At last the expected ship was signalled in the offing. It was one of the look-outs at Starboard Harbour who won the prize, which was worth a respectable number of dollars.
It was nine o’clock in the morning of the 19th of February when the steamer came into harbour, and the landing at once began.
Useless to give in detail the names of the articles, jewels, dresses, objects of art, which composed this nuptial cargo. Suffice it to know that they were on view in the vast saloons of the Coverley mansion, and the show was an unprecedented success. The whole population of Milliard City wanted to inspect these marvels. That numbers of people extraordinarily rich might obtain such magnificent products at a price may be true; but we must also take into account the taste and artistic feeling which had presided at their selection, and that could not be sufficiently admired. If any one is anxious to see a list of the said articles, he will find them in the Starboard Chronicle and New Herald of the 21st and 22nd of February. If they are not satisfied at that, it is because absolute satisfaction does not exist in this world.
“Fichtre!” said Yvernès, when he came away from the saloons in Fifteenth Avenue in company with his three comrades.
“Fichtre!” said Pinchinat, “appears to me to be the correct expression. It intimates that you would like to marry Miss Coverley without her dowry—for herself alone.”
As to the two young people, the truth is that they took but little notice of this stock of masterpieces of art and fashion.
After the steamer’s arrival, Floating Island resumed its westerly course so as to reach the New Hebrides. If one of the islands was sighted before the 27th, Captain Sarol would be landed with his companions, and Floating Island would begin its return journey.
The Malay captain was very familiar with these regions of the Western Pacific, and this made the task of navigating an easy one. By request of Commodore Simcoe who had secured his services, he remained on duty at the observatory tower. As soon as the first heights appeared nothing would be easier than to approach the island of Erromango, one of the most easterly of the group—which would enable them to avoid the numerous reefs of the New Hebrides.
Was it chance, or was it that Captain Sarol, desirous of being present at the marriage festivities, took the Island along so slowly that the first islands were not signalled until the morning of the 27th of February—the very day fixed for the wedding.
It mattered little, however. The marriage of Walter Tankerdon and Di Coverley would be none the less happy for having been celebrated in view of the New Hebrides, and it gave so much pleasure to these brave Malays—and they made no secret of it—who would be free to take part in the festivities on Floating Island.
Several islets were first sighted and passed according to the very precise indications of Captain Sarol, and Floating Island then steered for Erromango, leaving to the south the heights of Tanna.
In these regions Sebastien Zorn, Frascolin, Pinchinat, and Yvernès were not far—three hundred miles at the outside—from the French possessions in this part of the Pacific, the Loyalty Islands and New Caledonia, that penitentiary situated at the antipodes of France.
Erromango is much wooded in the interior, undulated with many hills, at the foot of which extend wide cultivable plateaux. Commodore Simcoe stopped within a mile of Cook Bay, on the eastern coast. It was not prudent to approach nearer, as the coral reefs ran half a mile out to sea at the water level. The Governor’s intention was not to remain stationary off this island, nor to stay at any other island in the Archipelago. After the festivities the Malays would land, and Floating Island would steer towards the Equator, on the way to Madeleine Bay.
It was one o’clock in the afternoon when Floating Island remained stationary.
By order of the authorities every one had a holiday, even the sailors and militiamen, with the exception of the customs officers on duty along the coast.
Needless to say the weather was magnificent, and the sea-breeze refreshing. According to the usual expression, “The sun shone on them.”
“Positively,” said Pinchinat, “this haughty disc appears to be at the orders of the shareholders! They will ask him, as Joshua did, to make the day longer, and he will obey them! O power of gold!”
We need not enlarge on the different items of the sensational programme that had been drawn up by the superintendent. At three o’clock all the inhabitants, those of the country as well as those of the town and the forts, flocked into the park along the banks of the Serpentine. The notables mixed familiarly with the populace. The sports were carried on with an enthusiasm which might perhaps be accounted for by the value of the prizes. Dances were organized in the open air. The most brilliant was given in one of the large halls of the casino, in which the young people danced with much grace and animation. Yvernès and Pinchinat took part in these dances, and yielded to none in their duties as partners to the prettiest of the Milliardites. Never had his Highness been so amiable, never had he shown so much wit, never had he such a success. All the Tankerdons and Coverleys were there, and the graceful sisters of the bride seemed to be very happy at her happiness. Miss Coverley walked about on Walter’s arm, in which there was nothing strange considering that they were citizens by birth of free America. They were applauded, they were offered flowers, compliments were bestowed on them, which they received with perfect affability.
And during the hours that followed refreshments were served in profusion, so that nothing should interfere with the people’s good humour.
When night came, the park was resplendent with the electric fires that the aluminium moons poured down in torrents. The sun had wisely disappeared below the horizon. Would he not have been humiliated by these artificial effluences which made the night as bright as the day!
The cantata was sung between nine and ten o’clock, with such success as neither poet nor musician had ever hoped for. Perhaps, at this moment, the violoncellist felt inclined to withdraw his unjust prejudices against the Pearl of the Pacific.
Eleven o’clock struck, and a long procession advanced towards the town hall. Walter Tankerdon and Miss Coverley were walking in the midst of their relatives. The whole population accompanied them along First Avenue.
Governor Cyrus Bikerstaff was waiting in the grand saloon of the town hall. The finest of all the marriages it had been given him to celebrate during his administrative career, was about to be accomplished.
Suddenly shouts were heard towards the outer quarter of the Larboard section.
The procession stopped in the middle of the avenue.
Almost immediately with these shouts, which increased, detonations were heard.
A moment afterwards some customs officers—many of them wounded—ran into the square opposite the town hall.
Anxiety was at its height. Through the crowd ran that unreasoning fear which precedes an unknown danger.
Cyrus Bikerstaff appeared on the steps of the town hall, followed by Commodore Simcoe, Colonel Stewart, and the notables, who had just joined them.
To the questions put to them, the customs officers replied that Floating Island had just been invaded by a band of New Hebrideans—three or four thousand of them —and that Captain Sarol was at their head.
CHAPTER XI.
SUCH was the outbreak of the abominable conspiracy prepared by Captain Sarol with the concurrence of the Malays rescued with him by Floating Island, the New Hebrideans embarked at Samoa, and the natives of Erromango and the neighbouring islands. What would it end in? No one could say, considering the conditions under which this sudden and terrible attack was made.
The New Hebridean group comprises at least a hundred and fifty islands, which, under the protection of England, forms a geographical dependency of Australia. Nevertheless, here, as at the Solomon Islands, situated in the north-west of the same regions, this question of protectorate is an apple of discord between France and the United Kingdom. And again, the United States do not look favourably on the establishment of European colonies in a
n ocean of which they dream of claiming the exclusive enjoyment.
The population of the New Hebrides is composed of negroes and Malays of Kanaka origin. But the character of these natives, their temperament, their instincts, differ according as they belong to the northern or southern islands—which permits of the archipelago being divided into two groups.
In the northern group at Santo Island at Saint Philip Bay, the natives are of a higher type, their colour not so dark and their hair not so woolly. The men, short and strong, gentle and peaceful, rarely attack the business establishments or European ships. The same may be said regarding Vaté or Sandwich Island, in which most of the villages are flourishing, among others, Port Vila, the capital of the archipelago—which also bears the name of Franceville—where our colonists avail themselves of the riches of an admirable soil, luxuriant pasturages, fields adapted for cultivation, land suitable for plantation of coffee, bananas, cocoanuts, and the lucrative industry of coprah-making. In this group the customs of the natives have completely changed since the arrival of the Europeans. Their moral and intellectual level has been raised. Thanks to the efforts of the missionaries, the scenes of cannibalism, so frequent formerly, have ceased to exist. Unfortunately the Kanaka race is disappearing, and it is only too evident that it will finish by becoming extinct, to the detriment of this northern group, in which it has been transformed by the contact of European civilization.
But these regrets would be misplaced with regard to the southern islands of the archipelago. And it was not without reason that Captain Sarol had chosen this group for his criminal attempt on Floating Island. On these islands the natives remain veritable Papuans, and may be relegated to the lowest scale of humanity, at Tanna as at Erromango. Concerning this last, an old sandal-wood dealer remarked to Doctor Hayers, “If this island could speak, it would tell things that would make the hair stand on your head.”
In fact, the race of these Kanakas of inferior origin has not been improved by Polynesian blood, as in the northern islands. At Erromango, of ten thousand five hundred inhabitants, the English missionaries, five of whom have been massacred since 1839, have converted only half. The other half remains Pagan. Besides, converted or not, they all still represent those savage natives, who deserve their evil reputation, although they are of shorter stature and less robust constitution than those of Santo Island and Sandwich Island. And hence the serious dangers against which it is necessary to warn tourists venturing into the southerly group.
We may mention a few examples. Fifty years ago the brig Aurore was piratically attacked, and there were severe repressive measures in consequence on the part of France. In 1869 the missionary Gordon was killed by tomahawks. In 1875 the crew of an English ship was treacherously attacked and massacred, and then eaten by cannibals. In 1894, in the neighbouring Louisiade Archipelago, at Rossel Island, a French merchant and his workmen, and the captain of a Chinese ship and his crew, perished under the blows of cannibals. Finally the English cruiser Royalist was forced to undertake a campaign to punish these savage people for having massacred a great number of Europeans. And as Pinchinat was being told this story, he, who had recently escaped from the terrible molars of the Fijians, forbore to shrug his shoulders.
Such were the people among whom Captain Sarol had recruited his accomplices. He had promised them the pillage of this opulent Pearl of the Pacific, not an inhabitant of which was to be spared. Of these savages, who were awaiting his appearance at the approaches to Erromango, some had come from the neighbouring islands, separated by narrow arms of the sea; principally from Tanna, which is within thirty-five miles to the south. From here had come the sturdy natives of the district of Wanissi, savage worshippers of the god Teapolo, and whose nudity is almost complete, the natives of Plage Noire, of Sangalli, the most formidable and the most dreaded of the archipelago.
But although the northern group is relatively less savage, it does not follow that no contingent from there had placed itself under Captain Sarol. To the north of Sandwich Island there is the island of Api, with its eighteen thousand inhabitants, where they eat their prisoners, the body of which is reserved for the young people, the arms and thighs for the full-grown men, the intestines for the dogs and pigs. There is the island of Paama with its ferocious tribes, who yield in nothing to the natives of Api. There is the island of Mallicolo, with its cannibal Kanakas.
There is finally Aurora Island, one of the worst of the archipelago, in which no white man lives, and in which, a few years before, had been massacred the crew of the French coaster. It was from these different islands that reinforcements had come to Captain Sarol.
As soon as Floating Island appeared, as soon as it was within a few cables’ lengths of Erromango, Captain Sarol had given the signal expected by the natives.
In a few minutes the rocks at the water level had given passage to three or four thousand savages.
The danger was most serious, for these New Hebrideans let loose on Milliard City would recoil from no attempt, from no violence. They had the advantage of surprise, and were armed not only with long javelins tipped with bone, which make very dangerous wounds, and with arrows poisoned with a sort of vegetable venom, but with Snider rifles, the use of which has greatly spread in the archipelago.
At the beginning of this affair, which had been a long time in preparation—for it was Sarol who was marching at the head of the assailants—the militia, the sailors, the functionaries, every man in a fit state to fight, was called upon.
Cyrus Bikerstaff, Commodore Simcoe, and Colonel Stewart were quite equal to the occasion. The King of Malecarlie had offered his services. Although he was no longer in the vigour of youth, he at least had courage. The natives were still at Larboard Harbour, where the officer of the port was trying to organize resistance. But no doubt the bands would not delay to precipitate themselves on the town.
To begin with, orders were given to shut the gates of the enclosure round Milliard City, in which almost the whole population had assembled for the marriage festivities.
That the country and park would be ravaged was to be expected. That the two harbours and the electrical works would be devastated was to be feared. That the batteries at the Prow and Stern would be destroyed, there was nothing to prevent. The greatest misfortune would be that the artillery of Floating Island would be turned against the town, and it was not impossible that the Malays knew how to use it.
First of all, at the King of Malecarlie’s proposal, most of the women and children were sent to the town hall. This vast municipal hotel was plunged in profound obscurity, as was the entire island, for the electrical apparatus had ceased working, owing to the engineers having to escape from the assailants.
However, by Commodore Simcoe’s efforts, the arms deposited at the town hall were distributed to the militia and the sailors, and there was no scarcity of ammunition. Leaving Di with Mrs. Tankerdon and Mrs. Coverley, Walter came to join the group, which now included Jem Tankerdon, Nat Coverley, Calistus Munbar, Pinchinat, Yvernès, Frascolin, and Sebastien Zorn.
“Well,” murmured the violoncellist, “it seems as though this was to be the end of it.”
“But it is not the end of it!” exclaimed the Superintendent. “No! it is not the end; and it is not our dear Floating Island which will succumb to a handful of Kanakas!”
Well spoken, Calistus Munbar! We can understand what rage devoured you at the thought of these rascally New Hebrideans interrupting so well-organized a festival! Yes! he must hope to repulse them. Unfortunately they were not superior in number, and they had not the advantage of the offensive.
The reports of guns were heard in the distance, in the direction of both harbours. Captain Sarol had begun by interfering with the working of the screws, without which Floating Island could not get away from Erromango, which was his basis of operations.
The Governor, the King of Malecarlie, Commodore Simcoe, Colonel Stewart, united in a committee of defence, had at first thought of making a sortie. No, that would be
to sacrifice a number of the defenders of whom they had such want. There was no mercy to be hoped from these savages, who, like the wild beasts a fortnight before, had invaded Floating Island. Besides, would they not attempt to wreck it on the rocks of Erromango, and then hand it over to pillage?
An hour afterwards the assailants arrived before the gates of Milliard City. They tried to break them in in vain. They tried to climb them, but were driven back by firearms.
As Milliard City had not been taken by surprise, it had become difficult to force an entry in the darkness. And so Captain Sarol drew off his savages towards the park and country, and there waited for daylight.
Between four and five o’clock the first hues of the morning appeared on the eastern horizon. The militia and sailors under Commodore Simcoe and Captain Stewart, leaving half their forces at the town hall, marched to the observatory square, expecting that Captain Sarol would endeavour to force the gates on that side; for as no help could come from without, it was necessary, at all costs, to prevent the savages from penetrating into the town.
The quartette followed the defenders, whose officers led them towards the end of First Avenue.
“To have escaped from the cannibals of Fiji,” said Pinchinat, “to be obliged to defend one’s cutlets from the cannibals of the New Hebrides!”
“They will not eat the whole of us!” said Yvernès.
“And I will resist to my last fragment!” added Yvernès.
Sebastien Zorn remained silent. We know that what he thought of the adventure would not prevent him from doing his duty.
As soon as the light came, shots began to be interchanged through the gates of the square. There was a courageous defence in the enclosure of the observatory. There were victims on both sides. Among the Milliardites, Jem Tankerdon was wounded in the shoulder slightly, but he would not abandon his post. Nat Coverley and Walter were conspicuous in the fight. The King of Malecarlie endeavoured to bring down Captain Sarol, who did not spare himself among the savages.