"WHAT THEIR FATE WAS TO BE THEY COULD NOT EVEN GUESS."
After the boat left the _San Salvador_, with little Cassia-bud
steering, and the great Newfoundland, Hurricane Bob, lying at his
feet by way of balancing her, and keeping her well down by the stern,
"Steer right away for the island," cried Fred. "We are going to row
and sing, and never look behind us."
But when they had rowed for fully half an hour, and the ship looked
very far away indeed, Frank, who was stroke, lay on his oar, and the
others followed suit.
"Why," he said, peeping round, "we ought to be there by now."
"Dear me!" cried Fred, "how deceiving! The island looks as far away
as ever!"
"Yes, and it has altered in appearance somehow, hasn't it?"
"Well, of course; but then we are low down in the water, you know.
Anyhow, I'm hungry and thirsty both. Happy thought, to have a rest
and some lunch."
The good things were brought out accordingly, and everybody, even
Hurricane Bob, shared and shared alike. Then Quambo lit a huge pipe,
and Magilvray, the sailor--a stout young fellow with a merry-looking
face of his own--bit a huge quid off a stick of niggerhead, and began
to look very contented indeed.
After another half-hour's pulling catspaws began to creep over the
water, and a sail was hoisted.
"We'll soon be there now," said Fred.
Immediately after there was a cry from the little black coxswain.
"Oh, massa Fred, I's so frightened!"
"Whatever is the matter, Kashie?"
"See, sah, see!" he cried, pointing away ahead. "De island done go
clear away out ob de world, sah!"
It was difficult indeed for any one in the boat to believe his
senses. Every one felt dazed, and looked dazed. The island was gone
sure enough; yet how or whither seemed inexplicable.
But the wind kept increasing every minute, and to go back now in the
teeth of it was utterly impossible. So on and on the little boat
flew for a time. The sea had got up so high too, all at once, that
they were afraid to venture on lying to, and to lower sail meant
being pooped by the racing, threatening waves.
How long they ran before the wind they never could tell. They had
given themselves up for lost, however, and sat there in the gathering
gloom of the awful thunder-storm silent and despairing, like men
without hope and energy.
Fred himself had taken the tiller, and Cassia-bud was crouched in the
bottom of the boat, hugging his friend Bob in abject terror.
But if Fred and Frank were puzzled by the disappearance of the
fairy-isle, as they had called it, their astonishment knew no bounds
when the boat was suddenly caught up by a huge wave, and hurled
forward into a chaos of broken water and roaring breakers. Hurled
into it? Yes, and hurled over it, into water that was as smooth as a
mill-pond stirred by a summer's breeze. Behind them and away in a
circle all around breakers foamed and roared and thundered. There
was the quick, incessant gleam of lightning from out the blackness of
the weather clouds; but yonder, not a hundred yards away, was an
island, low and almost level, but fringed with cocoa-nut trees, and
with an undergrowth of waving palms and other tropical shrubs.
In five minutes' time the boat was drawn up on the snow-white coral
beach, and the thunder-storm had burst over them in all its violence.
By-and-by the sky partially cleared, and though the wind still blew
high they crept out from the shelter of a cave in which they had
found refuge, and began seriously to consider their position.
It was some time, however, before the whole extent of their
misfortune was fully realized by them.
But as the time went on, and the hurricane appeared to be again on
the increase, causing them to seek for shelter once more in the cave,
a hurricane such as no ship dare attempt to lie-to in, then indeed
hope began to die out in their hearts, and they _felt_ they were
alone. They felt this still more when the sun went down, and pitch
darkness almost immediately followed.
They dared even yet, however, to hope against hope; the ship would
surely return and seek for and find them. It was gloomy enough in
this cave certainly, with the wind tearing through the scrubby jungle
and the cocoa-nut palms that covered the little island, and with the
awful boom of the breakers on the circular reef of coral surrounding
the lagoon, but then it was only for a night.
"_Only_ for a night," said Frank.
"Yes, _only_ for a night," reiterated Fred.
"If we had a light, though, it would be all the more cheerful."
"Yes, well I have matches, but there is nothing here to light."
"We'd better keep the matches," said Frank. "Are you sure you have
them safe and dry?"
"But why so anxious, lad?"
"I don't know. I----I----"
"Oh, brother, don't think of it! I'm going out to feel for the boat
and fetch the supper."
"And I'll go with you."
In the darkness this was no easy task, and the wind was so high they
had to bend low, almost crawling in fact.
But they were lucky enough to find the food, and a portion being
handed round to everybody, not forgetting Bob, all hands did justice
to the good cheer, and then Quambo and Magilvray lit their pipes, and
the cave was more home-like after that.
They sat talking there till it must have been far into the night,
then, lying back on the soft, warm sand, one by one they dropped off
to sleep.
They had not even thought of setting sentry. What was there here to
be afraid of? Nothing, surely. Besides, the great, honest dog,
Hurricane Bob, always made a point of sleeping with one eye a little
open, so if anyone was sentry that night it was Bob.
The sun was high in the heavens when Fred awoke next morning, and
shouted to his companions:
"What's for breakfast?" said Frank, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
"Ah! what indeed?" said Fred, laughing. "Why we ate all our
breakfast last night. But where is Cassia-bud?"
Cassia-bud was not to be seen, but presently he appeared out of the
jungle laden with cocoanuts and pandany. This pandany or pandanus is
the screw pine, which grows on nearly all the islands of these
regions, and is one of the first to appear when coral reefs assume
the shape and substance of islands, the seed being either floated
thither on tree trunks or brought by birds.
Finding the cocoanuts had been a far too easy task, for every tree
was levelled almost to the ground, one alone being left standing.
After breakfast Fred and Frank set out to explore the island, leaving
the others on the beach with the boat. This exploration did not
occupy much time, the whole island being only a few acres in extent,
and scarcely anything growing on it except the few cocoanut trees,
and the strange-looking scrubby pandanus. This tree, the leaves of
which are like big vegetable corkscrews, grows from roots that are
above ground, like the legs of a milking-stool, somewhat after the
fashion of the mangrove trees of African shores.
The wind had almost died away, but the breakers still thundered on
the reef that surrounded the lagoon. I trust I make the position of
our heroes clear enough; the little island was nearly round, and
entirely surrounded by a broad natural moat, let us call it, of
water, which in its turn was encircled by the coral reef. The moat,
however, was about seventy yards wide or more all round.
They now launched the boat, and embarking pulled right round the
inside of the reef, with the view of finding out the lane therein
that led to the sea. They did so at last, but it was so narrow that
the presumption was, they had been carried right over the reef
itself, on the previous day, by a high tidal wave.
Like nearly all Scotch boys who are brought up in the woods and
wilds, Fred Arundel could climb trees well. It did not take him very
long, therefore, to shin to the top of the solitary cocoanut tree,
although it was fully forty feet in height. It afforded a splendid
ocean view all around, and Fred managed to unsling his telescope, and
scan the horizon on every side. As far as he could make out never a
ship nor sail of any kind was visible, but his heart beat high with
hope and joy when, away towards the south, his glass rested on what
appeared to be the hills or mountains of some island in the midst of
the sea.
His hopes fell again, however, when he thought of the fairy island
that had lured them away from the ship the day before. This also
might be a mirage. Well, if it were so it would dissolve away; they
could but wait and see. So he came down again to report.
It was far on in the afternoon before they succeeded in getting
enough dry stuff to light a fire withal.
Meantime Cassia-bud, who had constituted himself caterer and lions'
provider, had found some huge crabs, and having killed them they were
cooked in their shells, and a very delicious meal they made, washed
down with a drink of cool milk from young cocoanuts.
When they had dined more bark was heaped upon the fire, and green
stuff spread over that in order to raise as dense a smoke as
possible. For trailing across the blue sea of the tropics smoke may
be seen a very long distance off.
Before sunset Fred once more ascended the tree or look-out station,
as he called it, and once more scanned the horizon. It was much
clearer now, but no sail was visible.
But to his joy the island in the south was still there. So he
concluded it must be real.
Cassia-bud had been paddling about in the lagoon all by himself, and
just as the sun was dipping low towards the ocean he landed, and with
a face that positively beamed with joy he threw down five beautiful
fish at Fred's feet. They were beautiful in colour as well as in
size and substance. "How lucky we were to have brought fishing-gear
with us," cried Fred; "and really, Kashie, you're a perfect treasure."
Meanwhile Quambo had cleared the fire and erected a tripod of sticks
over it with cross-pieces, and on this the fish were hung, and soon
began to fizzle and steam.
Fred and Frank were lying on the smooth white sand, watching Quambo's
preparations for supper. "I say, Fred," said Frank, "what does this
remind you of?"
The tears rushed to Fred's eyes.
"Oh, Frank, I well remember! You are thinking of our Crusoe life on
the desert island in Scotland. Ah! dear me, and now we are Crusoes
in stern reality."
"Don't you wish that Toddie was here? Dear wee Toddie and the little
dog Tip."
"I do and I don't. I wish we could only bring back old times, when
you and I were young, though."
"Ah! well, we're not very particularly old yet, are we?"
"Supper is all ready, sah," said Quambo. And a glorious supper it
was; for everyone was gloriously hungry.
The only part of yesterday's provisions that still held out was the
salt. For in his hurry, when coming away, Quambo had rolled an
immense piece in a table napkin.
There was enough fish left for breakfast, but they took the
precaution to stow it away in the locker of the boat.
Next day and another and still another passed monotonously away, and
it was now evident to all they might never expect to see their ship
again. And do as they would, they now began to feel lonely and
cheerless.
They were prisoners in this cockle-shell of a coral island, and the
hope of being picked up seemed very remote indeed. Meanwhile what
about food even? The fish might possibly fail them, the robber crabs
might keep aloof, and they would soon eat up all the cocoanuts and
pandanus fruit in the place.
To remain here, therefore, was but to wait for death, and to attempt
to get away was--well, what was it?
"What do you think about it, Frank," said Fred one evening, as they
all lay on the soft sand, with the cheerful light of the camp fire
flickering in their faces.
"About what?" said Frank, whose thoughts had been far, far away
indeed.
"Why about attempting to escape?"
"Oh, we are, very likely, a thousand miles and over from any
civilized settlement!"
"Quite true, but the island yonder, for it is no mirage, affords us
the chance of life that this island will very soon deny us."
"How far does it seem to be off, sir?" said Magilvray.
"As near as I can judge, about forty miles."
"A long pull, sir."
"True," said Fred; "but better, I think, to start early on a calm day
and pull all the way, than trust to the treacherous winds of these
regions, which in half an hour may increase to hurricane force."
"That is so, sah, for true," said Quambo.
"Then," said Frank, "supposing we manage to land there, what next?"
Quambo smiled grimly.
"What are you thinking about, Quambo?"
"I think, sah, dat if sabages lib on de island yonder, dey soon cook
us all and gobble us up plenty quick. Dat all, sah."
"Yes, Quambo," said Frank, "that would be all."
There was silence for a time after this, a silence that Fred Arundel
was the first to break.
"Boys," he said solemnly enough, "I believe I have thought the matter
out in all its bearings. To me it is evident enough, that our only
chance of life lies in an attempt to reach yonder island, and if
death it is going to be, surely it is better to die at once, even at
the hands of savages, then stay here to be slowly starved to death."
"That is just what I think too, sir," said Magilvray, "and what is
more, the sooner we set about it the better."
So it was resolved that very night, that all preparations for the
daring voyage should be gone into next day, and that on the day
following, if the weather were favourable, they should leave the
island.
Fred slept more calmly that night than he had done since they landed.
Before lying down he had gone away by himself for a little distance
into the jungle, and kneeling down beside a fallen tree, prayed long
and earnestly that He who had hitherto protected and guided him
through many a danger, seen and unseen, would condescend to bless
their little enterprise, and grant them hope and safety.
He sat for some time on the tree stem, for the stars were shining
very brightly and clearly, then slowly returned to the cave, and
threw himself down on the warm white sand; and thinking of home and
the dear ones in the fisherman's cottage, he was soon fast asleep.
The preparations for the voyage were few but important; namely, the
procuring and cooking of a good supply of food.
But fortune favoured them. They loaded their boat therefore the
night before, and as soon as day broke over the ocean they rowed out
through the narrow opening in the reef, and headed away for the
distant island. What their fate was to be they could not even guess.
They trusted all to God.