The Coral Island, Robert Michael Ballantyne [inspirational novels .TXT] 📗

it was all the wild men and

beasts in the South Sea Islands galloping on in one grand charge to

sweep us off the face of the earth, instead of a mere stone

tumbling down the mountain side.”

 

“Nevertheless,” remarked Jack, “if that same stone had hit any of

us, it would have rendered the charge you speak of quite

unnecessary, Peterkin.”

 

This was true, and I felt very thankful for our escape. On

examining the spot more narrowly, we found that it lay close to the

foot of a very rugged precipice, from which stones of various sizes

were always tumbling at intervals. Indeed, the numerous fragments

lying scattered all around might have suggested the cause of the

sound, had we not been too suddenly alarmed to think of anything.

 

We now resumed our journey, resolving that, in our future

excursions into the interior, we would be careful to avoid this

dangerous precipice.

 

Soon afterwards we arrived at the foot of the hill and prepared to

ascend it. Here Jack made a discovery which caused us all very

great joy. This was a tree of a remarkably beautiful appearance,

which Jack confidently declared to be the celebrated bread-fruit

tree.

 

“Is it celebrated?” inquired Peterkin, with a look of great

simplicity.

 

“It is,” replied Jack

 

“That’s odd, now,” rejoined Peterkin; “never heard of it before.”

 

“Then it’s not so celebrated as I thought it was,” returned Jack,

quietly squeezing Peterkin’s hat over his eyes; “but listen, you

ignorant boobie! and hear of it now.”

 

Peterkin re-adjusted his hat, and was soon listening with as much

interest as myself, while Jack told us that this tree is one of the

most valuable in the islands of the south; that it bears two,

sometimes three, crops of fruit in the year; that the fruit is very

like wheaten bread in appearance, and that it constitutes the

principal food of many of the islanders.

 

“So,” said Peterkin, “we seem to have everything ready prepared to

our hands in this wonderful island, - lemonade ready bottled in

nuts, and loaf-bread growing on the trees!”

 

Peterkin, as usual, was jesting; nevertheless, it is a curious fact

that he spoke almost the literal truth. “Moreover,” continued

Jack, “the bread-fruit tree affords a capital gum, which serves the

natives for pitching their canoes; the bark of the young branches

is made by them into cloth; and of the wood, which is durable and

of a good colour, they build their houses. So you see, lads, that

we have no lack of material here to make us comfortable, if we are

only clever enough to use it.”

 

“But are you sure that that’s it?” asked Peterkin.

 

“Quite sure,” replied Jack; “for I was particularly interested in

the account I once read of it, and I remember the description well.

I am sorry, however, that I have forgotten the descriptions of many

other trees which I am sure we have seen to-day, if we could but

recognise them. So you see, Peterkin, I’m not up to everything

yet.”

 

“Never mind, Jack,” said Peterkin, with a grave, patronizing

expression of countenance, patting his tall companion on the

shoulder, - “never mind, Jack; you know a good deal for your age.

You’re a clever boy, sir, - a promising young man; and if you only

go on as you have begun, sir, you will - “

 

The end of this speech was suddenly cut short by Jack tripping up

Peterkin’s heels and tumbling him into a mass of thick shrubs,

where, finding himself comfortable, he lay still basking in the

sunshine, while Jack and I examined the bread-tree.

 

We were much struck with the deep, rich green colour of its broad

leaves, which were twelve or eighteen inches long, deeply indented,

and of a glossy smoothness, like the laurel. The fruit, with which

it was loaded, was nearly round, and appeared to be about six

inches in diameter, with a rough rind, marked with lozenge-shaped

divisions. It was of various colours, from light pea-green to

brown and rich yellow. Jack said that the yellow was the ripe

fruit. We afterwards found that most of the fruit-trees on the

island were evergreens, and that we might, when we wished, pluck

the blossom and the ripe fruit from the same tree. Such a

wonderful difference from the trees of our own country surprised us

not a little. The bark of the tree was rough and light-coloured;

the trunk was about two feet in diameter, and it appeared to be

twenty feet high, being quite destitute of branches up to that

height, where it branched off into a beautiful and umbrageous head.

We noticed that the fruit hung in clusters of twos and threes on

the branches; but as we were anxious to get to the top of the hill,

we refrained from attempting to pluck any at that time.

 

Our hearts were now very much cheered by our good fortune, and it

was with light and active steps that we clambered up the steep

sides of the hill. On reaching the summit, a new, and if possible

a grander, prospect met our gaze. We found that this was not the

highest part of the island, but that another hill lay beyond, with

a wide valley between it and the one on which we stood. This

valley, like the first, was also full of rich trees, some dark and

some light green, some heavy and thick in foliage, and others

light, feathery, and graceful, while the beautiful blossoms on many

of them threw a sort of rainbow tint over all, and gave to the

valley the appearance of a garden of flowers. Among these we

recognised many of the bread-fruit trees, laden with yellow fruit,

and also a great many cocoa-nut palms. After gazing our fill we

pushed down the hill side, crossed the valley, and soon began to

ascend the second mountain. It was clothed with trees nearly to

the top, but the summit was bare, and in some places broken.

 

While on our way up we came to an object which filled us with much

interest. This was the stump of a tree that had evidently been cut

down with an axe! So, then, we were not the first who had viewed

this beautiful isle. The hand of man had been at work there before

us. It now began to recur to us again that perhaps the island was

inhabited, although we had not seen any traces of man until now;

but a second glance at the stump convinced us that we had not more

reason to think so now than formerly; for the surface of the wood

was quite decayed, and partly covered with fungus and green matter,

so that it must have been cut many years ago.

 

“Perhaps,” said Peterkin, “some ship or other has touched here long

ago for wood, and only taken one tree.”

 

We did not think this likely, however, because, in such

circumstances, the crew of a ship would cut wood of small size, and

near the shore, whereas this was a large tree and stood near the

top of the mountain. In fact it was the highest large tree on the

mountain, all above it being wood of very recent growth.

 

“I can’t understand it,” said Jack, scratching the surface of the

stump with his axe. “I can only suppose that the savages have been

here and cut it for some purpose known only to themselves. But,

hallo! what have we here?”

 

As he spoke, Jack began carefully to scrape away the moss and

fungus from the stump, and soon laid bare three distinct traces of

marks, as if some inscription or initials had been cut thereon.

But although the traces were distinct, beyond all doubt, the exact

form of the letters could not be made out. Jack thought they

looked like J. S. but we could not be certain. They had apparently

been carelessly cut, and long exposure to the weather had so broken

them up that we could not make out what they were. We were

exceedingly perplexed at this discovery, and stayed a long time at

the place conjecturing what these marks could have been, but

without avail; so, as the day was advancing, we left it and quickly

reached the top of the mountain.

 

We found this to be the highest point of the island, and from it we

saw our kingdom lying, as it were, like a map around us. As I have

always thought it impossible to get a thing properly into one’s

understanding without comprehending it, I shall beg the reader’s

patience for a little while I describe our island, thus, shortly:-

 

It consisted of two mountains; the one we guessed at 500 feet; the

other, on which we stood, at 1000. Between these lay a rich,

beautiful valley, as already said. This valley crossed the island

from one end to the other, being high in the middle and sloping on

each side towards the sea. The large mountain sloped, on the side

farthest from where we had been wrecked, gradually towards the sea;

but although, when viewed at a glance, it had thus a regular

sloping appearance, a more careful observation showed that it was

broken up into a multitude of very small vales, or rather dells and

glens, intermingled with little rugged spots and small but abrupt

precipices here and there, with rivulets tumbling over their edges

and wandering down the slopes in little white streams, sometimes

glistening among the broad leaves of the bread-fruit and cocoa-nut

trees, or hid altogether beneath the rich underwood. At the base

of this mountain lay a narrow bright green plain or meadow, which

terminated abruptly at the shore. On the other side of the island,

whence we had come, stood the smaller hill, at the foot of which

diverged three valleys; one being that which we had ascended, with

a smaller vale on each side of it, and separated from it by the two

ridges before mentioned. In these smaller valleys there were no

streams, but they were clothed with the same luxuriant vegetation.

 

The diameter of the island seemed to be about ten miles, and, as it

was almost circular in form, its circumference must have been

thirty miles; - perhaps a little more, if allowance be made for the

numerous bays and indentations of the shore. The entire island was

belted by a beach of pure white sand, on which laved the gentle

ripples of the lagoon. We now also observed that the coral reef

completely encircled the island; but it varied its distance from it

here and there, in some places being a mile from the beach, in

others, a few hundred yards, but the average distance was half a

mile. The reef lay very low, and the spray of the surf broke quite

over it in many places. This surf never ceased its roar, for,

however calm the weather might be, there is always a gentle swaying

motion in the great Pacific, which, although scarce noticeable out

at sea, reaches the shore at last in a huge billow. The water

within the lagoon, as before said, was perfectly still. There were

three narrow openings in the reef; one opposite each end of the

valley which I have described as crossing the island; the other

opposite our own valley, which we afterwards named the Valley of

the Wreck. At each of these openings the reef rose into two small

green islets, covered with bushes and having one or two cocoa-nut

palms on each. These islets were very singular, and appeared as if

planted expressly for the purpose of marking the channel into the

lagoon. Our captain was making for one of these openings the day

we were wrecked, and would have