CHAPTER SEVEN.
OUR HERO IS EXPOSED TO STIRRING INFLUENCES AND TRYING CIRCUMSTANCES.
When the four canoes drew near to the island, immense numbers of nativeswere seen to assemble on the beach, so that Big Chief deemed itadvisable to advance with caution. Presently a solitary figure, eitherdressed or painted black, advanced in front of the others and waved awhite flag. This seemed to increase the Chief's anxiety, for he orderedthe men to cease paddling.
Jarwin, whose heart had leaped with delight when he saw the dark figureand the white flag, immediately turned round and said--
"You needn't be afraid, old boy; that's the missionary, I'll be bound,in his black toggery, an' a white flag means `peace' among Cookee men."
On hearing this, the Chief gave the order to advance, and Jarwin,seizing a piece of native cloth that lay near him, waved it round hishead.
"Stop that, you Breetish tar!" growled Big Chief, seizing a huge club,which bristled with shark's teeth, and shaking it at the seaman, whilehis own teeth were displayed in a threatening grin.
"All right, old codger," replied the British tar, with a submissivelook; "honour bright, honour bright," he added several times, in a lowtone, as if to keep himself in mind of his promise.
We have already said that our hero and his master talked in the nativetongue, which the former had acquired with wonderful facility, but suchfamiliar expressions as "old boy," "old codger," etcetera, werenecessarily uttered in English. Fortunately for Jarwin, who was bynature free-and-easy, the savage chief imagined these to be terms ofrespect, and was, consequently, rather pleased to hear them. Similarly,Big Chief said "Breetish tar" and "Christian" in English, as he hadlearned them from his captive. When master and slave began to grow fondof each other--as we have seen that they soon did, their manly naturesbeing congenial--they used these expressions more frequently: Jarwinmeaning to express facetious goodwill, but his master desiring toexpress kindly regard, except when he was roused to anger, in which casehe did not, however, use them contemptuously, but as expressive ofearnest solemnity.
On landing, Big Chief and his warriors were received by the Reverend MrWilliams and his native teachers--of whom there were two men and twowomen--with every demonstration of kindness, and were informed that theisland of Raratonga had cast away and burned its idols, and nowworshipped the true God, who had sent His Son Jesus Christ to save theworld from sin.
"I know that," replied Big Chief to the teacher who interpreted;"converts, like yourself, came to my island not long ago, and told meall about it. Now I have come to see and hear. A wise man will knowand understand before he acts."
Big Chief was then conducted to the presence of the king of that part ofthe island, who stood, surrounded by his chief men, under a grove ofTemanu trees. The king, whose name was Makea, was a handsome man, inthe prime of life, about six feet high, and very massive and muscular.He had a noble appearance and commanding aspect, and, though not so tallas Big Chief, was, obviously, a man of superior power in every way. Hiscomplexion was light, and his body most beautifully tatooed and slightlycoloured with a preparation of tumeric and ginger, which gave it a lightorange tinge, and, in the estimation of the Raratongans, added much tothe beauty of his appearance.
The two chiefs advanced frankly to each other, and amiably rubbed nosestogether--the South Sea method of salutation! Then a long palaverensued, in which Big Chief explained the object of his visit, namely, tohear about the new religion, and to witness its effects with his owneyes. The missionary gladly gave him a full account of all he desiredto know, and earnestly urged him to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ,and to throw away his idols.
Big Chief and his men listened with earnest attention and intensegravity, and, after the palaver was over, retired to consult together inprivate.
During all this time poor Jarwin's heart had been greatly stirred.Being tatooed, and nearly naked, as well as painted like the rest of hiscomrades, of course no one took particular notice of him, whichdepressed him greatly, for he felt an intense desire to seize themissionary by the hand, and claim him as a countryman. Indeed thisfeeling was so strong upon him on first hearing Mr Williams's Englishtone of voice--although the missionary spoke only in the native tongue--that he could scarcely restrain himself, and had to mutter "honourbright" several times, in order, as it were, to hold himself in check."Honour bright" became his moral rein, or curb, on that trying occasion.But when, in the course of the palaver, Mrs Williams, who hadaccompanied her husband on this dangerous expedition, came forward andaddressed a few words to the missionary in English, he involuntarilysprang forward with an exclamation of delight at hearing once more theold familiar tongue. He glanced, however, at Big Chief, and checkedhimself. There was a stern expression on the brow of the savage, buthis eyes remained fixed on the ground, and his form and face wereimmovable, as though he heard and saw nothing.
"Honour bright," whispered Jarwin, as he turned about and retired amonghis comrades.
Fortunately his sudden action had only attracted the attention of a fewof those who were nearest to him, and no notice was taken of it.
When Big Chief retired with his men for consultation, he called Jarwinaside.
"Jarwin," he said, with unusual gravity, "you must not hear ourpalaver."
"Why not, old feller?"
"It is your business to obey, not to question," replied Big Chief,sternly. "Go--when I want you I will find you. You may go and _look_at the Cookee missionary, but, remember, I have your promise."
"Honour bright," replied Jarwin with a sigh.
"The promise of a Breetish tar?"
"Surely," replied Jarwin.
"Of a _Christian_?" said Big Chief, with emphasis.
"Aye, that's the idee; but it's a hard case, old boy, to advise a poorfeller to go into the very jaws o' temptation. I would rather 'ee hadordered me to keep away from 'em. Howsever, here goes!"
Muttering these words to himself, he left his savage friends to holdtheir palaver, and went straight into the "jaws of temptation," bywalking towards the cottage of the missionary. It was a neat woodenerection, built and plastered by the natives. Jarwin hung about thedoor; sometimes he even ventured to peep in at the windows, in hisintense desire to see and hear the long-lost forms and tones of hisnative land; and, as the natives generally were much addicted to suchindications of curiosity, his doing so attracted no unusual attention.
While he was standing near the door, Mrs Williams unexpectedly cameout. Jarwin, feeling ashamed to appear in so _very_ light a costumebefore a lady, turned smartly round and walked away. Then, reflectingthat he was quite as decently clothed as the other natives about, heturned again and slowly retraced his steps, pretending to be interestedin picking stones and plants from the ground.
The missionary's wife looked at him for a moment with no greaterinterest than she would have bestowed on any other native, and thengazed towards the sea-shore, as if she expected some one. Presently MrWilliams approached.
"Well, have you been successful?" she asked.
"Yes, it has been all arranged satisfactorily, so I shall begin atonce," replied Mr Williams. "The only thing that gives me anxiety isthe bellows."
Poor Jarwin drew nearer and nearer. His heart was again stirred in away that it had not been for many a day, and he had to pull the reinpretty tightly; in fact, it required all his Christianity andBritish-tar-hood to prevent him from revealing himself, and claimingprotection at that moment.
As he raised himself, and gazed with intense interest at the speakers,the missionary's attention became fixed on him, and he beckoned him toapproach.
"I think you are one of the strangers who have just arrived, are younot?"
This was spoken in the language of Raratonga, which was so similar tothat which he had already acquired, that he opened his mouth to reply,"Yes, your honour," or "Your reverence," in English. But it suddenlyoccurred to him that he must translate this into the native tongue ifhis secret was to be preserved. Wh
ile he was turning over in his mindthe best words to use for this purpose he reflected that theimperfection of his knowledge, even the mere tone of his voice, wouldprobably betray him; he therefore remained dumb, with his mouth open.
The missionary smiled slightly, and repeated his question.
Jarwin, in great perplexity, still remained dumb. Suddenly an ideaflashed across his mind. He pointed to his mouth, wagged his tongue,and shook his head.
"Ah! you are dumb, my poor man," said the missionary, with a look ofpity.
"Or tabooed," suggested the lady; "his tongue may have been tabooed."
There was some reason and probability in this, for the extraordinarycustom of tabooing, by which various things are supposed to be renderedsacred, and therefore not to be used or touched, is extended by theSouth Sea Islanders to various parts of their bodies, as for instance,the hands; in which case the person so tabooed must, for a time, be fedby others, as he dare not use his hands.
Jarwin, being aware of the custom, was so tickled by the idea of histongue being tabooed, that he burst into an uncontrollable fit oflaughter, to the intense amazement of his questioners. While in themidst of this laugh, he became horrified by the thought that _that_ ofitself would be sufficient to betray him, so he cleverly remedied theevil, and gave vent to his feelings by tapering the laugh off into ahideous yell, and rushed frantically from the spot.
"Strange," observed the missionary, gazing after the fugitive mariner,"how like that was to an English laugh!"
"More like the cry of a South Sea maniac, I think," said Mrs Williams,re-entering the house, followed by her husband.
The matter which the missionary said had been arranged sosatisfactorily, and was to be begun at once, was neither more nor lessthan the building of a ship, in which to traverse the greatisland-studded breast of the Pacific.
In case some one, accustomed to think of the ponderous vessels which arebuilt constantly in this land with such speed and facility, should beinclined to regard the building of a ship a small matter, we shall pointout a few of the difficulties with which the missionary had to contendin this projected work.
In the first place, he was on what is sometimes styled a "savageisland"--an island that lay far out of the usual track of ships, thathad only been discovered a little more than a year at that time, and wasinhabited by a blood-thirsty, savage, cruel, and ignorant race of humanbeings, who had renounced idolatry and embraced Christianity only a fewmonths before. They knew no more of ship-building than the celebratedman in the moon, and their methods of building canoes were quiteinapplicable to vessels of large capacity. Besides this, Mr Williamswas the only white man on the island, and he had no suitable implementsfor shipbuilding, except axes and augurs, and a few of the smaller ofthe carpenter's tools. In the building of a vessel, timbers and planksare indispensable, but he had no pit-saw wherewith to cut these. It isnecessary to fasten planks and timbers together, but he had no nails todo this. Heavy iron forgings were required for some parts of thestructure, but, although he possessed iron, he had no smith's anvil, orhammer, or tongs, or bellows, wherewith to forge it. In thesecircumstances he commenced one of the greatest pieces of work everundertaken by man--greatest, not only because of the mechanicaldifficulties overcome, but because of the influence for good that theship, when completed, had upon the natives of the Southern Seas, as wellas its reflex influence in exciting admiration, emulation, andenthusiasm in other lands.
The first difficulty was the bellows. Nothing could be done withoutthese and the forge. There were four goats on the island. Three ofthese were sacrificed; their skins were cut up, and, along with twoboards, converted into a pair of smith's bellows in four days.
No one can imagine the intense interest with which John Jarwin looked onwhile the persevering but inexperienced missionary laboured at thiswork, and tremendous was the struggle which he had to keep his handsidle and his tongue quiet; for he was a mechanical genius, and couldhave given the missionary many a useful hint, but did not dare to do solest his knowledge, or voice, or aptitude for such work, or all theseput together, should betray him. He was, therefore, fain to contenthimself with looking on, or performing a few trifling acts in the way oflifting, carrying, and hewing with the axe.
His friends frequently came to look on, as the work progressed, and hecould not help fancying that they regarded him with looks of peculiarinterest. This perplexed him, but, supposing that it must result fromsuspicion of his integrity, he took no notice of it, save that he becamemore resolute than ever in reference to "honour bright!" Big Chief alsocame to look on and wonder, but, although he kept a sharp eye on hisslave, he did not seem to desire intercourse with him.
When the bellows were finished, it was found that they did not workproperly. The upper box did not fill well, and, when tried, they werenot satisfied with blowing wind out, but insisted on drawing fire in!They were, in short, a failure! Deep were the ponderings of themissionary as to how this was to be remedied, and small was the lightthrown on the subject by the various encyclopaedias and other bookswhich he possessed; but the question was somewhat abruptly settled forhim by the rats. These creatures devoured all the leather of thebellows in a single night, and left nothing but the bare boards!
Rats were an absolute plague at that time at Raratonga. Mr Williamstells us, in his interesting "Narrative," that he and his family neversat down to a meal without having two or more persons stationed to keepthem off the table. When kneeling at family prayer, they would run overthem in all directions, and it was found difficult to keep them out ofthe beds. On one occasion, when the servant was making one of the beds,she uttered a scream, and, on rushing into the room, Mr Williams foundthat four rats had crept under the pillow and made themselves snugthere. They paid for their impudence, however, with their lives. Onanother occasion, a pair of English shoes, which had not been put in theusual place of safety, were totally devoured in a night, and the samefate befell the covering of a hair-trunk. No wonder, then, that theydid not spare the bellows!
Poor Jarwin sorrowed over this loss fully as much as did the missionary,but he was forced to conceal his grief.
Still bent on discovering some method of "raising the wind," MrWilliams appealed to his inventive powers. He considered that if a pumpthrew water, there was no reason why it should not throw wind.Impressed with this belief, he set to work and made a box about eighteenor twenty inches square and four feet high, with a valve in the bottomto let air in, a hole in the front to let it out, and a sort of pistonto force it through the hole. By means of a long lever the piston couldbe raised, and by heavy weights it was pushed down. Of courseconsiderable power was required to raise the piston and its weights, butthere was a superabundance of power, for thousands of wondering nativeswere ready and eager to do whatever they were bid. They could havepumped the bellows had they been the size of a house! They workedadmirably in some respects, but had the same fault as the first pair,namely, a tendency to suck in the fire! This, however, was corrected bymeans of a valve at the back of the pipe which communicated with thefire. Another fault lay in the length of interval between the blasts.This was remedied by making another box of the same kind, and workingthe two alternately, so that when one was blowing the fire, the otherwas, as it were, taking breath. Thus a continuous blast was obtained,while eight or ten grinning and delighted natives worked the levers.
The great difficulty being thus overcome, the work progressed rapidly.A large hard stone served for an anvil, and a small stone, perforated,with a handle affixed to it, did duty for a hammer. A pair ofcarpenter's pincers served for tongs, and charcoal, made from thecocoanut and other trees, did duty for coals. In order to obtainplanks, the missionary split trees in half with wedges and then thenatives thinned them down with adzes extemporised by fitting crookedhandles to ordinary hatchets. When a bent or twisted plank wasrequired, having no apparatus for steaming it, he bent a piece of bambooto the required shape, and sent natives to scour the woods in search ofa suit
able crooked tree. Thus planks suited to his purpose wereobtained. Instead of fastening the planks to the timbers of the shipwith iron nails, large wooden pins, or "trenails," were used, and driveninto augur holes, and thus the fabric was held together. Instead ofoakum, cocoanut husk was used, and native cloth and dried banana stumpsto caulk the seams, and make them watertight. The bark of a certaintree was spun into twine and rope by a rope-machine made for thepurpose, and a still more complex machine, namely, a turning-lathe, wasconstructed for the purpose of turning the block sheaves; while sailswere made out of native mats, quilted to give them sufficient strengthto resist the wind.
By these means was completed, in about three months, a decked vessel offrom seventy to eighty tons burden--about sixty feet long by eighteenbroad. She was finally launched and named _The Messenger of Peace_.And, truly, a messenger of peace and glad tidings did she afterwardsprove to be on many occasions among the islands of the Southern Seas.
But our hero, John Jarwin, was not allowed to remain to see this happyconsummation. He only looked on and assisted at the commencement of thework.
Many and many a time did he, during that trying period, argue withhimself as to the propriety of his conduct in thus refusing the means ofescape when it was thrown in his way, and there was not wanting, now andthen, a suggestion from somewhere--he knew not where, but certainly itwas not from outside of him--that perhaps the opportunity had been_providentially_ thrown in his way. But Jarwin resisted thesesuggestions. He looked _up_, and reflected that he was there under asolemn promise; that, but for his promise, he should not have been thereat all, and that, therefore, it was his peculiar duty at that particulartime to whisper to himself continually--"honour bright!"
One morning Big Chief roused Jarwin with his toe, and said--
"Get up. We go home now."
"What say 'ee, old man?"
"Get ready. We go to-day. I have seen and heard enough."
Big Chief was very stern, so that Jarwin thought it wise to hold histongue and obey.
There was a long animated palaver between the chief, the missionary, andthe king, but Jarwin had been carefully prevented from hearing it by hismaster, who ordered him to keep by the canoes, which were launched andready. Once again he was assailed by an intense desire to escape, andthis sudden approach of the time that was perchance to fix his fate forlife rendered him almost desperate--but he still looked up, and "honourbright" carried the day. He remained dumb to the last, and did not evenallow himself the small comfort of waving a piece of native cloth to themissionary, as he and his captors paddled from the Raratonga shore.