The Swiss Family Robinson, Told in Words of One Syllable Part 4

CHAPTER X.

FRANK one day found some long leaves, to which, from their shape, he gave the name of sword leaves. These he brought home to play with, and then, when he grew tired of them, threw them down. As they lay on the floor, Fritz took some of them in his hand, and found them so limp, that he said he could plait them, and make a whip for Frank to drive the sheep and goats with. As he split them up to do this, I could not but note their strength. This led me to try them, and I found that we had now a kind of flax plant, which was a source of great joy to my wife.

"You have not yet found a thing," she said, "that will be of more use to us than this. Go at once and search for some more of these leaves, and bring me the most you can of them. With these I can make you hose, shirts, clothes, thread, rope; in short, give me flax, and make me a loom and some frames, and I shall be at no loss for work when the rain comes."

I could not help a smile at my wife's joy when she heard the name of flax; for there was still much to do ere the leaves could take the shape of cloth. But two of the boys set off at once to try to find some more of the flax.

While they were gone, my wife, full of new life, and with some show of pride, told me how I should make the loom by means of which she was to clothe us from head to foot. In a short time they came back, and brought with them a good load of the plant, which they laid at her feet. She now said she would lay by all else till she had tried what she could make of it. The first thing to be done was to steep the flax. To do this we took the plant down to the marsh, tied up in small bales, as they pack hemp for sale. The leaves were then spread out in the pond, and kept down with stones, and left there in that state till it was time to take them out and set them in the sun to dry, when they would be so soft that we could peel them with ease. It was two weeks ere the flax was fit for us to take out of the marsh. We spread it out on the gra.s.s in the sun, where it dried so quick that we took it home to The Nest the same day.

It was then put by till we could find time to make the wheels, reels, and combs which my wife said that she would want to turn our new found plant to its best use.

We now made haste to lay up a store of canes, nuts, wood, and such things as we thought we might want; and took care, while it was still fine, to sow wheat, and all the grain we had left in our bags was soon put in the ground. The fear that the rain might come and put a stop to our work led us to take our meals in haste, and to make the days as long as we could see. We knew the rain was close at hand, for the nights were cold; large clouds could be seen in the sky, and the wind blew as we had not felt it since the night our ship had struck on the rock.

The great change came at last. One night we were woke up out of our sleep with the noise made by the rush of the wind through the woods, and we could hear the loud roar of the sea far off. Then the dense storm clouds which we had seen in the sky burst on us, and the rain came down in floods. The streams, pools, and ponds on all sides were soon full, and the whole plain round us met our view as one vast lake. By good luck, the site of our house stood up out of the flood, and our group of trees had the look of a small isle in the midst of the lake.

We soon found that The Nest was not built so well as we thought, for the rain came in at the sides, and we had good cause to fear that the wind would blow the roof off. Once the storm made such a rush at it that we heard the beams creak, and the planks gave signs that there was more strain on them than they could bear. This drove us from our room to the stairs in the trunk, on which we sat in a state of fear till the worst of the storm was past. Then we went down to the shed we had built on the ground at the root of the tree, and made the best shift we could. All our stores were kept here, so that the s.p.a.ce was too small to hold us, and the smell from the beasts made it far from a fit place for six of us to dwell in; but it was at least safe for a time, and this was of course the first thing to be thought of. To dress our food we had to make a fire in the barn, and as there was no place to let out the smoke, it got down our throats and made us cough all the day long.

It was now for the first time that my wife gave a sigh for her old Swiss home. But we all knew that it was of no use to grieve, and each set to work to do all he could to make the place look neat and clean. Some of our stores we took up the stairs out of our way, and this gave us more room. As we had cut square holes in the trunk of the tree all the way up, and put in frames of gla.s.s that we got from the ship, my wife could sit on the stairs, with Frank at her feet, and mend our clothes. Each day I drove from the barn such beasts as could bear to be out in the rain. That we might not lose them, I tied bells round their necks; and if we found that they did not come back when the sun went down, Fritz and I went out to bring them in. We oft got wet through to the skin, which gave us a chill, and might have laid us up if my wife had not made cloth capes and hoods for us to wear. To make these rain proof, I spread some of the gum on them while hot, and this, when dry, had the look of oil cloth, and kept the head, arms, chest, and back free from damp. Our gum boots came far up our legs, so that we could go out in the rain and come back quite free from cold and damp.

We made but few fires, for the air was not cold, save for an hour or two late at night, and we did not cook more than we could help, but ate the dried meat, fowls, and fish we had by us.

The care of our beasts took us a great part of the day; then we made our cakes and set them to bake in a tin plate on a slow fire. I had cut a hole in the wall to give us light, and put a pane of gla.s.s in it to keep out the wind, but the thick clouds hid the sun from the earth, and the shade of the tree threw a gloom round our barn, so that our day light was but short, and night came on far too soon. We then made use of our wax lights, and all sat round a bench. My wife had as much as she could well do to mend the rents we made in our clothes. I kept a log, In which I put down, day by day, what we did and what we had seen; and then Ernest wrote this out in a neat, clear hand, and made a book of it.

Fritz and Jack drew the plants, trees, and beasts which they had found, and these were stuck in our book. Each night we took it in turns to read the Word of G.o.d, and then all knelt down to pray ere we went to bed.

Ours was not a life of ease, it is true, but it was one of peace and hope; and we felt that G.o.d had been so kind to us that it would be a great sin to wish for what it did not please Him to grant us.

My wife did all she could to cheer us, and it was no strange thing for us to find that while we were out in the rain with the live stock, she had made some new dish, which we would scent as soon as we put our heads in at the door. One night it was a thrush pie, the next a roast fowl, or some wild duck soup; and once in a while she would give us a grand feast, and bring out some of all the good things we had in store.

In the course of our stay in doors we made up our minds that we would not spend the next time of storm and rain, when it should come round, in the same place. The Nest would serve us well in that time of year when it was fine and dry, but we should have to look out for some spot where we could build a house that would keep us from the rain the next time the storms came.

Fritz thought that we might find a cave, or cut one out of the rocks by the sea sh.o.r.e. I told him that this would be a good plan, but would take a long while to do. By this time the boys were all well used to hard work, and they thought they would much like to try their skill at some new kind of work.

"Well," said I, "we will go to the rocks round Tent House the first fine day that comes, and try to find some place that will serve to keep us from the next year's storms."

CHAPTER XI.

I CAN not tell how glad we all were when we at last saw a change in the sky, and felt once more the warm rays of the sun. In a few days the floods sank in the earth, and left the ground of a bright green hue; the air grew warm and dry, and there were no more dark clouds to be seen in the sky.

We found our young trees had put forth new leaves, and the seed we had sown had come up through the moist ground. The air had a fresh sweet smell, for it bore the scent of the bloom which hung like snow flakes on the boughs of the fruit trees; the songs and cries of the birds were to be heard on all sides, and we could see them fly from tree to tree in search of twigs to build their nests. This in fact was the spring of the year, when all things put forth new life; and we knew that the time was now come when we could once more range the woods and till the soil, and this made the boys leap for joy.

Some planks had been blown off the roof of The Nest, and the rain had got in here and there; so our first job was to mend our house, and make it fit to sleep in.

This done, Jack, Fritz, and I set out to Tent House. We found it in a sad state. The storm had thrown down the tent, blown off some of the sail cloth, and let in the rain on our casks, some of which held a store of food. Our boat was still safe, but the raft of tubs had broken Lip, and what there was left of it lay in splints on the sh.o.r.e.

Our loss in the storm had been so great that I felt we ought at once to seek for some place on the rocks where we could put what was left.

We went all round the cliffs, in the hope that we might find a cave, but in vain.

"There is no way but to hew one out of the rock", said Fritz, "we must not be beat."

"Well said, Fritz," said Jack; "we have each an axe. Why not try this cliff at once?"

I gave them leave to try, and we soon set to work at the rock. From this spot we had a good view of the whole bay, and could see both banks of the stream.

With a piece of chalk I made a mark on the side of the cliff, to show the width and height that the cave should be cut. Then each took an axe to try what kind of stuff our rock was made of. We found it a hard kind of stone; and, as we were not used to this sort of work, we had not done much when the time came for us to leave off.

We came back next day, and got on with more speed, though we thought it would not take us less than six months to make the cave, if our work were done at the same rate each day.

At the end of five or six days we had got through the face of the rock, and we found the stone soft. In a day or two more we came to what was but hard clay, which gave way at a slight blow from the axe.

"We need not fear now," said I, "for we shall soon have a hole as large as we want."

With the earth we took out we made a ridge in front of the cliff. The boys now got on so well, and dug so much out, that I had hard work to throw up the earth on the bank.

One day, as Jack stuck his pick in at the back of the cave, which was now more than eight feet from the front, a great ma.s.s of the rock fell in, and he cried out, "Look here! I have got through."

"Through what?" said I. "Not through your hand, I hope."

"No, no, but through the rock."

At this, Fritz set up a loud laugh.

"Why not say through the world at once, and push your crow bar in till you reach EU-ROPE, which, Ernest says, lies in a straight line from our feet. I should like to have a peep down, such a hole, for I might thus get a sight of our dear Swiss home."

Fritz and I went up to the wall and found that Jack was right, for he had come to a clear s.p.a.ce. His first thought was to jump in; but as I knew that there might be foul air in the cave, I would not let him risk his life.

The boys then set fire to some dry gra.s.s, and thrust it in the hole, but it went out at once, which was a sure sign that the air was not fit to breathe.

I knew that we had brought from the wreck a box full of fire works, which were used on board to make signs to ships far out at sea. I sent Fritz to Tent House for these, though I thought that they might be too damp to make use of. When he came back, I set light to some of them, and threw them in the hole. They flew round, and threw out a stream of sparks that lit up the cave. When these were burnt out, we put in a heap of straw and threw a light on it. This was now soon in a blaze, and gave us a clear view of the cave; but it was too deep for us to see the end.

Our joy was so great that we sent Jack off home to The Nest to tell the good news, and to bring back some wax lights. I did not deem it safe for us to go in the cave in the dark, for there might be pools or deep dry pits in the ground.

Fritz and I had just thrown up on the bank the last spade full of earth that had been dug out, when we heard a loud shout. We got up on the top of the cave, and saw that Jack had brought back a tribe at his heels.

The large cart, drawn by the cow and the a.s.s, came on at a slow pace, led by Jack on a black ox, and in it were my wife, Frank, and Ernest.

By the help of a flint and steel I soon lit some of the wax lights, and gave one to each. I went in first and led the way, and the rest kept close at my back. We had not gone on more than a few steps when we came to a dead stop, struck with awe at the grand sight that met our view.

The walls and roof of the cave were lit up, as it were, with star-like gems, while some hung down like gla.s.s drops from the roof, and some rose up from the ground at its sides like blocks of spar. I broke off a piece and put it on my tongue.

"What does it taste like?" said Jack.

"I find," said I, "that we are in a cave of rock salt."

"We shall not have to sc.r.a.pe the rocks to get our salt now," said Ernest, "for there is more here than would serve a whole town for a lifetime."

When we went back to The Nest that night we laid out a plan for our new home, for there could be no doubt that the cave was the best place for us to dwell in, though we should still sleep in The Nest when we went on that side of the stream.

The next day we all set to work; the floor of the cave was quite smooth, and the walls dry, so that we could build at once. We first cut holes in the sides of the rock to let in the light, and then brought frames and panes of gla.s.s from The Nest, and put them in. We then brought all the planks and wood we could find, and built a strong wall in the midst of the cave. On the right side of this wall we made three rooms, two of which were to be used as bed rooms, and one to take our meals in. On the left side was a room for my wife to cook in, one to work in, to which we gave the name of the shop, and a place with stalls in it for our live stock. At the back of these was a store house, where we could keep our stock of food and the whole of our spare goods.