As I stepped out of the rigging on to the rail, and stood there grasping
a backstay, there was a sudden rushing together of the crowd, every eye
sought mine, and a few of the more eager ones stretched out their hands,
as though to grasp me and thus establish a sort of claim to my immediate
attention. But I had no inclination to subject myself to the sort of
cross-questioning that might be expected from folk of the class of which
the emigrants were largely composed. I therefore raised my hand for
silence and to command attention, and when I saw that they were ready to
listen to me I began.
"I can see," I said, "that you are all very naturally anxious to learn
what I have been able to discover concerning yonder beautiful island
during my long stay aloft. I will therefore embrace the opportunity
which you have given me, by assembling yourselves together, to tell you
collectively the result of my observations.
"To begin with the size of the island, of which you are probably as well
able to judge as I am. Roughly speaking, it is of circular shape, as
you have already had the opportunity to see for yourselves, and I
estimate its diameter to be, as nearly as may be, ten miles. This
should give you an area of somewhere about seventy-eight and a half
square miles, or upwards of fifty thousand acres, of which probably
three-quarters will be found useful for any purpose to which you may
wish to put it. I therefore think you will agree with me that the
island is amply large enough to accommodate you all, and find you plenty
of employment for the remainder of your lives. I have seen several
streams of water, evidently fresh, flowing down its slopes; you are
therefore not likely to perish of thirst; on the contrary, there must be
an abundant supply, judging from the evidences of abounding fertility
that we see everywhere. I have observed no signs of animals, noxious or
otherwise, nor do I very well understand how they could get here, taking
into consideration the fact that there is no other land near at hand
from which they could have come; you are not likely, therefore, to
experience any trouble from that source. And, lastly, I have seen no
signs of inhabitants; it would therefore appear that your title to the
island is as good as that of anyone else;" (loud cheers). "But," I
continued, "I do not think it would be altogether wise to assume that
the island is uninhabited simply because I have been unable to discover
from aloft any trace of human presence. For aught that we know to the
contrary, the place may be swarming with natives, eager to obtain
possession of this ship and her cargo; and since we first entered these
waters we have had more than one opportunity of judging what would be
likely to happen, should we be so unfortunate as to fall into the power
of such people. I therefore propose that instead of all hands swarming
ashore, and leaving the ship to take care of herself--as I see you all
seem inclined to do--the muskets, with a good supply of ammunition,
shall be served out to those most capable of making a good use of them,
and half of that number shall go ashore as an exploring party to examine
the island thoroughly, while the other half shall remain aboard to take
care of the ship. Then, when you have satisfied yourselves that there
are no hostile natives to molest you, we will take the ship into yonder
cove, and all hands can then land without fear." This last proposition
of mine was evidently extremely unpopular, with no one more so than
Wilde, who, thrusting himself through the crowd, hotly demanded to know
who I thought I was that I should presume to dictate to them as to who
should and who should not land. But there were a few level-headed ones
among the party who, while freely acknowledging how tantalising it would
be to those left on board to gaze upon the island without being
permitted to land upon it, were quite able to recognise the prudence of
my suggestion, among them being Polson and the carpenter. At length,
after much animated discussion, not altogether free from the flavour of
acrimony, the proposal was adopted, and the difficult task of choosing
those who were to form the exploring party was proceeded with. Wilde
demanded that he should be included among the party upon the ground that
he was the originator of the scheme which had brought us all to the
island; and as I saw no particular reason for resisting this demand, I
allowed it to pass unchallenged, merely insisting that Polson should be
the leader of the expedition; while four others would necessarily have
to be seamen, in order to handle the boat and bring her quickly back to
the ship in the event of anything in the nature of a hasty retreat
becoming advisable. Thus five of the twelve explorers were seamen, and
the whole of these I personally nominated, being careful to choose the
most steady and reliable for so important a service, while the remaining
six were chosen by lot from among the unmarried male emigrants. This
point being at length settled, a packet of refreshments, consisting of
cold meat and ship's bread, was served out to each member of the
expedition; the largest of the quarter boats was lowered and brought to
the gangway, and the whole party bundled down the side into her and
pushed off amid the half-envious cheers of the rest. Just before they
started I drew Polson aside and gave him my views upon the manner in
which I considered that the exploration ought to be conducted, and
impressed upon him the fact that he was the leader of the expedition and
must exact the strictest obedience from every member of it; and this he
promised to do.
I allowed the exploring party to get fairly away from the ship, and
then, causing the second quarter boat to be lowered, sent four hands
down into her with the lead-line, followed them myself, and then headed
after the first boat toward the harbour which I suspected to exist
inside the two headlands first discovered by Polson, my object being to
make a rough survey of this harbour before attempting to take the ship
into it. The fact that I would allow only four seamen to accompany me
occasioned some further discontent among the number who were obliged to
remain aboard the ship; but I cared nothing for this. I was quite
determined that no unnecessary risks of any kind should be run; and
since these people appeared unable to think for themselves, and Wilde
seemed to have as little idea as the rest of them of what precautions
ought to be observed, I just resolved to think for them, at least until
they were all safely ashore and I could feel that I was no longer
responsible for their safety. After that they might take as many risks
as they pleased.
As we in the second boat neared the two headlands which formed the
approach to the inner harbour they assumed a much more imposing
appearance than they had presented from the deck of the ship, rising
sheer out of the water to a height of nearly or quite two hundred feet,
in the form of precipitous cliffs of dark rock which sloped away on
either hand until, at a distance of about a mile to right and left, they
dwindled away to nothing and were lost in the verdant slope that rose
gently from the outside beach.
I started sounding as soon as the boat pushed off from the ship's side,
and, instead of heading directly for the inner harbour, pursued a zigzag
course athwart and toward the mouth of it, each arm of the zigzag
measuring about half a mile. I did this in the hope of discovering any
hidden dangers that might perchance lurk in the track of the ship on her
way into the inner harbour; but we found none, and the floor of the
lagoon seemed to be as smooth and almost as level as that of a ballroom,
sloping very gradually up from a deep five fathoms where the ship lay to
four and a half fathoms between the two headlands.
But when at length we got fairly in between those two headlands, what a
surprise was sprung upon us! I had expected--and indeed the utmost
extent of my hopes had been--that inside those two heads we might find a
snug little cove just large enough to allow the ship room to swing in;
but, to the astonishment of us all, when we got inside we found
ourselves in a splendid landlocked basin, measuring about two and a half
miles long by about one and three-quarter miles wide, by far the largest
part of the area lying to the south-westward of the entrance.
On the inner side the two heads presented very much the same appearance
as they did outside; that is to say, they sprang sheer out of the water
as practically vertical cliffs, gradually decreasing in height until, at
about a distance of a mile from the harbour entrance, they disappeared
altogether, merging into the general, gentle, upward slope of the land
from the water's edge. Where the cliffs ended a beautiful sandy beach
began, having a sweep of fully three miles round the back of the basin.
It was on this beach that the exploring party had landed; and when we
entered the basin there was the other boat, her stem hauled up on the
beach, and her painter made fast to an oar, the loom of which had been
driven deep into the sand, instead of lying off, afloat, with two hands
in her as boatkeepers, ready for any emergency, as I had directed. It
was a little annoying to find one's instructions disregarded so
flagrantly; but I reminded myself that, with the berthing of the ship in
the basin, I should have accomplished all that had been demanded of me,
and henceforth must expect to be treated as a nonentity. That, of
course, would leave me quite free to think out some plan whereby to
effect my escape and return to civilisation; for Wilde's Socialistic
doctrines did not in the least appeal to me, and not even the prospect
of passing the remainder of my life upon that beautiful and fertile
island could reconcile me to them.
However, there was plenty of time before me in which to work out a plan
of escape; my present business was to ascertain whether the Basin--as I
already named it in my own mind--afforded safe anchorage for the ship; I
therefore resumed the task of sounding, working pretty regularly all
over the area of it, with the result that the floor was found to slope
upward very gradually until within about half a mile of low-water mark,
when the slope became comparatively steep. So far as my somewhat
cursory survey went there seemed to be no submerged rocks, shoals, or
other dangers in that beautiful landlocked harbour to imperil the safety
of the ship; but in order to make assurance doubly sure I landed on the
inner beach and ascended the south-west head--from which the best view
of the basin was to be obtained--when, the sun having by this time
climbed nearly to the zenith and his rays striking down almost
perpendicularly into the water, I was able to see a considerable portion
of the sandy floor of the harbour through the crystalline depths of its
waters; but neither in this way could I discover any sign of danger or
obstruction. I therefore concluded that the ship might be brought
inside the Heads, and anchored pretty closely to the beach, without much
apprehension of harm happening to her, especially as there did not
appear to be more than eighteen inches rise of tide in this particular
part of the ocean.
From the situation which I now occupied I was of course afforded the
best view of the island that I had yet obtained; and truth compels me to
say that the more I saw of it the better I liked it. There should be no
lack of fresh water on the island, for even from my point of observation
there were at least a dozen small streams in sight, and doubtless there
were others beyond the range of my vision. Then the trees upon it
seemed to number some hundreds of thousands, a very fair proportion of
which appeared to be of large size, and the timber of which would
probably be found useful for a multiplicity of purposes. It was a
veritable garden of flowers of the most varied and beautiful shapes and
hues; butterflies of enormous size and the most gorgeous colours flitted
here and there; bees hovered over the multitudinous blossoms, busily
engaged in collecting their store of honey; many birds were seen, some
of then of marvellously beautiful plumage; while, as to fruit, wild
strawberries and raspberries flourished in profusion even upon the
headland on which I was standing, and which boasted no other vegetation
than grass and low bushes. The shores of the basin offered an
absolutely ideal site for a town, although the ground there might
perhaps be considered rather low; and for my own part I practically made
up my mind that, while I would stick to the ship as long as I might be
permitted to do so, if I were compelled to remain on the island for any
length of time I would endeavour to secure a plot of land on the weather
side of the island, and about halfway up the side of the mountain.
One of the most remarkable facts connected with the island, that served
to confirm me in the conviction that it was uninhabited, was the
extraordinary and absolute fearlessness of man which the birds and other
living things exhibited. They flitted about us, and settled within
reach of our hands, and numbers of them might have been captured had I
permitted it; but I pointed out to the men who accompanied me the
absolute uselessness as well as cruelty of such a proceeding, and
contrived to convince them that a great deal more pleasure was to be
derived from the sight of these beautiful creatures, alive and flying
about in perfect freedom and fearlessness, than from the possession of a
few of their dead and stuffed skins.
Having at length learned as much as was possible in such a brief visit
to this island paradise, and having also fully made up my mind as to the
precise spot in the basin where the _Mercury_ should be moored, I
summoned my boat's crew to follow me, and, descending to the beach, got
into our boat and pulled back to the ship, just in time for dinner.
Polson being ashore with the explorers, the cabin party at dinner
consisted only of Miss Hartley, Tudsbery, and myself; and it was only
natural that my two companions should be eager to learn what impression
a nearer view of the island had produced upon me, although I could not
help thinking that there was a something suggestive of apprehension or
distaste in the questions which the girl put to me. I took but little
notice of it at the moment, however; for I was thinking more about the
task of moving the ship than of satisfying the curiosity of my
companions, who, I considered, would doubtless have an opportunity on
the morrow to learn for themselves all that they desired to know.
I had so completely made up my mind that there was no reason why the
ship should not at once be taken into the basin, that as soon as dinner
was over I gave the carpenter instructions to muster the hands and heave
short, the news that the ship was about to enter the basin producing a
sufficient number of voluntary helpers from among the emigrants to
render the task of walking the ship up to her anchor an easy one,
despite the fact that the exploring party left us five seamen short.
Then, the seamen who remained on board having loosed and set the three
topsails, jib, and spanker, we broke out the anchor, cast the ship with
her head to the southward for a short stretch in the lagoon, in order to
get a fair run in between the Heads, then roused the anchor up to the
bows, and catted it.
By the time that this was done we were far enough to the southward to
enable us to point our jibboom straight for the fairway between the
Heads--the northernmost of which slightly overlapped the other--when we
tacked ship and bore away for the entrance, with the emigrants crowding
the waist, on both sides of the ship, eager to see their new home at
somewhat closer quarters. A quarter of an hour later we swept in
between the two towering headlands, with sufficient way on the ship to
carry us through the belt of calm under the lee of the northernmost
Head, and the interior of the Basin, in all its beauty, lay spread out
like a picture before us. Loud ejaculations of delight proclaimed the
pleasure which the sight gave to the emigrants, several of whom turned
their faces toward the poop, and in unmistakable language hinted the
hope that they would now be allowed to go ashore without further delay.
Once fairly inside the Head, the helm was starboarded and the ship was
headed for a sort of bay in the southern extremity of the basin, the
topsail halyards were let go, the jib hauled down, and the spanker
brailed in, and with the way that she still had on her the _Mercury_
slowly drifted to the spot which I had chosen as her final berth, and
the anchor was let go, in three and a half fathoms of water.
I am afraid I earned a certain amount of unpopularity by steadfastly
refusing to allow anyone to leave the ship until the explorers should
have returned, but the refusal was part of my policy of extreme caution,
of leaving nothing to chance, and of taking no risks of any kind, and I
adhered to it, explaining my reasons, and, I think, convincing the
majority that I was right.
With the mooring of the _Mercury_ in the berth which I had chosen for
her inside the Basin, I considered my task and my responsibility at an
end; and, seating myself in a basket chair on the poop, beneath the
awning, I disposed myself to begin thinking out some plan for the
ordering of my own future conduct. But I had scarcely settled myself
comfortably when I was joined by Grace Hartley, who strove to conceal a
somewhat embarrassed manner, and the obvious fact that she had something
on her mind, behind an attempt at light and frivolous conversation. I
endured this as long as I could; but at length the girl's preoccupation
became so marked that I interrupted her somewhat unceremoniously by
saying:
"Pray excuse me for breaking in upon your entertaining remarks, Miss
Hartley, but do you not think you had better come to the point, and have
done with it? You want to say something to me, and do not quite know
how to begin. Is not that the fact?"
"Yes, Mr Troubridge, it is," she acknowledged; "although how you
managed to guess it, I am sure I don't know."
"Well," said I, "let it suffice that I have guessed it. Now, go ahead
and just tell me what it is."
The girl hesitated for some time, and at length said, with a laugh of
embarrassment:
"I know quite well what it is that I want to say; but my difficulty is
that I do not know how you will take it, for I have only a very hazy
idea what are your own ideas upon the subject."
"Has it anything to do with Gurney, by any chance?" I asked.
"Well, yes, it has--in a way," she answered. "The fact is, Mr
Troubridge, that now, when that horrid man Wilde's scheme seems to be
nearing fruition, I am beginning to realise that I am in a very awkward
and difficult position; and I am feeling very anxious. I have heard
much talk, lately, that has greatly alarmed me; and I have been
compelled to ask myself what is to be the outcome of this attempt to
found a colony upon Socialistic lines. I admit that I have never very
closely studied the doctrine of Socialism; but if Wilde's views are to
be accepted as its gospel, my common sense tells me that the experiment
which we are about to make can result in nothing but a ghastly fiasco.
The text of his preaching is Social Equality. Equality! There has
never been, and never will be such a thing so long as this world endures
and mankind is what it is; and all attempts to make and keep men equal
are foredoomed to end in failure, even as they did in the days of the
French Revolution. I foresee that one of the first results which will
follow such an attempt here will be discontent; then will speedily
follow dissension, and, finally, anarchy; and I look forward to that
condition of things with the utmost dread. For anarchy means
lawlessness, violence, the adoption of the doctrine that Might is Right;
and in the midst of such a state of things what will happen to us
unfortunate women?"
"Ah!" said I. "That is a question which I should think will affect you
very closely, although, judging merely from what I have seen of the
others, I doubt whether it will greatly trouble them. I imagine that,
even if anarchy should come, they will know pretty well how to take care
of themselves, even as the French Revolutionary women did. But what has
all this got to do with Gurney?"
"Well, it concerns him in this way," the girl answered. "He thinks upon
this subject precisely as I do, and foresees--as I do--that grave
troubles for us all loom in the not-far-distant future. Of course you
know very little about George Gurney, Mr Troubridge; to you he is
merely one of the crew of this ship; but," with some little
embarrassment which I very readily understood, "I have seen a great deal
of him of late, and I assure you that he is a very remarkable man,
intelligent, well-educated, refined; indeed, as a matter of fact, I
believe--although he has never told me so--that he was born to a very
different station in life from that which he now occupies. I may as
well acknowledge that it is to conversations I have had with him that I
have come to see things in the light that I have endeavoured to make
clear to you; and it is partly at his suggestion that I finally decided
to mention the subject to you, and endeavour to obtain your views upon
it."
"My views, Miss Hartley," said I, "are in all essentials identical with
your own--and Gurney's--and, if you think fit, you may tell him so."
"Oh, thank you, Mr Troubridge!" exclaimed my companion. "I will
certainly do so, for I am sure that he will be glad to hear it. Of
course you understand that this conversation of ours was intended to be
private? You will not mention to others what--?"
"I will not," I promised; "make your mind quite easy upon that point.
As a matter of fact I am very much obliged to you for opening your mind
to me; I will give what you have said my most serious consideration; and
it may be that, a little later on, I shall be very glad to have a little
further conversation with you upon this most interesting subject."