"THERE IS NO GOING BACK NOW," FRANK SAID.
Frightened the savages certainly had been at the sudden rush of three
white men and one black giant--Quambo--from the bush in what they
must have thought an uninhabited island; but cowards they were not.
Indeed, as soon as they found themselves captured they submitted to
the inevitable with a grace that was highly dignified.
Quambo had sailed in the Southern Pacific for many years, and was not
now surprised that he could understand the language of these men. He
was very proud, however, at being suddenly raised to the dignity of
interpreter. With all the inborn courage of island warriors those
savages seemed to possess the simplicity of childhood. They were
talking to Quambo, and pointing to Fred, when the latter begged
Quambo to translate. "They say," said Quambo, "they not have eat
since yes'day; they say, suppose you gib 'em banana now to eat and
cocoanut water to drink, the savages will taste yum yum when we cook
and eat them."
Quambo laughed, but Fred shuddered. What ghastly humour was hidden
in those words!
But the poor savages were at once supplied with food and drink, and
told that the white man was their friend, and that, although they
must keep them on the island, it was only for the white man's safety,
as they did not wish to be discovered.
It is to be presumed that Quambo proved a very faithful interpreter
indeed; for the savages seized Fred's hand, and bending low pressed
it for a moment to the forehead in a way that was most affectingly
dignified.
Very much surprised, indeed, were both Cassia-bud and Hurricane Bob,
who had been left as camp keepers, to see the party return in company
with two tall and soldierly-looking savages. Bob at first seemed
much inclined to resent the intrusion, but as soon as matters were
explained to him he walked up to the new-comers and licked their
hands, as much as to say, "So long as you're good you won't be
touched, but I'm going to keep my eye on you."
That evening the prisoners were allowed to dine on the floor of the
cottage, and appeared to adapt themselves at once to their new mode
of life. They were afterwards shown their bed under a bush. Their
canoe had been drawn up quite close to the garden gate. Quambo and
Cassia-bud took it by turns to do sentry duty all night, but the
weary savages slept soundly, and awoke happy, hungry, and contented.
After breakfast was over our castaways sat down under the shadow of
the trees, and the savages were made to squat near them. They then
told their story, and an interesting one it was.
Their home was in a group of islands far, far away to the west.
While fishing they had been caught in a squall and blown out to sea.
The weather had continued very thick and bad all night, and at
daybreak they found themselves near to a strange island, and had
therefore landed in quest of food and water. Had they ever seen
white men before? they were asked. "Oh, yes!" they answered, holding
up both hands, with fingers outspread to indicate the number ten.
Ten men had come, many, many moons ago, to their islands in canoes.
They were hungry and thin, and were accordingly housed and well fed,
because the flesh of white men is so much sweeter than that of black.
They had been well fed, better fed than pigs, the savages explained,
but would not grow fat. But they began to teach the natives many
curious things, and to heal the sick, and staunch blood, and do much
good; so instead of being killed and cooked they were permitted to
live, and were now slaves to the king on the far-away islands. Where
these white men had come from, they were, of course, unable to tell.
They had come from the sea, was all they were able to say for
certain; and reckoning on their fingers and toes the time, counted by
moons, would correspond pretty nearly with the date of the
abandonment of the brig _Resolute_. Then Fred got Quambo to enquire
what the white men looked like.
Quambo laughed when he received their reply.
"Like de debbil hisself," he explained, "suppose the debbil wore
clothes."
Now Fred was a very fair artist in his way, for Eean had taught him
the rudiments of drawing, and besides he seemed to have a natural
gift for caricature; so on the fly-leaf of a book he sketched a very
good likeness of the skipper of the _Resolute_--jacket, hat;
hooknose, and goatee beard all complete--in fact as he had last seen
him.
When Quambo showed the savages this they roared with delight and
astonishment, so much so in fact that Hurricane Bob had to put
himself on the defensive.
"If there is much more of that sort of thing," Bob gave them to
understand, "I'll be obliged to bring you to your senses."
"Did they ever see that man, Quambo?" asked Fred.
"Oh, yes! They say, sah," replied Quambo, "he de biggest and de
cleberest debbil ob all de ten, sah."
This was conclusive enough.
It was evident, therefore, that the ten poor fellows who had landed
on one of this unknown but cannibal group of islands were a portion
of the crew of the lost brig _Resolute_, and that they still lived
there as slaves.
The savages, as soon as they found out that they were to be well fed
and treated, instead of being cooked and eaten, became very happy and
contented indeed. As a mere matter of precaution their clumsy old
dug-out was broken up and used as firewood, and after this it became
quite unnecessary to set sentries of a night Hurricane Bob was sentry
enough. He tolerated the savages, that was all. He never quite
trusted them.
* * * * * *
And now the building of the yacht was commenced in earnest.
The first thing to be done was to erect a shed on the beach under
which the keel could be laid, and the work carried on pleasantly and
as coolly as possible. The dimensions of the yacht were carefully
studied and planned out; she was to have a twenty-feet keel, and to
be sufficiently narrow in beam to permit of her being easily towed
through the gap in the reef. This did not give her quite so much
breadth as Fred could have wished, and he determined, therefore, to
give her a good deep keel, and a not too high free-board, though the
latter must of course be consonant with safety.
The building of the workshed occupied the castaways for the best part
of a week, although they were ably assisted by their slaves the
savages.
On the particular part of the beach where the shed was erected there
was a nice slope towards the water, though it was not too steep; and
so determined was Fred that his yacht should take the water like a
duck, that he not only laid a slip for her descent, but had a strong
railing of stanchions built on each side, so that an accident was
simply out of the question.
He was determined also that in building his yacht, beauty and
appearance should be sacrificed to safety and strength.
And now came the laying down of the keel. He and Cassia-bud had
wandered in the woods for weeks scanning the trees, and at last,
half-way up a hill they had been fortunate enough to find a tree, the
upper part of whose trunk had been bent by the winds in such a way
that it would suit admirably. When trimmed for the keel the bent
portion would represent the fore part, that and the keel would be all
in one piece. Well knowing that the whole build of a craft greatly
depends upon the straightness, strength, and justness of the keel,
much time was spent in forming this, and getting it fixed in
position. But at long last Fred felt certain he had made a fair
beginning. And now came the question of knees and ribs, the general
skeleton, including the cross-beams, to keep all in place and to
support the decks.
As they proceeded with the making of the skeleton, all hands,
including even the savages, began to take an intense interest in the
work, and to go at it morn, noon, and evening cheerfully. But until
he commenced to plan and make and place the ribs, Fred had had no
idea there was so much study and thought required in building even a
boat like this. It should be remembered too that he was not only
deficient in some most important tools, but in iron and nails as well.
One day he held a regular survey on nails, and finding he had so few
he resolved to use pegs of hard wood wherever possible, reserving the
iron for the most important parts.
After three weeks of the hardest work and study ever Fred had endured
in his life, the whole framework and skeleton of the vessel was
completed, and great was the joy of the castaways accordingly. And
to give the young man his due as a ship-builder, it must be confessed
that though her lines would not be by any means perfection, and would
neither rival those of the model yacht _Thistle_ or an Aberdeen
clipper, they were not so far out by any manner of means. Nor would
she be lopsided or in any way askew.
Being quite certain and satisfied on these points, the work of
planking the craft was cautiously and carefully commenced. Luckily
they had the best of planes, and they had splendid wood, so this part
of the work went on smoothly and merrily enough, and every day Fred's
men, as he called them, improved in the niceties of their trade of
ship-carpentering.
But how genuinely tired and hungry they used to be of an evening!
Ah! well, the dinner that Cassia-bud prepared entirely banished the
hunger, and a rest afterwards either in the cottage-ornée as a book
was being read, or outside around the camp fire, made them forget all
the toils and worries of the day. In fact, every evening the
castaways gave themselves up body and soul to the enjoyment of the
_dolce far niente_. In plainer language, they had nothing to do, and
they did it well.
Reading indoors was all very well, but they enjoyed lazing in the
sand by the camp fire far better. The nights at present were nearly
always fine. There was the glitter of stars or glimmer of moonlight
on the quiet sea.
There were fire-flies and a hundred other phosphorescent things
flitting or crawling in garden, trees, or bush; there was the soft
whispering of the breeze through the branches; the lulling sound of
falling waters on the far-off reef; and above all there was the
companionship of the log fire itself, that somehow never failed to
talk to Fred and Frank, and tell them tales of their British home.
Songs were never forgotten around the camp fire, and there is no
saying how much good they did not effect. Why, those songs used to
please even the savages, and it was amusing, if not affecting, to
hear them join in singing "Home, Sweet Home," or "Auld Lang Syne."
Before the deck of the vessel was completely planked over, the
ballast was carefully adjusted and fastened down to the sturdy boat's
bottom.
While digging in the garden Quambo had come upon quite a store of a
curious kind of amber-like gum. This was melted and mixed in a cask
containing a reddish pigment kind of earth, and lo! a paint of a
pitchy nature was formed, and every seam of the yacht, outside and
in, was carefully done over with this twice, and they had the
satisfaction of finding that it did not become too brittle when dry.
The same red earth was mixed with oil and a portion of the gum, and
formed an excellent paint to go over all the work with before the
vessel was launched.
Two hatches were fitted, each having rough, short ladders descending
to the hold, or fore-cabin and saloon, as Fred grandly termed them.
The rudder was next made, and properly and scientifically shipped,
and a handy tiller adjusted. Then the mast and a short jibboom were
stepped, and after this the vessel was ready for launching, for they
longed to prove if she was seaworthy.
Fred could not remember ever having longed for anything half so much
as he longed to see the yacht afloat, and if real shipbuilders are as
anxious for some days before they succeed in launching their
ventures, then they must have a very uneasy time indeed.
But the eventful morning arrived at last, and the vessel was duly
christened, not with a bottle of wine it is true, but with the milk
of a beautiful green cocoanut, and named the _Island Queen_.
"Let go all now!" cried Fred.
Props were knocked out, the little ship swerved and swayed for a
moment, then gently commenced her descent, moving on without a hitch,
and finally taking the water just like the perfect duck she was
unanimously declared to be. Of course they gave her three times
three cheers as she slid into the water, with another little cheer
for luck; then everybody crowded round Fred Arundel, the worthy
shipbuilder, and shook hands with him in the most approved style;
after which all retired to a sumptuous breakfast, quaffing the
cocoa-nut of peace, as Frank called it, and wishing jolly good luck
to the _Island Queen_.
"I think I can eat to-day," said Fred, with a soft sigh of
satisfaction.
"Well, you ought, Fred," said Frank, "for you are positively getting
thin."
They had not considered yet what they were going to do with their
yacht, or where they should venture to sail to. They were possessed
of no chart of the seas around here, but as near as Fred could judge
they must be fully a thousand miles from either Auckland or Fiji.
Would it or would it not be dangerous to make so long a journey in so
small and frail a craft? All agreed, anyhow, that an attempt should
be made to rescue the ten men who were still held prisoners, if not
even made slaves of, in the cannibal islands from which the two
savages had arrived.
Every preparation for the voyage was set about, therefore, without
any loss of time.
Luckily they had plenty of spare canvas that had been found in the
wreck, so the rigging, &c., of the _Island Queen_ was perfected in a
few days' time.
Then the first trial trip was made. The boat was sailed and
manoeuvred all round the bay at first. Then she was towed with a
boat ahead through the gap. It would have been risking too much to
have sailed through, for at any moment a sea might have lifted her
and carried her against the sharp coral rocks, after which there
would have been no more _Island Queen_.
Once away out on the billowy breast of the blue ocean, all sail was
set, and the craft was tried in every manner that could occur to a
thorough seaman, and behaved herself in everything as a beauty.
"She's a beauty, Fred, a beauty," Frank said, over and over again,
"and does you ample credit."
"Does us, you mean."
"No, no, Fred, old man. Honour to whom honour is due. Yours was the
working head, ours only the willing hands."
* * * * * *
On a bright and beautiful morning, with a gentle breeze blowing from
the nor'ard and west, the manned and armed cruiser-yacht _Island
Queen_ left her anchorage in the bay near which our heroes had
resided so long, and sailing easily through the reef gap, hoisted all
sail again, and steered to the east away.
The Isle of Good Hope kept receding and receding as the day wore on,
till at eventide it was seen but as a green cloud far away on the
ocean's horizon.
But higher land was steadily rising ahead. Other green clouds
appeared. A whole group of islands stretched out before them, and be
their fate what it might they would cast anchor among them early next
morning, if the wind but held.
Both Fred and Frank were uneasy in their minds.
"There is no going back now," Frank said.
"Come weal or come woe," replied Fred with great earnestness, "we
shall do our duty, and trust all the rest to a Higher Power."
"Amen," said Frank.