THE VOYAGE FOR THE BENEFIT OF ANGEL, AND THE DISCOVERY
Within the next week the boat hull was practically completed, and now
needed caulking. For this purpose the hemp, which had been found, as
previously stated, was broken up, and as much of the woody portions
removed as could be taken out, so as to make it available for filling in
the crevices between the planking.
The mast was stepped in, and a sufficient quantity of manilla rope
twisted for the sails, and also a supply put aboard for other needs. The
sails were not yet completed, but they would doubtless be ready by the
time the other parts were.
In one of their evening conferences George expressed his concern about
the future of Angel.
"For my part I do not want to leave him behind."
"Then why not take him with us?" asked the Professor.
Harry had some doubts on this point, but George was too insistent to
brook any thought of leaving him behind.
"I make this suggestion, George: Before the time of sailing it would be
advisable for you to make several trips with Angel in the small boat,
and see how he behaves. In some respects he would be an acquisition to
us."
The boys had not forgotten how the animal, during their various trips,
had been of material assistance, nor the times when nutting how Angel
understood what they were after, and would climb trees and shower them
down, and then gravely help to load them into the wagon; and they
remembered the recovery of the flag. Such service was appreciated.
As it was, Angel was invited to take a sail. The lifeboat recovered in
South River had been named No. 2, as they insisted on calling their own
wrecked vessel No. 1.
No. 2 was launched. A small sail, had been rigged up, and two good oars
provided for it. Angel was completely at the command of George, and when
he was called and taken down to the landing in front of the boathouse,
he went without any hesitancy. But to induce him to enter the boat was
another matter.
Suspecting there would be some difficulty, George pulled a small jar of
honey from his pocket, and silently began to eat it. Angel's eyes
blinked. It was such an unheard of thing for George to do this without
extending an invitation to join. He shambled over, but George walked to
the boat and sat down in it, not appearing to notice the eager look on
the animal's face.
Without further urging he stepped aboard, and George put his arm around
him, as Harry, with oar in hand, pushed the boat from the shore. Angel
was startled, and tried to get away, but soothing words soon quieted
him, and before they reached the mouth of the Cataract he was leaning
over the gunwale and playing with the water in the most approved
boy-like fashion.
When, however, they had passed the comparatively calm waters in the
estuary, and were rounding the cliffs, poor Angel forgot his sport, and
sat as one paralyzed, gazing at the sight of the waves beating against
the shore line. George went up to him, and spoke encouragingly, and it
was fully a half hour before he was restored to his usual calm. Then,
apparently, he noticed for the first time the peculiar rocking motion of
the vessel. Every time it swayed to the right or to the left he would
give that peculiar chuckle which always indicated delight.
They went around the point to the east, and passed down the coast in a
southerly direction, going as far as the cape north and east of the
mouth of South River.
"Steer for the shore, George; steer for the shore; what is that to the
right?" said Harry, pointing to the beach.
"It looks like a boat, sure enough."
As the wind was coming directly from the shore they had to depend on the
oars to bring the vessel around, and as they came in could distinctly
make out the side of a boat lying among debris, in an inclined position,
against a rather steep beach.
"It is our boat, Harry." The moment their vessel came alongside, Angel
jumped off and leaped over to the boat on the shore. Evidently he also
had recognized it.
"Well, isn't this a find?"
"How long do you suppose this has been here? I am glad we gave Angel an
outing."
"Shall we take it with us?"
"Yes; if we have to carry it overland," was Harry's reply.
"Let us float it."
It was not much of a task to do this, and with a short rope it was
hitched to the stern of No. 2. Angel remained in the recovered boat, and
when No. 2 was pushed from the shore, and the sail set, its movement did
not seem to perturb him in the least, but when the oscillations again
began to be perceptible, he commenced to gurgle, and George knew they
had a good sailor to take with them.
The sail took a little over three hours, and as they passed up the
Cataract River, and approached their home, the boys set up a welcoming
shriek, in imitation of incoming steamers, which so delighted Angel that
he scampered in a delirium of joy from one end of the craft to the
other. It is doubtful whether he had ever in his short life had such a
glorious time, and that he remembered it his subsequent history
furnishes the best evidence.
The Professor was just as much delighted as the boys at the sight of
their first marine production, which had gotten away from them and
stranded them on the cliffs three months before. "I am sorry now that
you named the other boats, because this is really No. 1."
"Never mind; this is good enough to be No. 3. Just look at our navy!"
"Where did you find it?"
"Near the point, south of the bay."
"Then it must have been washed there during the late storms, because I
do not think it is possible that it could have gone there at the time it
escaped you, as the wind was blowing directly to the west at that time."
The boys now remembered the circumstance, and as they recalled the
condition of the driftwood around it when they found it on the beach, it
was plain that the storm had been their friend in this case.
"Have you been using oars on the boat?" was the Professor's inquiry, as
he bent over the side and examined the notches which were made for the
oars.
"No; why do you ask?"
"This boat has been used by some one, and not very long ago, at that.
Notice how the forward sides of these notches are worn. It also seems
that civilized people have been using the boat."
The information was so startling that neither of the boys could answer
for a moment. Did they have another mystery to contend with?
But George was alert on the questioning end of any proposition. "Do you
really think white people have had the boat? I do not see anything that
would make you think so."
"If they were savages they wouldn't use the oarlocks or notches, as they
row free-hand, almost without exception; but get a white man in a boat,
and the first thing he looks for is a place to put his oars in. This
incident in itself shows one of the distinguishing features between the
civilized and the uncivilized people."
"In what way is one civilized and the other not?"
"I did not say one was civilized and the other uncivilized. The most
wonderful thing in the advancement of the human race from a state of
savagery to civilization, was the discovery and utilization of a
fulcrum. Whenever man, in an advanced state, undertakes to do anything,
he uses a fulcrum of some kind."
"In what way is it so useful?"
"Primarily, in the form of a wedge, a pulley, a wheel and axle, an
inclined plane, a screw or a lever. All these forms do the same thing as
the simple lever; and what sort of mechanism could be made without some
of these elements? The row-lock is simply the fulcrum for the oar, is it
not? When Archimedes discovered the principles of the lever, he was so
excited that he declared he could move the earth if he could find a
fulcrum."
A careful examination of the notched gunwale showed conclusively that it
had been used to a considerable extent. George sat and pondered over
this. "I am sure we never used the boat enough with the oars to wear it
in this way. Had you examined this when you said that the boat had not
been long at the point where we found it?"
"No," answered the Professor; "I simply remembered that on the day you
lost it the wind was blowing to the west, and as you found it to the
east of the cliffs, I inferred it must have been carried around since
that time."
"It is evident then that the people who used this boat live to the west
of us?"
"That is my only conclusion."
"Then you think the fire in the forest, and the light which we saw that
night beyond the West River, were made by those people?"
"I am sure the fire we saw was made by savages, but I am not so certain
about the lights having been made by them."
Harry looked at the Professor, and then at George, and slowly shook his
head. "Wasn't it lucky we didn't meet them when we made our trip to the
river?"
That evening the inevitable subject of their forthcoming voyage was
again discussed, and to the surprise of the boys, the Professor urged
delay. His reasons were expressed as follows:
"While we have had some very severe storms of the kind which may be
expected, we are not sure that the weather is yet fully settled. That is
the only reason I urge delay. If, on the other hand, we should decide to
take an overland journey, we could set out at once."
Harry was opposed to taking another trip by land. "We have really found
out more by the water route than going by land. For that reason it would
be well for us to make at least one adventure by sea."
These arguments prevailed in the minds of all, and while it would take
some time before all preparations could be made, all were happy at the
thought that when they did undertake the journey something definite
would be learned to clear up a few of the mysteries of Wonder Island.
The Professor did find some samples of tourmaline, in a finely divided
state, and this gem was used to polish the gun barrels, so that all the
weapons were finally put into condition where they could be used. During
an hour each day all took a part in practicing in a range specially
prepared near the workshop. Distances were laid off accurately, and the
regulation targets set up. In this manner they became accustomed to
loading and firing with facility and a considerable degree of accuracy.
If anyone, not knowing the situation, had dropped in on this scene, he
would have considered himself in the midst of a great naval and military
camp. At the workshop were the guns, arranged in order; boxes provided
for the bullets; small turned out wooden cups for powder, each cup
carrying twenty little tubes of bamboo, each with a measured charge of
powder, and longer bamboo tubes with percussion caps in them.
It was Harry's brilliant idea to separate each charge of powder and put
it into a special tube. This tube had one end closed, and the other
provided with a stopper, so that in loading the stopper could be drawn
out and held by the teeth while the powder was poured into the gun. The
caps were put into a bamboo tube which was just large enough to take the
caps, which were dropped in, one after the other, and it can be seen
that it would be an easy matter to turn the tube upside down, and thus
bring out one cap at a time. This also facilitated the reloading of the
gun.
During the practice with the gun one serious defect was found; and that
was to remove the cap after each shot. Sometimes the body of the cap
would not split, and as a result, a knife or some pointed instrument
would have to be employed to dislodge it so as to make room for the new
cap.
Harry found a way to remedy this. An opening was made through the stock
at one side, and a sliding piece, like a collar, put over the nipple
which holds the cap. A finger attached to this collar enabled the
marksman to draw back the collar, and this would bring with it the cap,
which would then fall out of the side opening.
All these little details may seem to be useless care, but rapidity in
loading and firing, with muzzle-loaders, in an engagement might be their
salvation.
A test was made of the improved firearm, to determine how fast the gun
could be loaded and fired. The test made by Harry showed that it took
two seconds, after a shot, to bring down the piece, and draw back the
collar to release the cap; three seconds to grasp one of the powder
tubes, remove the stopper and bring it to the muzzle of the gun; two
seconds to pour in the powder; two seconds to drop the tube in its
receptacle and grasp the bullet; two seconds to ram it home, and three
seconds to put on the cap and cock the gun for firing. That was nearly a
quarter of a minute.
He was very much dissatisfied with this exhibition of speed--or rather
of slowness, so after considering the matter for some time, hit upon the
plan of reducing the rear end of the bullet, so he could wrap a paper
tube on that and tie it. Then he purposed filling the tube with powder,
and closing the rear end by folding over the end of the tube. In this
way he would entirely overcome the need of the little bamboo tubes for
holding the powder.
But no paper was available, nor could he think of anything which could
be used as a substitute. In despair he repaired to the Professor.
"What is the difficulty now?" said the Professor, with a smile.
"No difficulty, particularly, but I wish we could have paper, or
something like it. I want to make cartridges."
"I thought you had all that arranged for?"
"So I did, but it takes me a quarter of a minute to load, and I must do
better than that."
He mused a while. "We could make paper, and I think we have the
facilities at hand for doing it; but it will take quite a time to
arrange for it. Aside from that I do not, at this moment, know of
anything which will be a fair substitute."
He was chagrined at this failure. But, after all, four shots a minute
were not so bad. The perfection of the guns must await their return.
Now, let us go down to the marine works, on the shore below the
Cataract. Here were the three vessels lined up side by side, and also
the after part of the lifeboat. The shed, which was the boathouse, had
nearly all their tools, and besides the bench, was a forge and the
primitive blower which the Professor and George had made and set up.
Wood, parts of planks, thin boards, of all sorts and description, were
scattered about. It looked business-like, and Harry was intensely proud
of it.
The sail was completed, and taken down to be bent on the cable. The jib
had already been installed in place, and when the sails were hoisted and
they walked out from the shore and glanced back to get a full view, the
entire Naval Bureau congratulated itself on the magnificent appearance
of the fleet, and particularly of the new creation in maritime
architecture.
It is not out of place to say that the Professor and George both
showered the highest compliments on Harry, for he deserved it. But the
officials of the establishment were not the only ones to admire the fine
sight. Angel came, and he took it in. It was the finest climbing he had
enjoyed in many a day. The Professor took off his hat. "I propose three
cheers for our ship."
They were given, and with each cheer the hats circled their heads. This
was a new code of procedure to Angel. He couldn't understand it. Without
waiting for explanations, he shot down the mast, and landed on shore. It
was the most comical proceeding they had ever witnessed on his part, and
when he looked at the group, and then at the ship, he said as plainly as
though he had uttered it: "What does all this mean?"
When the laughter was over, George proposed three cheers for Angel. The
hats came off and the cheers were given. Then the same smile which he
had so well learned illuminated his projecting face, and he swung his
long arm around as he had seen it done, and another step had been taken
in his education.