Swiss Family Robinson Part 54

Storm, Lightfoot, Swift, Grumble, Stentor, Arrow and Dart were there, with Jack, on his fleet two-legged courser, at their heels. At his saddle-bow hung a cl.u.s.ter of saddles and bridles, the bits all jangling and clanking, adding to the din and confusion, and urging on the excited animals, who thoroughly entered into the fun, and with tails in the air, ears back, and heels ever and anon thrown playfully out, seemed about to overwhelm us.

We stepped aside to shelter ourselves behind the trees from the furious onset; but a shout from Fritz brought the whole herd to a sudden halt, and Jack spurred towards us.

'Which of the cattle shall we saddle for you, Jenny?' he shouted.

'They're all as gentle as lambs, and as active as cats. Every one has been ridden by mother; and knows what a side-saddle means, so you can't go wrong.'

To his great delight, Jenny quickly showed her appreciation of the merits of the steeds by picking out Dart, the fleetest and most spirited in the whole stud.

The ostrich was then relieved of his unusual burden, the animals were speedily equipped, and Lightfoot bearing the baskets and hampers, the whole party mounted and trotted forwards. Jenny was delighted with her palfrey, and henceforward he was reserved for her special use.

The work at Falconhurst, as I had expected, occupied us for some time and it was a week before we could again return to Rockburg.

Yet the time pa.s.sed pleasantly; for though the young men were busy from morning to night, the presence of their new companion, her lively spirits and gay conversation, kept them in constant good humour.

When the repairs were all finished we remained yet a day or two longer, that we might make excursions in various directions to bring in poultry from Woodlands, stores of acorns for the pigs, and gra.s.s, willows and canes, to be manufactured during the winter into mats, baskets, hurdles and hen-coops.

Many a shower wetted us through during these days, and we had scarcely time to hurry back to Rockburg and house our cattle and possessions before the annual deluge began.

Never before had this dreary season seemed so short and pleasant; with Jenny amongst us the usual feeling of weariness and discontent never appeared; the English language was quickly acquired by all hands, Fritz, in particular, speaking it so well that Jenny declared she could scarcely believe he was not an Englishman. She herself already spoke French, and therefore easily learned our native language and spoke it fluently before we were released from our captivity.

Chapter 18

Many wondrous tales were told or read in turn by the boys and Jenny during the long evenings as we sat drawing, weaving and plaiting in our rosy study. In fact this winter was a truly happy time, and when at length the rain ceased and the bright sun again smiled upon the face of nature, we could scarcely believe, as we stepped forth and once more felt the balmy breath of spring, that, for so many weeks, we had been prisoners within our rocky walls.

All was once more activity and life; the duties in field, garden and orchard called forth the energy of the lads, whilst their mother and sister found abundant occupation in the poultry-yard and house.

Our various settlements and stations required attention. Falconhurst, Woodlands, Prospect Hill, Shark and Whale Islands were in turn visited and set in order. The duty of attending to the island battery fell to Jack and Franz.

They had been busy all day repairing the flagstaff, rehoisting the flag, and cleaning and putting into working order the two guns. Evening was drawing on and our day's work over; the rest of us were strolling up and down upon the beach enjoying the cool sea breeze. We watched the lads as they completed their work. They loaded and ran out their guns and, paddling off with an empty tub in the cajack, placed it out to sea as a mark for practice. They returned and fired, and the barrel flew in pieces; with a shout of triumph, they cleaned the guns and ran them in.

Scarcely had they done so when, as though in answer to their shots, came the sound of three guns booming across the water from the westward.

We stopped, speechless. Was it fancy? Had we really heard guns from a strange ship? Or had the boys again fired? No! There were the lads leaping into their canoe and paddling in hot haste towards us. They, too, had heard the sound.

A tumult of feelings rushed over us--anxiety, joy, hope, doubt, each in turn took possession of our minds. Was it a European vessel close upon our sh.o.r.es, and were we about to be linked once more to civilized life?

Or did those sounds proceed from a Malay pirate, who would rob and murder us? What was to be the result of meeting with our fellow beings; were they to be friends who would help us, enemies who would attack us, or would they prove unfortunate creatures in need of our a.s.sistance?

Who could tell?

Before we could express these thoughts in words the cajack had touched the sh.o.r.e, and Jack and Franz were among us.

'Did you hear them? Did you hear them?' they gasped. 'What shall we do?

Where shall we go?'

'Oh, Fritz,' continued my youngest son, 'it must be a European ship. We shall find her. We shall see our Fatherland once more,' and, in an emotion of joy, he grasped his brother's hands.

Till then I knew not what a craving for civilized life had been aroused in the two young men by the appearance of their European sister.

All eyes were turned towards me. What would I advise?

'At present,' I said, 'we can do nothing, for night is drawing on. We must make what preparation we can, and pray for guidance.' In the greatest excitement we returned to the house, all talking eagerly, and till late no one could be persuaded to retire to rest.

Few slept that night. The boys and I took it in turn to keep watch from the verandah, lest more signals might be fired, or a hostile visit might be paid us. But about midnight the wind began to rise, and before we rea.s.sembled to discuss our plans a fearful storm was raging; so terrific was the sea that I knew no boat could live, and had a broadside been fired at the entrance of the Bay we should not have heard it through the howling of the blast.

For two days and two nights the hurricane continued, but on the third day the sun again appeared, and, the wind lulling, the sea went rapidly down. Full of anxiety I readily complied with the boys' desire to put off to Shark Island and discharge the guns; for who could tell what had been the result of the gale; perhaps the vessel had been driven upon the rocky sh.o.r.e or, fearing such a fate, she had left the coast and weathered the storm out at sea; if so she might never return.

With these thoughts I accompanied Jack and Franz to the fort.

One--two--we fired the guns and waited.

For some minutes there was no reply, and then an answering report rolled in the distance. There was no longer room for doubt; the strangers were still in the vicinity, and were aware of our presence.

We waved the flag as a signal to those on sh.o.r.e that all was well, and quickly returned. We found the whole family in a state of the greatest excitement, and I felt it necessary to calm them down as much as possible, for neither could I answer the questions with which I was besieged, nor could I conceal the fact that the visit of the vessel might not prove so advantageous as they expected.

Fritz and I at once prepared to make a reconnaissance; we armed ourselves with our guns, pistols and cutla.s.ses, took a spy-gla.s.s, seated ourselves in the cajack and, with a parting entreaty from my wife to be cautious, paddled out of the bay and round the high cliffs on our left. For nearly an hour we advanced in the direction from which the reports of the guns seemed to proceed. Nothing could we see, however, but the frowning rocks and cliffs, and the waves beating restlessly at their base. Cape Pug-Nose was reached, and we began to round the bluff old point.

In a moment all our doubts were dispelled, and joy and grat.i.tude to the Great Giver of all good filled our hearts. There, in the little sheltered cove beyond the cape, her sails furled, and anchor dropped, lay a brig-of-war with the English colours at her masthead.

With the gla.s.s I could discern figures upon the deck and, upon the sh.o.r.e beyond, several tents pitched under the shelter of the trees, and the smoke of fires rising amongst them. As I handed the gla.s.s to Fritz, I felt a sudden misgiving. 'What,' said I to myself, 'can this English vessel be doing thus far from the usual track of ships?' and I called to mind tales of mutinous crews who have risen against their officers, have chosen some such sheltered retreat as this; have disguised the vessel, and then sailed forth to rob and plunder upon the high seas.

Fritz then exclaimed, 'I can see the captain, father, he is speaking to one of the officers, and I can see his face quite well; he is English, I am certain he is English, and the flag speaks the truth!' and he put the gla.s.s again in my hand that I might see for myself.

Still keeping under the shelter of the cliff, I carefully surveyed the vessel. There was no doubt that Fritz was right, and my fears were once more dispelled; all was neatness and regularity on board; the spotless decks, the burnished steel and bra.s.s, and the air of perfect order which pervaded both ship and camp, betokened that authority and discipline there reigned.

For some minutes longer we continued our examination of the scene, and then satisfied by the appearance of the camp on sh.o.r.e, that there was no chance of the brig quitting the coast for several days, we resolved to return without betraying our presence, for I was unwilling to appear before these strangers until we could do so in better form, and in a manner more in accordance with our actual resources.

We again landed at Rockburg, where our family awaited our arrival in eager expectation, and as fully as possible we told them of all we had seen. They thoroughly approved of our caution, and even Jenny, whose hopes had been excited to the highest pitch by our description of the English vessel, and who longed to meet her countrymen once more, agreed to postpone the visit until the following day, when, having put our yacht into good order, we might pay our respects to the captain, not as poor shipwrecked creatures begging a.s.sistance, but as lords and masters of the land, seeking to know for what purpose strangers were visiting the coast.

The rest of the day was occupied in making our preparations. Our dainty little craft was made to look her very best; her decks were scrubbed, her bra.s.s guns burnished, all lumber* removed and put ash.o.r.e, and the flag of England hoisted to her peak.

* Junk, things stored but not in use.

My wife overhauled our wardrobes, and the neatest uniforms were put ready for the boys and me, for though neither my wife nor Jenny had ever dreamed of appearing otherwise than they would have done, had they been at home amongst civilized people in Europe, yet we, accustomed daily to rough and often even dirty work, had adopted just that costume which best suited our comfort and inclination. We should indeed have surprised the smart man-o'-war's men, had we appeared in our great shapeless wide-brimmed hats, our linen coats and trousers, our broad leathern belts and hairy buskins; so we next day readily donned the more becoming costumes.

At the break of that eventful morn, when we were destined once more to set our eyes upon our fellow men, and to hear news of the outer world, from which for so many years we had been exiled, we a.s.sembled in our little breakfast-room. The meal was eaten hurriedly and almost in silence, for our hearts were too full, and our minds too busily occupied, to allow of any outward display of excitement. Fritz and Jack then slipped quietly out, and presently returned from the garden with baskets of the choicest fruits in fresh and fragrant profusion, and with these, as presents for the strangers, we went on board our yacht.

The anchor was weighed, the sails set, and with the canoe in tow the little vessel, as though partaking of our hopes and joyous expectation, bounded merrily over the waters of Safety Bay, gave a wide berth to the Reef, against whose frowning rocks the sea still lashed itself to foam, and kept away for the cove, where the English ship unconsciously awaited us. The Pug-nosed Cape was reached, and to the surprise and utter amazement of the strangers, we rounded the point and brought up within hail.

Every eye on board and on sh.o.r.e was turned towards us, every gla.s.s was produced and fixed upon our motions; for of all the strange sights which the gallant crew may have looked for, such an anomaly as a pleasure yacht, manned by such a party as ours, and cruising upon this strange and inhospitable sh.o.r.e, was the furthest from their thoughts.

Fritz and I stepped into our boat, and pulled for the brig. In another minute we were upon her deck. The captain, with the simple frankness of a British seaman, welcomed us cordially, and having led us into his cabin, begged us to explain to what good fortune he owed a visit from residents upon a coast generally deemed uninhabited, or the abode of the fiercest savages.

I gave him an outline of the history of the wreck, and of our sojourn upon these sh.o.r.es, and spoke to him, too, of Miss Montrose, and of the providential way in which we had been the means of rescuing her from her lonely position.

'Then,' said the gallant officer, rising and grasping Fritz by the hand, 'let me heartily thank you in my own name, and in that of Colonel Montrose; for it was the hope of finding some trace of that brave girl that led me to these sh.o.r.es. The disappearance of the Dorcas has been a terrible blow to the Colonel, and yet, though for three years no word of her or of any of those who sailed in her has reached England, he has never entirely abandoned all hope of again hearing of his daughter. I knew this, and a few weeks ago, when I was about to leave Sydney for the Cape, I found three men who declared themselves survivors of the Dorcas, and said that their boat, of four which left the wreck, was the only one which, to their knowledge, reached land in safety.

'From them I learned all particulars, and applying for permission to cruise in these lat.i.tudes, I sailed in the hopes of finding further traces of the unfortunate crew. My efforts have been rewarded by unlooked-for success.'

Fritz replied most modestly to the praises which he received, and then the captain begged to be introduced to my wife and Miss Montrose.