CHAPTER TWO.
WRECKED ON A REEF.
The coral reefs, which in various shapes and sizes stud the Southernseas, are sometimes rendered almost unapproachable by the immense waveswhich fall upon them. Even in the calmest weather these huge breakersmay be seen falling with prolonged roar on the beach. The lightestundulation on the sea, which might almost escape observation away fromland, takes the form of a grand, quiet billow as it draws near to anislet or reef, and finally, coming majestically on, like a wall ofrolling crystal, breaks the silence suddenly by its thunderous fall, andgives to the sands a temporary fringe of pure white foam.
To ride in on the crest of one such roller on a piece of board and leapupon the shore, is a feat peculiar to South Sea islanders, who aretrained to the water from earliest infancy. To do the same thing in asmall boat, without oars, without strength, without experience, almostwithout courage, is a feat that no South Sea islander would attempt, andthe necessity for performing which might cause the hair of anyislander's head to stand on end.
That Dominick Rigonda's hair did not stand on end, as he sat there withpale cheeks and compressed lips, was probably due to the fact that hehad thrust his straw hat tightly down on his brows.
As the boat drew nearer to the reef, both Pauline and Otto had risen, inthe strength of their hearty meal, and were now seated on the thwarts ofthe boat. Their brother had selected the thickest floor-plank, and cutit roughly into the form of an oar with a clasp-knife. He now sat withit over the stern, sculling gently--very gently, however, for hereserved the little strength that remained to him for the criticalmoment.
The undulations of the sea, which had rocked them hitherto so softly,had by that time assumed a decided form and force, so that the boat roseon the oily back of each billow that passed under it, and slid back intoa watery hollow, to be relifted by each successive wave.
"You look very anxious," said Pauline, clasping her hands on her knee,and gazing earnestly in her brother's face.
"I cannot help it," returned Dominick, curtly.
"Is our danger then so great?"
Dominick only half admitted that it was. He did not wish to alarm her,and tried to smile as he said that the struggle would be brief--it wouldsoon be over.
"But tell me, where lies the danger?" persisted Pauline. "I do notquite see it."
"`Where ignorance is bliss,' dear, `'tis folly to be wise,'" returnedDominick, with an unsuccessful effort to look more at ease.
"Nay, brother, but I am not ignorant that danger exists--only ignorantas to the amount and nature of it. Surely there cannot be much risk inpushing our boat through that white foam that lines the shore with sosoft a fringe."
"I should think not," broke in the pert and inexperienced Otto; "why,Pina," (thus he abridged his sister's name), "there's as much danger, Ishould think, in pushing through a tub of soap-suds."
"Come, Dom," returned the girl, "explain it to me; for if you don'tpoint out where the danger really lies, if you leave me in this state ofpartial ignorance, I shall be filled with alarm instead of bliss fromthis moment till we reach the shore."
"Well, well, sister," said Dominick, when thus urged; "if you must haveit, I will explain."
He went on to show that when the boat came near the shore the waveswould grasp it, instead of letting it slip back; would carry it swiftlyin on their crests, so that the great difficulty in such a case would beto keep the boat's head pointing to the land, and if he failed to do so,they would infallibly be overturned and have to swim ashore.
"Well, that would be unpleasant, Dom," said the ignorant, as well asinnocent, Pauline, "but it would not matter much, for we can all swim--thanks to you for insisting on teaching us long ago."
"We will try our best," said Dominick, who thereupon relapsed intosilence, wisely resolving to let his sister retain all the "bliss" of"ignorance" that was possible under the circumstances.
Indeed, there was not much more time for conversation, for the power ofthe waves was beginning to be felt by the little craft, and the clumsyoar did not act with as much precision or force as was desirable, whileDominick's weakness rendered the steering difficult. Pauline now beganto realise the danger somewhat more clearly from experience, and evenOtto showed symptoms of surprise that amounted very nearly to alarm, asthe boat at one point made a sudden rush on a wave-top as if it meant totry a race with it, and then as suddenly slipped back into the hollowbehind, as if it had been disheartened, feeling that there was nochance.
At last they reached the point of greatest danger. The huge waves, aswe have said, commenced out at sea in long, gentle undulations. Nearerthe shore they advanced in the shape of glassy walls, one after another,like successive lines of indomitable infantry in time of war. Furtherin, the tops of these waves began to gurgle and foam, and gather real,instead of seeming, motion, as they rushed towards their fall. It washere that the boat showed symptoms of becoming unmanageable.
"Why, the water's beginning to boil!" exclaimed Otto, in some anxiety.
"Hold on, boy, and keep quiet," said his brother.
As he spoke, the water gurgled up, so that it seemed as if about to pourinboard all round. At the same time the boat made a rush shoreward asif suddenly endowed with life. Dominick struggled manfully to keep thestern to the sea. He succeeded, but in another moment the boat slippedback. It had not been fairly caught, and the wave passed on to fallwith a roar like thunder a hundred yards or so ahead.
"The next will do it," said Dominick, with an anxious glance behind,where a crystal wall was coming grandly on--unnaturally high, it seemedto them, owing to their position in the hollow.
No need to tell Otto now to hold on! No need to explain difficulty ordanger to Pauline! As her brother stood at the oar, quivering as muchfrom weakness as exertion, she understood it all. But she was brave,and she could swim. This latter fact lent her additional confidence.Best of all, she had faith in God, and her spirit was calmed, for,whether life or death lay before her, she knew that her soul was "safe."
As Dominick had prophesied, the next wave took them fairly in its grasp.For a few moments the water hissed and gurgled round them. Thesteersman seemed to lose control for a second or two, but quicklyrecovered. Then there was a bound, as if the boat had been shot from acatapult, and the billow fell. A tremendous roar, tumultuous foam allround, increasing speed! The land appeared to be rushing at them, whenDominick's oar snapped suddenly, and he went overboard. A shriek fromPauline and a shout from Otto rose high above the din of raging water,as the boat broached-to and hurled its remaining occupants into the sea.
Even in that trying moment Dominick did not lose presence of mind. Hecould swim and dive like a water-rat. Pushing towards his brother andsister, who were heading bravely for the shore, he shouted, "Dig yourfingers and toes deep into the sand, and hold on for life, if--" (hecorrected himself) "_when_ you gain the beach."
It was well they were forewarned, and that they were constitutionallyobedient. A few minutes later, and they were all swept up high on thebeach in a wilderness of foam. The return of that wilderness was likethe rushing of a millrace. Sand, stones, sticks, and seaweed went backwith it in dire confusion. Prone on their knees, with fingers and toesfixed, and heads down, the brothers and sister met the rush. It wasalmost too much for them. A moment more, and strength as well as breathwould have failed; but the danger passed, and Dominick sprang to hisfeet.
"Up, up! and run!" he shouted, as he caught Pauline round the waist anddragged her on. Otto needed no help. They were barely in time. Thesucceeding wave roared after them as if maddened at having lost itsprey, and the foaming water was up with them, and almost round theirknees, ere its fury was quite spent.
"Safe!" exclaimed Dominick.
"Thank God!" murmured Pauline, as she sank exhausted on the sand.
Otto, who had never seen his sister in such a state before, ran to her,and, kneeling down, anxiously seized one of her hands.
"Never fear, lad,"
said his brother in reassuring tones, "she'll sooncome round. Lend a hand to lift her."
They bore the fainting girl up the beach, and laid her on a grassy spotunder a bush. And now Dominick was glad to find that he had beenmistaken in supposing that the coral reef was a mere sandbank, destituteof vegetation. Indeed, before landing, he had observed that there werea few trees on the highest part of it. He now perceived that there wasquite a little grove of cocoa-nut palms, with a thicket of underwoodaround them, which, if not extensive, was at all events comparativelydense. He pointed out the fact to Otto, who was chafing his sister'shands.
"Ay," responded Otto, "and the island on the other side must be agoodish big one, for I got a glimpse of it through the trees as we camerushing in on that monstrous wave."
In a short time Pauline recovered, and Dominick returned to the water'sedge with Otto.
"Our first care must be," he said, "to save our little boat if we can,for it is the only means we have of escaping from this island."
"Escaping!" repeated Otto, in surprise. "I don't want to escape fromit, Dom."
"Indeed! why not?"
"Why, because I've dreamed about being cast on a desolate islandhundreds of times, and I've read about Robinson Crusoe, and all theother Crusoes, and I've longed to be cast on one, and now I am cast onone, so I don't want to escape. It'll be the greatest fun in the world.I only hope I won't wake up, as usual, to find that it's all a dream!"
Dominick laughed (not scornfully, by any means) at the boy's enthusiasm;nevertheless he had strong sympathy with him, for the period had notpassed so long ago when he himself entertained a very vivid impressionof the romance of such a situation, and he did not trouble his mindabout the stern realities.
"I sincerely hope it may come up to your expectations, Otto, my boy;nevertheless we must secure the boat for fishing purposes, even thoughwe don't try to escape in it."
"For fishing! why, we have neither hooks nor lines."
"True, lad; but we have got fingers and brains. It strikes me that weshall have occasion to use all our powers and possessions if we are notto starve here, for the reef seems to have very little vegetation on it,and there is sure to be a lagoon of water on the other side, separatingit from the island beyond."
"I wonder if there is fresh water on the reef," said Otto, with a verysudden look of solemnity and pursing of the mouth.
"You may well ask that. I hope there is. We will go and settle thepoint the moment we have secured the boat, if--"
He stopped, for he saw at that moment that the sea had taken good careto secure the boat to itself as a plaything. Having dashed it intosmall pieces, it was by that time busily engaged in tossing these aboutamong the foam, now hurling the splinters high upon the shore, anonsending up long watery tongues to lick them back, and then casting themunder the incoming rollers, to be further reduced into what is usuallystyled matchwood.
There was a small bay close at hand, where the sandy beach was strewnwith rocks, in which the sea appeared to play this game with unusualvigour. It was a sort of hospital for marine incurables, into which thesea cast its broken toys when tired of smashing them up, and left themthere to rot.
Regarding this spot with a thoughtful look, Dominick remarked that thewreck which lay on the rocks off the tail of the island was by no meansthe first that had taken place there.
"And won't be the last, I fancy," said Otto.
"Probably not. Indeed, from the appearance of this bay, and the factthat an ocean current drifted us towards the spot, I should think thatthe island is a particularly dangerous one for vessels. But come, we'llgo see how Pina gets on, and then proceed to examine our new home."
Returning to the place where Pauline had been left, they found the poorgirl wringing the water out of her dress. The news of the fate of thelittle boat did not seem to affect her much, she did not fullyappreciate the loss, and was more taken up with the idea of thankfulnessfor deliverance from death.
"May I not go with you?" she asked, on hearing that her brothers weregoing to search for water.
"Certainly. I thought you might perhaps prefer to rest, and dry yourclothes in the sun," replied Dominick.
"Walking will dry them better," said Pina. "Besides, I have quiterecovered."
"You're a plucky little woman," said Otto, as they set off. "Isn't itnice to be here all by ourselves, on a real uninhabited island, quitefit for Robinson himself? Who knows but we may find Friday in thebushes!"
"Wouldn't that spoil it as an uninhabited isle?"
"A little, but not much."
"The thicket is too small to contain anything with life, I fear," saidDominick, whose anxiety as to food and drink prevented his sympathisingmuch with the small-talk of the other two. "Luckily the weather iswarm," he added, "and we won't require better shelter at present thanthe bushes afford, unless a storm comes.--Ho what have we here?--apath!"
They had reached the entrance to the thicket, and discovered whatappeared to be an opening into it, made apparently by the hand of man.
"Nothing more likely," said Pauline. "If so many wrecks have takenplace here--as you seem to think--some of the crews must have landed,and perhaps lived here."
"Ay, and died here," returned Dominick, in a grave, low tone, as hepointed to a skeleton lying on a spot which had once been cleared ofbushes, but so long ago that the vegetation had partially grown upagain. The man whose bleached bones lay before them had evidentlyperished many years before. On examination, nothing was found to affordany information about him, but when they had advanced a dozen yardsfurther they came upon six little mounds, which showed that a party--probably a wrecked crew--had sojourned there for a time, and finallyperished: so far their story was clear enough. One by one they musthave sunk, until the last man had lain down to die and remain unburied.
Pushing past these sad evidences of former suffering, and feeling thatthe same fate might await themselves, they came to a sight which tendedslightly to restore their spirits. It was a pool of water ofconsiderable size, whether a spring or a rain-pool they could not tell.Neither did they care at that time, for the sudden feeling of relievedanxiety was so great, that they ran forward, as if under one impulse,and, lying down on their breasts, took a long refreshing draught. Sopowerful was the influence of this refreshment and discovery on theirspirits that they became totally regardless and forgetful for the momentabout food--all the more that, having so recently had a good meal, theywere not hungry.
"I was sure we would find water," said Otto, as they continued toexplore the thicket, "and I've no doubt that we shall find yams andplantains and breadfruits, and--aren't these the sort of things thatgrow wild on coral islands, Dom?"
"Yes, but I fear not on such a little scrap of reef as this. However,we shall not be quite destitute, for there are cocoa-nuts, you see--though not many of them. Come, our prospects are brightening, and asthe sun is beginning to sink, we will look out for a suitablecamping-ground."
"As far away from the skeleton, please, as possible," said Otto.
"Surely you don't suppose it can hurt you?" said Pauline.
"N-no, of course not, but it would be unpleasant to have it for abedfellow, you know; so, the further away from it the better."
As he spoke they emerged from the thicket, at the end opposite to thespot where they had entered, and had their spirits again powerfullycheered by coming suddenly into a blaze of sunshine, for the bright orbof day was descending at that side of the islet, and his red,resplendent rays were glowing on the reef and on the palm-trees.
They also came in full view of the islet beyond, which, they nowperceived, was of considerable size, and covered with vegetation, but,as Dominick had suspected, separated completely from the reef or outerisle on which they stood by a deep lagoon.
"Splendid!" exclaimed Pauline.
"As I feared," muttered Dominick, "and no means of reaching it."
"Pooh! Didn't Robinson Crusoe make rafts?" said Otto; "at least if hedidn't, somebody
else did, and anyhow _we_ can."
"Come, let us continue our walk," said Dominick. "You don't fullyappreciate the loss of our boat Otto. Don't you see that, even if we dobuild a raft, it will at best be a clumsy thing to manage, and heavy topull, slow to sail, and bad to steer, and if we should chance to be onit when a stiff breeze springs up from the land, we should probably bedriven out to sea and lost--or separated, if Pina should chance to havebeen left on shore at the time."
"What a fellow you are, Dom, for supposing chances and difficulties, andfancying they cannot be overcome," returned Otto, with the pertself-sufficiency that characterised him. "For my part I rather enjoydifficulties, because of the fun of overcoming them. Don't you see, wethree can make quite sure of never being separated by never going out onour raft except together, so that we shall always enjoy ourselvesunitedly, or perish in company. Then we can easily get over thedifficulty of being blown out to sea, by never going on the sea at all,but confining ourselves entirely to the lagoon, which is large enoughfor any reasonable man, and may be larger than we think, for we can'tsee the whole of it from where we stand. Then, as to sailing and rowingslowly, we can overcome these difficulties by not being in a hurry,--taking things easy, you know."
To this Dominick replied that there was one difficulty which his littlebrother, with all his wisdom and capacity, would never overcome.
"And what may that be?" demanded Otto.
"The difficulty of being unable to talk common-sense."
"True, Dom, true, that is a great difficulty," retorted the boy, withdeep humility of aspect, "for a man's conversation is greatly affectedby the company he keeps, and with _you_ as my only male companion, Ihave not much to hope for in the way of example. But even that may begot the better of by holding intercourse chiefly with Pina."
"But what if I refuse to talk?" said Pauline, with a laugh.
"Then will you be all the more able to listen, sister mine, which is themost common-sense thing that you can do, except when brother Domspeaks," said the incorrigible boy.
They had seated themselves on a bank while thus conversing, and fromtheir position could see over a considerable portion of the lagoon.Suddenly Dominick pointed to an object a long way off, which was halfconcealed by the shadow of an island.
"Does it not look like a canoe?" he asked eagerly.
"Can't make it out at all," said Otto, shading his eyes with his hand.
"The sun on the water dazzles one so," observed Pauline, "that it isdifficult to look steadily."
In a few moments the object which had drawn their attention sailed outfrom under the shade of the island, and, breaking up into fragments,rose into the air, proving itself to be a flock of large aquatic birdswhich had been swimming in a line.
"Things are not what they seem," observed Pauline, rising and followingher brothers through a little thicket.
"What a pity!" exclaimed Otto; "I was in hopes it was a canoeful ofsavages. It would be such fun to have a real Friday to be our servant."
"More likely that our Friday would kill, cook, and eat us if he could,"said Dominick, to the surprise of Otto, who gave it as his opinion thatsavages never ate men, and asked if his brother really believed thatthey did.
"Indeed I do. We have it recorded by all the best authorities thatSouth Sea islanders are given to this horrible practice. There can beno doubt about it whatever, and the less we see of these fellows in ourpresent defenceless state the better."
"How little," said Pauline, "our dear father thought when he wrote forus to go out to him in his ship, that we should be cast on an unknownisland, and the ship itself go to the bottom!"
"Little indeed, and as little did poor mother dream of such a fate,"returned Dominick, "when she let us all go so readily, on theunderstanding that we should give father no rest until we had got him togive up business, quit Java for ever, and return home."
"Dear old mother!" said Pauline, "I wish--oh! I wish so much that wehad not left her, even though it was to be for only a few months. Shemust be _so_ lonely, with no one to talk to--"
"You forget Pina."
"Forget--what?"
"The cat," returned Otto, unable to repress a smile, which rose in spiteof the ready tear that dimmed his eye at the mere mention of his mother."You know the cat is her great resource--a sort of safety-valve.Sometimes, when I've been listening to her, lying on the rug at her feethalf asleep, I've heard her talk to that cat as if it really was a humanbeing, and tell it all about her little affairs and daily troubles andworries in quite a confidential tone. I've taken it into my head thatthat's mother's way of thinking aloud--she thinks at the cat, forcompany: and to do the brute justice, it does its best to accommodateher. I've seen it sit and stare at her by the half-hour at a time, andgive a little purr or a meaiow now and then as if it wanted to speak.I'm quite sure it thinks, and wonders no doubt what idle, useless workit is to click knitting-needles together by the hour."
"Dear me, Otto," said Pauline, with a laugh, "I had no idea that youcould think so much about anything."
"Think!" exclaimed the boy, indignantly; "d'you suppose that it's onlystern-browed, long-legged fellows like Dom there who can think? Why, Ithink, and think, sometimes, to such an extent that I nearly thinkmyself inside out! But, Pina, you don't know half as much aboutmotherkin as I do, for when _you_ are with her she usually forgets_herself_, I can see, and talks only about the things that interest_you_; whereas, when there's nobody present but _me_, she counts me fornothing, and lets me do pretty much what I like--because no doubt shethinks I'll do that whether she lets me or not--but she's wrong, for Ilove her far more than she thinks; and then it's when I'm quiet and sheforgets me, I fancy, or thinks I'm asleep, that she comes out strong atthe cat."
"Darling mother!" said Pauline, musingly. "I can see her now, in mymind, with her neat black cap and smooth braided hair, and goldspectacles, as plain as if she were sitting before me."
"I'm sorry to destroy the vision, Pina, on my own account as well asyours," observed Dominick, "but it behoves us now to look for a night'slodging, for the sun is sinking fast, and it would not be pleasant tolie down on the bare ground shelterless, fine though the climate is.Come, we will return to the place where we landed, and search for a caveor a bit of overhanging rock."
The best sleeping-place that they had up to that time discovered wasundoubtedly the grove in which they had found the graves of theshipwrecked crew, but, as Otto truly remarked, it would probably resultin uncomfortable dreams if they were to go to sleep in a burying-ground,alongside of a skeleton.
Accordingly they returned to the beach, and sought for some time amongthe _debris_ of the boat for anything useful that might have been washedup, but found nothing. Then they went along-shore in the direction ofthe wreck which had raised their hopes so high that day when first seen,but nothing suitable was discovered until they rounded a low point ofrocks, when Pauline came to a sudden pause.
"Look! a golden cave!" she exclaimed, pointing eagerly to a grassy spotwhich was canopied by feathery palms, and half enclosed by coral rocks,where was a cavern into which the sinking sun streamed at the momentwith wonderful intensity.
Their home for that night obviously lay before them, but when theyentered it and sat down, their destitution became sadly apparent. Nobeds to spread, no food to prepare, nothing whatever to do but lie downand sleep.
"No matter, we're neither hungry nor thirsty," said Dominick, with anair of somewhat forced gaiety, "and our clothes are getting dry. Come,sister, you must be weary. Lie down at the inner side of the cave, andOtto and I, like faithful knights, will guard the entrance. I--I wish,"he added, in a graver tone, and with some hesitation, "that we had aBible, that we might read a verse or two before lying down."
"I can help you in that," said his sister, eagerly. "I have a fairmemory, you know, and can repeat a good many verses."
Pauline repeated the twenty-third Psalm in a low, sweet voice. When shehad finished, a sudden impulse induced Domini
ck, who had never prayedaloud before, to utter a brief but fervent prayer and thanksgiving.Then the three lay down in the cave, and in five minutes were soundasleep.
Thus appropriately did these castaways begin their sojourn on a spotwhich was destined to be their home for a long time to come.