I soon touched with my hands the interesting piece of wood, and felt as
proud at that moment as if it had been the North Pole itself, and I its
discoverer. I was not a little surprised at its dimensions, and how
much the distance had hitherto deceived me. Viewed from the shore, it
looked no bigger than the shaft of a hoe or a hay-fork, and the knob at
the top about equal to a fair-sized turnip. No wonder I was a bit
astonished to find the staff as thick, and thicker, than my thigh, and
the top full larger than my whole body! In fact, it was neither more
nor less than a barrel or cask of nine gallons. It was set upon end,
the top of the staff being wedged into a hole in the bottom, thus
holding it firmly. It was painted white, though this I knew before, for
often had I viewed it glistening under the sun, while the shaft below
was a dark colour. It may have been black at one time, and had grown
discoloured by the weather and the spray of the stormy water, that often
lashed all around it, even up to the barrel at the top.
Its height, too, I had miscalculated as much as its thickness. From the
land it appeared no taller than an ordinary man; but looking up to it
from the shoal, it towered above me like the mast of a sloop. It could
not have been less than twelve feet--yes, twelve it was at the very
least.
I was equally surprised at the extent of ground that I found above
water. I had long fancied that my islet was only a pole or so in size,
but I now perceived it was a hundred times that--an acre, or very near.
Most of the surface was covered with loose rocks, or "boulders," from
the size of small pebbles to pieces as big as a man's body, and there
were other rocks still larger, but these I perceived were not loose, but
half buried, and fast as rocks could be. They were only the projecting
ends of great masses that formed the strength of the reef. All, both
large ones and small ones, were coated over with a black, slimy
substance, and here and there great beds of seaweed, of different kinds,
among which I recognised some sorts that were usually cast up on our
beach, and passed by the name of "sea-wreck." With these I had already
formed a most intimate acquaintance, for more than one hard day's work
had I done in helping to spread them over my uncle's land, where they
were used as manure for potatoes.
After having satisfied myself with a survey of the tall signal-staff,
and guessed at the dimensions of the barrel at the top, I turned away
from it, and commenced wandering over the reef. This I did to see if I
could find some curious shell or other object that would be worth
carrying back with me--something to keep as a memento of this great and
hitherto pleasant excursion.
It was not such an easy matter getting about; more difficult than I had
imagined. I have said the stones were coated over with a slimy
substance, and this made them slippery too. Had they been well soaped,
they could not have been smoother to the tread; and before I had
proceeded very far, I got a tolerably ugly fall, and several severe
scrambles.
I hesitated as to whether I should go farther in that direction, which
was to the opposite side from where I had left the boat; but there was a
sort of peninsula jutting out from the main part of the reef; and near
the end of this I saw what I fancied to be a collection of rare shells,
and I was now desirous of possessing some. With this view, then, I kept
on.
I had already observed several sorts of shells among the sand that lay
between the boulders, some with fish in them, and others opened and
bleached. None of these kinds were new to me, for I had seen them all
many a time before--even in the potato-field, where they turned up among
the wreck. They were only blue mussels, and a sort the farm people
called "razors," and "whelks," and common "cockle-shells." I saw no
oysters, and I regretted this, for I had grown hungry and could have
eaten a dozen or two; but it was not the ground for these. Plenty of
little crabs and lobsters there were, but these I did not fancy to eat
unless I could have boiled them, and that of course was not possible
under the circumstances.
On my way to the front of the peninsula, I looked for "sea-urchin," but
none fell in my way. I had often wished to get a good specimen of this
curious shell, but without success. Some of them turned up now and then
upon the beach near our village, but they were not allowed to lie long.
As they made a pretty ornament for the mantel-shelf, and were rare upon
our coast, it was natural they should be prized above the common kinds,
and such was in reality the case. This reef being remote, and being
seldom visited by any of the boatmen, I was in hopes I should find some
upon it, and I was determined to look narrowly for one. With this view
I sauntered slowly along, examining every crevice among the rocks, and
every water hole that lay within eyeshot of my path.
I had great hopes that I should find something rare upon the peninsula.
The glittering forms that had first induced me to turn my steps in that
direction, seemed to gleam still brighter as I drew near. For all that,
I did not particularly hasten. I had no fear that the shells would walk
off into the water. These were houses whose tenants had long since
deserted them, and I knew they would keep their place till I got up; so,
under this impression, I continued to go deliberately, searching as I
went. I found nothing to my mind until I had reached the peninsula; but
then indeed a beautiful object came under my eyes. It was of a dark red
colour, round as an orange, and far bigger; but I need not describe what
I saw, since every one of you must have seen and admired the shell of
the sea-urchin.
It was not long before I held it in my hand, and admiring its fine
curving outlines, and the curious protuberances that covered them. It
was one of the handsomest I had ever seen, and I congratulated myself
upon the pretty _souvenir_ it would make of my trip.
For some minutes I kept looking at it, turning it over and over, and
peeping into its empty inside--into the smooth white chamber that its
tenant had long since evacuated. Yes, some minutes passed before I
tired of this manipulation; but at length I remembered the other shells
I had noticed, and strode forward to gather them.
Sure enough they were strangers, and fair strangers too. They were of
three or four sorts, all new to me; and on this account I filled my
pockets with them, and after that both my hands, and then turned round
with the intention of going back to the boat.
Gracious heaven! what did I see? A sight that caused me to drop my
shells, sea-urchin and all, as if they had been pieces of red-hot iron.
I dropped them at my feet, and was nigh to falling on top of them, so
greatly was I astonished at what I saw. What was it? _My boat! my
boat! Where was my boat_?