At the very moment that I had given up all hope of preservation, as if
to confirm our worst anticipations, a huge wave came rolling up
alongside. The junk rushed onward--a tremendous blow was felt--again
she lifted, and was dashed forward--the rudder was knocked away, and the
jury-mast fell overboard. Instantly the junk broached to. On a sudden,
almost as rapidly as I take to tell it, the violent motion ceased, and a
grating sound was heard, as if she had run upon a sandy beach. The seas
struck her, but their force was evidently broken by some reef outside,
though it continued too dark to enable us to discover where we were.
The junk held together; and as the cabin on the poop for the present
seemed a place of safety, we agreed to remain there till the return of
day. The light at length came; and as I looked out from the cabin door,
I found that we were in a small bay, with a sandy shore, and rich
tropical vegetation beyond it, while what was my surprise to see
directly outside of us, fast stuck on a reef of rocks, another vessel
severely shattered by the waves!
My exclamation of surprise called the rest of the party from the cabins.
No sooner did Eva see the vessel, than, pressing my arm, she observed,
with a voice full of agitation:
"That vessel, Mark, is the _Emu_! I am certain of it; and if the
dreadful men who form the crew are here, it were better that the sea had
engulfed us."
I could say nothing, for I could not help entering into her fears. It
was high water when we were driven on shore; and as the tide had now
fallen, we found that we could without difficulty lower ourselves on to
the sand. In case the pirates should be wandering about the island,
(for we concluded we had been driven on one), Blount offered to go and
explore, and to try to enter into terms with them, while Hassan and
Kalong remained with me to guard Eva. In about an hour he returned, and
reported that he had seen no human beings.
"The pirates can no longer do us or any one else harm," he remarked.
"As I wandered along the shore, I found the remains of several men
washed up on the beach, and who, by their clothes, I have no doubt were
the crew of the _Emu_."
The information that there were probably no savage inhabitants, or any
pirates alive, to injure us, were satisfactory, though we could not help
feeling a horror at the fate of those cut off in the midst of their
career of crime. We had now to consider what was to be done. The junk,
after having been forced over the reef, had, what seamen call, fetched
headway again, and had been driven stem first up a gulf or narrow bay,
one side of which completely protected her from the sea, so that she lay
as secure as in a dock. As the sun rose, the gale also abated; and I
considered that there would be no danger in leaving Eva and the little
black girl on board, while the rest of us went farther to explore the
country. We had found an abundance of provisions in the junk, so that
we had no fear of starving, even should fruits not be discovered in the
island, to support us till we could get away. How to get away was the
question. The obvious means was by building a boat; but we could find
no tools, and we were obliged to confess that our skill was inadequate
to the work. Hassan and Kalong, however, asserted that they would be
able, in time, to construct a large canoe. Our first excursion was to
the wreck, which we found we could reach by wading at low tide along the
top of the reef. On further examination, not a doubt remained on our
minds that she was the _Emu_; and Eva, when she saw her, confirmed our
opinion by recognising some of the cabin furniture, which had been
washed out of her. We now set out to explore the woods. We had not got
far when I came upon the body of a man, or rather a skeleton, covered
with clothes. A few paces on was another; and not far-off we found a
rude hut, with a blackened spot, where a fire had been lit before it.
In the hut were two more bodies, and we afterwards found several more,
but there was neither food nor water near them. There could be no doubt
that they were the remnant of the pirate crew, whom at length
retributive justice had overtaken. The rest were probably drowned and
washed out to sea. How the catastrophe had occurred, the shattered
wreck and those ghastly remains could alone tell us. At midnight,
perhaps, during the raging of a storm, amid thunder and lightning,
without hope of succour, the blood-stained pirates had met their just
doom. We dragged them to a hole we found near at hand, and covered them
up with stones and bushes, so that Eva should not be shocked by seeing
them.
The island was a very large one; and after marching some miles into the
interior, we came upon some cocoa-nut trees and plantains, among which
were some sago trees, from which we collected an abundant supply of
food. On our return along the coast, we found a high hill, on the top
of which we proposed to erect a flag-staff; and discovering a spring of
water near it, as also the means of building a hut, we resolved to take
up our quarters there, in the hopes of being seen by any passing ship.
Close to it, also, Kalong found a tree, which he and Hassan pronounced
well adapted to serve as the foundation of a canoe. It must be
remembered that we had no tools of any sort, except some clasp-knives,
and some boarding-spikes found in the junk; but they proposed forming
their hatchets and all their instruments out of flint stones and shells.
"Give us time," they answered, "and we will do it," when Blount and I
expressed a doubt of their success.
Having made the arrangements, we hastened back to the junk. We found
Eva standing on the highest part of the poop, and waving a handkerchief,
while she pointed eagerly seaward. I soon climbed up and joined her;
and there I beheld what was indeed sufficient to make my heart beat
quick with hope. About a mile off, having just rounded a headland,
appeared my own schooner, the _Fraulein_. The rocks before had
concealed her from our sight. Kalong and Hassan immediately recognised
her, and so, they declared, did Ungka, who seemed to share our agitation
and excitement. Such occurrences are difficult to describe. Our chief
aim was to attract her attention. To do this, our first thought was to
make a fire; so cutting away some dry wood from the junk, we formed a
pile of it on the rocks. We trusted that the smoke or the junk herself
would be observed. At first we thought she was standing away; then, to
our delight, we saw her shorten sail, and running closer inshore, she
dropped her anchor, and a boat was lowered. It pulled towards us;
Fairburn and Prior were in it. We rushed down to the rocks to meet
them. I need scarcely describe the rest. In another half hour I was on
board my own vessel, with my sweet sister in safety, and all the work
which at one time appeared so hopeless accomplished. There lay the
pirate vessel a wreck on the rocks, and near her the tombs of those who
had worked us so much mischief. Fairburn told me that they had run
under the lee of the island during the gale, and were about to return to
the coast of Borneo to watch for me. We bade an affectionate farewell
to the junk, which had proved to us an ark of safety, and we carried
away a number of relics of her. My crew received us with loud cheers,
and not the least welcome, after all his adventures, was, I suspect,
Ungka the ape, who quickly made himself at home.
"Where shall we steer for?" asked Fairburn.
"For Java," I replied. "I must not forget my promise to the widow Van
Deck and little Maria."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I must now bring my adventures to a close. We reached Sourabaya in
safety, and were heartily welcomed, not by the widow Van Deck, but by
the wife of Lieutenant Jeekel, for she had made the honest officer happy
by marrying him. As they were anxious to go to Europe, I offered them a
passage as far as Calcutta in the _Fraulein_, and little Maria
accompanied them. I need not say that she and Eva became very great
friends.
I can scarcely describe the pleasure my return with Eva afforded our
kind friends the Northcotes, or the sensation our romantic history
created wherever it was known. Every assistance was given me to prove
my identity, and with a variety of documents I sailed for England. I
was very sorry to part with some of my friends, who could not accompany
me. I presented the _Fraulein_ to Fairburn, and Blount sailed with him,
carrying Prior to Manilla. They all ultimately, by energy and
perseverance, made themselves independent. When I reached England, I
put my affair into the hands of a clever lawyer, and I found that I had
few difficulties to contend with. All those who had been instrumental
in the abduction of my sister and me were dead. A few days only before
our arrival, the papers had announced the death of a Sir Reginald
Seaton, without any claimant to his title or estates. He had once been
blessed with a large family, but one after the other they had been laid
in their graves, and he alone had been left a solitary and decrepit old
man. Thus Heaven had proved the avenger of crime, and prevented the
guilty ones from enjoying the profits of their guilt. The papers I
possessed clearly proved that I was the rightful heir; and as there was
no one to oppose my claim, I was, without much difficulty, allowed to
take possession of the property. I did so with gratitude, but without
any undue exuberance of spirits; for I felt all the heavy
responsibilities which I at the same time took upon myself, and I humbly
prayed Heaven to enable me to fulfil them faithfully.
I had the very great satisfaction of assembling at my house, within two
years of the time I speak of, not only my Dutch friends, including that
honest fellow Van Graoul, who had the command of a fine ship; but
Fairburn, Prior, and Blount, as also Hassan and Kalong, who were
undergoing a course of instruction to aid them in civilising their
countrymen on their return home, were also of the party; while Ungka,
now the most refined of travelled apes, had his usual seat by my side.
I must now wish my readers farewell. I hope that they will ever firmly
believe, as I have been taught to do by the occurrences of my life, that
in whatever peril we may be placed, God is at hand to protect us, and
that whatever apparent misfortunes may occur to us, He orders them for
our ultimate and permanent benefit. If I have succeeded in inculcating
these important truths, I shall be satisfied that the adventures of Mark
Seaworth have not been written in vain.