THE TALE OF THE RESCUED BOYS
Night set in without a sign of attack. The heavens were filled with
stars, but there was no moon, and this afforded a cover for both
parties.
And now, when they were at last quiet for the first time since the
release of the boys from their loathsome captivity, all were eager to
hear their history.
Harry and John had both learned during the snatches of conversation that
they were able to take advantage of, that Ralph and Tom were companions
on the ill-fated _Investigator_, when she went down. They were not
remembered at the hut, and neither of the boys recalled the others,
because the emaciated condition of the two was such as to make
recognition impossible, and Ralph and Tom were too much excited to know
or care who had delivered them, but they recognized the Professor before
it dawned on them that the two boys were their former companions.
But let us listen to the tale as Ralph told it: "We were on the after
part of the ship at the time the explosion took place. It was between
nine and ten at night. The explosion seemed to break the ship in two,
and an officer, a seaman, and three of my companions, including Tom
here, launched one of the boats, and when it was apparent that the
vessel was sinking, the officer ordered the boat away. We saw two of
the lifeboats, and made for the nearest one, when the wave from the
sinking ship nearly overturned us. Soon after a heavy fog covered
everything, and when that disappeared a high wind arose, and the sea
became choppy and the froth was blown over us so that all became
drenched."
"All that tallies exactly with our experience," remarked George.
"Instead of decreasing the wind grew more furious during the following
day, and Tom and myself became very ill and helpless. When I recovered
consciousness there was only Tom and another companion in sight, and
neither of them knew what happened, or how the others disappeared. We
were lashed to the boat, and just before I became unconscious I
remembered that the seaman gave me some biscuits and canned meat, as
well as a flask of water, and those I found beside me when I awoke.
During the night Tom also awoke and began to rave, and I tried to quiet
him, and after making a number of trials found the locker and gave him
some stimulating medicines, which you will remember were put up and in
the use of which we were instructed. Our other companion died of
exposure the fourth day."
"Weren't the others lashed to the boat?"
"I don't remember. How many days we were washed by the sea I do not
know, but it must have been fully a week, and we were both entirely
exhausted, when something happened to our boat, and everything appeared
motionless, but still I could hear a terrific roaring sound. When I
regained my senses, I recognized Tom bending over me, and the first
words I remember were: 'I thought you would never come to again.' I
learned that we had been cast ashore the night before, and we could see
the wrecked parts of our lifeboat strewn all about, as the winds had
died down, but the sea was still running high."
Harry looked at him eagerly: "Didn't you save your boat or any part of
it?" And George was almost at the limit of nervous tension as he leaned
forward and waited for the reply.
"No; our boat was crushed beyond all hope of recovery. We did not find
any of the food stored in it, and when we were able to leave the beach
on which we were thrown, we saw that not fifty feet to the left of us
was the first of a series of rocky projections running to the west,
against which we were no doubt landed when carried up by the immense
breaker."
"Have you any idea where you landed--that is, on what part of the
island?" was the Professor's first question.
"I haven't the slightest idea, for reasons which you will now learn."
"But," broke in Tom, "don't forget to relate what we saw the first day,
before we had gotten a half mile from the shore."
"Yes; I was coming to that. We were both hungry, and we wandered first
along the seashore, and then finding nothing that would answer for food,
went inland, and noticed all about us different kinds of vegetables,
none of which we recognized, and finally some berries. We were so
hungry that we ate and ate as fast as we could gather them, and felt
much better for a time; but along in the afternoon, we heard voices, and
soon a number of savages came in sight. We were paralyzed with fear.
They were almost entirely naked, and what gave us the greatest fright
was the appearance of a captive they were dragging along, with his hands
bound behind him."
"Was it a white man?"
"We did not know it at the time, but we afterwards learned, as I will
tell you, that he was a white man, and that he was taken over to the
main camp to be offered up as a sacrifice."
"Did you recognize the particular tribe that had the captive?"
"Not at that time, because we did not know that each tribe had its own
distinctive dress. But later on we learned which tribe it was."
The Professor drew up the mattress and brought out two different
articles of headgear that had been taken four days before. "Do you
recognize either of these?"
The boys started. "Yes; this belongs to the tribe that first captured
us. See that row of shells, and this colored band. That is the principal
distinguishing feature aside from the hair. This hair is a dark brown,
and all of the tribe wear that kind because their bitterest enemies have
that kind of hair, and they seem to take a delight in slaying an enemy
solely for the purpose of getting the hair necessary to make up the head
ornament with."
"I noticed that the hair of the people who are around us now is very
black and curly."
"Yes; this other headdress is made principally from the hair of our
enemies outside. Where did you get it?"
"We captured it," answered the Professor, "in one of the fights we had
several days ago."
"At the time you captured the chief here?"
"Yes. And while we are on the subject, I wish you would see if you
recognize the headdress of the chief we have here."
Ralph looked it over, and to the surprise of all announced that he had
never seen that kind before.
"How many tribes do you think are on the island?" was George's question.
"Probably a half dozen or more. Our means for learning these things were
very limited, although we have had a close acquaintance with them for
the past six months."
"Before you go on with your story I want to ask a question or two," said
the Professor, as he glanced at John. "Did you ever come across a large
river, like this one, and which flowed in a different direction, say, to
the east?"
Neither of the boys remembered such a stream.
"Have you ever been near the range of mountains which we can see to the
east of us?"
"Oh, yes; we were taken way down west of those mountains. After seeing
the captors a safe distance away, we started in an opposite direction,
and found ourselves on a little stream of water, and picked out a
resting place on one shore among the bush where a little overhanging
hill offered some shelter. Before night both of us became very ill, and
had taken to vomiting, and then imagined that the berries had poisoned
us. For two days we lay there, almost too weak to move, and afraid to
venture out, on account of the savages. We found nuts and ate sparingly
at first, as our stomachs were too weak to permit us to take much at a
time. Then we found some things like sweet potatoes, and Tom had a box
of matches which was a great boon to us."
"Well, that is better than we had when we landed," and George laughed at
the reminiscence.
"In our wanderings we lost all trace of time, of distance and of
direction. We knew that the sun came from the east and set in the west,
and we knew that the shadow of the sun was thrown to the north at noon,
but it didn't make much difference to us which way we went."
George couldn't help interrupting: "Why, don't you know we are south of
the equator, and that at noon the sun throws its shadow to the south?"
"In our condition we didn't stop to consider any of those things. We
were mostly hungry, and tired with wandering. We thought the proper
thing would be to go north, and so we traveled in that direction. As it
now turns out we went to the south, and marched right into the heart of
the occupied part of the island. For months we evaded capture. On one
occasion we stumbled on the camp of a lot of savages who were
sacrificing a victim."
"Was he a white man?"
"We did not know, and could not stop to inquire, but it is more than
probable that it was a captive from some other tribe, as that is a
common and universal practice. They never spare a captive. In our own
case, we knew what to expect, and our only salvation was that the time
for these sacrifices took place only at certain periods, or to
commemorate events at which the offering is made to their gods at
special seasons of the year. Of course we did not know when that
particular period would come in our case, but we knew what captivity
meant, and we often wished to be put out of our suspense."
The Professor here interrupted: "The matter of commemorating certain
events or circumstances is something which comes down through the
history of all peoples from the most ancient periods. In the case of the
Israelites, it is said that they brought out the brazen serpent, which
Moses commanded to be kept in the ark for a memory, and offered before
it. Dixon, in his 'History of the Church of England,' states that it was
the universal custom in the early period of the church to demand
memories to be celebrated, and Spenser's tales refer to the
commemorations by
'Their memories, their singing and their gifts.'
But proceed, Ralph."
"After several months of hunted life we became expert at eluding our
enemies, but we were hungry and starving many a time, and once we were
so much reduced to the starvation point that we boldly but stealthily
entered a village in order to capture food, and escaped. About two
months ago we were unfortunate enough to wander between two conflicting
forces, and in the attempt to escape, were finally taken by the victors
and conducted to their village in grand style. From our appearance it
was probably difficult to judge whether we were white or black, but as
we had the freedom of a small space adjoining our hut, and were encamped
by the running stream, where water was handy, we had an opportunity to
take a bath, which so changed our appearance that the natives could
hardly believe we were the same captives they had taken two days before.
We since learned that this alteration in our appearance is what caused
them to postpone the sacrifice. They are intensely superstitious, and
could not understand why the transformation had been made. Then the
round silver match box which Tom incautiously exhibited, excited their
curiosity, and its glitter attracted them, so that everything we had was
taken away, particularly the buttons which we had about us."
"That," remarked the Professor, "is also a trait common with all
savages, to regard all articles which have a luster, as a charm. The
Druids, in ancient times, used balls of crystal as part of their
superstitious worship, and even in the present day, in our own civilized
country, we have plenty of people who have an idea that hypnotism can be
brought about by gazing at a brightly polished sphere. It can be seen
how much these articles are prized by a low order of people, because of
the varied colors which are formed at the different parts of the
globular surface. It is for the same reason that the eye becomes the
most attractive part of the human form, and why some are actually
overcome by a piercing glance, or subdued by the genial beams of a
kindly eye."
"But I have little more to add to the tale. We were kindly treated by
those people, and given a greater share of liberty as time wore on, and
when the watchfulness was not so keen we took the first opportunity
offered, to escape, and after wandering about from place to place, often
without food, we were almost ready to return and throw ourselves on
their mercy. For fully a month we kept out of their way, and when we saw
them coming, and knew what a struggle we would have to elude them
without food, we boldly marched into the midst of the warriors, only to
find that we had been hiding from an entirely different tribe of
savages. The knowledge of this made us desperate, but we were hungry,
and we had read of instances where men had acted boldly when in great
danger from enemies; so that we concealed our fears, and demanded
something to eat. Catching sight of a roast fowl we took it from the
spit on which it was hanging, and began to eat it without asking leave,
and with an air of superiority that simply stunned them. The chief came
forward; dangling from a chain on his neck was a watch. Tom went toward
him, looked at it and quietly took it in his hand, without a protest. As
he pressed the stem the case flew open, and the chief started back in
wonder and surprise. This performance so new and startling to him was a
fortunate occurrence for us. Tom saw the effect of his action, and then
wound the watch. When he put the timepiece to the ear of the chief, he
became frightened and tore the chain from his neck in terror. The
ticking timepiece was then carried around to the assembled warriors, who
exhibited the same fear at its 'talking.' An ample supply of food was
then instantly set before us, and Tom went up to the chief, and tried to
tell him what the instrument was for, and turned the hands to midday to
show how it would tell the time of day. He finally put the chain around
the savage's neck, which the latter permitted."
"Did the watch have any mark by which it could be identified?"
"Nothing but the initials 'J L V' on the inside of the case."
"J L V," cried Harry and George in unison, as they looked at John. Ralph
and Tom in turn stared at the boys in amazement.
"Do you know whose watch it is?" asked Tom.
"Not positively; but we believe it belongs to John here," said Harry, as
he delved down in his pocket and brought out the silver match safe he
had found after the attack at the river.
When he held it up Ralph glanced at it, and declared that the monogram
was a perfect copy of the one on the watch.
This was, indeed, getting interesting to the Professor, as he motioned
to Ralph to proceed.
"We were with this tribe nearly two weeks, and were treated like
brothers. Bows and arrows were given us, and we became a part of their
fighting force, but, unfortunately, they were a small and weak tribe,
and when several weeks ago the devils around us pounced down upon us,
half of them were killed and we were made prisoners. The others who were
captured with us were sacrificed last week, and our turn would
undoubtedly have been the next, as we had been captured fighting against
them."
This narrative greatly impressed the boys, and it showed what suffering
they had undergone, and they could not help but contrast their lot with
that of their unfortunate companions.
The story made clear another thing: That there must have been another
boatload of their wrecked ship on the island.