THE GRUESOME SKELETON
The merry party lingered long over the meal. Roast prairie chicken was
the chief dish. The Professor had found lentils, and this, with
potatoes, or cassava, formed the principal dish, to say nothing of the
sago pudding and the residue of the little cakes which just suited
Baby's palate.
For drink there was plenty of cold water, fresh and sparkling, obtained
from a natural spring not far away. The Cataract River furnished a good
water, in the sense that it was clear, but it had an unpleasant taste at
times, so for all cooking purposes the water used had to be carried from
the spring, which was sometimes burdensome.
"I wish we could purify the Cataract water, as it would be a great
convenience," was George's remark, when they were considering their work
and duties.
"We can easily do that by using the chips of the common oak tree or the
charcoal can be used, as I have before stated."
"It is a curious thing that oak chips will purify it. Does it act in
purifying the same way as charcoal?"
"We used oak bark for the purpose of tanning leather because of the
tannic acid it contained. The chips of the wood contain tannic acid as
well, and it does the same thing to the impurities in water that boiling
does--namely, it coagulates it. In Egypt, the muddy waters of the Nile
are clarified and purified by using bitter almonds. In India, they use a
nut called the Strychnos for this, purpose."
"It seems people everywhere had some idea of purifying drinking water."
"Yes, and through all ages; even the Bible speaks of it."
"Where?"
"The Book of Exodus. I think the fifteenth chapter, says:
"'So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; and they went out into the
wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found
no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the
waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore the name of it was
called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses saying, What shall
we drink? And he cried unto the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree,
which, when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet.'
"Our Cataract water, flowing, as it does, largely through forests and
past vegetable banks, takes up a large quantity of albuminous matter,
which is so great in quantity that the atmosphere, or the oxygen in the
air, cannot purify it by the time it reaches us, so that if any
astringent matter like oak, or birch, or beech, or even alum, is put in
the water it will cause the albumen to precipitate. In the district of
La Gironde, France, the waters of the Landes are naturally very impure
from these causes, but since the cutting and floating down of the
immense oak forests, the water has been made sweet and wholesome."
"Isn't all this curious and wonderful to think about?"
The work of preparing and putting into practical form the primary
electric battery was going forward steadily, and at the Professor's
suggestion a number of cells were made, which it might be well to
describe briefly.
As the clay was the only available material, each cell had to be made
rather heavy and clumsy in appearance, and was baked when completed.
Each was ten inches deep and three by six and a half inches within. The
electrodes, made of zinc, were each one-half inch thick, six inches
wide, and nine inches long. The copper electrodes were the same
dimensions, except that they were a quarter inch thick. These were stood
in the cell, a short distance apart, and held in position by means of
notched wooden blocks.
When all this was completed the cells were filled with sulphuric acid
that had been made from the copper ore. It was, of course, much diluted
with water, so as not to make it too strong.
"What is the object in making so many cells?"
"So as to get the voltage."
"Does the voltage depend on the number of the cells?"
"Each cell gives practically two volts, so that if we have 20 cells
there will be 40 volts; 30 cells, 60 volts, and so on."
"But where do the amperes come in?"
"That depends on the size of the plates forming the battery. Surface is
required for amperage, and quantity of plates for voltage."
"Suppose I had plates the size of this table, wouldn't I get more
electricity than if I had the plates cut up into smaller pieces?"
"Electricity means both volts and amperes. There is no such thing as
electricity with one of those qualities alone. A current may have 2
amperes and 40 volts, or 40 amperes and 2 volts. Multiplying the volts
by the amperes gives what is called watts, and there would be 80 watts
in each case."
[Illustration: _Fig. 27. Complete Battery with connections._]
The determination of the boys to build a new and better boat than the
old one was now manifesting itself in plans, which were considered.
George was in favor of building a large vessel, by means of which they
could sail anywhere they wanted to; but Harry and the Professor opposed
that plan, for several reasons. Harry, particularly, objected.
"I am just as anxious as George to build a large boat, but the
difficulty is that to do so would take a long time, longer that we ought
to take at this time. Furthermore, a large vessel would be hard to
manage with our small crew, as we would have to make it a sailing
vessel."
"Then why not make it a steam vessel?"
"That would make the job still harder and longer."
"I think Harry is quite right. A boat but little, if any, larger than
the one we built, would be the most serviceable. If the one we made had
been smaller, or lighter, we should have been able to carry it around
the falls. Instead of that we had to leave it there."
Harry insisted in his views. "What we can do with our present supplies
is to build a boat, even larger than our former one, and make it still
lighter."
"Yes," said the Professor; "we now have lumber which is dried, and with
the improvement in the tools we can turn out a boat which will be a
credit to any community."
That question settled, the plan of the boat was drawn up. It was decided
to build the boat on the general plan of the former one, as to size,
namely, from sixteen to eighteen feet in length, and at least five feet
wide, with a flat bottom, the prow to be contracted, and the bottom of
the forward end to be bent upwardly, as much as their material would
permit of bending.
For this purpose Harry stated that the body of the boat would be made of
double thickness of material, as their sawing machinery had been so much
improved that they could cut it into five-eighth inch lumber, and in
that way the joints could be lapped, and the sides and bottom more
easily bent into the required curves to make a graceful-looking boat.
The sawmill was at once put into good working condition, and within a
week the principal parts of the boat were ready to be assembled.
"In your next weekly jaunt, I suggest that you might get our old
life-boat. We should not neglect our friend."
The Professor's suggestion met with a hearty response, and on the
following day the boys were off early to bring the boat to the Cataract.
First going to Observation Hill, which was the custom of one to do each
day, they crawled up the rocky sides, and surveyed the horizon. From
that position they could see across the neck of land, east of the
Cataract, to the point southeast; to the southwest was the mountain
range; to the west the forests, and to the northwest the irregular cliff
line, which ended with another projecting point several miles beyond.
Along the sea line this was the limit of their knowledge.
"While we are here let us examine the sides of Observation point and try
to find the old flagstaff. I still think it was blown away."
Harry's suggestion was acted upon, and they made the trip together over
the rocky side toward the sea. Observation point was on the mainland,
and formed the extreme northern limit. It was fully half a mile from the
grim rock where they had been wrecked. Between the two points were
detached rocks which sprang up out of the water, and in which the water
was constantly swaying to and fro. When the sea was heavy these rock
islands made navigation among them a dangerous occupation.
The tide was then coming in, and eddies and cross currents were rushing
hither and thither, so that it was easy to see that to float the wrecked
life-boat it must be taken out to sea around the rocks. They hesitated
to do this under the circumstances.
All sides of the hill were now examined with care. As they were about to
leave the hill and go to the point where the life-boat lay, some
wreckage was discovered below them, caught within the clefts of the
rock. Here, packed in with seaweed and brush, was an object which
interested them.
"What is this, George? It looks like the fragment of a boat; and here is
another piece. Let us dig it out."
Both were excited beyond measure at this discovery. Not only one, but a
number of pieces were finally removed. It was, beyond question, portions
of a boat.
"Harry, this is part of our boat. See this piece of rope; and here is
part of an oar. Wait till I get to the bottom of this mass."
"Run for the Professor, and I will remove the pieces while you are
away," was George's answer.
Harry was off at the instant, and in less than half an hour, reappeared
with the Professor, who examined the recovered portions of the wreck.
"It is certainly parts of a boat; but I am sure, from the present
examination, that it cannot be our boat."
The boys were surprised at the information.
"My reasons for saying so," continued the Professor, "is, that the
pieces here are not part of a life-boat, such as our craft was, although
it was a part of a ship's boat. Where is the stern portion of our boat
that you found? Let us get that, and we will be in a better condition to
judge."
"We landed it beyond the point where Harry first reached the shore the
day we were wrecked."
"Let us get it at once."
In less than a half hour the broken portion of the boat was landed at
the foot of the cliff in front of Observation Hill.
Harry now had no doubt that the Professor's observation was correct.
"See, this has no double hull, which the life-boat has, and no part of
these pieces can be made to fit. Look at this stern. All of the stern
post is still on the boat below."
It was, undoubtedly, another boat; but there was no name or number on
any of the pieces by means of which it could be identified.
"I believe it was a part of the _Investigator's_ equipment," was the
Professor's final conclusion. "Have you recovered all the parts from the
debris?"
"I don't think we can find anything else. While Harry was away I hunted
all along the point in the hope that some more pieces might have been
found."
The most minute examination was made for some mark of identification,
but nothing was found which would give the least clue.
"Let us gather all these pieces and keep them for further observation,
particularly for the reason that other parts may be found eventually,
and identification will then be easier."
"Shouldn't we take the remnant of our life-boat to the Cataract?" asked
George.
"By all means. It has just occurred to me that we might use that as part
of the new boat we are building."
That was an idea which had not occurred to either of the boys.
Considering that the portion recovered was the stern, and by far the
largest part of the vessel, and that it had the double hull
construction, made the suggestion a most acceptable one.
After all parts of the wreckage had been assembled, the Professor,
accompanied by the boys, made another tour, much to the left, and on
returning to the boat, the Professor's eye caught a white object lying
partially hidden behind a rock.
"What is that by the rock to the right?" Without waiting for a further
suggestion from the Professor, Harry made his way up, and when the
object was reached, threw up his hands, without uttering a word. George
had followed, and before the Professor had time to reach the spot, he
cried: "A skull!"
"There is more than that," said the Professor. "Remove the debris."
The boys saw portions of the skeleton plainly now. It was such a shock
to them that they could scarcely speak.
"Probably that solves the mystery of the wreckage we found."
"Undoubtedly," was the Professor's only comment.
The boys were now absolutely unnerved, but the Professor, without
noticing their agitated state, carefully removed the seaweed and other
accumulation, and found the skeleton largely disjointed, excepting the
torso, or upper portion of the frame.
[Illustration: _Fig. 28. HUMAN SKULL_]
When the entire skeleton had been taken out and arranged, the Professor
said: "It seems we are to have one mystery after the other."
"How long do you suppose this body has been here?"
"Probably ten months or more."
The boys looked at each other. "Ten months? That is as long as we have
been here."
"That is one of the reasons why I said ten months."
The boys knew what that meant. This was, very likely, one of the
_Investigator's_ boats, and the skeleton the remains of one of their
shipmates.
"Probably it was one of the boys," was George's inquiry.
"I do not think so," said the Professor. "The skeleton shows that of an
individual past middle age."
"Why do you think so?"
"Principally, from my examination, so far, on account of the condition
of the skull. You see, these saw teeth lines, which cross the top
portion. These are called the sutures, and in infancy they are not
joined. Before the third period of life these joints grow together, so
as to form an undivided skull. But wait; here is another indication. The
teeth seem to be greatly worn, showing that the person must have been
close to the sixth period of life."
This discovery was the cause of very conflicting emotions in the boys.
They reverently gathered the bones, and at Harry's suggestion the boys
went to the Cataract for the team. The Professor volunteered to remain.
We may well imagine the feelings of the boys as they went on their
mission. Here was mute evidence that others of the ill-fated ship had
met disaster. They had often speculated on the fate of their companions.
How many had been left to tell the tale!
The yaks were yoked, and taking with them a rude box, which had been put
together, as the Professor suggested, they shortly returned.
"Have you found anything new?" was George's first question.
"The poor fellow was undoubtedly killed when he landed, and I think he
was a sailor."
"Have you found anything which makes you think so?"
"Nothing but what you see before you. That break in the skull was, in my
opinion, made by contact with a rock; furthermore, several of the bones
were broken, as you see, at the time he met with his calamity; and one
of the legs shows where it was broken before his death, and had mended."
It was a remarkable funeral cortege which wended its way slowly back
over the hills to their home. They felt it was paying a tribute to a
friend and companion. All doubts on their part had been dispelled. He
had been one of their companions on that terrible night when the
explosion had sent their ship to the bottom, and had cast them adrift on
a sea which welcomed them in raging fury.
"What shall we do with the skeleton?"
The Professor was silent a long time before he answered. "I do not know
what to advise. Perhaps, in the future fate may be kind enough to
restore us to our homes and friends, and if it should be that we are the
only ones so rescued, the skeleton would be a positive means of enabling
us to ascertain whether or not he was one of our companions, and also to
advise his friends."
A stone sarcophagus was built, in which the remains were deposited after
a funeral service at which the Professor presided.
This event had a most depressing influence on the boys, as well it
might, during the entire day, and it was the principal topic of their
conversation while together. During the two days following only brief
references were made to the Professor, but the second evening George's
inquisitive nature could not hold in any longer.
"When we were on the rocks examining the skeleton, you referred to the
fourth and the sixth ages of man."
"Yes; in point of growth man has seven ages. The first is infancy, which
ends at the second year; second, the age which ends at the seventh year;
third, at the end of fourteen years; fourth, at the end of twenty-two
years; fifth, at the end of forty-seven years; sixth, at the end of
sixty-five years; and seventh, which ends at death. These divisions vary
somewhat between males and females, and I have given you merely the
average between the two sexes."
"I can't help feeling sad, when I think of the things that have
happened, and at the thought that all our friends may have been lost."
"Sadness is a natural feeling under the circumstances, but after all,
why should it be so? Why should the sight of the skeleton bring sorrow
to you? Probably the Egyptians had the right idea when they always had a
skeleton at the feast."
"Skeleton at the feast? What was that for?"
"As a reminder of death?"
"There is one thing I could never make myself understand. Why is death
necessary? Why couldn't man have been made so he could live always?" was
Harry's query.
"You have asked a very broad question. It is one which has a great many
answers. At this time I shall give only one of the reasons. The earth
would not be big enough to hold the people. I do not know the population
of the globe to-day. It is about 1,000,000,000; and if we take the age
of the earth at only 5,000 years, we should have in that time 125
generations, counting each generation as 40 years. Do you know what that
would mean in population at this time? You could not comprehend the
figures. Let us take the United States alone, as an example. Assuming
that the population is 90,000,000 at the present time, and that the
natural rate of increase is only double in each forty years. This is how
it figures out: In forty years we would have 270,000,000; in eighty
years, 810,000,000; in one hundred and twenty years, 2,430,000,000; and
in one hundred and sixty years, 7,290,000,000. At that rate New York
City would have 480,000,000 of people and its boundaries would take in
the whole of the State of New Jersey and nearly half of the entire State
of New York, as thickly settled as that city now is."