CHAPTER X
ASHORE
All eyes were immediately turned in the direction in which John pointed.Sure enough, and every one saw it this time, land appeared far off onthe distant horizon. It could be seen only faintly, but there was nomistaking it. The low-lying shore and the outline of a few hills wereplainly visible.
"What do you think of that?" exclaimed Grant joyously. "It certainlylooks as if our luck had turned."
"Sho' it has," said Sam readily. "Soon as we lef' dat hard luck Finn Ahknowed we'd be all right. Ah suttinly is glad Ah is not in de same boatwid him."
These words of Sam threw a sudden damper upon every one in the boat. Thefour boys looked at one another in consternation and much of their joyat the sight of land was taken away by the recollection of the tragicend of their shipmate Petersen. Sam, however, seemed entirelyunconscious of having said anything out of the way. His face waswreathed in smiles and showed nothing but satisfaction, now that he wasseparated from Petersen. If any doubt had still lingered in the boys'minds as to Sam's sincerity that doubt was now dispelled. There was noquestion at all that the negro recalled nothing of his tragic deed.
"What's de mattah wid you gentlemen?" demanded Sam, noticing the strangebehavior of the four young sailors.
"Nothing at all," said Grant quickly.
"Let's row for shore," exclaimed John, doing his best to change thesubject.
"That's what I say," agreed George, who had now picked himself up andhad taken hold of his oar once again. "I want to feel some good oldearth under my feet for a change."
"That's right," said Grant. "Let's not waste any time."
They dug their oars into the water and with renewed energy set out forthe distant shore. Now and again they turned around and looked ahead inan effort to discover the character of the land they were approaching.It was still far away, however, and not much idea could be had of it.
"It's an island all right," said John confidently.
"Probably," agreed Grant. "I don't think we were very near the mainlandwhen the _Josephine_ burned."
"Look there," cried Fred all at once. "Look back of the boat there."
Every one immediately stopped rowing and craned his neck to see whatFred was pointing out.
"What is it, Fred?" demanded George. "What do you see?"
"Don't you see that fin?"
"Dat Finn!" exclaimed Sam. "Where dat Finn?"
"Not the one you mean," said Fred, smiling in spite of his evidentexcitement. "I mean the fin of a fish."
"I see it," cried John suddenly. "What is it?"
"What is it," repeated Fred. "Don't you know?"
"A shark?"
"Of course it is," said Fred. "It must be a whopper, too."
Every one else saw the fin now and involuntarily a shiver passed overmost of those on the little boat. The great black fin sailed easily andsteadily along, just cutting the top of the water. Gruesome andforbidding it looked and straightway recalled to the minds of the fourboys the stories they had so often heard of the hordes of man-eatingsharks that infested the waters of the West Indies.
"There's another," cried Grant suddenly.
Sure enough another fin joined the first and one ahead of the other thesharks cruised around the waters near the life-boat.
"Zowie!" exclaimed George. "I guess I'm glad I'm not in the water justnow."
"Same here," said Fred thankfully. "I wonder what they'd do to you."
"Well, I'm not curious enough to find out," said George grimly. "Theycan't touch us here in the boat, anyway."
"That's true enough," said Grant. "I say we don't waste any more timelooking at them, either. Personally, I'd rather be ashore."
Once more the oars were dipped into the water and the voyage wascontinued. The sharks also came along and their fins could be seen firston one side of the boat and then on the other; sometimes they appearedin front and sometimes astern. Relentlessly they followed, however, allthe way to the shore.
As the boat came nearer the land the boys got more of an idea of theplace they were approaching.
"I don't see any houses," remarked John.
"Nor I," agreed Fred. "It doesn't look as if there was a human being onthe island. It looks fertile enough, though."
"Well, we'll know all about it before long," said Grant. "Where shall weland?"
"What's the matter with that little harbor straight ahead?" said Fred.
"All right," exclaimed Grant. "Steer us in there, Sam."
"No matter what kind of a place it is I'll certainly be glad to get onshore again," said George eagerly. "I've had about all I want of boatsfor a while."
"I agree with you, Pop," said Fred. "I've had enough, too."
"I wish we'd see a steamer," sighed John.
"I wish a steamer would see us," said Grant. "I think that would be moreto the point."
"We've simply got to be picked up soon," said John. "Our food won't lasta great many days longer."
"It's good for a week, anyway," said Fred. "Some one will surely find usby that time. We can hoist a flag on top of that hill up there. Apassing steamer would be sure to see it."
"There may be people on the island for all we know," said Grant. "Wecan't see it all from here and it must be at least a mile long."
"We'll know soon, anyway," exclaimed John. "Don't run us onto any rockson the way in, Sam."
"No, sah," grinned Sam. "Jes' leave dat to me."
The shore of the island was low and sandy. Wide white beaches ran downto the water's edge, while a short distance back were many palms andother trees of which the boys did not know the names. As Fred remarked,the island certainly looked fertile. Great excitement filled the breastsof every member of the party as they neared the shore.
"The sharks have gone," exclaimed John suddenly.
"Sure enough," said George. "I had forgotten all about them."
"There they are out there," said Grant indicating a spot some fiftyyards astern of the boat. "They're not alone, either."
Ten or a dozen great fins could be seen weaving in and out in the placeGrant had indicated.
"It must be shallow in here," remarked Fred. "That's probably why theydon't come in any closer. Look out for going aground, Sam."
"Not de leas' dangah of dat," replied Sam confidently and whether heknew what he was talking about or not, the fact remains that a fewmoments later the bow of the boat grounded softly on the white sand,only a few feet from the shore.
"First ashore," cried George leaping overboard and dashing up on thebeach.
"Hey, there! Wait a minute," shouted Grant. "We've got to pull this boatup and we'll need everyone's help."
"We'd better take the provisions out," said Fred a moment later whenthey had hauled the boat some distance up on the shore.
"What for?" demanded George who was always opposed to doing any morework than was absolutely necessary.
"Put them somewhere in the shade I say," exclaimed Fred. "Take out thatcask of water, too. Those things have been broiling in the sun too longalready."
"Let's take everything out except the oars," said Grant. "We'll probablybe here for a couple of days and we might as well do it now as any time.I don't believe we'll be picked up before then; at least there is a goodchance that we won't."
"All right," agreed George. "Take everything out then. As soon as that'sdone though, I'm going to see what the other side of this island lookslike."
"We all will," said John. "Let's do this first though."
They all fell to work with a will and soon had the the boat unloaded.The contents were placed under a sheltering grove of mangrove trees ashort distance away. The boat was hauled a little farther up on shoreand then the boys prepared to start on their tour of inspection. Samfollowed as a matter of course.
"Say, this is a pretty fine island," exclaimed George as they startedout.
"Pineapples," cried Grant, excitedly. "What do you think of that?"
"Are they ripe?" demanded George as the little ba
nd swooped down uponthe cluster of plants.
"They certainly are," said Grant, who quickly produced his jackknife andcut off the top of one of the pineapples. "Watch me eat it," and hebegan to eat the juicy fruit with great relish. He was not far ahead ofthe others, however, for soon they were all busily engaged in the sameway.
At last they had their fill of pineapples and moved on. Banana treeswere discovered, standing in rows as if they had been planted.
"Somebody lives on this island, or used to anyway," remarked Grant."Those trees never grew wild like that."
"Of course not," said John. "It doesn't look as though they'd beencultivated lately though."
"We'll find out before long anyway," said Fred. "If there are peoplehere all I hope is that they're not cannibals."
"Dey no cannibals heah," said Sam so seriously that every one laughed.
"I hope not, Sam," said Fred, smiling. "I'd hate to be eaten."
They crossed the island which was not more than a half-mile wide at thispoint, and that seemed to be the average most of the way. The view wasthe same as on the opposite side; not a thing to be seen but theboundless ocean with not a speck of a sail or a bit of land withinsight. It was a little kingdom all of its own. A quarter of a mile fromshore the low rollers broke ceaselessly on a coral reef, while overhead,the gulls swept around and around, their plaintive whistle being verydistinct at times.
In silence the boys stood and gazed at the ocean.
"Looks as if we were alone in the world, doesn't it?" said Fred at last.
"It surely does," said George. "I somehow feel as if there ought to besome sort of a big black king sitting under one of these palm trees withabout twenty slaves standing around fanning him."
"Speaking of black," remarked John. "What has happened to Sam?"
"He went back to the boat," said Fred, but as he spoke Sam suddenlyappeared, running towards the little group at full speed. That he wasgreatly excited about something could be plainly seen from his manner.
"What is it, Sam?" demanded Grant as the erstwhile cook came puffing andblowing up to the spot where the four boys stood. "What's the matter?"
"De boat," gasped Sam. "De boat am gone."