CHAPTER I
Conversation on the Subject of the Bullet -- Construction of a Canoe -- Hunting -- At the Top of a Kauri -- Nothing to attest the Presence of Man -- Neb and Herbert's Prize -- Turning a Turtle -- The Turtle disappears -- Cyrus Harding's Explanation.
It was now exactly seven months since the balloon voyagers had beenthrown on Lincoln Island. During that time, notwithstanding theresearches they had made, no human being had been discovered. No smokeeven had betrayed the presence of man on the surface of the island. Novestiges of his handiwork showed that either at an early or at a lateperiod had man lived there. Not only did it now appear to beuninhabited by any but themselves, but the colonists were compelled tobelieve that it never had been inhabited. And now, all thisscaffolding of reasonings fell before a simple ball of metal, found inthe body of an inoffensive rodent! In fact, this bullet must haveissued from a firearm, and who but a human being could have used sucha weapon?
When Pencroft had placed the bullet on the table, his companionslooked at it with intense astonishment. All the consequences likely toresult from this incident, notwithstanding its apparentinsignificance, immediately took possession of their minds. The suddenapparition of a supernatural being could not have startled them morecompletely.
Cyrus Harding did not hesitate to give utterance to the suggestionswhich this fact, at once surprising and unexpected, could not fail toraise in his mind. He took the bullet, turned it over and over, rolledit between his finger and thumb; then, turning to Pencroft, heasked,--
"Are you sure that the peccary wounded by this bullet was not morethan three months old?"
"Not more, captain," replied Pencroft. "It was still sucking itsmother when I found it in the trap."
"Well," said the engineer, "that proves that within three months agun-shot was fired in Lincoln Island."
"And that a bullet," added Gideon Spilett, "wounded, though notmortally, this little animal."
"That is unquestionable," said Cyrus Harding, "and these are thedeductions which must be drawn from this incident: that the island wasinhabited before our arrival, or that men have landed here withinthree months. Did these men arrive here voluntarily or involuntarily,by disembarking on the shore or by being wrecked? This point can onlybe cleared up later. As to what they were, Europeans or Malays,enemies or friends of our race, we cannot possibly guess; and if theystill inhabit the island, or if they have left it, we know not. Butthese questions are of too much importance to be allowed to remainlong unsettled."
"No! a hundred times no! a thousand times no!" cried the sailor,springing up from the table. "There are no other men than ourselves onLincoln Island! By my faith! The island isn't large, and if it hadbeen inhabited, we should have seen some of the inhabitants longbefore this!"
"In fact, the contrary would be very astonishing," said Herbert.
"But it would be much more astonishing, I should think," observed thereporter, "that this peccary should have been born with a bullet inits inside!"
"At least," said Neb seriously, "if Pencroft has not had--"
"Look here, Neb," burst out Pencroft. "Do you think I could have abullet in my jaw for five or six months without finding it out? Wherecould it be hidden?" he asked opening his mouth to show thetwo-and-thirty teeth with which it was furnished. "Look well, Neb, andif you find one hollow tooth in this set, I will let you pull out halfa dozen!"
"Neb's supposition is certainly inadmissible," replied Harding, who,notwithstanding the gravity of his thoughts, could not restrain asmile. "It is certain that a gun has been fired in the island, withinthree months at most. But I am inclined to think that the people wholanded on this coast were only here a very short time ago, or thatthey just touched here; for if, when we surveyed the island from thesummit of Mount Franklin, it had been inhabited, we should have seenthem or we should have been seen ourselves. It is therefore probablethat within only a few weeks castaways have been thrown by a storm onsome part of the coast. However that may be, it is of consequence tous to have this point settled."
"I think that we should act with caution," said the reporter.
"Such is my advice," replied Cyrus Harding, "for it is to be fearedthat Malay pirates have landed on the island!"
"Captain," asked the sailor, "would it not be a good plan, beforesetting out, to build a canoe in which we could either ascend theriver, or, if we liked, coast round the island? It will not do to beunprovided."
"Your idea is good, Pencroft," replied the engineer, "but we cannotwait for that. It would take at least a month to build a boat."
"Yes, a real boat," replied the sailor; "but we do not want one for asea voyage, and in five days at the most, I will undertake toconstruct a canoe fit to navigate the Mercy."
"Five days," cried Neb, "to build a boat?"
"Yes, Neb; a boat in the Indian fashion."
"Of wood?" asked the negro, looking still unconvinced.
"Of wood," replied Pencroft, "or rather of bark. I repeat, captain,that in five days the work will be finished!"
"In five days, then, be it," replied the engineer.
"But till that time we must be very watchful," said Herbert.
"Very watchful indeed, my friends," replied Harding; "and I beg you toconfine your hunting excursions to the neighbourhood of GraniteHouse."
The dinner ended less gaily than Pencroft had hoped.
So, then, the island was, or had been, inhabited by others than thesettlers. Proved as it was by the incident of the bullet, it washereafter an unquestionable fact, and such a discovery could not butcause great uneasiness amongst the colonists.
Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett, before sleeping, conversed longabout the matter. They asked themselves if by chance this incidentmight not have some connection with the inexplicable way in which theengineer had been saved, and the other peculiar circumstances whichhad struck them at different times. However Cyrus Harding, afterhaving discussed the pros and cons of the question, ended by saying,--
"In short, would you like to know my opinion, my dear Spilett?"
"Yes, Cyrus."
"Well, then, it is this: however minutely we explore the island, weshall find nothing."
The next day Pencroft set to work. He did not mean to build a boatwith boards and planking, but simply a flat-bottomed canoe, whichwould be well suited for navigating the Mercy--above all, forapproaching its source, where the water would naturally be shallow.Pieces of bark, fastened one to the other, would form a light boat;and in case of natural obstacles, which would render a portagenecessary, it would be easily carried. Pencroft intended to secure thepieces of bark by means of nails, to insure the canoe beingwater-tight.
It was first necessary to select the trees which would afford a strongand supple bark for the work. Now the last storm had brought down anumber of large birch trees, the bark of which would be perfectlysuited for their purpose. Some of these trees lay on the ground, andthey had only to be barked, which was the most difficult thing of all,owing to the imperfect tools which the settlers possessed. However,they overcame all difficulties.
Whilst the sailor, seconded by the engineer, thus occupied himselfwithout losing an hour, Gideon Spilett and Herbert were not idle. Theywere made purveyors to the colony. The reporter could not but admirethe boy, who had acquired great skill in handling the bow and spear.Herbert also showed great courage and much of that presence of mindwhich may justly be called "the reasoning of bravery." These twocompanions of the chase, remembering Cyrus Harding's recommendations,did not go beyond a radius of two miles round Granite House; but theborders of the forest furnished a sufficient tribute of agouties,capybaras, kangaroos, peccaries, etc.; and if the result from thetraps was less than during the cold, still the warren yielded itsaccustomed quota, which might have fed all the colony in LincolnIsland.
Often during these excursions, Herbert talked with Gideon Spilett onthe incident of the bullet, and the deductions which the engineer drewfrom it, and one day--it was the 26th of October-
-he said,--
"But, Mr. Spilett, do you not think it very extraordinary that, if anycastaways have landed on the island, they have not yet shownthemselves near Granite House?"
"Very astonishing if they are still here," replied the reporter, "butnot astonishing at all if they are here no longer!"
"So you think that these people have already quitted the island?"returned Herbert.
"It is more than probable, my boy; for if their stay was prolonged,and above all, if they were still here, some accident would have atlast betrayed their presence."
"But if they were able to go away," observed the lad, "they could nothave been castaways."
"No, Herbert; or, at least, they were what might be called provisionalcastaways. It is very possible that a storm may have driven them tothe island without destroying their vessel, and that, the storm over,they went away again."
"I must acknowledge one thing," said Herbert, "it is that CaptainHarding appears rather to fear than desire the presence of humanbeings on our island."
"In short," responded the reporter, "there are only Malays whofrequent these seas, and those fellows are ruffians which it is bestto avoid."
"It is not impossible, Mr. Spilett," said Herbert, "that some day orother we may find traces of their landing."
"I do not say no, my boy. A deserted camp, the ashes of a fire, wouldput us on the track, and this is what we will look for in our nextexpedition."
The day on which the hunters spoke thus, they were in a part of theforest near the Mercy, remarkable for its beautiful trees. There,among others, rose, to a height of nearly 200 feet above the ground,some of those superb coniferae, to which, in New Zealand, the nativesgive the name of Kauris.
"I have an idea, Mr. Spilett," said Herbert. "If I were to climb tothe top of one of these kauris, I could survey the country for animmense distance round."
"The idea is good," replied the reporter; "but could you climb to thetop of those giants?"
"I can at least try," replied Herbert.
The light and active boy then sprang on the first branches, thearrangement of which made the ascent of the kauri easy, and in a fewminutes he arrived at the summit, which emerged from the immense plainof verdure.
From this elevated situation his gaze extended over all the southernportion of the island, from Claw Cape on the south-east, to ReptileEnd on the south-west. To the north-west rose Mount Franklin, whichconcealed a great part of the horizon.
But Herbert, from the height of his observatory, could examine all theyet unknown portion of the island which might have given shelter tothe strangers whose presence they suspected.
The lad looked attentively. There was nothing in sight on the sea, nota sail, neither on the horizon nor near the island. However, as thebank of trees hid the shore, it was possible that a vessel, especiallyif deprived of her masts, might lie close to the land and thus beinvisible to Herbert.
Neither in the forests of the Far West was anything to be seen. Thewood formed an impenetrable screen, measuring several square miles,without a break or an opening. It was impossible even to follow thecourse of the Mercy, or to ascertain in what part of the mountain ittook its source. Perhaps other creeks also ran towards the west, butthey could not be seen.
But at last, if all indication of an encampment escaped Herbert'ssight, could he not even catch a glimpse of smoke, the faintest traceof which would be easily discernible in the pure atmosphere?
For an instant Herbert thought he could perceive a slight smoke in thewest, but a more attentive examination showed that he was mistaken. Hestrained his eyes in every direction, and his sight was excellent. No,decidedly there was nothing there.
Herbert descended to the foot of the kauri, and the two sportsmenreturned to Granite House. There Cyrus Harding listened to the lad'saccount, shook his head and said nothing. It was very evident that nodecided opinion could be pronounced on this question until after acomplete exploration of the island.
Two days after--the 28th of October--another incident occurred, forwhich an explanation was again required.
Whilst strolling along the shore about two miles from Granite House,Herbert and Neb were fortunate enough to capture a magnificentspecimen of the order of chelonia. It was a turtle of the speciesMidas, the edible green turtle, so called from the colour both of itsshell and fat.
Herbert caught sight of this turtle as it was crawling among the rocksto reach the sea.
"Help, Neb, help!" he cried.
Neb ran up.
"What a fine animal!" said Neb; "but how are we to catch it?"
"Nothing is easier, Neb," replied Herbert. "We have only to turn theturtle on its back, and it cannot possibly get away. Take your spearand do as I do."
The reptile, aware of danger, had retired between its carapace andplastron. They no longer saw its head or feet, and it was motionlessas a rock.
Herbert and Neb then drove their sticks underneath the animal, and bytheir united efforts managed without difficulty to turn it on itsback. The turtle, which was three feet in length, would have weighedat least four hundred pounds.
"Capital!" cried Neb; "this is something which will rejoice friendPencroft's heart."
In fact, the heart of friend Pencroft could not fail to be rejoiced,for the flesh of the turtle, which feeds on wrack-grass, is extremelysavoury. At this moment the creature's head could be seen, which wassmall, flat, but widened behind by the large temporal fossae hiddenunder the long roof.
"And now, what shall we do with our prize?" said Neb. "We can't dragit to Granite House!"
"Leave it here, since it cannot turn over," replied Herbert, "and wewill come back with the cart to fetch it."
"That is the best plan."
However, for greater precaution, Herbert took the trouble, which Nebdeemed superfluous, to wedge up the animal with great stones, afterwhich the two hunters returned to Granite House, following the beach,which the tide had left uncovered. Herbert, wishing to surprisePencroft, said nothing about the "superb specimen of a chelonian"which they had turned over on the sand, but, two hours later, he andNeb returned with the cart to the place where they had left it. The"superb specimen of a chelonian" was no longer there!
Neb and Herbert stared at each other first, then they stared aboutthem. It was just at this spot that the turtle had been left. The ladeven found the stones which he had used, and therefore he was certainof not being mistaken.
"Well!" said Neb, "these beasts can turn themselves over, then?"
"It appears so," replied Herbert, who could not understand it at all,and was gazing at the stones scattered on the sand.
"Well, Pencroft will be disgusted!"
"And Captain Harding will perhaps be very perplexed how to explainthis disappearance" thought Herbert.
"Look here," said Neb, who wished to hide his ill-luck, "we won'tspeak about it."
"On the contrary, Neb we must speak about it," replied Herbert.
And the two, taking the cart, which there was now no use for, returnedto Granite House.
Arrived at the dockyard, where the engineer and the sailor wereworking together Herbert recounted what had happened.
"Oh! the stupids!" cried the sailor, "to have let at least fifty mealsescape!"
"But, Pencroft," replied Neb, "it wasn't our fault that the beast gotaway, as I tell you, we had turned it over on its back!"
"Then you didn't turn it over enough!" returned the obstinate sailor.
TURNING A TURTLE]
"Not enough!" cried Herbert.
And he told how he had taken care to wedge up the turtle with stones.
"It is a miracle, then!" replied Pencroft.
"I thought, captain," said Herbert, "that turtles, once placed ontheir backs, could not regain their feet, especially when they are ofa large size?"
"That is true, my boy," replied Cyrus Harding.
"Then how did it manage?"
"At what distance from the sea did you leave this turtle?" asked theengineer, who, having s
uspended his work, was reflecting on thisincident.
"Fifteen feet at the most," replied Herbert.
"And the tide was low at the time?"
"Yes, captain."
"Well," replied the engineer, "what the turtle could not do on thesand it might have been able to do in the water. It turned over whenthe tide overtook it, and then quietly returned to the deep sea."
"Oh! what stupids we were!" cried Neb.
"That is precisely what I had the honour of telling you before!"returned the sailor.
Cyrus Harding had given this explanation, which, no doubt, wasadmissible. But was he himself convinced of the accuracy of thisexplanation? It cannot be said that he was.