The next morning dawned as fine as heart could wish, with a cloudless
sky of matchless blue, and a "glass" that showed a rising rather than a
falling tendency. Immediately after breakfast, therefore, Leslie
emerged from the brig's cabin provided with a basket of provisions
neatly packed by the fair Flora's hand and daintily covered with a
spotlessly white cloth. This he deposited in the stern-sheets of his
boat; and then addressed Sailor, who stood at the gangway watching the
proceedings with eager interest.
"Now, Sailor, come along down, boy; that's a good dog, then. Come down,
you sir, I say!"
Sailor wagged his tail excitedly, and barked in response, making a great
show of being about to jump down into the boat, but baulking at the last
moment and looking round anxiously to see whether his beloved mistress
were coming, then approaching the side again and barking a response to
Leslie's blandishments, but dexterously avoiding the efforts of the
latter to capture and drag him down into the boat; and so on _ad
infinitum_ At length, however, Miss Trevor made her appearance, a
radiant vision in white, and armed against the assaults of the
too-ardent sun with a white lace parasol--one of the many spoils of the
late skipper's speculative investment--and approached the head of the
side-ladder that Leslie had rigged for her accommodation. Then, as she
began to descend, Sailor hesitated no longer but, fearing lest he should
lose his passage, sprang down into the frail craft with an _abandon_
that nearly capsized her, and placed himself in the eyes of the boat,
obediently to a signal from Leslie's hand. Another moment and Flora had
taken her place in the stern, and Leslie was bearing-off from the brig's
side.
With her load of three--for Sailor was nearly as heavy as his mistress--
the boat proved to be somewhat crank, and Leslie had a momentary spasm
of regret that he had not tied up the dog and left him aboard the brig,
instead of bringing him with them; but the water was quite smooth, and
they all sat still. The passage was consequently accomplished without
mishap; and in about an hour from the moment of starting they all three
stood safely on the dazzlingly white beach of coral sand that stretched
for about a mile in either direction from the spot where they had
landed. From here the hull of the brig looked little more than a small
inconspicuous spot against the snow-white cloud of surf that broke
eternally upon the outer edge of the barrier reef; and Leslie made a
mental note to pull off aboard again betimes in the afternoon, for it
would be practically impossible to hit off her position in the darkness.
The beach on which they stood was of no great width, some sixty or
seventy feet wide, perhaps, from the water's edge to the spot where it
abruptly met the luxuriant growth of thick guinea-grass that seemed to
form the turf of the island. Immediately opposite the spot where they
had landed there stretched a clear space of this turf, measuring about a
quarter of a square mile in area, entirely unencumbered by bush, or
tree, or shrub of any kind. Leslie recognised this as the spot that he
had already fixed upon, while aboard the brig, as the site for his camp;
and his nearer inspection of it now satisfied him that it was eminently
suitable for the purpose and indeed could not be improved upon. Beyond
the confines of this open space, to right, left, and rear of it, shrubs
and small bushes grew at first sparsely and, further on, in greater
profusion, until ultimately this more or less scattered growth merged
into the dense and apparently impenetrable bush and forest with which
the entire island appeared to be clothed.
When Leslie's eyes had first fallen upon this island an uneasy suspicion
had arisen within him that so comparatively large and important an area
must almost of necessity be inhabited; and he had not been altogether
free from doubt as to what, in such a case, the disposition of its
inhabitants might be toward him and his companion. He had an idea that
he had somewhere heard or read that the natives of certain of the
Pacific islands were addicted to cannibalism; and he felt that if by any
evil chance this particular island should happen to be inhabited by such
a race, the cup of their misfortunes would be full. Consequently, the
work of constructing his pontoons had been frequently broken into by
long and anxious examinations of the island through the telescope, in a
search for indications of the presence of inhabitants.
These examinations had entirely failed to reveal any such indications;
and the hope had gradually arisen in his mind that, after all, the
island might prove to be uninhabited. But he was not yet by any means
satisfied that this hope was well-grounded, and he determined that this
first visit of his to the place should be mainly devoted to a further
search and examination. Before doing anything further, therefore, he
suggested to Flora that they should walk the entire length of the
beach--keeping to the grass as far as possible, in order to leave the
surface of the sand quite undisturbed--so that he might be able to
carefully and systematically scrutinise it in search of footprints. For
he argued that if savages really existed on this island, they could
scarcely have failed to discover the existence of the wreck during the
week that she had lain upon the reef; in which case they would most
probably have gathered at the water's edge, at the nearest possible
point, for the purpose of examining her. And since this particular
strip of beach happened to be nearer the wreck than any other point of
the island, he felt tolerably certain that footprints would be found
upon it, if anywhere. A strong point in favour of the assumption that
the island was uninhabited was the fact that the wreck had not been
approached by canoes; for Leslie felt that if she had been seen by
natives, they would scarcely have left her unvisited for an entire week.
The careful and systematic inspection of the entire length of beach
consumed an hour, and was without result; no human footprints were
anywhere to be seen; and Leslie was confident that if any person had
walked upon that sand within the week, he would have left plain
indications behind him, for the wind throughout that time had been too
gentle to obliterate marks of any kind, as was evidenced by the fact
that the footprints of birds were everywhere clearly distinguishable.
Once, indeed, he thought he had found what he sought; but upon closer
inspection the signs proved to be the track of a turtle that had come up
on the sand to lay her eggs, as was evidenced by the fact that the eggs
themselves were found, and a few of them appropriated.
Although his investigation thus far was reassuring, Leslie was not yet
by any means satisfied. He wished to obtain a much clearer idea than he
yet possessed of the actual extent and general shape of his island; and
the only way by which this was to be accomplished, and at the same time
a general survey of it effected, was to ascend to the summit of the
mountain. This promised to be a decidedly arduous task, in that
climate, especially as they had been cooped up for so long a time within
the narrow confines of a small vessel, with very limited space for
taking exercise. But he determined nevertheless to attempt it, feeling
that he could never be perfectly easy in his mind until he had done so,
and they accordingly set out forthwith on their way.
Path, of course, there was none; but this was of little moment, for they
knew that so long as they continued to ascend every step took them so
much nearer to the summit; and they were agreeably surprised to find
that the bush and undergrowth that, at a distance, had appeared to be
absolutely impenetrable, was not nearly so dense as it had looked. They
were consequently enabled, by adopting a somewhat serpentine route, to
make very fair upward progress, although they occasionally encountered
spots where a passage had to be forced, and where Flora's dainty white
costume suffered somewhat.
They had not gone very far upon their way before Leslie discovered, to
his great relief and satisfaction, that they certainly need have no fear
of starvation, even in the event of their being doomed to remain where
they were for the rest of their lives. For, as they went, fruit-bearing
trees of many kinds were found in great profusion, growing luxuriantly,
and many of them loaded with most luscious fruit. Mangoes, bananas,
plantains, limes, custard-apples, and bread-fruit were among the
varieties that Leslie recognised; and there were many others with which
he was unfamiliar, and which he therefore regarded with more or less
suspicion. They saw no signs of animals of any kind; but the forest
seemed to be alive with birds, the extraordinary tameness--or rather
fearlessness--of which seemed to argue an unfamiliarity with man.
Two hours of arduous climbing brought the adventurers to a most romantic
spot, where a small stream of deliciously pure and cold fresh water
gushed out from under a huge overhanging moss-grown rock, the banks of
the rivulet being clothed with ferns of the most lovely and delicate
varieties, while the surrounding sward was gay with flowers of strange
forms and most exquisitely delicate and beautiful combinations of
colouring. A huge tree, bearing large blossoms of vivid scarlet instead
of leaves--which Leslie identified as the "bois-immortelle"--overhung
the spot; and as the pair were by this time feeling somewhat tired and
hungry, they seated themselves upon the yielding sward, and Leslie
surrendering the lunch-basket to Flora, the latter spread the cloth on
the grass and set out as dainty and enticing a luncheon as, supplemented
by the fruit with which Leslie had filled his pockets, two hungry people
need ever desire to find before them.
A narrow vista through the trees afforded the travellers a glimpse of
the sea stretching blue and foam-flecked below them and right out to the
horizon; and as Leslie judged from this glimpse that they must have
accomplished considerably more than half their climb, the pair lingered
for some time over their meal, resting their tired limbs and enjoying
the loveliness of their surroundings. Then, after an interval of about
an hour and a half, they again proceeded on their way, making better
progress now than they did at first, as the undergrowth and trees became
from this point steadily thinner as they progressed, until at length
they were able to catch occasional glimpses of the summit for which they
were aiming. Finally they emerged from the bush altogether, to find
themselves breasting a steep slope, the soil of which was composed of
fine scoriae and ashes.
"Just as I anticipated," ejaculated Leslie, as he stooped to examine the
ground. "This island is volcanic; and yonder peak--the top of which,
you will notice, appears to have been broken off--is the crater. But do
not be alarmed," he continued, seeing a startled expression leap into
his companion's eyes, "the volcano is undoubtedly extinct, and has
probably been so for ages; for if you will but look around you at all
this vegetation you will notice that it bears no remotest sign or
indication of ever having been disturbed by volcanic action. I am not
botanist enough to be able to judge the ages of those trees that we see
below us; but thousands of them must be considerably more than half a
century old; and as it is evident that no eruption has taken place since
they started to grow, I think we may rest satisfied that no disturbance
is in the least likely to occur during our occupation of the place. But
let us push on; it is nearly one o'clock, and I am anxious to get up
there to have a good look round and make a complete survey of our
dominions."
They accordingly resumed their climb; and after a further three-quarters
of an hour of arduous labour--the steepness of the acclivity and the
looseness of the soil rendering progress exceedingly slow and
difficult--they finally reached their goal, to find themselves standing,
as it were, upon the rim of a huge basin about a third of a mile in
diameter and some three hundred feet deep, the inner sides sloping
almost perpendicularly, and the bottom forming a small lake. The
perfectly bare sides were much too steep and the soil altogether too
loose and treacherous to render an attempt at descent advisable, even
had they wished it--which they did not--it sufficed Leslie that the
whole appearance of the place confirmed his previous conviction that the
volcano was extinct; and without wasting a second glance upon it he at
once turned his attention to the scene beneath him.
They had happened, by a stroke of good luck, to hit upon the very
highest point in the lip of the crater, and they were thus enabled to
see, from the spot on which they stood, the entire extent of the island,
to its uttermost limits; and they found it much bigger than they had
anticipated.
In plan it bore a rough resemblance to a right-angled triangle, the body
of which had been so twisted as to cause its apex to bear to the right.
The base of this triangle, opposite to which the wreck of the brig could
be seen as a tiny toy almost immediately beneath them, faced south-east,
and appeared to measure between three and four miles across between its
two extreme points, while the side corresponding to the perpendicular of
the triangle was, according to Leslie's estimate, nearly, if not quite,
ten miles long. The crater was situated not in the centre of the
island, but quite close to its south-eastern side, which accounted for
the steepness of the acclivity that the explorers had been obliged to
climb. Northward of the crater, after the first five hundred feet of
steep decline that formed the summit proper, the ground, undulating
picturesquely, fell away in quite a gentle slope to the most northerly
extremity of the island, which Leslie judged to be a fairly bold
headland. The barrier reef, upon which the brig lay stranded, was
visible with startling distinctness throughout its entire length from
this point; and Leslie observed that it formed a natural and most
efficient breakwater to the lagoon that stretched along the entire
south-east shore of the island, curving gradually round in a crescent
form until it joined the island itself at its most westerly extremity,
while away to the eastward there was a deep-water passage, between the
reef and the island, of about an eighth of a mile in width.
Turning his attention once more to the island itself, Leslie observed
that it was wooded to its uttermost extremity, and that no beach was to
be discovered in any direction save that upon which they had landed, the
ground appearing everywhere else to slope precipitously to the sea, in
the form of bold cliffs. And, as savages would naturally build their
villages close to a beach, to secure facilities for their fishing
operations, Leslie was further confirmed in his hope that his island was
uninhabited; especially as he looked carefully in every direction for
the smoke of fires, and found none.
Then he allowed his eyes to wander farther afield, and intently scanned
the entire visible surface of the ocean, in search of a sail, but
without success. He was not surprised at this; for he knew the island
to be situated far out of the track of all ships, save perhaps whalers,
and craft that might be driven by adverse winds out of their proper
course; and although it is the first instinct of the castaway sailor to
maintain a ceaseless watch for a sail, the ex-lieutenant knew that the
chance of rescue for himself and his companion by a passing ship was
altogether too slight to be seriously given a place in his plans for the
future. Nevertheless, for a moment he entertained the idea of erecting
a flagstaff on the summit and hoisting a flag upon it for the purpose of
attracting the attention of any ship that might perchance pass the
place; but a very brief consideration of the project sufficed to
convince him that the benefit to be derived therefrom was much too
problematical to justify the expenditure of so much labour and time as
it would involve. Moreover he had a conviction that any ship sighting
so conspicuous an object as the island in a spot shown upon the charts
as clear sea, would approach and give the place an overhaul.
But although Leslie's most careful scrutiny failed to reveal any sign of
the presence of ships, he was astonished to discover that there was
other land in sight from his lofty lookout. He clearly saw two other
eminences peering above the horizon to the westward, one bearing as
nearly as possible due west, and the other about south-west, while away
in the north-western quarter he believed he detected the loom of land at
a very great distance. The two islands in clear view were apparently
about the same distance away--a distance which, from their delicate,
filmy appearance, he estimated to be quite a hundred miles; and he knew
that they must be, like his own, mountainous, from the fact that they
showed above the horizon.
The sun was by this time settling perceptibly in the western sky, and,
lovely as was the prospect that stretched around them, Leslie felt that
the time had arrived for them to be moving once more; they accordingly
threw a final parting glance around them, and began the descent of the
mountain. To ascend was one thing; to descend, quite another; and in a
little more than an hour from the moment of leaving the summit they
found themselves once more on the beach and beside their boat. Then,
greatly fatigued by their unwonted exertions, but with the memory of a
thoroughly enjoyable day fresh upon them, they paddled leisurely off to
the brig, reaching her just as the sun was dipping below the horizon.
Their experiences of that day only whetted Leslie's--and, it must be
confessed, Flora's--appetite for further exploration and adventure; the
former in particular felt that he would never be satisfied until he had
circumnavigated his island and critically examined every yard of its
coast-line. To do this, a boat was of course necessary, or at least
something of a much more seaworthy character than the "pontoon" in which
he had adventured the passage to the island. And they had nothing of
the kind. After Flora had retired to her cabin, however, Leslie spent
an hour or so on deck, smoking his pipe and pondering upon the problem
of how to supply the deficiency; and when at length he turned in, he
believed he saw his way.
The following morning accordingly found him astir bright and early,
eager to put his ideas into immediate execution. He first got on deck
again the pontoon that he had used on the previous day, and proceeded to
considerably strengthen her by the addition of further wales, stringers,
and beams; and when he had got her to his liking, he proceeded to treat
the other in a precisely similar fashion. Then he fitted them both with
rudders. Next, having carefully disposed the two pontoons on deck, with
their longitudinal centre-lines parallel and nine feet apart, he first
decked them both completely in, leaving only a manhole eighteen inches
square in the middle of each deck; and then proceeded to frame and fit
together a thoroughly strong platform, twelve feet square, so arranged
that it could be securely bolted to the gunwales of the two pontoons in
the positions they occupied relatively to each other. This done, he
launched the whole arrangement overboard; and found himself the proud
and happy possessor of what, for want of a better and more appropriate
name, he called a "catamaran;" the structure consisting, of course, of
the two pontoons arranged parallel to each other, with a water space of
six feet between them, and firmly and strongly connected with each other
by the platform; the whole forming a very buoyant and commodious raft,
capable of being rigged, and promising to behave exceedingly well under
sail in smooth and even in moderately rough water. To rig this
singular-looking craft with an enormous mainsail and jib was no very
difficult matter, the wreckage alongside furnishing him with the
requisite spars, canvas, and rigging. Each of the rudders was then
furnished with a tiller; and these two tillers being connected together
with a cross-piece, were controlled by a central tiller that actuated
both rudders simultaneously. The construction and completion of this
catamaran cost Leslie three whole weeks of arduous labour; but when she
was finished he felt that the time had been well spent.
The next thing in order was to subject the craft to a sea-trial; and
this Leslie at once proceeded to do. He left Flora on board the brig,
with Sailor as her companion and protector, not caring to risk the
girl's safety on the catamaran until the reliability and sea-going
qualities of the latter had been tested; but he promised her that he
would not be absent more than two hours at the utmost, when, if
everything proved satisfactory, he would return and take her for a
cruise; and he suggested that she might devote the interval to the
preparation of a luncheon-basket to serve them for the day. Then,
hoisting his sails, he pushed off, and got the craft under way.
His first act, after getting away from the brig, was to test the
behaviour of the catamaran under sail by putting her through a series of
evolutions, such as tacking, jibing, and so on; and then, finding that
she proved to be marvellously handy, he tested her speed off and on the
wind. The trade wind happened to be piping up quite strong that day,
and it was therefore a very favourable occasion upon which to subject
the craft to such a test as Leslie desired; and he was not only
delighted but astonished at the quite unexpected turn of speed that the
craft developed, this being doubtless due to the enormous spread of
canvas that her peculiar form of construction enabled her to carry. She
skimmed down-wind with the speed of a swallow, and was scarcely less
swift when close-hauled and looking up within four points of the wind.
More than satisfied with the behaviour of his catamaran in smooth water,
Leslie next headed her to the north-east, steering for the passage
between the island and the reef that led to the open sea. The distance
to be traversed was about four miles, and this the quaint-looking craft
covered in seventeen minutes by Leslie's watch, passing in an instant
from smooth water out on to a tumbling surface of sapphire-blue creaming
and foaming sea, with a long and rather formidable swell under-running
it. This was the sort of sea to find out for Leslie the weak points in
his structure, if it had any; and for the next half-hour--while
"carrying-on," and driving his craft full tilt against the sea under the
heavy pressure of her enormous unreefed sails--he watched his craft
carefully and anxiously, ready at the first sign of weakness to up-helm
and run back to the shelter of the lagoon. But no such sign revealed
itself; on the contrary, she not only stood up to her canvas "as stiff
as a house," but slid along over the high-running sea as buoyantly as an
empty cask, hanging to windward with a tenacity that filled her happy
owner with wonder; throwing a little spray over her weather bow
occasionally, it is true, but otherwise going along as dry as a bone.
Her speed, too, was truly astounding; had the poor old _Mermaid_ been
all ataunto and alongside her, the catamaran could have sailed round and
round her. At length, thoroughly satisfied with his trial, and fully
convinced of the absolute seaworthiness of his craft, Leslie tacked--the
catamaran working like a top, even in the heavy sea that was running--
and, putting up his helm, bore away back for the lagoon, reaching the
brig once more after an absence of about an hour and a half.
He found Flora awaiting him, attired in a good serviceable and
comfortably warm serge gown--for he had warned her that she would find
the strong breeze a trifle chill out at sea--and with the lunch-basket
packed and ready. It was the work of less than a minute to transfer her
and the basket from the deck of the brig to that of the catamaran, when,
leaving Sailor to take care of the former--much to his disgust--they
once more pushed off, and headed straight out for the passage skirting
the inner edge of the reef, and noting, as they slid rapidly along, that
this inner margin of the reef was simply teeming with fish. Then,
almost before they had time to realise it, they were in the open sea
once more, and heading away to the northward and westward with the
mainsheet eased off to its utmost limit, and the main-boom square out to
starboard. Leslie allowed himself an offing of about a mile, as this
would enable him not only to get a very good general idea of the island
as a whole, but would also enable him to carefully examine the
coast-line.
The easternmost extremity of the island--between which and the barrier
reef the deep-water passage lay--was a bold headland thickly overgrown
with tall and stately forest trees, and terminating in a rocky cliff
about one hundred and fifty feet high, that dipped sheer down into the
sea; and beyond this, to the northward, the coast-line curved inward
somewhat to the most northerly point on the island, forming what might
almost be termed a shallow bay--shallow, that is to say, in point of
depth of itself, but not of its depth of water, for the whole
north-easterly coast-line of the island consisted of precipitous cliffs
averaging about a hundred feet in height, with water enough alongside to
float the biggest ship that was ever launched, if one might judge from
its colour. There was no sign or possibility of a beach anywhere along
here, which was comforting to Leslie, whose mind somehow still clung
rather tenaciously to the idea of possible savages. But nothing mortal
could by any possibility land on that eastern seaboard, nor would
savages be likely to establish themselves in a spot so completely
inaccessible from the sea. Moreover, the entire country, from the ridge
or backbone of the island, that ran from the crater down to the most
northerly point of the island, was densely covered with vegetation,
showing no faintest sign of clearing or cultivation, so that Leslie
began once more to feel reassured.
The most northerly point of the island was reached and rounded in some
forty minutes from the moment of leaving the lagoon and bearing away
round Cape Flora--as Dick insisted on naming the bold headland that
formed the eastern extremity of the island. This most northerly point
was, like the other, a lofty vertical cliff, timber--crowned to its very
verge and descending vertically into the sea; and Flora declared that
the only possible designation for it was Point Richard.
Rounding Point Richard, then, and hauling in the mainsheet, the voyagers
found themselves suddenly under the lee of the land and in smooth water,
save for the long undulations of swell that came sweeping up to them
from the southward. They were now coasting down the western side of the
island; and here again Leslie was gratified to discover that the
conclusions arrived at by him during his visit to the summit were
correct; there was no beach throughout the whole length of the
coast-line; nothing but sheer perpendicular cliffs everywhere, although
in places these cliffs rose no higher than some twenty feet above the
sea-level. Finally they arrived off the south-westerly extremity of the
island--which they agreed to name Mermaid Head--and found themselves
skirting the outer edge of the reef, at a distance of about one hundred
yards from the surf-line, lost in wonderment and admiration of the great
wall of snowy foam and spray that leapt, sparkling like a cloud of
jewels, some forty feet into the clear sunlit air. Then they re-entered
the lagoon and ran alongside the brig--to the exuberant delight of
Sailor--some three hours from the moment of starting, having had a most
enjoyable sail, and satisfied themselves definitely that, since no
savages existed on their own side of the island, the place must of
necessity be altogether free from their unwelcome presence. And
thenceforward Leslie's mind was completely free from at least that one
anxiety.
And now, having provided himself with the means not only to pass freely
and rapidly between the brig and the shore, but also to venture out to
sea in chase of a ship, should occasion to do so arise, Leslie felt
himself free to proceed with the execution of his great plan for the
establishment of a dockyard ashore, and the construction of a craft
sufficiently substantial and seaworthy to convey him and his companion
back to the world of civilisation.
The first part of his task consisted in the erection of a spacious tent
on shore for the accommodation of his companion and himself; and this he
proposed to do with the aid of the old sails on board the brig,
reserving the new ones and such canvas as he could find for the making
of a suit of sails for the proposed new boat. He accordingly got out
all the old sails, and deposited them on the deck of the catamaran,
together with a quantity of cordage, blocks, and other gear, a crowbar,
pickaxes, hammer, and shovel, an axe, and a number of miscellaneous odds
and ends that he thought would be useful, and conveyed the whole to the
shore. Then entering the woods, he selected the first nine suitable
saplings that he could find, and cut them down, afterwards conveying
them, one at a time and with considerable labour, to the site that he
had chosen for his tent. He next dug six holes in the ground--three for
each gable-end--and in four of these holes he reared four of his
stoutest saplings to form the four corners of the tent, setting them
carefully upright by means of temporary stays, and ramming the loose
soil round about their feet until they stood quite firmly. Then, midway
between the poles that were to form the gable-ends of the tent, he
reared two others, some ten feet longer than the first four, these last
being intended to support the ridge-pole of the structure, which he next
hoisted into position and securely lashed. Then he similarly raised the
eaves-poles into position and lashed them, thus completing the skeleton
of the tent. The sides and ends of the structure, together with a
central partition, were formed of sails, laboriously hoisted into
position by means of tackles, laced to the ridge-pole, and securely
pinned to the ground with stakes; and a spare main-course drawn over the
ridge-pole, sloping down over the eaves, and drawn tight all round by
ropes spliced into the leeches and secured to the ground with stout tent
pegs, completed the whole. To prevent the flooding of the tent in wet
weather, Leslie took the precaution to dig a good deep trench all round
it to receive the rain-water, and from this he dug another to carry it
off.
The next matter demanding attention was the furnishing of the tent. The
need of bedsteads was easily met by driving four stout stakes into the
ground, connected at their tops by side and end poles, to which lengths
of stout canvas were attached by a lacing; and the structure was then
ready to receive the mattress and bedding generally. The cabin lamp
efficiently illuminated Miss Trevor's half of the tent, while a lamp
taken from the steward's berth afforded Leslie all the light he needed
to undress by. Then the cabin table, the locker cushions, the
deck-chair, the ship's slender stock of books, and a variety of odds and
ends conducive to comfort were transferred from the brig to the shore,
together with the galley stove and its appurtenances; and the pair then
went into residence in their new abode--which, it may be said, they
found much more roomy, airy, and comfortable than their former quarters
aboard the brig. The galley stove, it should be mentioned, was set up
outside and to leeward of the tent, all cooking operations being
conducted in the open air. The erection of the tent, from start to
finish, absorbed a fortnight of Leslie's time, and involved such a
lavish expenditure of labour that, could he have foreseen it, he would,
as he afterwards confessed, have started much less ambitiously.
And now the ex-lieutenant found himself confronted by a truly formidable
task, compared with which all that had gone before was a mere trifle.
This consisted in overhauling the cargo of the brig, with the view of
appropriating everything that could by any possibility prove of use to
them either during their--as they hoped--temporary sojourn upon the
island, or in the construction of the boat that was to take them away
from it. Leslie had become aware, from remarks made by Purchas, that
the brig was taking out a very considerable quantity of machinery, but
this was all stowed in the bottom of the ship. On top of this there was
a vast miscellaneous assortment of mixed goods of almost every
conceivable description, and this it was that Leslie wished to get hold
of and overhaul.
Accordingly, he one morning went off to the brig and proceeded to lift
off the main hatches, disclosing to view a number of bales and
packing-cases, mostly of a size and weight that it would be impossible
for him to deal with single-handed. He saw that before it would be
possible for him to raise even a fourth part of them it would be
necessary for him to have the assistance of certain appliances, such as
sheers, tackles, etcetera; but he succeeded in dragging a few of the
lightest of them on deck and opening them.
The first case opened proved to contain china--a breakfast, dinner, tea,
and toilet service, very handsome, and apparently very expensive. This
would be exceedingly useful to them, for, to tell the truth, the brig's
pantry had never been too liberally stocked; and the carelessness of the
steward, combined with the heavy weather experienced by the brig, had
played havoc with it. He therefore fastened up the case again and
lowered it carefully over the side on to the deck of the catamaran.
Then he got hold of a bale of rugs. These, he told himself, would help
to make Flora's half of the tent more comfortable; and they, too, went
down over the side. The next case--a small one, bearing what appeared
to be a private address--contained a dainty little sewing-machine--
possibly useful also to Flora. It followed the rugs. The next case
that came to hand, though a large one, was unexpectedly light, so Leslie
roused it on deck and opened it. It contained a number of bird-cages,
such as are used for canaries. Some of them were of large size--large
enough to accommodate half a dozen of the little songsters--and all were
very handsome and, apparently, expensive. But they were not in the
least likely to be of service, and would therefore only be in the way,
so overboard they went, ruthlessly; the case itself, however, Leslie
kept, as the wood and the screws might possibly be useful. There were
no more packages at hand that could be manipulated without appliances,
so Leslie replaced the hatches, drew the tarpaulin over them and
battened it down, and then made sail for the shore.
As the catamaran ran in and grounded on the beach, Flora came down to
meet him.
"Well, Dick," she said--the name came glibly enough to her lips
now--"what luck have you met with?"
"Not bad," answered Leslie. "I have not been able to do very much, for
the cases are mostly too large to handle without a tackle, and I have
not thus far found anything that will go toward building our little
ship; but I have here a set of china that will gladden your heart and
replenish your pantry; some rugs for the floor of your compartment; and
a sewing-machine that you may possibly find handy later on."
"And what have you brought that will be useful for yourself?" she asked.
"Nothing," answered Leslie. "The only other case that I could get at
contained bird-cages--"
"Bird-cages?" she repeated, with a burst of hearty laughter. "Why, the
brig must be quite a general emporium!"
"Yes," Leslie assented soberly. "I quite expect she will prove so. You
see, a place like Valparaiso imports every imaginable thing from Europe;
and it would not surprise me to find even pianos, watches and jewellery,
as well as clothing, books, and such like among the cargo."
"Pianos?" exclaimed Flora, with delighted surprise. "Oh, Dick, if you
should find a piano, please--_please_ bring it ashore for me. I am
passionately fond of music, and a piano would be such a solace to us
here."
"If there is a piano in the ship you shall have it," answered Leslie.
"Poor little girl! it must be horribly slow for you, cooped up here,
practically alone, as you are. I am but a poor companion, I know, at
the best of times; and henceforth I shall be so busy that you will be
left more alone than ever. Yes; you shall certainly have a piano, if
there is one in the brig."
"Now, Dick, you _know_ I did not mean that--about your being a poor
companion," answered Flora. "On the contrary, you are the very best
companion that a girl in my unfortunate situation could possibly have;
for you are, before and above all else, a gentleman--a chivalrous,
courteous, tender-hearted gentleman, with whom I feel as safe as though
you were my brother. And then you are brave, strong, resourceful, and
so utterly unselfish that you amaze me--"
"There, that will do, thank you," laughed Leslie. "Do you wickedly wish
to make me conceited? Because you will, if you say much more in that
strain. As to `brothers,' I hope you don't look upon me as a brother,
do you?"
"Why, yes--almost," answered the girl, a little doubtfully. "Do you not
wish me to regard you as a brother, Dick?"
"Um," he meditated; "of course that would be better than nothing; but--
oh no; on the whole I think I have no desire that you should regard me
as a brother. There, now of course I have offended you. What an ass
and a cad I am!"
"You are not; you are _not_! And I will not have you say so," exclaimed
the girl, passionately. "And you have not offended me," she went on.
"It is only that I am feeling a little depressed to-day; and your--I
mean--oh, I cannot explain!"
And therewith she turned away abruptly, and beat a hasty retreat to the
shelter of the tent.
Leslie looked after her as though for a moment he felt inclined to
follow her. Then he thought better of it, and meditatively proceeded to
land the things that he had brought ashore from the brig. This done, he
hunted up the axe and wandered off to the woods in search of a couple of
spars to serve as sheers for working the main hatchway. The cutting
down of these, the conveyance of them to the shore, and the towing of
them off alongside the brig provided him with plenty of work for the
remainder of the day; he therefore did not again meet his companion
until the day's work was over and they sat down to dinner. It was
apparent that by that time the young lady had completely recovered her
spirits; but she carefully avoided all reference to the little scene
that had occurred earlier in the day, so Leslie thought it best to let
the matter drop, although he continued to puzzle over it for several
days thereafter.
The following day saw Leslie once again aboard the brig, where he busied
himself in getting his spars in on deck, converting them into sheers,
fitting them, and by means of tackles and stays rearing them into
position and securing them. It was a long and heavy job, occupying him
the entire day, and sending him back to the island at night completely
fagged out. But on the succeeding day he went off to the brig early--in
fact, before Flora made her appearance--and strenuously devoted himself
to the task of breaking out the contents of the main hold. He spent the
entire morning in rousing cases, bales, and packages of all kinds up on
deck; and after partaking of a hurried lunch he carefully opened these
and examined their contents. Two of the largest he found to contain
respectively men's and women's clothing; another contained books and
music; a fourth contained stationery and drawing-paper; a fifth
contained rolls of silk, linen, drapery, ribbons, laces, and
haberdashery; and all these he lowered on to the deck of the catamaran
for conveyance to the shore. Others contained rolls of wall-paper,
ironmongery, photographic materials, drugs--with the properties and uses
of which he was unacquainted--lawn-mowers, garden rollers, and other
matters that did not appeal to him; and these he sent over the side to
keep the bird-cages company. Then, when the sun was within half an hour
of the western horizon, he left the brig and returned to the island with
his booty.
Flora seemed greatly amused when Leslie told her what he had brought
ashore.
"Why, Dick," she exclaimed, "there is enough clothing in those two cases
to last us for the rest of our lives; to say nothing of that third case
which you say is full of unmade silks and linen. Surely it was scarcely
necessary to cumber yourself with the last, was it?"
"Who knows?" answered Leslie. "It is impossible to say how long we may
be compelled to remain on this island; and I intend to save every single
article and thing that may by any possibility be useful to us. I am not
going to take any chances. For aught that I can tell, it may be beyond
my power to construct such a craft as I have in my mind; in which case
we may be compelled to remain here until--it may be years hence--a ship
comes along and rescues us. I have no wish to alarm you, dear,"--it was
surprising how often that term now rose to his lips, and how difficult
he found it to avoid letting it slip out--"but I cannot conceal from
myself--and it would be unfair to conceal from you--the possibility that
we may be obliged to spend a quite appreciable portion of our lives
here; and I intend to make the very fullest provision possible for such
a contingency. But do not be frightened," he continued, catching the
sudden look of gravity that leapt into her face; "you shall not be
detained here a moment longer than I can help."
"Oh, Dick, it is not so much _that_," she murmured; "it is the terrible
anxiety that my poor father must be suffering that worries me."
"Ah, yes," agreed Leslie; "I can quite understand the poor gentleman's
feelings. Why didn't I think of that before?" he suddenly ejaculated.
"Look here. I will write a message, seal it up in a bottle, and set it
adrift clear of the island to-morrow. There is just a chance in a
thousand--or perhaps ten thousand--that it may be picked up; and in that
case, not only will your father's anxiety be relieved, but help and
rescue will be brought to us. I will write my statement immediately
after dinner."