Twice Lost Part 14

By the time we arrived alongside, the tide was as high as it was likely to rise. My father was glad to see me back, and to hear the satisfactory report which I gave him. We had no time for conversation, however, as the men had just manned the capstan to make another effort to heave the vessel off. But in vain they laboured; not an inch would she move.

"I am afraid, sir, that our only chance of floating her will be, either to land the cargo, or to heave it overboard," observed the first mate.

"I have arrived at the same conclusion," said my father; "but we will not lose the cargo if it can be helped. We will land what we can in the boats; and if the weather continues moderate, we will form a raft, and convey as much as it can carry,--by which we shall be enabled, I hope, to save the larger portion."

"Let's have another heave first, sir," cried the men, who thus showed their regard for their commander, and the interest they felt in his welfare, as they all knew that he would be the chief sufferer by the loss of the brig. Again they hove, pressing against the capstan-bars as if nothing could resist them.

"It's all of no use," exclaimed the carpenter, who had been below; "it's my belief that the coral rock has gone through the planking, and that unless we can get the cargo out of her, and every pig of ballast, no power will float her or get her off."

My father, on hearing this, also went below; and on his return he directed the mate, with some of the crew, to load the boats, while he and others set to work to build a raft. As soon as the two boats were loaded, he ordered me to pilot the way in the jolly-boat; saying that he intended to remain on board, with the hands not required in the boats, to complete the raft.

"But won't you leave the mates, father, to do that?" I asked.

"No, G.o.dfrey," he answered, somewhat sternly; "I intend to be the last man to quit the vessel. As soon as the boats are unloaded, they are to return, unless Mr Mudge thinks it necessary to detain the jolly-boat.

Tell him what I say; and a.s.sure your mother that she need be under no apprehensions on my account."

Of course, all I had to do was to obey my father; but I could not help feeling anxious about him, as I had no doubt my mother would be, notwithstanding the message I was to give her. Jumping into the jolly-boat, then, I told the men to give way, as I wished to reach the sh.o.r.e as soon as possible. The water was tolerably smooth; and though our boats were heavily laden, we crossed the bar without difficulty, it being now high-water, and soon reached the landing-place.

As we approached it, we saw three strange figures standing at the farther end of the neck of land, apparently watching the proceedings of our friends. They were perfectly black, having on the smallest possible amount of clothing, with bushy heads of hair; and one of them had a thick beard, moustache, and whiskers. Two of them had long spears in their hands, but the other, whom as we got nearer we saw to be a woman, was unarmed.

Mudge hailed us. "Take no notice of the natives," he sang out; "they've been there for the last half-hour, and are puzzled to make us out. The best way to manage them is to let them alone; and by-and-by, depend on it, they'll come and try to make friends with us."

I at once gave Mudge my father's message. He replied that there was not the slightest necessity for our remaining, and desired me, as soon as the boats were unloaded, to pull back again to the brig. "Paddy Doyle and I can easily manage our black friends; and it is far more important that the boats should be employed in bringing the stores on sh.o.r.e," he observed. "The only advice I have to give is, that you should cross the bar with the raft while the tide is flowing, and pretty near high-water.

It will be better to wait for high tide than to attempt it as yet; and I hope your father will secure the raft alongside, and come on sh.o.r.e in the last trip the boats make this evening."

My mother sent a similar message, entreating my father not to remain.

The crew quickly unloaded the boats, and piled up their cargoes, with the other things before landed, in the centre of the camp.

I observed that Paddy Doyle, instead of working with us, was employed in watching the natives; though he pretended all the time not to be taking any notice of them, but to be amusing himself by playing a number of strange antics calculated to excite their curiosity. This, after a time, he succeeded in doing. The man, having directed his companions to retire to a distance,--for the purpose, as we supposed, of placing them out of danger,--advanced several paces nearer, and stood regarding us with fixed attention. Though he was no beauty according to our notions, he was, as he stood motionless as a statue, with his bundle of five lances, their sharp points polished and serrated, in his left hand, really a fine-looking savage. Stuck in his bushy hair, and fixed in his ear, he wore a heron's feather; and round his waist was a broad belt which served to keep up his very tight kilt, composed of opossum skins.

In this belt was stuck a knife or dagger of bone or stone; while at his back was slung a small stone axe. His right hand was, however, kept in readiness at any moment to hurl one of his lances at us. His figure was tall; and his limbs, though covered with dirt, remarkably clean, as far as form was concerned--showing that he was capable of great activity.

Paddy now pretended to have discovered him for the first time, and advancing a few paces, took off his hat and made him a profound bow.

Though in all likelihood the savage had never before been so saluted, he seemed to understand that the white stranger wished to become better acquainted with him, and pointing to himself, he uttered the word "Pullingo."

"The top of the morning to ye, Mr Pullingo! I'm after hoping you're pretty well. And how's Mistress Pullingo, and Master Pullingo, and any other pledges of mutual affection you happen to possess?" cried Paddy.

The savage uttered some words in a not unmusical tone, but what they were intended to express it was impossible to say, nor could we be certain that he had mentioned his own name; but, as may be supposed, Paddy at once dubbed him Pullingo, which cognomen he was likely to retain ever afterwards.

"Exactly so," said Paddy, as if he had understood every word that had been uttered. "And my name's Patrick Doyle, at your service; and it's myself and my friends there have come to spend a few weeks in your country, or maybe longer; and we hope by-and-by to have the pleasure of your better acquaintance."

The tone of Paddy's voice, as well as his gestures, seemed to give confidence to the savage, and to a.s.sure him that we had no hostile intentions. But after Doyle and he had thus stood looking at each other for some minutes, he began slowly to retreat, always keeping his face towards us, till he had rejoined the woman and boy, when he sat down and held a conversation with them. They then all three rose and made their way up the bank of the river, till they were hidden from sight behind a rock.

I was, however, but a short time on sh.o.r.e, for as soon as the boats were unloaded we pulled away to the brig. By the time we got back to her the raft was nearly completed. As, however, the tide was running out of the river, my father, following Mudge's advice, determined not to send it on sh.o.r.e, but to secure it alongside for the night. The boats were therefore again loaded; and as long as daylight lasted they were kept plying backwards and forwards.

With great unwillingness my father consented to come on sh.o.r.e with the rest of the crew in the last trip. "I should have no fears about remaining," he observed, "as I feel confident that the brig will hold together, even though we may not succeed in getting her off."

We had landed provisions sufficient to last us, with economy, for several months; all our arms and ammunition, most of our own clothing and that of the ship's company, as well as our bedding and a few articles of furniture for my mother's use; our cooking utensils and the cabin dinner and tea service; the carpenter's tool-chest; several spades and pick-axes, and other agricultural implements; and some bales of new canvas, as well as several of the ship's sails and a number of miscellaneous articles. Altogether, we had reason to be satisfied that we had saved so much. Several tents had been put up before dark to accommodate all the party. The most complete was that for the use of my mother and Edith; the others were formed simply by stretching a rope, over which a sail was thrown, between two trees, the edges of the sail being secured by pegs to the ground on either side.

As soon as my father landed he summoned several of the men, and ordered them to cut down all the gra.s.s which grew on the isthmus, as well as that surrounding our tents.

"I take a hint from Captain Cook," he observed; "for I remember the narrow escape he and his men had from destruction, when the savages, in a sudden fit of anger, set fire to the gra.s.s surrounding his encampment, from which his powder and more valuable articles had only just before been removed. The savages hereabouts may be disposed to be friendly with us; but it will not do to trust them, as we cannot tell from what cause they may take offence."

We had hitherto been too busy to eat anything, with the exception of some biscuit and wine. The fire was now lighted, the tea-kettle put on, and a pot to boil some of the provisions we had brought with us. Nanny afforded some milk for tea, and with the herbage she would now obtain she would, it was hoped, give us an abundant supply.

My father, not trusting to the natives, placed a sentry on the neck of land, as also two others to watch the sh.o.r.e in case they should pay us a visit by water during the night. We all then retired to our tents; and having been up during the previous night and hard at work all day, we very quickly fell asleep.

How long a time had pa.s.sed I knew not, when I was awakened by a rattling peal of thunder, which sounded directly above my head. Starting up and rushing out of the tent, I found my father and the officers, as well as most of the men, on foot; the rain was coming down in torrents, and the wind was blowing furiously, dashing the water against the bank, and making the tall trees bend before it. My fear at first was that they would be blown down upon us; but when I recollected the shape of their leaves and their scanty foliage, I saw that there was not much danger of that. How thankful I felt that my father had not remained on board the brig, for she, I could not help fearing, would go to pieces, and all her cargo be lost.

My father's first object was to secure the boats, which lay in the bay I have already described, above our encampment. As soon as this was done, he in a calm voice advised those who had not to keep watch to turn in again. "We need not fear for our lives," he observed; "and as for the brig, we can do nothing till daylight. Should the weather then moderate, and she still hold together, we may get off to her; but if not, Heaven's will be done. We should be thankful that our lives have been preserved, and that we have secured so many necessaries."

I was only half awake as it was; so, following my father's advice, I crept back into the tent, and in spite of the storm was quickly asleep.

Day had broken for some time when I awoke; the rain had ceased, though the sky was still cloudy. I found the men trying to light a fire with the damp wood and leaves they had collected, but it was a somewhat difficult task. My father, accompanied by Mudge, had gone up to the top of the cliff to look out for the brig, but from the loud roar of the breakers on the bar and along the coast I had but little hope that they would see her. The storm, however, quickly pa.s.sed away, the sun breaking out from amid the clouds which rolled off to the southward. I awoke my younger companions, who had slept through the whole of it, and were very much astonished to find the ground wet and the sea still roaring in a voice of thunder.

My mother's tent having been securely put up, had withstood the wind, as had the others; indeed, constructed as they were, they could not be blown down or disturbed unless the pegs had been drawn out of the ground.

I found my mother and Edith sitting just inside their tent, waiting for my father's return.

"The utter destruction of the brig will be a sore trial to him," she observed; "and he has no hope that she can have escaped; so we must do our best to keep up his spirits, and to show him that we are contented with our lot. I feel such unbounded grat.i.tude to Heaven for his having been induced to come on sh.o.r.e last night, that the destruction of the vessel appears to me a mere trifle; and I am sure that you and Pierce will do your best to induce the rest to obey his directions."

"That we will, mother; and so, I am sure, will Harry," said Pierce, who was with me; "so will Tommy Peck and d.i.c.ky Popo: and if they don't, we'll make them."

The men had succeeded in lighting a fire; and just as breakfast was ready my father and Mudge came in sight. They shook their heads as they drew near.

"Not a vestige of the brig remains," said my father, with a sigh. "I trust that, if we can get to Sydney, we shall recover our insurance; but I had hoped till the last to save her and the cargo. We have happily secured a good store of provisions and ammunition; and I propose forming a settlement in this neighbourhood, and, having become acquainted with its inhabitants, the nature of the country, and the wild animals which may afford us food, ultimately to send an expedition overland to Sydney.

When we have gained experience, we shall have but comparatively little difficulty in travelling to the British settlements in the south."

My mother was perfectly ready to agree to my father's proposal; indeed, she saw the wisdom of remaining where we were until we had become acquainted with the country, and she dreaded the long overland journey almost as much as she did a voyage in the boats. All the party, however, I found, were not of this opinion, though they did not at first express themselves openly on the subject. The seamen, as is too often the case when a vessel has been wrecked, now that they had got on sh.o.r.e did not consider themselves any longer under naval discipline; and though they were not actually disrespectful to my father, they took but little pains to carry out his orders. He, having been brought up on board a man-of-war, was not accustomed to the ways of merchant-seamen, and considered that they were as much bound to obey him now as before.

The mates, it was evident from their manner, sided with the men, so that Mudge was the only officer on whom my father could depend for support.

They two on all occasions consulted together. The first point they had to decide was the position of the proposed settlement, supposing that the men would willingly a.s.sist in forming it. When my father spoke to the mates on the subject, however, they at once declared that they had no intention of remaining where they were.

"You see, Captain Rayner, you have your wife and family with you; but with us it is very different," observed the first mate. "We want to get back to our families and to civilised life, and see no reason why we should remain here when we have got a stout boat in which we can easily make the pa.s.sage to Sydney. If you'll give us the boat, we've made up our minds to go in her as soon as we've stretched our legs on sh.o.r.e a little."

My father replied that he would consider the matter; on which the mate muttered something which did not reach our ears.

I was shortly afterwards talking over the matter with Mudge. "It can't be helped, though, I fear," he observed. "If we can't persuade them to stay, they must go; for we certainly have no power to compel them to do what they don't wish, and we must therefore depend upon ourselves. I am very certain that Tommy Peck and Harry will remain faithful; and so, I hope, will the boatswain and Paddy Doyle, who seems much attached to us."

"I can answer for Ned Burton," I said; "and, I think, two or three more of the men."

"Then, whether or not any of the rest stay with us, we shall manage to do very well," he said in a cheerful tone. "Now, after the experience of last night, I am anxious at once to build a cottage for your mother and Edith, in which they will be more comfortable than in a tent. I told your father, who said he should be much obliged if I would do so; and to show the men that we are independent of them, I proposed that we should set about it at once. The timber about here is too large for the purpose, but I saw some near the mouth of the river which will serve well for uprights and rafters; and if we can get Doyle to accompany us, we will set off at once with our axes and begin to cut it. Tell the other boys; and they can bring the logs here which we cut down, when your father and Burton will set them up. Perhaps we shall shame some of the other men into offering their a.s.sistance."

Harry and Tom were well-pleased to have something to do, and agreed that the two of them could easily carry a log the distance these had to come, unless it was unusually heavy. The men saw us setting off, but continued sitting round the fire smoking their pipes, without inquiring where we were going or what we were about to do.

We soon reached the spot, where, a short distance from the beach below the cliffs, grew a number of small palm-trees with straight, clean stems, exactly suited for our purpose. We soon cut down two; with which the boys trotted off, one at each end, telling us to be ready with a couple more by the time they came back. The heat under the cliff was very great, and had there not been a sea-breeze we could not, I think, have endured it. Mudge threw off his jacket, and tucking up his shirt sleeves, set manfully to work. Doyle did the same; and each had cut down two trees before I had felled one. Doyle then went on towards some trees which he saw farther off, leaving me at work a little distance from Mudge.

I was chopping away, when I heard Mudge give an extraordinary shriek; and looking towards him, what was my horror to see him on the ground encircled in the folds of a huge serpent, whose head was raised high in the air as if about to dart its fangs into him! His axe had fallen to the ground, so that he was unable to defend himself. I sprang towards him with my axe uplifted; and I must have attracted the serpent's attention, for instead of striking its prisoner it turned its head towards me. Should I miss, I might be bitten as well as my friend.

There was not a moment even for thought; with all my might I aimed a blow at the serpent's head. My axe, providentially, had been lately sharpened, and with one stroke I cut off the creature's head, which fell, in the act of uttering a hiss, close to my friend's side. The body still held him fast, and I had to exert some force to unwind it; after which I helped him to get on his feet.