Work and Win Part 27

CHAPTER XIX.

THE VISITORS.

The house was finished, and the satisfaction which it afforded to the young exiles cannot be expressed in words. Noddy had exercised his ingenuity in the construction of a fireplace, a chimney, and a table.

The stern-lights of the Roebuck furnished the windows of the princ.i.p.al apartment; while single panes of gla.s.s, obtained from the a.s.sorted cargo of the vessel, admitted the light to the sleeping-rooms. They had knives, forks, spoons, dishes, and cooking utensils in abundance.

Everything they wanted was at hand; and in this respect they differed from all the Crusoes of ancient and modern times.

The miscellaneous cargo of the schooner supplied the house with all the comforts and many of the luxuries of civilization; and if Noddy had been familiar with the refinements of social life, he would probably have added the "modern improvements" to the mansion. If the house had been an elegant residence on Fifth Avenue or Blackstone Square, the occupants could not have enjoyed it more. Day after day Noddy added some new feature of comfort, until he was as proud of the dwelling as though he had been the architect of St. Peter's.

The work was done, and they had nothing to do but sit down under their "own vine and fig-tree," and enjoy themselves. They had provisions and water enough to last them six months. But Noddy had discovered that idleness was the sum of all miseries; and after he had thoroughly explored the island, and amused himself for a few days among the novelties of the place, he realized that work was a positive luxury.

Even patient, plodding labor, without any excitement, was better than doing nothing.

Though there had been a storm, the Roebuck still held together; and the most profitable employment that presented itself was bringing off the rest of the cargo from the wreck; and everything which it was possible for him to move was transferred to the sh.o.r.e. He built a storehouse of sail-cloth, in which all the merchandise and provisions were carefully secured, though it was not probable that any considerable portion of it would ever be of any value to the islanders.

Noddy had built a fence around the grave of Captain McClintock, and on a smooth board had cut the name and age of the deceased. Every day Mollie visited the spot, and placed fresh flowers on the green sod. The sharp pangs of her great affliction had pa.s.sed away, and she was cheerful, and even hopeful of the future, while she fondly cherished the memory of her father.

The islands which were just visible in the distance were a source of interest and anxiety to the sailor-boy and his gentle companion. Noddy had carefully examined them through the spy-gla.s.s a great many times; and once he had seen a large canoe, under sail, with a ponderous "out-rigger" to keep it from upsetting; but it did not come near the home of the exiles. This proved that the other islands were inhabited, and he was in constant dread of a visit from the savages. He put all the pistols he had found in the cabin in readiness for use, and practised firing at a mark, that he might be able to defend himself and his fair charge if occasion required. They did not come, and there were no signs on the island that they ever visited it, and he hoped to avoid the necessity of fighting them.

There were plenty of fish in the waters which surrounded the island, and Noddy had no difficulty in catching as many of them as he wanted. There were no animals to be seen, except a few sea-fowl. He killed one of these, and roasted him for dinner one day; but the flesh was so strong and so fishy that salt pork and corned beef were considered better.

A two months' residence on the island had accustomed both the boy and the girl to the novelties of the situation; and though, as might be reasonably expected, they were anxious to return to the great world from which they had been banished, they were tolerably contented with the life they led. Noddy was continually planning some new thing to add to the comfort of their daily life, and to provide supplies for the future. As in many large cities, a supply of pure water was a question, of momentous importance to him, and he early turned his attention to the subject. He made spouts of canvas for the "mansion" and the storehouse, by which the water, when it rained, was conducted to barrels set in the ground, so as to keep it cool. This expedient promised a plentiful supply, for the rains were heavy and frequent, and the quality was much better than that of the water casks.

When all the necessary work had been accomplished, and when the time at last hung heavily on his hands, Noddy began to consider the practicability of a garden, to keep up the supply of peas, beans, and potatoes, of which a considerable quant.i.ty had been obtained from the wreck. Mollie was delighted with the idea of a "farm," as she called it, and the ground was at once marked off. Noddy went to work; but the labor of digging up the soil, and preparing it for the seed, was very hard.

There was no excitement about this occupation, and the laborer "punished" himself very severely in performing it; but work had become a principle with him, and he persevered until an incident occurred which suspended further operations on the garden, and gave him all the excitement his nature craved.

"What's that, Noddy?" said Mollie, one day, when he was industriously striving to overcome his dislike to plodding labor.

"Where?" asked he, dropping his shovel, for the manner of his companion betrayed no little alarm.

"On the water," replied she, pointing in the direction of the islands which had given them so much anxiety.

"It is a native canoe loaded with savages," said Noddy, hastening to the house for his spy-gla.s.s and pistols.

He examined the canoe long and attentively. It was only four or five miles distant, and looked like quite a large boat.

"They are coming here," said Noddy.

"O, what shall we do?" exclaimed the timid maiden, recalling all she knew about cannibals and fierce savages found on the South Sea Islands.

"Perhaps they will not come here," added Noddy; but it was more to cheer up his friend, than from any hope he cherished of avoiding the issue.

"I hope they will not. What do you think they will do to us, if they do?"

"I think I can manage them, Mollie. Don't be alarmed."

"How many are there in the canoe?"

"A dozen or fifteen, I should think," replied he, after he had again examined the object with the gla.s.s.

"What can you do with so many as that?" asked she, in despair.

"They are savages, you know; and they are afraid of powder. If I should shoot one of them, the rest would run away."

"Can't we hide?"

"That will do no good. They would certainly find us. The best way is to face the music."

"And they will steal all our things, Noddy."

"I won't let them steal anything," said he, examining his pistol.

"I hope you won't have to shoot any of them. It would be awful to kill the poor creatures."

"I won't fire if I can help it. They are all looking this way, and I'm sure they can see the house and the tent."

"What shall we do?" cried Mollie, who certainly felt that the end of all things had come.

"We can do nothing; and we may as well take it easy. I can't tell what to do now; but I think I will go down and hide the boat, for they may carry that off."

Mollie went with him to the inlet, and the boat was moved up among the bushes where the savages would not be likely to find it. The wind was light, and the great canoe advanced but slowly. The men on board of her appeared to be watching the island with as much interest as its occupants regarded the approach of the intruders.

Off the reef the big canoe came up into the wind, and the savages appeared to be debating what they should do next. They could see the remains of the wrecked schooner now; and the question appeared to be, whether they should visit that or the sh.o.r.e. But she soon filled away again, and pa.s.sed through the opening in the reef. Noddy had three pistols, all of which he put in his belt, and finished this hostile array by adding a huge butcher-knife to the collection. He looked formidable enough to fight a whole army; but he intended only to make a prudent display of force. Mollie thought it was rather ridiculous for a small boy like him to load himself down with so many weapons, which could not avail him, if a conflict became necessary, against sixteen savages, full grown, and accustomed to fighting. But Noddy was general-in-chief of the forces, and she did not remonstrate any further than to beg him to be prudent.

The canoe slowly approached the sh.o.r.e. Those in her seemed to be familiar with the land, for they steered directly up the little inlet which Noddy had chosen as his landing-place. The "lord of the isle," as our sailor-boy felt himself to be, moved down to the sh.o.r.e, followed by Mollie. The savages could now be distinctly seen. They were horribly tattooed, and they did not look very friendly. As the canoe touched the sh.o.r.e, they sprang to their feet, and Noddy's calculations were set at nought by the discovery that several were armed with guns.

One of them stepped on sh.o.r.e. There was a broad grin on his ugly face, which was intended for a conciliatory smile. The savage walked towards Noddy with his hand extended, and with his mouth stretched open from ear to ear, to denote the friendly nature of his mission. The boy took the hand, and tried to look as amiable as the visitor; but as his mouth was not half so large, he probably met with only a partial success.

"Americals?" said the savage, in tones so loud that poor Mollie was actually frightened by the sound.

He spoke in a nasal voice, as a man does who has a cold in the head; but the lord of the isle was surprised and pleased to hear even a single word of his mother tongue. He pointed impressively to the American flag, which had been hoisted on a pole, as he had seen Captain McClintock do when he had a slight difficulty with a custom-house officer at Barbadoes, and politely replied that he and Mollie were Americans.

"Big heap thigs," added the savage, pointing to the tent filled with stores and merchandise.

"They are mine," said Noddy.

"Americals--yes."

"What do you want?"

"Big wreck," said the visitor, pointing over to the schooner. "Big lot mel ol the other islal."

"Americans?" asked Noddy, clearly understanding the speaker, whose enunciation was princ.i.p.ally defective in the subst.i.tution of l's for n's.

"Four Americals; big storm; come in boat."

"Do you hear that, Mollie?" exclaimed Noddy. "He says that four Americans came to the other island in a boat."