CHAPTER XI
Winter -- Felling Wood -- The Mill -- Pencroft's fixed Idea -- The Bones -- To what Use an Albatross may be put -- Fuel for the Future -- Top and Jup -- Storms -- Damage to the Poultry-yard -- Excursion to the Marsh -- Cyrus Harding alone -- Exploring the Well
Winter arrived with the month of June, which is the December of thenorthern zones, and the great business was the making of warm andsolid clothing.
The musmons in the corral had been stripped of their wool, and thisprecious textile material was now to be transformed into stuff.
Of course Cyrus Harding, having at his disposal neither carders,combers, polishers, stretchers, twisters, mule-jenny, nor self-actingmachine to spin the wool, nor loom to weave it, was obliged to proceedin a simpler way, so as to do without spinning and weaving. And indeedhe proposed to make use of the property which the filaments of woolpossess when subjected to a powerful pressure of mixing together, andof manufacturing by this simple process the material called felt. Thisfelt could then be obtained by a simple operation which, if itdiminished the flexibility of the stuff, increased its power ofretaining heat in proportion. Now the wool furnished by the musmonswas composed of very short hairs, and was in a good condition to befelted.
The engineer, aided by his companions, including Pencroft, who wasonce more obliged to leave his boat, commenced the preliminaryoperations, the object of which was to rid the wool of that fat andoily substance with which it is impregnated, and which is calledgrease. This cleaning was done in vats filled with water, which wasmaintained at the temperature of seventy degrees, and in which thewool was soaked for four-and-twenty hours; it was then thoroughlywashed in baths of soda, and, when sufficiently dried by pressure, itwas in a state to be compressed, that is to say, to produce a solidmaterial, rough, no doubt, and such as would have no value in amanufacturing centre of Europe or America, but which would be highlyesteemed in the Lincoln Island markets.
This sort of material must have been known from the most ancienttimes, and, in fact, the first woollen stuffs were manufactured by theprocess which Harding was now about to employ. Where Harding'sengineering qualifications now came into play was in the constructionof the machine for pressing the wool, for he knew how to turningeniously to profit the mechanical force, hitherto unused, which thewaterfall on the beach possessed to move a fulling-mill.
Nothing could be more rudimentary. The wool was placed in troughs, andupon it fell in turns heavy wooden mallets, such was the machine inquestion, and such it had been for centuries until the time when themallets were replaced by cylinders of compression, and the materialwas no longer subjected to beating, but to regular rolling.
The operation, ably directed by Cyrus Harding, was a complete success.The wool, previously impregnated with a solution of soap, intended onthe one hand to facilitate the interlacing, the compression, and thesoftening of the wool, and on the other to prevent its diminution bythe beating, issued from the mill in the shape of thick felt cloth.The roughnesses with which the staple of wool is naturally filled wereso thoroughly entangled and interlaced together that a material wasformed equally suitable either for garments or bedclothes. It wascertainly neither merino, muslin, cashmere, rep, satin, alpaca, cloth,nor flannel. It was "Lincolnian felt," and Lincoln Island possessedyet another manufacture. The colonists had now warm garments and thickbedclothes, and they could without fear await the approach of thewinter of 1866-67.
The severe cold began to be felt about the 20th of June, and, to hisgreat regret, Pencroft was obliged to suspend his boat-building, whichhe hoped to finish in time for next spring.
The sailor's great idea was to make a voyage of discovery to TaborIsland, although Harding could not approve of a voyage simply forcuriosity's sake, for there was evidently nothing to be found on thisdesert and almost arid rock. A voyage of a hundred and fifty miles ina comparatively small vessel, over unknown seas, could not but causehim some anxiety. Suppose that their vessel, once out at sea, shouldbe unable to reach Tabor Island, and could not return to LincolnIsland, what would become of her in the midst of the Pacific, sofruitful of disasters?
Harding often talked over this project with Pencroft, and he found himstrangely bent upon undertaking this voyage, for which determinationhe himself could give no sufficient reason.
"Now," said the engineer one day to him, "I must observe, my friend,that after having said so much, in praise of Lincoln Island, afterhaving spoken so often of the sorrow you would feel if you wereobliged to forsake it, you are the first to wish to leave it."
"Only to leave it for a few days," replied Pencroft, "only for a fewdays, captain. Time to go and come back, and see what that islet islike!"
"But it is not nearly as good as Lincoln Island."
"I know that beforehand."
"Then why venture there?"
"To know what is going on in Tabor Island."
"But nothing is going on there; nothing could happen there."
"Who knows?"
"And if you are caught in a hurricane?"
"There is no fear of that in the fine season," replied Pencroft. "But,captain, as we must provide against everything, I shall ask yourpermission to take Herbert only with me on this voyage."
"Pencroft," replied the engineer, placing his hand on the sailor'sshoulder, "if any misfortune happens to you, or to this lad, whomchance has made our child, do you think we could ever cease to blameourselves?"
"Captain Harding," replied Pencroft, with unshaken confidence, "weshall not cause you that sorrow. Besides, we will speak further ofthis voyage, when the time comes to make it. And I fancy, when youhave seen our tight-rigged little craft, when you have observed howshe behaves at sea, when we sail round our island, for we will do sotogether--I fancy, I say, that you will no longer hesitate to let mego. I don't conceal from you that your boat will be a masterpiece."
"Say 'our' boat, at least, Pencroft," replied the engineer, disarmedfor the moment. The conversation ended thus, to be resumed later on,without convincing either the sailor or the engineer.
The first snow fell towards the end of the month of June. The corralhad previously been largely supplied with stores, so that daily visitsto it were not requisite; but it was decided that more than a weekshould never be allowed to pass without some one going to it.
Traps were again set, and the machines manufactured by Harding weretried. The bent whalebones, imprisoned in a case of ice, and coveredwith a thick outer layer of fat, were placed on the border of theforest at a spot where animals usually passed on their way to thelake.
To the engineer's great satisfaction, this invention, copied from theAleutian fishermen, succeeded perfectly. A dozen foxes, a few wildboars, and even a jaguar, were taken in this way, the animals beingfound dead, their stomachs pierced by the unbent bones.
An incident must here be related, not only as interesting in itself,but because it was the first attempt made by the colonists tocommunicate with the rest of mankind.
Gideon Spilett had already several times pondered whether to throwinto the sea a letter enclosed in a bottle, which currents mightperhaps carry to an inhabited coast, or to confide it to pigeons.
But how could it be seriously hoped that either pigeons or bottlescould cross the distance of twelve hundred miles which separated theisland from any inhabited land? It would have been pure folly.
But on the 30th of June the capture was effected, not withoutdifficulty, of an albatross, which a shot from Herbert's gun hadslightly wounded in the foot. It was a magnificent bird, measuring tenfeet from wing to wing, and which could traverse seas as wide as thePacific.
Herbert would have liked to keep this superb bird, as its wound wouldsoon heal, and he thought he could tame it; but Spilett explained tohim that they should not neglect this opportunity of attempting tocommunicate by this messenger with the lands of the Pacific; for ifthe albatross had come from some inhabited region, there was no doubtbut that it would return there so soon as it was set free.
r /> Perhaps in his heart Gideon Spilett, in whom the journalist sometimescame to the surface, was not sorry to have the opportunity of sendingforth to take its chance an exciting article relating the adventuresof the settlers in Lincoln Island. What a success for the authorisedreporter of the _New York Herald_, and for the number which shouldcontain the article, if it should ever reach the address of itseditor, the Honourable John Benett!
Gideon Spilett then wrote out a concise account, which was placed in astrong waterproof bag, with an earnest request to whoever might findit to forward it to the office of the _New York Herald_. This littlebag was fastened to the neck of the albatross, and not to its foot,for these birds are in the habit of resting on the surface of the sea;then liberty was given to this swift courier of the air, and it wasnot without some emotion that the colonists watched it disappear inthe misty west.
"Where is he going to?" asked Pencroft.
"Towards New Zealand," replied Herbert.
"A good voyage to you," shouted the sailor, who himself did not expectany great result from this mode of correspondence.
With the winter, work had been resumed in the interior of GraniteHouse, mending clothes and different occupations, amongst othersmaking the sails for their vessel, which were cut from theinexhaustible balloon-case.
During the month of July the cold was intense, but there was no lackof either wood or coal. Cyrus Harding had established a secondfireplace in the dining-room, and there the long winter evenings werespent. Talking whilst they worked, reading when the hands remainedidle, the time passed with profit to all.
THE MESSENGER]
It was real enjoyment to the settlers when in their room, well lightedwith candles, well warmed with coal, after a good dinner, elder-berrycoffee smoking in the cups, the pipes giving forth an odoriferoussmoke, they could hear the storm howling without. Their comfort wouldhave been complete, if complete comfort could ever exist for those whoare far from their fellow creatures, and without any means ofcommunication with them. They often talked of their country, of thefriends whom they had left, of the grandeur of the American Republic,whose influence could not but increase, and Cyrus Harding, who hadbeen much mixed up with the affairs of the Union, greatly interestedhis auditors by his recitals, his views, and his prognostics.
It chanced one day that Spilett was led to say,--
"But now, my dear Cyrus, all this industrial and commercial movementto which you predict a continual advance, does it not run the dangerof being sooner or later completely stopped?"
"Stopped! And by what?"
"By the want of coal, which may justly be called the most precious ofminerals."
"Yes, the most precious indeed," replied the engineer; "and it wouldseem that nature wished to prove that it was so by making the diamond,which is simply pure carbon crystallised."
"You don't mean to say, captain," interrupted Pencroft, "that we burndiamonds in our stoves in the shape of coal?"
"No, my friend," replied Harding.
"However," resumed Gideon Spilett, "you do not deny that some day thecoal will be entirely consumed?"
"Oh! the veins of coal are still considerable, and the hundredthousand miners who annually extract from them a hundred millions ofhundredweights have not nearly exhausted them."
"With the increasing consumption of coal," replied Gideon Spilett, "itcan be foreseen that the hundred thousand workmen will soon become twohundred thousand, and that the rate of extraction will be doubled."
"Doubtless, but after the European mines, which will be soon workedmore thoroughly with new machines, the American and Australian mineswill for a long time yet provide for the consumption in trade."
"For how long a time?" asked the reporter.
"For at least two hundred and fifty or three hundred years."
"That is reassuring for us, but a bad look-out for our greatgrandchildren!" observed Pencroft.
WINTER EVENINGS IN GRANITE HOUSE]
"They will discover something else," said Herbert.
"It is to be hoped so," answered Spilett, "for without coal therewould be no machinery, and without machinery there would be norailways, no steamers, no manufactories, nothing of that which isindispensable to modern civilisation!"
"But what will they find?" asked Pencroft. "Can you guess, captain?"
"Nearly, my friend."
"And what will they burn instead of coal?"
"Water," replied Harding.
"Water!" cried Pencroft, "water as fuel for steamers and engines!water to heat water!"
"Yes, but water decomposed into its primitive elements," replied CyrusHarding, "and decomposed, doubtless; by electricity, which will thenhave become a powerful and manageable force, for all greatdiscoveries, by some inexplicable law, appear to agree and becomecomplete at the same time. Yes, my friends, I believe that water willone day be employed as fuel, that hydrogen and oxygen which constituteit, used singly or together, will furnish an inexhaustible source ofheat and light, of an intensity of which coal is not capable. Some daythe coal-rooms of steamers and the tenders of locomotives will,instead of coal, be stored with these two condensed gases, which willburn in the furnaces with enormous calorific power. There is,therefore, nothing to fear. As long as the earth is inhabited it willsupply the wants of its inhabitants, and there will be no want ofeither light or heat as long as the productions of the vegetable,mineral or animal kingdoms do not fail us. I believe, then, that whenthe deposits of coal are exhausted, we shall heat and warm ourselveswith water. Water will be the coal of the future."
"I should like to see that," observed the sailor.
"You were born too soon, Pencroft," returned Neb, who only took partin the discussion by these words.
However, it was not Neb's speech which interrupted the conversation,but Top's barking, which broke out again with that strange intonationwhich had before perplexed the engineer. At the same time Top began torun round the mouth of the well, which opened at the extremity of theinterior passage.
"What can Top be barking in that way for?" asked Pencroft.
"And Jup be growling like that?" added Herbert.
In fact the orang, joining the dog, gave unequivocal signs ofagitation, and, singular to say, the two animals appeared more uneasythan angry.
"It is evident," said Gideon Spilett, "that this well is in directcommunication with the sea, and that some marine animal comes fromtime to time to breathe at the bottom."
"That's evident," replied the sailor, "and there can be no otherexplanation to give. Quiet there, Top!" added Pencroft, turning to thedog, "and you, Jup, be off to your room!"
The ape and the dog were silent. Jup went off to bed, but Top remainedin the room, and continued to utter low growls at intervals during therest of the evening. There was no further talk on the subject, but theincident, however, clouded the brow of the engineer.
During the remainder of the month of July there was alternate rain andfrost. The temperature was not so low as during the preceding winter,and its maximum did not exceed eight degrees Fahrenheit. But althoughthis winter was less cold, it was more troubled by storms and squalls;the sea besides often endangered the safety of the Chimneys. At timesit almost seemed as if an under-current raised these monstrous billowswhich thundered against the wall of Granite House.
When the settlers, leaning from their windows, gazed on the hugewatery masses breaking beneath their eyes, they could not but admirethe magnificent spectacle of the ocean in its impotent fury. The wavesrebounded in dazzling foam, the beach entirely disappearing under theraging flood, and the cliff appearing to emerge from the sea itself,the spray rising to a height of more than a hundred feet.
During these storms it was difficult and even dangerous to ventureout, owing to the frequently falling trees; however, the colonistsnever allowed a week to pass without having paid a visit to thecorral. Happily this enclosure, sheltered by the south-eastern spur ofMount Franklin, did not greatly suffer from the violence of thehurricanes, which spared its tre
es, sheds, and palisades; but thepoultry-yard on Prospect Heights, being directly exposed to the gustsof wind from the east, suffered considerable damage. The pigeon-housewas twice unroofed and the paling blown down. All this required to bere-made more solidly than before, for, as may be clearly seen, LincolnIsland was situated in one of the most dangerous parts of the Pacific.It really appeared as if it formed the central point of vast cyclones,which beat it perpetually as the whip does the top, only here it wasthe top which was motionless and the whip which moved. During thefirst week of the month of August the weather became more moderate,and the atmosphere recovered the calm which it appeared to have lostfor ever. With the calm the cold again became intense, and thethermometer fell to eight degrees Fahrenheit, below zero.
On the 3rd of August an excursion which had been talked of for severaldays was made into the south-eastern part of the island, towardsTadorn Marsh. The hunters were tempted by the aquatic game which tookup their winter-quarters there. Wild duck, snipe, teal, and grebe,abounded there, and it was agreed that a day should be devoted to anexpedition against these birds.
Not only Gideon Spilett and Herbert, but Pencroft and Neb also tookpart in this excursion. Cyrus Harding alone, alleging some work as anexcuse, did not join them, but remained at Granite House.
The hunters proceeded in the direction of Port Balloon, in order toreach the marsh, after having promised to be back by the evening. Topand Jup accompanied them. As soon as they had passed over the MercyBridge, the engineer raised it and returned, intending to put intoexecution a project for the performance of which he wished to bealone.
Now this project was to minutely explore the interior well, the mouthof which was on a level with the passage of Granite House, and whichcommunicated with the sea, since it formerly supplied a way to thewaters of the lake.
HE SAW NOTHING SUSPICIOUS]
Why did Top so often run round this opening? Why did he utter suchstrange barks when a sort of uneasiness seemed to draw him towardsthis well. Why did Jup join Top in a sort of common anxiety? Had thiswell branches besides the communication with the sea? Did it spreadtowards other parts of the island? This is what Cyrus Harding wishedto know. He had resolved, therefore, to attempt the exploration of thewell during the absence of his companions, and an opportunity fordoing so had now presented itself.
It was easy to descend to the bottom of the well by employing therope-ladder which had not been used since the establishment of thelift. The engineer drew the ladder to the hole, the diameter of whichmeasured nearly six feet, and allowed it to unroll itself after havingsecurely fastened its upper extremity. Then, having lighted a lantern,taken a revolver, and placed a cutlass in his belt, he began thedescent.
The sides were everywhere entire; but points of rock jutted out hereand there, and by means of these points it would have been quitepossible for an active creature to climb to the mouth of the well.
The engineer remarked this; but although he carefully examined thesepoints by the light of his lantern, he could find no impression, nofracture which could give any reason to suppose that they had eitherrecently or at any former time been used as a staircase. Cyrus Hardingdescended deeper, throwing the light of his lantern on all sides.
He saw nothing suspicious.
When the engineer had reached the last rounds he came upon the water,which was then perfectly calm. Neither at its level nor in any otherpart of the well, did any passage open which could lead to theinterior of the cliff. The wall which Harding struck with the hilt ofhis cutlass sounded solid. It was compact granite, through which noliving being could force a way. To arrive at the bottom of the welland then climb up to its mouth it was necessary to pass through thechannel under the rocky sub-soil of the beach, which placed it incommunication with the sea, and this was only possible for marineanimals. As to the question of knowing where this channel ended, atwhat point of the shore, and at what depth beneath the water, it couldnot be answered.
Then Cyrus Harding, having ended his survey, re-ascended, drew up theladder, covered the mouth of the well, and returned thoughtfully tothe dining-room, saying to himself,--
"I have seen nothing, and yet there _is_ something there!"