The Wonder Island Boys: Adventures on Strange Islands Part 4

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 2. Walter Letter._ Go directly south from the large river which flows to the east, west of the mountains. We are too closely watched to escape. The tribe at war with our captors are to the west of. If I escape I will follow the river to the sea so you will understand where I am.

Walter. ]

"Compare the two and you will see they look alike," said George.

"What shall we tell the Professor!" asked Harry.

"Well but I am not yet through with the paper. Suppose we moisten it, and that may bring out something we didn't see before."

This was done, but it made the entire doc.u.ment worse than before.

"Too bad we have spoiled it," remarked Harry, "but I think we are safe in telling the Professor and John what we have found out."

For the time being, however, the boys had other urgent work to do. The day for launching had been set, and every working hour was valuable, so they were over at the ship yard early, and the boys did not see either John or the Professor during the day.

The vessel as designed by Harry, and supervised by John, was ninety feet long, and had a beam of eighteen feet, with a very deep keel, and high bulwarks. It was constructed of a species of oak, found in abundance in the forest west of the town, and was cut up into boards, and dried in specially-prepared kilns which were put up for the purpose.

While lumber dried in this way is not the best for ordinary uses, it will serve for shipping purposes, because there is always more or less moisture present in the hull of the vessel, and the object was to enable them to get the material in the speediest way.

The saw mill was one of their first experiments in building machinery, and it was in constant service from the day it was first erected, getting out lumber for building purposes.

The engine was designed only for auxiliary purposes, and the boiler was intended to use coal, of which they found an ample supply in the northern portion of the island, as explained in a previous book.

When the boys returned to their rooms late that afternoon, the first thing that interested them was the message. When it was brought in it was dry, and a slight change was noticed in its appearance. Now, what appeared to be the first word of the message, was discernible, the word "Take," and the word "Head" could be made out before and as a part of "land," in the second line.

"We have it," cried Harry, as he jumped up. "Now let them know about it."

They were across the open s.p.a.ce, without any ceremony, and without taking trouble to announce themselves, were in the Professor's room.

"We have it,--we have made it out," was the announcement, as Harry held up the message.

"Does it tell you where the Copper mine is located?" asked the Professor.

"Copper mine!" exclaimed George. "What has a copper mine to do with it?"

"John and I concluded, from certain markings on the paper, that it contained a diagram of the mine!"

"Well, you were mistaken," said Harry with a chuckle. "It is something about an island, thirty leagues to the southeast, somewhere."

"Is that so?" exclaimed the Professor in surprise. "Get John. He will be surprised."

John came hurriedly at the announcement, and the contents of the missive pointed out. "This is certainly good news," he said. "That was fine work on your part."

"You see the arrow, and the part of the word 'leagues.' That couldn't mean feet or yards, or miles."

"Quite evident," said John, as he mused for a while. "This confirms, in a measure, the information that we have as to the proximity of these islands, but the charts show them farther away."

"Undoubtedly, if Walter knew what he was talking about, we have an interesting problem to decipher, and the determination to make the voyage is a wise and timely one," interposed the Professor.

"Now for the ship," said Harry. "Every day is a hundred, in my mind."

As may be imagined, the boys now worked with feverish haste. Other islands here, and waiting for them! Sometimes they were almost tempted to give up the trip home, but the Professor would not hear of it.

"Do not change your plans, if you have any good conclusions when you start out. Don't oscillate from one thing to another. Always make up your minds and then take a wise, persistent course. It is that which always serves you best."

"No; we will go home first, and _then_ for the islands," said Harry, who felt relieved that the impetuous nature of George could be brought to their way of thinking, although George was by far the most homesick of the entire lot.

All the boys were on hand when the vessel was launched. It rode the water beautifully, and the natives were the most enthusiastic helpers.

They felt proud of their work. Uraso and Muro, the two chiefs, who were the most prominent men in the community, and particularly Sutoto, the intelligent Beree, and Stut, the brother-in-law of Muro, were on hand.

It was a great feast day for the people. Tears actually flowed from the Professor's eyes, as he saw the women and children crowd about him. He was almost a G.o.d to them. They were accustomed to receive visits from him in his weekly rounds, and how at such times he loved to tell them how to make and arrange things about the house, which contributed to their comfort.

Everybody was at work; all were happy, and no one appreciated this more than the women, who had been lifted out of the bonds of slavery and elevated through the wise administration of the Professor.

Angel, too, was in evidence. He was the first to climb the mast, as the ship floated in the stream.

"I wonder whether Angel remembers the first trip he took with us on boat No. 1?" asked Harry.

Angel bestowed a knowing look on Harry. "I believe he knows what you said," remarked George.

In another week the rigging had been put up, and the boiler and engine were installed before the launching, so that the necessary work required to enable the ship to sail, was the provisioning. John suggested that what was of far more importance would be the work of training a crew to handle the ship, so they turned their minds toward the solution of this question.

The selection of a crew was a most difficult task, because all the men were willing to volunteer. It was decided, however, that only the unmarried men should be taken, and this at once eliminated many who might otherwise have been selected.

For three days the ship was taken out to sea, under sail only, and John found no trouble in maneuvering the vessel with his new crew. John was a sailor, and had once been owner of a vessel, so that they were in competent hands.

But the final day came, when they must go. It was a most trying time for the poor boys. Almost at the last moment, Harry and George walked back to the Professor's room, and broke out into tears.

"Everybody is leaving you," said Harry, "and I cannot bear to go and leave you in this way."

All the rescued boys were on board, as well as Blakely, since the Professor had insisted that the latter should go, for business reasons, so that the Professor was left alone, the only white man on Wonder Island, when the ship sailed down the river.

True, there was no reason to fear for his safety. The natives loved him too devotedly, but the boys felt that he must often be lonely in his new surroundings, with no one but the natives about him. They little knew that the solace and comfort of the grand old man was the knowledge that he had helped his fellow man, though the color of the skin was darker than his own.

Their voyage was accompanied by favoring winds and perfect weather.

Valparaiso, Chile, was the first port at which they landed, and as a trip around the Horn, or even through the Straits of Magellan, and up along the Atlantic coast, would mean several months, with their own vessel, they shipped in one of the line steamers, and within seven weeks they saw Sandy Hook lightship, and then the forts which lined the opposite sh.o.r.e at the Narrows.

Telegrams to their parents created paroxysms of joy in many homes which had been robbed when the _Investigator_ went down. There were no happier homes than the ones Harry and George were welcomed to.

The papers told the stories of the boys in pages and pages of descriptions, and they showed the photos, and told what the boys had done in their temporary home. The hero of all this wonderful home-coming was Angel.

The people, the houses, the wonderful automobiles which he saw on every hand, at first alarmed him, but when he saw that George did not seem a bit afraid, he reconciled himself to the situation.

His first automobile ride was a revelation to him. He held on tightly to George, at first, but soon the sensation became one of joy, and he could not get enough of it. The boys were certainly feted, but when they told their parents that they must go back, the proposition met with strong opposition.

The parents forgot that the boys were now over two years older than when they went away, and it seemed singular that the surroundings did not seem the same to them as before the happy boyhood days before they left home.

For business reasons the parents knew that it would be prudent to permit them to return and they were influenced by the remarkable change they saw in the manners and actions of the boys. They saw the youths were strong and self reliant, ever ready to act and to carry out their resolutions. These boys had been transformed into men.