The Three Admirals Part 5

Jerry Bird, who ought to have been on the watch before, now took Desmond's place, and the party settled down again to wait for morning.

Sailors are accustomed to short s.n.a.t.c.hes of sleep. Even half an hour or less of rest was not to be despised, so that in less than a minute they all again had their eyes closed in happy forgetfulness of where they were. Tom required no calling; he had scarcely forgotten in his sleep what had happened, and no sooner had the pale light of early morn driven away the darkness of night, than, opening his eyes, he crept out of the tent over Bird, who had just dropped off. "I will let the rest sleep on, and see how things look," he said to himself. As he made his way over the fallen trunks towards the bay, he kept looking out to discover some accessible part of the hill, by which he might climb to the summit of the rock, under whose shelter they had slept, and which he supposed to be the highest point thereabouts, in order that he might obtain a wide view of the ocean around. He at length found a part, from whence by a little climbing he might reach the top of the hill. He had began his ascent, when he heard Desmond's voice shouting to him, and sitting down he waited for his messmate to come up. The rock was more rugged and uneven than they had at first supposed. Sometimes Desmond helped him up to a ledge, then he hauled Desmond after him. Here and there shrubs grew in the crevices of the rock, which a.s.sisted them in their ascent. At last they stood together on the top. On casting their eyes around, they could nowhere see the ship; indeed, they scarcely expected that she would have been in sight. As far as the eye could range to the southward and eastward, foam-crested giant waves leaped up and down, but already their motion was becoming less rapid, and they seemed to be tumbling lazily and slowly against each other, as if weary of their late exertions, though the breakers incessantly burst on the rocky coast, sending ma.s.ses of foam flying far inland.

"Even should the ship appear, we are not likely to be able to get out to her to-day," observed Desmond, pointing to the entrance of the bay, through which the seas came tossing and foaming. "It seems a wonder how we got through last night."

"We may indeed be thankful to heaven that we were not swamped," said Tom; "but I should not be surprised if we find, within a few hours, should the ship appear, that we can get off to her. There has scarcely been time for the sea to go down since the hurricane ceased blowing; I do hope that the other boats got on board, or they will have run great risk of being lost."

"Perhaps our shipmates landed," observed Desmond; "and we shall meet them before long. I should be very glad to know for certain that Archie and Jos Green and Mr Joy are safe, though it is a terrible thing to think that the ship may have been cast away."

"We will hope for the best," answered Tom; "and now we will go down and see how the boat has fared. I am somewhat anxious about her, though I don't see how we could have secured her better than we did."

The descent was nearly as difficult as the climb up the hill, and they ran a great risk, when leaping from rock to rock, of slipping off and tumbling a dozen or more feet at a time down to the next level. They had nearly reached the bottom, when they saw Billy Blueblazes and Jerry Bird looking up towards them. The countenances of both wore an aspect of dismay.

"What has happened?" asked Tom.

"The boat has gone!" answered Billy; "we can't see her anywhere, not even a bit of her wreck."

"Faith! that's bad news," exclaimed Desmond; "but did you look everywhere? for, remember, everywhere means a good wide s.p.a.ce."

"No, we did not go right up to the spot, for there was no use in doing that," answered Billy.

"Then we will, and perhaps we may discover some signs which may indicate the direction in which she has been driven," said Tom.

They accordingly set off. Tom observed what Billy had failed to do, that the shape of the beach was greatly altered, the wind having driven the sand far higher up than usual, so that in some parts it had risen to the height of the bank on which gra.s.s and shrubs grew. Indeed, a portion of the gra.s.sy ground had itself been covered up by the sand.

"What shall we do without the boat?" cried Billy; "we shall have to spend our lives here, I suppose, if the ship has been lost, and the men say that they think she had very little chance of escaping."

"I hope they are wrong in their conjectures," answered Tom; "and as for the boat, I am not quite so certain that she is lost, although we may have some trouble in finding her."

On arriving at that part of the beach where the boat had been left, Tom looked round in every direction, and examined carefully the bushes and herbage along the edge of the beach.

"If she was driven in this direction, she would have broken some of these bushes, but they do not appear to have been injured," he observed.

"Now, let us see whereabouts she lay. Do you think you can tell, Bird?" The seaman examined the ground.

"I remember coming through just such a clump of bushes as these, directly after I left her; and look there, sir, there is her rudder and a stretcher," and he enumerated other articles belonging to the boat.

Then stepping back, he said, "I'm sure it was just hereabouts where she lay."

"Then, depend upon it, here we shall find her. Don't you see the sand has blown over her, and she is safe enough within it. To save ourselves trouble, we will dig a line parallel with the beach, and another at right angles, and the chances are we shall strike some part of her gunwale before long."

"Shall I go and call the other men?" asked Billy.

"They are cooking the breakfast, sir," observed Bird.

"Let them go on by all means," said Tom; "if we find the boat we will come back afterwards and dig her up."

They immediately set to work, under Tom's directions, but the sand had risen even higher than they had supposed, and as they had only the boat's stretchers and their hands to work with, it was a slow business.

"I've thought, sir, of a quicker way of finding her than this," observed Jerry; and taking his axe, he cut a short pole with a sharp point, and ran it down though the sand, along the line which Tom had marked out.

"There's something here, sir," he cried out at length, and forthwith a hole was dug at the spot. Jerry then plunged down his hand. "No doubt about it, sir; there's the boat's side, and if the weight of the sand has not bulged her out, she will be all to rights."

"I have no fear on that score," observed Tom. "The sand has probably driven up around her, and afforded her sides support. I am very thankful that we took the precaution of banking her up as we did, or I am pretty sure that she would have been rolled over and over, and knocked to pieces."

The party having satisfied themselves as to the safety of the boat, returned to their camp, where they found Tim and Pat busily engaged over a huge fire in cooking pork chops.

"Why, where did these come from?" asked Tom.

"Shure, sir, they are from a porker which we found in the bush. It's my belief it's the very baste Mr Desmond shot last night. He was not quite dead, and showed some fight, but we finished him, and cut him up in a jiffy."

"I congratulate you on your success," said Tom.

"To tell you the truth," said Desmond, "I was half dreaming at the time; and I was not quite sure this morning whether I had shot anything or not, but I'm mighty glad to find that my dream has come true."

The pork chops were found very satisfactory, and it was still more so to know that there was an abundance of animal food in the island; for if there was one hog, there would to a certainty be many more; at the same time, they would have prevented the increase of roots which would otherwise have afforded nourishment.

"As hogs live here, there, are probably acorns and nuts of various sorts, so that even should the cocoa-nuts and bananas run short, we need be under no apprehension of wanting vegetable diet," said Tom to Desmond. "Again I say we have good reason to be thankful that we have landed on an island so abounding in provisions."

"I wish we had brought off some tea, coffee, and sugar," said Billy. "I should have enjoyed my breakfast much more."

"Be thankful for what you have got," observed Tom.

Before setting out to commence the digging up of the boat, Tom suggested that they should form some rough spades, without which the operation would be a very tedious one. They had fortunately brought with them two axes for cutting fire-wood, and with these Jerry and Pat managed to chop out from the fallen branches six rough spades. They would have finished them off in better style had Tom allowed them. Having ascertained the exact position of the boat, by running down a pointed stick, they commenced operations. They were much surprised at the enormous pit they had to dig before they even reached the gunwale of the boat. The digging was easy enough; the labour consisted in heaving the sand to a sufficient distance. All hands were getting very hungry. Billy, as usual, was the first to cry out.

"What do you say to dinner, Rogers?"

Tom looked at his watch, and directed Pat to go to the camp and prepare dinner, while the rest continued to work as before. It took them till noon to clear away the sand as far down as the gunwale, as of course it was necessary to dig a much wider s.p.a.ce all round the boat than simply her width. The sun, too, had now become excessively hot, and the only coverings they had for their heads were straw hats.

Tom suggested that they should stick some large leaves or small branches into the bands, by which means a more effectual shelter could be formed for their heads. In spite of the heat, they returned with good appet.i.tes to the camp.

"Bedad, it's fortunate we have got anything to eat at all," exclaimed Pat, as they approached. "Just as I came up, what should I see but a couple of porkers poking their noses into the tent; in another minute they would have got hold of the meat and fish I had hung up ready for cooking. I would have turned them into pork pretty quickly, but before I could get hold of a musket, they had scampered away back into the woods; but we'll be even with them before long. When I went to look for the rest of the hog, if the bastes hadn't eaten up their brother, barring the hide, and that they had been quarrelling over, by the way it was torn to pieces." There was an ample supply of pork, and fish, and bananas, cocoa-nuts and vegetables, for that day's dinner Tom had to consider what provision should be made for supper, and the next day.

Eager as he was to get the boat dug out, in case the ship should appear, he would not allow his companions to work for a couple of hours or more, for fear of their suffering from a stroke of the sun, whose fierce rays beat down with terrific force on the sand. Pat, who was well inured to a far greater heat, under the line itself, in the meantime took one of the muskets, "to try and kill some game," he said, "or one of the porkers which had lately paid him a visit."

The rest of the party lay down in the shade under the rock, to prepare themselves for their afternoon's work. Pat had been absent for some time, and a couple of shots had been heard; but lately no sound had reached them, when again they heard a report at no great distance.

Presently he was seen scampering along, a big boar close at his heels.

It appeared as if the next instant the creature's tusks would have run into him, when he seized the branch of a free and threw himself up upon it, while the animal ripped off the hem of his broad trousers. Luckily the canvas gave way, or Pat would have been brought to the ground. The boar looked up at his late opponent as if he still meditated vengeance; but suddenly seeing the party under the cliff, he came towards them, tearing up the ground in his fury, with his sharp tusks. Fortunately the other musket was loaded.

"Stand by, for advance or flight," cried Tom, seizing the weapon. Bird grasped the boat-hook, while Desmond and Tim each took an axe, Billy, having no arms, fulfilled the latter part of the order, by beginning to climb up a ledge of the rock on one side of the cliff. It was a moment of dreadful suspense, for, should Tom miss, he well knew that the boar's tusks might, in the next instant, pierce him through. Fortunately the animal caught sight of Billy as he was climbing up the cliff. This for a moment distracted his attention, and, instead of coming directly at Tom and his companions, it swerved a little on one side. Seeing, however, that Billy had got beyond its reach, it once more came galloping towards them, singling out Jerry, who was the most conspicuous object, for its attack. Tom waited until it got within twelve feet, when he fired. The bullet hit the animal, but did not stop it. Jerry sprang on one side to avoid its charge, and then drove his boat-hook into its neck, bearing it to the ground. On this Tim and Desmond sprang forward, and, before it could again rise, dealt it several heavy strokes with their axes, preventing it from committing any further mischief.

"Hurrah; you've finished the baste, I hope," cried Pat, who had been watching the proceedings from his bough, and now came hurrying forward.

"I'd somehow or other missed a couple of pigs, when I caught sight of this big fellow taking a snooze in the sun. I was creeping up to him, when he opened his wicked eyes, and if I hadn't taken to my heels he would have had his tusks through and through me. At last I stopped behind a free and gave him a shot; but he didn't mind it at all, at all, by reason that the bullet flew over his head, and I had again to run for it. However, 'All's well that ends well,' and, sure, we will be having him for supper, with the greatest pleasure in the world."

After this specimen of rat's sportsmanlike qualities, Tom resolved not to trust him with the musket again, as it was necessary carefully to husband their powder and shot. As, however, Pat possessed very good qualifications for a butcher, he was left to cut up the boar, while the rest of the party returned to the boat, he being directed to rejoin them as soon as he had secured the joints.

Digging out the boat was severe labour, as to prevent the sand slipping back it had to be thrown several feet on either side of the boat. They then had to cut a channel down to the water. Tom soon saw that they could not hope to get their boat afloat for another whole day at the soonest. Diligently as they worked, the sun was sinking rapidly towards the horizon before the boat was free of sand. They examined her anxiously, fearing that her sides might have been forced out; but, as far as they could ascertain, she had received no material injury.

"We must take another look-out for the ship, before it gets dark,"

exclaimed Tom; and he and Desmond set off to ascend the hill, from whence they could obtain an extensive view of the ocean around them. In vain they strained their eyes; no sail was in sight--not a speck appeared above the horizon. The sea was rolling in lazy undulations, here and there flecked with foam, which sparkled brightly in the rays of the setting sun, while the sea-fowl were once more venturing forth from their rocky homes in search of prey.

"She must have run a long distance before the gale, and it will take her some time to beat back," observed Tom. "We must not give her up yet."