For several days after, they were employed in clearing away the stumps of the cocoa-nut trees in the winding path to the storehouse; and as soon as that work was finished, Ready put up a lightning-conductor at the side of the storehouse, like the one which he had put up near to the cottage. They had now got through all the work that they had arranged to do during the rainy season. The ewes had lambed, but both the sheep and the goats began to suffer for want of pasture. For a week they had no rain, and the sun burst out very powerfully; and Ready was of opinion that the rainy season was now over. William had become quite strong again, and he was very impatient that they should commence the survey of the island. After a great deal of consultation, it was at last settled, that Ready and William should make the first survey to the southward, and then return and report what they had discovered. This was decided upon on the Saturday evening, and on the Monday morning they were to start. The knapsacks were got ready, and well filled with boiled salt pork, and flat cakes of bread. They were each to have a musket and ammunition, and a blanket was folded up to carry on the shoulders, that they might sleep on it at night. Ready did not forget his compass, or the small axes, for them to blaze the trees as they went through the wood.
The whole of Saturday was occupied in making their preparations. After supper, Ready said, "Now, William, before we start on our travels, I think I may as well wind up my history. I haven't a great deal more to tell, as my good fortune did not last long; and after my remaining so long in a French prison, my life was one continued chapter of from bad to worse. Our ship was soon ready, and we sailed with convoy for Barbadoes. Sanders proved a good navigator, and from him, before we arrived at Barbadoes, I gained all the knowledge which I required to enable me to command and navigate my vessel. Sanders attempted to renew our serious conversation, but my property had made me vain; and now that I felt I could do without his assistance, I not only kept him at a distance, but assumed the superior. This was a very ungrateful return for his kindness to me; but it is too often the case in this world. Sanders was very much annoyed, and on our arrival at Barbadoes, he told me that it was his intention to quit the vessel. I replied very haughtily, that he might do as he pleased; the fact is, I was anxious to get rid of him, merely because I was under obligations to him. Well, sir, Sanders left me, and I felt quite happy at his departure. My ship was soon with a full cargo of sugar on board of her, and we waited for convoy to England. When at Barbadoes, I had an opportunity to buy four brass guns, which I mounted on deck, and had a good supply of ammunition on board. I was very proud of my vessel, as she had proved in the voyage out to be a very fast sailer: indeed, she sailed better than some of the men-of-war which convoyed us; and now that I had guns on board, I considered myself quite safe from any of the enemies' privateers. While we were waiting for convoy, which was not expected for a fortnight, it blew a very heavy gale, and my ship, as well as others, dragged their anchors, and were driven out of Carlisle Bay. We were obliged to make sail to beat into the bay again, it still blowing very fresh. What with being tired waiting so long for convoy, and the knowledge that arriving before the other West Indiamen would be very advantageous, I made up my mind that, instead of beating up into the bay again, I would run for England without protection, trusting to the fast sailing of my vessel and the guns which I had on board. I forgot at the time that the insurance on the vessel was made in England as `sailing with convoy', and that my sailing without would render the insurance void, if any misfortune occurred. Well, sir, I made sail for England, and for three weeks everything went on well. We saw very few vessels, and those which did chase us could not come up with us; but as we were running with a fair wind up channel, and I had made sure of being in port before night, a French privateer hove in sight and gave chase. We were obliged to haul our wind, and it blowing very fast, we carried away our main-top mast. This accident was fatal; the privateer came alongside of us and laid us by the board, and that night I was in a French prison, and, I may say, a pauper; for the insurance of the vessel was void, from my having sailed without convoy. I felt that I had no one to thank but myself for the unfortunate position I was in; at all events, I was severely punished, for I remained a prisoner for nearly six years. I contrived to escape with three or four others; we suffered dreadfully, and at last arrived in England, in a Swedish vessel, without money, or even clothes that would keep out the weather. Of course, I had nothing to do but to look out for a berth on board of a ship, and I tried for that of second mate, but without success; I was too ragged and looked too miserable; so I determined, as I was starving, to go before the mast. There was a fine vessel in the port; I went on board to offer myself; the mate went down to the captain, who came on deck, and who should he be but Sanders? I hoped that he would not remember me, but he did immediately, and held out his hand. I never did feel so ashamed in my life as I did then. Sanders perceived it, and asked me down into the cabin. I then told him all that had happened, and he appeared to forget that I had behaved so ill to him; he offered me a berth on board, and money in advance to fit me out. But if he would not remember my conduct, I could not forget it, and I told him so, and begged his forgiveness. Well, sir, that good man, as long as he lived, was my friend. I became his second mate before he died, and we were again very intimate. My misfortunes had humbled me, and I once more read the Bible with him; and I have, I trust, done so ever since. When he died, I continued second mate for some time, and then was displaced. Since that, I have always been as a common seaman on board of different vessels; but I have been well treated and respected, and I may add, I have not been unhappy, for I felt that property would have only led me into follies, and have made me forget, that in this world we are to live so as to prepare ourselves for another. Now, William, you have the history of Masterman Ready; and I hope that there are portions of it which may prove useful to you. To-morrow we must be off betimes, and as we are all to breakfast early together, why, I think the sooner we go to bed the better."
"Very true," replied Mr. Seagrave, "William, dear, bring me the Bible."
They were all up early the next morning, and breakfasted at an early hour. The knapsacks and guns, and the other requisites for the journey, were all prepared; William and Ready rose from the table, and taking an affectionate leave of Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave, they started on their journey. The sun was shining brilliantly, and the weather had become warm; the ocean in the distance gleamed brightly, as its waters danced, and the cocoa-nut trees moved their branches gracefully to the breeze. They set off in high spirits, and having called the two shepherd dogs, and driven back Vixen, who would have joined the party, they passed the storehouse, and ascending the hill on the other side, they got their hatchets ready to blaze the trees; and Ready having set his course by his pocket compass, they were fairly on their way. For some time they continued to cut the bark of the trees with their hatchets, without speaking, and then Ready stopped again to look at his compass.
"I think the wood is thicker here than ever, Ready," observed William.
"Yes, sir, it is; but I suspect we are now in the thickest part of it, right in the middle of the island; however, we shall soon see. We must keep a little more away to the southward. We had better get on as fast as we can. We shall have less work by and by, and then we can talk better."
For half-an-hour they continued their way through the wood, and, as Ready had observed, the trees became more distant from each other; still, however, they could not see anything before them but the stems of the cocoa-nuts. It was hard work, chopping the trees every second, and their foreheads were moist with the exertion.
"I think we had better pull up for a few minutes, William; you will be tired."
"I have not been so used to exercise, Ready, and therefore I feel it more," replied William, wiping his face with his handkerchief. "I should like to stop a few minutes. How long do you think it will be before we are out of the wood?"
"Not half-an-hour more, sir, I should think; even before that, perhaps."
"What do you expect to find, Ready?"
"That's a difficult question to answer. I can tell you what I hope to find, which is, a good space of clear ground between the beach and the wood, where we may pasture our sheep and goats; and perhaps we may find some other trees besides cocoa-nuts: at present, you know, we have seen only them and the castor-oil beans, that Tommy took such a dose of. You see, William, there is no saying what new seeds may have been brought here by birds, or by the winds and waves."
"But will those seeds grow?"
"Yes, William; I have been told that seeds may remain hundreds of years under-ground, and come up afterwards when exposed to the heat."
They continued their way, and had not walked for more than a quarter of an hour, when William cried out, "I see the blue sky, Ready; we shall soon be out; and glad shall I be, for my arm aches with chopping."
"I dare say it does, sir. I am just as glad as you are, for I'm tired of marking the trees; however, we must continue to mark, or we shall not find our way back when we want it."
In ten minutes more they were clear of the cocoa-nut grove, and found themselves among brushwood higher than their heads; so that they could not see how far they were from the shore.
"Well," said William, throwing down his hatchet, "I'm glad that's over; now let us sit down a little before we go any further."
"I'm of your opinion, sir," replied Ready, sitting down by the side of William; "I feel more tired to-day than I did when we first went through the wood, after we set off from the cove. I suppose it's the weather. Come back, dogs; lie down."
"The weather is very fine, Ready."
"Yes, now it is; but I meant to have said that the rainy season is very trying to the health, and I suppose I have not recovered from it yet. You have had a regular fever, and, of course, do not feel strong; but a man may have no fever, and yet his health suffer a great deal from it. I am an old man, William, and feel these things now."
"I think that before we go on, Ready, we had better have our dinner; that will do us good."
"Well, we will take an early dinner, and we shall get rid of one bottle of water, at all events; indeed, I think that, as we must go back by the same way we came, we may as well leave our knapsacks and everything but our guns under these trees; I dare say we shall sleep here too, for I told Mr. Seagrave positively not to expect us back to-night. I did not like to say so before your mother, she is so anxious about you."
They opened their knapsacks, and made their meal, the two dogs coming in for their share; after which they again started on their discoveries. For about ten minutes they continued to force their way through the thick and high bushes, till at last they broke out clear of them, and then looked around them for a short time without speaking. The sea was about half a mile distant, and the intervening land was clear, with fresh blades of grass just bursting out of the earth, composing a fine piece of pasture of at least fifty acres, here and there broken with small patches of trees and brushwood; there was no sandy beach, but the rocks rose from the sea about twenty to thirty feet high, and were in one or two places covered with something which looked as white as snow.
"Well, Ready," said William, "there will be no want of pasture for our flock, even if it increases to ten times its number."
"No," replied Ready, "we are very fortunate, and have great reason to be thankful; this is exactly what we required; and now let us go on a little, and examine these patches of wood, and see what they are. I see a bright green leaf out there, which, if my eyes do not fail me, I have seen many a time before." When they arrived at the clump of trees which Ready had pointed out, he said, "Yes, I was right. Look there, this is the banana; it is just bursting out now, and will soon be ten feet high, and bearing fruit which is excellent eating; besides which the stem is capital fodder for the beasts."
"Here is a plant I never saw before," said William, pulling off a piece of it, and showing it to Ready.
"But I have, William. It is what they call the bird's-eye pepper; they make Cayenne pepper out of it. Look, the pods are just formed; it will be useful to us in cooking, as we have no pepper left. You see, William, we must have some birds on the island; at least it is most probable, for all the seeds of these plants and trees must have been brought here by them. The banana and the pepper are the food of many birds. What a quantity of bananas are springing up in this spot; there will be a little forest of them in a few weeks."
"What is that rough-looking sort of shrub out there, Ready?"
"I can't see so well as you, William, so let us walk up to it. Oh, I know it now; it is what they call the prickly pear in the West Indies. I am very glad to have found that, for it will be very useful to us."
"Is it good eating, Ready?"
"Not particularly; and the little spikes run into your fingers, and are very difficult to get rid of; but it is not bad by way of a change. No, the use it will be to us is to hedge in our garden, and protect it from the animals; it makes a capital fence, and grows very fast, and without trouble. Now let us go on to that patch of trees, and see what they are."
"What is this plant, Ready?"
"I don't know, William."
"Then I think I had better make a collection of all those you don't know, and take them back to father; he is a good botanist."
William pulled a branch of the plant off, and carried it with him. On their arrival at the next patch of trees, Ready looked at them steadfastly for some time.
"I ought to know that tree," said he. "I have often seen it in hot countries. Yes, it's the guava."
"What! is it the fruit they make guava jelly of?" said William.
"Yes, the very same."
"Let us now walk in the direction of those five or six trees," said William; "and from there down to the rocks; I want to find out how it is that they are so white."
"Be it so, if you wish," replied Ready.
"Why, Ready, what noise is that? Hark! such a chattering, it must be monkeys."
"No, they are not monkeys; but I'll tell you what they are, although I cannot see them; they are parrots - I know their noise well. You see, William, it's not very likely that monkeys should get here, but birds can, and it is the birds that we have to thank for the bananas and guavas, and other fruits we may find here."
As soon as they came under the trees, there was a great rioting and fluttering, and then away flew, screaming as loud as they could, a flock of about three hundred parrots, their beautiful green and blue feathers glistening in the beams of the sun.
"I told you so; well, we'll have some capital pies out of them,William."
"Pies! do they make good pies, Ready?"
"Yes, excellent; and very often have I had a good dinner from one in the West Indies, and in South America. Stop, let us come a little this way; I see a leaf which I should like to examine."
"The ground is very swampy just here, Ready; is it not?"
"Yes; there's plenty of water below, I don't doubt. So much the better for the animals; we must dig some pools when they come here.
"Oh! I thought I was not wrong. Look! this is the best thing I have found yet - we now need not care so much about potatoes."
"Why, what are they, Ready?"
"Yams, which they use instead of potatoes in the West Indies. Indeed, potatoes do not remain potatoes long, when planted in hot climates."
"How do you mean, Ready?"
"They turn into what they call sweet-potatoes, after one or two crops: yams are better things, in my opinion."
At this moment the dogs dashed among the broad yam leaves, and commenced baying; there was a great rustling and snorting.
"What's that?" cried William, who had been stooping down to examine the yam plant, and who was startled at the noise.
Ready laughed heartily. "It isn't the first time that they've made you jump, William."
"Why, it's our pigs, isn't it?" replied William.
"To be sure; they're in the yam patch, very busy feeding on them, I'll be bound."
Ready gave a shout, and a grunting and rushing were heard among the broad leaves, and, very soon, out rushed, instead of the six, about thirty pigs large and small; who, snorting and twisting their tails, galloped away at a great rate, until they gained the cocoa-nut grove.
"How wild they are, Ready!" said William.
"Yes, and they'll be wilder every day; but we must fence these yams from them, or we shall get none ourselves."
"But they'll beat down the fence before it grows up."
"We must pale it with cocoa-nut palings, and plant the prickly pears outside. Now, we'll go down to the sea-side."
As they neared the rocks, which were bare for about fifty yards from the water's edge, Ready said, "I can tell you now what those white patches on the rocks are, William; they are the places where the sea-birds come to every year to make their nests, and bring up their young. They always come to the same place every year, if they are not disturbed." They soon arrived at the spot, and found it white with the feathers of birds, mixed up with dirt.
"I see no nests, Ready, nor the remains of any."
"No, they do not make any nests, further than scratching a round hole, about half an inch deep, in the soil, and there they lay their eggs, sitting quite close to one another; they will soon be here, and begin to lay, and then we will come and take the eggs, if we want any, for they are not bad eating."
"Why, Ready, what a quantity of good things we have found out already!This has been a very fortunate expedition of ours."
"Yes, it has; and we may thank God for his goodness, who thus provides for us so plentifully in the wilderness."
"Do you know, Ready, I cannot help thinking that we ought to have built our house here."
"Not so, William; we have not the pure water, recollect, and we have not the advantages of the sandy beach, where we have our turtle- and fish-pond. No; we may feed our stock here; we may gather the fruit, taking our share of it with the poor birds; we may get our yams, and every other good provided for us; but our house and home must be where it is now."
"You are right, Ready; but it will be a long walk."
"Not when we are accustomed to it, and have made a beaten path; besides, we may bring the boat round, perhaps."
Then they walked along the sea-side for about a quarter of a mile, until they came to where the rocks were not so high, and there they discovered a little basin, completely formed in the rocks, with a narrow entrance.
"See, William, what a nice little harbour for our boat! we may here load it with yams and take it round to the bay, provided we can find an entrance through the reefs on the southern side of it, which we have not looked for yet, because we have not required it."
"Yes, Ready - it is, indeed, a nice, smooth little place for the boat. What is that thing on the bottom, there?" said William, pointing in the direction.
"That is a sea crawfish, quite as good eating as a lobster. I wonder if I could make a lobster-pot; we should catch plenty, and very good they are."
"And what are those little rough things on the rock?"
"They are a very nice little sort of oyster; not like those we have inEngland, but much better - they are so delicate."
"Why, Ready, we have two more good things for our table, again," replied William; "how rich we shall be!"
"Yes; but we have to catch them, recollect: there is nothing to be had in this world without labour."
"Ready," said William, "we have good three hours' daylight; suppose we go back and tell what we have seen: my mother will be so glad to see us."
"I agree with you, William. We have done well for one day; and may safely go back again, and remain for another week. There are no fruits at present, and all I care about are the yams; I should like to protect them from the pigs. But let us go home and talk the matter over with Mr. Seagrave."
They found out the spot where they had left their knapsacks and hatchets, and again took their path through the cocoa-nut trees, following the blaze which they had made in the morning. One hour before sunset they arrived at the house, where they found Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave sitting outside, and Juno standing on the beach with the two children, who were amusing themselves with picking up the shells which were strewed about. William gave a very clear account of all they had seen, and showed his father the specimens of the plants which he had collected.
"This," said Mr. Seagrave, "is a well-known plant; and I wonder Ready did not recognize it; it is hemp."
"I never saw it except in the shape of rope," replied Ready. "I know the seed well enough."
"Well, if we require it, I can tell you how to dress it," replied Mr.Seagrave. "Now, William, what is the next?"
"This odd-looking, rough thing."
"That's the egg-plant: it bears fruit of a blue colour. I am told they eat it in the hot countries."
"Yes, sir, they do; they fry it with pepper and salt; they call it bringal. I think it must be that."
"I do not doubt but you are right," replied Mr. Seagrave. "Why,William, you should know this."
"It is like the grape-vine."
"Yes, and it is so; it is the wild grape; we shall eat them by and bye."
"I have only one more, papa: what is this?"
"You don't know it, because it has sprung up so high, William; but it is the common mustard plant, - what we use in England, and is sold as mustard and cress. I think you have now made a famous day's work of it; and we have much to thank God for."
As soon as they had returned to the house, a consultation was held as to their future proceedings; and, after some debate, it was agreed that it would be advisable that they should take the boat out of the sand; and, as soon as it was ready, examine the reef on the southward, to see if they could find a passage through it, as it would take a long while to go round it; and, as soon as that was accomplished, Mr. Seagrave, Ready, William, and Juno should all go through the wood, carrying with them a tent to pitch on the newly-discovered piece of ground: and that they should set up a flag-staff at the little harbour, to point out its position. Of course, that would be a hard day's work; but that they would, nevertheless, return the same night, and not leave Mrs. Seagrave alone with the children. Having accomplished this, Ready and William would then put the wheels and axle in the boat, and other articles required, such as saw, hatchets, and spades, and row round to the south side of the island, to find the little harbour. As soon as they had landed them, and secured the boat, they would then return by the path through the wood.
The next job would be to rail in the yam plantation to keep off the pigs, and, at the same time, to drive the sheep and goats through the wood, that they might feed on the new pasture ground. Ready and William were then to cut down cocoa-nut trees sufficient for the paling, fix up the posts, and when that was done, Mr. Seagrave was to come to them and assist them in railing it in, and drawing the timber. This they expected would be all done in about a month; and during that time, as Mrs. Seagrave and Juno would be, for the greatest part of it, left at the house, they were to employ themselves in clearing the garden of weeds, and making preparation for fencing it in.
As soon as this important work had been completed, the boat would return to the bay with a load of prickly pears for the garden fence, and then they were to direct their attention to the stores which had been saved from the wreck, and were lying in the cove where they had first landed. When they had examined them, and brought round what were required, and secured them in the storehouse, they would then have a regular survey of the island by land and by water. But man proposes and God disposes, as will be shown by the interruption of their intended projects which we shall have to narrate in the ensuing chapter.
As usual, Ready was the first up on the following morning, and having greeted Juno, who followed him out of the house, he set off on his accustomed rounds, to examine into the stock and their other possessions. He was standing in the garden at the point. First he thought that it would be necessary to get ready some sticks for the peas, which were now seven or eight inches out of the ground; he had proceeded a little farther, to where the calivances, or French haricot beans, had been sown, and had decided upon the propriety of hoeing up the earth round them, as they were a very valuable article of food, that would keep, and afford many a good dish during the rainy or winter season. He had gone on to ascertain if the cucumber seeds had shown themselves above-ground, and was pleased to find that they were doing well. He said to himself, "We have no vinegar, that I know of, but we can preserve them in salt and water, as they do in Russia; it will be a change, at all events;" and then he raised his eyes and looked out to the offing, and, as usual, scanned the horizon. He thought he saw a ship to the north-east, and he applied his telescope to his eye. He was not mistaken - it was a vessel.
The old man's heart beat quick; he dropped his telescope on his arm, and fetched some heavy breaths before he could recover from the effect of this unexpected sight. After a minute, he again put his telescope to his eye, and then made her out to be a brig, under top-sails and top-gallant sails, steering directly for the island.
Ready walked to the rocky point, from which they fished, and sat down to reflect. Could it be that the vessel had been sent after them, or that she had by mere chance come among the islands? He decided after a short time that it must be chance, for none could know that they were saved, much less that they were on the island. Her steering towards the island must then be either that she required water or something else; perhaps she would alter her course and pass by them. "At all events," thought the old man, "we are in the hands of God, who will, at his own time and in his own way, do with us as he thinks fit. I will not at present say anything to Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave. It would be cruel to raise hopes which might end in disappointment. A few hours will decide. And yet I cannot do without help - I must trust William."
Ready rose, examined the vessel with his telescope, and then walked towards the house. William was up, and the remainder of the family were stirring.
"William," said Ready to him, as they walked away from the house, "I have a secret to tell you, which you will at once see the necessity of not telling to anyone at present. A few hours will decide the question." William readily gave his promise. "There is a vessel off the island; she may be the means of rescuing us, or she may pass without seeing us. It would be too cruel a disappointment to your father and mother, if the latter were the case."
William stared at Ready, and for a moment could not speak, his excitement was so great.
"Oh, Ready, how grateful I am! I trust that we may he taken away, for you have no idea how my poor father suffers in silence - and so does my mother."
"I know it, William, I know it, and it is natural; they do their best to control their yearnings, and they can do no more. But now we must be quick, and at work before breakfast. But stop, I will show you the vessel."
Ready caught the vessel in the field of the telescope, which he leant against the trunk of a cocoa-nut, and William put his eye to the glass.
"Do you see her?"
"Oh yes, Ready, and she is coming this way."
"Yes, she is steering right for the island. I will put the telescope down here, and we will go about our work."
William and Ready went to the storehouse for the axe. Ready selected a very slight cocoa-nut tree nearest to the beach, which he cut down, and as soon as the top was taken off with the assistance of William he carried it down to the point.
"Now, William, go for a shovel and dig a hole here, that we may fix it up as a flag-staff. When all is ready, I will go for a small block and some rope for halyards to hoist up the flags as soon as the vessel is likely to see them. At breakfast-time, I shall propose that you and I get the boat out of the sand and examine her, and give Mr. Seagrave some work indoors."
"But the flags, Ready; they are round my mother's bed. How shall we get them?"
"Suppose I say that it is time that the house should be well cleaned, and that the canvas hangings of the beds should he taken out to be aired this fine day. Ask your father to take the direction of the work while we dig out the boat; that will employ them all inside the house."
"Yes, that will do, Ready."
During breakfast-time, Ready observed that he intended to get the boat out of the sand, and that William should assist him.
"And what am I to do, Ready?" said Mr. Seagrave.
"Why, sir, I think, now that the rains are over, it would not be a bad thing if we were to air bedding, as they say at sea; it is a fine, warm day; and if all the bedding was taken out of the house and well shaken, and then left out to air, it would be a very good job over; for you see, sir, I have thought more than once that the house does smell a little close."
"It will be a very good thing, Ready," observed Mrs. Seagrave; "and, at the same time, Juno and I will give the house a thorough cleaning and sweeping."
"Had we not better have the canvas screens down, and air them too?"
"Yes," replied Ready; "we had better air everything. We will assist in taking down the screens and flags, and spread them out to air, and then, if Mr. Seagrave has no objection, we will leave him to superintend and assist Madam and Juno."
"With all my heart," replied Mr. Seagrave. "We have done breakfast, and will begin as soon as you please."
Ready and William took down the canvas screens and flags, and went out of the cottage with them; they spread out the canvas at some distance from the house, and then William went down to the beach with the flags, while Ready procured the block and small rope to hoist them up with.
Ready's stratagem answered well. Without being perceived by those in the cottage, the flag-staff was raised, and fixed in the ground, and the flags all ready for hoisting; then Ready and William returned to the fuel-stack, and each carried down as much stuff as they could hold, that they might make a smoke to attract the notice of those on board of the vessel. All this did not occupy much more than an hour, during which the brig continued her course steadily towards the island. When Ready first saw her the wind was light, but latterly the breeze had increased very much, and at last the brig took in her top-gallant sails. The horizon behind the vessel, which had been quite clear, was now banked up with clouds, and the waves curled in white foam over the reefs of rocks extending from the island.
"The breeze is getting up strong, William," said Ready, "and she will soon be down, if she is not frightened at the reefs, which she can see plainer now the water is rough, than she could before."
"I trust she will not be afraid," replied William. "How far do you think she is off now?"
"About five miles; not more. The wind has hauled round more to the southward, and it is banking up fast, I see. I fear that we shall have another smart gale; however, it won't last long. Come, let us hoist the flags; we must not lose a chance; the flags will blow nice and clear for them to see them."
William and Ready hoisted up the ensign first, and below it the flag, with the ship's name, Pacific, in large letters upon it. "Now then," said Ready, as he made fast the halyards, "let us strike a light and make a smoke; that will attract their notice."
As soon as the cocoa-nut leaves were lighted, Ready and William threw water upon them, so as to damp them and procure a heavy column of smoke. The vessel approached rapidly, and they were watching her in silent suspense, when they perceived Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave, Juno carrying Albert, with Tommy and Caroline running down as fast as they could to the beach. The fact was, that Tommy, tired of work, had gone out of the house and walked towards the beach; there he perceived, first, the flags hoisted, and then he detected the vessel off the island. He immediately ran back to the house, crying out, "Papa! Mamma! Captain Osborn come back - come back in a big ship." At this announcement, Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave ran out of the house, perceived the vessel and the flags flying, and ran as fast as they could down to where William and Ready were standing by the flag-staff.
"Oh! Ready, why did you not tell us this before?" exclaimed Mr.Seagrave.
"I wish you had not known it now, sir," replied Ready; "but, however, it can't be helped; it was done out of kindness, Mr. Seagrave."
"Yes, indeed it was, papa."
Mrs. Seagrave dropped down on the rock, and burst into tears. Mr.Seagrave was equally excited.
"Does she see us, Ready?" exclaimed he at last.
"No, sir, not yet, and I waited till she did, before I made it known to you," replied Ready.
"She is altering her course, Ready," said William.
"Yes, sir, she has hauled to the wind; she is afraid of coming too near to the reefs."
"Surely she is not leaving us!" exclaimed Mrs. Seagrave.
"No, madam; but she does not see us yet."
"She does! she does!" cried William, throwing up his hat; "see, she hoists her ensign."
"Very true, sir; she does see us. Thanks be to God!"
Mr. Seagrave embraced his wife, who threw herself sobbing into his arms, kissed his children with rapture, and wrung old Ready's hand. He was almost frantic with joy. William was equally delighted.
As soon as they were a little more composed, Ready observed: "Mr. Seagrave, that they have seen us is certain, and what we must now do is to get our own boat out of the sand. We know the passage through the reefs, and they do not. I doubt if they will, however, venture to send a boat on shore, until the wind moderates a little. You see, sir, it is blowing up very strong just now."
"But you don't think it will blow harder, Ready?"
"I am sorry to say, sir, that I do. It looks very threatening to the southward, and until the gale is over, they will not venture near an island so surrounded with rocks. It would be very imprudent if they did. However, sir, a few hours will decide."
"But, surely," said Mrs. Seagrave, "even if it does blow, they will not leave the island without taking us off. They will come after the gale is over."
"Yes, madam, if they can, I do think they will; but God knows, some men have hard hearts, and feel little for the misery of others."
The brig had, in the meantime, kept away again, as if she was running in; but very soon afterwards she hauled to the wind, with her head to the northward, and stood away from the island.
"She is leaving us," exclaimed William, mournfully.
"Hard-hearted wretches!" said Mr. Seagrave, with indignation.
"You are wrong to say that, sir," replied Ready: "excuse me, Mr. Seagrave, for being so bold; but the fact is, that if I was in command of that vessel, I should do just as they have done. The gale rises fast, and it would be very dangerous for them to remain where they now are. It does not at all prove that they intend to leave us; they but consult their own safety, and, when the gale is over, we shall, I trust, see them again."
No reply was made to Ready's judicious remarks. The Seagraves only saw that the vessel was leaving them, and their hearts sank. They watched her in silence, and as she gradually diminished to the view, so did their hopes depart from them. The wind was now fierce, and a heavy squall, with rain, obscured the offing, and the vessel was no longer to be distinguished. Mr. Seagrave turned to his wife, and mournfully offered her his arm. They walked away from the beach without speaking; the remainder of the party, with the exception of old Ready, followed them. Ready remained some time with his eyes in the direction where the vessel was last seen. At last he hauled down the ensign and flag, and, throwing them over his shoulder, followed the disconsolate party to the house.
When Ready arrived, he found them all plunged in such deep distress, that he did not consider it advisable to say anything. The evening closed in; it was time to retire. The countenance of Mr. Seagrave was not only gloomy, but morose. The hour for retiring to rest had long passed when Ready broke the silence by saying, "Surely, you do not intend to sit up all night, Mr. Seagrave?"
"Oh, no! there's no use sitting up now," replied Mr. Seagrave, rising up impatiently. "Come, my dear, let us go to bed."
Mrs. Seagrave rose, and retired behind the canvas screen. Her husband seemed as if he was about to follow her, when Ready, without speaking, laid the Bible on the table before him. Mr. Seagrave did not appear to notice it; but William touched his father's arm, pointed to the book, and then went inside of the screen, and led out his mother.
"God forgive me!" exclaimed Mr. Seagrave. "In my selfishness and discontent I had forgotten—"
"Yes, sir, you had forgotten those words, `Come unto me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'"
"I am ashamed of myself," said Mrs. Seagrave, bursting into tears.
Mr. Seagrave opened the Bible, and read the psalm. As soon as he had closed the book, "good night" were all the words that passed, and they all retired to rest.
During the night, the wind howled and the rain beat down. The children slept soundly, but Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave, Ready, and William were awake during the whole of the night, listening to the storm, and occupied with their own thoughts.
Ready was dressed before daylight, and out on the beach before the sun had risen. The gale was at its height; and after a careful survey with his telescope, he could see nothing of the vessel. He remained on the beach till breakfast-time, when he was summoned by William, and returned to the house. He found Mr. and Mrs. Seagrave up, and more composed than they were the evening before; and they welcomed him warmly.
"I fear, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave, "that you have no good news for us."
"No, sir; nor can you expect any good news until after the gale is over. The vessel could not remain here during the gale - that is certain; and there is no saying what the effects of the gale may be. She may lie to, and not be far from us when the gale is over; or she may be obliged to scud before the gale, and run some hundred miles from us. Then comes the next chance. I think, by her running for the island, that she was short of water; the question is, then, whether she may not find it necessary to run for the port she is bound to, or water at some other place. A captain of a vessel is bound to do his best for the owners. At the same time I do think, that if she can with propriety come back for us she will. The question is, first, whether she can; and, secondly, whether the captain is a humane man, and will do so at his own inconvenience."
"There is but poor comfort in all that," replied Mr. Seagrave.
"It is useless holding out false hopes, sir," replied Ready; "but even if the vessel continues her voyage, we have much to be thankful for."
"In what, Ready?"
"Why, sir, no one knew whether we were in existence or not, and probably we never should have been searched for; but now we have made it known, and by the ship's name on the flag they know who we are, and, if they arrive safe in port, will not fail to communicate the intelligence to your friends. Is not that a great deal to be thankful for? We may not be taken off by this vessel, but we have every hope that another will be sent out to us."
"Very true, Ready; I ought to have seen that before; but my despair and disappointment were yesterday so great, that it almost took away my reason."
The gale continued during the day, and showed no symptoms of abatement, when they again retired for the night. The following day Ready was up early, as usual, and William accompanied him to the beach.
"I don't think that it blows so hard as it did, Ready."
"No, William, it does not; the gale is breaking, and by night, I have no doubt, will be over. It is, however, useless looking for the vessel, as she must be a long way from this. It would take her a week, perhaps, to come back to us if she was to try to do so, unless the wind should change to the northward or westward."
"Ready! Ready!" exclaimed William, pointing to the south-east part of the reef; "what is that? Look! it's a boat."
Ready put his telescope to his eye. "It's a canoe, William, and there are people in it."
"Why, where can they have come from? See! they are among the breakers; they will be lost. Let us go towards them, Ready."
They hastened along the beach to the spot nearest to where the canoe was tossing on the surf, and watched it as it approached the shore.
"William, this canoe must have been blown off from the large island, which lies out there;" and Ready again looked through his telescope: "there are two people in it, and they are islanders. Poor things! they struggle hard for their lives, and seem much exhausted; but they have passed through the most dangerous part of the reef."
"Yes," replied William, "they will soon be in smoother water; but the surf on the beach is very heavy."
"They won't mind that, if their strength don't fail them - they manage the canoe beautifully."
During this conversation the canoe had rapidly come towards the land. In a moment or two afterwards, it passed through the surf and grounded on the beach. The two people in it had just strength enough left to paddle through the surf, and then they dropped down in the bottom of the canoe, quite exhausted.
"Let's drag the canoe higher up, William. Poor creatures! they are nearly dead."
While dragging it up, Ready observed that the occupants were both women: their faces were tattooed all over; otherwise they were young, and might have been good-looking.
"Shall I run up and get something for them, Ready?"
"Do, William; ask Juno to give you some of whatever there is for breakfast; anything warm."
William soon returned with some thin oatmeal porridge, which Juno had been preparing for breakfast; and a few spoonfuls being forced down the throats of the two natives they gradually revived. William then left Ready, and went up to acquaint his father and mother with this unexpected event.
William soon returned with Mr. Seagrave, and as the women were now able to sit up, they hauled up the canoe as far as they could, to prevent her being beat to pieces. They found nothing in the canoe, except a piece of matting and the two paddles which had been used by the natives.
"You see, sir," said Ready, "it is very clear that these two poor women, having been left in charge of the canoe, have been blown off from the shore of one of the islands to the south-east; they must have been contending with the gale ever since the day before yesterday, and, as it appears, without food or water. It's a mercy that they gained this island."
"It is so," replied Mr. Seagrave; "but to tell the truth, I am not over pleased at their arrival. It proves what we were not sure of before, that we have very near neighbours, who may probably pay us a very unwelcome visit."
"That may be, sir," replied Ready; "still these two poor creatures being thrown on shore here does not make the matter worse, or the danger greater. Perhaps it may turn to our advantage; for if these women learn to speak English before any other islanders visit us, they will interpret for us, and be the means, perhaps, of saving our lives."
"Would their visit be so dangerous, then, Ready?"
"Why, sir, a savage is a savage, and, like a child, wishes to obtain whatever he sees; especially he covets what he may turn to use, such as iron, &c. If they came, and we concealed a portion, and gave up the remainder of our goods, we might escape; but still there is no trusting to them, and I would infinitely prefer defending ourselves against numbers to trusting to their mercy."
"But how can we defend ourselves against a multitude?"
"We must be prepared, sir: if we can fortify ourselves, with our muskets we would be more than a match for hundreds."
Mr. Seagrave turned away. After a pause he said, "It is not very pleasant to be now talking of defending ourselves against savages, when we hoped two days ago to be leaving the island. Oh, that that brig would make its appearance again!"
"The wind is going down fast, sir," observed Ready; "it will be fine weather before the evening. We may look out for her; at all events, for the next week I shall not give up all hopes."
"A whole week, Ready! Alas! how true it is, that hope deferred maketh the heart sick."
"It is a severe trial, Mr. Seagrave; but we must submit when we are chastened. We had better get these poor creatures up to the house, and let them recover themselves."
Ready then beckoned to them to get on their feet, which they both did, although with some difficulty. He then went in advance, making a sign for them to follow; they understood him, and made the attempt, but were so weak, that they would have fallen if they had not been supported by Mr. Seagrave and William.
It required a long time for them to arrive at the house. Mrs. Seagrave, who knew what had happened, received them very kindly, and Juno had a mess ready, which she put before them. They ate a little and then lay down, and were soon sound asleep.
"It is fortunate for us that they are women," observed Mr. Seagrave: "we should have had great difficulty had they been men."
"Yes, sir," replied Ready; "but still we must not trust women too much at first, for they are savages."
"Where shall we put them to-night, Ready?"
"Why, sir, I have been thinking about that. I wish we had a shed close to us; but as we have not, we must let them sleep in the storehouse."
We must now pass over a space of fifteen days, in which there was nothing done. The expectation of the vessel returning was still alive, although each day decreased these hopes. Every morning Ready and William were at the beach with the telescope, and the whole of the day was passed in surmises, hopes, and fears. In fact, the appearance of the vessel and the expectation of leaving the island had completely overturned all the regularity and content of our island party. No other subject was broached - not any of the work proposed was begun, as it was useless to do anything if they were to leave the island. After the first week had passed, they felt that every day their chances were more adverse, and at the end of the fortnight all hopes were very unwillingly abandoned.
The Indian women had, in the meantime, recovered their fatigues, and appeared to be very mild and tractable. Whatever they were able to do, they did cheerfully, and had already gained a few words of English. The party to explore was again talked over, and arranged for the following Monday, when a new misfortune fell on them, which disconcerted all their arrangements.
On the Saturday morning, when Ready, as usual, went his rounds, as he walked along the beach, he perceived that the Indian canoe was missing. It had been hauled up clear of the water, so that it could not have floated away. Ready's heart misgave him; he looked through his telescope in the direction of the large island, and thought he could distinguish a speck on the water at a great distance. As he was thus occupied, William came down to him.
"William," said Ready, "I fear those island women have escaped in their canoe. Run up, and see if they are in the outhouse, or anywhere else, and let me know as soon as you can."
William in a few minutes returned, breathless, stating that the women were not to be found, and that they had evidently carried away with them a quantity of the large nails and other pieces of iron which were in the small kegs in the storehouse.
"This is bad, William; this is worse than the vessel not coming back."
"Why, we can do without them, Ready."
"Yes; but when they get back to their own people, and show them the iron they have brought with them, and describe how much more there is to be had, depend upon it, we shall have a visit from them in numbers, that they may obtain more. I ought to have known better than to leave the canoe here. We must go and consult with Mr. Seagrave, for the sooner we begin to work now, the better."
They communicated the intelligence to Mr. Seagrave when they were outside. He at once perceived their danger, so they held a council, and came to the following resolutions:—
That it would be necessary that they should immediately stockade the storehouse, so as to render it impossible for any one to get in; and that, as soon as the fortification was complete, the storehouse should be turned into their dwelling-house; and such stores as could not be put within the stockade should be removed to their present house, or concealed in the cocoa-nut grove.
It was decided that nothing should be begun on that day, Saturday; that Sunday should be spent in devout prayer for help and encouragement from the Almighty, who would do towards them as his wisdom should ordain; and that on Monday, with the blessing of God, they would recommence their labour.
"I don't know why, but I feel more courage now that there is a prospect of danger, than I felt when there was little or none," said Mrs. Seagrave.
"How little do we know what the day may bring forth!" exclaimed Mr. Seagrave. "How joyful were our anticipations when the vessel hoisted her colours! we felt sure that we were to be taken off the island. The same gale that drove the vessel away brought down to us the island women. The fair weather after the gale, which we hoped would have brought back the vessel to our succour, on the contrary enabled the women to escape in the canoe, and make known our existence to those who may come to destroy us. How true it is that man plans in vain; and that it is only by the Almighty will and pleasure that he can obtain his ends!"
But although they resolved as stated in the last chapter, nothing was done. Finally, one morning at sunrise, as they were looking round with the telescope, close to the turtle-pond, Masterman Ready said to Mr. Seagrave, "Indeed, sir, we must no longer remain in this state of idleness; I have been thinking a great deal of our present position and prospects; as to the vessel coming back, we must, at present, give up all hopes of it. I only wish that we were quite as sure that we shall not have a visit from the savages: that is my great fear, and it really haunts me; the idea of our being surprised some night, and Mrs. Seagrave and the dear children, perhaps, murdered in their beds, is awful to reflect upon."
"God help us!" exclaimed Mr. Seagrave, covering up his face.
"God will help us, Mr. Seagrave, but at the same time it is necessary that we should help ourselves; he will give his blessing to our exertions, but we cannot expect that miracles will be performed for us; and if we remain as we now are, inactive, and taking no steps to meet the danger which threatens us, we cannot expect the divine assistance. We have had a heavy shock, but it is now time that we recover from it, and put our own shoulders to the wheel."
"I agree with you, Ready," replied William; "indeed I have been thinking the same thing for many days past."
"We have all been thinking of it, I believe," said Mr. Seagrave; "I'm sure I have lain awake night after night, considering our position and what we ought to do, but I have never been able to come to any satisfactory resolution."
"No more have I till last night, Mr. Seagrave, but I think that I have now something to propose which, perhaps, will meet with your approval," replied Ready; "so now, sir, suppose we hold another council, and come to a decision."
"I am most willing, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave, sitting down upon a rock; "and as you are the oldest, and moreover the best adviser of the three, we will first hear what you have to propose."
"Well then, Mr. Seagrave, it appears to me that it will not do to remain in the house, for we may, as I have said, be surprised by the savages at any hour in the night, and we have no means of defence against numbers."
"I feel that, and have felt it for some time," replied Mr. Seagrave."What shall we do, then; shall we return to the cove?"
"I should think not, sir," said Ready; "what I propose is this: we have made a discovery on the south of the island, which is of great importance to us; not that I consider the fruit and other plants of any great value, as they will only serve to increase our luxuries, if I may so call them, during the summer season. One great advantage to us, is the feed which we have found for our live stock, and the fodder for them during the rainy season; but principally, the patch of yams, which will afford us food during the winter. They are of great importance to us, and we cannot too soon protect them from the pigs, which will certainly root them all up, if we do not prevent them. Now, sir, you know what we had arranged to do, but which we have not done; I think the cocoa-nut rails will take too much time, and it will be sufficient to make a ditch and hedge round the yams; but it will be very tedious if we are to go backwards and forwards to do the work, and Mrs. Seagrave and the children will be left alone. I therefore propose, as the weather is now set in fair, and will remain so for months, that we pitch our tents on that part of the island, and remove the whole family there; we shall soon be very comfortable, and at all events much safer there than if we remain here, without any defence,"
"It is an excellent plan, Ready; we shall, as you say, be removed from danger for the time, and when there, we may consider what we had best do by and by."
"Yes, sir. Those women may not have gained the other island, it is true, for they had the wind right against them for several days after they went away in the canoe, and, moreover, the current sets strong this way; but if they have, we must expect that the savages will pay us a visit; they will, of course, come direct to the house, if they do come."
"But, Ready, you don't mean to say that we are to leave this side of the island altogether, and all our comfortable arrangements?" said William.
"No, William, not altogether; for now I come to the second part of my proposition. As soon as we have done our work at the yam plantation, and made everything as comfortable there as we can, I think we may then leave Mrs. Seagrave and the children in the tents, and work here, As we before agreed, let us abandon the house in which we live at present, and fit out the outhouse which is concealed in the cocoa-nut grove, as a dwelling-house, and fortify it so as to be secure against any sudden attack of the savages: for, return here we must, to live, as we cannot remain in the tents after the rainy season sets in."
"How do you propose to fortify it, Ready?" said Mr. Seagrave; "I hardly know."
"That I will explain to you by and by, sir. Then, if the savages come here, at all events we should be able to defend ourselves with fire-arms; one man behind a stockade is better than twenty who have no other arms but spears and clubs; and we may, with the help of God, beat them off."
"I think your plan is excellent, Ready," said Mr. Seagrave, "and that the sooner we begin, the better."
"That there is no doubt of, sir. Now, the first job is for William and me to try for the passage through this side of the reef with the boat, and then we will look for the little harbour which we discovered; as soon as that is done, we will return and take the tents and all we require round in the boat, and when we have pitched the tents and all is arranged, Mrs. Seagrave and the children can walk through the wood with us, and take possession."
"Let us not lose an hour, Ready; we have lost too much time already," replied Mr. Seagrave. "What shall we do to-day?"
"After breakfast, William and I will take the boat, and try for the passage. You can remain here, packing up the tents and such articles as must first be carried round. We shall be back, I hope, by dinner-time."
They then rose, and walked towards the house; all felt relieved in their minds, after they had made this arrangement, satisfied that they would be using all human endeavours to ward off the danger which threatened them, and might then put their confidence in that Providence who would, if he thought fit, protect them in their need.
The subject was introduced to Mrs. Seagrave, while they were at breakfast, and as she perceived how much more secure they would be, she cheerfully consented. In less than an hour afterwards, William and Ready had prepared the boat, and were pulling out among the rocks of the reef to find a passage, which, after a short time, and by keeping two or three cables from the point, they succeeded in doing.
"This is very fortunate, William," observed Ready; "but we must now take some marks to find our way in again. See, the large black rock is on a line with the garden point: so, if we keep them in one, we shall know that we are in the proper channel; and now for a mark abreast of us, to find out when we enter it."
"Why, Ready, the corner of the turtle-pond just touches the right wall of the house," replied William.
"So it does; that will do; and now let us pull away as hard as we can, so as to be back in good time."
They soon were on the south side of the island, and pulling up along the shore.
"How far do you think that it is by water, Ready?"
"I hardly know; but at least four or five miles, so we must make up our minds to a good hour's pull. At all events, we shall sail back again with this wind, although there is but little of it."
"We are in very deep water now," observed William, after a long silence.
"Yes, on this side of the island we must expect it; the coral grows to leeward only. I think that we cannot be very far from the little harbour we discovered. Suppose we leave off rowing for a minute, and look about us."
"There are two rocks close to the shore, Ready," said William, pointing, "and you recollect there were two or three rocks outside of the harbour."
"Very true, William, and I should not wonder if you have hit upon the very spot. Let us pull in."
They did so; and, to their satisfaction, found that they were in the harbour, where the water was as smooth as a pond.
"Now, then, William, we will step the mast, and sail back at our leisure."
"Stop one moment, Ready; give me the boat-hook. I see something between the clefts of the rocks."
Ready handed the boat-hook to William, who, lowering it down into the water, drove the spike of iron at the end of it into a large crayfish, which he hauled up into the boat.
"That will be an addition to our dinner," said Ready; "we do not go back empty-handed, and, therefore, as the saying is, we shall be more welcome; now, then, let us start, for we must pull here again this afternoon, and with a full cargo on board."
They stepped the mast, and as soon as they had pulled the boat clear of the harbour, set sail, and in less than an hour had rejoined the party at the house.
William had brought up the crayfish, which had only one claw, and Juno put on another pot of water to boil it, as an addition to the dinner, which was nearly ready. Tommy at first went with his sister Caroline to look at the animal, and as soon as he had left off admiring it, he began, as usual, to tease it; first he poked its eyes with a stick, then he tried to unfold his tail, but the animal flapped, and he ran away. At last he was trying to put his stick into the creature's mouth, when it raised its large claw, and caught him by the wrist, squeezing him so tight that Tommy screamed and danced about as the crayfish held on. Fortunately for him, the animal had been so long out of water, and had been so much hurt by the iron spike of the boat-hook, that it was more than half-dead, or he would have been severely hurt. Ready ran to him, and disengaged the crayfish; but Tommy was so frightened, that he took to his heels, and did not leave off running until he was one hundred yards from the house, while Juno and Ready were laughing at him till the tears came into their eyes. When he saw the crayfish on the table, he appeared to be afraid of it, although it was dead.
"Well, Tommy," said Mr. Seagrave, "I suppose you won't eat any of the crayfish?"
"Won't I?" replied Tommy. "I'll eat him, for he tried to eat me."
"Why did you not leave the animal alone, Tommy?" said Mr. Seagrave; "if you had not tormented it, it would not have bitten you; I don't know whether you ought to have any."
"I don't like it; I won't have any," replied Tommy. "I like salt pork better."
"Well, then, if you don't like it, you shall not have it forced upon you, Tommy," replied Mr. Seagrave; "so now we'll divide it among the rest of us."
Tommy was not very well pleased at this decision, for he really did wish to have some of it, so he turned very sulky for the rest of the dinner-time, especially when old Ready told him that he had had his share of the crayfish before dinner.