here comes the boat; they are just shoving off from the beach. Lay aft
here some of you; overhaul those davit-tackles, and then stand by to
hoist up the gig."
A quarter of an hour later the boat arrived alongside; she was hoisted
up, the main-yards were swung, and the ship glided away on a north by
east a half east course.
By sunset the ship, with the wind on her quarter, had run a distance of
about fifty miles, when she was brought to the wind and hove-to for the
night. At daybreak next morning the quest was resumed; and at noon the
ship wore, her appointed distance of one hundred miles being completed.
This mode of procedure was persevered in until noon of the seventh day
after that on which they had landed Captain Blyth and Bob Manners,
during which interval several islands had been sighted and examined
without result, when, at the time named, Ned discovered by observation
that the ship was two hundred and five miles north-east by east of the
island which was now the home of those unfortunates. He had just
completed his observations and calculations when the look-out aloft
reported land on the port bow.
Williams went aloft to take a look at the reported land for himself, and
invited Ned to accompany him. The journey to the royal-yard was soon
accomplished, and the land was seen. It lay on the horizon like a faint
grey cloud; indeed so thin and misty-looking was its appearance that an
untrained eye would assuredly have mistaken it for a bank of vapour; but
its outlines were so sharply-defined, and its shape so unchanging, that
the experienced eyes of the gazers recognised it at once for what it
was--namely, good solid earth. It was a long distance off, however--
fully forty miles away according to Ned's estimate--and from its spread
along the horizon it seemed to be an island of considerable size. The
ship was at once headed for it; but it was five bells in the afternoon
watch before it became visible from the deck, and at sunset the ship was
still six miles distant to the southward of it. By that time, however,
it had become apparent that it was an island of some nine or ten miles
in length, with a pretty regular height of about four hundred feet above
the sea-level; and its appearance was so promising that it was resolved
to heave-to the ship for the night and give the place a thorough
examination on the following day. The vessel was accordingly hove
about, with her head off the shore; sail was shortened to the three
topsails, jib, and spanker, the main-yard was laid aback, and then all
hands, except the officer of the watch and a couple of hands to look
out, were allowed to go below for the night.
At daybreak on the following morning the _Flying Cloud_ was once more
hove about and headed for the land under the same canvas which she had
carried during the night, one hand being sent into the main-chains with
the sounding-lead. Soundings, in twenty-five fathoms, were struck at a
distance of about eight miles from the island; and thenceforward the
water shoaled pretty regularly up to a mile from the shore, at which
point a depth of five fathoms was met with. This was on the south side
of the island, about two miles from its westernmost extremity, and
abreast of an inlet which had previously been discovered with the aid of
the ship's telescope. The vessel was now again hove-to, and, a hasty
breakfast having been despatched, the gig was lowered and manned; and
Ned, accompanied by Rogers, and supplied with a sounding-line and
compass, was despatched in her to make a thorough examination of the
place.
The boat pulled in, and at length entered the inlet, passing abruptly
from the open sea into the shelter afforded by a bold rocky headland
about one hundred and fifty feet in height, round the base of which, and
over a short projecting reef, the heavy ground-swell dashed and swirled
and seethed in snow-white foam with a hoarse, thunderous, never-ceasing
roar. This inlet extended in a north-west direction for a distance of a
mile and a quarter, its width decreasing from half a mile at the
entrance to rather over a quarter of a mile at its inner extremity, with
a tolerably regular depth of five and a half fathoms, until within half
a mile of its inner end, where the water shoaled to four and a quarter
fathoms. The scenery was very striking and beautiful--a sheer
precipitous cliff, varying from one hundred and fifty to three hundred
feet in height, towering out of the clear translucent water on their
larboard hand as they passed in, whilst on their starboard hand the
ground sloped gently upward from the water's-edge for a distance of
about a mile and a half inland, where it cut the sky-line as an
undulating ridge some four hundred feet in height. The outer or seaward
face of the island was densely wooded, the foliage being of every
conceivable shade of green, variegated in places with blossoms or
flowers, in some cases snow-white, in others a delicate pink; here a
deep rich golden yellow, there a tender blue, yonder a flaming scarlet,
and, perhaps a little further on, a deep glowing crimson or an imperial
purple. And even on the larboard hand, where the cliff rose sheer from
the water, the rocky face was only bare here and there, the rest of the
cliff being thickly clothed with vegetation.
Arrived at the inner extremity of the inlet, the occupants of the gig
rounded a rocky point on their starboard hand, and found themselves in a
large basin, roughly circular in shape, measuring about two and three
quarter miles long, by about two miles wide, and completely sheltered
from every wind that could possibly blow, being absolutely landlocked.
This basin was formed by a deep indentation in the land on their
starboard hand, the shore of which, starting from the rocky point they
had just rounded, rapidly rose almost sheer from the water's-edge to
about the same height as the precipitous cliff on their left, which it
strongly resembled in general configuration, being a steep rocky face
densely covered with tropical vegetation, in and out of which, by the
way, darted numberless birds of brilliant plumage, whilst monkeys were
to be seen here and there gambolling among the branches or staring
curiously from some projecting pinnacle of rock at the new arrivals.
This basin, which had a depth of eight fathoms, with a rocky bottom in
its centre, terminated, at its inner extremity, in a short passage or
channel about half a mile wide between two bold rocky bluffs, beyond
which another large sheet of water was to be seen; and toward this the
gig was headed, the sounding-line being kept busy during the whole
progress. As the gig advanced beyond the centre of the first basin, the
water was found to shoal gradually, until exactly midway between the two
bluffs, a depth of four and a half fathoms only was given by the
sounding-line. The bluffs passed, the explorers found themselves in a
second and much larger basin, also roughly circular in shape, like the
first, but measuring about three and a half miles long by about three
miles wide. This basin also was perfectly landlocked, the water being
smooth as a mill-pond, and its surface scarcely ruffled by the faintest
zephyr, though it was blowing moderately fresh outside. The shore all
round sloped very gently up from the water's-edge, with a gradually
increasing steepness, however, further inland, until just before the
culminating ridge was reached the inclination appeared to be quite
precipitous, giving indeed to the entire basin some similitude to the
interior of a gigantic saucer. The slopes here, at least near the
water's-edge, were not quite so densely wooded, the aspect of the
landscape being exceedingly park-like, the soil being clothed with a
velvety green-sward, thickly dotted with clumps of noble trees. A thin
fringe of sandy beach ran all round the edge of this inner basin, except
at its eastern or farther extremity, where the stretch of sand widened
out to about the eighth of a mile for fully a mile in length. The
deepest part of this basin was found to be at a point about a mile and a
quarter inside the two rocky bluffs, and from thence it shelved up very
gradually, the four-fathom line being struck at about a mile from the
eastern shore. It was now discovered, however, that what had originally
been taken for one island was in reality a group of four, two other
channels being noted, one at the north-east, and the other at the south-
east extremity of the inner basin. These channels were at once examined
by the explorers, with the result that they were found to be impassable,
except by boats. Indeed the north-east channel and one arm of the
south-east channel--the latter forking into two channels at a mile and a
half from its inner extremity--was found to be practically closed, even
to boats, by the existence of formidable reefs outside, over which the
surf was so heavy that no boat could possibly live in it. There was,
moreover, a sandy bar with only one fathom of water on it at the inner
extremity of both channels, but that passed, the water deepened again,
until in the case of the south arm of the south-east channel, another
bar was reached, over which, by watching their opportunity, the
explorers succeeded in taking their boat safely, when they once more
found themselves in the open sea. This act of crossing the bar they
discovered, when it was too late, was rather a bad move on their part,
for it placed them some three miles to leeward of the ship, in a fresh
breeze and roughish water; but they fortunately had the boat's sails
with them, and Ned was rather glad than otherwise of an opportunity to
discover what the gig could do under canvas and in such circumstances.
The masts were accordingly stepped and the sails hoisted, and in about
an hour and a half they once more found themselves alongside of the
_Flying Cloud_, those on board her having failed to sight them until
they were close at hand, from the fact that the two craft were hidden
from each other by a projecting point of land.
It was past two bells in the afternoon watch when the gig rejoined the
ship; and Williams was, of course, all anxiety to learn the result of
their protracted exploration. There was but one report that could be
made--namely, that the place could not be better adapted for their
purpose had it been specially constructed for them; and on hearing this,
Williams ordered them to at once get their dinners, announcing his
intention of taking the ship in forthwith.
Ned was as usual deputed to act as pilot, and accordingly, as soon as he
appeared on deck after getting his dinner in the saloon, all hands were
called, and sail was made upon the ship. The wind outside was at about
west-south-west, which was a fair wind all the way to the spot Ned had
fixed upon for an anchorage, except for the passage up the inlet, which
trended in a north-westerly direction. This, however, though under
ordinary circumstances it would have made the wind rather shy on that
course for a square-rigged vessel, gave Ned no concern, as he had
observed when passing in with the boat that, owing probably to the
height of the cliff on the larboard hand, the wind manifested a tendency
to draw up the inlet, and this, when the ship passed in, was found to be
sufficiently the case to keep all her canvas full. The passage to the
anchorage occupied a considerable time, in consequence of the scantiness
of the wind as soon as the ship passed in under the lee of the cliffs,
and under other circumstances it might have been tedious; but in the
present case it was quite the reverse, the unaccustomed sight of the
lofty verdure-clad hills and cliffs, the variegated tints of the
foliage, the rainbow hues of the flowers and blossoms, the gaily-painted
birds flitting here and there, and the antics of the monkeys fully
occupied the attention of all hands, and interested them so completely
that the time passed unheeded, and sunset surprised them when still half
a mile from their anchorage. Then night fell upon them with the
suddenness of the tropics; but the lead was now a faithful guide, and
when it announced that the ship had arrived within four and a half
fathoms of the bottom the sails were clewed up, the anchor was let go,
and the mutineers found themselves at length in a harbour so safe that
they might laugh at the winds in their utmost fury.
An anchor watch was kept that night as a precautionary measure, because
it was not then known whether the group was inhabited or not; but
nothing occurred to alarm the watchers, the only sounds heard being
those made by the countless insects on shore or the weird cries uttered
by the nocturnal birds. Some of the sounds and cries were certainly
uncanny enough to send a creeping thrill through the frame of the
listener, but with that exception the night passed peacefully away; and
when the hands were turned up next morning to wash decks many was the
longing glance which was cast across the water to the bosky glades,
which looked so inviting in the bright sunshine.
Williams' alert eye at length took cognisance of these longing glances,
and when at length the task of washing down was completed, the buckets
and scrubbing-brushes put away, and the running-gear hauled taut and
coiled down, he summoned the men into the waist, and informed them that,
prior to beginning upon the somewhat lengthy task which he intended to
carry through before again leaving the anchorage, he proposed to have
the islands thoroughly explored and examined, the exploration to partake
somewhat of the nature of a holiday ramble ashore, when each man,
properly armed, would be at liberty to go whithersoever he would, and to
spend the day pretty much as he pleased, so long as the question of
whether the group was inhabited or not was satisfactorily settled. And
he further intimated that that same day would be devoted to the
examination; an intimation which was received with enthusiastic cheers.
Upon hearing this announcement Ned--who for reasons of his own was most
anxious to keep on fairly good terms with all hands, and especially to
so shape his conduct as to remove any suspicions against him which might
still be lurking in the minds of the mutineers--at once stepped forward
and, stating to Williams his desire to take part in the exploration,
requisitioned the dinghy for his own and Miss Stanhope's use. His
request was favourably received, and acceded to with a promptitude which
somewhat surprised him; whereupon he hastened into the saloon, and,
encountering the steward, gave orders for the preparation of a
substantial luncheon basket, after which he apprised Sibylla of his
proposed expedition.
Accordingly, as soon as breakfast was over, the two young people set off
in the dinghy, Sibylla being seated in the stern-sheets, with the yoke-
lines in her hands and the lunch basket at her feet, whilst Ned faced
her, handling the diminutive oars--or "paddles," as the seamen termed
them--without an effort. That he had not been unmindful of possible
dangers was evidenced by the fact that that he had recommended Sibylla
to take with her both her revolvers and a goodly supply of ammunition,
whilst, as for himself, he was a perfect walking battery, a pair of
revolvers and a small hatchet being stuck into his ammunition belt,
whilst a ship's carbine reposed peacefully in the bows on the coiled-up
painter of the boat.
Early as Ned and Sibylla were in leaving the ship, the mutineers had got
the start of them, and, observing that the rest of the boats were making
for the east and south islands, Ned determined to give them a wide
berth, and accordingly paddled away for the north island, which was the
largest in the group. He headed for a small strip of sandy beach which
he had noticed during the examination of the harbour on the previous
day, and after a leisurely pull of more than an hour across the placid
waters of the basin beached the boat.
Ned was by nature a keenly observant young gentleman, and the first fact
which attracted his attention on landing was that the water in the basin
was at exactly the same height on the beach as when they had passed it
some hours later on the previous day, from which he at once arrived at
the conclusion--afterwards proved to be correct--that there was
practically no tide in Refuge Harbour, as Williams at once named the
place. But to obviate all possibility of the dinghy being swept away he
not only dragged her half her length up high and dry upon the beach, but
also planted one of the paddles firmly in the sand and then made fast
the painter to it. This done, the lunch basket was stowed carefully
away in the shade under the stern-sheets, when, loading and shouldering
his carbine, Ned strolled along at an easy pace, so that Sibylla could
walk beside him without much apprehension, the beach nowhere showing any
footprints, as Ned believed it surely would have done had the place been
inhabited.
They struck directly inland, and after traversing the narrow bit of sand
reached the green-sward, the thick, luxuriant grass on which reached
almost up to their waists. The ground here was open, the clumps of
trees which they had noticed from the ship--and which now seemed to be
as it were the outposts of a dense forest--not approaching in this
particular spot nearer than about a quarter of a mile of the water. But
even here there was enough and more than enough to occupy their pleased
attention for the moment, the long grass being thickly interspersed with
flowering plants and shrubs, adorned with blossoms of most exquisite
form, hue, and fragrance. Sibylla, woman-like, must needs at once
proceed to gather a bouquet for herself, in which pleasing occupation
the next half-hour was spent. And here the pair were somewhat
startlingly reminded that there is no Eden without its serpent, for as
Sibylla stooped over a shrub loaded with magnificent white azalea-like
blooms, one or two of which she desired for the completion of her
bouquet, a sharp hissing sound was heard, and she started back with a
cry, just in time to avoid a vicious stroke from a small heart-shaped
head which suddenly upreared itself from among the leaves of the plant.
Ned, however, was close beside her, and whipping out his revolver he
fired, blowing the head of the snake clean off.
"Did the creature strike you?" demanded Ned anxiously.
"No," answered Sibylla; "I was so startled at its sudden appearance and
its malignant aspect that I darted back without giving it time to bite.
Do you think the creature was venomous?"
"We will soon see," answered Ned; and searching about in the long grass,
which he was careful to divide with the barrel of his carbine, he soon
found and held up to his companion's horrified view the severed head.
"Yes," he announced, "the brute was undoubtedly venomous. Note the
heart-like shape of the head, the heads of all venomous snakes are
shaped more or less like that. And see here," he added, compressing the
neck just behind the jaws in such a way as to force the mouth open, "do
you observe these two curved needle-like fangs, one on each side of the
upper jaw? Those are the poison fangs. And these swellings of the gums
at the base of the fangs are the poison bags. They become compressed
when the fangs strike into the flesh of a victim, and a drop or two of
the venom passes down through the fang, which is hollow, into the wound,
and thus the mischief is done. You have had a narrow escape, Miss
Stanhope."
After this little adventure the wanderers conducted their perambulations
much more circumspectly, and Ned lost no time in providing his companion
and himself with a stout pliant switch, which he had heard or read
somewhere is a most effective weapon against snakes.
Soon after this they reached the outskirts of the forest, and it was not
long before Ned discovered in a little greed patch of sward a small
grove of banana trees with huge bunches of fruit, more or less ripe,
depending from the crown of immense palmate leaves. He saw that the
trees were of two or three different kinds, and, looking more closely,
he quickly discovered that of which he was in search. Then, approaching
one of the trees, he reached up and dragged the bunch of fruit down
toward him, and, detaching several of the bananas, which were small and
of a fine yellow colour, he approached Sibylla, saying:
"Now, let me offer you a treat, in the shape of a few `ladies' fingers;'
so called, I believe, because the fruit is so small and delicate. I
scarcely think you will have ever tasted this kind of banana before,
because I believe it will not bear transportation to England without
spoiling."
Sibylla tasted the fruit, which she pronounced delicious, and then they
resumed their ramble, enjoying their bananas as they went. A little
further on they found some magnificent pine-apples, then some
granadillas, and shortly afterwards several other fruits were met with,
a few of which Ned was acquainted with, whilst others he had never seen
before, and these last they very wisely let alone.
When about half a mile distant from the beach they entered the actual
forest. Here the trees grew very closely together, whilst the entire
space between their trunks was completely choked with a dense
undergrowth of parasitic creepers, the long, thin, pliant tendrils of
which stretched from trunk to trunk, or hung in festoons from the lower
branches, and were so hopelessly tangled up together that progress was
quite impossible, except along and through such openings as were the
result of accident. Here the ground was quite bare of grass, a thick
carpet of dry twigs and fallen leaves taking its place, and the whole
aspect of the wood looked so exceedingly unpromising that Ned proposed
turning back. Sibylla, however, was not so easily discouraged; she was
very desirous of reaching the ridge or highest part of the island, and
was not disposed to retrace her steps without at least making the
attempt. They accordingly once more moved forward, Ned leading the way,
and directing his steps as best he could with the aid of a small compass
which he wore attached as a charm to his watch-guard.
They had advanced but a very few yards into this "bush," as Ned termed
it, when they found themselves wandering almost blindly in the midst of
a deep, sombre, greenish twilight gloom; the overhead growth being so
dense as to almost entirely exclude the daylight, save where, here and
there, an accidental break permitted a stray sunbeam to stream down and
illumine a space of a few square yards. The effect of these partial
illuminations was very beautiful, revealing as they did the long tangled
festoons of creepers hanging black and snake-like against the light, and
causing the brilliant tints of the variegated foliage and the
resplendent hues of the flowers to flash out with dazzling effect
against the contrasting shadows. Moreover, these little illuminated
patches were alive with huge superbly-coloured butterflies, birds of
gaudy plumage, and other winged creatures, whose forms were as novel as
the combinations of colours which marked their bodies. They were the
scene of a perpetual whirl and flutter of wings, and before they
betrayed themselves to the sight their locality could be detected by the
sense of hearing from the never-ceasing hum and chirp of the insects and
the calls of the birds which frequented them. They were the scenes of
an eager, busy, active life; whilst in the twilight depths of the forest
everything was deathlike, everything was still--the very air was
motionless, not a leaf stirred. The silence was weird, oppressive, and
awe-inspiring; and when, at more or less lengthened intervals, a dry
twig snapped, a withered leaf crackled, when the soft wafting of the
wings of some nocturnal bird was heard among the branches overhead, or
the sudden, brief rustling which betrayed the presence of some wild
creature smote upon the ear, the effect upon the nerves was startling in
the extreme. Through these alternate stretches of gloom and brief
illuminated spaces the pair wound their way, Ned leading and clearing
the path where necessary with his axe or his stout, serviceable clasp-
knife, until eventually, after more than an hour's toil, they emerged
upon a bald, ridge-like eminence which, on looking about them, they
found was the highest spot in the entire group.
CHAPTER ELEVEN.