CHAPTER FIVE.
The shrieks and cries and shouts of Paul's companions rang in his earsas he found himself with them struggling in the foaming water amid thefragments of their boat. His great desire was to preserve his presenceof mind. He struck out with hands and feet, not for the purpose ofmaking way through the water, but that he might keep himself afloat tillhe could ascertain in which direction the sea was driving him. Thatsome of his companions were yet alive, he could tell by hearing theirvoices, though already it seemed at some distance from each other. Hefelt that, though now swimming bravely, his strength must soon fail him.Something struck him. He stretched out his hands and grasped an oar.He found himself carried along, even more rapidly than before, amid thehissing foam. He judged by the sensation that he was lifted to thesummit of a wave; it rolled triumphantly on with him, and it seemed asif he was thrown forward by it a considerable distance, for he dropped,as it were, into comparatively smooth water. He did not stop, but hewas borne on and on till he felt his feet, for the first time, touch foran instant something hard. It might have been the top of a rock, and hewould be again in deep water; but no--he stretched out one leg. It metthe sand--a hard beach. Directly after, he was wading, and rapidlyrising higher out of the water. He found some difficulty inwithstanding the waters as they receded, but they did not seem to runback with the force they frequently do; and struggling manfully, he atlength worked his way up till he was completely beyond their power.Then exhausted nature gave way, and he sank down in a state ofhalf-stupor on the ground. The hurricane howled over his head; thewaves roared around him; he had the feeling that they would come up andclaim him as their prey, and yet he had no power to drag himself fartheraway. He had consciousness enough left to show that he was on a wildsea beach, and to believe that his last moments were approaching. Atlength he fell asleep, and probably slept for some hours, for when heawoke he felt greatly refreshed. It was still dark. He tried to standup, that he might ascertain the nature of the country on which he hadbeen thrown; he could see no trees, and he fancied that he coulddistinguish the foam-covered waves leaping up on the other side of theland. It might be a point of land, or it might be some small sandyislet; it had, at all events, a very desolate appearance. Was he itssole occupant? He scarcely dared to shout out an inquiry, lest thesea-bird's shriek should be the only reply he might receive--or, whatwould be worse, no responding voice should answer him. He sat downagain, wishing that day would come. He felt very sad--very forlorn. Hecould scarcely refrain from crying bitterly, and almost wished that hehad been swallowed up by the foaming sea. He sat on, wishing that thenight would come to an end. How long it seemed! Hour after hour passedby; he could not sleep, and yet he would gladly have lost allrecollection of his past sufferings, and thoughts of those which were tocome. He watched the hurricane decreasing; the wind grew less and lessin strength; the waves lashed the island shores with diminished fury;and the foam no longer flew, as heretofore, in dense showers over him.Dawn at last broke, and before long the sun himself rose up out of hisocean bed. Paul started to his feet, and looked about him. Along thebeach, at no great distance, his eye fell on two figures. He rushedtowards them. They did not see him, for they were sitting down, lookingthe other way. He shouted for joy on recognising Devereux and O'Grady.On hearing his voice they turned their heads, and the latter, jumpingup, ran to meet him. The greeting was warm, for both looked on eachother as rescued from the grave. Poor Devereux, however, did not move;and as Paul got nearer to him he saw that he was very pale.
"I'm so glad that you have escaped, Gerrard, both for your sake andours," exclaimed O'Grady, shaking hands with Paul, and forgetting allabout their supposed difference in rank: "I do believe that with yourhelp Devereux may recover. He and I, you see, were thrown on shore nearhere, and as his feet were hurt I managed to drag him up here; but, hadmy life depended on it, I could not have dragged him up an inch further.We can manage to get some shelter for him from the heat of the sun, andwhile one stays by him, the other can go in search of food."
"Oh! my good fellow, it will be all right," said Devereux, scarcely ableto restrain a deep groan. "I am sure Gerrard will be a great help, andwe ought to be thankful; but I can't help mourning for the poor fellowswho have gone. There's Alphonse, and his fiddle too--I didn't know howmuch I liked the poor fellow."
"Yes, he was a merry little chap; and then that honest fellow, ReubenCole, and old Croxton too, in spite of his sermons--they were not verylong, and he had good reason for them," chimed in O'Grady with a sigh,which sounded strange from his lips. "It seems a wonder that any of usare alive. But I am getting terribly hungry, and it doesn't seem as ifthere were many fruits or vegetables to be procured on this island;however, I will go in search of what is to be found, though I suspect weshall have to make up our minds to live on shell-fish and sea-weed. Inthe meantime, Gerrard, do you look after Mr Devereux."
"I will do as you order, sir; but perhaps I know more about gettingshell-fish out of the crevices in the rocks than you do, and a personmay easily slip in and be drowned: so if you will let me I will go,"observed Gerrard.
"No, no, I'll go," said O'Grady; "lend me your knife--I shall want it toscrape the shells off the rocks. And now I'm off."
"Look out for fresh water on your way," said Devereux, as O'Grady wasmoving off; "I am already fearfully thirsty."
Devereux and Paul watched O'Grady for some time as he walked along thebeach, where, as there were no rocks, he vainly searched for shell-fish.At length he was lost to sight in the distance.
"This is, I fear, a barren spot we are on, Gerrard; still, we must nevergive in while we are alive," observed Devereux. "I say this, because Ifeel that I am not long for this world; and when you and O'Grady areleft alone, you may fall into despair. Remember, struggle on till thelast moment, for you do not know when help may come."
"Oh! don't speak in that way, Mr Devereux," cried Paul, taking theother's hand; "you are not acting as you advise us to act. We may findfood and water too. The island seems much larger than I at firstthought it was."
"I have no wish to die, but still I do not feel as if I should recover,"answered Devereux, in a feeble voice. "If I do not, and you should gethome, I wish you to go to my father and mother and sisters, and to tellthem that my earnest prayer was, that those who have the right to itshould have the fortune, and that I said I would rather dig or ploughall my days than enjoy what is not my own."
Paul had little doubt as to what Devereux was thinking of; still he didnot like to ask him to be more explicit, so he replied--
"I am afraid that I should not be believed if I took such a message, sopray do not ask me to convey it."
Devereux made no reply, and for some time seemed very unwilling toconverse. Paul earnestly wished that O'Grady would return, or thatDevereux would give him leave to go in search of fresh water, which hethought might be found further in the interior. Devereux, whose eyeshad been shut, at last looked up.
"Oh, for a glass of water, Gerrard! None but those who have been placedas we are know its true value," he whispered.
"Let me go and try to find some, sir," said Paul. "I see a large shella few yards off; it will carry as much as you can drink. And now thatthe light is stronger, I observe in the distance some shrubs or lowtrees, and I cannot but hope that water will be found near them."
"Then go," said Devereux; "but take care that you can find me again."
Paul looked about, and saw a small spar floating on to the beach.Without hesitation, he ran into the water to bring it out. He seizedthe prize, and was dragging it on shore, when a large monster dartedtowards him. He struck out the spar with all his force in the directionof the creature. It was almost torn from his grasp, and he was nearlydragged, with his face down, into the water; but he held on manfully,and sprang back. He just saw a pair of fierce eyes, two rows of sharpteeth, and a glance of white skin, convincing him that he had narrowlyescaped from the jaws of a ravenous shark. He felt al
so that he hadadditional cause for thankfulness at having escaped the sharks when heand his companions had been so long helplessly tumbled about in thewaves during the night. "Poor Alphonse and the rest! what has beentheir fate?" he thought. He did not tell Devereux of his narrow escape;but planting the pole in the sand, with a handkerchief tied to the topof it, he set off towards the spot where he hoped to find water.Devereux wished him good speed.
"You will easily find me again," he said, as Paul left him. Paulhurried on. The ground was composed of sand and rock, with scarcely anyvegetation. The spot where he had left Devereux was the summit of abank; the space he was traversing looked as if it had been recentlycovered by the sea. The trees were much farther off than he hadfancied. The heat of the sun increased; he felt very weak and hungry,and it was with difficulty that he could make his way through the deepsand.
"If I do not go on, poor Mr Devereux will die of thirst, and water mustbe found," he said to himself whenever he found his resolution flagging.A famous word is that _must_. We _must_ do what has to be done. We_must_ not do what ought not to be done. Paul struggled on in spite ofthe heat, and thirst, and hunger, and weariness, and the strangecreatures which crawled out from the crevices in the rocks, and ranalong the hot sand. He had no time to examine them. At length he foundthat he was rising on the side of another bank, and what had seemed mereshrubs in the distance, now assumed the appearance of a group of tallcocoa-nut trees. "Should there be no water below, I shall find whatwill be almost as refreshing," thought Paul, as he hurried on, almostforgetting his fatigue in his eagerness to reach the spot. The sand,however, seemed deeper and hotter than any he had before traversed.Below the cocoa-nut trees there were low shrubs and some herbage. Theseindicated water without doubt. He ran on. He stopped and hesitated.There was a long, low building, capable of holding a number of persons.If it was at present occupied, what reception could he expect to meetfrom its inmates? He had read about savage Caribs, and buccaneers, andpirates, and he thought that, possibly, the people in the hut might beone or the other. He advanced cautiously, expecting every moment to seesome one come out of the hut. "I am but a boy, and however bad they maybe, they will not hurt me; and I must have the water at all events--forwater there must be, or the hut would not have been built on that spot."Saying this, he hurried on, treading lightly, "The people may beasleep, and I may get the water and be away without any one seeing me,"he thought. He passed the door of the hut. Before him appeared a tankcut in the coral rock, with the pure clear water bubbling up in themiddle of it. Stooping down, he quickly washed out his shell, and thentook a long, delicious draught. He felt as if he could never takeenough. He did not forget his companions; and while he was consideringhow little the shell could carry, his eye fell on an iron pot by theside of the tank. He stooped down and filled it, and was carrying itoff, when the door of the hut opened, and a woolly head with a hideousblack face popped out, and a voice which sounded like a peal of thunder,the roll of a muffled drum, and the squeak of a bagpipe, mingled in one,shouted out to him in a language he could not understand. Instead ofrunning away, Paul turned round and asked the negro what he wanted. Thelatter only continued growling as before, and making hideous faces,while his eye glanced at the can. Paul made signs that he was onlyborrowing it, and would bring it back. He, however, did not venturewithin grasp of the unattractive-looking negro, who showed noinclination to follow him. The reason was soon apparent, for, as theblack came rather more out of the doorway, Paul perceived that he hadlost both his legs, and stood upon two wooden stumps. No one elseappeared to be moving inside the hut, and Paul concluded, therefore,that the black was its only inmate. To avoid that unprepossessingindividual, he had made a circuit, and as he looked about to ascertainthe direction he was to take, he discovered that he was near the head ofa long narrow lagoon, or gulf, which ran up from the sea. He had notime to examine it, as he was anxious to get back to Devereux. He ranon as fast as he could without spilling the water. He thought that heknew the way. He stopped. He feared that he had mistaken it. Helooked back at the tall cocoa-nut trees, and wished that he had broughtsome of the fruit with him; but then he remembered that alone he couldnot have got it, and that the black, might possibly not have chosen togive him any. Again and again he stopped, fearing that he must be goingin a wrong direction. The flagstaff could nowhere be seen. "Poor MrDevereux! what will become of him should I miss him?" he said frequentlyto himself, as he worked his way on through the heavy sand. At last thelooked-for signal appeared above the top of a bank. Devereux was lyingwhere he had left him, but seemed unconscious of his approach. "Was heasleep--or, dreadful thought! could he be dead?" He ran on, nearlyspilling the precious water in his eagerness. He called. Devereux didnot answer. He knelt down by his side. His eyes were closed, and hisarms were helplessly stretched out like those of the dead. Paulmoistened his lips, and by degrees got them far enough apart to poursome water down his throat. At length, to Paul's great joy, Devereuxopened his eyes.
"Where is O'Grady?" he asked, and then continued--"Ah! Gerrard, is thatyou? Where did you get the water? It is delicious! delicious!"
In a short time Devereux appeared to be sufficiently recovered tounderstand what was said to him; and while Paul was giving him anaccount of his adventures, O'Grady was seen running towards them. Hearrived almost breathless, with his arms full of shell-fish, which hethrew before them on the ground.
"I have had hard work to get them, but there is no lack of more on thelee side of the island, so we shall not starve," he exclaimed. "But setto and eat, for it won't do to wait for cooking, as we have no means ofkindling a fire. When we have broken our fast, I will tell you what Ihave seen."
Although raw fish and cold water was not luxurious fare, the party weremuch strengthened by it, and after a time Devereux declared that he feltable to accompany his companions either to the spring, or in thedirection O'Grady had been. They came to the conclusion that the islandwas inhabited; for O'Grady had seen some objects moving, which he tookfor people, on a rock at some little distance from the shore, and hesupposed that they had gone there in a canoe for the purpose of fishing.It was finally agreed that they would go towards the rock, andendeavour to gain some information as to the island on which they hadbeen cast, which they were not likely to obtain from the black Paul hadseen at the hut. Devereux had much difficulty in walking, though withthe help of his shipmates he got on faster than could have beenexpected. They made a shorter cut than O'Grady had taken, and were soonopposite the rock on which he fancied that he had seen some people.
"There are two men and a boy," exclaimed Paul, whose eyesight was thekeenest of the party. "Who can they be?"
The three lads hurried on, as fast as Devereux's weakness would allow,to the beach.
"I thought so. There can be no doubt about it," cried Paul. "They seeus. They are making signs to us. There is Alphonse, and Reuben Cole,and old Croxton. How can they get to us?"
Devereux and O'Grady were soon convinced that they were their shipmates.O'Grady proposed swimming to them, as the distance was not great; butPaul remembered the shark from which he had so narrowly escaped in themorning, and urged him not to make the attempt. It was then agreed thatthey must either hollow out a canoe or build a raft.
"But where is the tree from which the canoe is to be formed, and theaxes with which it is to be cut down?" asked Paul. "There are no treesnearer than the fountain."
The midshipmen had in their eagerness overlooked that consideration, andthere did not seem much greater probability of their finding materialsfor the raft. Still, something must be done to rescue their shipmates,and that speedily, or they would die of thirst if not of hunger. Paulrecollected the spar he had stuck up, and which had some rope attachedto it, and O'Grady had observed some driftwood on the beach. They hadpassed some low shrubs, with thick stems, of a bamboo character, andthey would assist to make the platform for the raft if a framework couldbe formed. The rope, by being
unlaid, would serve to bind the rafttogether. No time was to be lost. Paul set off for the spar, while theother two, making signals to their friends that they would try to helpthem, went along the shore to collect what wood they could find. Therewas plenty of driftwood fit for burning, but too small for their object.At last they found a plank, and not far off a spar, and then anotherplank. Their spirits rose.
"What is one man's poison is another man's meat," cried O'Grady, as hefound several planks together. "Some craft has been lost hereabouts,and probably all hands with her, and we are likely to benefit by herremains."
They had now, they fancied, got enough wood, with the aid of the shrubs,to form a raft, on which they might ferry themselves across to the rock.They accordingly began to drag them towards the spot where they hadparted from Paul. It was a work, however, of no little labour, as theycould draw only one plank at a time over the heavy sands. They hadmade, three trips, and still Paul did not appear. They began to fearsome accident might have happened to him, and, now that they had foundso large a supply of wood, to regret that they had sent him for thespar. They had brought together all they had found; and while Devereuxbegan to form the framework, O'Grady cut down with his knife branchesfrom the shrubs near at hand. They had little doubt that their friendson the rock knew what they were about. While thus employed, a shoutmade them turn their heads, and, looking up, they saw Paul, with thespar on his shoulder, running towards them. When he came up, he had anextraordinary tale to tell. The spar, which had been left planted inthe sand, had been removed. He had hunted about for it in everydirection, and had almost given up the search, when he saw it lying onthe ground in the direction of the hut. It was a sign that there mustbe somebody on the island besides the black, as with his wooden stumpshe could scarcely have got as far and back again without having beenseen. Paul reported also that he had seen a vessel a long way toleeward, but that she appeared to be beating up towards the island.However, all their thoughts were required for the construction of theirraft. The rope had not been removed from the spar, and this was a greatassistance in strengthening it. The raft, however, without the means ofguiding it, would be of little use. They had, therefore, to construct acouple of paddles and a rudder, and they then found that, with the helpof two small spars, they could form a makeshift mast and yard, theirshirts and pocket-handkerchiefs fastened together forming a sail. Thiswould carry them to the rock, as the wind was off the shore, and theymust trust to the assistance of their friends to get back. What wastheir disappointment, on stepping on the raft, to find that it wouldonly well support two people, and that although a third could be carriedon it, a fourth would most certainly upset it, and bring it under water.The two midshipmen, therefore, agreed to go, and to leave Paul onshore, much to his disappointment. "Shove us off," cried O'Grady toPaul, as he let fall the sail, to which their neck-handkerchiefs andstockings served as sheets.
Devereux steered with the long spar, which had a piece of board fastenedto the end of it, and O'Grady tended the sail with one hand, aided byhis teeth, and paddled with the other. They made fair progress, butPaul watched them anxiously, for the raft was difficult to steer, and itwas very possible that they might miss the rock, and, if so, have hardwork to save themselves from being carried out to sea. The people onthe rock waved their hands to encourage them. The wind came somewhatmore on the quarter, and they had to paddle hard to keep the raft on itsproper course.
Paul was eagerly watching their progress, when he was startled by a loudguttural sound behind him, and looking round there, he saw the hideousblack standing on what might be literally called four wooden legs--forbesides his two timber extremities, he supported his shoulders on a pairof crutches with flat boards at the bottom, which accounted for hisbeing able to move on so rapidly over the soft sand. Paul could notescape from him except into the sea, so he wisely stood still. Therewas something very terrific in the black's countenance, increased by thegrimaces he made in his endeavours to speak. He pointed to the ironpot, which Paul had slung by his side. Paul at first thought that hewas accusing him of stealing it. "If he catches hold of me, I do notknow what he may do; but at the same time, as he has no weapon in hishand, I do not suppose that he intends to hurt me," he thought. "I willboldly go up to him and give him the cup, and if he looks as if he wouldgrab me, I can easily spring out of his way."
Paul forgot that the black's crutch would make a very formidable andfar-reaching weapon. He advanced slowly, but was much reassured whenthe black, pointing to the rock, made signs of drinking. "After all, heis come as a friend to help us. He is not so ugly as I thought," hesaid to himself, as he handed the can to the black. No sooner did theblack receive it, than away he went at a great rate over the sand.
Meantime the raft had been making good progress. The great fear was,lest it might meet with some current which would sweep it out of itscourse. Paul had no selfish feelings--he dreaded any accident as muchas if he had been himself on the raft. O'Grady seemed to be paddlingharder than ever. Devereux was too weak, he feared, to do much. "Iwish that I had gone," he said more than once to himself. Now the raftwas again making direct for the rock; the sail was lowered. One of themen caught it as it was being driven round the rock by the surge of thesea, and while they steadied it Alphonse was placed upon it, andimmediately it began to return to the shore. Alphonse had taken apaddle, and he and O'Grady worked away manfully. They made goodprogress, and in a short time reached the beach. Alphonse was sittingon a box. It was the case of his beloved fiddle. He put it under hisarm as he stepped on shore, and shook Paul warmly by the hand.
"Ah! this has been the means of saving my life," he said; "I clung to itwhen I had nothing else to support me, and was washed, with the wreck ofthe boat to which Croxton and Cole were hanging on, up to the rock,though how we got on to it I do not know, nor do my companions, Ibelieve."
Alphonse looked very pale, and complained of hunger and thirst. Whilehe was speaking, the black was seen coming over the sand at a great rateon his four legs. To one of his arms was slung the can of water. Itshowed that he had good instead of evil intentions towards theshipwrecked seamen. He made signs for Alphonse to drink, which hethankfully did.
Paul was eager to go off for the rest, and obtained leave to takeDevereux's place. The negro seemed to take an interest in theirproceedings, and both Devereux and Alphonse expressed their belief thathe wished to be friendly.
When O'Grady and Paul arrived at the rock, they found old Croxton andReuben disputing who should remain to the last.
"The old before the young," cried Reuben.
"Ay, but the old should have the choice of the post of honour," saidCroxton.
However, he was at last induced to step on to the raft. It was not atime to stand on ceremony, for the sky gave indications that the weatherwas about to change, and it was very evident that, should the sea getup, the rock would no longer be tenable. The raft felt the weight ofthe old man, and the two boys found it much more difficult to paddle tothe shore.
They had not got far when Paul observed a dark triangular-shaped objectabove the water; then he saw a pair of fierce eyes fixed on him. It wasa huge shark--large enough to upset the raft with a whisk of his tail.He did not tell his companions, but paddled steadily on. What did theappearance of the monster portend? He had heard of the instinct ofsharks. Did the creature follow in the expectation of obtaining avictim?
On this trip the shark was to be disappointed, for they reached theshore in safety, and landing the old man, who was suffering much fromthirst, and was therefore doubly grateful for the supply of waterbrought by the black, they for the last time shoved off. Both the ladsfelt greatly fatigued, and though they set their sail, they had topaddle hard to keep the raft on a right course. The sea had beengetting up, and every moment made Reuben's situation on the rock moreinsecure. Even if he could have swum across the channel, the monsterPaul had seen would have taken good care that he should never havereached the shore. The kn
owledge of this, as well as their own safety,made them exert themselves to the utmost. Already more than one sea haddashed over the rock, and Reuben had to grasp it tightly to preventhimself from being washed off. A huge foaming billow was seen rollingin. It must sweep over the reef, and perhaps come thundering down onthe raft.
The boys had just lowered their sail, and were paddling in. Reuben sawthe roller coming. Making a sign to them to paddle back, he sprang intothe water and struck out towards them. On came the billow--roaring,foaming. The rock was hidden from view by a mass of spray as the wavecurled over it.
"Oh, he has gone! he has gone!" cried Paul, as, looking back, he couldnowhere see his friend.
It was but for a moment. He had been concealed by the swelling water.Again he appeared.
"Your hand! your hand!" cried Reuben.
Paul stretched out his hand with terror at heart, for at that moment hesaw the dark fin of a shark on the surface of the water. He seizedReuben's hand, and dragged with all his might. The wave rushed on,dashing over the raft, and almost sweeping O'Grady and Paul from off it;but they held on, and it served the purpose of lifting Reuben on to itat the moment that a pair of ravenous jaws appeared opening in anattempt to seize him. The same sea, lifting the raft, drove it rapidlytowards the shore--and another following, the boys paddling at the sametime, sent it high up on the beach; but even then the receding waterswould have carried it off, had not the negro and old Croxton rushedtowards them, the former planting his crutches against it, and thelatter grasping it tightly. Even thus they could not hold it long, butthey gave time to the boys and Reuben to spring on shore, and then itwas carried off, and soon shattered to pieces.
The black now made signs to all the party to accompany him to his hut,which, as may be supposed, they gladly did.
"Faith, Mr Charcoal is better than he looks," observed O'Grady, as hebade them enter.
The inside offered a strong contrast to the outside. There was a largetable and chairs, and several bed-places, with coverlids to the beds ofrich damask, and there were numerous chests and articles of ships'furniture in corners and ranged along the wall. The black, too,produced from a chest several silver and richly-embossed plates, dishes,and other utensils, into which having emptied a rich stew from an ironpot, he placed them before his guests, and made them a sign to fall to.This they were not slack to obey, for all were desperately hungry. Noone inquired of what it was composed, though a qualm came over thefeelings of Devereux, who was likely to be the most particular, as hehooked up what certainly looked very like the body and feet of a lizard.However, he said nothing, and minced up the remainder of his portionbefore he examined it. O'Grady made some queer faces at some of thethings which caught his eye in the pot, but he said nothing, as he wastoo hungry to be particular.
When the whole party were satisfied, the good-natured black pointed tothe couches, and signified that they might rest on them--a permission ofwhich they did not fail immediately to avail themselves, and in a fewminutes all were fast asleep. The black, meantime, in spite of thewarmth of the weather, sat down by the side of the fire at which he hadbeen cooking, and gave himself up to contemplation. How completely atthat moment were all his guests in his power! Who could tell whatinjuries he had to avenge on the white men? Whatever were his feelings,he gave them no cause for suspicion.
Having waited till they were so sound asleep that a great gun firedclose to their ears would scarcely have awakened them, he took hiscrutches and stumped out of the hut. Some hours passed away. Paul wasthe first to open his eyes; no one besides his friends were in the hut.He did not like to rouse them up, though, in a short time, hunger--thesame cause which had awoke him--made them also awake. They had consumedall the food the negro had given them in the morning, and they couldfind nothing more to eat in the hut. O'Grady proposed that they shouldclimb the trees, and get some cocoanuts.
It was, however, more easy to propose than to execute the achievement.He himself first tried to get up a tree, and then Paul made theexperiment; but, sailors as they were, they could not manage to graspthe stem with sufficient firmness to ascend. Paul, being the lightest,helped by his companions, had got up some way, when a gruff shout madethem turn round, and old Charcoal, as they called the black, was seenshambling along on his crutches towards them. He beckoned Paul to comedown from the tree in a way which showed that he would not be disobeyed.They saw that he had a basket on his back, and, pointing to thefountain to intimate that he wanted water, he set about turning itscontents, which were of a very heterogeneous character, into the largestew-pot from which he had supplied their breakfast. The midshipmen, asbefore, saw enough to convince them that it would be wise not toominutely to examine the contents of the pot. The black produced somerum at dinner, which, though they partook of it sparingly, helped downthe strange mess.
Two or three days passed by, and the black continued to treat them as atfirst, though O'Grady suggested that he was possibly like the ogre inthe fairy tale--only fattening them up that he might eat them in theend. Still, it was agreed that he was a very good fellow, and themajority were of opinion that he would help them to reach the nearestBritish island if he had the power. However, hitherto not a word hadbeen exchanged between him and them. He made no objection to theirexploring the island, but their discoveries only convinced them that itwas very barren, and that no means existed of their getting away fromit. They came, to be sure, on a canoe, in which they concluded that theblack occasionally went out fishing; but it was only just large enoughto hold him, and the paddles were nowhere to be found. Soon after this,O'Grady, who was in advance, saw a large boat hauled up under somebushes. "Hurrah, boys! here's a craft which will carry us to Jamaica,if need be," he shouted, and ran on, followed by Paul and Alphonse.
The tone of his voice changed as he got nearer. "She has a mightyantique look about her, but she may still serve our purpose," he said."But I'm not quite certain," he added, as he struck his fist against aplank, which crumbled away before the blow. A kick sent another plankinto fragments. The whole boat was mere touchwood.
There was a smile on the countenance of old Charcoal, who came in sightdirectly afterwards and had evidently been watching them at a distance.They were in a certain sense his prisoners, and yet he could not meanthem ill, or he would not have treated them with so much hospitality.How he procured their food, was a question, and certainly it was hiswish that they should not be able to provide it for themselves. Overand over again they discussed the means by which they might get away;but when they expressed their wish to him by signs, he shook his head,and tried to show that it would be impossible to do so.
At last they began to suspect that he had some motive for detainingthem. Not a vessel had been seen since the morning when they werethrown on the island; but one day, on waking, just as it was light, Paulgot up, and going out, saw a schooner gliding along through the lagoonor creek leading to the hut. He called up his companions, who werespeedily on foot, and all rushed out to see the stranger. She was along, low, dark schooner, with mischief in her very look--such as wasnot at that time to be found in European waters.
"That craft doesn't go about on any lawful errand," observed old Croxtonto Reuben.
"I should think not, mate. If ever there was a pirate, that 'ere craftis one," was the answer.
The matter was pretty well set at rest by the appearance of a blackflag, which had hitherto hung against the mast, but which, now blown outby the breeze suddenly freshening up, exhibited the skull andcross-bones which the rovers of those days delighted to carry, either inthe presence of a weak enemy, or to exhibit in triumph to their friends.
The midshipmen felt that their uniforms would not be looked on with afavourable eye by the pirates, and yet they could not nor would haveattempted to hide themselves. The vessel was soon securely moored, andseveral boats being lowered, and hampers, casks, and cases placed inthem, the crew, with shouts, and songs, and wild gestures, came onshore. They appeared to be men of a
ll nations and of every hue, fromthe jet-black African, to the fair Englishman or Dane. They soon madeit evident that they intended to indulge in a thorough debauch, for thegreater number began without loss of time to unpack cases of wine andprovisions in a shady spot under the trees. Several, however,surrounded the Englishmen, and one of them, stepping forward, inquiredin a rough tone what had brought them there.
Devereux replied calmly that they had been cast on the island, and hopedthat he and his companions would be treated with courtesy.
"That depends on how you behave yourselves, my spark," answered the man,gruffly. "We want a few hands to supply the places of those who werekilled in our last engagement. If you like to join us, well and good;if not, look out for squalls."