We were still in smooth water, but the sea was breaking in the offing,
the white caps rising against the dark sky. Mr Griffiths thought that
the ship might have stood to the eastward and be concealed by the point
of land which ran out in that direction. We eagerly gave way and pulled
off from the shore. Several times he stood up to look about him. At
length he cried out--
"There she is! There she is! She's burning a blue light."
We all looked in the direction he pointed, which was almost abeam, and
there we saw a light, appearing, however, just above the horizon. He at
once steered the boat towards it, but as we pulled on the seas increased
and frequently broke aboard us; the wind was rising rapidly, and in a
short time blew a heavy gale. In vain we again looked out for the
light; none could be seen, and there was a great risk, should we
continue to pull on, of the boat being swamped.
The doctor and Mr Griffiths talked together earnestly; the latter then
said--
"Lads, there's no help for it, we must try and get on shore for the
night, and in the morning, if the wind goes down, the captain will stand
in to look for us."
We all knew the danger we were in, for in pulling round the boat might
be caught on her broadside and turned over; but it had to be done, and
we trusted to Mr Griffiths' steering. We gave way as he told us,
though for a moment I thought all was over as a sea struck the boat
abeam and half swamped her.
We got round, however, and while Horner and I baled her out, the men
pulled in towards the shore. It was now very dark. All we could see
ahead was an irregular line of black, but whether rocks or hills rising
near the beach we could not tell. As we neared the shore Mr Griffiths
stood up looking out for a landing-place, but no opening could he
discover in the rocks, against which the surf was now breaking
furiously; should we get within its power the boat, we knew, would be
dashed to pieces in a moment. The wind went on increasing till it blew
almost a hurricane. At last Dr Cockle exclaimed--
"There is an opening. We passed it this morning. I remember it by the
clump of trees on the top of a rounded hill, and I can now make them out
against the sky."
Mr Griffiths hesitated. Should the doctor be wrong in another minute
we should be hurled to destruction against the rugged rocks. Just then
the moon rising on the other side of the island broke through the clouds
and showed us clearly the outline of the trees and the hill.
The mate hesitated no longer, but telling us to give way steered in for
the opening. The surf broke wildly on either side of us, flying up
above our heads; the seas came rearing on astern, threatening to engulf
us. We all gave way steadily together. Now the boat rose on the top of
a foaming sea, and then down she glided into comparatively smooth water
inside the reef, and we were safe.
Pulling on, we saw ahead a small bay with the trees coming down to the
water's edge. Their tops were waving wildly, but we felt but little
wind where we were, and we were able to run the boat's head on to the
beach and land without difficulty. We at once drew her up and looked
out for a sheltered spot under some rocks to camp. Here we got a fire
lighted, as there were plenty of broken branches and leaves lying about,
and soon had some of the fish we had caught cooking before it.
Outside the tempest was howling furiously, and we had reason to be
thankful that we had gained the shore, as no boat could have lived in
the sea which was by this time running.
After supper was over, and we had dried our clothes, wet through and
through by the spray, we lay down to sleep under the rock. Mr
Griffiths assured us that there were no wild beasts or natives to molest
us in the island, though we were not altogether free from danger, as the
trees which grew on the top of the rock above our heads might be blown
down, or the upper part of the rock itself might give way and crush us.
That we might have some chance in being awakened so as to enable us to
attempt to escape, as also to prevent the fire going out, Mr Griffiths
arranged that one of the party should keep watch. The doctor offered to
keep the first watch. Mr Griffiths and the rest of the men then stowed
themselves away close under the cliff. I, feeling no inclination to
sleep, joined the doctor, who was sitting by the fire on one of the
water-casks, every now and then throwing on a few sticks and making it
blaze up cheerfully. I asked him if the ship were likely to return soon
to take us off.
"Not till the hurricane is over," he said; "the captain will not like to
come near the coast for fear of being driven on it."
"Then you think, sir, that we shall remain here long enough to explore
the island?" I said.
"Why do you wish to explore the island?" he asked.
"Because I have a notion that my brother Jack is upon it," I replied.
"They say there are pigs here, and there are, no doubt, plenty of birds,
and he would be able to live as well as Miles Soper and Coal did on Juan
Fernandez."
"But it's a hundred to one--I may say a thousand to one--that the boat
was driven here; besides which, so many whalers pass by this island that
he would have been seen and taken off even if he had come here. You
only raise up such ideas to disappoint yourself. Don't think about it;
lie down and go to sleep."
Notwithstanding what the doctor had said, I could not get the idea out
of my head, and longed for morning, that I might set off and make a tour
round the island with Jim, who, I knew, would be ready to come with me,
as would Miles Soper and some of the others.
Notwithstanding the howling of the wind above our heads, and the wild
roar of the breakers on the rocky coast, contrary to my expectation I
fell fast asleep, and didn't wake till the mate roused up all hands at
daylight. The storm was raging as wildly as ever. Furious torrents of
rain had come down, but the watch had managed to keep in the fire, and
we all gathered round it to cook some more fish and dry our damp
clothes. We were in good spirits, for we knew that the gale would blow
itself out in a short time, and we expected that the ship would then
come and take us off.
As soon as I proposed to Jim to explore the island, he at once agreed to
accompany me. The doctor and Miles Soper also said that they would go.
The latter carried one of the muskets, which the mate said we might
take, and the rest of us armed ourselves with long pointed sticks. The
mate thought we might as well go armed, for though the island had
hitherto been uninhabited, it was possible that some savages might have
been driven as far north in their double canoes, and might attack us if
they found we were unable to defend ourselves.
We took some cooked fish for provisions, and we hoped to find water as
we proceeded. We had first to make our way through a thick forest, of
what the doctor called tamana-trees--some of them being of gigantic
size. It was often so dark beneath their thick boughs that we could
with difficulty see our way; but we went on, guided by the doctor's
pocket-compass, in a straight line, until we at length got out of the
forest into more open country. He proposed going on till we reached a
hill which we saw some way off, and there to light a fire, that the
smoke might attract the attention of any one living on the island. He
carried out his plan, and collecting sticks as we neared the spot,
having brought tinder and matches, we quickly had a fire blazing. We
looked in vain, however, all round the island for an answering signal.
"Perhaps, if there is any one, he is down by the shore, and has no means
of striking a light," said the doctor; "or maybe he is still sheltering
himself from the storm."
As this seemed very likely, leaving the fire burning, we made our way
down to the beach on the farther side of the island.
The view from the hill on the north side showed us only rugged and
broken ground, and we therefore proceeded along the shore as close as we
could get towards the southern end. We saw plenty of birds, which would
have afforded us food if we had had time to stop and shoot them. It was
somewhat rough work, especially in the more exposed places against the
wind. At last we got back to the part we had started from, just as
night was falling. From every height we kept a look-out for the ship,
but she did not appear.
"You're convinced now, Peter, that your brother is not on this island,"
said the doctor. "I should have rejoiced if we had found him, but I did
not think it at all likely that he is here. However, that is no reason
why he should not be somewhere else."
We had found water on our way, and the mate had discovered a spring not
far from our camp. The hurricane, which had abated somewhat during the
day, came on again as night approached, and we were thankful to obtain
the shelter of our rock. The wind blew more furiously than ever, the
lightning flashed and ran along the ground--now and again crashes were
heard as some tall tree was struck and rent in two, while the rain at
times came down in torrents, and nearly put out the fire. We, however,
got shelter from the overhanging rock. We had just done supper, when
Mr Griffiths observed--
"I'm afraid something may happen to our boat. The breakers sound so
loud that they perhaps are dashing over the reef, and the sea may sweep
up and carry her off."
We hurried down to where we had left the boat. A bright flash of
lightning revealed her to us, with the seething water rushing up under
her keel. Dashing forward, we seized her just as a second wave was
lifting her, and in a few seconds would have carried her off. We
dragged her up the beach till we had placed her, as we hoped, out of the
reach of the water.
While we were thus employed we heard a loud crash coming from the
direction of our camp. On returning, we discovered our fire nearly out,
but it blazed sufficiently to show us a mass of earth and rock, and two
tall trees, which had fallen on the very spot where a few minutes before
we had all been collected.
We were thankful for our preservation, though we had lost the only
shelter we knew of. The mate suggested that we should go back to the
boat, turn her over, and creep under her for shelter. As no trees were
near where she lay, we hoped that we might thus rest in perfect safety.
Having taken the things out of her, we did as he proposed, and one by
one crept in, and stretched ourselves upon the damp ground. After the
exertions I had made during the day I felt very sleepy, and though I
remained awake for some time thinking of Jack, my eyes at length closed.
I was awakened by hearing three distinct loud raps on the bottom of the
boat. I fancied that I must be dreaming, but I found that Jim and
Horner, who were sleeping next to me, were awake, and had heard the
sounds.
"What are you lads making that noise for?" asked Mr Griffiths.