"WHAT WAS THE MYSTERY SURROUNDING THAT STRANGE VESSEL?"
In the isle of Good Hope clumps of fine cocoa-nut-trees grew close to
the sandy beach, and single, very large, pandanus, trees not far off.
This pandanus or screw pine I have already mentioned; it is a truly
marvellous tree, and bears truly marvellous fruit or drupes. This
fruit is treated in various ways, and after a time a taste for it is
acquired, so that it becomes quite an article of diet, and is
relished even more than cocoanut; for this soon palls on one. But
even the flowers of this tree are edible, at least Quambo and
Cassia-bud found them palatable enough, though the others much
preferred their perfume. Quite a quantity of the leaves of the
pandanus were cut down to be used as thatch for the huts. They are
long, strong, and tough, and being fastened on with string make very
excellent thatch indeed.
It is in connection with this tree that I have now to relate an
adventure, which it will be owned was of a very startling character
indeed.
About two hundred yards from the camp, and about seventy from the
beach, grew a clump or grove of pandanus. Some of the trees therein
were very tall and spreading, and in addition to their aerial roots
had let down props or stays from the upper branches to help them to
sustain the weight of the branches. It was up these prop-roots that
Quambo or Cassia-bud used to shin to cut down leaves or flowers.
It was the custom of Fred and Frank, of an evening after dinner, to
take a walk back and fore on the sand, and they were usually
accompanied by Cassia-bud and his friend Hurricane Bob.
One evening while strolling quietly in the clear starlight towards
the pandanus grove they were surprised to see the great dog suddenly
pause, and pointing towards the dark trees utter a low and ominous
growl; but they were still more astonished, and not a little
frightened, to note almost immediately after what appeared to be the
form of a gigantic man stalk from out the shadow, and walk with a
curious rolling shambling gait towards the sea. About half-way down
he stopped, standing out clear against the snow-white sands, and
fiercely waved his long arms in the air, but made no sound.
A more awful apparition it would be difficult even to imagine.
Cassia-bud dropped half dead with fear on the sand, uttering only a
sound that was half cry, half moan, as from one in a nightmare. Both
Fred and Frank experienced a fearful kind of impulse to rush towards
the terrible being, but next moment it dashed on towards the sea,
into which it threw itself with a loud splash.
"In the name of heaven," cried Frank, "who or what was that?"
"Some dreadful mystery," replied Fred, "that I cannot solve. Come,"
he added, "you are superstitious, Frank."
"I am, for once in a way, Fred. If that wasn't an evil spirit, then
no such being exists in the world, What did it seem to you like?"
"Well, you know the awful water fiend or kelpie, that is supposed to
haunt deep, dark mountain lochs in the Scottish Highlands, and often,
they say, carries away children and women to devour at the bottom of
the lake. He is a hideous, tall figure, but with wings like a bat,
that stretch 'twixt arms and legs. Frank, we have seen a water
kelpie!"
"May the Lord be near us, Fred. I never felt so frightened in all my
life."
They went slowly back to camp, giving many a furtive glance behind,
for more than once they thought they could hear the sound of
footsteps stealing softly up behind them.
They slept in their green tent that night, making a big fire up near
the mouth of it, and more than once Cassia-bud started and screamed
in his sleep.
But they were not molested, and the sun was shining very brightly
indeed when they awoke, and Quambo proceeded to cook breakfast.
The first thing Fred and Frank did after their morning meal was to
walk, somewhat fearfully it must be confessed, towards the pandanus
grove.
They half expected to see human foot-prints in the sand. There was a
trail across the beach, but no impression of feet of any kind, and
this fact deepened the mystery that hung around the dread apparition.
That day Quambo ascended a pandanus tree to throw down leaves and
flowers. These last are of a yellow or lemon colour, and look
sweetly pretty against the dark-green of the long, screw-like leaves.
Quambo busied himself culling flowers for some time, then he hailed
those below sailor-fashion.
"On deck dere, gen'lems!"
"Ay, ay, lad," cried Fred.
"Somebody else been heah las' night sah, gaddering flowers foh true."
"Who? what, Quambo?"
"Dunno, sah; surely de debil himse'f, sah."
That night all hands went along the beach and waited quite a long
time, but the kelpie failed to put in an appearance.
Next evening it was suggested they should hide in the bush--not
certainly in the grove itself. So here once again they waited and
watched.
Nothing came out of the sea; but before they had been in hiding for
half an hour they heard noises in the trees that convinced them the
creature was there. Almost at the same time the dog barked loud and
angrily, and something dropped with a dull, heavy thud to the ground.
As if by one impulse, but with Quambo firmly holding the dog by his
collar, lest he might force the fighting with the awful unknown, they
dashed forward. The creature could be distinctly seen against the
background of sand, and strange to say it assumed various shapes, and
moved but slowly away, as if in anger. At one moment it was the
tall, dark kelpie-like monster waving its arms in the air, next it
took the appearance of a huge frog, and immediately after rolled
seaward in the form of a gigantic wheel. There was the same
splashing noise when it took the water as before, and though they sat
on the beach for a fall hour after this it made no further signs.
The kelpie, as Fred persisted in calling it, appeared many times
after this, always coming from the pandanus grove, and it was not
until one bright and radiant moonlight night that our heroes found
out what it actually was.
They had been out after flying-fish, Quambo being in the boat, when
it occurred to them to land near the grove. The boat was pulled
cautiously near to the beach, and while Fred and Frank lay on their
oars the giant negro stood forward in the bows with his terrible
lance.
"Stand by," shouted Fred shortly after, "yonder is the kelpie. It is
coming straight for us!"
So it did, and the boat was beached almost on the creature, which had
come rolling like a wheel towards it.
A triple attack was made on it; Fred and Frank with oars, the huge
negro with his lance, while armed with another spear Magilvray rushed
along the beach and attacked it from the rear.
But the oars were seized and twisted in our heroes' hands, even the
gunwale of the boat was grasped by those awful arms.
They knew now, however, what they were fighting with. It was no
fiend or kelpie, but a huge specimen of the gigantic octopus, kraken,
or devil-fish of southern seas.
It was literally hacked to pieces before it could be killed.
Lying on the beach there next day, with its mangled body, awful face,
and snake-like arms, it had really a terrible appearance, and
reminded Fred of some of the pictures of Doré's monsters in Dante's
Inferno.
* * * * * *
The castaways had now been over six months on this lonely island, and
all that time had never seen a ship or sail of any kind.
How much longer they were to remain prisoners no one, of course,
could even guess.
"Surely," they thought, "some day some ship must come."
Yes; and one day a ship did come,
Summer and autumn had ended. It was winter now, if the name can
possibly be applied to such a climate as this. The time was June
anyhow, which is midwinter in these regions, and it was the season of
clouds and storms and dense fogs at times.
They had fully prepared for it, however, having greatly strengthened
their hut, and thatched it round and round with pandanus leaves and
cocoanut fibre.
The coneys or cavies had been very abundant of late, and the skins
were stretched, salted, and dried. They might come in handy
by-and-by to make articles of dress.
One day all hands had gone to the Beacon Hill for the purpose of
repairing the broom, which had got nearly blown away.
They had been working very hard and earnestly, and had seldom looked
about them, but having finished the work, they sat merrily down to
eat their well-earned luncheon.
Quambo and Mac were lighting their pipes afterwards, and Fred was
scanning the ocean with his glass.
"Oh, Frank!" he cried suddenly. "A ship! a ship!"
"A ship! Oh, you don't say so!"
Every eye was strained towards a little dark dot that appeared far
away on the sea's deep blue. She must have been twenty miles to the
south when first seen, and all that afternoon they watched her
creeping ever so slowly nearer, and still more near, but at sunset
she was at least ten miles off, as near as could be judged.
She was becalmed, and only moving with the ocean's current. But
never a stitch of canvas could be descried on her when the great red
sun went down, and night and darkness fell.
What was the mystery surrounding that strange vessel? It seemed
inexplicable. However, they would have to wait for another day
seemingly, before it could be revealed.
Slowly down the hill they went, and by many a devious path through
forest and glen, till they stood once more beside their tent.
So anxious were they that hardly an eye was closed in sleep that
night, and long before the stars had paled before the coming day they
were _en route_ for Beacon Hill.