Jack at Sea Part 28

"Does it?" asked Jack.

"Ah, that I can't say. You must take the doctor's opinion."

But Jack was too much interested in watching the prahu, which, in spite of only having matting sails, sped along over the calm water at a rapid rate, and he went on questioning his companion.

"They seem fierce-looking fellows, and as if they could do a deal of mischief. Are they such terribly bloodthirsty people?"

"Certainly not," said the mate. "I have always found the better-cla.s.s Malays simple, gentlemanly, and courteous if they are properly treated; but if injured, I believe they can be treacherous and relentless."

"But I remember once reading how bloodthirsty the Malay pirates are."

"I don't think the English, Spanish, or French pirates were much better," said the mate, laughing. "Pirates are generally the sc.u.m of the ports they sail from; reckless, murderous ruffians. But I should say that of all pirates out in the East, the gentle, placid, mild-looking Chinaman makes the worst; for he thinks nothing of human life, his own or any one else's."

"But there are no pirates now, of course," said Jack quietly.

The mate turned and looked him in the eyes.

"Do you want me to tell you some murderous narrative?"

"Oh no; I don't care for such things. I know, of course, that there used to be plenty."

"So there are now," said the mate. "They have hard work to carry on their piracies; but every now and then we have a bad case. They mostly come from the Chinese coast; but they are made up of ruffians of all kinds."

Jack was silent for a few moments.

"I heard Captain Bradleigh say that the men were all trained to use the small-arms," he said at last quietly. "Would they fight if we were attacked?"

The mate hummed over a bit of a once popular song, beginning, "We don't want to fight, but by Jingo if we do."

"That pretty well expresses the nature of English sailors, sir," he said quietly. "They don't want to fight, and never would if they were left alone. But if they do fight--well, Mr Jack, if they do they hit very hard."

Jack laughed merrily, to the great satisfaction of two gentlemen across the deck, who turned their heads so as not to seem as if they noticed anything.

"I dare say," continued the mate, "you remember how it was at school; you never wanted to fight, but when you had to I suppose you hit hard?"

Jack was silent again, and at last said quietly--

"I never did have a fight at school."

During the next few days they sailed slowly on at a short distance from the coast of the long island of Java, and except that the weather was very hot, and that they could see in the distance mountain after mountain rising up like a huge, blunt cone, several of them showing a cloud of smoke drifting slowly away before the wind, sailing here seemed in nowise different from by the coast of Spain or Portugal. But Jack was to see the difference before long.

One evening over dinner their plans were discussed, the captain saying--

"Then I understand, Sir John, that you quite leave the choice to me?"

"Certainly. We have not sailed these thousands of miles for the sake of visiting towns and show places. Take us to some one of the islands such as you described to me; uninhabited if you can. If you could cast anchor by one never yet trodden by the foot of man, so much the better."

"Ah, that I can't promise you, sir," replied the captain, "for the people out this way are nearly all venturesome sailors, and for any number of years have put to sea in the most crazy of bamboo craft, and set sail to land where they could, some of them even going in mere canoes. So you see we may come upon people in the most unexpected places. But I have several islands in my mind's eye, between here and the east end of New Guinea, where you gentlemen may collect to your hearts' content."

"Birds?" cried the doctor.

"Birds, sir? Yes; some of the most beautifully coloured to be found on the face of the earth. Parrots, c.o.c.katoos, birds of paradise, sun-birds, something like the little humming-birds of the West Indies and South America. Oh yes; you'll find as many birds as you want."

"b.u.t.terflies?" asked Jack.

"Yes, and moths, some of them bigger than a cheese-plate."

"Flies, of course?" said Sir John.

"Oh yes, sir, and beetles too, some of the ugliest you can imagine, and some of them looking as if made of burnished metal. Then of course you'll have plenty of fireflies and mosquitoes too."

"Of course we shall get them," said Sir John. "But what about serpents?"

"Plenty, sir, sea and land; curious lizards too."

"There will be no animals to shoot," said the doctor rather regretfully.

"Tigers, elephants, or leopards? No, not unless we make for the mainland. But there is a great deal of unexplored country on the coast of New Guinea and Borneo, and there's no knowing what we might come across. There are elephants in Borneo, and our old friend the orang-outang."

"Let's try one of the smaller islands first," said Sir John. "I'm getting eager to begin doing something."

"I can't exist much longer doing nothing but parade up and down this deck. My joints are growing up. How do you feel, Jack?" said the doctor.

"Lazy. I feel as if I could go on doing nothing for any length of time."

"Here, this won't do," cried the doctor in mock horror. "'Bout ship, captain, and let's get back home, or else to one of these wonderful islands that make my mouth water. Let me see, something of this kind: a beach of coral with the waves always rolling over and breaking in foam, so that just within there is a beautiful blue lagoon of water, calm as a lake. Across the lake stretched right and left golden sands, at the back of which are cocoa-nut groves, with their great fern-like leaves rustling in the sea-breeze, crabs and fish scuttling about beneath them; and farther on where the land commences to rise the glorious tropic forest begins, trailed with orchids and wonderful creepers. Great palms rise like columns, and huge trees of the fig persuasion spread and drop down at several spots to form green bowers, and capital places to make huts. Monkeys climbing about. Birds swarming--nesting or swinging by the rotan canes. Farther on the land rising and rising, and all forest till it begins to be seamed with valleys, or rather deep gorges which run up to the central mountain, from which they radiate all round down toward the sea, and all of them forming glorious collecting grounds for naturalists. Then higher up the air growing cooler, save for a peculiar hot puff now and then with a taste in it of sulphurous steam. Then the trees growing thinner and not so majestic, but the flowers more abundant and the valleys more moist, where the streams trickle down; and here and there are little waterfalls, over which in the spray enormous fronds spread their green lace-work and sparkle with the fine pearly dew which is formed by the spray from the falling water. Here an icy spring of crystal purity gushes from amongst the mossy stones, and oddly enough a little farther on we come upon another spring, from which steam rises, but the water itself is of wonderful clearness, so hot that you cannot bear your hand in it, and the basin is composed of delicate pinky-white as beautiful as the inside of some of the sh.e.l.ls which lie in the glorious marine garden at the bottom of the lagoon which spreads all round the island. We push on and at last leave the trees behind, to find the vegetation curiously dwarfed, ma.s.ses and tufts of wiry gra.s.s, and we have to tramp over sandy, cindery stuff which gives way under our feet, and sets some of the big stones in motion. For we have come upon a slope which grows steeper and steeper, and runs up and up, till, quite breathless, we stop short among the great grey ma.s.ses of pumice-stone and gla.s.sy obsidian which cut our boots. We look about and see from where we are over one side of the island, in whose centre we nearly stand. The forest is glorious, the lagoon looks like turquoise, and the coral reef which forms a breakwater round the place seems from our great height to be one ma.s.s of creamy foam, while beyond it stretching far and wide is the glorious sapphire sea. We are terribly hot with our climb, but the air here is splendidly invigorating, and we turn to finish our last hit of a few hundred feet over loose lava, pumice, and scoria. It is hard work, but we give one another a hand, and at last we stand at the edge of a tremendous depression like a vast cup in the top of the mountain, whose other side, similar to that on which we stand, is a mile away, while below its the cup is br.i.m.m.i.n.g with the verdure which runs up from a lovely blue lake a thousand feet below. All is beautiful, so beautiful, that it seems to take away our breath, for flowers are all about, the gorgeous b.u.t.terflies are on the wing, noisy paroquets are climbing head up or head down, and there is nothing to show that we are on the edge of the crater of some tremendous volcano, but we catch sight of a thin thread of steam rising to form a cloud over a bare rock-strewn patch on one side. That tells us the fierce gases below are not quite extinct, but are smouldering ready to burst out at any time, sending forth the fiery rain to destroy the verdure, torrents of molten stone to run in streams down to the sea, or a flood of boiling mud to turn the lovely island into a wilderness. All is so beautiful that we can hardly turn away to begin our descent to where the yacht is lying in the lagoon, which forms a perfectly safe port into which it has been towed by the crew. But go down we must, for we are choking with thirst--at least I am, through talking; so long, and I'll trouble you, steward, for another gla.s.s of water."

"Oh," cried Jack, who had been drinking in every word, his face flushed and eyes bright with excitement as he pictured mentally the glorious place the doctor had described, "what a cruel mockery to raise one's expectations like that. It's like waking one suddenly from a beautiful dream."

"Don't quarrel with him, my boy. I say, Jack! I did not know the doctor could be so florid."

"I didn't either," said the doctor, laughing, "not till I tried."

"Capital!" cried the mate, clapping his hands softly.

"Yes, excellent," said the captain, smiling, with a peculiar twinkling about the eyes. "But it seems to me, Sir John, that you do not need any guide."

"Why not?"

"Because I see the doctor has been there."

"I never was farther from home than Switzerland in my life."

"That's strange," said the captain, "for that's the very island I am making for now."

"Oh! won't do," said the doctor. "Mine was all exaggeration, built up out of old books of travels."

"The description was perfect, sir," said the captain quietly. "Eh, Bartlett?"