The Limekiln--Fritz’s Story
Fritz, seated in his cajack, served as pilot to assist us in
penetrating safely through the rocks and shoals into the bay, where
at last we all arrived in safety. Everything was found just as we
had left it--the table and benches yet standing, our fireplace
undestroyed, and, what was more, the air was purified; and, the
oysters, having all been dried up by the sun, had lost their
unpleasant odour. The dead bodies of the lions and the wild boar were
but heaps of whitened bones, the birds of prey having completely
stripped them of every particle of flesh.
We wished to go direct to Felsenheim immediately; but an unexpected
discovery detained us a longer time than we intended. I had noticed
among the stones which strewed the shore, a sort of rock which
it appeared to me could be easily converted into lime. It was a
discovery too precious to be neglected, and I resolved to establish a
limekiln without delay on the beach. It did not take us long to make
one to suit our purpose; but the calcination of the stones occupied
us much longer, and we were obliged to sit up a great part of the
night. During this time we made some barrels of pieces of pine bark,
circled with strong withs of willow; a round piece of bark served
for the bottom, and another for the cover. To enliven our labour,
and to abridge the length of the evening, I persuaded Fritz to give
us a more complete account than he had hitherto done of the manner
in which he had found our new sister, and the details of his voyage.
It was the best way in which to employ our remaining time, and the
curiosity of my sons was so excited that they formed a circle about
Fritz, who thus commenced his narration.
“You all remember,” said he to his brothers, “the manner in which
I left you, after having given my father a letter which contained
an account of my intended excursion. The sea was calm; but I had
scarcely passed the Bay of Pearls, when suddenly a violent wind
arose, gradually increasing to a perfect hurricane; the rising waves,
the rain, the thunder and lightning, all confounded in horrible
confusion. My little bark was not strong enough to resist the
tremendous sea, and all that I could do was to abandon myself to the
current.
“After several hours the wind fell and the air calmed, and my canoe
again found its equilibrium upon the surface of the waters. I was
far from all the places that we were acquainted with; the tempest
had thrown me on a coast entirely new to my eyes; the conformation
of the rocks, the gigantic cliffs which seemed to lose themselves in
the clouds, the vegetation, the animals I perceived on the coast, the
birds which flew about me, all announced a new world. My first care
was to look carefully around and see whether some light smoke did not
rise behind the rocks; for, as you know, the Smoking Rock was my only
thought. I could perceive nothing as yet; but full of hope, I rowed
along the coast. Night came on, and I passed it in the cajack, after
having made a miserable supper on pemmican.
“The next morning I continued my journey, and the farther I advanced,
the more the coast appeared to change its aspect. I encountered, from
time to time, majestic rivers, which flowed silently on and mingled
with the sea. The mouth of one of them resembled an immense bay, and
I decided to ascend it some little distance; its banks were covered
with large trees, willows, and vines, so thickly woven together, that
they resembled a huge mat, covered with birds, monkeys, and even
squirrels.
“Toward the middle of the day the heat became so unsupportable, that
it was impossible to resist the desire of seeking some shade under
the trees. After being slightly refreshed, I pursued my route, and
sailed on a long time without being able to land; the rivers and
shores were both defended by guards I had little desire to come in
contact with, for I recognized elephants, lions, panthers--in one
word, a complete reunion of all the ferocious animals of creation.
After travelling several leagues farther, the appearance of the coast
suddenly changed, and, as if the ferocious animals had had their
district marked out to them, I ceased to perceive any. The shore
appeared peaceable, but desolate; the breeze which murmured among the
vines, and the song of some inoffensive birds were the only noises
which broke the calm stillness, and I felt reassured, and resolved
to land and procure a repast. I accordingly fastened my cajack as
strongly as possible, and jumped lightly to the shore; and being
hungry, I lighted my fire, and began to prepare a juicy dinner from a
fat goose which I had shot while landing, and a dozen of oysters.
“I rose long before daylight next morning and resumed my voyage.
The country through which I now sailed was of an aspect entirely
different from any I had ever yet seen. There were beautiful green
plains, dotted over with clumps of towering palms; little lakes
surrounded with osiers, upon the borders of which sported herds of
elephants; thick tufts of cactus of all sorts, loaded with flowers
and fruits, which the enormous rhinoceros seemed to devour without
paying any attention to the thorns; beautiful clumps of the mimosa,
the high tops of which the towering giraffe devoured with as much
facility as a goat would a small shrub.
“On I sailed, and, once more seduced by the picturesque appearance
of a river which lost itself in a tranquil bay, I resolved to
ascend it. The water slipped gently under the prow of my little
cajack--nothing appeared to indicate any danger; there were no
serpents on the bank, no horrid beasts in the forests, and I floated
tranquilly on, enjoying the fresh breeze and the cool shade of the
overhanging trees, when suddenly there appeared before me a long
throat, armed with rows of strong sharp teeth; it was distended to
its full capacity as if it would take in at one mouthful myself,
the cajack, and the oars. I instantly comprehended the extent of my
danger, and, seizing one of the oars, I drove it with all my strength
direct into the yawning mouth of the monster, who disappeared in
an instant, leaving a long trace of blood behind him, showing that
the wound I had made was of some importance. I did not remain long
on this river; two other monsters of the same nature as the first
rose up to the surface of the water. They were alligators, the most
terrible kind among these animals, but whose tremendous voracity is
happily balanced by a natural laziness, which retains them always
near the spot where they were born. I had escaped from one danger
only to fall into another. At a little distance from the River of
Alligators, while coasting along a little wood, I observed that the
trees were loaded with the rarest and most beautiful of birds, among
which were lyras, paroquets, humming-birds, and birds of paradise--in
one word, a complete assemblage of all that array of beautiful
plumage which decorates the forests of the New World, and I could
not resist the desire of attacking them. I landed, attached my cajack
to the bank and walked up to the wood, holding my eagle unhooded in
my hand. I cast him off, and he returned with a superb paroquet,
whose flame-coloured feathers sparkled in the sun’s rays. While I was
occupied in examining him, I heard behind me a light rustling on the
sand, which I thought was merely caused by a little land-turtle, or
some such animal, and I turned carelessly round. It was well I did
so; for not twelve paces from me there was a splendid royal tiger
with open mouth, crouched down as if about to spring upon me. I stood
as if struck with stupor; a mist came over my eyes, and scarcely
could I raise my gun, so much had horror paralysed my strength, when
suddenly my brave eagle, comprehending my danger, flew boldly at the
advancing tiger, and began to pick at his eyes. This timely succour
saved me; for it enabled me to collect my senses, and levelling my
gun, I discharged its contents into the right flank of my enemy, and
then two pistol-balls lodged in the throat completed my victory. The
tiger lay dead; but alas! my victory had cost me dear, for my poor
eagle fell at the same time with his conquered enemy, who had seized
him in his claws and had torn him in pieces. I picked him up, weeping
bitterly over my loss, and carried him to the cajack, hoping some day
to have him stuffed and placed in our museum.
“I quitted the shore with a sorrowing mind, and again I prayed to
my heavenly Father that He would give me strength to continue my
voyage. I doubled a little cape, and, suddenly, from the summit of
the grey rocks which bordered the coast, I perceived a light cloud of
smoke rising in the air. I turned my canoe in the direction of the
long-sought-for signal. The irregularities of the rocks along the
coast were the only difficulties I had to encounter, and it appeared
to me that I should never get through them. At last I landed, and,
with infinite difficulty, scrambled up the rocks until I arrived
at a platform on which I perceived a human creature. At the noise
which I made in approaching, the individual, who was arranging the
fire, rose, perceived me, uttered a cry of surprise and joy, then,
joining his hands, stood still, as if waiting for me to speak.
Notwithstanding the midshipman’s dress she wore, her exclamation,
and the delicate contour of her features, convinced me that I was
in the presence of a female. I stopped about ten paces from her,
and calling to my memory all I knew of English, I said in a subdued
tone, ‘I am the liberator whom God has sent you. I have received
the message of the albatross.’ I must have pronounced these words
very badly, as Emily did not at first comprehend them; I repeated
them, however, and after a few moments we understood each other
well enough to make a mutual interchange of our feelings. Gestures,
looks, accents all filled up the blank that words had left vacant.
I spoke to my new sister about the castle of Felsenheim, Falcon’s
Nest, our shipwreck, and ten years’ sojourn on the coast, where we
lived in almost European luxury; on her part, she recounted to me the
history of her childhood, her shipwreck, and existence on the Island
of the Smoking Rock, making a fine story for my papa to write out
in the long winter evenings. Emily graciously invited me to supper,
after which we passed the remainder of the night, I in my cajack,
she in the branches of a tree, where she always slept from the fear
of wild beasts. The next morning we again met. Emily had already
prepared breakfast, which consisted of fruit and broiled fish. The
repast being over, the sea looked so calm that I thought we had
better start; so, after packing up all her curiosities, and putting
them on board the cajack, we took our seats and set off. We sailed
on a long time; but an accident happened to my little barque, and
I was obliged to put in at the little island which you have called
‘Good Rencounter,’ in memory of our meeting; it was there I left my
new-found sister, who, doubtful of her reception in a strange family,
begged me to go on and ask permission of my father to bring her among
them. I consented; and my canoe having been repaired, I took the
well-known route home: it was then that I encountered you, and from
fear that you were pirates, I disguised myself, and played you such a
trick.”
“Oh! I am so sorry it is done,” cried Jack, as Fritz finished his
story; “but you must now tell us the history of our sister.”
Fritz was about to commence a new narration, of greater interest than
the former, but I stopped him, and advised him to take a little rest
before he talked any more.