HUTOTON; THE PLACE OF DEATH
But the boys knew that they had some important things to attend to. The
pleasures of life have an important part, but they were now engaged in
serious work. The fact that they had accomplished so much was a great
incentive to go on and investigate other things which were still
mysteries, and which might be of great value to them.
The coming of the Professor had been a great pleasure to them. The
developments of the past two weeks were ever in their minds and they
could not repress the curiosity to visit the other islands, if such
could be found.
Now that Sutoto was married they knew he would not be with them for a
time, and they had not talked over the future plans. When, the next day,
they and the Professor and John were together to consider the next step,
it was with joy that the Professor informed them of the purpose of John
to continue the investigations throughout that part of the ocean.
"It seems that your interpretation of Walter's note was entirely wrong,"
said John. "In any event it is certain that we are more than thirty
leagues from Wonder Island, and not in the direction he pointed out."
"Then it is likely that if there is an island which will fit the place,
it must be to the north," said Harry.
"That would be a natural conclusion," he answered. "It has occurred to
me that the natural place for an island would be to the north."
The boys looked at him with surprise. "What makes you think so?" asked
George.
"I judged so, merely from the conformation of this island."
"What is there in the island that makes you think so?"
"You have noticed that the island is very narrow east and west, and very
much longer north and south."
"Yes; but that still does not make it plain to me."
"The island may be like the ridge of a mountain cropping out of the
ocean. For instance, the Andes and the Sierras in the United States run
north and south. Now suppose the ocean should cover the land, those
mountains would form islands which would naturally be north and south of
each other, and the islands themselves would be longer north and south
than east and west."
"I see the idea. But we might find them to the south of this island, as
well."
"Certainly; but as the northern section brings us nearer the supposed
thirty leagues, we should, I think, make the investigation there first."
It was necessary that Sutoto should go back to Wonder Island. His
position as Chief of the Berees made this essential. Furthermore, the
age of the Professor made traveling and the hardships of investigating
on foot a hard task, and besides it was necessary to take back the
visitors.
"I have suggested to the Chief that we shall return, and have invited
him to accompany us, and I am gratified to say that he has accepted. We
shall, therefore, be ready to return within a few days," said the
Professor.
"Have you said anything to him about the contemplated visit to Hutoton?"
asked John.
"No; but I shall do so at once."
"Oh! that will give us an opportunity to take the paralytic back with
us," suggested Harry.
"Yes; that will be the reason for our stopping there."
"Wouldn't it be a good idea to sail to the north, and investigate in
that direction, on our way home?" remarked George.
"That has occurred to me."
The Chief gave careful instructions to his son, Calmo, in view of his
proposed trip, and informed the Professor that he was anxious to
accompany them at the earliest opportunity.
Two days thereafter, the entire party boarded the ship, and the course
was set for the northern part of the island. There the Chief had the
first opportunity to see the dreadful place where the criminals of his
community had been sent.
There was no resentment on the part of the convicts. On the other hand,
there was the most effusive welcome extended, and when the Chief saw the
happiness and prosperity there, which he could not help but contrast
with his own people, he was amazed.
The unfortunate patient was carefully taken to the ship, and during his
removal did not in the least indicate by any sign that he knew what was
going on about him.
John took many stores from the ship, and particularly garments, and
articles of food for the people. All participated in the division, and
the old man was delighted when he saw the gifts, the more so when John
told him that they would soon be visited and other stores provided.
When the rolling motion of the boat was felt by the stricken man, he
showed the first symptoms of consciousness. Sometimes he would look
about him, and try to grasp something. On several occasions the
Professor saw him open his eyes with a sort of questioning look.
But we cannot dwell too long on the result of the patient's progress, at
this time. John felt, as did the Professor, that from that man they
would be able to learn something, if he could ever regain his faculties.
The boys gathered that much from the conversation, so that, for the
present, he must be left to the tender care of the Professor, until
later events are recorded.
From Hutoton the ship sailed directly north, it being understood that if
no land was sighted before evening it would be useless to go farther in
that direction. The _Pioneer_ was a good sailer, and could easily, with
a fair wind, make ten miles an hour, so they would have fully seven
hours' run to test out their theory of land in that direction.
Before five o'clock John, who was constantly on the watch, came to the
Professor and remarked that he believed the haze to the north indicated
the presence of land. This was soon communicated to the boys, and there
was no more idleness from that time on.
John's theory was correct. Slowly certain fixed objects appeared and
some outlines that looked like mountains, and the boys could not repress
their anxiety at the anticipated shore.
"Then we were right, after all," said Harry.
John smiled, as he replied: "I do not know; the calculations have not
yet been made."
"I would like to know how our position can be found out from an
examination of the sun," remarked George.
"That will require a long answer to explain fully but I shall try to
answer it in a simple manner. The sailor takes an observation of the sun
in two directions, namely, north and south, and east and west. You know,
of course, that the sun moves north in the summer and south in the
winter, and that the extreme southern point is in midwinter, Dec. 20:
that in the spring, or March 20, it is directly above the equator, and
in midsummer, or, on June 20, it is as far north as it can go."
"You mean," said George, "that it would be north of the equator."
"As we have the same calendar over the entire world, it is true
everywhere. The difference is, of course, that summer and winter, and
spring and autumn are reversed, north and south of the equator. All
estimates as to locations are made by measuring angles."
[Illustration: _Fig. 15. Getting Angle from Position of the Sun._]
"Then it must be something like surveying?"
"Yes; the same principles are applied. Here is a sketch, which shows the
earth A, and B is the equatorial line. C is the position of the sun on
September 20, or on June 20."
"Why are they in the same position on both days?"
"Yes; the sun crosses the equator September 20, on its way south, and
then it again recrosses the equator coming north six months afterwards.
On either of those days, if a person should stand at D, and look at the
sun, there would be a line E, which projects out from the earth to the
sun, and that is called the equatorial line."
"It is exactly at right angles to F, which passes through the poles. Now
the drawing shows two other positions, namely G and H. These represent
the extreme points of the travel of the sun north and south, or the
positions that the sun occupy on Dec. 20, and June 20 of each year."
"I see," said Harry. "The points G and H are just 23 degrees north and
south of the equator."
"That is correct, and there is another thing which can be learned from
their positions."
"I know what it is."
"What?"
"It gives another line, or angle."
"So now we have two angles, this, and the equatorial line. Then, we know
the exact distance of the sun from the earth, and this gives the first
measurement, and with the angle formed by the line I, taken in
connection with the line E, it is easy to determine just where, or how
far the sun is to the north or to the south, and if you did not, for
instance, know the time of the year, a man could by such a measurement,
tell, by the angle thus formed, the exact date."
"I understand that now," remarked George. "The sailor, in getting the
angle, simply measures that, and if he knows where the sun is on that
day he will then have two angles, one that he knows beforehand, and the
other that he finds out by looking at the sun."
"That is correct. The Nautical Chart gives all that information, so that
it saves a large amount of work in making the calculations."
"That gives the way to determine positions north and south. But how
about east and west?"
"In the same manner exactly so far as the angle measurements are
concerned, but in this case, instead of taking the time, in days or in
months, as in reckoning north and south, we must take time in minutes,
and to do that the entire globe is laid off in minutes and degrees,
which the nautical tables give, and the mariner knows when he obtains a
certain angle just how far east or west he is located by the chart."
"But if he has no chart?"
"Then he must figure out the position for himself, which he can do if he
has what is called Greenwich, or standard time, and has, also the
correct time of the day where his ship is."
Land was beyond; there was no question of that. It rose out of the water
higher than the island they had just left, which the boys had named
_Venture_ Island.
The Chief knew nothing of the land before them. He had told John that
years before he learned that there was a land where there were many bad
people, who killed and ate each other, but he did not know the exact
direction.
The vessel was sailed along the coast, and the field glasses were used
to scan the land. It had the appearance of the other islands which they
now knew. Vegetation was magnificent, and growing everywhere, but there
was not the sign of a habitation anywhere.
After an hour's sail they rounded a point, and beyond was the first
cove, or indentation along the coast. To that John directed the course
of the vessel, and they ran in very close, since he knew from the abrupt
sloping beach that it must be a deep bay.
The men could scarcely man the boat quickly enough. A dozen of them,
together with John, Muro and Uraso, took the first boat, while a second
boat was filled with the warriors who also were accompanied by some of
the natives of Venture island.
The Professor and the others remained on board, while the party made the
preliminary examinations of the immediate neighborhood. John formed two
parties, one under command of Muro, and the other of Uraso. The boys
were with Uraso, while he was with Muro. The object was to find out as
quickly as possible what they would have to meet, and the result would
enable them to determine the future plans.
"It is understood, now," remarked John, "that the two exploring parties
shall take the two courses outlined, Muro and his men, to go directly
east, while Uraso will take a course to the northeast, and proceed in
that direction for three hours, and then the two parties are to turn
toward each other, and mutually report. This will give us an
opportunity to find out something, unless the island is a very large
one, and requires subsequent exploration to ascertain whether it is
inhabited."
John had purposely selected the route to the east, as he saw the high
elevation in that direction, and George laughed, as he said, slyly:
"John is still after the caves," and Harry laughed, as he recalled the
keenness with which John had arranged the trips.
John did make his way to the highest points, and soon learned, from the
observations, that the island was inhabited, but the trip of the boys
was more exciting, so we shall more particularly detail their
adventures.
Before they had gone two hours evidences grew thick and fast that tribes
inhabited the island. Muro, and the different men, were continually
finding traces, none of them, however, which indicated that the people
were near at hand, or that the telltale marks had been recently made.
But now signs began to be apparent to the boys also; the bones of
animals, lying around the spot where a fire had been gave them the first
real sensation. Muro glanced at the boys, and at some bones, and the
action on his part was so peculiar, that George quietly remarked:
"Muro looked so peculiarly at me when I glanced at the bones, over
there, that I wonder what he meant?"
"I saw it too," answered Harry. "Let us have another look at them;" and
acting on the suggestion they went over. Muro followed. They did not
appear to pay any attention to him; but he was quick to join them, and
as he did so he slowly nodded his head.
"Are they human remains?" said Harry, as he turned to Muro,
questioningly.
"Yes; and this is not the first we have seen," he answered. "We may find
them now at any time. I am now sure that there are several tribes here."
"What makes you believe so?"
"Because we have found different kinds of hair, which is usually the
best evidence of the differences in the tribes, as each has its own
peculiarity."
"Savages, and cannibals!" said George reflectively.
"But we must go on. We have still an hour in this direction before we
turn to the south and east," said Harry.
There was more caution now exercised, and the speed was accordingly
reduced, in view of the especial care which they took. In order to
understand what happened the reader should know something of the nature
of the country.
Some places in Wonder Island had the same sort of timber and
undergrowth, and they went through some dense forests, in which vines
and small brush made traveling difficult. They had to cut their way
through some of this vegetation.
The land was not low or flat. If it had been there would have been a
dense jungle. Sometimes they passed through half-grown forests, and
these places were the most difficult to scour, because an enemy might
be within fifty feet, and not be discovered.
It was in just such a place that they received their first surprise; a
shower of arrows, so thick that they instantly knew it could not have
been made by only a dozen or so. Some of the arrows found their marks,
and two of the men sank down, while Muro coolly drew one of the crude
missiles from his arm.
"Drop down!" cried Muro.
There was not a savage in sight; still a number of arrows fell around
them. "Remain quiet, and I will find them?" said Muro, as he crept
forward quietly through the dense grass.
George and Harry followed, although it was evident it was not Muro's
wish. Before they had gone ten feet, Muro turned, and pointed ahead.
"They are there; at least one party. Get ready for a shot."
The savages, noting the quiet in their front, now cautiously peered
through the bush, and the boys saw the most hideous countenances. "We
might give them a round," said Muro, and after carefully aiming, the
guns spoke.
The simultaneous explosion of the three guns, raised pandemonium on all
sides. They were now surrounded by at least a hundred of the savages,
but for some reason the little party of twenty awed them, and instead of
making a charge, they rushed toward the place where the three victims of
the gunshots lay.
[Illustration: "_She ... found herself standing in front of a tall oval
mirror_" [See p. 204]]
Muro's arm was bleeding profusely, and George quickly bound it up,
while the enemy were hesitating. "Do not shoot, unless they rush at us.
I will talk: to them, and try to get an understanding."
Then, in a loud voice Muro called to them, saying they were friends, and
not enemies. There was no response. Thinking that they knew nothing of
the dialect, he tried another, and the only response was the evident
determination of the savages to attack again.
The boys and Muro could plainly hear their chattering, but the latter
said that what they were saying was not intelligible to him, and that
they must now prepare for a fight.
"Get your guns ready, and be prepared for a charge. If they come so
close that you cannot use the guns, then we must be prepared to meet
them with our knives, and we must all stand together, and not become
separated."
Instead of attacking, however, there was silence, after the first
excitement. "They are trying to find, out what struck their comrades
when we fired," remarked Muro.
"Yes; I think it was a big surprise."
"I recall," continued Muro, "when we had our first brush with you that
we could not find the arrow which we supposed was made by your bullet.
That frightened us more than anything else."
There was not the slightest movement on the part of an enemy for a full
half hour. This is the most trying sort of tactics. If you can see the
enemy, or note that he is doing something, there is some relief to the
tension, but where he can neither be seen, nor heard, it tries the
nerves of the strongest man.
Muro knew that this inactivity on the part of the savages had its
purpose. Probably, they intended to remain there until night, and
overwhelm them in the rush. Muro had other plans, however.
"We cannot remain here. We must make the attack. Remain here, and permit
me to feel out their positions, and also to determine what they are
doing." He glided away from them noiselessly, and how he kept the tall
grass and weeds from swaying, the boys could not determine at that time.
It did not take Muro long to see the situation. They were surrounded by
a cordon of savages, and while spying, saw a new lot of them coming up.
The plan was plain enough, and it meant a fight now, or a night defense.
When he returned, he had his plans formed. "They are being reinforced,
and we have, probably, a hundred and fifty, or more, around us. John is,
no doubt, too far away to come to our assistance, and our only hope is
to attack them now, so we might as well take the necessary steps."
While on his investigations Muro had discovered a fallen tree, which was
not more than fifty feet to their left. "We must reach that tree, and by
digging a shallow trench at one side, can easily defend ourselves, as
well as pick them off at our leisure."
Slowly they moved, in crawling attitudes, toward the place indicated.
The tree was not a large one, but it made an admirable breastworks, and
with their knives each man dug out a shallow hole, piling up the earth
beyond the hole, so as to shelter them from the arrows, which they knew
would be rained on them.
This work required a full half hour, and when it was completed, and Muro
had satisfied himself that each one was supplied with sufficient
ammunition, he was ready for the second stage of the game.
"We must attract them, by some form of action. I will take three with
me, and crawl forward, until we can catch glimpse of some of the
watchers. Those we will attack, and then fall back, and do the same on
the other sides."
Muro indicated those who were to follow, and after going only a short
distance the boys heard the shots, then four more. This brought the
sounds of voices from every direction. Muro and his men, during the
excitement, crawled to another portion of the line, and repeated the
manoeuver.
This, for the moment threw them into consternation, but they quickly
rallied, and now it was plain that they were pressing forward to rush
the position occupied by the boys. It was now obvious that the
precaution of making the defensive position, as Muro had suggested, was
their only salvation.