The storm raged furiously all night, the thunder roared, the lightning,
darting forth from the dark sky, flashed ever and anon, in a zigzag
course, from side to side of the cliffs around the bay, and the howling
wind threatened frequently to tear off the sail and carry it away.
Still the weary seamen slept, although Harry and young Bass did not for
a long time close their eyes.
"I feel, Harry, that old Tom is right; and next time he speaks to me I
will listen to him," said the latter. "He was as cool and collected
from the beginning of the storm as if there had been no danger. If it
had not been for him, I do not think we should have been where we are."
Harry agreed with his companion, and urged him not to forget his good
resolutions should they ever again get on board the ship. What had
become of her they could not tell, and they felt very anxious about her
fate. She might have been cast on some of the numerous reefs which lay
thereabouts, or have been driven far away from the island.
"At all events, the captain will probably suppose that the boat is lost,
and not think it worth while to come and look for us," observed Dickey.
"I am very sure my father won't give us up, if he thinks there is a
chance of finding us," answered Harry.
"But what if the ship is lost?" said Dickey, thoughtlessly.
"Oh! do not talk of anything so dreadful!" exclaimed Harry; "I could not
bear to think that we are not again to see my father and Mr Champion
and the rest. My father is a good seaman, and our ship is stout enough
to weather out the worst gale that ever raged."
"I hope so," said Dickey, in a mournful voice; "but it blows a regular
hurricane; and, oh! what a fearful crash of thunder that last was! See,
see! The lightning seems to stir up the very water of the harbour; and
oh! there is another peal! I cannot help feeling as if the sky itself
was coming down upon us."
The last peal was succeeded by a loud rending and crashing sound, as if
a number of trees had been torn up by their roots or the stout branches
wrenched off from the stems.
"Lie down, boys, and try and get some sleep." It was old Tom who spoke.
They were not aware that he was awake and overheard them. "God will
take care of us, for we can do nothing more to take care of ourselves.
We are safer here than we should be farther inland among the trees."
It was some time, however, before they followed his advice. At length
there was a lull, and they both lay down. Scarcely had they placed
their heads on the ground, than they were lost in forgetfulness, and
took no more notice of the storm than the seamen who had slept through
it all.
When morning dawned all hands awakened. The fury of the gale was over.
The sun arose, and, bursting through the clouds, his rays soon dried
their damp clothing.
The ground rose slightly from the head of the bay, and on the lower
portion grew a grove of cocoa-nut trees loaded with fruit. One of the
men, by means of a belt round his waist and the trunk, soon managed to
climb to the top of one of them, when he threw down a number of nuts,
which were eagerly seized by the rest. The outer husks were quickly
torn off, and a nut was given to Harry, the eye being pierced. He
declared that he had never tasted so delicious a draught of milk. The
meat served the party for food, but did not satisfy their hunger, as
they had eaten nothing since leaving the ship.
"This is better than nothing, but it won't keep body and soul together,"
said one of the men, in a grumbling tone.
"Lad, we should be thankful that God has sent us where we can find such
wholesome food, instead of complaining that we have not better," said
old Tom. "Maybe, too, there are shell-fish and crabs to be got, and
perhaps other food besides; and see, there is a rill of fresh water. We
should be thankful for that. We have an axe and our knives, and if we
are obliged to live here we may build ourselves a hut, though we need
not think about that, as I hope the ship has escaped and will come to
look for us before long."
Still the men grumbled. They were all out of spirits, and had made up
their minds that the ship was lost. They had begun to wander about, as
sailors generally do under such circumstances, one in one direction and
one in another, when Harry, who had gone to the boat, exclaimed, "See,
here are some fishing-lines. Who put them there I do not know, but we
shall not be in want of a dinner if we make use of them."
"This is a godsend," observed Dickey.
"Everything good is sent by God," said old Tom; and he called to the men
to come and assist him in launching the boat.
A short search along the shore enabled them to find mussels and other
shell-fish, which they hoped would serve for bait; and, shoving off,
they went down towards the mouth of the harbour, where they quickly
caught as many fine fish as they could eat. Returning to the beach,
sticks were collected, and a tinder-box, which was in the tub with other
articles always carried in a whale-boat, enabled them to light a fire.
An ample meal raised their spirits. They once more embarked and pulled
down to the mouth of the harbour, in the hope of seeing the ship
standing towards the island. The heavy surf which rolled in, however,
made it impossible for them to get out. Old Tom and the two boys,
therefore, landed and climbed to the summit of a high cliff overlooking
the ocean. Hence they gazed round in every direction, but no ship was
in sight. In the far distance they could discern here and there some
dark rocks, over which the sea broke in masses of foam. Harry's heart
sank within him as he thought that possibly the _Steadfast_ might have
been driven upon those fearful rocks, when, as he knew too well, she
must speedily have gone to pieces without a chance of any one on board
escaping. He scarcely liked to ask Tom Hayes what he thought, but he
observed that the old man looked unusually grave as his eye turned in
that direction.
"This is no place for us to build our hut on, though it is the best spot
for a look-out," observed old Tom, as he surveyed the rough broken
ground all around them. "We must take it by turns, however, to spend
the day here, though it will be best to take up our quarters near where
we first landed."
They waited for some time watching the dark, heaving sea, which still
rolled and tumbled in huge billows before them; but not even a speck
which might be the topsails of the _Steadfast_ appeared above the
horizon. At length they returned to the boat.
The men had, in the meantime, caught a large supply of fish, and, in
better spirits than before, they pulled back to the head of the bay.
Old Tom advised that they should put up some shelter for the night; and
while one of the men cooked the fish, the remainder cut down some young
trees and a quantity of boughs, with which they formed a tolerably
substantial arbour, while some dried leaves and smaller boughs supplied
them with as good beds as they required.
"If we had a good stock of grog, and some bread and potatoes, we should
be as happy as princes," observed one of the men.
"You are right, Ned," said another. "For my part, I do not care how
long we stay."
"What if there should be savages on the island! Most of them are
cannibals in these parts, I have heard say; and, as we have no arms to
defend ourselves, we should look foolish," remarked a third.
"I have seen no signs of any natives, so I do not think we should make
ourselves unhappy about them," said old Tom. "If there are any we must
make friends with them, and it's more than likely that they will give us
help and show us where we can obtain food."
Thus old Tom did his utmost to keep up the spirits of the men, and to
prevent them from falling into despondency. Harry, however, could not
help feeling sad as he thought of the possible loss of the ship. He
eagerly set off the next morning to look out for her, and while two of
the men who pulled the boat remained fishing below he and Dickey climbed
the cliff. The gale had considerably abated, but the ocean still
swelled and broke with the effects of the gale. They returned with an
unsatisfactory report.
The men who had remained in the camp had, in the meantime, been looking
out for traces of natives. None had been discovered. They had also
begun to build a hut. As they had only one axe, this was a slow
process. They had cut out a couple of rude spades with which to dig the
holes for the foundation, and, as all hands worked hard, by the close of
the day they had made some progress. The cocoa-nut fibre, twisted into
rope, enabled them to bind the rafters together, and the long leaves of
some palms, which grew farther inland, served for thatch. Old Tom
encouraged them to proceed, though he had lost all hopes that the ship
would return.
As had been agreed on, one man went down and remained on the look-out
during the first part of the day, and a second took his place in the
afternoon. Thus all were employed.
Harry took the afternoon of the second day. Climbing to the top of the
hill, he gazed, as before, anxiously round the horizon. A sigh escaped
him when no sail appeared. Sitting down, he remembered his Bible, which
he had always carried since he formed the resolution of doing so. He
took it out. From its sacred pages he drew that comfort which it always
affords. Never before had he read it with so much satisfaction, for he
prayed earnestly that his mind might be enlightened; and he now was
enabled to see many of the important truths he had never before
comprehended. He read and read on, page after page.
"I would rather have this than every book on board!" he exclaimed.
He was surprised when he heard a hail from below, and found that the
boat had come for him.
Sunday came round, and old Tom urged his companions to make it a day of
rest. Harry now produced his Bible, greatly to old Tom's delight.
Morning and evening Tom had offered up a prayer, Harry and Bass and one
or two of the seamen joining him, though others showed no inclination to
do so.
Harry offered to read from his Bible, to which the men agreed; but
though they sat quiet and listened, some did so with apparent
indifference. He, however, selected such portions as he thought that
they would best understand. By degrees they became interested. He was
reading the fourteenth chapter of Matthew--the account of our Lord's
feeding five thousand men, besides women and children; followed by that
of Peter walking on the sea, when, through want of faith, he began to
sink, and the Lord stretched forth His hand and saved him, saying, "O
thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"
"So, lads," observed old Tom, "you see how Jesus Christ fed the
multitudes when they were hungering, and saved Peter when in danger,
though his faith was weak. We have been fed, you will all allow, when
we thought we had reached a barren island where no food was to be found;
and in the same way, though I fear our faith is weak, He will take care
of us. Then it seems to me that we must give Him our hearts, just as
Peter stretched out his hands to Christ for safety."
"Old Tom speaks the truth, it seems to me," observed one of the men to a
companion, in an undertone. "If I thought that Jesus would hold out His
hand as He did to Peter, I should not despair; but I am such a terrible
bad fellow, that I am sure I could not keep straight by myself."
"Jesus is ready, not only to grasp the hand of every one who cries for
help, but when once He has got the man's hand in His He does not let it
go," said old Tom, who had overheard the remark.
When evening closed and the boat's crew lay down in their hut, several
of them acknowledged that they had never spent so happy a Sunday in
their lives.