Twice Lost Part 7

"Well, sir, but perhaps I can do without the skin. I'll try and make use of a piece of canvas. I'll render it air-tight with grease or wax, or something of that sort. I don't promise to succeed, but I'll try my best."

"That's all we can expect of you," said Mudge.

Tillard's proposal somewhat raised our hopes. We had, however, in the first place, to look out for water, though the cocoa-nut milk prevented our suffering from thirst; and, what was of equal importance, to search for food. Before setting out, we each of us cut a long pointed stick-- the most ready weapon we could manufacture; not for defence, for it would be useless against the arms of the natives, should any exist on the island, but to enable us to kill any animals we might meet with, as also to a.s.sist us in getting over any rough ground, or to beat down the brushwood should we meet with forests through which we might have to force our way.

Leaving Tillard to look after the boat and to make preparations for repairing her, we set out. Mudge led the way, Tom and Harry and I followed, Tamaku and Popo brought up the rear. We proceeded along the sea-sh.o.r.e, which was more level than the interior, and presented few impediments to our progress. After going some distance to the south, we reached a region which had apparently, at no remote period, been covered by the sea--probably upheaved by some convulsion of nature. A few cocoa-nut and panda.n.u.s trees, however, grew on it, and a scant herbage.

We were about to keep along the sea-beach, near which the land rose, covered thickly with trees, when I observed a number of birds hovering over the part of the island I have described. Crossing a level s.p.a.ce covered at high tide by the sea, we reached what was evidently at such times an island. Numberless birds had made it their abode. As we approached, they seemed in no way alarmed--those which were sitting on their nests keeping their posts, merely poking out their necks, and uttering such hoa.r.s.e croaks that we were almost deafened by the sound, and could scarcely hear each other speak.

"Hurrah!" cried Mudge, "we have here food enough to supply all our wants; and, what's better, such as I hope we may be able to preserve for our voyage."

A large number of the birds were sitting on their eggs, and so tame were they that we had to push them over to get at the said eggs. Among them were numerous beautiful tropic-birds, sooty terns, and gannets. The eggs of the latter were laid on the ground, without any nest; and so faithful were the hens to their trust, that they allowed themselves to be captured rather than desert them. The most remarkable and beautiful of those we saw, however, were the frigate-birds, whose nests, constructed of a few sticks, were seen in all the surrounding trees.

The old birds, as they flew off, inflated their blood-red pouches to the size of a child's head, looking exactly as if large bladders were attached to their necks, and not at all improving their appearance, handsome as they were in other respects. We at once filled our pockets with eggs; choosing such as looked the freshest. We also knocked down as many birds as we were likely to require for our dinner and supper.

This discovery raised our spirits, as we had now as much animal food as we could require.

On our return along the sea-sh.o.r.e, we met with several large crabs. One big fellow had caught a snake, and was walking off with it wriggling in his claws, when down pounced a frigate-bird, and carried off both crab and snake together. Whole armies, too, of soldier-crabs, with their sh.e.l.ls on their backs, were moving about in search of prey, or looking out for more commodious homes; it being their wise custom not to leave one home until they have found another. When they neglect this precaution, their soft tails are nearly sure to be nabbed by one of their numerous enemies. The snakes, as far as we could judge, were not venomous; though, as we were not certain of that fact, we agreed that it would be as well to avoid them. The tropic-birds were the tamest,--or I should rather say the least aware of the harm we might do them,--and allowed us to put our hands under them and carry off their eggs without showing the slightest fear.

We had to hurry back, as the tide was rising, and our retreat might be cut off.

On reaching the bay where we were cast ash.o.r.e, we found that Tillard had made some progress with his forge.

"If I can once get the bellows to work, it will not be long before we shall have as many nails as we want. But we must have patience, sir,"

he observed to Mudge; "patience will overcome all difficulties."

We none of us were disposed to dispute this; so, just then, being rather anxious to cook our eggs and birds, I inquired how we were to get a light to kindle our fire. No one till then had thought of that important point. We each of us searched in our pockets for flint and steel, but none were to be found. The Sandwich Islander was applied to.

We had heard that the natives of the South Sea Islands obtained a light by rubbing two pieces of wood together. He could do it, he replied, if he could find the right sort of wood. But the process was not an easy one, and required time; so, as we were too hungry to wait, we dined off raw eggs, with a dessert of cocoa-nut, washed down with the milk.

After we had finished our meal, Tamaku set off to look for the wood he required, while we were employed in collecting leaves and erecting some arbours of boughs, in which we might shelter ourselves during the night, instead of spending it, as we had done the previous one, on the open beach. It was nearly dark when Tamaku returned, saying that he had found the wood he required; but as we were tired and sleepy, we preferred lying down to rest instead of waiting till a fire could be kindled and provisions cooked.

CHAPTER FOUR.

ON THE ISLAND--OYSTERS ON TREES--HARRY'S NARROW ESCAPE FROM A SHARE--OUR FIRST BREAKFAST--TILLARD'S FORGE--EXPEDITION ACROSS THE ISLAND--WE MANUFACTURE NAILS AND HOOKS--FIND A BOAT--SUCCESSFUL FISHING--OUR FRIENDS RETURN--LAUNCH THE BOAT--d.i.c.k AND I START TO SAIL ROUND THE ISLAND--d.i.c.k TAKEN ILL--MY DISMAY--WE ARE BLOWN OFF THE COAST.

Although our beds of leaves were tolerably comfortable, and our clothes were dry, we did not oversleep ourselves, but awoke at daybreak the next morning. Refreshing as was the cocoa-nut milk we had obtained, we all felt very thirsty; so Mudge announced his intention of setting off to look for a spring of water, taking Popo with him to carry the breaker.

Tamaku sat down with his knife to cut the wood he had found into the required shape for producing fire; Tillard proceeded with the arrangements for his forge; while Harry and Tom and I agreed to go along the sh.o.r.e to look for sh.e.l.l-fish, and to obtain a further supply of cocoa-nuts.

We had not gone far when we came to a creek, or narrow bay, running inland for some distance. Its sh.o.r.es were thickly lined with trees, their roots being washed by the water, and many of their boughs dipping into it. Near at hand we discovered a cocoa-nut tree bearing several bunches of fruit, and Harry at once volunteered to climb to the summit.

While he was thus engaged, I heard Tom shouting out, "Halloa, here are oysters growing on the trees!"

I ran down to the opening by which he had gained the water; and there, sure enough, all the boughs reaching the surface were fringed with good-sized oysters. We gathered those we could reach; and looking down into the clear water below the trees, I saw that the rocks at the bottom were thickly covered with those nutritive sh.e.l.l-fish, in every stage of growth, many of the size of a shilling and even smaller. Here, at all events, was an unfailing supply of food; and, encouraged by the discovery, we hoped that we should obtain a still further variety.

Having filled our pockets and handkerchiefs, we hurried back to the tree, down which Harry was descending with a load of cocoa-nuts. On our showing him the oysters, he observed that they were too small to be of much use, and volunteered at once to dive to the bottom and obtain some larger ones. We accordingly returned to the bay; when, stripping off his clothes, he at once plunged in, and soon brought a number of large oysters to the surface in his handkerchief, which he had taken down with him for the purpose.

"Oh, there are not enough," he said,--"I will soon get some more;" and again he plunged down. We could see him at the bottom, working away with his knife. I could not have remained half the time beneath the surface.

While he was thus engaged, I caught sight of a dark object at the entrance of the bay. Horror seized me, for I knew it to be a shark. I shrieked out to Harry to return. Tom also saw the fearful monster, and, with a presence of mind for which I should not have given him credit, he took up one of the larger oysters and sent it skimming along the surface, in the way boys are accustomed to make "ducks and drakes" with pieces of slate on a calm day by the sea-side. I immediately followed his example, hoping thus to distract the attention of the shark.

At length, though it seemed a long time, Harry came up, and only then hearing our cries, swam rapidly to the sh.o.r.e. We held out our hands to help him, and I breathed more freely when his feet touched the dry ground. A moment longer, and he would have been lost; for the shark, darting forward, almost ran his snout against the bank in his eagerness to seize his prey; then, startled by our cries, and the oysters we continued to heave at him, he suddenly turned round, whisking the water into our faces with his tail.

Harry took the matter very coolly. "It is not the first time I have had a shark dart at me," he observed; "but I have generally had a companion who has attacked the creature with his knife. Had I been prepared, I would have met him in the same way."

"I am very glad you did not make the experiment, Harry," I answered.

"However, it is a lesson to us not to venture into the water without keeping a look-out; and I am very thankful that you have escaped."

"So am I," he answered; "but now, as we have got as many oysters as we can carry, in addition to the cocoa-nuts, we may as well join our friends and have breakfast."

"I hope that Tamaku will have managed to light a fire," said Tom; "for though the oysters and cocoa-nuts are nice enough as they are, I don't like raw eggs; and I have an especial fancy for some roast-duck."

As we approached the bay we saw a cloud of smoke ascending from the sand, and we found Tamaku busily employed in blowing up a fire which he had kindled there. We soon rejoined him, and asked why he had chosen this spot.

"Because, you see, if I had lighted it on the gra.s.s, we might have had a larger fire than would have been pleasant."

While we were standing round the fire, Popo came back with a breaker of water, saying that Mr Mudge would soon follow. Wishing to surprise him, we set to work to pluck the ducks, and spit a couple, and roast some eggs. We were thus employed when we saw him coming leisurely towards us; but discovering the fire, he held up his hand with a look of astonishment, and hurried forward.

"Well, lads, you have prepared a feast," he exclaimed, sitting down on the bank above the sand. "I little expected to have so many good things; and I am thankful to say that I have found a stream of fresh, cold water, issuing from the side of the hill, and falling into a deep basin--in which I could not resist taking a bath; and I would advise you to do the same."

We were too hungry to wait for the roast-ducks, so we sat down and commenced our breakfast on eggs and oysters, with cocoa-nut milk. By the time we had taken the edge off our appet.i.tes, the ducks, under Tamaku's superintendence, were thoroughly cooked. They were p.r.o.nounced excellent, and we agreed that no aldermen could have breakfasted better.

"And what are we to do now?" I asked.

"We have no necessity to be anxious about food; we must first of all go across to the other side of the island, which I believe is not far off, and establish a look-out place from whence we can make signals should any vessel pa.s.s by," answered Mudge. "You, Tillard, I suppose, will prefer waiting to finish your forge; and we must trust to you to keep up the fire, so that, should a ship appear off the coast, her attention may be attracted."

"I'll undertake to do that, sir," answered Tillard; "but as I shall want help, I shall be obliged if some one will remain with me. I would rather have one of the young gentlemen; they will understand what I want better than either Popo or Tamaku. Mr Rayner, will you stay by me?"

"I was going to offer to do so," I answered; "although I should have liked making an exploring expedition across the island."

I was anxious to be of use; and besides wishing to oblige d.i.c.k, I was curious to see how he would proceed. He thanked me very much; and the rest of the party wishing us good-bye, set off with their thick sticks as arms, and a supply of ducks and eggs, wild-fowl, and cocoa-nuts for provisions, leaving us as much as we could require for a couple of days.

As soon as they were gone, Tillard and I set to work on the forge. He had already nearly manufactured a pair of bellows with the aid of the bottom boards of the boat,--fortunately of considerable width,--and some of the spare canvas which had remained in the boat's bows. It was a very rough-looking machine, but still was likely to answer its purpose.

We also found several pieces of iron about the boat which could be removed without impairing its strength; and these we managed to wrench off, with the help of a sharp piece of coral.

At length the fire was kindled in the forge, and on working the bellows a strong flame was produced. All our tools were composed of coral; two long pieces served as tongs, and another as a hammer. Having heated the iron, d.i.c.k knocked it out into a long thin bar, and then placing it on the ma.s.s of coral which served as an anvil, cut it with successive sharp blows of his knife into small pieces. Each of these had to be re-heated, and taken up and dropped into a small hole with a blow from the hammer, when the head was produced by another sharp blow. In this way he formed a number of small nails with large heads, which, if not very well-shaped, were at least likely to answer the purpose.

We had found a gum issuing from some pine-trees, which did not dissolve in water; and by mixing it with some grease which we happily found in the after-locker, a thick paste was formed with which we payed over the canvas. The boat had been hauled up sufficiently to enable us to get at both leaks during low tide; so we at once set to work, and were thankful to find that the nails answered very well: fortunately, I should have said, I had a small bradawl in my knife, and also a file, with which I sharpened the points of the nails. The whole work was accomplished sooner than I could have expected; and Tillard declared his belief that not a drop of water would come through the damaged part of the boat, whatever it might do elsewhere.

"I wish we could try her," I said, when our last nail was expended.

"Wait patiently, Mr Rayner," answered d.i.c.k; "when the tide rises, we'll get her afloat."

He was mistaken, however, for with all our efforts we could not succeed in launching her. We had to wait, therefore, for the return of our companions. Getting into the boat, however, we made another thorough search; and while doing so I found jammed into a corner of the after-locker a large fishing-hook, such as is used for catching sharks, bonitos, and other finny monsters of the deep. Besides this, we discovered a ball of twine and some spare pieces of rope.

d.i.c.k examined the fishing-hook. "We must keep it as it is," he observed. "At first I thought that I might form it into smaller hooks; but we have still some iron remaining, and I will try my hand at making such as will catch the moderate-sized fish we are likely to find in the lagoon or outside the reef."

Returning to the forge, d.i.c.k at once set to work, and succeeded in shaping four hooks, though he and I burned our fingers in the operation.

On trying them, however, they were found to be too soft for use.

"We must temper them," I observed; and I ran and filled a cocoa-nut-sh.e.l.l with water.