CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
DOCTOR INSTOW PAINTS A PICTURE--WITH HIS TONGUE.
A quick run with a favourable wind across to Colombo, a very brief stay,and then on again. There were baffling winds and a sharp storm, duringwhich it was found necessary to get up steam, but the yacht was as goodin foul weather as in fair, and to Jack's great satisfaction he foundthat, in spite of the pitching and tossing of the vessel, he was notill, but found a strange pleasure in being on deck in mackintosh andleggings, watching the yacht careen over and race through the foam.Every now and then a wave would appear gliding along like some huge bankof water, ready to roll over them and sweep the deck, but thewell-trained hands at the wheel sent her racing up the watery slope, tohang poised for a few moments and then rush down again.
"Isn't it glorious, Jack, my lad?" said the doctor, wiping the spray outof his eyes and off his beard, just in the height of the storm. "Idon't know how you find it, but it excites me."
"I like it," said Jack quietly; "it seems so grand, and as if the yachtwas laughing at the waves and tossing them off to right and left. Iwonder whether Captain Bradleigh would let me steer."
"I hope not," said the doctor, with a droll look of puzzledom in hisface. "Why, what's come to you, you reckless young scamp? No, thankyou. If you're going to be indulged in any luxuries of that kind, I'mgoing to land at Penang or Singapore, and make my way home by the nextboat that touches."
Jack laughed.
"Don't believe it," he said. "But doesn't it seem as if it would benice to have full command of the yacht like that, and send her here andthere just as one liked?"
"Can't say that my desires run in that groove, Jack, my lad; I'm quitecontent to play the part of looker-on. But this storm is grand, andit's splendid to see how the little vessel shakes the water off her andrushes through it all. But I did want some calmer weather; we haven'tdone a bit of fishing since we left the Red Sea, and I meant to tryevery day. Well, captain, how long is this going to last?"
"Another twelve hours, I should say," replied the captain, "and then weshall have calm weather all the way to Singapore, and with the exceptionof a few thunderstorms, light winds among the islands."
It turned out exactly as the captain had said. The weather calmedrapidly, and their run down to the equator, between the Malay peninsulaand Sumatra, was in brilliant hot weather all through the morning; whileearly in the afternoon, with wonderful regularity, there came on atremendous thunderstorm, with peals heavier and lightning more vividthan anything Jack had ever encountered, and then at the end of a coupleof hours all was clear again, and the evening was comparatively cool andbeautifully fine.
Singapore was so fresh and attractive that of necessity a few days werespent there, before a fresh start was made for a cruise through theislands in the region which was now exciting Jack's expectations. Soonafter they were passing great heavy-looking junks with their Celestialcrews, or light Malay prahus with their swarthy, coffee-coloured sailorsin tartan skirts, in whose folds at the waist the formidable wavy daggerknown as a kris was worn, the handle, like the butt of a pistol in form,carefully covered by the silk or cotton sarong to indicate peace.
"If you see one of them with the handle bare," said the mate to Jack,"one has to look out, for it means war."
Malay prahus were so thoroughly connected in the lad's reading withpiracy, that he looked curiously at the first they encountered, andeagerly scanned the calm, rather scornful faces of the men whoapathetically stood about the bamboo deck, and watched the passing ofthe swift, white-sailed yacht, while they distorted their cheeks byslowly chewing something within.
"What's that fellow doing?" said Jack, handing his double glass to themate, who gave a quick glance through and handed it back. "Look foryourself."
Jack resumed his inspection of the prahu's deck, for it was not aboveforty yards away.
"Doing something with a bit of--I don't know what, which he has takenout of a little bag."
"Betel-nut from one of the palms which grow in these parts," said themate.
"Now he has slowly taken a leaf out of the same bag."
"Sirih leaf; a kind of creeping pepper plant which runs up trees," saidthe mate.
"And now he is opening a little brass box, which has something thatlooks like a white paint."
"Lime," said the mate, "lime of a very fine kind, made by burningshells."
"And he is spreading some of it with one finger upon the leaf."
"Yes! See what he does next."
"Rolled the piece of nut in it and put it in his mouth."
"Yes," said the mate; "all the Malays do this betel-chewing."
"What for?"
"It is a habit like our sailors chewing tobacco. The Malays think it isgood for them, and keeps off all choleraic attacks."
"Does it?" asked Jack.
"Ah, that I can't say. You must take the doctor's opinion."
But Jack was too much interested in watching the prahu, which, in spiteof only having matting sails, sped along over the calm water at a rapidrate, and he went on questioning his companion.
"They seem fierce-looking fellows, and as if they could do a deal ofmischief. Are they such terribly bloodthirsty people?"
"Certainly not," said the mate. "I have always found the better-classMalays simple, gentlemanly, and courteous if they are properly treated;but if injured, I believe they can be treacherous and relentless."
"But I remember once reading how bloodthirsty the Malay pirates are."
"I don't think the English, Spanish, or French pirates were muchbetter," said the mate, laughing. "Pirates are generally the scum ofthe ports they sail from; reckless, murderous ruffians. But I shouldsay that of all pirates out in the East, the gentle, placid,mild-looking Chinaman makes the worst; for he thinks nothing of humanlife, his own or any one else's."
"But there are no pirates now, of course," said Jack quietly.
The mate turned and looked him in the eyes.
"Do you want me to tell you some murderous narrative?"
"Oh no; I don't care for such things. I know, of course, that thereused to be plenty."
"So there are now," said the mate. "They have hard work to carry ontheir piracies; but every now and then we have a bad case. They mostlycome from the Chinese coast; but they are made up of ruffians of allkinds."
Jack was silent for a few moments.
"I heard Captain Bradleigh say that the men were all trained to use thesmall-arms," he said at last quietly. "Would they fight if we wereattacked?"
The mate hummed over a bit of a once popular song, beginning, "We don'twant to fight, but by Jingo if we do."
"That pretty well expresses the nature of English sailors, sir," he saidquietly. "They don't want to fight, and never would if they were leftalone. But if they do fight--well, Mr Jack, if they do they hit veryhard."
Jack laughed merrily, to the great satisfaction of two gentlemen acrossthe deck, who turned their heads so as not to seem as if they noticedanything.
"I dare say," continued the mate, "you remember how it was at school;you never wanted to fight, but when you had to I suppose you hit hard?"
Jack was silent again, and at last said quietly--
"I never did have a fight at school."
During the next few days they sailed slowly on at a short distance fromthe coast of the long island of Java, and except that the weather wasvery hot, and that they could see in the distance mountain aftermountain rising up like a huge, blunt cone, several of them showing acloud of smoke drifting slowly away before the wind, sailing here seemedin nowise different from by the coast of Spain or Portugal. But Jackwas to see the difference before long.
One evening over dinner their plans were discussed, the captain saying--
"Then I understand, Sir John, that you quite leave the choice to me?"
"Certainly. We have not sailed these thousands of miles for the sake ofvisiting towns and show places. Take us to some one of the islands suchas y
ou described to me; uninhabited if you can. If you could castanchor by one never yet trodden by the foot of man, so much the better."
"Ah, that I can't promise you, sir," replied the captain, "for thepeople out this way are nearly all venturesome sailors, and for anynumber of years have put to sea in the most crazy of bamboo craft, andset sail to land where they could, some of them even going in merecanoes. So you see we may come upon people in the most unexpectedplaces. But I have several islands in my mind's eye, between here andthe east end of New Guinea, where you gentlemen may collect to yourhearts' content."
"Birds?" cried the doctor.
"Birds, sir? Yes; some of the most beautifully coloured to be found onthe face of the earth. Parrots, cockatoos, birds of paradise,sun-birds, something like the little humming-birds of the West Indiesand South America. Oh yes; you'll find as many birds as you want."
"Butterflies?" asked Jack.
"Yes, and moths, some of them bigger than a cheese-plate."
"Flies, of course?" said Sir John.
"Oh yes, sir, and beetles too, some of the ugliest you can imagine, andsome of them looking as if made of burnished metal. Then of courseyou'll have plenty of fireflies and mosquitoes too."
"Of course we shall get them," said Sir John. "But what aboutserpents?"
"Plenty, sir, sea and land; curious lizards too."
"There will be no animals to shoot," said the doctor rather regretfully.
"Tigers, elephants, or leopards? No, not unless we make for themainland. But there is a great deal of unexplored country on the coastof New Guinea and Borneo, and there's no knowing what we might comeacross. There are elephants in Borneo, and our old friend theorang-outang."
"Let's try one of the smaller islands first," said Sir John. "I'mgetting eager to begin doing something."
"I can't exist much longer doing nothing but parade up and down thisdeck. My joints are growing up. How do you feel, Jack?" said thedoctor.
"Lazy. I feel as if I could go on doing nothing for any length oftime."
"Here, this won't do," cried the doctor in mock horror. "'Bout ship,captain, and let's get back home, or else to one of these wonderfulislands that make my mouth water. Let me see, something of this kind: abeach of coral with the waves always rolling over and breaking in foam,so that just within there is a beautiful blue lagoon of water, calm as alake. Across the lake stretched right and left golden sands, at theback of which are cocoa-nut groves, with their great fern-like leavesrustling in the sea-breeze, crabs and fish scuttling about beneath them;and farther on where the land commences to rise the glorious tropicforest begins, trailed with orchids and wonderful creepers. Great palmsrise like columns, and huge trees of the fig persuasion spread and dropdown at several spots to form green bowers, and capital places to makehuts. Monkeys climbing about. Birds swarming--nesting or swinging bythe rotan canes. Farther on the land rising and rising, and all foresttill it begins to be seamed with valleys, or rather deep gorges whichrun up to the central mountain, from which they radiate all round downtoward the sea, and all of them forming glorious collecting grounds fornaturalists. Then higher up the air growing cooler, save for a peculiarhot puff now and then with a taste in it of sulphurous steam. Then thetrees growing thinner and not so majestic, but the flowers more abundantand the valleys more moist, where the streams trickle down; and here andthere are little waterfalls, over which in the spray enormous frondsspread their green lace-work and sparkle with the fine pearly dew whichis formed by the spray from the falling water. Here an icy spring ofcrystal purity gushes from amongst the mossy stones, and oddly enough alittle farther on we come upon another spring, from which steam rises,but the water itself is of wonderful clearness, so hot that you cannotbear your hand in it, and the basin is composed of delicate pinky-whiteas beautiful as the inside of some of the shells which lie in theglorious marine garden at the bottom of the lagoon which spreads allround the island. We push on and at last leave the trees behind, tofind the vegetation curiously dwarfed, masses and tufts of wiry grass,and we have to tramp over sandy, cindery stuff which gives way under ourfeet, and sets some of the big stones in motion. For we have come upona slope which grows steeper and steeper, and runs up and up, till, quitebreathless, we stop short among the great grey masses of pumice-stoneand glassy obsidian which cut our boots. We look about and see fromwhere we are over one side of the island, in whose centre we nearlystand. The forest is glorious, the lagoon looks like turquoise, and thecoral reef which forms a breakwater round the place seems from our greatheight to be one mass of creamy foam, while beyond it stretching far andwide is the glorious sapphire sea. We are terribly hot with our climb,but the air here is splendidly invigorating, and we turn to finish ourlast hit of a few hundred feet over loose lava, pumice, and scoria. Itis hard work, but we give one another a hand, and at last we stand atthe edge of a tremendous depression like a vast cup in the top of themountain, whose other side, similar to that on which we stand, is a mileaway, while below its the cup is brimming with the verdure which runs upfrom a lovely blue lake a thousand feet below. All is beautiful, sobeautiful, that it seems to take away our breath, for flowers are allabout, the gorgeous butterflies are on the wing, noisy paroquets areclimbing head up or head down, and there is nothing to show that we areon the edge of the crater of some tremendous volcano, but we catch sightof a thin thread of steam rising to form a cloud over a bare rock-strewnpatch on one side. That tells us the fierce gases below are not quiteextinct, but are smouldering ready to burst out at any time, sendingforth the fiery rain to destroy the verdure, torrents of molten stone torun in streams down to the sea, or a flood of boiling mud to turn thelovely island into a wilderness. All is so beautiful that we can hardlyturn away to begin our descent to where the yacht is lying in thelagoon, which forms a perfectly safe port into which it has been towedby the crew. But go down we must, for we are choking with thirst--atleast I am, through talking; so long, and I'll trouble you, steward, foranother glass of water."
"Oh," cried Jack, who had been drinking in every word, his face flushedand eyes bright with excitement as he pictured mentally the gloriousplace the doctor had described, "what a cruel mockery to raise one'sexpectations like that. It's like waking one suddenly from a beautifuldream."
"Don't quarrel with him, my boy. I say, Jack! I did not know thedoctor could be so florid."
"I didn't either," said the doctor, laughing, "not till I tried."
"Capital!" cried the mate, clapping his hands softly.
"Yes, excellent," said the captain, smiling, with a peculiar twinklingabout the eyes. "But it seems to me, Sir John, that you do not need anyguide."
"Why not?"
"Because I see the doctor has been there."
"I never was farther from home than Switzerland in my life."
"That's strange," said the captain, "for that's the very island I ammaking for now."
"Oh! won't do," said the doctor. "Mine was all exaggeration, built upout of old books of travels."
"The description was perfect, sir," said the captain quietly. "Eh,Bartlett?"
"Photographic," said the mate.
"Come, come, gentlemen, that won't do," said the doctor merrily. "Igave rein to my fancy. I knew that the coral islands are very lovely,and the volcanic islands very grand, and so I said to myself, I'll painta regular tip-top one, such as ought to please friend Jack here, and Ijoined the volcanic on to the coral and astonished myself."
"And me too," said Sir John, laughing.
"And disappointed me horribly," said Jack; "I really thought there wassuch a place."
"So there is, Mr Jack, and we're sailing for it now," said the captainquietly.
"Aha! Which?" cried the doctor merrily, as he felt that he was trappingthe captain fast,--"coral or volcanic?"
"Both, sir," said the latter, and he looked at Jack as he spoke. "Thereare plenty of islands where a volcano has risen from the sea, and thecoral insects in the course of ages have built
a rampart of limestone toact as a breakwater, and thus prevented the lava and pumice from beingwashed away. The island I am making for is one of these."
"But not so beautiful," cried Jack.
"Well," said the captain, "our friend here the doctor did lay the painton very thick in the picture he drew, and used all the brightest colourshe had in his knowledge-box; but after all Nature's colours are purerand lovelier than any we can mix, and well as he painted he did notquite come up to the mark; and I think, sir, that when we've climbed upto the top of the mountain you will say the same."
"Oh!" cried Jack rapturously, and he turned to his father.
"_If_!" said the captain, very emphatically.
"If? If what?" said Jack.
"There has not been an eruption, and the whole island blown away."
Jack felt as if some one had suddenly poured cold water all down hisback.