The Lonely Island, Robert Michael Ballantyne [best electronic book reader txt] 📗

of lobster which abounds there.

Leaning over a ledge of rock, and peering keenly down into a clear pool which was sheltered from the surf, Dan suddenly exclaimed, "There's one, Matt; I see his feelers."

As he spoke he dived into the water and disappeared. Even a pearl diver might have wondered at the length of time he remained below. Presently he reappeared, puffing like a grampus, and holding a huge lobster-like creature in his hands.

"That'll stop the mouths of two or three of us, Matt!" he exclaimed, looking round.

But Matt Quintal was nowhere to be seen. He, too, had seen a fish, and gone to beard the lobster in his den. In a few seconds he reappeared with another crawfish.

Thus, in the course of a short time, these youths captured four fine fish, and returned to the canoe, swimming on their backs, with one in each hand.

While things were progressing thus favourably at sea, matters were being conducted not less admirably, though with less noise, on land.

The canoe containing Mrs Toc and the celebrated baby went direct to the landing-place at Martin's Cove, which was a mere spot of sand in a narrow creek, where landing was by no means easy even for these expert canoemen.

Here the women kindled a fire and heated the culinary stones, while Toc and some of the others clambered up the cliffs to obtain gulls' eggs and cocoa-nuts.

Meanwhile Charlie Christian and Otaheitan Sally and the staggerer wended their way overland to the same rendezvous slowly--remarkably slowly. They had so much to talk about; not of politics, you may be sure, nor yet of love, for they were somewhat shy of that, being, so to speak, new to it.

"I wonder," said Charlie, sitting down for the fiftieth time, on a bank "whereon time grew" to such an extent that he seemed to take no account of it whatever; "I wonder if the people in the big world we've heard so much of from father lead as pleasant lives as we do."

"Some of 'em do, of course," said Sally. "You know there are plenty of busy people among them who go about working, read their Bible, an' try to make other people happy, so of course they must be happy themselves."

"That's true, Sall; but then they have many things to worry them, an' you know _we_ haven't."

"Yes, they've many things to worry them, I suppose," rejoined Sall, with a pensive look at the ground. "I wonder what sort of things worry them most? It can't be dressin' up grand, an' goin' out to great parties, an' drivin' in lovely carriages. Nobody could be worried by that, you know."

Charlie nodded his head, and agreed with her entirely.

"Neither can it be money," resumed Sall, "for money buys everything you want, as father says, and that can be nothin' but pleasure. If their yam-fields went wrong, I could understand that, because even you and I know somethin' about such worries; but, you see, they haven't got no yam-fields. Then father says the rich ones among 'em eat an' drink whatever they like, and as much as they like, and sleep as long as they like, an' _we_ know that eatin' an' drinkin' an' sleepin' don't worry us, do they, Charlie?"

Again Charlie accorded unmeasured assent to Sall's propositions.

"I can understand better," continued Sall, "how the poor ones among 'em are worried. It must worry 'em a good deal, I should think, to see some people with far more than they want, when they haven't got half as much as they want; an' father says some of 'em are sometimes well-nigh starvin'. Now, it must be a dreadful worry to starve. Just think how funny it would feel to have nothin' to eat at all, not even a yam! Then it must be a dreadful thing for the poor to see their child'n without enough to eat. Yes, the poor child'n of the poor must be a worry to 'em, though the child'n of the rich never are."

At this point a wild shriek from the little child caused Sally's heart to bound. She looked up, and beheld the fat legs of her charge fly up as he went headlong over a precipice. Fortunately the precipice was only three feet high, so that when Sally and Charlie ran panting to the spot, he was already on his feet, looking much surprised, but none the worse for his tumble.

This incident sobered the inquisitive friends, and brought them back from fanciful to actual life. They hurried over the remainder of the journey, and arrived at Martin's Cove just as the picnic party were beginning dinner.

Feasting is a commonplace and rather gross subject, having many points of similitude in all lands. We shall therefore pass over this part of the day's enjoyment, merely remarking that, what with fish and lobster, and yams and cocoa-nuts, and bananas and plantains, and sundry compounds of the same made into cakes, and clear water from the mountain-side, there was ample provision for the wants of nature. There was no lack, either, of that feast which is said to flow from "reason" and "soul" There was incident, also, to enliven the proceedings; for the child who had come by the overland route with Sally fell into something resembling a yam-pie, and the hero of the day managed to roll into the oven which had cooked the victuals. Fortunately, it had cooled somewhat by that time, and seemed to tickle his fancy rather than otherwise.

Dinner was concluded; and as it had been preceded by asking a blessing, it was now closed with thanksgiving. Then Dinah Adams began to show a tendency to clear up the debris, when Dan McCoy, who had wandered away with Sarah Quintal in search of shells to a neighbouring promontory, suddenly uttered a tremendous and altogether new cry.

"What _is_ he up to now?" said John Adams, rising hastily and shading his eyes with his hand.

Dan was seen to be gesticulating frantically on the rocks, and pointing wildly out to sea.

The whole party ran towards him, and soon became as wildly excited as himself, for there, at long last, was a _ship_, far away on the horizon!

To launch the canoes and make for home was the work of a very few minutes. No one thought of swimming now. Those who did not go in the canoes went by the land road as fast as they could run and clamber. In a short time the gulls were left in undisturbed possession of Martin's Cove.


CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.


THE FIRST SHIP, AND NEWS OF HOME.

No wonder that there was wild excitement on the lonely island at the sight of this sail, for, with the exception of the ship that had been seen years before, and only for a few minutes, by Sally and Matt Quintal, no vessel of any kind had visited them during the space of nineteen years.

"I've longed for it, old 'ooman, as nobody but myself can understand," said Adams, in a low, earnest voice to his wife, who stood on the cliffs beside him. Although nearly blind, Mrs Adams was straining her eyes in the direction of the strange sail. "And now that it's come," continued her husband, "I confess to you, lass, I'm somewhat afeared to face it. It's not that I fear to die more than other men, but I'd feel it awful hard to be took away from you an' all them dear child'n. But God's will be done."

"They'd never take you from us, father," exclaimed Dinah Adams, who overheard this speech.

"There's no sayin', Di. I've forfeited my life to the laws of England. I tell 'ee what it is, Thursday," said Adams, going up to the youth, who was gazing wistfully like the others at the rapidly approaching vessel, "it may be a man-o'-war, an' they may p'r'aps want to ship me off to England on rather short notice. If so, I must go; but I'd rather not. So I'll retire into the bushes, Toc, while you go aboard in the canoe. I'll have time to think over matters before you come back with word who they are, an' where they hail from."

While Thursday went down to the beach, accompanied by Charlie, to prepare a canoe for this mission, the ship drew rapidly near the island, and soon after hove to, just outside of Bounty Bay. As she showed no colours, and did not look like a man-of-war, Adams began to feel easier in his mind, and again going out on the cliffs, watched the canoe as it dashed through the surf.

Under the vigorous strokes of Thursday and Charlie Christian, it was soon alongside the strange ship. To judge from the extent to which the men opened their eyes, there is reason to believe that those on board of that strange ship were filled with unusual surprise; and well they might be, for the appearance of our two heroes was not that which voyagers in the South Pacific were accustomed to expect. The remarks of two of the surprised ones, as the canoe approached, will explain their state of mind better than any commentary.

"I say, Jack, it ain't a boat; I guess it's a canoe."

"Yes, Bill, it's a canoe."

"What d'ye make 'em out to be, Jack?"

"Men, I think; leastwise they're not much like monkeys; though, of coorse, a feller can't be sure till they stand up an' show their tails,--or the want of 'em."

"Well, now," remarked Bill, as the canoe drew nearer, "that's the most puzzlin' lot I've seen since I was raised. They ain't niggers, that's plain; they're too light-coloured for that, an' has none o' the nigger brick-dust in their faces. One on 'em, moreover, seems to have fair curly hair, an' they wears jackets an' hats with something of a sailor-cut about 'em. Why, I do b'lieve they're shipwrecked sailors."

"No," returned Jack, with a critical frown, "they're not just the colour o' white men. Mayhap, they're a noo style o' savage, this bein' raither an out-o'-the-way quarter."

"Stand by with a rope there," cried the captain of the vessel, cutting short the discussion, while the canoe ranged longside.

"Ship ahoy!" shouted Thursday, in the true nautical style which he had learned from Adams.

If the eyes of the men who looked over the side of the ship were wide open with surprise before, they seemed to blaze with amazement at the next remark by Thursday.

"Where d'ye hail from, an' what's your name?" he asked, as Charlie made fast to the rope which was thrown to them.

"The _Topaz_, from America, Captain Folger," answered the captain, with a smile.

With an agility worthy of monkeys, and that might have justified Jack and Bill looking for tails, the brothers immediately stood on the deck, and holding out their hands, offered with affable smiles to shake hands. We need scarcely say the offer was heartily accepted by every one of the crew.

"And who may _you_ be, my good fellows?" asked Captain Folger, with an amused expression.

"I am Thursday October Christian," answered the youth, drawing himself up as if he were announcing himself the king of the Cannibal Islands. "I'm the oldest son of Fletcher Christian, one of the mutineers of the _Bounty_, an' this is my brother Charlie."