CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.
SOME VISITORS.
"What donkeys we are!" exclaimed Eric presently, a moment or so afterthe discharge of the firearms. "We are real stupids to be astonished atall!"
"How, in what way?" asked Fritz. "Why, the strange boat must have comefrom Tristan d'Acunha. Don't you recollect, we were told that a partyalways came sealing here, as well as at Nightingale Island, during thesummer?"
"Oh yes; I forgot," said Fritz. "I wonder, though, you didn't see theirboat pass your look-out station--you, with your fine observant eyes!"
"Ah, they must have come round to leeward of the promontory, close underthe land," replied Eric to this taunt:--"that is how they escaped mynotice. But, what shall we do now--go on, or return home?"
"It strikes me we had better go home, for we shall have uncommon littlesport to-day, since they have been first in the field!" said Fritzdryly. "Still, I suppose we'd better be friendly with them. Let us goon to shore first before leaving, and have a chat. No doubt, they'll beas much surprised to see us as we were just now at their unexpectedappearance here."
"Well, I don't know about that," observed Eric. "I should think youngGlass would have told them about our having settled here."
"But, I asked him not to mention it," replied Fritz, "and, as he seemeda very decent sort of young fellow, I dare say he has obeyed my wish--especially as he was your friend, you know."
"It's all right then," said Eric; "my Tristaner would be certain to keephis word if he promised it. Let us proceed now and astonish them withour presence, which must therefore, as you say, be quite unexpected."
"Pull away then, brother."
"Right you are!" said Eric in response; and the two, putting their backsinto the oars, the boat was soon speeding to the point where theislanders were gathered in a group on the shore--far too busy with theseals they had shot to notice their approach.
"Now," cried Fritz, when they were close to the others, although stillunobserved, "let us give them a call."
"Shout away!" said Eric; when, he and his brother joining their voices,they gave utterance to a ringing hail that must have frightened all thefish near.
"Boat ahoy!"
The party on shore, who had their backs turned seawards, jumped round atthis as if they had been shot; but soon, an answering hail assured themthat some one amongst the islanders had recognised them.
"Hillo, whar be you sprung from?" inquired a voice with a strong nasaltwang.
It was that of Nat Slater, the "deck hand" of the Rhode Islandsteamboat!
Fritz was perfectly astounded to find him now amongst the Tristaners.How came he there? What could possibly have become of the _Pilot'sBride_ and Captain Brown?
These were the anxious thoughts that at once flashed through the mind ofthe young German, and his brother shared his anxiety to an equal extent.
Nat Slater however did not keep them long in suspense.
"I guess," he said--as soon as they reached the beach and accosted theislanders, who received them very coldly they could perceive, as iflooking upon them now as rivals in the same pursuit--"me and the old mancouldn't drive the same team long. We had a muss together, soon as youparted company, an' I asked him to put me ashore at Tristan, thinking toship in another whaling craft; but, I'm blest if ary a one's called tharsince the _Pilot's Bride_ sailed, so I've ben forced to chum in withthese islanders!"
"Did you get on a spree, or what, to make Captain Brown leave youbehind?" asked Fritz, judging by what the skipper had told him of MrNathaniel Slater's character that the real facts of the case might putquite another complexion on his plausible statement, that the skipperhad quarrelled with him.
"Waall, I reckon, I did go on a bit of a bender aboard," said the whilomdeck hand in a drawling way. "I managed to stow away a couple o'bottles of Bourbon whisky I got to Providence after I left hum, an' Ithought I would have a licker-up arter we parted with you an' yourbrother, mister, I felt so kinder lonesome."
"And I suppose you got so drunk that Captain Brown kicked you out of theship?" exclaimed the young German indignantly. "Why, you knew hisparticular orders about never allowing any spirituous liquors on boardhis vessel when at sea!"
"I guess he wern't boss of everybody," said the American coolly. "An'so I told him, too! But, say, mister, I've a kinder hankering to jineyou and your brother haar; will you let a poor coon chum in?"
"No, I confess I would rather not," was the instant reply that came fromFritz--a decision which, from his quick look of satisfaction, Eric mostcordially shared in. "We did not appear to get on together very wellbefore, and I certainly do not care to associate with any one who doesnot keep his word!"
"I guess this here island don't belong to you, mister?" said Nat Slatersneeringly, on purpose apparently to make Fritz angry; but the youngGerman remained perfectly cool and collected.
"I never said it did," he answered. "Of course, you have every right tosettle here if you like; but I and my brother decline having anyassociation with you."
"Oh, jist as you like, mister," replied the American, now showinghimself in his true colours, having evidently nourished a spite againstthe two brothers on account of Captain Brown's friendship for them."I'm durned if I kinder kear now to hang out along with you, as I sed atfirst; I'd rayther a durned sight stick to these good chaps haar, as hevmore friendly feelins than a pair o' blessed foreign coons that don'tknow how to treat a free-born American citizen like a man! I guess,though, I'll spile your sealing for you, if I hev any influence with theislanders."
"You are welcome to do your worst," said Fritz; and then, as young Glasswas not amongst the Tristaners--who now seemed, either from the deckhand's threat or on account of some other reason, to look upon them inrather a hostile manner--he and Eric withdrew from the party. Retiringat once to their boat, they returned to their own little settlement inthe eastern bay, with the resolve of not coming out after the sealsagain until after the islanders had left the coast, so as not to riskany further altercation with them.
"It's a great nuisance, though," grumbled Eric, who was especiallyannoyed by the fact of their going back to the hut with an empty boatinstead of the full cargo | he expected, similar to their first day'sexperience of sealing. "I should like to pay out that mean Yankee forhis spite. He's not like a true sailor, for he wasn't worth his saltaboard the _Pilot's Bride_; and I've heard the skipper say that he onlytook him out of good nature and nothing else!"
"Yes, I know he only allowed him to come in order to save him from ruinat home," Fritz said. "But, he might just as well have left him atProvidence, for all the good the voyage has done him!"
"Well, he has spoilt our sealing, as he said he would," observed Ericafter a bit, when they were rounding the western promontory of their ownlittle bay, and their cottage home was just in sight.
"Only to-day, or, at the worst, for but a short time longer," repliedFritz. "The islanders will not stay for any period after they've filledtheir boat; and, of course, he will return with them to Tristan. He'stoo lazy to stop here and shift for himself, although he would have beenglad to sponge upon us."
"Joy go with him when he leaves!" cried Eric heartily on the keel oftheir whale-boat touching the beach, when they then proceeded to drawher up on the shingle and take all their traps and gear out of her.They did this in case their American friend might persuade the islandersto come round to the bay and make a raid on their property, so as toprevent them from interfering with their sealing--that being the onlygrievance which they could possibly have against them.
However, as next morning, the whale-boat lay intact where they had lefther, their suspicions of the Tristaners' bad faith proved to be quiteunfounded.
Still, the brothers were glad to find, from Eric's observations on thetableland, whence he kept a constant watch on the visitors' movements,that, after a ten days' stay they left the little island once more tothem alone; although, as they also discovered to their grief a shorttime after their departur
e, the Tristaners took away with them thegreater number of the goats on the plateau, or else killed them fortheir sustenance whilst they remained.
This was a sad discovery. The islanders were quite welcome to the pigs,thought the brother crusoes; but the flesh of the goats was so delicateand needful besides, as a change of diet to their ordinary saltprovision, that any diminution of their numbers was a serious loss tothem.
It was not until a week at least after the Tristaners had left, thatEric reported the presence of seals again on the west beach, where,probably, the fact of the islanders camping on the spot had quite asmuch to do with scaring away the timid creatures from the coast as thewarfare waged upon them. Fortunately, however, the poor animals had anaffection for the place; for, having now observed, no doubt from some oftheir number sent out as scouts, that their enemies had departed, theyonce more returned to the rock caverns they had before frequented.
"There are some of those `elephants,' as you call them, amongst them,too," said Eric when he came down the cliff with the news to Fritz."There are a great many more than I saw last time."
"Ah, we must try and catch some of the gentlemen this trip," remarkedFritz. "Perhaps it will be the last chance we may have of capturing seaelephants!"
"Right you are," replied the lad. "I'll do my best to kill them; butreally, brother, they look awfully formidable fellows!"
"Oh, they're not half so dangerous as they look," said Fritz. "They'relike your friends the penguins; their bark is worse than their bite!"
"Ha, ha!" laughed Eric good-temperedly; "you will continue to chaff meabout those wretched birds I suppose! Never mind, though, I've got thejoke about the billy-goat frightening you as a set-off, eh, brother?"
"That's nothing--nothing!" said Fritz in an off-hand way. "We'd bettersee about starting round after the seals, I think."
"Ah, it's all very well your trying to get out of it like that!"retorted Eric, going off, laughing, to haul the whale-boat down into thebay; when, as soon as she was afloat and all their preparations made,they set off again round the headland for the sealing ground.
They noticed, as they approached, that the animals were much more warynow than at the time of their first visit, many plunging into the waterfrom off the outlying rocks on the boat nearing the shore; consequently,they had to use their rifles at once to secure any seals at all, withouttrusting to their harpoons.
Fritz fired six shots rapidly from the Remington he carried, Eric, whowas not so handy in the use of the weapon, managing about half thenumber; and then, seeing that some of the animals which were onlywounded were endeavouring to wriggle down the beach into the sea, thetwo dashed in at them with the harpoons and boat-hook--Master Ericselecting the latter weapon from his being more accustomed to its use.
They had a great scrimmage amongst the struggling seals, which roaredand bellowed like so many bull calves, looking when they opened theirmouths as if they would swallow up the brothers at one gulp; but, it wasall bravado, for the poor things had not an ounce of fight in them.They suffered themselves to be knocked on the head without the slightestresistance, only bleating piteously when they received their death-blowand dropping down in their tracks at once.
One enormous sea elephant Fritz made for, just as he was on the point ofsliding off into the sea from a little rocky jetty where he hadensconced himself.
The animal reared itself on its fore flappers and seemed to tower overthe young German; but, on Fritz pluckily piercing it with his harpoonright through the chest, the warm blood gushed over him in a torrent andthe portentous sea elephant sank down lifeless.
The creature was upwards of eighteen feet long, from the point of hisqueer-looking nose or snout, which was elongated like an elephant'strunk--hence its name of "sea elephant"--to the hind flappers; while itmust have been pretty nearly ten feet in girth.
"Ah, here are eight barrels of oil at least!" shouted Fritz when he hadgiven the monster his death-blow. "Fancy all that quantity from one seaelephant!"
"You don't say you've caught one of those fellows?" cried Eric, who waskneeling down and trying to detach a little cub seal from its deadmother. "I wish I had killed him, instead of my victim here. I wonderwhat this poor little baby thing will do without its parent?"
"You'd better knock it on the head," said Fritz. "It is safe to pineaway, if left alone to take care of itself, now that its mother isdead."
"I'm sure I can't do that," replied the lad, turning away from thepitiful sight. "It would seem to me exactly like committing a murder incold blood!"
"You are too tender-hearted for a sealer," said Fritz in his matter-of-fact way; and then, with one tap from the butt end of his harpoon on itsnose, he settled the fate of the poor little beast.
The result of this day's sport was, some thirteen sealskins, in additionto that of the sea elephant, which, although much larger of course thanthe others, did not appear to be of the same quality of fur. From thenumber of animals they bagged, it was apparent that the bullets fromtheir rifles must have penetrated more than one seal at a time, passingthrough the one aimed at and hitting some of those behind. This wouldbe quite feasible if the leaden messenger of death did not come incontact with the bone, for the bodies of the mammals were very soft andyielding from the amount of adipose tissue they contained.
These sealskins, with those which they had previously obtained, made uptheir quota to thirty. The oil, likewise, extracted from the blubberfilled up their remaining empty casks, so that they had now noreceptacle wherein to stow any more should they succeed in killing moreseals. But, the brothers need not have troubled themselves on thisaccount, for their last onslaught on the breeding-ground had the effectof the final straw on the camel's back, not one of the cat-facedanimals--as Eric called them, from their fancied resemblance to oldMouser--being to be seen in the neighbourhood of the coast for monthsafterwards, albeit the young crusoes were constantly on the watch forthem!
Boiling down the blubber was, certainly, a tedious operation.
The brothers had made a rocky bed for their cauldron, near the hut, withan ingeniously constructed fireplace beneath it which had a cross-cuttrench for creating a draught, in the way Fritz noticed that thesoldiers made their camp fires during the war--the whole affair whenfinished looking like one of those "coppers" placed in back kitchens forwashing days. Over this laboratory, the two were busy enough for somedays, making themselves so black with smoke and begrimed with oil thatthey resembled a couple of chimney sweepers, or engine fitters for thenonce!
Eric, who superintended the details by reason of the superior knowledgewhich his whaling experience gave him, first cut up the blubber intolong thin strips, which Fritz again subdivided into smaller portionswith the aid of his sheath knife. These strips of blubber were thenheaped into the pot, under which a roaring fire was kept up, theoperation being continued until the cauldron was full; when, as it cameto the boil, the refuse matter and pieces of flesh adhering to the fatwere skimmed off from the top, and the melted oil allowed to coolgradually, after which it was emptied into the casks kept ready by theside of the hut.
The brothers were very glad when the job was ended, for the blubbersmelt terribly fishy and almost suffocated them with its fumes as thepot came to the boiling point; but, they persevered with their taskuntil their casks were all full and headed up, when they proceeded todress their sealskins roughly and salt them down in a large puncheonwhich they had reserved especially for their storage.
Next, they had a grand clean up, putting the hut and place in order, theblubber boiling having covered everything with a deposit of oily soot;and, the morning after they had made things comfortable again, theyproceeded down to the garden to see how matters were progressing there,not having visited the spot since the day they had started on their lastsealing excursion.
"I say, brother," observed Eric, as they directed their steps towardsthe little wood beyond the waterfall, where they could hear the thrusheschirping and whistling as they came near; for, the
penguins were not sonoisy now, having hatched their eggs and abandoned the nests they usedto make such a fuss over. "I say, brother, how are the days going--itmust be nearly the end of December now, eh?"
Fritz thought for a moment.
He was the methodical member of the family and had always been looked upto as having the best memory for dates at home.
"Himmel!" he exclaimed. "What day do you think it is?"
"I'm sure I can't imagine," replied Eric. "All the days go alike here;why, it seems more than a year already since good Captain Brown left us,although I know it's only a few months."
"Only, think, Eric, it is--"
"No, never!" said the lad, interrupting his brother and guessing thatthe answer he was going to give would confirm his own conjecture. "Itcannot be, really, eh?"
While saying this, Eric stopped abruptly as they were entering thelittle grove of buckthorn trees, where the thrushes and finches werehopping about amongst their branches as merry as grigs in the sunshine;for, the weather was as warm as our June, although it was thenDecember--the seasons in southern latitudes being the reverse of what weare accustomed to in Europe.
"Yes, you've guessed right, laddie," replied Fritz, looking into hisface with a smile. "It is, without doubt, Christmas Day!"
"What, to-day?" said Eric, incredulous in spite of himself.
"Yes, to-day," repeated his brother.
"Well, that is wonderful!" exclaimed Eric; adding a moment afterwards,however, in a tone of the greatest dismay, "only think, though, wehaven't prepared a Christmas tree, or anything!"
"Never mind," said Fritz consolingly. "Those sort of arrangements forthe festival would be a little out of place here."
"Would they?" cried Eric. "Ah, we'll see about that!"