CHAPTER IV
THE LANDING
This burst of high spirits showed how light-hearted the castaways werein the face of difficulties, for what lay before them and how they wereto reach the island required all their powers of thought and action.
"How do you propose to get the cutter over the side?" asked Mr. McKay.
"By means of one of the derricks," replied Ellerton promptly.
"Quite so; but where is the power required to turn the winches to comefrom? We've no steam at our command, you know, and these winches arenot adapted to manual power."
The apprentice's face clouded; he thought for a few minutes, then--
"We can top one of the derricks and rig up a tackle, sir."
"Good!" replied Mr. McKay. "But what is the weight of the boat?"
"Ours on the _Tophet_ weighed twelve hundredweight; this one is aboutthe same size."
"Then rig a gun tackle, and the four of you will manage the job, Ithink."
Accordingly two large double blocks were obtained and the rope roveready for use. One of the blocks was secured to the cud of thederrick, which was then hoisted to an angle of about forty-fivedegrees. This took time, but at length everything was ready for thecrucial test.
"Now, all together!"
The three lads and the mulatto tailed on to the rope. The blockssqueaked as the strain began to tell; the cutter began to lift,then--crash!
Flat on their backs fell the four lads; high in the air jerked thedisengaged lower block. The slings to which it had been fastened hadsnapped.
Slowly the victims regained their feet, Andy rubbing a tender portionof his anatomy, Terence gasping for breath, for Andy's head hadwell-nigh winded him. Ellerton was clapping his hands to a rapidlyrising bump on the back of his head, while Quexo, whose skull was ashard as iron, was hopping all over the deck, rubbing his shins, thathad saved the apprentice's head at the mulatto's expense.
"Try again, boys!" shouted Andy. "Everything on board this blessedcraft seems rotten!"
A new span was placed in position, and the tackle again manned, andthis time their efforts were crowned with success. The cutter roseslowly in the air, till it hung fire five feet above the shatteredbulwarks.
"Belay, there! Man the guy-rope!"
The derrick swung outboard, till the cutter was poised above the waterand well clear of the sloping sides of the hull.
"Lower away handsomely."
Slowly the boat dipped, till at length she rode, sheltered under thelee of her stranded parent, upon the bosom of the ocean.
"Capital!" exclaimed Mr. McKay, as his son swarmed down the rope,disengaged the tackle, and allowed the cutter a generous length ofpainter.
Then the work of loading her was begun. It was decided that for thefirst trip nothing more than was absolutely necessary for immediate usewas to be taken, until it was settled where their camp was to be fixed,and whether the island had any inhabitants.
"A small barrico of water will be sufficient, though I am certain thereare springs amongst those trees," said Ellerton. His sense ofresponsibility was hourly increasing. "A barrel of flour, some tinnedgoods, canvas and rope for a tent."
"Not forgetting hatchets, knives, and firearms," added Mr. McKay.
"Firearms?"
"Aye; one never knows how the natives--if there be natives on theisland--will greet us. Most of the Pacific Islanders are fairlypeaceable, thanks to missionary enterprise and the fear of a visit froma warship; yet cannibalism still exists. I have known instances of thecrews of small 'pearlers' being treacherously surprised, killed, andeaten. So get hold of the arms; you'll probably find the key of thecaptain's cabin in the chart-house; if not, burst open the door."
Ellerton departed upon his errand, and presently returned with the newsthat there was no trace of the key. "Here is a sextant and a bundle ofcharts, however," he added. "They are bound to be useful, although Icannot understand the meaning of the depths on the chart."
"They are in 'brazas,' equal to about five and a half English feet.But, as you say, the charts will be of extreme importance to us."
"Come on, Terence, let's burgle the captain's cabin," exclaimedEllerton, laying hold of a hatchet.
Soon the sound of blows was heard, followed by the splintering of wood,and the two lads returned literally armed to the teeth.
Each had a couple of rifles slung across his back; Terence carried halfa dozen revolvers in his arms and a sheath-knife between his teeth,while Ellerton staggered beneath the weight of several belts of ballcartridges and a box of revolver ammunition.
"There's more to come; the place is like a regular armoury," explainedTerence.
"That's somewhat unusual," replied Mr. McKay. "Most captains keepfirearms of a kind in their cabins. I strongly suspect that those armswere to be sold to some South American insurgents. They are much toogood for bartering with the South Sea Islanders. Nevertheless, I'mright glad we have been able to arm ourselves thoroughly, as I expectedwe should have to be content with a couple of pistols between the lotof us."
The work of loading the boat proceeded briskly, till the strictlylimited quantity of gear was carefully stowed under the thwarts. Thencame the question, how were they going to transport the crippled Mr.McKay to the shore?
"Hoist me over by the derrick, of course," replied he. "A couple ofrope spans round the plank and their bights slipped over the hook ofthe lower block, and the trick's done."
Ellerton and Terence thereupon slipped down a rope into the boat andcarefully guided the swaying mess table and its helpless burden on to acouple of the after thwarts. This done, they were joined by Andy andQuexo, and, shipping the heavy ash oars, they pulled clear of the ship.
The first fifty yards meant hard and careful rowing, for directly theywere beyond the shelter of the stranded vessel they felt the full forceof the rollers as they dashed against the coral reef, barely a boat'slength to lee'ard.
Once, indeed, it seemed as if the cutter were bound to be swept uponthe rocks; but by dint of the utmost exertions of her crew, the boatsurely and slowly drew away from the influence of the rollers.
"My word, that was a narrow squeak!" exclaimed Andy, wiping his face,from which the perspiration ran freely. "I thought we were going to becapsized that time."
"It doesn't say much for the chances of those poor fellows last night,"replied Ellerton. "They must have dropped smack on top of the reef."
"We'll soon find out," said Mr. McKay. "You see, they were immediatelyto lee'ard of the ship, and it was high water at the time. If theysurvived, we'll find them ashore right enough."
"But I saw no sign of the boat when I looked through the glass."
"That may be because there is a creek or cove that is invisible fromthe ship. Being directly to wind'ard, we are bound to find either themen or the remains of the boat."
"The ship is sitting up well," remarked Andy, for, the tide havingdropped nearly six feet--it had been abnormally high by reason of theterrific wind--they could see the top of one of her propeller blades."Do you think she'll stay there?"
"It certainly doesn't seem as if she is likely to slip off into deepwater, but we cannot say for certain. The first fine day there'slittle or no swell we'll sound all round her. Now, give way, lads."
The rowers resumed their oars, and the boat, passing through the narrowgap in the reef, gained the shelter of the lagoon.
"Fine, isn't it?" exclaimed Terence enthusiastically, as he rested onhis oar and gazed into the clear depths of the tranquil water. "Won'twe be able to have some bathes?"
"You'll have to be careful if you do," remarked Mr. McKay. "There arebound to be sharks about."
He did not think it advisable to call the lads' attention to acommotion in the water a few hundred yards in front of the boat. Fromhis inclined position he could see ahead, while the rowers had theirbacks turned in that direction. His keen eyes had detected thesinister dorsal fin of not one, but many sharks, all cutting towardsone spot.
There could be but little doubt of the fate of the Peruvianseamen.
The noise of the approaching oars disturbed the huge monsters, and theydarted off to the shelter of the rock-strewn floor of the lagoon.
Unaware of the tragedy, the lads urged the boat almost over the fatalspot, and five minutes later the cutter's forefoot grounded on thesandy beach.
"Terence, I want you and Quexo to stay in the boat," said Ellerton,after the survivors had, by a common impulse, knelt down and returnedthanks to Divine Providence for their escape. "Keep her stern fromslewing round, so that we can push off in a hurry. Andy and I aregoing to explore."
And, buckling on a revolver and an ammunition belt, and grasping arifle in his hand, Ellerton took a flying leap over the bows andalighted on the sand.
The lads found themselves on the shore of a small bay, its extremitiesbounded by two towering cliffs, that rose sheer from the lagoon. Thatto the left was not less than five hundred feet in height, while theother was but slightly lower. Midway between these impassableboundaries the land sloped abruptly to the beach, and was thicklycovered with cocoanut palms.
"Keep your weather eye lifting, Andy," cautioned Ellerton, who hadtaken the precaution of charging both the magazine of his rifle and thechambers of his revolver.
It was an unnecessary warning, for Andy was an infinitely better scoutthan his companion; still, it showed that Ellerton was fast adoptingthe manner of life required in a wild and unsettled country.
Skirting the edge of the wood, the lads kept a vigilant look-out forany traces of human agency, but nothing was visible.
Presently they came to a small stream, which, trickling down the steephillside, was lost in the sand.
"There'll be no lack of fresh water," exclaimed Andy thankfully, for heknew the value of that precious fluid. "But, I say, isn't everythingquiet?" For, save the babbling of the brook and the distant roar ofthe breakers on the reef, there was an unaccustomed silence. Not abird sang in the groves, not an animal rustled the thick undergrowth.
"I think we may take it for granted that the island is uninhabited--atleast, this part," said Andy, as they completed their walk along theshores of the bay. "Otherwise, there's almost sure to be a beatentrack to the shore."
"It doesn't promise much for the boat's crew," answered Ellerton.Then, with an exclamation of surprise, he shouted: "Look! What's that?"
Lying on the sand a few feet from the water's edge was a mournful relicof the unfortunate boat, her back-board bearing the words _San Martin_.A little farther they found an oar.
"There were two boats, remember," said Ellerton. "And one we know wascapsized."
"I vote we explore the next bay," exclaimed Andy. "There's no suitableclearing here for a camp, and felling trees takes time; so let's getback to the boat."
"Well?" asked Mr. McKay on their return.
"We must push off and land on the other side of the cliff," said hisson. "There may be a better site for our tent. It's too steep anddensely wooded here."
"Any signs of the crew?"
"Only part of their boat."
"I feared as much," replied Mr. McKay.
* * * * *
"This looks more promising," exclaimed Andy enthusiastically, as theboat slowly rounded the northernmost of the two cliffs.
Here the land sloped less abruptly towards the lagoon, while in placesthere were terraces almost bare of trees. In the background towered arange of mountains whose rugged sides gave the appearance of beingunclimbable, while on either hand of the bay rose lofty cliffs.
The beach, too, was better adapted for landing purposes than where theyhad first touched, consisting of sand interspersed by ledges of rocksjutting seawards, thus forming convenient natural jetties.
"This will do admirably," said Ellerton, pointing to a narrow covebetwixt the ledges. "There's sand at its head, so there's no fear ofthe boat being damaged."