The Wonder Island Boys: The Mysteries of the Caverns Part 13

"Where do you suppose the little rascal found this?"

The Professor examined it. "Outside of the cave, undoubtedly. The curious part about it is, that this weapon is of an entirely different and more modern pattern than those we have samples of."

Harry took the gun and ran in to where the others were deposited, and true enough, it was not only shorter, but it had a smaller bore, and what is more, the outside of the barrel was octagonal, whereas the barrels of those inside of the cave were all round.

As the Professor predicted, the guns which they recovered were too much rusted to be of any service, and furthermore, they were made of iron, very much softer than the steel of which their own guns were constructed, and it is questionable whether they would be able to withstand a charge of the comparatively high power powder which had been made for the modern guns.

As curiosities the weapons were good things to have; otherwise they were of no value. This was not so with the vessels, which could be and were utilized in the kitchen and in that capacity were of the highest use.

The table was supplied with articles of the purest silver, and it had a royal look.

CHAPTER IX

MAKING ELECTRICITY

In order that you may get some sort of idea concerning the condition of our little colony, at this time, it would be well to give a brief review of the situation. When they landed on the island the year before, with nothing but the clothing they wore, the prospect of being delivered was not a flattering one, as day after day pa.s.sed by.

Here were two boys, unused to the privations of life, with youth and vigor, cut off from all the pleasures of manhood, surrounded by dangers, and day after day having mysteries thrust upon them which only increased their fears. These things necessarily must have produced an impression much deeper than would be the case with hardened men.

In the effort to discover, produce and build the various tools, weapons, and articles of clothing, to hunt food, and in the endeavor to learn about the condition of the island, and guard themselves against foes which might be all about them, imposed immense responsibilities.

In their struggles were personified the contests of the human race from the beginning of the world, in the effort to conquer nature, and to make it contribute to their necessities.

The Professor knew how such a condition would tend to make active minds either productive of good, or to fly out in the opposite direction and cultivate the low and sordid instincts. Occupation, work, the utilization of the mind, and above all, to direct their energies into useful channels, had been the Professor's one absorbing aim.

The boys had responded, as all boys will, not for the love of gain or for power or glory. Our boys had none of these. Other boys do not need them any more than those on Wonder Island. What they do need is a true stimulus for work; and when that evening they were gathered together in the cozy little living room at the Cataract, the Professor who for two days had been particularly reticent and retired, said:

"Can you imagine the condition of the pirates who gathered all that h.o.a.rd in the cave? What do you think their aim was in life?"

"It seems to me," was Harry's reply, "that the only thing they were after was wealth."

"If what we see in the cave is any indication, the princ.i.p.al thing they lived for was to kill somebody," was George's conclusion.

The answers made him smile. "You have, I presume, answered the question in the two sentences. But there is something that you haven't mentioned, which is at the bottom of it all."

"Yes; wanting to kill to get the money."

"That only states your previous answers in a more concrete way. There is one word which describes it accurately: Selfishness. When a man inquires into the secrets of nature; when he tries to turn the knowledge gained into account, either for money or glory; when he consistently devotes his days to labor, and his nights to thoughts to find out how he may do something better, or quicker, or cheaper, it might all be denominated selfishness, and so it is, in a way. It is a selfishness, however, that does no injury to a fellow-man. That kind of selfishness is the great quality which has produced the wonderful things that we see all about us, and which distinguishes the man from the brute creation."

"But I have read of a great many men who made millions and millions and who never did any of the things you have just referred to," answered Harry.

"Then do you think they are any better than the pirates were?"

Notwithstanding the exciting times, food was a necessity, and it had to be found and prepared. It could not be bought. All the gold in the cave would not purchase a single meal. More barley had to be ground and the stock of honey was almost exhausted. Their duties in the shop, consequent on the haste exhibited to get the boat and weapons ready, contributed to the low state of supplies.

George announced that there was less than two pounds of the honey left, and proposed that a trip be taken to the flats, where the Professor had found the sugar cane. All joined in the journey to the cane field, and Angel was invited to join, which invitation was accepted by him gleefully.

The bolos were taken for the purpose of cutting the cane, and on the way George's inevitable question point was in evidence. "What did people use for sweetening purposes before cane was discovered?"

"Honey was the princ.i.p.al source of the world's sweets. But cane is not the only kind of vegetable from which the principle has been extracted.

There are many kinds of reeds which furnish a sweetish substance. Sugar cane was first made known in eastern Europe by the conquest of Alexander the Great. Nearchus, one of his admirals, in sailing down the Indus, found the reed, and it was, previous to that time, known throughout the greater part of India. He described it as a kind of honey growing in canes and reeds. From this you may infer that honey was the princ.i.p.al source of sweets in his time."

"What are the other princ.i.p.al plants or substances that sugar is made from?"

"Mainly from beet, tubers of various kinds, such as the common dahlias, and numerous vegetables, from milk, fruit, gum arabic, as well as fish."

"I have heard it said that sugar contains all that is necessary to sustain life. Is that true?"

"That is a mistaken idea. It will sustain life for quite a time and with the addition of nitrogenous matter has great fattening properties, but without that it is not valuable as food."

"What do you mean by nitrogenous matter?"

"Meat, fish, eggs, milk, beans, peas, and the like, all contain a large amount of nitrogen."

"I remember my arm being burned on one occasion, and mother made a syrup out of sugar and put it on. In what way was the sugar beneficial?"

"In the first place, sugar is one of the most powerful antiseptics known. It acts, therefore, as an aid to healing, since it protects the wound from foreign substances and from poisonous and harmful germs. In the next place, it is a great preservative for either fruit or flesh."

The cane was cut close to the root, and the top and leaves trimmed off.

Within several hours a full load was thus procured. The boys enjoyed the pith, and George playfully gave some to Angel. His surprise knew no bounds. When he knew what the cane was good for, he simply gorged on it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 16. Cane Crusher._]

Harry at once set to work on turning up two rollers from hickory, the rollers being eight inches in diameter, and eighteen inches long, and each being provided with a spindle four inches in diameter. One end of each of the spindles was longer than the other, so pulleys could be attached, the object being to provide a means whereby they might be turned by suitable belts from the water wheel. In addition, the top roller was made so it would yield, and had levers resting on the spindles, and provided with weights, so the rollers would press out the juice, whatever the quant.i.ty that might be placed between the rollers.

It was really a simple little machine to put up, but it required a day for both of them. Vessels were now provided for the juice, and when they were filled, the Professor suggested that a little lime should be put into the juice, after it had been strained through the ramie cloth.

"What is the object of putting in lime?"

"To precipitate the impurities."

The action of the lime was plainly visible, and after it had been allowed to settle, the clarified portion was drawn off, and the process of boiling down was proceeded with. As fast as one of the vessels was boiled down, more of the cane was crushed, the juice being dipped from one vessel to the second one, until the entire load was crushed and the juice boiled down to a thick consistency.

Here was mola.s.ses, at any rate a good subst.i.tute for honey, and it was so homelike to get the real article. That night they had mola.s.ses candy.

It felt like old times. It was a real candy pulling, and no one enjoyed it more than Angel. From the moment he had the first taste of the pulp of the cane, he was the most interested one of the party. But the fun came the next morning, when George brought out, for his benefit, some of the taffy which had been set out to harden. The chuckle which he emitted, when he tried to pry off a piece of the sweet morsel, was too amusing for words.

When the entire amount of juice had been boiled down and it had readied the point where it had the appearance of granulating, the fire was withdrawn, and the whole ma.s.s stirred until it was cooled, and the result was a fine sample of beautiful brown sugar which weighed forty-three pounds.

Nevertheless food was an important item in their preparations, the necessities for doing everything in their power to insure the success of the maritime enterprise. One of the most valuable adjuncts for sailing is a compa.s.s. No attempt had been made to produce the implement, and when the needs of the expedition were being discussed, Harry was curious to know the reason why the compa.s.s always pointed north and south.

The Professor was very much interested in all electrical phenomena and replied: "The earth is a huge magnet, and any body which is magnetized has a north and a south pole. The needle which is also a magnetized body has, in like manner, a north and a south pole."

"But in what manner does that make the needle point in one way only?"

"Electricity is a very curious thing. While the current unquestionably moves from one end to the other of a conductor, it also exhibits itself in the form of rings around the wire. This may not be understood in the absence of a sketch. For that purpose I make a drawing (Fig. 17) which shows a conductor (A), through which a current is pa.s.sing, and this current is represented by the spiral line (B) which goes around the conductor."