappeared
below the horizon. With the
first shadows of night, all hope of being =
seen
had to be given up.
Godfrey again, with no more success, began=
to
raise and lower his flag.
There was no reply.
He then fired his gun two or three times, =
but
the distance was still
great, and the wind did not set in that
direction! No report would be
heard on board!
The night gradually came on; soon the
steamer's hull grew invisible.
Doubtless in another hour she would have
passed Phina Island.
Godfrey, not knowing what to do, thought of
setting fire to a group of
resinous trees which grew at the back of F=
lag
Point. He lighted a heap
of dry leaves with some gunpowder, and then
set light to the group of
pines, which flared up like an enormous to=
rch.
But no fire on the ship answered to the on=
e on
the land, and Godfrey
returned sadly to Will Tree, feeling perha=
ps
more desolate than he had
ever felt till then.
IN WHICH SOMETHING HAPPENS WHICH CANNOT FA=
IL
TO SURPRISE THE READER.
To Godfrey the blow was serious. Would this
unexpected chance which had
just escaped him ever offer again? Could he
hope so? No! The
indifference of the steamer as she passed =
in
sight of the island,
without even taking a look at it, was
obviously shared in by all the
vessels venturing in this deserted portion=
of
the Pacific. Why should
they put into port more than she had done?=
The
island did not possess a
single harbour.
Godfrey passed a sorrowful night. Every now
and then jumping up as if he
heard a cannon out at sea, he would ask
himself if the steamer had not
caught sight of the huge fire which still
burnt on the coast, and if she
were not endeavouring to answer the signal=
by
a gun-shot?
Godfrey listened. It was only an illusion =
of
his over-excited brain.
When the day came, he had come to look upon
the apparition of the ship
as but a dream, which had commenced about
three o'clock on the previous
afternoon.
But no! He was only too certain that a ship
had been in sight of Phina
Island, maybe within two miles of it, and
certainly she had not put in.
Of this deception Godfrey said not a word =
to
Tartlet. What was the good
of talking about it? Besides, his frivolous
mind could not see more than
twenty-four hours ahead. He was no longer
thinking of the chances of
escaping from the island which might offer=
. He
no longer imagined that
the future had great things in store for t=
hem.
San Francisco was fading
out of his recollection. He had no sweethe=
art
waiting for him, no Uncle
Will to return to. If at this end of the w=
orld
he could only commence a
course of lessons on dancing, his happiness
would be complete--were it
only with one pupil.
If the professor dreamt not of immediate
danger, such as to compromise
his safety in this island--bare, as it was=
, of
wild beasts and
savages--he was wrong. This very day his
optimism was to be put to a
rude test.
About four o'clock in the afternoon Tartlet
had gone, according to his
custom, to collect some oysters and mussel=
s,
on that part of the shore
behind Flag Point, when Godfrey saw him co=
ming
back as fast as his legs
could carry him to Will Tree. His hair sto=
od
on end round his
temples. He looked like a man in flight, w=
ho
dared not turn his head to
the right or to the left.
"What is the matter?" shouted
Godfrey, not without alarm, running to
meet his companion.
"There! there!" answered Tartlet,
pointing with his finger towards the
narrow strip of sea visible to the north
between the trees.
"But what is it?" asked Godfrey,
whose first movement was to run to the
edge of the sequoias.
"A canoe!"
[Illustration: "A Canoe!" page 1=
81]
"A canoe?"
"Yes! Savages! Quite a fleet of savag=
es!
Cannibals, perhaps!"
Godfrey looked in the direction pointed ou=
t.
It was not a fleet, as the distracted Tart=
let
had said; but he was only
mistaken about the quantity.
In fact, there was a small vessel gliding
through the water, now very
calm, about half-a-mile from the coast, so=
as
to double Flag Point.
"And why should they be cannibals?&qu=
ot;
asked Godfrey, turning towards the
professor.
"Because in Crusoe Islands,"
answered Tartlet, "there are always
cannibals, who arrive sooner or later.&quo=
t;
"Is it not a boat from some
merchant-ship?"
"From a ship?"
"Yes. From a steamer which passed here
yesterday afternoon, in sight of
our island?"
"And you said nothing to me about
it!" exclaimed Tartlet, lifting his
hands to the sky.
"What good should I have done?"
asked Godfrey. "Besides, I thought that
the vessel had disappeared! But that boat
might belong to her! Let us go
and see!"
Godfrey ran rapidly back to Will Tree, and,
seizing his glass, returned
to the edge of the trees.
He then examined with extreme attention the
little vessel, which would
ere then have perceived the flag on Flag P=
oint
as it fluttered in the
breeze.
The glass fell from his hands.
"Savages! Yes! They are really
savages!" he exclaimed.
Tartlet felt his knees knock together, and=
a
tremor of fright ran
through his body.
It was a vessel manned by savages which
Godfrey saw approaching the
island. Built like a Polynesian canoe, she
carried a large sail of woven
bamboo; an outrigger on the weather side k=
ept
her from capsizing as she
heeled down to the wind.
Godfrey easily distinguished the build of =
the
vessel. She was a proa,
and this would indicate that Phina Island =
was
not far from Malaysia. But
they were not Malays on board; they were
half-naked blacks, and there
were about a dozen of them.
The danger of being found was thus great. =
Godfrey
regretted that he had
hoisted the flag, which had not been seen =
by
the ship, but would be by
these black fellows. To take it down now w=
ould
be too late.
It was, in truth, very unfortunate. The
savages had probably come to the
island thinking it was uninhabited, as ind=
eed
it had been before the
wreck of the Dream. But there was the flag,
indicating the presence of
human beings on the coast! How were they to
escape them if they landed?
Godfrey knew not what to do. Anyhow his
immediate care must be to watch
if they set foot on the island. He could t=
hink
of other things
afterwards.
With his glass at his eye he followed the
proa; he saw it turn the point
of the promontory, then run along the shore
and then approach the mouth
of the small stream, which, two miles up,
flowed past Will Tree.
If the savages intended to paddle up the
river, they would soon reach
the group of sequoias--and nothing could
hinder them. Godfrey and
Tartlet ran rapidly back to their dwelling.
They first of all set about
guarding them selves against surprise, and
giving themselves time to
prepare their defence.
At least that is what Godfrey thought of. =
The
ideas of the professor
took quite a different turn.
"Ah!" he exclaimed. "It is
destiny! This is as it was written? We could
not escape it! You cannot be a Crusoe with=
out
a canoe coming to your
island, without cannibals appearing one da=
y or
another! Here we have
been for only three months, and there they=
are
already! Assuredly,
neither Defoe, nor De Wyss exaggerated
matters! You can make yourself a
Crusoe, if you like!"
Worthy Tartlet, folks do not make themselv=
es
Crusoes, they become
Crusoes, and you are not sure that you are
wise in comparing your
position with that of the heroes of the two
English and Swiss romances!
The precautions taken by Godfrey as soon a=
s he
returned to Will Tree
were as follows. The fire burning among the
roots of the sequoia was
extinguished, and the embers scattered
broadcast, so as to leave no
trace; cocks, hens, and chickens were alre=
ady
in their house for the
night, and the entrance was hidden with sh=
rubs
and twigs as much as
possible; the other animals, the goats,
agoutis, and sheep, were driven
on to the prairie, but it was unlucky that
there was no stable to shut
them up in; all the instruments and tools =
were
taken into the tree.
Nothing was left outside that could indica=
te
the presence or the passage
of human beings.
Then the door was closely shut, after Godf=
rey
and Tartlet had gone in.
The door made of the sequoia bark was
indistinguishable from the bark of
the trunk, and might perhaps escape the ey=
es
of the savages, who would
not look at it very closely. It was the sa=
me
with the two windows, in
which the lower boards were shut. Then all
light was extinguished in the
dwelling, and our friends remained in total
darkness. How long that
night was! Godfrey and Tartlet heard the
slightest sounds outside. The
creaking of a dry branch, even a puff of w=
ind,
made them start. They
thought they heard some one walking under =
the
trees. It seemed that they
were prowling round Will Tree. Then Godfrey
climbed up to one of the
windows, opened one of the boards, and
anxiously peered into the gloom.
Nothing!
However, Godfrey at last heard footsteps on
the ground. His ear could
not deceive him this time. He still looked,
but could only see one of
the goats come for shelter beneath the tre=
es.
Had any of the savages happened to discover
the house hidden in the
enormous sequoia, Godfrey had made up his =
mind
what to do: he would drag
up Tartlet with him by the chimney inside,=
and
take refuge in the higher
branches, where he would be better able to
resist. With guns and
revolvers in his possession, and ammunitio=
n in
abundance, he would
there have some chance against a dozen sav=
ages
devoid of fire-arms.
If in the event of their being armed with =
bows
and arrows they attacked
from below, it was not likely that they wo=
uld
have the best of it
against fire-arms aimed from above. If on =
the
other hand they forced the
door of the dwelling and tried to reach the
branches from the inside,
they would find it very difficult to get
there, owing to the narrow
opening, which the besieged could easily
defend.
Godfrey said nothing about this to Tartlet.
The poor man had been almost
out of his mind with fright since he had s=
een
the proa. The thought that
he might be obliged to take refuge in the
upper part of a tree, as if in
an eagle's nest, would not have soothed hi=
m in
the least. If it became
necessary, Godfrey decided to drag him up
before he had time to think
about it.
The night passed amid these alternations of
fear and hope. No attack
occurred. The savages had not yet come to =
the
sequoia group. Perhaps
they would wait for the day before venturi=
ng
to cross the island.
"That is probably what they will
do," said Godfrey, "since our flag
shows that it is inhabited! But there are =
only
a dozen of them, and they
will have to be cautious! How are they to =
know
that they have only to
deal with a couple of shipwrecked men? No!
They will risk nothing
except by daylight--at least, if they are
going to stop."
"Supposing they go away when the dayl=
ight
comes?" answered Tartlet.
"Go away? Why should they have come to
Phina Island for one night?"
"I do not know," replied the
professor, who in his terror could only
explain the arrival of the blacks by suppo=
sing
that they had come to
feed on human flesh.
"Anyhow," continued Godfrey;
"to-morrow morning, if they have not come
to Will Tree, we will go out and
reconnoitre."
"We?"
"Yes! we! Nothing would be more impru=
dent
than for us to separate! Who
knows whether we may not have to run to the
forest in the centre of the
island and hide there for some days--until=
the
departure of the proa!
No! We will keep together, Tartlet!"<= o:p>
"Hush!" said the professor in a =
low
voice; "I think I hear something
outside."
Godfrey climbed up again to the window, and
got down again almost
immediately.
"No!" he said. "Nothing
suspicious! It is only our cattle coming back to
the wood."
"Hunted perhaps!" exclaimed Tart=
let.
"They seem very quiet then," rep=
lied
Godfrey; "I fancy they have only
come in search of shelter against the morn=
ing
dew."
"Ah!" murmured Tartlet in so pit=
eous
a tone that Godfrey could hardly
help laughing, "these things could not
happen at your uncle's place in
Montgomery Street!"
"Day will soon break," said Godf=
rey,
after a pause. "In an hour's time,
if the savages have not appeared, we will
leave Will Tree and
reconnoitre towards the north of the islan=
d.
You are able to carry a
gun, Tartlet?"
"Carry? Yes!"
"And to fire it in a stated
direction?"
"I do not know! I have never tried su=
ch a
thing, and you may be sure,
Godfrey, that my bullet will not go--"=
;
"Who knows if the report alone might =
not
frighten the savages?"
An hour later, it was light enough to see
beyond the sequoias.
Godfrey then cautiously reopened the shutt=
ers.
From that looking to the south he saw noth=
ing
extraordinary. The
domestic animals wandered peacefully under=
the
trees, and did not appear
in the least alarmed. The survey completed,
Godfrey carefully shut this
window. Through the opening to the north t=
here
was a view up to the
shore. Two miles off even the end of Flag
Point could be seen; but the
mouth of the river at the place where the
savages had landed the evening
before was not visible. Godfrey at first
looked around without using his
glass, so as to examine the environs of Wi=
ll
Tree on this side of Phina
Island.
All was quite peaceful.
Godfrey then taking his glass swept round =
the
coast to the promontory at
Flag Point. Perhaps, as Tartlet had said,
though it was difficult to
find the reason, the savages had embarked,
after a night spent on shore,
without attempting to see if the island we=
re
inhabited.
IN WHICH PROFESSOR TARTLET'S GUN REALLY DO=
ES
MARVELS.
But Godfrey suddenly uttered an exclamation
which made the professor
jump. There could be no doubt that the sav=
ages
knew the island was
inhabited, for the flag hitherto hoisted at
the extremity of the cape
had been carried away by them and no longer
floated on the mast at Flag
Point. The moment had then come to put the
project into execution, to
reconnoitre if the savages were still in t=
he
island, and to see what
they were doing.
"Let us go," said he to his
companion.
"Go! But--" answered Tartlet.
"Would you rather stay here?"
"With you, Godfrey--yes!"
"No--alone!"
"Alone! Never!"
"Come along then!"
Tartlet, thoroughly understanding that God=
frey
would not alter his
decision, resolved to accompany him. He had
not courage enough to stay
behind at Will Tree.
Before starting, Godfrey assured himself t=
hat
the fire-arms were ready
for action. The two guns were loaded, and =
one
passed into the hands of
the professor, who seemed as much embarras=
sed
with it as might have been
a savage of Pomotou. He also hung one of t=
he
hunting-knives to his belt,
to which he had already attached his
cartridge-pouch. The thought had
occurred to him to also take his fiddle,
imagining perhaps that they
would be sensible to the charm of its
squeaking, of which all the talent
of a virtuoso could not conceal the harshn=
ess.
Godfrey had some trouble in getting him to
abandon this idea, which was
as ridiculous as it was impracticable.
It was now six o'clock in the morning. The
summits of the sequoias were
glowing in the first rays of the sun.
Godfrey opened the door; he stepped outsid=
e;
he scanned the group of
trees.
Complete solitude.
The animals had returned to the prairie. T=
here
they were, tranquilly
browsing, about a quarter of a mile away.
Nothing about them denoted the
least uneasiness.
Godfrey made a sign to Tartlet to join him.
The professor, as clumsy as
could be in his fighting harness,
followed--not without some hesitation.
Then Godfrey shut the door, and saw that it
was well hidden in the bark
of the sequoia. Then, having thrown at the
foot of the tree a bundle of
twigs, which he weighted with a few large
stones, he set out towards the
river, whose banks he intended to descend,=
if
necessary, to its mouth.
Tartlet followed him not without giving be=
fore
each of his steps an
uneasy stare completely round him up to the
very limits of the horizon;
but the fear of being left alone impelled =
him
to advance.
Arrived at the edge of the group of trees,
Godfrey stopped.
Taking his glasses from their case, he sca=
nned
with extreme attention
all that part of the coast between the Fla=
g Point
promontory and the
north-east angle of the island.
Not a living being showed itself, not a si=
ngle
smoke wreath was rising
in the air.
The end of the cape was equally deserted, =
but
they would there doubtless
find numberless footprints freshly made. As
for the mast, Godfrey had
not been deceived. If the staff still rose
above the last rock on the
cape, it was bereft of its flag. Evidently=
the
savages after coming to
the place had gone off with the red cloth
which had excited their
covetousness, and had regained their boat =
at
the mouth of the river.
Godfrey then turned off so as to examine t=
he
western shore.
It was nothing but a vast desert from Flag
Point right away beyond the
curve of Dream Bay.
No boat of any kind appeared on the surfac=
e of
the sea. If the savages
had taken to their proa, it only could be
concluded that they were
hugging the coast sheltered by the rocks, =
and
so closely that they could
not be seen.
However, Godfrey could not and would not
remain in doubt. He was
determined to ascertain, yes or no, if the
proa had definitely left the
island.
To do this it was necessary to visit the s=
pot
where the savages had
landed the night before, that is to say, t=
he
narrow creek at the mouth
of the river.
This he immediately attempted.
The borders of the small watercourse were
shaded by occasional clumps of
trees encircled by shrubs, for a distance =
of
about two miles. Beyond
that for some five or six hundred yards do=
wn
to the sea the river ran
between naked banks. This state of affairs
enabled him to approach close
to the landing-place without being perceiv=
ed.
It might be, however, that
the savages had ascended the stream, and t=
o be
prepared for this
eventuality the advance had to be made with
extreme caution.
Godfrey, however thought, not without reas=
on,
that, at this early hour
the savages, fatigued by their long voyage,
would not have quitted their
anchorage. Perhaps they were still sleeping
either in their canoe or on
land; in which case it would be seen if th=
ey
could not be surprised.
This idea was acted upon at once. It was
important that they should get
on quickly. In such circumstances the
advantage is generally gained at
the outset. The fire-arms were again exami=
ned,
the revolvers were
carefully looked at, and then Godfrey and
Tartlet commenced the descent
of the left bank of the river in Indian fi=
le.
All around was quiet.
Flocks of birds flew from one bank to the
other, pursuing each other
among the higher branches without showing =
any
uneasiness.
Godfrey went first, but it can easily be b=
elieved
that his companion
found the attempt to cover step rather tir=
ing.
Moving from one tree to
another they advanced towards the shore
without risk of discovery. Here
the clumps of bushes hid them from the
opposite bank, there even their
heads disappeared amid the luxurious
vegetation. But no matter where
they were, an arrow from a bow or a stone =
from
a sling might at any
moment reach them. And so they had to be
constantly on their guard.
However, in spite of the recommendations w=
hich
were addressed to him,
Tartlet, tripping against an occasional st=
ump,
had two or three falls
which might have complicated matters. Godf=
rey
was beginning to regret
having brought such a clumsy assistant.
Indeed, the poor man could not
be much help to him. Doubtless he would ha=
ve
been worth more left behind
at Will Tree; or, if he would not consent =
to
that, hidden away in some
nook in the forest. But it was too late. An
hour after he had left the
sequoia group, Godfrey and his companion h=
ad
come a mile--only a
mile--for the path was not easy beneath the
high vegetation and between
the luxuriant shrubs. Neither one nor the
other of our friends had seen
anything suspicious.
Hereabouts the trees thinned out for about=
a
hundred yards or less, the
river ran between naked banks, the country
round was barer.
Godfrey stopped. He carefully observed the
prairie to the right and left
of the stream.
Still there was nothing to disquiet him,
nothing to indicate the
approach of savages. It is true that as th=
ey
could not but believe the
island inhabited, they would not advance
without precaution, in fact
they would be as careful in ascending the
little river as Godfrey was in
descending it. It was to be supposed there=
fore
that if they were
prowling about the neighbourhood, they wou=
ld
also profit by the shelter
of the trees or the high bushes of mastics=
and
myrtles which formed such
an excellent screen.
It was a curious though very natural
circumstance that, the farther they
advanced, Tartlet, perceiving no enemy, li=
ttle
by little lost his
terror, and began to speak with scorn of
"those cannibal
laughing-stocks." Godfrey, on the
contrary, became more anxious, and it
was with greater precaution than ever that=
he
crossed the open space and
regained the shadow of the trees. Another =
hour
led them to the place
where the banks, beginning to feel the eff=
ects
of the sea's vicinity,
were only bordered with stunted shrubs, or
sparse grasses.
Under these circumstances it was difficult=
to
keep hidden or rather
impossible to proceed without crawling alo=
ng the
ground.
This is what Godfrey did, and also what he
advised Tartlet to do.
"There are not any savages! There are=
not
any cannibals! They have all
gone!" said the professor.
"There are!" answered Godfrey
quickly, in a low voice, "They ought to be
here! Down Tartlet, get down! Be ready to
fire, but don't do so till I
tell you."
Godfrey had said these words in such a ton=
e of
authority that the
professor, feeling his limbs give way under
him, had no difficulty in at
once assuming the required position.
And he did well!
In fact, it was not without reason that
Godfrey had spoken as he had.
From the spot which they then occupied, th=
ey
could see neither the
shore, nor the place where the river enter=
ed
the sea. A small spur of
hills shut out the view about a hundred ya=
rds
ahead, but above this near
horizon a dense smoke was rising straight =
in
the air.
Godfrey, stretched at full length in the
grass, with his finger on the
trigger of his musket, kept looking towards
the coast.
"This smoke," he said, "is =
it
not of the same kind that I have already
seen twice before? Should I conclude that
savages have previously landed
on the north and south of the island, and =
that
the smoke came from fires
lighted by them? But no! That is not possi=
ble,
for I found no cinders,
nor traces of a fireplace, nor embers! Ah!
this time I'll know the
reason of it."
And by a clever reptilian movement, which
Tartlet imitated as well as he
could, he managed, without showing his head
above the grass, to reach
the bend of the river.
Thence he could command, at his ease, every
part of the bank through
which the river ran.
An exclamation could not but escape him! H=
is
hand touched the
professor's shoulder to prevent any moveme=
nt
of his! Useless to go
further! Godfrey saw what he had come to s=
ee!
A large fire of wood was lighted on the be=
ach,
among the lower rocks,
and from it a canopy of smoke rose slowly =
to
the sky. Around the fire,
feeding it with fresh armfuls of wood, of
which they had made a heap,
went and came the savages who had landed t=
he
evening before. Their canoe
was moored to a large stone, and, lifted by
the rising tide, oscillated
on the ripples of the shore.
Godfrey could distinguish all that was pas=
sing
on the sands without
using his glasses. He was not more than two
hundred yards from the fire,
and he could even hear it crackling. He
immediately perceived that he
need fear no surprise from the rear, for a=
ll
the blacks he had counted
in the proa were in the group.
Ten out of the twelve were occupied in loo=
king
after the fire and
sticking stakes in the ground with the evi=
dent
intention of rigging up a
spit in the Polynesian manner. An eleventh,
who appeared to be the
chief, was walking along the beach, and
constantly turning his glances
towards the interior of the island, as if =
he
were afraid of an attack.
Godfrey recognized as a piece of finery on=
his
shoulders the red stuff
of his flag.
The twelfth savage was stretched on the
ground, tied tightly to a post.
Godfrey recognized at once the fate in sto=
re
for the wretched man. The
spit was for him! The fire was to roast him
at! Tartlet had not been
mistaken, when, the previous evening, he h=
ad
spoken of these folks as
cannibals!
It must be admitted that neither was he
mistaken in saying that the
adventures of Crusoes, real or imaginary, =
were
all copied one from the
other!
Most certainly Godfrey and he did then find
themselves in the same
position as the hero of Daniel Defoe when =
the
savages landed on his
island. They were to assist, without doubt=
, at
the same scene of
cannibalism.
Godfrey decided to act as this hero did! He
would not permit the
massacre of the prisoner for which the
stomachs of the cannibals were
waiting! He was well armed. His two
muskets--four shots--his two
revolvers--a dozen shots--could easily set=
tle
these eleven rascals, whom
the mere report of one of the fire-arms mi=
ght
perhaps be sufficient to
scatter. Having taken his decision he cool=
ly
waited for the moment to
interfere like a thunder-clap.
He had not long to wait!
Twenty minutes had barely elapsed, when the
chief approached the fire.
Then by a gesture he pointed out the priso=
ner
to the savages who were
expecting his orders.
Godfrey rose. Tartlet, without knowing why,
followed the example. He did
not even comprehend where his companion was
going, for he had said
nothing to him of his plans.
Godfrey imagined, evidently, that at sight=
of
him the savages would
make some movement, perhaps to rush to the=
ir
boat, perhaps to rush at
him.
They did nothing. It did not even seem as
though they saw him; but at
this moment the chief made a significant
gesture. Three of his
companions went towards the prisoner, unlo=
osed
him, and forced him near
the fire.
He was still a young man, who, feeling that
his last hour had come,
resisted with all his might.
Assuredly, if he could, he would sell his =
life
dearly. He began by
throwing off the savages who held him, but=
he
was soon knocked down, and
the thief, seizing a sort of stone axe, ju=
mped
forward to beat in his
head.
Godfrey uttered a cry, followed by a repor=
t. A
bullet whistled through
the air, and it seemed as though the chief
were mortally wounded, for he
fell on the ground.
At the report, the savages, surprised as
though they had never heard the
sound of fire-arms, stopped. At the sight =
of
Godfrey those who held the
prisoner instantly released him.
Immediately the poor fellow arose, and ran
towards the place where he
perceived his unexpected liberator.
At this moment a second report was heard.<= o:p>
It was Tartlet, who, without looking--for =
the
excellent man kept his
eyes shut--had just fired, and the stock of
the musket on his right
shoulder delivered the hardest knock which=
had
ever been received by the
professor of dancing and deportment.
But--what a chance it was!--a second savage
fell close to his chief.
The rout at once began. Perhaps the savages
thought they had to do with
a numerous troop of natives whom they could
not resist. Perhaps they
were simply terrified at the sight of the =
two
white men who seemed to
keep the lightning in their pockets. There
they were, seizing the two
who were wounded, carrying them off, rushi=
ng
to the proa, driving it by
their paddles out of the little creek,
hoisting their sail, steering
before the wind, making for the Flag Point
promontory, and doubling it
in hot haste.
Godfrey had no thought of pursuing them. W=
hat
was the good of killing
them? They had saved the victim. They had =
put
them to flight, that was
the important point. This had been done in
such a way that the cannibals
would never dare to return to Phina Island=
.
All was then for the best. They had only to
rejoice in their victory, in
which Tartlet did not hesitate to claim the
greatest share.
Meanwhile the prisoner had come to his
rescuer. For an instant he
stopped, with the fear inspired in him by
superior beings, but almost
immediately he resumed his course. When he
arrived before the two
whites, he bowed to the ground; then catch=
ing
hold of Godfrey's foot, he
placed it on his head in sign of servitude=
.
One would almost have thought that this
Polynesian savage had also read
Robinson Crusoe!
WHICH TREATS OF THE MORAL AND PHYSICAL
EDUCATION OF A SIMPLE NATIVE OF
THE PACIFIC.
Godfrey at once raised the poor fellow, who
lay prostrate before him. He
looked in his face.
He was a man of thirty-five or more, weari=
ng
only a rag round his loins.
In his features, as in the shape of his he=
ad,
there could be recognized
the type of the African negro. It was not
possible to confound him with
the debased wretches of the Polynesian
islands, who, with their
depressed crania and elongated arms, appro=
ach
so strangely to the
monkey.
Now, as he was a negro from Soudan or
Abyssinia who had fallen into the
hands of the natives of an archipelago of =
the
Pacific, it might be that
he could speak English or one or two words=
of
the European languages
which Godfrey understood. But it was soon
apparent that the unhappy man
only used an idiom that was absolutely
incomprehensible--probably the
language of the aborigines among whom he h=
ad
doubtless arrived when very
young. In fact, Godfrey had immediately
interrogated him in English,
and had obtained no reply. He then made him
understand by signs, not
without difficulty, that he would like to =
know
his name.
After many fruitless essays, the negro, who
had a very intelligent and
even honest face, replied to the demand wh=
ich
was made of him in a
single word,--
"Carefinotu."
"Carefinotu!" exclaimed Tartlet.
"Do you hear the name? I propose that
we call him 'Wednesday,' for to-day is
Wednesday, and that is what they
always do in these Crusoe islands! Is he t=
o be
allowed to call himself
Carefinotu?"
"If that is his name," said Godf=
rey;
"why should he not keep it?"
And at the moment he felt a hand placed on=
his
chest, while all the
black's physiognomy seemed to ask him what=
his
name was.
"Godfrey!" answered he.
The black endeavoured to say the word, but
although Godfrey repeated it
several times, he could not succeed in
pronouncing it in an intelligible
fashion. Then he turned towards the profes=
sor,
as if to know his name.
"Tartlet," was the reply of that
individual in a most amiable tone.
"Tartlet!" repeated Carefinotu.<= o:p>
And it seemed as though this assemblage of
syllables was more agreeable
to his vocal chords, for he pronounced it
distinctly.
The professor appeared to be extremely fla=
ttered.
In truth he had reason
to be.
Then Godfrey, wishing to put the intellige=
nce
of the black to some
profit, tried to make him understand that =
he
wished to know the name of
the island. He pointed with his hand to the
woods and prairies and
hills, and then the shore which bound them,
and then the horizon of the
sea, and he interrogated him with a look.<= o:p>
Carefinotu did not at first understand what
was meant, and imitating the
gesture of Godfrey he also turned and ran =
his
eyes over the space.
"Arneka," said he at length.
"Arneka?" replied Godfrey, strik=
ing
the soil with his foot so as to
accentuate his demand.
"Arneka!" repeated the negro.
This told Godfrey nothing, neither the
geographical name borne by the
island, nor its position in the Pacific. H=
e could
not remember such a
name; it was probably a native one, little
known to geographers.
However, Carefinotu did not cease from loo=
king
at the two white men, not
without some stupor, going from one to the
other as if he wished to fix
in his mind the differences which
characterized them. The smile on his
mouth disclosed abundant teeth of magnific=
ent
whiteness which Tartlet
did not examine without a certain reserve.=
"If those teeth," he said,
"have never eaten human flesh may my fiddle
burst up in my hand."
"Anyhow, Tartlet," answered Godf=
rey;
"our new companion no longer looks
like the poor beggar they were going to co=
ok
and feed on! That is the
main point!"
What particularly attracted the attention =
of
Carefinotu were the weapons
carried by Godfrey and Tartlet--as much the
musket in the hand as the
revolver in the belt.
Godfrey easily understood this sentiment of
curiosity. It was evident
that the savage had never seen a fire-arm.=
He
said to himself that this
was one of those iron tubes which had laun=
ched
the thunder-bolt that had
delivered him? There could be no doubt of =
it.
Godfrey, wishing to give him, not without
reason, a high idea of the
power of the whites, loaded his gun, and t=
hen,
showing to Carefinotu a
red-legged partridge that was flying across
the prairie about a hundred
yards away, he shouldered it quickly, and
fired. The bird fell.
At the report the black gave a prodigious
leap, which Tartlet could not
but admire from a choregraphic point of vi=
ew.
Then repressing his fear,
and seeing the bird with broken wing runni=
ng
through the grass, he
started off and swift as a greyhound ran
towards it, and with many a
caper, half of joy, half of stupefaction,
brought it back to his master.
Tartlet then thought of displaying to
Carefinotu that the Great Spirit
had also favoured him with the power of the
lightning; and perceiving a
kingfisher tranquilly seated on an old stu=
mp
near the river was bringing
the stock up to his cheek, when Godfrey
stopped him with,--
"No! Don't fire, Tartlet!"
"Why not?"
"Suppose that by some mishap you were=
not
to hit the bird, think how we
would fall in the estimation of the
nigger!"
"And why should I not hit him?"
replied Tartlet with some acerbity. "Did
I not, during the battle, at more than a
hundred paces, the very first
time I handled a gun, hit one of the canni=
bals
full in the chest?"
"You touched him evidently," said
Godfrey; "for he fell. But take my
advice, Tartlet, and in the common interes=
t do
not tempt fortune twice!"
The professor, slightly annoyed, allowed
himself to be convinced; he
threw the gun on to his shoulder with a
swagger, and both our heroes,
followed by Carefinotu, returned to Will T=
ree.
There the new guest of Phina Island met wi=
th
quite a surprise in the
habitation so happily contrived in the low=
er
part of the sequoia. First
he had to be shown, by using them while he
looked on, the use of the
tools, instruments, and utensils. It was
obvious that Carefinotu
belonged to, or had lived amongst savages =
in
the lowest rank of the
human scale, for fire itself seemed to be
unknown to him. He could not
understand why the pot did not take fire w=
hen
they put it on the blazing
wood; he would have hurried away from it, =
to
the great displeasure of
Tartlet, who was watching the different ph=
ases
of the cooking of the
soup. At a mirror, which was held out to h=
im,
he betrayed consummate
astonishment; he turned round, and turned =
it
round to see if he himself
were not behind it.
"The fellow is hardly a monkey!"
exclaimed the professor with a
disdainful grimace.
"No, Tartlet," answered Godfrey;
"he is more than a monkey, for his
looks behind the mirror show good reasoning
power."
"Well, I will admit that he is not a
monkey," said Tartlet, shaking his
head as if only half convinced; "but =
we
shall see if such a being can be
of any good to us."
"I am sure he will be!" replied
Godfrey.
In any case Carefinotu showed himself quit=
e at
home with the food placed
before him. He first tore it apart, and th=
en
tasted it; and then I
believe that the whole breakfast of which =
they
partook the--agouti soup,
the partridge killed by Godfrey, and the
shoulder of mutton with camas
and yamph roots--would hardly have suffice=
d to
calm the hunger which
devoured him.
"The poor fellow has got a good
appetite!" said Godfrey.
"Yes," responded Tartlet; "=
and
we shall have to keep a watch on his
cannibal instinct."
"Well, Tartlet! We shall make him get
over the taste of human flesh if
he ever had it!"
"I would not swear that," replied
the professor. "It appears that once
they have acquired this taste--"
While they were talking, Carefinotu was
listening with extreme
attention. His eyes sparkled with
intelligence. One could see that he
understood what was being said in his
presence. He then spoke with
extreme volubility, but it was only a succ=
ession
of onomatopoeias
devoid of sense, of harsh interjections wi=
th a
and ou predominant,
as in the majority of Polynesian idioms.
Whatever the negro was, he was a new
companion; he might become a
devoted servant, which the most unexpected
chance had sent to the hosts
of Will Tree.
He was powerful, adroit, active; no work c=
ame
amiss to him. He showed a
real aptitude to imitate what he saw being
done. It was in this way
that Godfrey proceeded with his education.=
The
care of the domestic
animals, the collection of the roots and
fruits, the cutting up of the
sheep or agouties, which were to serve for
food for the day, the
fabrication of a sort of cider they extrac=
ted
from the wild manzanilla
apples,--he acquitted himself well in all
these tasks, after having seen
them done.
Whatever Tartlet thought, Godfrey felt no
distrust in the savage, and
never seemed to regret having come across =
him.
What disquieted him was
the possible return of the cannibals who n=
ow
knew the situation of Phina
Island.
From the first, a bed had been reserved for
Carefinotu in the room at
Will Tree, but generally, unless it was
raining, he preferred to sleep
outside in some hole in the tree, as thoug=
h he
were on guard over the
house.
During the fortnight which followed his
arrival on the island,
Carefinotu many times accompanied Godfrey =
on
his shooting excursions.
His surprise was always extreme when he saw
the game fall hit at such a
distance; but in his character of retrieve=
r,
he showed a dash and daring
which no obstacles, hedge or bush, or stre=
am,
could stop.
Gradually, Godfrey became greatly attached=
to
this negro. There was only
one part of his progress in which Carefino=
tu
showed refractoriness; that
was in learning the English language. Do w=
hat
he might he could not be
prevailed upon to pronounce the most ordin=
ary
words which Godfrey, and
particularly Professor Tartlet tried to te=
ach
him.
So the time passed. But if the present was
fairly supportable, thanks to
a happy accident, if no immediate danger
menaced them, Godfrey could not
help asking himself, if they were ever to
leave this island, by what
means they were to rejoin their country! N=
ot a
day passed but he thought
of Uncle Will and his betrothed. It was not
without secret apprehension
that he saw the bad season approaching, wh=
ich
would put between his
friends and him a barrier still more
impassable.
On the 27th of September a circumstance
occurred deserving of note.
If it gave more work to Godfrey and his two
companions, it at least
assured them of an abundant reserve of foo=
d.
Godfrey and Carefinotu were busied in
collecting the mollusks, at the
extreme end of Dream Bay, when they percei=
ved
out at sea an innumerable
quantity of small moving islets which the
rising tide was bringing
gently to shore. It was a sort of floating=
archipelago,
on the surface
of which there walked, or flew, a few of t=
hose
sea-birds, with great
expanse of wing, known as sea-hawks.
What then were these masses which floated
landwards, rising and falling
with the undulations of the waves?
Godfrey did not know what to think, when
Carefinotu threw himself down
on his stomach, and then drawing his head =
back
into his shoulders,
folded beneath him his arms and legs, and
began to imitate the movements
of an animal crawling slowly along the gro=
und.
Godfrey looked at him without understanding
these extraordinary
gymnastics. Then suddenly--
"Turtles!" he exclaimed.
Carefinotu was right. There was quite a sq=
uare
mile of myriads of
turtles, swimming on the surface of the wa=
ter.
About a hundred fathoms from the shore the
greater part of them dived
and disappeared, and the sea-hawks, finding
their footing gone, flew up
into the air in large spirals. But luckily
about a hundred of the
amphibians came on to the beach.
Godfrey and the negro had quickly run down=
in
front of these creatures,
each of which measured at the least from t=
hree
to four feet in diameter.
Now the only way of preventing turtles from
regaining the sea is to turn
them on their backs; and it was in this ro=
ugh
work that Godfrey and
Carefinotu employed themselves, not without
great fatigue.
The following days were spent in collecting
the booty. The flesh of the
turtle, which is excellent either fresh or
preserved, could perhaps be
kept for a time in both forms. In preparat=
ion
for the winter, Godfrey
had the greater part salted in such a way =
as
to serve for the needs of
each day. But for some time the table was
supplied with turtle soup, on
which Tartlet was not the only one to rega=
le
himself.
Barring this incident, the monotony of
existence was in no way ruffled.
Every day the same hours were devoted to t=
he
same work. Would not the
life become still more depressing when the
winter season would oblige
Godfrey and his companions to shut themsel=
ves
up in Will Tree? Godfrey
could not think of it without anxiety. But
what could he do?
Meanwhile, he continued the exploration of=
the
island, and all the time
not occupied with more pressing tasks he s=
pent
in roaming about with his
gun. Generally Carefinotu accompanied him,
Tartlet remaining behind at
the dwelling. Decidedly he was no hunter,
although his first shot had
been a master-stroke!
Now on one of these occasions an unexpected
incident happened, of a
nature to gravely compromise the future sa=
fety
of the inmates of Will
Tree.
Godfrey and the black had gone out hunting=
in
the central forest, at the
foot of the hill which formed the principal
ridge of Phina Island. Since
the morning they had seen nothing pass but=
two
or three antelopes
through the high underwood, but at too gre=
at a
distance for them to fire
with any chance of hitting them.
As Godfrey was not in search of game for
dinner, and did not seek to
destroy for destruction's sake, he resigned
himself to return
empty-handed. If he regretted doing so it =
was
not so much for the meat
of the antelope, as for the skin, of which=
he
intended to make good use.
It was about three o'clock in the afternoo=
n.
He and his companion after
lunch were no more fortunate than before. =
They
were preparing to return
to Will Tree for dinner, when, just as they
cleared the edge of the
wood, Carefinotu made a bound; then
precipitating himself on Godfrey, he
seized him by the shoulders, and dragged h=
im
along with such vigour that
resistance was impossible.
After going about twenty yards they stoppe=
d.
Godfrey took breath, and,
turning towards Carefinotu, interrogated h=
im
with a look.
The black, exceedingly frightened, stretch=
ed
out his hand towards an
animal which was standing motionless about
fifty yards off.
It was a grizzly bear, whose paws held the
trunk of a tree, and who was
swaying his big head up and down, as if he
were going to rush at the two
hunters.
Immediately, without pausing to think, God=
frey
loaded his gun, and fired
before Carefinotu could hinder him.
Was the enormous plantigrade hit by the
bullet? Probably. Was he killed?
They could not be sure, but his paws
unclasped, and he rolled at the
foot of the tree. Delay was dangerous. A
struggle with so formidable an
animal might have the worst results. In the
forests of California the
pursuit of the grizzly is fraught with the
greatest danger, even to
professional hunters of the beast.
And so the black seized Godfrey by the arm=
s to
drag him away in the
direction of Will Tree, and Godfrey,
understanding that he could not be
too cautious, made no resistance.
IN WHICH THE SITUATION ALREADY GRAVELY
COMPROMISED BECOMES MORE AND MORE
COMPLICATED.
The presence of a formidable wild beast in=
confessed, calculated to make our friends
think the worst of the
ill-fortune which had fallen on them.
Godfrey--perhaps he was wrong--did not
consider that he ought to hide
from Tartlet what had passed.
"A bear!" screamed the professor,
looking round him with a bewildered
glare as if the environs of Will Tree were
being assailed by a herd of
wild beasts. "Why, a bear? Up to now =
we
had not even got a bear in our
island! If there is one there may be many,=
and
even numbers of other
ferocious beasts--jaguars, panthers, tiger=
s,
hyænas, lions!"
Tartlet already beheld Phina Island given =
over
to quite a menagerie
escaped from their cages.
Godfrey answered that there was no need for
him to exaggerate. He had
seen one bear, that was certain. Why one of
these animals had never been
seen before in his wanderings on the islan=
d he
could not explain, and it
was indeed inexplicable. But to conclude f=
rom
this that wild animals of
all kinds were prowling in the woods and
prairies was to go too far.
Nevertheless, they would have to be cautio=
us
and never go out unarmed.
Unhappy Tartlet! From this day there comme=
nced
for him an existence of
anxieties, emotions, alarms, and irrational
terrors which gave him
nostalgia for his native land in a most ac=
ute
form.
"No!" repeated he. "No! If
there are animals--I have had enough of it,
and I want to get off!"
He had not the power.
Godfrey and his companions then had hencef=
orth
to be on their guard. An
attack might take place not only on the sh=
ore
side or the prairie side,
but even in the group of sequoias. This is=
why
serious measures were
taken to put the habitation in a state to
repel a sudden attack. The
door was strengthened, so as to resist the
clutches of a wild beast. As
for the domestic animals Godfrey would have
built a stable to shut them
up in at least at night, but it was not ea=
sy
to do so. He contented
himself at present with making a sort of
enclosure of branches not far
from Will Tree, which would keep them as i=
n a
fold. But the enclosure
was not solid enough nor high enough to hi=
nder
a bear or hyæna from
upsetting it or getting over it.
Notwithstanding the remonstrances made to =
him,
Carefinotu persisted in
watching outside during the night, and God=
frey
hoped thus to receive
warning of a direct attack.
Decidedly Carefinotu endangered his life in
thus constituting himself
the guardian of Will Tree; but he had
understood that he could thus be
of service to his liberators, and he
persisted, in spite of all Godfrey
said to him, in watching as usual over the
general safety.
A week passed without any of these formida=
ble
visitors appearing in the
neighbourhood. Godfrey did not go very far
from the dwelling, unless
there was a necessity for his doing so. Wh=
ile
the sheep and goats grazed
on the neighbouring prairie, they were nev=
er
allowed out of sight.
Generally Carefinotu acted as shepherd. He=
did
not take a gun, for he
did not seem to understand the management =
of
fire-arms, but one of the
hunting-knives hung from his belt, and he
carried an axe in his right
hand. Thus armed the active negro would not
have hesitated to throw
himself before a tiger or any animal of the
worst description.
However, as neither a bear nor any of his
congeners had appeared since
the last encounter Godfrey began to gather
confidence. He gradually
resumed his hunting expeditions, but witho=
ut
pushing far into the
interior of the island. Frequently the bla=
ck
accompanied him; Tartlet,
safe in Will Tree, would not risk himself =
in
the open, not even if he
had the chance of giving a dancing lesson.
Sometimes Godfrey would go
alone, and then the professor had a compan=
ion
to whose instruction he
obstinately devoted himself.
Yes! Tartlet had at first thought of teach=
ing
Carefinotu the most
ordinary words in the English language, bu=
t he
had to give this up, as
the negro seemed to lack the necessary
phonetic apparatus for that kind
of pronunciation. "Then," had
Tartlet said, "if I cannot be his
professor, I will be his pupil!"
And he it was who attempted to learn the i=
diom
spoken by Carefinotu.
Godfrey had warned him that the accomplish=
ment
would be of little use.
Tartlet was not dissuaded. He tried to get
Carefinotu to name the
objects he pointed at with his hand. In tr=
uth
Tartlet must have got on
excellently, for at the end of fifteen day=
s he
actually knew fifteen
words! He knew that Carefinotu said
"birsi" for fire, "aradore" for the
sky, "mervira" for the sea,
"doura" for a tree, &c. He was as proud of
this as if he had taken the first prize for
Polynesian at some
examination!
It was then with a feeling of gratitude th=
at
he wished to make some
recognition of what had been done for him,=
and
instead of torturing the
negro with English words, he resolved on
teaching him deportment and the
true principles of European choregraphy.
At this Godfrey could not restrain his pea=
ls
of laughter. After all it
would pass the time away, and on Sunday, w=
hen
there was nothing else to
do, he willingly assisted at the course of
lectures delivered by the
celebrated Professor Tartlet of San Franci=
sco.
Indeed, we ought to have
seen them! The unhappy Carefinotu perspired
profusely as he went through
the elementary exercises. He was docile and
willing, nevertheless; but
like all his fellows, his shoulders did not
set back, nor did his chest
throw out, nor did his knees or his feet p=
oint
apart! To make a Vestris
or a Saint Leon of a savage of this sort!<= o:p>
The professor pursued his task in quite a
fury. Carefinotu, tortured as
he was, showed no lack of zeal. What he
suffered, even to get his feet
into the first position can be imagined! A=
nd
when he passed to the
second and then to the third, it was still
more agonizing.
"But look at me, you blockhead!"
exclaimed Tartlet, who added example to
precept. "Put your feet out! Further =
out!
The heel of one to the heel of
the other! Open your knees, you duffer! Put
back your shoulders, you
idiot! Stick up your head! Round your elbo=
ws!"
"But you ask what is impossible!"
said Godfrey.
"Nothing is impossible to an intellig=
ent
man!" was Tartlet's invariable
response.
"But his build won't allow of it.&quo=
t;
"Well, his build must allow of it! He
will have to do it sooner or
later, for the savage must at least know h=
ow
to present himself properly
in a drawing-room!"
"But, Tartlet, he will never have the
opportunity of appearing in a
drawing-room!"
"Eh! How do you know that, Godfrey?&q=
uot;
replied the professor, drawing
himself up. "Do you know what the fut=
ure
may bring forth?"
This was the last word in all discussions =
with
Tartlet. And then the
professor taking his kit would with the bow
extract from it some squeaky
little air to the delight of Carefinotu. It
required but this to excite
him. Oblivious of choregraphic rules, what
leaps, what contortions, what
capers!
And Tartlet, in a reverie, as he saw this
child of Polynesia so demean
himself, inquired if these steps, perhaps a
little too characteristic,
were not natural to the human being, altho=
ugh
outside all the principles
of his art.
But we must leave the professor of dancing=
and
deportment to his
philosophical meditations, and return to
questions at once more
practical and pressing.
During his last excursions into the plain,
either by himself or with
Carefinotu, Godfrey had seen no wild anima=
l.
He had even come upon no
traces of such. The river to which they wo=
uld
come to drink bore no
footprint on its banks. During the night t=
here
were no howlings nor
suspicious noises. Besides the domestic
animals continued to give no
signs of uneasiness.
"This is singular," said Godfrey
several times; "but I was not mistaken!
Carefinotu certainly was not! It was reall=
y a
bear that he showed me! It
was really a bear that I shot! Supposing I
killed him, was he the last
representative of the plantigrades on the
island?"
It was quite inexplicable! Besides, if God=
frey
had killed this bear, he
would have found the body where he had shot
it. Now they searched for it
in vain! Were they to believe then that th=
e animal
mortally wounded had
died far off in some den. It was possible
after all, but then at this
place, at the foot of this tree, there wou=
ld
have been traces of blood,
and there were none.
"Whatever it is," thought Godfre=
y,
"it does not much matter; and we must
keep on our guard."
With the first days of November it could be
said that the wet season had
commenced in this unknown latitude. Cold r=
ains
fell for many hours.
Later on probably they would experience th=
ose
interminable showers which
do not cease for weeks at a time, and are
characteristic of the rainy
period of winter in these latitudes.
Godfrey had then to contrive a fireplace in
the interior of Will
Tree--an indispensable fireplace that would
serve as well to warm the
dwelling during the winter months as to co=
ok
their food in shelter from
the rain and tempest.
The hearth could at any time be placed in a
corner of the chamber
between big stones, some placed on the gro=
und
and others built up round
them; but the question was how to get the
smoke out, for to leave it to
escape by the long chimney, which ran down=
the
centre of the sequoia,
proved impracticable.
Godfrey thought of using as a pipe some of
those long stout bamboos
which grew on certain parts of the river
banks. It should be said that
on this occasion he was greatly assisted by
Carefinotu. The negro, not
without effort, understood what Godfrey
required. He it was who
accompanied him for a couple of miles from
Will Tree to select the
larger bamboos, he it was who helped him b=
uild
his hearth. The stones
were placed on the ground opposite to the
door; the bamboos, emptied of
their pith and bored through at the knots,
afforded, when joined one to
another, a tube of sufficient length, which
ran out through an aperture
made for it in the sequoia bark, and would
serve every purpose, provided
it did not catch fire. Godfrey soon had the
satisfaction of seeing a
good fire burning without filling the inte=
rior
of Will Tree with smoke.
He was quite right in hastening on these
preparations, for from the 3rd
to the 10th of November the rain never cea=
sed
pouring down. It would
have been impossible to keep a fire going =
in
the open air. During these
miserable days they had to keep indoors and
did got venture out except
when the flocks and poultry urgently requi=
red
them to do so. Under these
circumstances the reserve of camas roots b=
egan
to fail; and these were
what took the place of bread, and of which=
the
want would be immediately
felt.
Godfrey then one day, the 10th of November,
informed Tartlet that as
soon as the weather began to mend a little=
he
and Carefinotu would go
out and collect some. Tartlet, who was nev=
er
in a hurry to run a couple
of miles across a soaking prairie, decided=
to
remain at home during
Godfrey's absence.
In the evening the sky began to clear of t=
he
heavy clouds which the west
wind had been accumulating since the
commencement of the month, the rain
gradually ceased, the sun gave forth a few
crepuscular rays. It was to
be hoped that the morning would yield a lu=
ll
in the storm, of which it
was advisable to make the most.
"To-morrow," said Godfrey, "=
;I
will go out, and Carefinotu will go with
me."
"Agreed!" answered Tartlet.
The evening came, and when supper was fini=
shed
and the sky, cleared of
clouds, permitted a few brilliant stars to
appear, the black wished to
take up his accustomed place outside, whic=
h he
had had to abandon during
the preceding rainy nights. Godfrey tried =
to
make him understand that he
had better remain indoors, that there was =
no
necessity to keep a watch
as no wild animal had been noticed; but
Carefinotu was obstinate. He
therefore had to have his way.
The morning was as Godfrey had foreseen, no
rain had fallen since the
previous evening, and when he stepped forth
from Will Tree, the first
rays of the sun were lightly gilding the t=
hick
dome of the sequoias.
Carefinotu was at his post, where he had
passed the night. He was
waiting. Immediately, well armed and provi=
ded
with large sacks, the two
bid farewell to Tartlet, and started for t=
he
river, which they intended
ascending along the left bank up to the ca=
mas
bushes.
An hour afterwards they arrived there with=
out
meeting with any
unpleasant adventure.
The roots were rapidly torn up and a large
quantity obtained, so as to
fill the sacks. This took three hours, so =
that
it was about eleven
o'clock in the morning when Godfrey and his
companion set out on their
return to Will Tree.
Walking close together, keeping a sharp
look-out, for they could not
talk to each other, they had reached a ben=
d in
the small river where
there were a few large trees, grown like a
natural cradle across the
stream, when Godfrey suddenly stopped.
This time it was he who showed to Carefino=
tu a
motionless animal at the
foot of a tree whose eyes were gleaming wi=
th a
singular light.
"A tiger!" he exclaimed.
He was not mistaken. It was really a tiger=
of
large stature resting on
its hind legs with its forepaws on the tru=
nk
of a tree, and ready to
spring.
In a moment Godfrey had dropped his sack of
roots. The loaded gun passed
into his right hand; he cocked it, present=
ed
it, aimed it, and fired.
"Hurrah! hurrah!" he exclaimed.<= o:p>
This time there was no room for doubt; the
tiger, struck by the bullet,
had bounded backwards. But perhaps he was =
not
mortally wounded, perhaps
rendered still more furious by his wound he
would spring on to them!
Godfrey held his gun pointed, and threaten=
ed
the animal with his second
barrel.
But before Godfrey could stop him, Carefin=
otu
had rushed at the place
where the tiger disappeared, his hunting-k=
nife
in his hand.
Godfrey shouted for him to stop, to come b=
ack!
It was in vain. The
black, resolved even at the risk of his li=
fe
to finish the animal which
perhaps was only wounded, did not or would=
not
hear.
Godfrey rushed after him.
When he reached the bank, he saw Carefinotu
struggling with the tiger,
holding him by the throat, and at last
stabbing him to the heart with a
powerful blow.
The tiger then rolled into the river, of w=
hich
the waters, swollen by
the rains, carried it away with the quickn=
ess
of a torrent. The corpse,
which floated only for an instant, was swi=
ftly
borne off towards the
sea.
A bear! A tiger! There could be no doubt t=
hat
the island did contain
formidable beasts of prey!
Godfrey, after rejoining Carefinotu, found
that in the struggle the
black had only received a few scratches. T=
hen,
deeply anxious about the
future, he retook the road to Will Tree.
IN WHICH TARTLET REITERATES IN EVERY KEY T=
HAT
HE WOULD RATHER BE OFF.
When Tartlet learnt that there were not on=
ly
bears in the island, but
tigers too, his lamentations again arose. =
Now
he would never dare to go
out! The wild beasts would end by discover=
ing
the road to Will Tree!
There was no longer any safety anywhere! In
his alarm the professor
wanted for his protection quite a fortific=
ation!
Yes! Stone walls with
scarps and counterscarps, curtains and
bastions, and ramparts, for what
was the use of a shelter under a group of
sequoias? Above all things, he
would at all risks, like to be off.
"So would I," answered Godfrey
quietly.
In fact, the conditions under which the
castaways on Phina Island had
lived up to now were no longer the same. To
struggle to the end, to
struggle for the necessaries of life, they=
had
been able, thanks to
fortunate circumstances. Against the bad
season, against winter and its
menaces, they knew how to act, but to have=
to
defend themselves against
wild animals, whose attack was possible ev=
ery
minute, was another thing
altogether; and in fact they could not do =
it.
The situation, already complicated, had be=
come
very serious, for it had
become intolerable.
"But," repeated Godfrey to himse=
lf,
without cessation, "how is it that
for four months we did not see a single be=
ast
of prey in the island, and
why during the last fortnight have we had =
to
encounter a bear and a
tiger? What shall we say to that?"
The fact might be inexplicable, but it was
none the less real.
Godfrey, whose coolness and courage increa=
sed,
as difficulties grew, was
not cast down. If dangerous animals menaced
their little colony, it was
better to put themselves on guard against
their attacks, and that
without delay.
But what was to be done?
It was at the outset decided that excursio=
ns
into the woods or to the
sea-shore should be rarer, and that they
should never go out unless well
armed, and only when it was absolutely
necessary for their wants.
"We have been lucky enough in our two
encounters!" said Godfrey
frequently; "but there may come a time
when we may not shoot so
straight! So there is no necessity for us =
to
run into danger!"
At the same time they had not only to sett=
le
about the excursions, but
to protect Will Tree--not only the dwellin=
g,
but the annexes, the
poultry roost, and the fold for the animal=
s,
where the wild beasts could
easily cause irreparable disaster.
Godfrey thought then, if not of fortifying
Will Tree according to the
famous plans of Tartlet, at least of
connecting the four or five large
sequoias which surrounded it.
If he could devise a high and strong palis=
ade
from one tree to another,
they would be in comparative security at a=
ny
rate from a surprise.
It was practicable--Godfrey concluded so a=
fter
an examination of the
ground--but it would cost a good deal of
labour. To reduce this as much
as possible, he thought of erecting the
palisade around a perimeter of
only some three hundred feet. We can judge
from this the number of trees
he had to select, cut down, carry, and trim
until the enclosure was
complete.
Godfrey did not quail before his task. He
imparted his projects to
Tartlet, who approved them, and promised h=
is
active co-operation; but
what was more important, he made his plans
understood to Carefinotu, who
was always ready to come to his assistance=
.
They set to work without delay.
There was at a bend in the stream, about a
mile from Will Tree, a small
wood of stone pines of medium height, whose
trunks, in default of beams
and planks, without wanting to be squared,
would, by being placed close
together, form a solid palisade.
It was to this wood that, at dawn on the 1=
2th
of November, Godfrey and
his two companions repaired. Though well a=
rmed
they advanced with great
care.
"You can have too much of this sort of
thing," murmured Tartlet, whom
these new difficulties had rendered still =
more
discontented, "I would
rather be off!"
But Godfrey did not take the trouble to re=
ply
to him.
On this occasion his tastes were not being
consulted, his intelligence
even was not being appealed to. It was the
assistance of his arms that
the common interest demanded. In short, he=
had
to resign himself to his
vocation of beast of burden.
No unpleasant accident happened in the mile
which separated the wood
from Will Tree. In vain they had carefully
beaten the underwood, and
swept the horizon all around them. The
domestic animals they had left
out at pasture gave no sign of alarm. The
birds continued their frolics
with no more anxiety than usual.
Work immediately began. Godfrey, very prop=
erly
did not want to begin
carrying until all the trees he wanted had
been felled. They could work
at them in greater safety on the spot.
Carefinotu was of great service during this
toilsome task. He had become
very clever in the use of the axe and saw.=
His
strength even allowed him
to continue at work when Godfrey was oblig=
ed
to rest for a minute or so,
and when Tartlet, with bruised hands and a=
ching
limbs, had not even
strength left to lift his fiddle.
However, although the unfortunate professo=
r of
dancing and deportment
had been transformed into a wood-cutter,
Godfrey had reserved for him
the least fatiguing part, that is, the
clearing off of the smaller
branches. In spite of this, if Tartlet had
only been paid half a dollar
a day, he would have stolen four-fifths of=
his
salary!
For six days, from the 12th to the 17th of
November, these labours
continued. Our friends went off in the mor=
ning
at dawn, they took their
food with them, and they did not return to
Will Tree until evening. The
sky was not very clear. Heavy clouds
frequently accumulated over it. It
was harvest weather, with alternating show=
ers
and sunshine; and during
the showers the wood-cutters would take
shelter under the trees, and
resume their task when the rain had ceased=
.
On the 18th all the trees, topped and clea=
red
of branches, were lying
on the ground, ready for transport to Will
Tree.
During this time no wild beast had appeare=
d in
the neighbourhood of the
river. The question was, were there any mo=
re
in the island, or had the
bear and the tiger been--a most improbable
event--the last of their
species?
Whatever it was, Godfrey had no intention =
of
abandoning his project of
the solid palisade so as to be prepared
against a surprise from savages,
or bears, or tigers. Besides, the worst was
over, and there only
remained to take the wood where it was wan=
ted.
We say "the worst was over," tho=
ugh
the carriage promised to be somewhat
laborious. If it were not so, it was becau=
se
Godfrey had had a very
practical idea, which materially lightened=
the
task; this was to make
use of the current of the river, which the
flood occasioned by the
recent rains had rendered very rapid, to
transport the wood. Small rafts
could be formed, and they would quietly fl=
oat
down to the sequoias,
where a bar, formed by the small bridge, w=
ould
stop them. From thence to
Will Tree was only about fifty-five paces.=
If any of them showed particular satisfact=
ion
at this mode of procedure,
it was Tartlet.
On the 18th the first rafts were formed, a=
nd
they arrived at the barrier
without accident. In less than three days =
on
the evening of the 25th,
the palisade had been all sent down to its
destination.
On the morrow, the first trunks, sunk two =
feet
in the soil, began to
rise in such a manner as to connect the
principal sequoias which
surrounded Will Tree. A capping of strong
flexible branches, pointed by
the axe, assured the solidity of the wall.=
Godfrey saw the work progress with extreme
satisfaction, and delayed not
until it was finished.
"Once the palisade is done," he =
said
to Tartlet, "we shall be really at
home."
"We shall not be really at home,"
replied the professor drily, "until we
are in Montgomery Street, with your Uncle
Kolderup."
There was no disputing this opinion.
On the 26th of November the palisade was t=
hree
parts done. It comprised
among the sequoias attached one to another
that in which the poultry had
established themselves, and Godfrey's
intention was to build a stable
inside it.
In three or four days the fence was finish=
ed.
There only remained to fit
in a solid door, which would assure the
closure of Will Tree.
But on the morning of the 27th of November=
the
work was interrupted by
an event which we had better explain with =
some
detail, for it was one
of those unaccountable things peculiar to
Phina Island.
About eight o'clock, Carefinotu had climbe=
d up
to the fork of the
sequoia, so as to more carefully close the
hole by which the cold and
rain penetrated, when he uttered a singular
cry.
Godfrey, who was at work at the palisade,
raised his head and saw the
black, with expressive gestures, motioning=
to
him to join him without
delay.
Godfrey, thinking Carefinotu would not have
disturbed him unless he had
serious reason, took his glasses with him =
and
climbed up the interior
passage, and passing through the hole, sea=
ted
himself astride of one of
the main branches.
Carefinotu, pointing with his arm towards =
the
rounded angle which Phina
Island made to the north-east, showed a co=
lumn
of smoke rising in the
air like a long plume.
"Again!" exclaimed Godfrey.
And putting his glasses in the direction, =
he
assured himself that this
time there was no possible error, that it =
must
escape from some
important fire, which he could distinctly =
see
must be about five miles
off.
Godfrey turned towards the black.
Carefinotu expressed his surprise, by his
looks, his exclamations, in
fact by his whole attitude.
Assuredly he was no less astounded than
Godfrey at this apparition.
Besides, in the offing, there was no ship,=
not
a vessel native or other,
nothing which showed that a landing had
recently been made on the shore.
"Ah! This time I will find out the fi=
re
which produces that smoke!"
exclaimed Godfrey.
And pointing to the north-east angle of the
island, and then to the foot
of the tree, he gesticulated to Carefinotu
that he wished to reach the
place without losing an instant.
Carefinotu understood him. He even gave hi=
m to
understand that he
approved of the idea.
"Yes," said Godfrey to himself,
"if there is a human being there, we
must know who he is and whence he comes! We
must know why he hides
himself! It will be for the safety of
all!"
A moment afterwards Carefinotu and he
descended to the foot of Will
Tree. Then Godfrey, informing Tartlet of w=
hat
had passed and what he was
going to do, proposed for him to accompany
them to the north coast.
A dozen miles to traverse in one day was n=
ot a
very tempting suggestion
to a man who regarded his legs as the most
precious part of his body,
and only designed for noble exercises. And=
so
he replied that he would
prefer to remain at Will Tree.
"Very well, we will go alone,"
answered Godfrey, "but do not expect us
until the evening."
So saying, and Carefinotu and he carrying =
some
provisions for lunch on
the road, they set out, after taking leave=
of
the professor, whose
private opinion it was that they would find
nothing, and that all their
fatigue would be useless.
Godfrey took his musket and revolver; the
black the axe and the
hunting-knife which had become his favouri=
te
weapon. They crossed the
plank bridge to the right bank of the rive=
r,
and then struck off across
the prairie to the point on the shore where
the smoke had been seen
rising amongst the rocks.
It was rather more easterly than the place
which Godfrey had uselessly
visited on his second exploration.
They progressed rapidly, not without a sha=
rp
look-out that the wood was
clear and that the bushes and underwood did
not hide some animal whose
attack might be formidable.
Nothing disquieting occurred.
At noon, after having had some food, witho=
ut,
however, stopping for an
instant, they reached the first line of ro=
cks
which bordered the beach.
The smoke, still visible, was rising about=
a
quarter of a mile ahead.
They had only to keep straight on to reach
their goal.
They hastened their steps, but took
precautions so as to surprise, and
not be surprised.
Two minutes afterwards the smoke disappear=
ed,
as if the fire had been
suddenly extinguished.
But Godfrey had noted with exactness the s=
pot
whence it arose. It was at
the point of a strangely formed rock, a so=
rt
of truncated pyramid,
easily recognizable. Showing this to his
companion, he kept straight on.
The quarter of a mile was soon traversed, =
then
the last line was
climbed, and Godfrey and Carefinotu gained=
the
beach about fifty paces
from the rock.
They ran up to it. Nobody! But this time
half-smouldering embers and
half-burnt wood proved clearly that the fi=
re
had been alight on the
spot.
"There has been some one here!"
exclaimed Godfrey. "Some one not a
moment ago! We must find out who!"
He shouted. No response! Carefinotu gave a
terrible yell. No one
appeared!
Behold them then hunting amongst the
neighbouring rocks, searching a
cavern, a grotto, which might serve as a
refuge for a shipwrecked man,
an aboriginal, a savage--
It was in vain that they ransacked the
slightest recesses of the shore.
There was neither ancient nor recent camp =
in
existence, not even the
traces of the passage of a man.
"But," repeated Godfrey, "it
was not smoke from a warm spring this
time! It was from a fire of wood and grass,
and that fire could not
light itself."
Vain was their search. Then about two o'cl=
ock
Godfrey and Carefinotu, as
weary as they were disconcerted at their
fruitless endeavours, retook
their road to Will Tree.
There was nothing astonishing in Godfrey b=
eing
deep in thought. It
seemed to him that the island was now under
the empire of some occult
power. The reappearance of this fire, the
presence of wild animals, did
not all this denote some extraordinary
complication?
And was there not cause for his being
confirmed in this idea when an
hour after he had regained the prairie, he
heard a singular noise, a
sort of hard jingling.
Carefinotu pushed him aside at the same
instant as a serpent glided
beneath the herbage, and was about to stri=
ke
at him.
"Snakes, now. Snakes in the island, a=
fter
the bears and the tigers!" he
exclaimed.
Yes! It was one of those reptiles well-kno=
wn
by the noise they make, a
rattlesnake of the most venomous species: a
giant of the Crotalus
family!
Carefinotu threw himself between Godfrey a=
nd
the reptile, which hurried
off under a thick bush.
But the negro pursued it and smashed in its
head with a blow of the axe.
When Godfrey rejoined him, the two halves =
of
the reptile were writhing
on the blood-stained soil.
Then other serpents, not less dangerous,
appeared in great abundance on
this part of the prairie which was separat=
ed
by the stream from Will
Tree.
Was it then a sudden invasion of reptiles?=
Was
Phina Island going to
become the rival of ancient Tenos, whose
formidable ophidians rendered
it famous in antiquity, and which gave its
name to the viper?
"Come on! come on!" exclaimed
Godfrey, motioning to Carefinotu to
quicken the pace.
He was uneasy. Strange presentiments agita=
ted
him without his being able
to control them.
Under their influence, fearing some
approaching misfortune, he had
hastened his return to Will Tree.
But matters became serious when he reached=
the
planks across the river.
Screams of terror resounded from beneath t=
he
sequoias--cries for help in
a tone of agony which it was impossible to
mistake!
"It is Tartlet!" exclaimed Godfr=
ey.
"The unfortunate man has been
attacked! Quick! quick!"
Once over the bridge, about twenty paces
further on, Tartlet was
perceived running as fast as his legs could
carry him.
An enormous crocodile had come out of the
river and was pursuing him
with its jaws wide open. The poor man,
distracted, mad with fright,
instead of turning to the right or the lef=
t,
was keeping in a straight
line, and so running the risk of being cau=
ght.
Suddenly he stumbled. He
fell. He was lost.
Godfrey halted. In the presence of this
imminent danger his coolness
never forsook him for an instant. He broug=
ht
his gun to his shoulder,
and aimed at the crocodile. The well-aimed
bullet struck the monster,
and it made a bound to one side and fell
motionless on the ground.
Carefinotu rushed towards Tartlet and lift=
ed
him up. Tartlet had escaped
with a fright! But what a fright!
It was six o'clock in the evening.
A moment afterwards Godfrey and his two
companions had reached Will
Tree.
How bitter were their reflections during t=
heir
evening repast! What long
sleepless hours were in store for the
inhabitants of Phina Island, on
whom misfortunes were now crowding.
As for the professor, in his anguish he co=
uld
only repeat the words
which expressed the whole of his thoughts,
"I had much rather be off!"
WHICH ENDS WITH QUITE A SURPRISING REFLECT=
ION
BY THE NEGRO CAREFINOTU.
The winter season, so severe in these
latitudes, had come at last. The
first frosts had already been felt, and th=
ere
was every promise of
rigorous weather. Godfrey was to be
congratulated on having established
his fireplace in the tree. It need scarcel=
y be
said that the work at the
palisade had been completed, and that a
sufficiently solid door now
assured the closure of the fence.
During the six weeks which followed, that =
is
to say, until the middle of
December, there had been a good many wretc=
hed
days on which it was
impossible to venture forth. At the outset
there came terrible squalls.
They shook the group of sequoias to their =
very
roots. They strewed the
ground with broken branches, and so furnis=
hed
an ample reserve for the
fire.
Then it was that the inhabitants of Will T=
ree
clothed themselves as
warmly as they could. The woollen stuffs f=
ound
in the box were used
during the few excursions necessary for
revictualling, until the weather
became so bad that even these were forbidd=
en.
All hunting was at an end,
and the snow fell in such quantity that
Godfrey could have believed
himself in the inhospitable latitudes of t=
he
Arctic Ocean.
It is well known that Northern America, sw=
ept
by the Polar winds, with
no obstacle to check them, is one of the
coldest countries on the globe.
The winter there lasts until the month of
April. Exceptional precautions
have to be taken against it. It was the co=
ming
of the winter as it did
which gave rise to the thought that Phina
Island was situated in a
higher latitude than Godfrey had supposed.=
Hence the necessity of making the interior=
of
Will Tree as comfortable
as possible. But the suffering from rain a=
nd
cold was cruel. The
reserves of provisions were unfortunately
insufficient, the preserved
turtle flesh gradually disappeared. Freque=
ntly
there had to be
sacrificed some of the sheep or goats or
agouties, whose numbers had but
slightly increased since their arrival in =
the
island.
With these new trials, what sad thoughts
haunted Godfrey!
It happened also that for a fortnight he f=
ell
into a violent fever.
Without the tiny medicine-chest which affo=
rded
the necessary drugs for
his treatment, he might never have recover=
ed.
Tartlet was ill-suited to
attend to the petty cares that were necess=
ary
during the continuance of
the malady. It was to Carefinotu that he
mainly owed his return to
health.
But what remembrances and what regrets! Who
but himself could he blame
for having got into a situation of which he
could not even see the end?
How many times in his delirium did he call
Phina, whom he never should
see again, and his Uncle Will, from whom he
beheld himself separated for
ever! Ah! he had to alter his opinion of t=
his
Crusoe life which his
boyish imagination had made his ideal! Now=
he
was contending with
reality! He could no longer even hope to
return to the domestic hearth.
So passed this miserable December, at the =
end
of which Godfrey began to
recover his strength.
As for Tartlet, by special grace, doubtles=
s,
he was always well. But
what incessant lamentations! What endless
jeremiads! As the grotto of
Calypso after the departure of Ulysses, Wi=
ll
Tree "resounded no more to
his song"--that of his fiddle--for the
cold had frozen the strings!
It should be said too that one of the grav=
est
anxieties of Godfrey was
not only the re-appearance of dangerous
animals, but the fear of the
savages returning in great numbers to Phina
Island, the situation of
which was known to them. Against such an
invasion the palisade was but
an insufficient barrier. All things
considered, the refuge offered by
the high branches of the sequoia appeared =
much
safer, and the rendering
the access less difficult was taken in han=
d.
It would always be easy to
defend the narrow orifice by which the top=
of
the trunk was reached.
With the aid of Carefinotu Godfrey began to
cut regular ledges on each
side, like the steps of a staircase, and
these, connected by a long cord
of vegetable fibre, permitted of rapid asc=
ent
up the interior.
"Well," said Godfrey, when the w=
ork
was done, "that gives us a town
house below and a country house above!&quo=
t;
"I had rather have a cellar, if it wa=
s in
Montgomery Street!" answered
Tartlet.
Christmas arrived. Christmas kept in such
style throughout the United
States of America! The New Year's Day, ful=
l of
memories of childhood,
rainy, snowy, cold, and gloomy, began the =
new
year under the most
melancholy auspices.
It was six months since the survivors of t=
he
Dream had remained
without communication with the rest of the
world.
The commencement of the year was not very
cheering. It made Godfrey and
his companions anticipate that they would
still have many trials to
encounter.
The snow never ceased falling until January
18th. The flocks had to be
let out to pasture to get what feed they
could. At the close of the day,
a very cold damp night enveloped the islan=
d,
and the space shaded by the
sequoias was plunged in profound obscurity=
.
Tartlet and Carefinotu, stretched on their
beds inside Will Tree, were
trying in vain to sleep. Godfrey, by the
struggling light of a torch,
was turning over the pages of his Bible.
About ten o'clock a distant noise, which c=
ame
nearer and nearer, was
heard outside away towards the north. There
could be no mistake. It was
the wild beasts prowling in the neighbourh=
ood,
and, alarming to relate,
the howling of the tiger and of the
hyæna, and the roaring of the
panther and the lion were this time blende=
d in
one formidable concert.
Godfrey, Tartlet, and the negro sat up, ea=
ch a
prey to indescribable
anguish. If at this unaccountable invasion=
of
ferocious animals
Carefinotu shared the alarm of his compani=
ons,
his astonishment was
quite equal to his fright.
During two mortal hours all three kept on =
the
alert. The howlings
sounded at times close by; then they sudde=
nly
ceased, as if the beasts,
not knowing the country, were roaming about
all over it. Perhaps then
Will Tree would escape an attack!
"It doesn't matter if it does,"
thought Godfrey. "If we do not destroy
these animals to the very last one, there =
will
be no safety for us in
the island!"
A little after midnight the roaring began
again in full strength at a
moderate distance away. Impossible now to
doubt but that the howling
army was approaching Will Tree!
Yes! It was only too certain! But whence c=
ame
these wild animals? They
could not have recently landed on Phina
Island! They must have been
there then before Godfrey's arrival! But h=
ow
was it that all of them had
remained hidden during his walks and hunti=
ng
excursions, as well across
the centre as in the most out-of-the-way p=
arts
to the south? For Godfrey
had never found a trace of them. Where was=
the
mysterious den which
vomited forth lions, hyænas, panther=
s,
tigers? Amongst all the
unaccountable things up to now this was in=
deed
the most unaccountable.
Carefinotu could not believe what he heard=
. We
have said that his
astonishment was extreme. By the light of =
the
fire which illuminated the
interior of Will Tree there could be seen =
on
his black face the
strangest of grimaces.
Tartlet in the corner, groaned and lamente=
d,
and moaned again. He would
have asked Godfrey all about it, but Godfr=
ey
was not in the humour to
reply. He had a presentiment of a very gre=
at
danger, he was seeking for
a way to retreat from it.
Once or twice Carefinotu and he went out to
the centre of the palisade.
They wished to see that the door was firmly
and strongly shut.
Suddenly an avalanche of animals appeared =
with
a huge tumult along the
front of Will Tree.
It was only the goats and sheep and agouti=
es.
Terrified at the howling
of the wild beasts, and scenting their app=
roach,
they had fled from
their pasturage to take shelter behind the
palisade.
"We must open the door!" exclaim=
ed
Godfrey.
Carefinotu nodded his head. He did not wan=
t to
know the language to
understand what Godfrey meant.
The door was opened, and the frightened fl=
ock
rushed into the enclosure.
But at that instant there appeared through=
the
opening a gleaming of
eyes in the depths of the darkness which t=
he
shadow of the sequoias
rendered still more profound.
There was no time to close the enclosure!<= o:p>
To jump at Godfrey, seize him in spite of
himself, push him into the
dwelling and slam the door, was done by
Carefinotu like a flash of
lightning.
New roarings indicated that three or four =
wild
beasts had just cleared
the palisade.
Then these horrible roarings were mingled =
with
quite a concert of
bleatings and groanings of terror. The
domestic flock were taken as in a
trap and delivered over to the clutches of=
the
assailants.
Godfrey and Carefinotu, who had climbed up=
to
the two small windows in
the bark of the sequoia, endeavoured to see
what was passing in the
gloom.
Evidently the wild animals--tigers or lion=
s,
panthers or hyænas, they
did not know which yet--had thrown themsel=
ves
on the flock and begun
their slaughter.
At this moment, Tartlet, in a paroxysm of
blind terror, seized one of
the muskets, and would have taken a chance
shot out of one of the
windows.
Godfrey stopped him.
"No!" said he. "In this
darkness our shots will be lost, and we must not
waste our ammunition! Wait for daylight!&q=
uot;
He was right. The bullets would just as li=
kely
have struck the domestic
as the wild animals--more likely in fact, =
for
the former were the most
numerous. To save them was now impossible.
Once they were sacrificed,
the wild beasts, thoroughly gorged, might =
quit
the enclosure before
sunrise. They would then see how to act to
guard against a fresh
invasion.
It was most important too, during the dark
night, to avoid as much as
possible revealing to these animals the
presence of human beings, whom
they might prefer to the flock. Perhaps th=
ey
would thus avoid a direct
attack against Will Tree.
As Tartlet was incapable of understanding
either this reasoning or any
other, Godfrey contented himself with
depriving him of his weapon. The
professor then went and threw himself on h=
is
bed and freely
anathematized all travels and travellers a=
nd
maniacs who could not
remain quietly at their own firesides.
Both his companions resumed their observat=
ions
at the windows.
Thence they beheld, without the power of
interference, the horrible
massacre which was taking place in the glo=
om.
The cries of the sheep and
the goats gradually diminished as the
slaughter of the animals was
consummated, although the greater part had
escaped outside, where death,
none the less certain, awaited them. This =
loss
was irreparable for the
little colony; but Godfrey was not then
anxious about the future. The
present was disquieting enough to occupy a=
ll
his thoughts.
There was nothing they could do, nothing t=
hey
could try, to hinder this
work of destruction.
Godfrey and Carefinotu kept constant watch,
and now they seemed to see
new shadows coming up and passing into the
palisade, while a fresh
sound of footsteps struck on their ears.
Evidently certain belated beasts, attracte=
d by
the odour of the blood
which impregnated the air, had traced the
scent up to Will Tree.
They ran to and fro, they rushed round and
round the tree and gave forth
their hoarse and angry growls. Some of the
shadows jumped on the ground
like enormous cats. The slaughtered flock =
had
not been sufficient to
satisfy their rage.
Neither Godfrey nor his companions moved. =
In
keeping completely
motionless they might avoid a direct attac=
k.
An unlucky shot suddenly revealed their
presence and exposed them to the
greatest danger.
Tartlet, a prey to a veritable hallucinati=
on,
had risen. He had seized a
revolver; and this time, before Godfrey and
Carefinotu could hinder him,
and not knowing himself what he did, but
believing that he saw a tiger
standing before him, he had fired! The bul=
let
passed through the door of
Will Tree.
"Fool!" exclaimed Godfrey, throw=
ing
himself on Tartlet, while the negro
seized the weapon.
It was too late. The alarm was given, and
growlings still more violent
resounded without. Formidable talons were
heard tearing the bark of the
sequoia. Terrible blows shook the door, wh=
ich
was too feeble to resist
such an assault.
"We must defend ourselves!" shou=
ted
Godfrey.
And, with his gun in his hand and his
cartridge-pouch round his waist,
he took his post at one of the windows.
To his great surprise, Carefinotu had done=
the
same! Yes! the black,
seizing the second musket--a weapon which =
he
had never before
handled--had filled his pockets with
cartridges and taken his place at
the second window.
Then the reports of the guns began to echo
from the embrasures. By the
flashes, Godfrey on the one side, and
Carefinotu on the other, beheld
the foes they had to deal with.
There, in the enclosure, roaring with rage,
howling at the reports,
rolling beneath the bullets which struck m=
any
of them, leapt of lions
and tigers, and hyænas and panthers,=
at
least a score. To their roarings
and growlings which reverberated from afar,
there echoed back those of
other ferocious beasts running up to join
them. Already the now distant
roaring could be heard as they approached =
the
environs of Will Tree. It
was as though quite a menagerie of wild
animals had been suddenly set
free on the island!
[Illustration: Of lions and tigers quite a
score. page 252]
However, Godfrey and Carefinotu, without
troubling themselves about
Tartlet, who could be of no use, were keep=
ing
as cool as they could, and
refraining from firing unless they were
certain of their aim. Wishing to
waste not a shot, they waited till a shadow
passed in front of them.
Then came the flash and the report, and th=
en a
growl of grief told them
that the animal had been hit.
A quarter of an hour elapsed, and then cam=
e a
respite. Had the wild
beasts given up the attack which had cost =
the
lives of so many amongst
them? Were they waiting for the day to
recommence the attempt under more
favourable conditions?
Whatever might be the reason, neither Godf=
rey
nor Carefinotu desired to
leave his post. The black had shown himsel=
f no
less ready with the gun
than Godfrey. If that was due only to the
instinct of imitation, it must
be admitted that it was indeed surprising.=
About two o'clock in the morning there cam=
e a
new alarm--more furious
than before. The danger was imminent, the
position in the interior of
Will Tree was becoming untenable. New
growlings resounded round the foot
of the sequoia. Neither Godfrey nor
Carefinotu, on account of the
situation of the windows, which were cut
straight through, could see the
assailants, nor, in consequence, could they
fire with any chance of
success.
It was now the door which the beasts attac=
ked,
and it was only too
evident that it would be beaten in by their
weight or torn down by their
claws.
Godfrey and the black had descended to the
ground. The door was already
shaking beneath the blows from without. Th=
ey
could feel the heated
breath making its way in through the crack=
s in
the bark.
Godfrey and Carefinotu attempted to prop b=
ack
the door with the stakes
which kept up the beds, but these proved q=
uite
useless.
It was obvious that in a little while it w=
ould
be driven in, for the
beasts were mad with rage--particularly as=
no
shots could reach them.
Godfrey was powerless. If he and his
companions were inside Will Tree
when the assailants broke in, their weapons
would be useless to protect
them.
Godfrey had crossed his arms. He saw the
boards of the door open little
by little. He could do nothing. In a momen=
t of
hesitation, he passed his
hand across his forehead, as if in despair.
But soon recovering his
self-possession, he shouted,--
"Up we go! Up! All of us!"
And he pointed to the narrow passage which=
led
up to the fork inside
Will Tree.
Carefinotu and he, taking their muskets and
revolvers, supplied
themselves with cartridges.
And now he turned to make Tartlet follow t=
hem
into these heights where
he had never ventured before.
Tartlet was no longer there. He had starte=
d up
while his companions were
firing.
"Up!" repeated Godfrey.
It was a last retreat, where they would
assuredly be sheltered from the
wild beasts. If any tiger or panther attem=
pted
to come up into the
branches of the sequoia, it would be easy =
to
defend the hole through
which he would have to pass.
Godfrey and Carefinotu had scarcely ascend=
ed
thirty feet, when the
roaring was heard in the interior of Will
Tree. A few moments more and
they would have been surprised. The door h=
ad
just fallen in. They both
hurried along, and at last reached the upp=
er
end of the hole.
A scream of terror welcomed them. It was
Tartlet, who imagined he saw a
panther or tiger! The unfortunate professor
was clasping a branch,
frightened almost out of his life lest he
should fall.
Carefinotu went to him, and compelled him =
to
lean against an upright
bough, to which he firmly secured him with=
his
belt.
Then, while Godfrey selected a place whenc=
e he
could command the
opening, Carefinotu went to another spot
whence he could deliver a cross
fire.
And they waited.
Under these circumstances it certainly loo=
ked
as though the besieged
were safe from attack.
Godfrey endeavoured to discover what was
passing beneath them; but the
night was still too dark. Then he tried to
hear; and the growlings,
which never ceased, showed that the assail=
ants
had no thought of
abandoning the place.
Suddenly, towards four o'clock in the morn=
ing,
a great light appeared at
the foot of the tree. At once it shot out
through the door and windows.
At the same time a thick smoke spread forth
from the upper opening and
lost itself in the higher branches.
"What is that now?" exclaimed
Godfrey.
It was easily explained. The wild beasts, =
in
ravaging the interior of
Will Tree, had scattered the remains of the
fire. The fire had spread to
the things in the room. The flame had caug=
ht
the bark, which had dried
and become combustible. The gigantic sequo=
ia
was ablaze below.
The position was now more terrible than it=
had
ever been. By the light
of the flames, which illuminated the space
beneath the grove, they could
see the wild beasts leaping round the foot=
of
Will Tree.
At the same instant, a fearful explosion
occurred. The sequoia,
violently wrenched, trembled from its root=
s to
its summit.
It was the reserve of gunpowder which had
exploded inside Will Tree, and
the air, violently expelled from the openi=
ng,
rushed forth like the gas
from a discharging cannon.
Godfrey and Carefinotu were almost torn fr=
om
their resting-places. Had
Tartlet not been lashed to the branch, he
would assuredly have been
hurled to the ground.
The wild beasts, terrified at the explosio=
n,
and more or less wounded,
had taken to flight.
But at the same time the conflagration, fe=
d by
the sudden combustion of
the powder, had considerably extended. It
swiftly grew in dimensions as
it crept up the enormous stem.
Large tongues of flame lapped the interior,
and the highest soon reached
the fork, and the dead wood snapped and
crackled like shots from a
revolver. A huge glare lighted up, not only
the group of giant trees,
but even the whole of the coast from Flag
Point to the southern cape of
Dream Bay.
Soon the fire had reached the lower branch=
es
of the sequoia, and
threatened to invade the spot where Godfrey
and his companions had taken
refuge. Were they then to be devoured by t=
he
flames, with which they
could not battle, or had they but the last
resource of throwing
themselves to the ground to escape being b=
urnt
alive? In either case
they must die!
Godfrey sought about for some means of esc=
ape.
He saw none!
Already the lower branches were ablaze and=
a
dense smoke was struggling
with the first gleams of dawn which were
rising in the east.
At this moment there was a horrible crash =
of
rending and breaking. The
sequoia, burnt to the very roots, cracked
violently--it toppled over--it
fell!
But as it fell the stem met the stems of t=
he
trees which environed it;
their powerful branches were mingled with =
its
own, and so it remained
obliquely cradled at an angle of about
forty-five degrees from the
ground.
At the moment that the sequoia fell, Godfr=
ey
and his companions believed
themselves lost!
"Nineteenth of January!" exclaim=
ed a
voice, which Godfrey, in spite of
his astonishment, immediately recognized.<= o:p>
It was Carefinotu! Yes, Carefinotu had just
pronounced these words, and
in that English language which up to then =
he
had seemed unable to speak
or to understand!
"What did you say?" asked Godfre=
y,
as he followed him along the
branches.
"I said, Mr. Morgan," answered
Carefinotu, "that to-day your Uncle Will
ought to reach us, and that if he doesn't =
turn
up we are done for!"
WHICH CONCLUDES BY EXPLAINING WHAT UP TO N=
OW
HAD APPEARED INEXPLICABLE.
At that instant, and before Godfrey could =
reply,
the report of fire-arms
was heard not far from Will Tree.
At the same time one of those rain storms,
regular cataracts in their
fury, fell in a torrential shower just as =
the
flames devouring the lower
branches were threatening to seize upon the
trees against which Will
Tree was resting.
What was Godfrey to think after this serie=
s of
inexplicable events?
Carefinotu speaking English like a cockney,
calling him by his name,
announcing the early arrival of Uncle Will,
and then the sudden report
of the fire-arms?
He asked himself if he had gone mad; but he
had no time for insoluble
questions, for below him--hardly five minu=
tes
after the first sound of
the guns--a body of sailors appeared hurry=
ing
through the trees.
Godfrey and Carefinotu slipped down along =
the
stem, the interior of
which was still burning.
But the moment that Godfrey touched the
ground, he heard himself spoken
to, and by two voices which even in his
trouble it was impossible for
him not to recognize.
"Nephew Godfrey, I have the honour to=
salute
you!"
"Godfrey! Dear Godfrey!"
"Uncle Will! Phina! You!" exclai=
med
Godfrey, astounded.
Three seconds afterwards he was in somebod=
y's
arms, and was clasping
that somebody in his own.
At the same time two sailors, at the order=
of
Captain Turcott who was in
command, climbed up along the sequoia to s=
et
Tartlet free, and, with all
due respect, pluck him from the branch as =
if
he were a fruit.
And then the questions, the answers, the
explanations which passed!
"Uncle Will! You?"
"Yes! me!"
"And how did you discover Phina
Island?"
"Phina Island!" answered William=
W.
Kolderup. "You should say Spencer
Island! Well, it wasn't very difficult. I
bought it six months ago!"
"Spencer Island!"
"And you gave my name to it, you dear
Godfrey!" said the young lady.
"The new name is a good one, and we w=
ill
keep to it," answered the
uncle; "but for geographers this is
Spencer Island, only three days'
journey from San Francisco, on which I tho=
ught
it would be a good plan
for you to serve your apprenticeship to the
Crusoe business!"
"Oh! Uncle! Uncle Will! What is it you
say?" exclaimed Godfrey. "Well,
if you are in earnest, I can only answer t=
hat
I deserved it! But then,
Uncle Will, the wreck of the Dream?"<= o:p>
"Sham!" replied William W. Kolde=
rup,
who had never seemed in such a good
humour before. "The Dream was quietly
sunk by means of her water
ballast, according to the instructions I h=
ad
given Turcott. You thought
she sank for good, but when the captain saw
that you and Tartlet had got
safely to land he brought her up and steam=
ed
away. Three days later he
got back to San Francisco, and he it is who
has brought us to Spencer
Island on the date we fixed!"
"Then none of the crew perished in the
wreck?"
"None--unless it was the unhappy Chin=
aman
who hid himself away on board
and could not be found!"
"But the canoe?"
"Sham! The canoe was of my own
make."
"But the savages?"
"Sham! The savages whom luckily you d=
id
not shoot!"
"But Carefinotu?"
"Sham! Carefinotu was my faithful Jup
Brass, who played his part of
Friday marvellously well, as I see."<= o:p>
"Yes," answered Godfrey. "He
twice saved my life--once from a bear, once
from a tiger--"
"The bear was sham! the tiger was
sham!" laughed William W. Kolderup.
"Both of them were stuffed with straw,
and landed before you saw them
with Jup Brass and his companions!"
"But he moved his head and his
paws!"
"By means of a spring which Jup Brass=
had
fixed during the night a few
hours before the meetings which were prepa=
red
for you."
"What! all of them?" repeated
Godfrey, a little ashamed at having been
taken in by these artifices.
"Yes! Things were going too smoothly =
in
your island, and we had to get
up a little excitement!"
"Then," answered Godfrey, who had
begun to laugh, "if you wished to make
matters unpleasant for us, why did you sen=
d us
the box which contained
everything we wanted?"
"A box?" answered William W.
Kolderup. "What box? I never sent you a
box! Perhaps by chance--"
And as he said so he looked towards Phina,=
who
cast down her eyes and
turned away her head.
"Oh! indeed!--a box! but then Phina m=
ust
have had an accomplice--"
And Uncle Will turned towards Captain Turc=
ott,
who laughingly
answered,--
"What could I do, Mr. Kolderup? I can
sometimes resist you--but Miss
Phina--it was too difficult! And four mont=
hs
ago, when you sent me to
look round the island, I landed the box fr=
om
my boat--"
"Dearest Phina!" said Godfrey,
seizing the young lady's hand.
"Turcott, you promised to keep the
secret!" said Phina with a blush.
And Uncle William W. Kolderup, shaking his=
big
head, tried in vain to
hide that he was touched.
But if Godfrey could not restrain his smil=
es
as he listened to the
explanations of Uncle Will, Professor Tart=
let
did not laugh in the
least! He was excessively mortified at wha=
t he
heard! To have been the
object of such a mystification, he, a
professor of dancing and
deportment! And so advancing with much dig=
nity
he observed,--
"Mr. William Kolderup will hardly ass=
ert,
I imagine, that the enormous
crocodile, of which I was nearly the unhap=
py
victim, was made of
pasteboard and wound up with a spring?&quo=
t;
"A crocodile?" replied the uncle=
.
"Yes, Mr. Kolderup," said
Carefinotu, to whom we had better return his
proper name of Jup Brass. "Yes, a real
live crocodile, which went for
Mr. Tartlet, and which I did not have in my
collection!"
Godfrey then related what had happened, the
sudden appearance of the
wild beasts in such numbers, real lions, r=
eal
tigers, real panthers, and
then the invasion of the snakes, of which
during four months they had
not seen a single specimen in the island!<= o:p>
William W. Kolderup at this was quite
disconcerted. He knew nothing
about it. Spencer Island--it had been known
for a long time--never had
any wild beasts, did not possess even a si=
ngle
noxious animal; it was so
stated in the deeds of sale.
Neither did he understand what Godfrey told
him of the attempts he had
made to discover the origin of the smoke w=
hich
had appeared at different
points on the island. And he seemed very m=
uch
troubled to find that all
had not passed on the island according to =
his
instructions, and that the
programme had been seriously interfered wi=
th.
As for Tartlet, he was not the sort of man=
to
be humbugged. For his part
he would admit nothing, neither the sham
shipwreck, nor the sham
savages, nor the sham animals, and above a=
ll
he would never give up the
glory which he had gained in shooting with=
the
first shot from his gun
the chief of the Polynesian tribe--one of =
the
servants of the Kolderup
establishment, who turned out to be as wel=
l as
he was.
All was described, all was explained, exce=
pt
the serious matter of the
real wild beasts and the unknown smoke. Un=
cle
Will became very
thoughtful about this. But, like a practic=
al
man, he put off, by an
effort of the will, the solution of the
problems, and addressing his
nephew,--
"Godfrey," said he, "you ha=
ve
always been so fond of islands, that I am
sure it will please you to hear that this =
is
yours--wholly yours! I make
you a present of it! You can do what you l=
ike
with it! I never dreamt of
bringing you away by force; and I would not
take you away from it! Be
then a Crusoe for the rest of your life, if
your heart tells you to--"
"I!" answered Godfrey. "I! =
All
my life!"
Phina stepped forward.
"Godfrey," she asked, "would
you like to remain on your island?"
"I would rather die!" he exclaim=
ed.
But immediately he added, as he took the y=
oung
lady's hand,--
"Well, yes, I will remain; but on thr=
ee
conditions. The first is, you
stay with me, dearest Phina; the second is,
that Uncle Will lives with
us; and the third is, that the chaplain of=
the
Dream marries us this
very day!"
"There is no chaplain on board the Dr=
eam,
Godfrey!" replied Uncle
Will. "You know that very well. But I
think there is still one left in
San Francisco, and that we can find some
worthy minister to perform the
service! I believe I read your thoughts wh=
en I
say that before to-morrow
we shall put to sea again!"
Then Phina and Uncle Will asked Godfrey to=
do
the honours of his island.
Behold them then walking under the group of
sequoias, along the stream
up to the little bridge.
Alas! of the habitation at Will Tree nothi=
ng
remained. The fire had
completely devoured the dwelling in the ba=
se
of the tree! Without the
arrival of William W. Kolderup, what with =
the
approaching winter, the
destruction of their stores, and the genui=
ne
wild beasts in the island,
our Crusoes would have deserved to be piti=
ed.
"Uncle Will!" said Godfrey. &quo=
t;If
I gave the island the name of Phina, let
me add that I gave our dwelling the name of
Will Tree!"
"Well," answered the uncle, &quo=
t;we
will take away some of the seed, and
plant it in my garden at 'Frisco!"
During the walk they noticed some wild ani=
mals
in the distance; but they
dared not attack so formidable a party as =
the
sailors of the Dream.
But none the less was their presence
absolutely incomprehensible.
Then they returned on board, not without
Tartlet asking permission to
bring off "his crocodile"--a
permission which was granted.
That evening the party were united in the
saloon of the Dream, and
there was quite a cheerful dinner to celeb=
rate
the end of the adventures
of Godfrey Morgan and his marriage with Ph=
ina
Hollaney.
On the morrow, the 20th of January, the Dr=
eam
set sail under the
command of Captain Turcott. At eight o'clo=
ck
in the morning Godfrey, not
without emotion, saw the horizon in the we=
st
wipe out, as if it were a
shadow, the island on which he had been to
school for six months--a
school of which he never forgot the lesson=
s.
The passage was rapid; the sea magnificent;
the wind favourable. This
time the Dream went straight to her
destination! There was no one to
be mystified! She made no tackings without
number as on the first
voyage! She did not lose during the night =
what
she had gained during the
day!
And so on the 23rd of January, after passi=
ng
at noon through the Golden
Gate, she entered the vast bay of San
Francisco, and came alongside the
wharf in Merchant Street.
And what did they then see?
They saw issue from the hold a man who, ha=
ving
swum to the Dream
during the night while she was anchored at
Phina Island, had succeeded
in stowing himself away for the second tim=
e!
And who was this man?
It was the Chinaman, Seng Vou, who had made
the passage back as he had
made the passage out!
Seng Vou advanced towards William W. Kolde=
rup.
"I hope Mr. Kolderup will pardon
me," said he very politely. "When I
took my passage in the Dream, I thought she
was going direct to
Shanghai, and then I should have reached my
country, but I leave her
now, and return to San Francisco."
Every one, astounded at the apparition, kn=
ew
not what to answer, and
laughingly gazed at the intruder.
"But," said William W. Kolderup =
at
last, "you have not remained six
months in the hold, I suppose?"
"No!" answered Seng Vou.
"Where have you been, then?"
"On the island!"
"You!" exclaimed Godfrey.
"Yes."
"Then the smoke?"
"A man must have a fire!"
"And you did not attempt to come to u=
s,
to share our living?"
"A Chinaman likes to live alone,"
quietly replied Seng Vou. "He is
sufficient for himself, and he wants no
one!"
And thereupon this eccentric individual bo=
wed
to William W. Kolderup,
landed, and disappeared.
"That is the stuff they make real Cru=
soes
of!" observed Uncle Will.
"Look at him and see if you are like =
him!
It does not matter, the
English race would do no good by absorbing
fellows of that stamp!"
"Good!" said Godfrey, "the
smoke is explained by the presence of Seng
Vou; but the beasts?"
"And my crocodile!" added Tartle=
t;
"I should like some one to explain my
crocodile!"
William W. Kolderup seemed much embarrasse=
d,
and feeling in turn quite
mystified, passed his hand over his forehe=
ad
as if to clear the clouds
away.
"We shall know later on," he sai=
d.
"Everything is found by him who knows
how to seek!"
A few days afterwards there was celebrated
with great pomp the wedding
of the nephew and pupil of William W.
Kolderup. That the young couple
were made much of by all the friends of the
wealthy merchant can easily
be imagined.
At the ceremony Tartlet was perfect in
bearing, in everything, and the
pupil did honour to the celebrated profess=
or
of dancing and deportment.
Now Tartlet had an idea. Not being able to
mount his crocodile on a
scarf-pin--and much he regretted it--he
resolved to have it stuffed. The
animal prepared in this fashion--hung from=
the
ceiling, with the jaws
half open, and the paws outspread--would m=
ake
a fine ornament for his
room. The crocodile was consequently sent =
to a
famous taxidermist, and
he brought it back to Tartlet a few days
afterwards. Every one came to
admire the monster who had almost made a m=
eal
of Tartlet.
"You know, Mr. Kolderup, where the an=
imal
came from?" said the
celebrated taxidermist, presenting his bil=
l.
"No, I do not," answered Uncle W=
ill.
"But it had a label underneath its
carapace."
"A label!" exclaimed Godfrey.
"Here it is," said the celebrated
taxidermist.
And he held out a piece of leather on whic=
h,
in indelible ink, were
written these words,--
"From Hagen=
beck,
Hamburg,
=
"To J. R. Taskinar, Stockton, U.S.A."
When William W. Kolderup had read these wo=
rds
he burst into a shout of
laughter. He understood all.
It was his enemy, J. R. Taskinar, his
conquered competitor, who, to be
revenged, had bought a cargo of wild beast=
s,
reptiles, and other
objectionable creatures from a well-known
purveyor to the menageries of
both hemispheres, and had landed them at n=
ight
in several voyages to
Spencer Island. It had cost him a good dea=
l,
no doubt, to do so; but he
had succeeded in infesting the property of=
his
rival, as the English did
Martinique, if we are to believe the legen=
d,
before it was handed over
to France.
There was thus no more to explain of the
remarkable occurrences on
Phina Island.
"Well done!" exclaimed William W.
Kolderup. "I could not have done
better myself!"
"But with those terrible creatures,&q=
uot;
said Phina, "Spencer Island--"
"Phina Island--" interrupted
Godfrey.
"Phina Island," continued the br=
ide,
with a smile, "is quite
uninhabitable."
"Bah!" answered Uncle Will; &quo=
t;we
can wait till the last lion has eaten up
the last tiger!"
"And then, dearest Phina," said
Godfrey, "you will not be afraid to pass
a season there with me?"
"With you, my dear husband, I fear
nothing from anywhere," answered
Phina, "and as you have not had your
voyage round the world--"
"We will have it together," said
Godfrey, "and if an unlucky chance
should ever make me a real Crusoe--"<= o:p>
"You will ever have near you the most
devoted of Crusoe-esses!"
THE END.