CHAPTER XIX.
THE ROCKING STONE.
It is not our intention to detail all that happened during the firstweek of the castaways' stay on the island. Soon after the schooneranchored they were landed in boats and found themselves in the midst ofa strange community indeed. As had appeared from the sea, the collectionof huts--roughly built of driftwood and roofed with anything that camehandy--ran almost down to the margin of the sea. Behind them were greatthickets of thorny, straggly brush, in places higher than a man's head.This, they learned afterward, was considered to be impenetrable. Rumorabout the camp had it, though, that Simon Lake and his mate had managedto traverse it, and had formed paths among the dense growth which wereonly known to themselves. However that might be, nobody ever appeared toenter it for any purpose.
The camp, or collection of shanties, therefore, was to all intents andpurposes, an island within an island. The great shed or barn-likestructure which Tom had noted from the sea was, so it now transpired, asort of detaining shed for the Chinamen until they could be shippedsouth to the States. It was fitted with numerous bunks and rough cookingplaces of brick, made from a kind of sun-dried clay. When the party fromthe schooner came ashore it was occupied by some hundred or moreChinese, who came curiously to the doors and gaped at the newcomers tillsome of Lake's men roughly drove them back.
As for Tom, he could not but admire the system which the rough NewEnglander seemed to have instilled into the working of the affairs ofthe island. There was, it appeared, a regular division of labor, the mentaking it in turns to go south with the Chinese and to stay and guardthe island and receive the steamer when it came from the north with afresh installment of yellow men. In this way Lake had effectuallysucceeded in silencing all grumbling over unequal division of tasks.
Lake himself was in absolute command of everything and everybody. Itcould be seen that his rough crew feared as well as admired him. Aseverywhere where several men are gathered together, some of theislanders were of a better sort than others. With one of these fellowsTom soon struck up an acquaintanceship. He was a man who had been withLake on sealing cruises and had in this way drifted into his presentlife. He confided to Tom that he would be glad to get out of it, butthat Lake had made them all swear, under threat of terrible penalties,never to desert the band.
We have not referred to our party as prisoners, for in the literal senseof the word they were not. As will have been seen, there was no need tosurround them with the constant guard and surveillance that Lake's gangwould have been compelled to exercise elsewhere.
Indeed, every one of them realized bitterly that they were moreeffectually in captivity than if they had been encompassed by stonewalls and iron bars. From the bleak, barren islet there was literally nochance of escape, unless they had sought freedom by utilizing anairship. True, the schooner lay at anchor in the little bay, and theywere a numerous enough party to have worked her, for both the Kanakaswere expert seamen. But the beach was patroled day and night, and,although there was nobody on board the schooner to repel them, yet shewas, to all intents and purposes, as inaccessible as if she had swarmedwith men and guns.
True to his word, Lake had set them all to work. Hitherto he had kept asort of rough set of accounts. It now became Mr. Chillingworth's duty totabulate and assort these and enter the various transactions of Lake'sunusual "business" in different books. Then, too, the provisions of soconsiderable a party called for a good deal of bookkeeping. The rancherwelcomed the work, however, and plunged into it with avidity. It kepthim from thinking, he explained.
As for Tom, employment of an unique sort was found for him. It has beenmentioned that Zeb Hunt had complained of a shortage of provisions. Itwas, in fact, the case that food on the island was scarce and dailydiminishing. At the time the party landed the men were already beginningto grumble. Lake's presence at first had the effect of quieting them,but within a few days the discontented mutterings broke out afresh.
It was this condition of things that occasioned Tom's employment in astrange occupation for such a place. The Bungalow Boy was appointed bySimon Lake storekeeper and purveyor of provisions. He had a hut providedfor him in which he kept his stock--all the provisions on the island.These he doled out three times a day, giving to each man his exactportion. It was no sinecure of a position, either. Tom, who, of course,was in no way responsible for the arrangement or for the shortage offood, had to meet many black looks and insolent threats as he gave eachman his share, and no more, in the measures Lake had provided for thepurpose.
For an assistant he had Professor Dingle's boy, and for the first timein his life that youth was kept so active that he had little time to askfoolish questions. At the time Tom assumed charge of the store the mainprovisions left in the colony consisted of flour, coffee, oatmeal, alittle bacon, and some spices and sugar. For meat the men had to dependon the fish they caught--luckily, they were plentiful. Lake had, at onetime, maintained a flock of sheep and goats, but these had long sincebeen used up.
As for Professor Dingle and the two Kanakas, no occupation had, as yet,been found for them, but they helped at numerous small tasks about thecolony. In return for their services the castaways had been given a hutin the rear of the storeroom. Here they ate and slept and indulged inlong talks, none of them caring to mingle with the rough characters ofthe colony, with the exception of Tom's friend, whose name was LucasTryon. This man was always a welcome visitor, and he more than repaidwhat entertainment they were able to give him by the things he told themabout the island and the ways and customs of its dwellers.
One morning while they were still lingering over the remains of theirscant breakfast, Lake himself slouched in. His wound had now quitehealed. Only a white scar remained to show where he would always carry amark.
"Waal, perfesser," he remarked, "ef you air ready, I reckin I've got ajob fer you ter tackle ter-day. Come ter think uv it, ther rest uv youmight come along. Zeb 'ull look arter ther store, an' he can take careof ther kid, too."
The professor at first demurred to this, but Lake's manner showed thathe was not to be trifled with. Whatever he had in his mind to do heevidently meant to accomplish without delay. It is a curious light onthe character of Zeb Hunt that, rough, brutal man that he was, he hadbecome seemingly much attached to the professor's little lad and wasnever irritated at his endless questions. The professor, therefore, feltless reluctance to leave the lad behind them.
Soon after, with some of the rapidly lessening stock of provisions withthem, the party, at Simon Lake's heels, struck into the brush. Behindthem in the little settlement were black looks which Tom could not helpbut notice. But he had grown so used to this in the store that he paidlittle attention to them. Once or twice the sullen demeanor of the menhad seemed on the point of flaring out into actual mutiny, but, so far,Lake had been able to quell it. It did not occur to Tom that things wererapidly reaching a crisis.
From the camp the brush appeared to be impenetrable. But under SimonLake's guidance they soon found themselves on a narrow trail which woundsteeply off up the overgrown hillside.
Lake said nothing, but stolidly plodded on till he reached a spot wherethe trail opened out into a small clearing--a natural space in the midstof the dense, rank growth.
"Sit down," he said, motioning to some rocks which cropped out of theground here and there. "Afore we go any farther I'm goin' ter tell yerwhy I brought yer along on this cruise. Back in these mountains Zeb Huntand I, on a hunting trip some time back, stumbled across what I believeare gold-bearing rocks. That's what I wanted ther perfesser along fer.He's a scientific gent, and kin tell in a minnit whether er not they beworth going arter."
"How far is this place from here?" inquired the professor.
"Not more than an hour's tramp by the trail I'm going' ter take yer,"was the rejoinder. "I jes' thought, though, that I'd stop and make itall clear to yer whar we air bound fer."
"I fail to see what difference it makes since we a
re under compulsion toaccompany you, anyhow," said Mr. Chillingworth, rather bitterly.
Lake looked at him sharply.
"Waal," he said slowly, "thar's five of you and only one uv me. But,"and a slow smile crept over his face as he gazed at his belt in whichhung two revolvers, "somehow I don't believe it 'ud be healthy fer youter try conclusions with me."
As he spoke he shouldered his rifle and, changing his tone the nextminute, said briskly:
"It's for'ard, then?"
"Forward by all means," rejoined the professor.
They all, except the silent Kanakas, echoed his words. At any rate, thisadventure promised to be out of the ordinary run of things, and therewas just a chance that it might prove the stepping-stone to the way ofescape for which they were always on the lookout.
It must have been high noon when they emerged from the rough, rockyground in which the brush found root and entered upon scenery of atotally different character to any they had yet encountered on theisland. The denseness of the brush, which had prevented their lookingabout them, had concealed from them the fact that in the past hour oftheir march they had been rising very rapidly.
They now found themselves in a barren sort of tableland, which lookedsun-baked and drear. Its surface was seamed and cracked as if byvolcanic action in the past. Almost directly ahead of them, as itappeared, towered the ragged steeple-like peaks which were suchconspicuous objects from the sea.
But a closer inspection proved that, as a matter of fact, the peaks wereseparated from them by a gulf or chasm, which, as a remarkable naturalphenomenon, merits some brief description. A few steps across the aridtableland brought them to its edge. Tom could not repress a shudder ashe gazed into the fathomless rift. Seared by volcanic fires till itssides were of a reddish, angry hue, the abyss itself seemed to havelikewise been the result of some tremendous convulsion of nature.
It cleft the island into two parts like a crack in a plate, for itextended clear across it from one side to the other. While they weregazing down into the depths of this horrid profundity, Monday gave asudden cry, and pointed to a large rock of conical form which upreareditself like a huge obelisk on the edge of the precipice not far fromwhere they stood.
"Matura Seral!" they heard him exclaim to Tuesday, who was gazing at theobject with wrapped interest.
"You have seen that stone before, Monday?" asked the professor, readingaright the expression of the two South Sea natives.
"Yes, boss. Many time when here with whaler. They call him MaturaSeral--in our language that mean Rocking Stone."
"A rocking stone, eh?" echoed the professor, beaming behind hisspectacles. "One of those truly interesting glacial freaks."
He hastened forward, following Lake, who had already started for thestone, of the existence of which he seemed perfectly well aware. At anyrate, it was not an unfamiliar object to him, for as he reached its sidehe laid one of his hands upon it, and, to the amazement of the rest,they saw the mighty mass of stone actually quiver and sway. Yet soperfectly poised was it on the edge of the chasm, where the sameconvulsion that had caused the rift had probably deposited it, that inthe countless ages it had stood there it had not moved from its base.
"Waal, gents all," said Lake, as they came up, "here's whar we stop."
"So it seems," said Mr. Chillingworth; "but where is that gold mine youbrought us here to examine?"
For reply Lake pointed across the gulf at their feet. Exactly oppositeto where they stood they could now see on the wall of a precipice facingthem a narrow ledge. At one end of this ledge was what appeared to bethe mouth of a cave.
"Thar," said Lake, indicating the opening; "thar's the place."
"How on earth do you expect to cross this gulch?" gasped the professor,looking at Lake, as if he were in doubt as to whether the fellow was inhis right wits.
Lake exerted a little more of his great strength and gave the rockingstone a great shove. It bent outward and dipped over the gorge.
"Hyar's haow we'll cross," he said. "It's a bridge put hyar by eitherGod or the Devil, but it's come in handy fer Simon Lake."