Men in straits cannot afford to sit down to grieve and mope over their
sorrows. Although a deep gloom had been cast over the shipwrecked party
by the loss of one whom they had learned to respect, the urgent need of
obtaining better food and shelter compelled them, as we have said, to
give their whole mind and attention to this work.
They pitied poor Peggy sincerely, however, and endeavoured to comfort
her a little by raising the hope that her husband might have merely lost
himself in the woods of the island, and would yet, perhaps, be found
alive and well. But, although their intentions were kindly, they could
comfort neither Peggy nor themselves with such a hope; for their
experience convinced them that the woods, although thick and tangled,
were not extensive enough for any one to be permanently lost in them,
and it seemed quite certain that if the lost man had not met with some
fatal accident, he would certainly have made his way to the coast, by
following which he could have easily found the camp.
"It is very sad to give over our search for poor Mitford," said Dr
Hayward one morning, while seated on a ledge of rock near the beach,
taking counsel with his male companions as to the order of procedure for
the day, "but we cannot afford to delay our operations longer. This
poor fare of mussel soup, with such a small allowance of pork, is
beginning to injure the health of our women, not to mention ourselves;
besides, the pork won't last long, even though we put ourselves on the
shortest possible allowance; so I think that to-day we must go on an
expedition after the seals we saw the last time we went to the southern
end of the island. What say you, comrades?"
"All right, cap'n," answered Massey. "You've only got to say the word.
But who's to stop at home to mind the camp-fire and the women?"
"I'm afraid," returned Hayward, with a deprecatory smile, "that it's
your own turn, Bob. I would say that I'm sorry for you, were it not
ungallant to pity a man for being condemned for a day to female
society."
The way in which the coxswain received this showed that he did not
repine at his fate. He did not even object to O'Connor's remark that,
"Faix, he might consider himself the luckiest man o' the lot!"
Accordingly, Massey remained at the camp while the doctor, Slag,
O'Connor, Tomlin, and Jarring set out on a hunting expedition with two
days' cooked provisions in their wallets. The doctor and Tomlin armed
themselves with spears, but Jarring and Slag preferred clubs.
"You see," said the latter, "I've heard--though I can't rightly say I've
seed it done myself--that the seal-hunters o' the north do their work
wi' clubs; so, if one man can kill a seal wi' such a thing, I don't see
why another shouldn't."
And, truly, there was some reason for this covert boast; for Joe,
besides possessing arms of prodigious power, had cut and shaped for
himself a knotted club which might have suited the hand of Hercules
himself.
It turned out that Bob Massey's satisfaction at being left behind that
day was not altogether the result of regard for female society. While
he was sauntering back to the camp, after his comrades had left, he
congratulated himself aloud on having at last a chance of making his
experiment without being laughed at during the trial. "That is--if
Nellie has got enough of line made."
At that moment Nell was busy with the line in question, and at the same
time doing her best to comfort Mrs Mitford--Mrs Hayward being engaged
in preparing dinner; by no means a difficult duty, which the women
undertook day about.
"Keep up your spirits, dear Peggy," said Nell, in that sweet, cosy
tone--if we may say so--which played such havoc in Bob's bosom at the
time when she was known as the coxswain's bride. "I feel _sure_ that
your dear husband will return to us. No doubt, some sort o' misfortune
has come to him; but he's such a sensible, handy man, is John, that I
can't help feelin' he'll come back to us; an' when I _feel_ anything
very strongly, d'ee know, I've almost always found it come true. Do you
believe in strong feelin', Peggy?"
Poor Mrs Mitford, who had been sitting with her hands clasped in her
lap, and an utterly woebegone expression on her pale face, raised her
head with a troubled look on being thus directly appealed to.
"Believe in strong feelin's, Nellie? I should just think I do. Not to
mention my own feelin's--which are so strong that I never felt nothink
like 'em before--any one who has been married to my John must know well
what st-strong--oh! no, I shall never see 'im again; dear Nellie, don't
tell me," she said, beginning to cry. "I know--I know--"
"There, now--there's a good soul. Don't go off again. Look! D'ee know
what this is for?"
As she spoke, Nellie held up a ball of what appeared to be twine, and
her companion--whose mind resembled that of a child, in that it could be
easily diverted--said no, she didn't know what it was for, and that she,
(Peggy), had seen her making it when the men were off excursioning, and
had asked about it; and why didn't she, (Nellie), relieve her curiosity
before, upon the point, instead of waitin' till now?
"Well, you see, Peggy," replied her friend, with the confidential air of
one who has a secret to tell, "my Bob has took it into his head to give
his mates a surprise by fishin' for albatrosses."
"Lawks! Nellie, an' that _will_ give 'em a surprise!" interrupted Mrs
Mitford, drying her eyes. "How ever can any man _fish_ for a bird--
unless, indeed, it goes under water an' changes its nature, which no
creetur can do; though, now I come to think of it, I have seen flyin'
fish, an' so, perhaps, there may be albytresses, or other birds, that--"
"Hallo! Nellie, hard at the twine, lass? You've made about enough of
it now," cried our coxswain, entering the camp at that moment, sitting
down beside his wife, and examining the ball of cord which she had been
so busily spinning.
"I'm glad you think there's enough, Bob, for I've come to the end o' the
stuff you gathered for me."
"Plenty more where that came from, Nell; but there's no need to gather
more than enough; for enough, you know, is as good as a feast. Well,
Peggy," he added, turning to the poor woman, and patting her gently on
the shoulder, "has Nell been tellin' you what I'm goin' to try?"
"She was beginnin' to tell me, Mr Massey, when you came in, something
about fishin' for albytresses, an' I always thought albytresses was
birds, and--"
"Quite right, Peggy. See, this is how it is: you bait a hook--but
come," said the coxswain, rising suddenly, and taking up the ball of
twine, "they do say example's better than precept. Come along wi' me
an' Nell, an' we'll show you how to do it."
So saying, Massey led the two women down to the boat, telling Mrs
Hayward, whom they passed on the way, to heave some more sticks on the
fire, as it was getting low.
"Never fear," said Eva, who carried the baling-dish full of shell-fish
in her hands. "I shall never forget the fright we got that time Joe let
it get so low that it was almost at the last spark. You won't be long
away, will you?"
"Not long. Anyhow, we'll be sure to turn up for dinner."
During their short residence on the island, the coxswain had observed
that albatrosses paid them frequent visits. The giant birds had
exhibited some signs of curiosity as to the doings of the new arrivals
on the island; so he resolved to capture one of them, with a view to
soup!
Embarking in the boat, he rowed towards a point of rocks jutting out
into the sea, over which albatrosses had been seen hovering many times.
On the way, Nellie, who had previously been taught what to do, fastened
a small bit of wood to the end of the line she had spun. Hanging from
this was a hook that the coxswain had made from a gull's breast-bone.
It was baited with a piece of pork. Before arriving at the point of
rocks, they saw that an albatross was soaring over it on its mighty
outspread wings. On observing the boat, it flew away and disappeared in
the distance; but Bob was not much concerned about that.
"Now, Nell," he said, on landing, "carry this bait out to sea as far as
the line will let you, lay it on the water, an' then pull back into yon
cove, and see that you hide the boat an' yourselves well, and keep
quiet. You mustn't even talk, Peggy! Yon fellow will soon be back."
Nellie did exactly as she was directed; and then her husband, holding
the shore-end of the line, concealed himself among the rocks.
He was right about the bird. Ere long, it was seen returning, and soon,
on motionless, expanded wings, it hovered over the rocky point. Then it
caught sight of the floating bait. With a majestic swoop, it dived,
caught it up, and next moment was flouncing wildly about, hooked by the
tongue, while Bob Massey hauled in the line. He had provided himself
with a stick, and when the huge bird came within reach he felled it, to
the immense delight of the watchers in the cove, who had already begun
to smell savoury soup by anticipation!
While these were thus engaged, the sealing party was even more
successful in the opposite direction. They had not gone half-a-dozen
miles when they sighted a group of seals, sleeping--or sunning
themselves--on a flat rock, near high-water mark.
"Now, then, Hercules, lead the way with your club," said the doctor to
Joe Slag, in a whisper. Joe at once shouldered his weapon and led the
party round by some sheltering rocks, so as to get between the seals and
the sea; then, rushing forward in a body, they took the creatures by
surprise, and intercepted two of them. On coming to close quarters,
however, they found that the seals were much more formidable to look at
than anything that any of them had ever seen in the Arctic Seas; and
when Joe brought his club down on the skull of the foremost with a
terrible thwack, it refused to tumble over, but continued to splutter
and flounder towards the sea. Dr Hayward, however, used his spear at
this moment with such effect that the seal fell, and another blow from
the Herculean club finished its career.
As this animal was about half-a-ton in weight, they left it on the beach
with the intention of cutting off some steaks on their return, and
sending the boat round afterwards to fetch the remainder of the carcass.
Considerably elated by their success, they pushed on. In a valley which
led towards the interior hills they found fresh tracks of goats, and saw
one of those animals in the distance. Rabbits were also seen, but none
killed at that time. They had not gone far into this valley, when a
most interesting discovery was made. On opening up a new turn in the
valley they came on the ruins of a hut.
With feelings of profound interest, they entered--for there was no door
to bar their progress--and gazed around on the silent, mouldering walls.
"Good luck!" exclaimed O'Connor, springing forward, and grasping an
object which lay on the ground. It was a hatchet, covered with red
rust. "Here is something else that will be useful," said Tomlin,
picking up a file, which was also covered with rust.
The party at once began an eager search in the hope of finding other
things that might be of use to them, and they were not altogether
disappointed; for Jarring found a clasp-knife--much rust-eaten, of
course, but still fit for use. Slag found a much-battered frying-pan,
and Tomlin discovered a large cast-iron pot behind the hut, with a chip
out of its rim. A bottle was also found, and the party crowded round to
watch while the doctor examined it.
"Gin, I hope," said Jarring, in a low tone.
"Physic, I think," murmured Slag.
"A paper!" exclaimed the doctor, holding it up to the light; then,
breaking the bottle, he unfolded the paper, but much of the writing on
it had been obliterated by water which had leaked in. The few
sentences, however, that were more or less legible, conveyed the fact
that a vessel had been wrecked on the island in 1848; that the crew had
lived there eighteen months when a ship, chancing to pass that way,
rescued them; that they had no provisions to leave for the use of
unfortunates who might chance to be cast away there in future; and that
there was a garden, with some vegetables in it, about--
Here the writing became quite illegible.
"Now, we must find that garden," said the doctor, "and as we've not much
daylight left, we must begin at once. Come along, lads."
In half an hour they found the garden, with potatoes growing in it, and
a few other roots that were new to them.
Rejoicing over their discoveries the party started back without delay
for the camp, carrying the pot, the frying-pan, etcetera, along with
them, and not forgetting a good slice of the seal in passing. Arriving
late that night, they found Bob Massey and the women already enjoying a
supper of albatross soup.
"Hooroo, Bob!" exclaimed O'Connor, flourishing the frying-pan in his
excitement, "we've found some praties, boy! Shovel out some o' that
into this, honey, an' I'll soon let ye smell the smell of an Irish
stew!"
Next day the party removed from the camp and took up their abode in the
old hut, which was soon repaired sufficiently to keep out wind and rain,
and the skin of the seal--with that of another killed next day--was
large enough to screen off part of the hut as a separate chamber for the
women.
From that time forward they had no lack of food, for they succeeded in
killing plenty of seals, and in snaring a great many rabbits, though
they failed entirely to kill any of the goats. And thus they lived for
several months in comparative comfort, though suffering considerably
from cold and bad weather.
During all that time the poor women were kept pretty busy cooking,
looking after domestic matters, and mending the garments of the men.
This last they accomplished by means of needles made from albatross
bones and the finely divided sinews of various animals, instead of
thread. When the European garments were worn out--which they were, long
before deliverance was sent to them--Nell Massey proved her fitness for
a Robinson Crusoe life, by actually splitting the sealskins--which were
as thick as sole leather--so as to obtain material thin enough for
clothing.
Of course, a flagstaff had been among the first things erected. It
stood on a prominent hill, and a seal-skin flag was hoisted thereon, to
attract any vessel that might chance to pass that way, but the flag
fluttered in vain, for, as we have said, the island lay far out of the
usual track of commerce.
Although poor Mrs Mitford appeared to become resigned to her great loss
as time passed by, it was evident to her kind-hearted female companions
that she was not recovering from the shock she had received. In spite
of their care of her she grew thinner and older-looking every day, and
although she quietly took her share of the work, she had become sad and
silent--caring little apparently for what was going on around her, and
never indulging in those prolonged observations of an irrelevant nature,
to which she had been addicted before her husband's disappearance.
Things were in this state when, about two months after their landing, a
boat-voyage to the western cliffs of the island was arranged for
purposes of further exploration.