CHAPTERXX.
Good fortune does not always bring happiness.
This turn in my affairs, however, attractive from a Sargasson viewpoint, caused me heartache. The death of the good Kantoon had changed the whole current of my life. My marriage with Fidette, that I had counted upon to seal the promise of her father to have the command of my old ship at her moorings, not far distant, was the tie that now bound me absolutely to the Happy Shark. Without the potent influence of the dead commander, I could hardly hope, newcomer as I was, to be selected for the important trust I coveted.
The courage that I had shown during the attack of the boarding party had reconciled all the opposing factions to my leadership and command. If, indeed, I had lacked anything in spirit or ferocity, Fidette’s unexampled success with the mock oranges confirmed me in my position.
I would be associated with the other Commanders in the Seaweed Sea; would assemble and kneel with them around the Sacred Fire at the annual Guna-Gamus.
Participation in this solemn ceremonial was proof of social recognition beyond all certificates of character.
And yet, I was not happy.
Deep down in my heart, I had harbored treachery to the Sargassons. One of my constant dreams had beento regain possession of the Caribas, that I might repair her machinery, store her with dried seaweed and other drift, with which to feed her boilers long enough to get up steam and reclaim the lost ship for her owners.
My own release from the enforced detention did not excite my imagination nearly so much as the prospect of returning to the owners at Plymouth the property that they had intrusted to my care.
Torn by conflicting emotions of love and duty, I was the most miserable of men. I could not forget Fidette. Equally hard was it for me to overlook the countless kind acts that I had received from the Sargasson people. They had robbed me of my command; had dishonored me in my own eyes; but theirs was a novel piracy, so curious and interesting that I forgave the injustice to me.
Besides, there was much to be said in behalf of the Sargassons. Other nations, whose people are far more civilized, indulge in conquests, make war without due provocation, capture ships, burn towns and massacre innocent people. To the Sargassons, a constant accession of new ships and new blood is necessary. They are not a prolific people. From their point of view, any ship that strays or adventures within the limits of their domain is lawful prize. They make war upon no other part of the world! Their possessions are far out of the ordinary path of trade, and misfortune and foolishness are the only two excuses for an invasion of Sargasso. It is true, they are merciless and cruel. In their battles they neither give nor accept quarter; but such is the Draconian law they practice against each other.
It is perfectly natural that they should discountenance the escape of any adventurer who may have become possessed of the secret of their existence.
Every ship in Sargasso is a treasure house, loaded with the salvage of derelicts from every quarter of the habitable globe. No government to-day in existence,recognizes the rights of the Sargassons. The limits of their strangely organized republic are undefined. Like the Numancians of old, they perish by self-destruction rather than surrender to external foes. Sleeping or waking, each member of a ship’s company exists only at the mercy of the Kantoon who commands the craft.
The bottom of every ship is a honeycomb of holes, the plugs in which can be drawn by means of chains leading to the Commander’s cabin.
Therefore, I say, the fact that I have returned to my native land and am able to recount my curious experiences is solely due to the fact that the mercy and kindness of the Sargassons in my case were misplaced. For their own protection they should have made way with me. The recent account of the Bureau of Navigation at Washington, directing that several of the smaller armed cruisers be sent to the Sargasso Sea for the purpose of blowing up and sinking all the vessels found therein, is the result of an indiscreet communication made by me shortly after my return a few weeks ago.
I need not say that this is to me a matter of sincere regret, that our Government, having many humane acts to its credit, should thus ruthlessly intrude upon a people that has never personally harmed it, and wage a war of extermination not equaled even by the savage and uncivilized Sargassons.
Can it be that the United States is about to follow the example of Japan at Port Arthur!
In my behalf, it should be remembered that I was still in the honeymoon of love.
Life had never seemed so precious to me; and the thought that the Happy Shark could not be expected to keep afloat for many years filled me with mental agony. Here must we stay, exactly like rats on a sinking ship.
The thought of death grew more repugnant to me every day. I didn’t want to lose Fidette.
The crew were set to work making new boats.This was imperative for several reasons. First of all, we were very short of food on the Happy Shark. The sides of the vessel had been scraped clean of all barnacles—the small shellfish being very attractive to the Sargasson palate.
The quaking sod for miles around was covered with a luxuriant growth of yellow berries, delicious to the taste. Crayfish existed in great abundance. They climbed out of the water on the branches of floating trees, and could be gathered in large quantities. The fruit and the crayfish were eaten raw.
It was necessary, also, that we should have new boats, because the ceremony of the Guna-Gamus would soon occur, and my first appearance at that function must not be prevented.
The selection of the material from which the boats were made was a matter of considerable difficulty as well as art.
From the under surface of the floating sod long, ropelike roots extended downward to great depths. These roots were of a brownish hue and varied in thickness. They were very pliable while fresh, and were readily worked up into matting.
There was only one way in which this material could be procured. The thickness of the sod varied greatly, according to the period of its formation. It was necessary, therefore, to find a thin spot in the sod, through which a hole could be cut. Divers, armed with short, sharp knives, were sent down to bring these long, eel-like roots to the surface. This work was attended with much danger, because it not infrequently happened that the diver became confused while working under the sod, and, losing his bearings, groped his way in a direction opposite the watery shoot through which he had descended. Rescue was impossible.
Now and then a shark devoured a diver.
When enough of these roots had been secured bythis hazardous means, they were lashed together and kept in the water until the moment of their use.
A stout and straight limb was cut from one of the floating trees for a keel. The finding of this stick was not easy.
I should have mentioned that as soon as possible after the final defeat of the boarding party, who had attempted to capture and assassinate us, swimmers were sent out, and succeeded in securing and dragging back to the ship several of our destroyed canoes.
The keel, generally nine feet in length, was placed upon a row of blocks, several inches above the deck. Five pieces of the longest and toughest roots were selected by the expert boatmaker, and these were placed around and parallel to the keel stick. They were then carefully bound together by the smallest and the toughest withes, made of roots split in half. This part of the work required much skill and neatness. The excellence of the completed boat depended upon the firmness with which these long, radiating roots were bound to the keel.
The long ends of two of the roots projecting from the keel were brought together about two feet above the blocks, and there securely fastened. They were then gently bent at right angles and extended in a curved line from stem to stern, and vice versa. This formed the gunwales of the boat. The other withes were then turned backward, and attached at regular intervals to the gunwale line. This formed a rough network, over which the smaller roots were laced with consummate art, until every crevice was covered.
Meanwhile, the gum made from fish scales was in preparation, and this was carefully smeared over the entire network within and without, rendering the boat absolutely water tight. The secret of the composition of this glue was one of the treasured possessions of the Sargassons.
When completed, the boats weighed usually aboutthirty pounds. It was necessary that they be kept wet all the time, however, as they became worthless when once thoroughly dried.
A direct means existed for communicating with the neighboring ships. In my excursions I had noticed bundles of the cordlike roots radiating from various ships across the floating sod—submerged at points, but generally out of the water. They were similar to the roots used by the Sargassons in the construction of their boats. These roots extended downward to great lengths, limited only by their tensile strength. I have seen many specimens one thousand feet long. They drew their entire sustenance from the water, and a bit of root thrown overboard would continue to live, and finally attach itself to the sod.
The Sargassons formed long cables of these roots, by grafting them together at the ends and covering the splices with fish scale gum. The wounds soon healed and the junction became perfect. In this way the Sargassons pieced the roots together until they were many miles in length. The cables thus formed were rarely more than an inch in diameter, but they possessed the remarkable property of transmitting sound. This system of intercommunication had been introduced by a Ceylonese, who, proud of the traditions of his imperial island, had recalled to mind the grapevine telegraph that once joined together the entire coast of his native land. Messages were transmitted by blows upon a solid block of wood attached to the end of the root cable. I never mastered the code, but our signal officer, an old Frenchman, was quite expert.
One of the most interesting episodes of history was the attempt of the Dutch to take possession of Ceylon. They already possessed Java and other islands of less size in Oceania, and in their stately ships they made a serious attempt to capture the valuable island south of Hindustan. But the Ceylonese were proud of their independence.Religious fanaticism also had much to do with their sturdy courage. Were they not the custodians of the sacred tooth of Buddha? The Western infidels, as they very naturally denominated the Hollanders, would not respect this trophy. Therefore, they of Ceylon must answer for it to Buddha with their lives.
Again and again the Dutch attempted to land troops, but they were always confronted with native soldiery, who beat them off, destroyed their boats, and massacred all the officers and men who escaped the savage surf that beat upon the Ceylon shores. In vain the would-be invaders resorted to artifice. They sailed away at night, as if abandoning the attack, only to approach the island at another point, but always to find the courageous and unconquerable natives drawn up in martial array to receive them. The attempt to capture the island was abandoned. It was claimed, quite in the Eastern fashion, that intercommunication was effected after the manner of the Theosophists, by the projection of thought or by actual traveling of the astral body. This explanation satisfied the Hollanders. Subsequent exploration, after the island became a part of British India, made it plain that through the tree tops of Ceylon’s trackless forests were carried grapevine cables, possessing the capacity of transmitting sound. By a system of telegraphy, known only to themselves, they could reproduce at a far distant end of such a vegetable cable the sounds made by sharp blows of a hammer. In this way they were able to transmit information and to indicate accurately the point at which, from the highest headland, the enemies’ ship could be seen approaching.
Nothing could have better served the purpose of the Sargassons for the transmission of information than these long, woody-hearted roots. The absence of pith greatly increased the power of conducting sound. Although the vessel of the Chief Kantoon was a day’s journey distant, it was possible to send a communication thither and receive an answer in about two hours.
The problem of reprovisioning the Happy Shark became one of serious moment. Dissatisfaction was spreading among the men, and my supremacy was seriously threatened.
During short journeys across a part of the floating sod, I had noticed that the tree branches submerged in the water were covered with small shellfish, like young oysters. I had a large quantity of these bivalves collected, and deliberately flew in the face of the Sargasson law that prohibited fire on the ships by having a chowder prepared. There was a large boiler on the forward part of the main deck of the Happy Shark, just over the fo’castle, and at night I set a fire going under it. I dared not cook in the daytime, because the column of ascending smoke would have indicated me as a violator of the laws. The boatswain produced the flame in the most primitive fashion by sharpening a stick at both ends and twirling it by means of a silversmith’s bow and cord until it ignited.
The odor of food was soon perceptible about the ship. All the men were awakened and served with a dish of the stew. I thickened it with pieces of sun-dried farina, and flavored it with some of the herbs that I had discovered growing wild upon the green meadows.
In a few days this new addition to the Sargasson cuisine made me the most popular commander in all the community.
But one doesn’t have to go to the Seaweed Sea to learn that if you touch a man’s stomach you win his heart.