CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.
THE SEARCH.
HOME SWEET HOME--MAX ON MOONLIGHT--FOLLOWING A TRAIL--THE CONCEALEDCANOE.
"Where'er thou wanderest, canst thou hope to go Where skies are brighter, or the earth more fair? Dost thou not love these aye-blue streams that flow, These spicy forests, and this golden air?
"O yes! I love these woods, these streams so clear, Yet from this fairy region I would roam, Again to see my native hills--thrice dear! And seek that country, of all countries,--Home."
Max hastened to collect fuel, and kindle a fire, in order to preparesome food. Assuming, as usual, the entire superintendence and controlof the culinary department, and every thing connected therewith, he setBrowne to work washing and scraping tara-roots, despatched me after afresh supply of fuel, and sent Morton with the hand-net down to thefish-pond to take out a couple of fish for a broil. But while thusfreely assigning tasks to the rest of us, with the composed air of oneaccustomed to the exercise of unquestioned authority, he by no meansshrunk from his own fair share of the work; and having got the fireburning cleverly by the time that Morton returned with the fish, herolled up his sleeves, and with an air of heroic fortitude, commencedthe necessary, but somewhat unpleasant process of cleaning them.
Night had now set in, but the sky being perfectly clear, and the moon ather full, it was scarcely darker than at early twilight.
Max seemed to prolong his culinary operations to the utmost, either frompure love of the employment, or with the still lingering hope, that ourcompanions might yet arrive in time to partake of our supper.
At last however, it became apparent that the cookery could not, withoutserious detriment, be longer protracted. The bursting skin of the tarorevealed the rich mealy interior, and eloquently proclaimed itsreadiness to be eaten. The fish were done to a turn, and filled thecabin with a savoury odour, doubly grateful to our nostrils after atwelve hours' fast. Max declared with a sigh, that another moment uponthe gridiron would ruin them, and he was reluctantly compelled to serveup the repast without further delay, when, notwithstanding our growinganxiety on account of Arthur's absence, we made a hearty meal. Afterfeeding Monsieur Paul, and setting by some food in readiness for ourcompanions when they should arrive, as we still hoped they would do inthe course of the evening, we went out to a spot above the cascade,where Morton and Browne had arranged some rude fragments of basalt, soas to form a semicircle of seats, which, if less comfortable thanwell-cushioned arm-chairs would have been, might at any rate beconsidered in decidedly better "rural taste," and in more harmoniouskeeping with the character of the surrounding scene.
From this point we could trace the windings of the brook for somedistance in one direction, while below us, in the opposite one, spreadthe moonlit lake, reflecting in its mirror-like surface the dark massesof foliage that fringed its shores. It was one of those tranquil,dreamy nights, known only in tropical countries. A subtle fragrance offresh buds and blossoms filled the air. The light streamed in a silveryflood upon the tufted tops of the groves; while in the solemn shadebeneath, the serried trunks reared themselves in long ranks, like thegrey columns of some Gothic ruin.
As we sat listening to the murmur of the waterfall, the rustling of thetrees, and the distant and muffled booming of the surf, I fell into adreamy reverie, which was at length dissipated by Browne's voice--
"Can any thing be more beautiful than this scene at this moment!"exclaimed he, "and yet I do not know when I have experienced such aweariness of it all--such an intense longing for home, as I feelto-night."
"I shall begin to believe in mesmeric sympathy," said Morton, "I wasmyself just thinking of home. Home, sweet home!" and he heaved along-drawn sigh.
Yes! the charm and illusion of our island life had long ended. We weretired of tropical luxuriance, and eternal summer. Glowing skies, andlandscapes like a picture, had almost ceased to gratify even the eye. Ilonged for a glimpse of a rugged New England hill once more. A gnarledNew England oak, though stripped by wintry winds of every leaf, would bea sight more grateful to me, than all those endless groves of wavingpalms.
"I cannot believe," resumed Browne, "that we are destined to waste ourdays in this lonely spot, elysium as it is, of external beauty. We havefaculties and desires, which can find no scope here, and which areperishing for lack of exercise. Still it is possible. But it is adreary, dreary thought! I can now feel the pathos of the words of theancient mariner on coming in sight of his native land--
"`Oh dream of joy! is this indeed The light-house top I see? Is this the hill? is this the kirk?-- Is this mine own countree?
"`We drifted o'er the harbour bar And I with sobs did pray-- O let me be awake, my God! Or let me sleep away!'"
Browne recited the lines with a power and feeling, that affected eventhe matter-of-fact Morton; Max hastened to show that he was above beingso easily moved.
"All this comes," cried he, "of lying here under the trees in themoonlight. Moonlight certainly has a tendency to make people melancholyand sentimental; it also makes them do foolish things. The most absurdand unreasonable notions I ever entertained, came into my head bymoonlight, and wouldn't go away. Only twenty-five minutes ago, we werequite a rational, practical set of persons, eating our supper, (awell-cooked supper, too, though I say it myself), with a keen appetite,like Christians. And now, we have fallen to sighing and quoting poetry,and Browne waxes quite pathetic at the touching thought of getting aglimpse once more, of the smoky chimneys of Glasgow! Finally, I havenearly caught the infection myself, and unless I escape out of themoonlight presently, I dare say I also shall become quitelack-a-daisical, and commence a poetical apostrophe to my native villageof Hardscrabble--or rather to plump little Susan Somers, my first love,at the `madam's' school, who affected my weak mind and susceptible heartto that extent, that in her bewildering presence my tongue clave to theroof of my mouth, while I grew red in the face like a perplexed turkeygobbler. But what _can_ have become of Arthur and the rest? Unlesssomething had happened to them, they must have returned before now."
A little before midnight we retired to the cabin to sleep, having firstagreed, that in the morning three of us should proceed up the streamagain, to make a thorough search for our companions, the fourthremaining behind until near noon, when, if the absentees had not yetreturned, he should set out to join the others at the islet below thefalls, which we fixed upon as the rendezvous.
In the morning, lots were drawn to determine which of us should remainat the cabin, and that duty fell to Morton. The rest of us, havingarmed ourselves, and prepared a supply of taro and bread-fruit,sufficient, as we supposed, for several days, set out, soon aftersunrise. Our progress was much more rapid than it had been when wefirst went over the ground, as we now had a definite object in view, andpressed steadily forward, without allowing any thing to interrupt ordelay us. In an hour and a half after starting, we came in sight of theislet. Opposite it was the stake which Browne had planted in the sand,just as we had left it. We pushed on up the stream to the cascade, andcrossing to the right bank, we began to skirt the base of the rocky wallon that side, looking carefully around for some traces of ourcompanions.
We had proceeded in this way, about one hundred yards from the brook,when I picked up one of Johnny's arrows in a tuft of fern. This wasconclusive evidence that we were upon the right track. A little fartheron, was a piece of marshy ground, and here we made a startlingdiscovery. In the soft soil, several foot-prints could be plainlydistinguished. Some were coarse, shapeless impressions, precisely suchas would be made by the rude moccasins worn by Arthur and Johnny.Others were the prints of naked feet, and some of these were of far toolarge a size to be made by either of the three. This discovery affectedus for the moment like an electric shock, and we stood looking at oneanother without speaking, and scarcely breathing, while the very beatingof our hearts might be heard.
Browne was the first to recover himself, when he commenced a closeexaminatio
n of all the tracks. The piece of ground upon which theycould be traced, extended some thirty yards, and after a carefulscrutiny of the whole of it, we became convinced that at least fourpersons, besides our three companions, had recently passed over it. Allthe tracks were not in the same direction, and from finding those ofprecisely the same size lying in opposite directions, we inferred thatsome of these persons, at least, had passed and repassed the spot.
The most distressing surmises as to the cause of the disappearance ofour companions, now began to suggest themselves. We were so astoundedby this decisive evidence of the presence of strangers upon the island,that we scarcely knew what to do next, but at last concluded to returnto the islet and await Morton's arrival, being anxious to avoid the riskof any further division of our numbers. We accordingly retraced our waythither: supposing that Morton would have set out before we could reachthe cabin, and that we might pass each other on the way without knowingit, if we should proceed down the stream to meet him, we remainedquietly at the islet, keeping a vigilant and somewhat nervous look-outon every side.
He arrived about noon, having started rather sooner than had been agreedupon. On being informed of the tracks which had been discovered, hesaid that we ought at once to trace them as far as we were able. "Wemust not rest," said he, "until we know something more of this, even ifwe have to traverse every inch of ground on the island."
Browne was inclined to infer from the foot-prints, that the interior,and the eastern part of the island, of which we as yet knew nothing,were inhabited, and that our companions had fallen into the hands of thenatives.
"Let us, in the first place, find, if possible, where they are. We canthen judge what is to be done, if indeed we can do any thing," saidMorton, "and now for the place where the tracks you speak of are to beseen."
Grasping our weapons, which were no longer to be regarded as a uselessincumbrance, we once more proceeded up the brook, and soon reached thepiece of low ground before mentioned. We again narrowly inspected thetracks: Morton measured them with a twig, and concluded, as we hadpreviously done, that these were the foot-prints of at least sevenpersons--there being that number of clearly different sizes. Three ofthese were without doubt the tracks of Arthur, Johnny, and Eiulo. Theimpressions made by the moccasins of the two former led only in onedirection, (_from_ the stream), while those of the naked feet, (or ofsome of them), were in two opposite directions. Following these trackseastward along the rocky ridge, we soon came to firm dry ground, wherefootsteps could no longer be traced. But by a minute scrutiny, we werestill able to detect slight but decisive indications of the course ofthe party whose trail we were endeavouring to follow.
In one place, a bunch of spreading ferns had been trodden down, and thelong graceful fronds bruised and broken: in another, a cluster ofcrushed wild-flowers betrayed a recent footstep. A little further on,we came to a wide, meadow-like expanse, where the grass and weeds grewrank and tall, and through this the path of a considerable party couldbe readily traced. Gradually becoming accustomed to this species ofminute investigation, as we continued carefully to practise it, we soongrew so expert and skilful, that things very slight in themselves, andwhich would ordinarily have altogether escaped notice, sufficed to guideand direct us.
The path trodden through the meadow, led to the foot of an ascent, upwhich we followed the trail slowly and with difficulty, the soil beinghard, and the vegetation scanty. On gaining the top, we found that wehad reached the eastern, or south-eastern extremity of the island, andthe sea spread before us, almost at our feet. The trail led directlytowards the edge of a steep bank, just above the shore, near which welost it altogether. Morton leaped down the bank some ten or twelvefeet, while the rest of us were looking round for easier and moregradual means of descent. Finding a stunted tree springing from thelower ground, close against the bluff, I leaped among its spreadingbranches, and climbed down its trunk to the shore, where I found Mortonsearching for some traces of the party which we had tracked almost tothe edge of the height.
In a moment we were joined by Max and Browne, who had clambered down theface of the bank by the assistance of the shrubs and bushes growing uponit.
"It is useless," said Browne, "to look here for the trail we have lost.If they descended to the shore, it must have been in some place whereJohnny and Eiulo could have got down."
"The track seemed to lead directly to the sea," said Morton, "and youmust consider that a party of savages would not find much of an obstaclein such a bank as this, and would scarcely be as careful as ourselves ofthe safety of Johnny and Eiulo. In fact, I suppose they would hand ordrop them down such a height, without scruple or ceremony. What I nowbegin to fear is, that our unfortunate companions have fallen into thehands of a party of savages, landing here for some transient purpose,and have been carried off by them."
At this moment an exclamation from Max, who had walked a little wayalong the beach, announced some discovery, and turning round we saw himbeckoning to us.
"What is that?" said he, when we had joined him, stooping down, andpointing towards a clump of stunted trees, growing in an angle orindentation, where the bluff fell back for a short distance from theshore, "is it not a canoe drawn up under the trees?"
It was not easy to distinguish the object clearly, on account of thethickness of the foliage. After waiting a moment, and looking carefullyabout, being satisfied that there was no one in the vicinity, weapproached the spot. Max was not mistaken; a large canoe, capable ofholding fifteen or twenty persons, was lying among the bushes, where ithad evidently been placed for concealment. In the bottom were a numberof carved paddles, a mast wound about with a mat-sail, severalcalabashes containing water, and some cocoa-nuts.
Having hastily noted these particulars, we withdrew to a short distance,behind a rock detached from the bank, and surrounded by a dense growthof tangled shrubbery, to hold a consultation.
From the position in which we found the canoe, with no dwelling nearthat we could see, and from the circumstance of its containing water andprovisions, we inferred that it did not belong to persons inhabiting theisland, or this portion of it at any rate. There was at least aprobability of its belonging to the party which we had tracked so nearlyto the spot, and that they were now somewhere in the neighbourhood.
"This canoe must be destroyed," said Morton, after a moment of silence,"and we had better set about it at once."
This proposition seemed a bold and a somewhat strange one. Brownedemanded the object of such a proceeding.
"Unless we do this," answered Morton, "our companions, if they are stillalive, and in the power of the savages, may be carried away from theisland before our eyes, and separated from us for ever. As long as theyare here, within our reach, there is hope of our being able to rescuethem; if not by force, then by some device or stratagem. At the worst,we only run some unnecessary risk, by what I propose. Could we everforgive ourselves if Arthur should be carried off through our havingomitted a precaution calculated to prevent it?"
Morton's decision and earnestness prevailed; while he undertook the workof destroying the canoe, Max, Browne, and I, stationed ourselves atdifferent points around the spot, so as to give timely notice of theapproach of any person. He devoted himself to his task with suchvigour, that in a very few moments he had completely broken up thebottom of the canoe, by repeated blows of a stone as heavy as he couldlift in both hands. Not content with this, he disengaged the outrigger,and threw it, together with the mast and sail, into the sea.