The Island of Gold: A Sailor's Yarn
unfortunate _Sea Flower_ was simply a dismantledhulk.
When the work was finally accomplished, the men were permitted to gobelow, to cook breakfast, and sleep if they had a mind to.
But not till prayers were said, and thanks, fervent and heartfelt,offered up to the God who, although He had seen fit to wreck the ship,had so mercifully spared the lives of all.
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Strange, indeed, was now the position of these shipwrecked mariners, andit was difficult for Halcott, Tandy, and James Malone to review it witheven forced calmness.
The three men walked up together to the table-land to hold a council,taking no one with them.
The storm had gone down almost as quickly as it had arisen, and sea andsky were blue and beautiful once again.
Said James, as they all sat smoking there,--
"Brother Halcott, my first words are these--and I'm an older man thaneither of you--We must not despair!"
"We must not despair!" repeated both his shipmates.
But they did not smile, and their voices sounded almost hollow, or as ifthey came up out of a phonograph.
James laid his hand on his friend's knee.
"Our prospects are bad, I allow," he said, "the future looks dark anddrear. We are far, far beyond the ordinary track of ships; shipsseldom, if ever, come this way, unless driven out of their course bystress of weather. I think, then, brother, that we may dismiss from ourminds, as useless, all hope from that direction. But dangers loom aheadthat we must not, dare not, try to minimise. We are here with butlimited supplies of food and ammunition, and these can hardly last forever. The nearest land is hundreds and hundreds of miles away, thewild, inhospitable shores of Northern Patagonia. We are but eleven alltold, excluding the boys Ransey and Fitz, the dear child, and Janeira--eleven working hands. Could we expect or dare, as a last resource, toreach the far-off land in two open boats? Did we attempt this, weshould have to reckon, at the outset, upon opposition from the wildnatives of that north island; then on the dangers of the elements duringthis long, forlorn cruise. Worst of all, if not an-hungered, we mightperish from thirst. Tandy, you would go mad were you to see theanxious, fevered face and dry, parched lips of your child upturned tothe sky, weak and weary, and praying for the drop of water you could notfind to give her."
"Hush, James, hush!" cried Tandy; "sooner far we should all die where weare."
"I do not mention these matters to worry you, men, but that, knowing ourdangers, we may be prepared to face them.
"Then," he continued, "there is the king of this island and his warriorsto be thought about. Fools, indeed, were we did we not reckon on these,for they constitute the danger that presses most, now that we arewrecked--the danger, probably, first to be faced."
"You think, then, they will return?"
James Malone pointed to the far-off volcanic hill, which was once morebelching forth smoke.
"They will return," he said, "when yonder cloud rests no longer on themountain top.
"Yes, brother, it might be possible to make friends of them. But Idoubt it. Treachery is written on every lineament of their black andfearsome faces. I should never, never trust them.
"And now, men," he continued, after a thoughtful pause, "I have paintedour situation in its darkest colours. Let us see, then, where the lightcomes in. The light and the hope."
As he spoke he took from his bosom a little Bible and those big horn"specs" that Halcott mentioned in his story. These last he mounted onhis nose, and turning over the leaves read solemnly as follows:--
"`God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
"`Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and thoughthe mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.
"`The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered his voice, theearth melted.
"`The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Amen!'
"In these words," said James closing the book, "and in many suchpromises, do I place my hope and confidence. God heard _my_ prayersbefore, gentlemen. He will hear _ours_ now. I think our deliverancewill come about in some strange way. Just let us trust."
But James Malone's religion was of a very practical kind. "Trust inGod, and keep your powder dry," are words that have been attributed toCromwell. They are to the point.
"_Fortuna favet fortibus_," (fortune favours the brave), you know,reader; and it is wrong to expect God to help us to do that which He hasgiven us the power to do for ourselves.
"And now, gentlemen," said James, rising to his feet, "let us work."
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"The first thing to be considered, then," said Halcott, "is, I think youwill agree with me, James, our defence."
"That is so," said James quietly. "The savages will come sooner orlater, I fear, and it is but little likely they will come prepared toshake us by the hand and make friends with us. Even if they did, Ishould be prepared to fight them, for you never know what might happen."
"Right, James, right. We may be thankful anyhow that as yet we are allspared and well. Now, you just have the hands lay aft, and tell them,brother, in your convincing way, how matters stand. Speak to them asyou spoke to us."
James answered never a word, but went straight down the green declivityand boarded the vessel. He did not ask the men to come to thequarterdeck--James was non-demonstrative in all his methods. He wouldhave no "laying aft" business. This was too much man-of-war fashion forhim, so he simply went forward to the forecastle and beckoned the fewhands around him.
A minute or two after this Halcott and Tandy, still lying at ease on thebrow of the embankment, heard a lusty cheer. From their position theycould command a view of the deck, and now, on looking down, behold! thebrave little crew were taking off their jackets and tightening theirwaist-belts, and a mere tyro could have told that that meant business.
Halcott got up now; he plucked a pinch of moss, and after plugging hispipe therewith he placed it carefully away in his jacket pocket.
That meant business also.
"Come, Tandy," he said, and both descended.
The position, it must be admitted, was one which it would be ratherdifficult for so small a garrison to defend successfully.
The vessel, as I have already said, had been dashed stern on to therocks and into the gully, and the jibboom hung over a black, slipperyprecipice that descended sheer down into the sea. This cliff, however,was not so slippery but that it might afford foothold for naked savages.It must be included, therefore, in the plan of defence.
But from the cliffs that rose on each side of the ship an enemy couldattack her, and the deck below would then be quite at the mercy of theirpoisoned spears and their clouds of arrows, while the bank astern whichsloped upwards to the table-land could easily be rushed by a determinedfoe.
An outer line of defence was therefore imperative; in fact this would beof as much service to these Crusoes as the Channel Fleet is to theBritish Islands.
This part of the work was therefore the first to be commenced, andmerrily indeed the men set to work. They began by clearing away thebush all round the gully where the _Sea Flower_ lay, to the extent offorty yards, being determined to leave not a single shrub behind which asavage might conceal himself. Everything cut down was hauled to the topof the cliff and trundled into the sea. To have lit a fire and burnedit would have invited the attention of the natives on that far-offisland, and a visit of curiosity on their part would have endeddisastrously for the shipwrecked party.
It took days to clear the bush away, and not only the men but theofficers as well bore a hand and slaved away right cheerfully.
No one was left on board except Ransey Tansey himself, the nigger boy,and Janeira. Nelda insisted on going on shore with the working party,the marvellous crane flew down from the hulk, and Bob was always loweredgently over the side. These three w
ere the superintendents, as Halcottcalled them; they had nothing to do but play about, it is true, buttheir very happiness inspired the men and made the work more easy. Theother three--those left on board--had work to do, for on them devolvedthe duty of preparing the meals for all hands; and in this duty theynever failed.
Well, the jungle was cleared at last, and this clearance, it wasdetermined, should be extended and made double the width at least.
And now began the hard labour and toil of erecting the stockade, and inthis strength was of very great importance. But it was not everything.The wooden wall must be built on scientific principles, so that a volleycould be fired on an enemy attacking from any direction.
The building of this fortification, with its strong-barred gate, tookour Crusoes quite a month. No one can marvel at this, if they bear inmind that the trees had to be cut down in the