Sagacious and moral remarks in regard to life--A sail!--An unexpected
salute--The end of the black cat--A terrible dive--An incautious
proceeding and a frightful catastrophe.
Life is a strange compound. Peterkin used to say of it, that it beat a
druggist's shop all to sticks; for, whereas the first is a compound of
good and bad, the other is a horrible compound of all that is utterly
detestable. And indeed the more I consider it the more I am struck with
the strange mixture of good and evil that exists not only in the material
earth but in our own natures. In our own Coral Island we had experienced
every variety of good that a bountiful Creator could heap on us. Yet on
the night of the storm we had seen how almost, in our case,--and
altogether, no doubt, in the case of others less fortunate--all this good
might be swept away for ever. We had seen the rich fruit-trees waving in
the soft air, the tender herbs shooting upwards under the benign
influence of the bright sun; and, the next day, we had seen these good
and beautiful trees and plants uprooted by the hurricane, crushed and
hurled to the ground in destructive devastation. We had lived for many
months in a clime for the most part so beautiful, that we had often
wondered whether Adam and Eve had found Eden more sweet; and we had seen
the quiet solitudes of our paradise suddenly broken in upon by ferocious
savages, and the white sands stained with blood and strewed with lifeless
forms; yet, among these cannibals, we had seen many symptoms of a kindly
nature. I pondered these things much, and, while I considered them,
there recurred to my memory those words which I had read in my Bible,--the
works of God are wonderful, and his ways past finding out.
After these poor savages had left us, we used to hold long and frequent
conversations about them, and I noticed that Peterkin's manner was now
much altered. He did not, indeed, jest less heartily than before, but he
did so less frequently, and often there was a tone of deep seriousness in
his manner, if not in his words, which made him seem to Jack and me as if
he had grown two years older within a few days. But indeed I was not
surprised at this, when I reflected on the awful realities which we had
witnessed so lately. We could by no means shake off a tendency to gloom
for several weeks afterwards; but, as time wore away, our usual good
spirits returned somewhat, and we began to think of the visit of the
savages with feelings akin to those with which we recall a terrible
dream.
One day we were all enjoying ourselves in the Water Garden, preparatory
to going on a fishing excursion; for Peterkin had kept us in such
constant supply of hogs that we had become quite tired of pork, and
desired a change. Peterkin was sunning himself on the ledge of rock,
while we were creeping among the rocks below. Happening to look up, I
observed Peterkin cutting the most extraordinary capers and making
violent gesticulations for us to come up; so I gave Jack a push, and rose
immediately.
"A sail! a sail! Ralph, look! Jack, away on the horizon there, just
over the entrance to the lagoon!" cried Peterkin, as we scrambled up the
rocks.
"So it is, and a schooner, too!" said Jack, as he proceeded hastily to
dress.
Our hearts were thrown into a terrible flutter by this discovery, for if
it should touch at our island we had no doubt the captain would be happy
to give us a passage to some of the civilized islands, where we could
find a ship sailing for England, or some other part of Europe. Home,
with all its associations, rushed in upon my heart like a flood, and,
much though I loved the Coral Island and the bower which had now been our
home so long, I felt that I could have quitted all at that moment without
a sigh. With joyful anticipations we hastened to the highest point of
rock near our dwelling, and awaited the arrival of the vessel, for we now
perceived that she was making straight for the island, under a steady
breeze.
In less than an hour she was close to the reef, where she rounded to, and
backed her topsails in order to survey the coast. Seeing this, and
fearing that they might not perceive us, we all three waved pieces of
cocoa-nut cloth in the air, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing them
beginning to lower a boat and bustle about the decks as if they meant to
land. Suddenly a flag was run up to the peak, a little cloud of white
smoke rose from the schooner's side, and, before we could guess their
intentions, a cannon-shot came crashing through the bushes, carried away
several cocoa-nut trees in its passage, and burst in atoms against the
cliff a few yards below the spot on which we stood.
With feelings of terror we now observed that the flag at the schooner's
peak was black, with a Death's head and cross bones upon it. As we gazed
at each other in blank amazement, the word "pirate" escaped our lips
simultaneously.
"What is to be done?" cried Peterkin, as we observed a boat shoot from
the vessel's side, and make for the entrance of the reef. "If they take
us off the island, it will either be to throw us overboard for sport, or
to make pirates of us."
I did not reply, but looked at Jack, as being our only resource in this
emergency. He stood with folded arms, and his eyes fixed with a grave,
anxious expression on the ground. "There is but one hope," said he,
turning with a sad expression of countenance to Peterkin; "perhaps, after
all, we may not have to resort to it. If these villains are anxious to
take us, they will soon overrun the whole island. But come, follow me."
Stopping abruptly in his speech, Jack bounded into the woods, and led us
by a circuitous route to Spouting Cliff. Here he halted, and, advancing
cautiously to the rocks, glanced over their edge. We were soon by his
side, and saw the boat, which was crowded with armed men, just touching
the shore. In an instant the crew landed, formed line, and rushed up to
our bower.
In a few seconds we saw them hurrying back to the boat, one of them
swinging the poor cat round his head by the tail. On reaching the
water's edge, he tossed it far into the sea, and joined his companions,
who appeared to be holding a hasty council.
"You see what we may expect," said Jack bitterly. "The man who will
wantonly kill a poor brute for sport will think little of murdering a
fellow-creature. Now, boys, we have but one chance left,--the Diamond
Cave."
"The Diamond Cave!" cried Peterkin, "then my chance is a poor one, for I
could not dive into it if all the pirates on the Pacific were at my
heels."
"Nay, but," said I, "we will take you down, Peterkin, if you will only
trust us."
As I spoke, we observed the pirates scatter over the beach, and radiate,
as if from a centre, towards the woods and along shore.
"Now, Peterkin," said Jack, in a solemn tone, "you must make up your mind
to do it, or we must make up our minds to die in your company."
"Oh, Jack, my dear friend," cried Peterkin, turning pale, "leave me; I
don't believe they'll think it worth while to kill me. Go, you and
Ralph, and dive into the cave."
"That will not I," answered Jack quietly, while he picked up a stout
cudgel from the ground. "So now, Ralph, we must prepare to meet these
fellows. Their motto is, 'No quarter.' If we can manage to floor those
coming in this direction, we may escape into the woods for a while."
"There are five of them," said I; "we have no chance."
"Come, then," cried Peterkin, starting up, and grasping Jack convulsively
by the arm, "let us dive; I will go."
Those who are not naturally expert in the water know well the feelings of
horror that overwhelm them, when in it, at the bare idea of being held
down, even for a few seconds,--that spasmodic, involuntary recoil from
compulsory immersion which has no connection whatever with cowardice; and
they will understand the amount of resolution that it required in
Peterkin to allow himself to be dragged down to a depth of ten feet, and
then, through a narrow tunnel, into an almost pitch-dark cavern. But
there was no alternative. The pirates had already caught sight of us,
and were now within a short distance of the rocks.
Jack and I seized Peterkin by the arms.
"Now, keep quite still, no struggling," said Jack, "or we are lost."
Peterkin made no reply, but the stern gravity of his marble features, and
the tension of his muscles, satisfied us that he had fully made up his
mind to go through with it. Just as the pirates gained the foot of the
rocks, which hid us for a moment from their view, we bent over the sea,
and plunged down together head foremost. Peterkin behaved like a hero.
He floated passively between us like a log of wood, and we passed the
tunnel and rose into the cave in a shorter space of time than I had ever
done it before.
Peterkin drew a long, deep breath on reaching the surface; and in a few
seconds we were all standing on the ledge of rock in safety. Jack now
searched for the tinder and torch, which always lay in the cave. He soon
found them, and, lighting the torch, revealed to Peterkin's wondering
gaze the marvels of the place. But we were too wet to waste much time in
looking about us. Our first care was to take off our clothes, and wring
them as dry as we could. This done, we proceeded to examine into the
state of our larder, for, as Jack truly remarked, there was no knowing
how long the pirates might remain on the island.
"Perhaps," said Peterkin, "they may take it into their heads to stop here
altogether, and so we shall be buried alive in this place."
"Don't you think, Peterkin, that it's the nearest thing to being drowned
alive that you ever felt?" said Jack with a smile. "But I've no fear of
that. These villains never stay long on shore. The sea is their home,
so you may depend upon it that they won't stay more than a day or two at
the furthest."
We now began to make arrangements for spending the night in the cavern.
At various periods Jack and I had conveyed cocoa nuts and other fruits,
besides rolls of cocoa-nut cloth, to this submarine cave, partly for
amusement, and partly from a feeling that we might possibly be driven one
day to take shelter here from the savages. Little did we imagine that
the first savages who would drive us into it would be white savages,
perhaps our own countrymen. We found the cocoa-nuts in good condition,
and the cooked yams, but the bread-fruits were spoiled. We also found
the cloth where we had left it; and, on opening it out, there proved to
be sufficient to make a bed; which was important, as the rock was damp.
Having collected it all together, we spread out our bed, placed our torch
in the midst of us, and ate our supper. It was indeed a strange chamber
to feast in; and we could not help remarking on the cold, ghastly
appearance of the walls, and the black water at our side, with the thick
darkness beyond, and the sullen sound of the drops that fell at long
intervals from the roof of the cavern into the still water; and the
strong contrast between all this and our bed and supper, which, with our
faces, were lit up with the deep red flame of the torch.
We sat long over our meal, talking together in subdued voices, for we did
not like the dismal echoes that rang through the vault above when we
happened to raise them. At last the faint light that came through the
opening died away, warning us that it was night and time for rest. We
therefore put out our torch and lay down to sleep.
On awaking, it was some time ere we could collect our faculties so as to
remember where we were, and we were in much uncertainty as to whether it
was early or late. We saw by the faint light that it was day, but could
not guess at the hour; so Jack proposed that he should dive out and
reconnoitre.
"No, Jack," said I, "do you rest here. You've had enough to do during
the last few days. Rest yourself now, and take care of Peterkin, while I
go out to see what the pirates are about. I'll be very careful not to
expose myself, and I'll bring you word again in a short time."
"Very well, Ralph," answered Jack, "please yourself, but don't be long;
and if you'll take my advice you'll go in your clothes, for I would like
to have some fresh cocoa nuts, and climbing trees without clothes is
uncomfortable, to say the least of it."
"The pirates will be sure to keep a sharp lookout," said Peterkin, "so,
pray, be careful."
"No fear," said I; "good-bye."
"Good-bye," answered my comrades.
And while the words were yet sounding in my ears, I plunged into the
water, and in a few seconds found myself in the open air. On rising, I
was careful to come up gently and to breathe softly, while I kept close
in beside the rocks; but, as I observed no one near me, I crept slowly
out, and ascended the cliff a step at a time, till I obtained a full view
of the shore. No pirates were to be seen,--even their boat was gone; but
as it was possible they might have hidden themselves, I did not venture
too boldly forward. Then it occurred to me to look out to sea, when, to
my surprise, I saw the pirate schooner sailing away almost hull-down on
the horizon! On seeing this I uttered a shout of joy. Then my first
impulse was to dive back to tell my companions the good news; but I
checked myself, and ran to the top of the cliff, in order to make sure
that the vessel I saw was indeed the pirate schooner. I looked long and
anxiously at her, and, giving vent to a deep sigh of relief, said aloud,
"Yes, there she goes; the villains have been baulked of their prey this
time at least."
"Not so sure of that!" said a deep voice at my side; while, at the same
moment, a heavy hand grasped my shoulder, and held it as if in a vice.