CHARLEY GOES TO SEA--A GALLANT COMRADE--COOLNESS OF ISLANDERS--THE
SAVAGES.
"May Heaven bless and prosper you, my boy!" said Captain Askew, as
Charley Blount was prepared to start for Liverpool, where he expected to
get a berth on board some ship bound for the shores of the Pacific. He
had letters of introduction to Jack's old friend, now Captain Cumming,
who resided at Birkenhead, on the other side of the Mersey, and to other
friends of Captain Askew, so that his way would be likely to be made
smooth.
His parting with the inmates of the Tower need not be fully described.
Neither Mrs Askew nor Margery dared trust themselves with words. Becky
gave him a hug, such as he was not accustomed to receive as she
whispered, "Bring him back, Mr Charley, bring him back, oh do!"
"If the lad's above board you'll find him out, I know you will, Mr
Charles," said old Tom, heartily wringing his hand. He modestly replied
that he would do his best; and that, with a person of spirit and energy,
signifies a good deal.
He was not going altogether without pecuniary means. Captain Askew had
raised every shilling he could for the undertaking, and he felt sure
that Captain Cumming would get friends at Liverpool to help him yet
further. He soon reached that city, and when his object became known,
although many declared that it was visionary, he had, from the
liberality of merchants and others, ample supplies placed at his
disposal, which he was to employ as he considered best. He without
delay obtained a berth on board the _Southern Cross_, Captain Harper, as
fourth mate, with the understanding that he should be allowed to quit
the ship after she had reached the coast of Peru, where she was to take
a fresh cargo on board.
The _Southern Cross_ was a well-found ship, Captain Harper, an upright
man and a good seaman, and with the other officers and the crew, Charley
was on his first acquaintance tolerably well pleased.
He enjoyed the sensation, which few but seamen can enjoy after some time
spent on shore, when he once more trod the deck moved by the buoyant
waves, as the good ship pursued her southward course over the Atlantic,
and he thought of the enterprise in which he was engaged. Most of his
shipmates, as many people on shore had done, thought his undertaking
preposterous, and said that to search for a lad he had never seen, among
the thousand and one isles of the Pacific, and who probably had been
drowned, or eaten by the savages years ago, was more ridiculous than
looking for a needle in a bundle of hay. Charley, however, kept, if not
to his own opinion, to that which Margery, at all events, entertained,
and got two young shipmates, midshipmen, to join him in it. Hugh Owen,
an enthusiastic Welshman, and Edward Elton, a quiet and unpretending
English lad who had been three years at sea. He was pale-faced and
small of his age, his eyes were blue and his features regular, and in a
crowd he would have been the last selected to do a daring deed; and yet
no bolder or braver lad was to be found on board, and there was no act
of heroism of which those who knew him would not have believed him
capable.
Charley Blount was not much senior to either of the lads, but having
been to sea longer, was their superior in rank. Off duty he treated
them as equals, and the three young men soon formed a sincere friendship
for each other.
The Falkland Islands were visited to obtain a supply of fresh provisions
and water, and then the ship steered west round Cape Horn into the
Pacific. Just, however, as that mighty headland was sighted there
sprang up a fierce gale from the westward, which drove the _Southern
Cross_ back into the Atlantic, the huge billows rising up like mountains
to bar her progress. But her captain well knew that perseverance alone
could overcome this as it can conquer most difficulties, and she was
kept under close-reefed sails, now with her head to the south, now to
the north, ready to take advantage of any slant of wind which might
enable her to work her way to the westward. The wind had fallen, and
once more sail was made.
It was night, and Charley Blount had a watch on deck, when without
warning down came the gale on the ship with greater fury than before.
With a crack like a clap of thunder the main-topgallant-yard parted and
hung by the lifts, dashing furiously against the topsail, and
threatening to carry away the topmast. "It is my duty to clear that,"
exclaimed Charley, not waiting to be ordered or asked to go, for it was
a task of the greatest peril, which only volunteers alone would be
expected to attempt. Seizing an axe, he flew aloft.
"Heaven protect the bold fellow!" exclaimed the captain, who had hurried
on deck.
Young Elton had also come, up from below. One part of the task was done
when Charley's axe was torn from his grasp, and he was seized by the
coils of a loose rope, lashing furiously, while the remaining part of
the spar came whirling round his head. His terrific position could be
seen from the deck, and the great danger any one would incur in going
near him could be equally well perceived. Not a moment, however, did
young Elton hesitate. Scarcely had the accident happened than he was
flying up the ratlines amid the clouds of spray which drove across them.
The ship was heeling over and pitching into the seas as if never to
rise again, the masts were bending and straining, and the broken spar
was flying round, now in one direction, now in the other, and
threatening to render the brave young Elton's attempt useless, by
hurling Charley Blount to destruction before he could release him, while
the least want of vigilance would have proved equally fatal to himself.
He had, amid the darkness of the night and the heeling of the ship to
watch the movements of the threatening spar, and to dart forward as it
receded and left a spot for an instant free from its attacks. His first
aim was to release Charley, whom the rope was encircling every instant
more closely in its deadly embrace. He watched his opportunity; he
sprang along the yard, and with two blows of his axe the rope was
severed, and Charley was released, and able to join him in the still
more difficult task of clearing away the broken spar. Together they
climbed the mast. "Stand from under!" was the cry, but there was no
need of it. Again their sharp axes were at work; the spar fell clear of
the ship into the foaming ocean, the topmast was saved, and loud cheers
greeted the young seamen as they descended safely on deck.
This incident united Charley Blount and Elton in still closer
friendship, and gained the support more completely of the enthusiastic
Hugh Owen, who became now more than ever eager to follow their fortunes.
At length the ship got to the westward of the Cape, but she had been
driven far to the south, and it was some time before the wind allowed
her to steer a northerly course. She had already got into warm
latitudes, when a high, cocoa-nut-covered, reef-bound island was
discovered ahead. The savage character of the inhabitants of the isles
of the Pacific had frequently been the subject of conversation on board,
among those who had never before been in that part of the world, and it
was naturally supposed that those living on the island in sight were
deserving of the same description. As they coasted along, however, they
could distinguish with their glasses numerous neat white buildings, and
a wide extent of cultivated ground, and here and there towers and
steeples, and edifices which had the appearance of ordinary
school-houses; indeed, the land wore a wonderfully civilised aspect.
The captain, ordering the chief mate to keep the ship standing on and
off, invited as many as two boats would contain to accompany him on
shore. He carried an assortment of goods, not beads and looking-glasses
and spear-heads, as would once have been the case, but cottons, and
useful cutlery, and writing materials, and leather, and other articles
in demand among civilised people. The boats arrived at a
well-constructed wharf, where several decently-clothed natives stood
ready to receive them. They were greeted with the salutation of
"Blessings be on your head!" and one stepped forward and introduced
himself as the trading-master, and requested to know what articles they
wished to purchase. The captain gave a list of what he wanted, which
were very soon brought down, and, the trade-master acting as
interpreter, equitable bargains were soon struck, and all that was
required by the voyagers was obtained at a reasonable rate. They were
then allowed to visit any part of the island they chose with licensed
guides. They expressed their surprise to the native interpreter at the
state of things.
"Yes! great indeed is the change," he answered. "Thirty years ago we
were among the most degraded of savages; but the good missionaries came,
and though we would have driven them away, they persevered in remaining
till they had taught us better things; and now you see us sitting
clothed and in our right minds."
On inquiry, Charley found that there was not a heathen native in the
whole island. There were churches always regularly attended, school
houses, printing presses, lecture halls, a well-constituted government,
and a perfectly educated native ministry. Not only were there no
heathen, but, as far as human discernment could discover, true Christian
principles were professed and practised by a large majority of the
population. Few islands were in a more satisfactory state than this
one; at the same time Charley heard that the inhabitants of a very
considerable number had become Christians by the instrumentality of
English missionaries, and still more by that of Christian natives, eager
to impart to their countrymen the glad tidings they had themselves
received.
"It was to this island, many years ago, that a native missionary swam on
shore with a few books, wrapped up in a cloth, on his head. Our savage
fathers stood on the rocks with clubs and spears, ready to kill him, but
his life was preserved by the mercy of God, who loved our souls though
we knew Him not. At first no one would listen to what the missionary
had to say, and laughed him to scorn; but by degrees one stopped to
hear, and then another and another, and found what he said to be very
good, till by degrees as they understood more clearly the tidings he
brought, hundreds flocked in and believed, and were converted."
Captain Harper corroborated all Charley had heard, and stated that
whereas once it was dangerous at most of the islands to land unless in a
strong body, well armed; now, throughout the whole of the eastern
groups, the inhabitants were as kind and courteous to strangers and as
well conducted as any people he had met on the face of the globe. One
day after they had left the island, the officers of a whaler becalmed
near them came on board, and complained bitterly of the altered state of
things, abusing the missionaries for being the cause of the change to
which they so much objected.
The surgeon of the ship, who ought to have known better, was especially
very indignant with them.
"Once we could go on shore, and for a few beads or a knife not worth
twopence buy as many provisions as we required, or any other article,
and we could play all sorts of pranks with the natives, and nobody
interfered with us. Now, if we ask them to buy or sell, or to dance, or
to do anything else on a Sunday, they won't do it, and we can have no
fun of any sort; and they say that we have lost our religion, and pull
long faces at us, and ask us all sorts of strange questions about our
souls. As a fact, these savages know more about religion than we do;
and they can write books, and print and bind them, and some of them can
preach for an hour at a time; indeed, I don't know what they can't do.
The missionaries have done it all--spoilt them, I say; they were jolly
fellows as savages, but they are desperately stupid now. To be sure,
they did now and then murder a whole ship's company if they had the
chance, and roast and eat them too, and they would steal anything they
could lay hands on; and they were always fighting among each other; and
they worshipped curious logs of wood and stumps of trees, and figures
made out of rags, matting, and feathers; but we had nothing to do with
that, it was rather fun to see them."
And so the surgeon of the whaler ran on, not at all aware that he was
condemning himself and his companions, and their practices, and praising
the long-benighted savages.
Charley observed that he could not help thinking that the change was for
the better, and he could not help asking himself, "Where will the white
man and where will the brown man be found standing at the day of
judgment?"
He inquired of the doctor if he had heard of any young Englishman
residing among the natives, or on any island in the eastern Pacific.
The doctor laughed, and said that there were a good many who had native
wives, and were the prime ministers and privy councillors of the kings
and princes who ruled the islands, especially those which still remained
heathen.
Charley scarcely wished to find Margery's brother among these unhappy
men. No! he was certain that if he was alive he was living on some
unfrequented island, unable to get away. The _Southern Cross_ touched
at several islands, for the captain had a roving commission, to go where
he thought best. At each of them Charley left on shore a number of
cards on which he had written, "Jack Askew, a friend of your father's,
Charley Blount, is looking for you. Send word to Callao, on the coast
of Peru, and he will assist you to return home."
Captain Harper gave every assistance to Charley, but not a trace could
they discover of the missing one. Two uninhabited islands had been
visited; a third was sighted. Charley's heart beat high in anticipation
of finding him whom he sought. Yet, why he expected to find Jack there
more than at any other place he could not tell.
On the island, though it was a small one, there was a mountain and three
or four lesser heights, which might prevent a person on the opposite
side from seeing a ship; the captain, therefore, though he could not
spare much time, agreed to sail partly round it, and to land Charley,
Elton, Owen, and some of the men, to explore it. They landed in high
spirits, on a sandy beach, and pushed on to the highest point whence
they could survey the whole island, and where a flag they carried could
be seen by any inhabitant on it. They reached the summit of the
mountain. There were valleys and rocks and cascades, and cocoa-nut and
other tropical trees and plants; indeed it was very like the description
of Robinson Crusoe's island. They waved the flag and shouted, though
shouting was of no use, as no one in the valley could have heard them.
At length they descended towards the east, the point from which the ship
was to take them off. Still they hoped that some one might appear.
"He may have been all the time watching the ship, and not have looked up
towards the mountain," observed Owen, who had assumed the fact of Jack's
existence, even more than Charley himself. They reached the beach
without meeting the trace even of a human being. All the party looked
blank at each other; it was very clear that that was not Jack's island.
Disappointed they returned on board. "Don't let us despair," cried
Charley. "There may be, in the latitude where the _Truelove_ was lost,
fifty other islands, and Jack can only be in one of them, so that we
cannot hope to find him in a hurry."
"No! of course not," cried Owen; "but we will find him notwithstanding
that. Just let us get our little schooner fitted out and we'll visit
every one of them, and twice as many if necessary."
Captain Harper had most liberally and kindly done his best for Charley's
object. Captain Askew's friends at Liverpool had promised a reward of a
hundred pounds to any man or ship's company, half to go to the master,
who should discover and bring off young Askew, and half that amount for
the discovery of any of the crew of the ill-fated ship. This
information he gave to every whaler and other vessel the _Southern
Cross_ fell in with. Whalers especially, visit so many out-of-the-way
spots while searching for their prey, to obtain wood and water and
vegetables, essentials for the support of the health and life of the
crew, that it was possible some of them might be tempted to make a more
thorough examination of islands near which they might find themselves,
than they would otherwise do. At length Callao was reached, and Charley
with his two friends obtained their discharge.
The next thing was to find a vessel suited for their purpose. After
inspecting a number, a beautiful little Spanish schooner, of about
eighty tons, which had just come into the harbour, was purchased, and a
motley crew engaged. The crew consisted of one Englishman, who had been
twenty years from home, a negro, a Tahitian, and a native Indian; but
still they all pulled wonderfully well together. Charley Blount was
captain; Elton, first mate; and Hugh Owen, second. The schooner had
been called the _Boa Esperanza_, and so they called her the _Good
Hope_--an appropriate name.
Never had a happier party put to sea. They were in prime health and
spirits, and had a good object in view, so that they could venture to
pray for the success of their expedition. They had an ample crew for
the size of the vessel; she was well-found, and sailed like a witch, and
was altogether a first-rate little craft.
The _Good Hope_ went out of harbour at the same time as the _Southern
Cross_, the latter steering south on her homeward voyage, the former
west, to explore all the islands known and unknown in that direction.
Charley had given his utmost attention to navigation since he left
England, and from the time Elton and Owen had agreed to accompany him,
they had also studied the subject more carefully than before. They
were, therefore, all three very fair navigators; indeed a good knowledge
of navigation was very necessary for the work in which they were about
to engage.
Away went the _Good Hope_ on her adventurous and perilous voyage. The
Pacific, though often calm, shows that it does not deserve its name at
all times. After they had been a week out, the weather gave signs of
changing: dark clouds appeared in the west, though the wind was still
blowing from the east. They continued their course to reach an island
which rose high out of the sea ahead. With the fair wind they then had
they rapidly neared the island. Their glasses showed them that it was a
beautiful spot, very like the island they had before visited, but
larger. Just, however, as they got abreast of it, the gale, which had
for some time been brewing, broke on them with great fury. Fortunately
they were able to run back for shelter under the lee of the island,
where, though they still felt the wind, the sea was comparatively
smooth. Great vigilance was, at the same time, necessary, lest the wind
changing suddenly she might be driven on the reefs which surrounded the
island. Still they kept as close as they could, looking out for an
opening through which they might pass and anchor inside.
Hugh Owen had a remarkably sharp pair of eyes, and was the first to
espy, some way to the northward, a space of clear water with a sheltered
bay beyond. The schooner was steered towards the spot. Owen was right.
A slant of wind enabled them to stand through the passage. The sea
dashed in foam over the coral reefs on either hand; careless steering,
the parting of a rope, or a sudden change of wind would have hurled them
to destruction. The dangers were passed, and she rode safely in a
little bay, which had a sandy beach, and a fringe of rocks and trees
above. No huts or dwelling-places could be seen, yet it seemed scarcely
possible that so fine an island should be uninhabited. Still people
might exist on the other side of the island, or more inland.
They had been advised not to venture on shore on any island, unless the
inhabitants had become Christians, without arms. Owen and Elton
proposed on this occasion going without them, as they were heavy to
carry.
"No, no!" said Charley. "A rule is a rule, which, if a good one, should
never be broken through."
This was the first island where, by their calculations, they had the
slightest chance of finding Jack Askew, at least, it was about the
longitude that the _Truelove_ was supposed to have been lost.
Owen took charge of the schooner while Charley and Elton and three men
went on shore, all sufficiently armed with rifles, pistols in their
belts, and cutlasses by their sides. They hoped by starting early in
the day to accomplish the tour of the island before dark. Having drawn
up their boat on the beach, they pushed on for the highest point of land
in the neighbourhood. On reaching it they saw in the valley below, on
the further side, wreaths of smoke ascending from among a grove of
trees. Charley and Elton agreed that there must be inhabitants, but
wisely determined not to approach them without first ascertaining, if
possible, their disposition. They therefore continued along the height,
so as to avoid the valley, proposing to cross over by a route which
appeared open to the opposite side of the island.
As they advanced they saw more signs of the island being inhabited:
tracks leading in various directions, ruined huts, and marks of fires
and native ovens. Some natives were also seen in the distance, but
whether or not they were observed they could not tell. Charley and
Elton speculated as they went on as to the probability of Jack being on
the island. Wherever they went, in all conspicuous places they left the
cards, with a notice that the schooner, on the east side of the island,
was waiting for him, hoping that possibly he might see one of them,
should they themselves miss him.
At length they reached the west side of the island, where the full
strength of the gale was felt, and they were thankful that their vessel
lay snugly in harbour, and sheltered from its fury. Here they found a
group of huts and patches of cultivated ground, for the production of
the taro root, but the inhabitants had hastily fled. This was
unsatisfactory, as they must have had cause to dread the appearance of
white men. They saw, therefore, that it would be prudent to return by
the most direct route to the bay, where it would be safer to attempt
establishing friendly relations with them; for should they fail, unless
they could fight their way, they would probably be cut off. Keeping
close together, they therefore marched rapidly westward.
Several times they saw natives armed with bows, spears, and clubs,
hovering on either side, but none of them came within speaking distance.
They seemed to increase in numbers as the party approached the bay, and
Charley felt thankful when they came in sight of the schooner. Their
first care was to get the boat afloat, that they might retreat if
necessary. They had brought a number of useful articles for barter--
knives and pieces of cotton cloth, and handkerchiefs, and nails, and
some of them they placed on the rocks, beckoning the natives with
friendly gestures to approach and take them. No sooner had Charley and
his party retired to the boat, than nearly forty savages started up from
behind the rocks and rushed towards the goods, eagerly seizing them, and
as quickly retreating again under shelter. After this, nothing could
tempt the savages from their cover. One thing was certain, that Jack
could not be on the island, or the savages would have learned to treat
white men in a different manner. Charley, therefore, determined to
return to the schooner. No sooner, however, had his men begun to shove
off the boat, than the savages, fearing to lose the treasures they
possessed, made a furious rush in a body towards her, flourishing their
war-clubs, and holding their spears ready to throw.
"Shove off, lads, shove off, for your lives!" cried Charley, seizing an
oar. "Let not a shot be fired unless I give the word."
The savages, however, seeing that their expected prize was about to
escape them, rushed on with greater speed, some hurling their spears,
others, with clubs uplifted, threatening the destruction of all in the
boat.