L'île mystérieuse. English

  Chapter 22

  This intense cold lasted till the 15th of August, without, however,passing the degree of Fahrenheit already mentioned. When the atmospherewas calm, the low temperature was easily borne, but when the wind blew,the poor settlers, insufficiently clothed, felt it severely. Pencroftregretted that Lincoln Island was not the home of a few families ofbears rather than of so many foxes and seals.

  "Bears," said he, "are generally very well dressed, and I ask no morethan to borrow for the winter the warm cloaks which they have on theirbacks."

  "But," replied Neb, laughing, "perhaps the bears would not consent togive you their cloaks, Pencroft. These beasts are not St. Martins."

  "We would make them do it, Neb, we would make them," replied Pencroft,in quite an authoritative tone.

  But these formidable carnivora did not exist in the island, or at anyrate they had not yet shown themselves.

  In the meanwhile, Herbert, Pencroft, and the reporter occupiedthemselves with making traps on Prospect Heights and at the border ofthe forest.

  According to the sailor, any animal, whatever it was, would be a lawfulprize, and the rodents or carnivora which might get into the new snareswould be well received at Granite House.

  The traps were besides extremely simple; being pits dug in the ground,a platform of branches and grass above, which concealed the opening, andat the bottom some bait, the scent of which would attract animals. Itmust be mentioned also, that they had not been dug at random, butat certain places where numerous footprints showed that quadrupedsfrequented the ground. They were visited every day, and at threedifferent times, during the first days, specimens of those Antarcticfoxes which they had already seen on the right bank of the Mercy werefound in them.

  "Why, there are nothing but foxes in this country!" cried Pencroft, whenfor the third time he drew one of the animals out of the pit. Looking atit in great disgust, he added, "beasts which are good for nothing!"

  "Yes," said Gideon Spilett, "they are good for something!"

  "And what is that?"

  "To make bait to attract other creatures!"

  The reporter was right, and the traps were henceforward baited with thefoxes carcasses.

  The sailor had also made snares from the long tough fibers of a certainplant, and they were even more successful than the traps. Rarely a daypassed without some rabbits from the warren being caught. It was alwaysrabbit, but Neb knew how to vary his sauces and the settlers did notthink of complaining.

  However, once or twice in the second week of August, the traps suppliedthe hunters with other animals more useful than foxes, namely, severalof those small wild boars which had already been seen to the north ofthe lake. Pencroft had no need to ask if these beasts were eatable. Hecould see that by their resemblance to the pig of America and Europe.

  "But these are not pigs," said Herbert to him, "I warn you of that,Pencroft."

  "My boy," replied the sailor, bending over the trap and drawing out oneof these representatives of the family of sus by the little appendagewhich served it as a tail. "Let me believe that these are pigs."

  "Why?"

  "Because that pleases me!"

  "Are you very fond of pig then, Pencroft?"

  "I am very fond of pig," replied the sailor, "particularly of its feet,and if it had eight instead of four, I should like it twice as much!"

  As to the animals in question, they were peccaries belonging to one ofthe four species which are included in the family, and they were also ofthe species of Tajacu, recognizable by their deep color and the absenceof those long teeth with which the mouths of their congeners are armed.These peccaries generally live in herds, and it was probable that theyabounded in the woody parts of the island.

  At any rate, they were eatable from head to foot, and Pencroft did notask more from them.

  Towards the 15th of August, the state of the atmosphere was suddenlymoderated by the wind shifting to the northwest. The temperature rosesome degrees, and the accumulated vapor in the air was not long inresolving into snow. All the island was covered with a sheet of white,and showed itself to its inhabitants under a new aspect. The snow fellabundantly for several days, and it soon reached a thickness of twofeet.

  The wind also blew with great violence, and at the height of GraniteHouse the sea could be heard thundering against the reefs. In someplaces, the wind, eddying round the corners, formed the snow into tallwhirling columns, resembling those waterspouts which turn round on theirbase, and which vessels attack with a shot from a gun. However, thestorm, coming from the northwest, blew across the island, and theposition of Granite House preserved it from a direct attack.

  But in the midst of this snow-storm, as terrible as if it had beenproduced in some polar country, neither Cyrus Harding nor his companionscould, notwithstanding their wish for it, venture forth, and theyremained shut up for five days, from the 20th to the 25th of August.They could hear the tempest raging in Jacamar Wood, which would surelysuffer from it. Many of the trees would no doubt be torn up by theroots, but Pencroft consoled himself by thinking that he would not havethe trouble of cutting them down.

  "The wind is turning woodman, let it alone," he repeated.

  Besides, there was no way of stopping it, if they had wished to do so.

  How grateful the inhabitants of Granite House then were to Heaven forhaving prepared for them this solid and immovable retreat! Cyrus Hardinghad also his legitimate share of thanks, but after all, it was Naturewho had hollowed out this vast cavern, and he had only discovered it.There all were in safety, and the tempest could not reach them. Ifthey had constructed a house of bricks and wood on Prospect Heights,it certainly would not have resisted the fury of this storm. As tothe Chimneys, it must have been absolutely uninhabitable, for the sea,passing over the islet, would beat furiously against it. But here, inGranite House, in the middle of a solid mass, over which neither the seanor air had any influence, there was nothing to fear.

  During these days of seclusion the settlers did not remain inactive.

  There was no want of wood, cut up into planks, in the storeroom, andlittle by little they completed their furnishing; constructing themost solid of tables and chairs, for material was not spared. Neb andPencroft were very proud of this rather heavy furniture, which theywould not have changed on any account.

  Then the carpenters became basket-makers, and they did not succeed badlyin this new manufacture. At the point of the lake which projected to thenorth, they had discovered an osier-bed in which grew a large numberof purple osiers. Before the rainy season, Pencroft and Herbert had cutdown these useful shrubs, and their branches, well prepared, could nowbe effectively employed. The first attempts were somewhat crude, butin consequence of the cleverness and intelligence of the workmen,by consulting, and recalling the models which they had seen, and byemulating each other, the possessions of the colony were soon increasedby several baskets of different sizes. The storeroom was provided withthem, and in special baskets Neb placed his collection of rhizomes,stone-pine almonds, etc.

  During the last week of the month of August the weather moderated again.The temperature fell a little, and the tempest abated. The colonistssallied out directly. There was certainly two feet of snow on the shore,but they were able to walk without much difficulty on the hardenedsurface. Cyrus Harding and his companions climbed Prospect Heights.

  What a change! The woods, which they had left green, especially in thepart at which the firs predominated, had disappeared under a uniformcolor. All was white, from the summit of Mount Franklin to the shore,the forests, the plains, the lake, the river. The waters of the Mercyflowed under a roof of ice, which, at each rising and ebbing of thetide, broke up with loud crashes. Numerous birds fluttered over thefrozen surface of the lake. Ducks and snipe, teal and guillemots wereassembled in thousands. The rocks among which the cascade flowed werebristling with icicles. One might have said that the water escaped by amonstrous gargoyle, shaped with all the imagination of an artist of theRenaissance. As to th
e damage caused by the storm in the forest, thatcould not as yet be ascertained; they would have to wait till the snowycovering was dissipated.

  Gideon Spilett, Pencroft, and Herbert did not miss this opportunity ofgoing to visit their traps. They did not find them easily, under thesnow with which they were covered. They had also to be careful not tofall into one or other of them, which would have been both dangerous andhumiliating; to be taken in their own snares! But happily they avoidedthis unpleasantness, and found their traps perfectly intact. No animalhad fallen into them, and yet the footprints in the neighborhood werevery numerous, among others, certain very clear marks of claws. Herbertdid not hesitate to affirm that some animal of the feline species hadpassed there, which justified the engineer's opinion that dangerousbeasts existed in Lincoln Island. These animals doubtless generallylived in the forests of the Far West, but pressed by hunger, they hadventured as far as Prospect Heights. Perhaps they had smelled out theinhabitants of Granite House. "Now, what are these feline creatures?"asked Pencroft. "They are tigers," replied Herbert. "I thought thosebeasts were only found in hot countries?"

  "On the new continent," replied the lad, "they are found from Mexico tothe Pampas of Buenos Aires. Now, as Lincoln Island is nearly under thesame latitude as the provinces of La Plata, it is not surprising thattigers are to be met with in it."

  "Well, we must look out for them," replied Pencroft.

  However, the snow soon disappeared, quickly dissolving under theinfluence of the rising temperature. Rain fell, and the sheet of whitesoon vanished. Notwithstanding the bad weather, the settlers renewedtheir stores of different things, stone-pine almonds, rhizomes, syrupfrom the maple-tree, for the vegetable part; rabbits from the warren,agouties, and kangaroos for the animal part. This necessitated severalexcursions into the forest, and they found that a great number of treeshad been blown down by the last hurricane. Pencroft and Neb also pushedwith the cart as far as the vein of coal, and brought back several tonsof fuel. They saw in passing that the pottery kiln had been severelydamaged by the wind, at least six feet of it having been blown off.

  At the same time as the coal, the store of wood was renewed at GraniteHouse, and they profited by the current of the Mercy having again becomefree, to float down several rafts. They could see that the cold periodwas not ended.

  A visit was also paid to the Chimneys, and the settlers could not butcongratulate themselves on not having been living there during thehurricane. The sea had left unquestionable traces of its ravages.Sweeping over the islet, it had furiously assailed the passages, halffilling them with sand, while thick beds of seaweed covered the rocks.While Neb, Herbert, and Pencroft hunted or collected wood, Cyrus Hardingand Gideon Spilett busied themselves in putting the Chimneys to rights,and they found the forge and the bellows almost unhurt, protected asthey had been from the first by the heaps of sand.

  The store of fuel had not been made uselessly. The settlers had not donewith the rigorous cold. It is known that, in the Northern Hemisphere,the month of February is principally distinguished by rapid fallings ofthe temperature. It is the same in the Southern Hemisphere, and the endof the month of August, which is the February of North America, does notescape this climatic law.

  About the 25th, after another change from snow to rain, the wind shiftedto the southeast, and the cold became, suddenly, very severe. Accordingto the engineer's calculation, the mercurial column of a Fahrenheitthermometer would not have marked less than eight degrees below zero,and this intense cold, rendered still more painful by a sharp gale,lasted for several days. The colonists were again shut up in GraniteHouse, and as it was necessary to hermetically seal all the openingsof the facade, only leaving a narrow passage for renewing the air, theconsumption of candles was considerable. To economize them, the cavernwas often only lighted by the blazing hearths, on which fuel was notspared. Several times, one or other of the settlers descended to thebeach in the midst of ice which the waves heaped up at each tide, butthey soon climbed up again to Granite House, and it was not without painand difficulty that their hands could hold to the rounds of the ladder.In consequence of the intense cold, their fingers felt as if burned whenthey touched the rounds. To occupy the leisure hours, which the tenantsof Granite House now had at their disposal, Cyrus Harding undertook anoperation which could be performed indoors.

  We know that the settlers had no other sugar at their disposal thanthe liquid substance which they drew from the maple, by making deepincisions in the tree. They contented themselves with collecting thisliquor in jars and employing it in this state for different culinarypurposes, and the more so, as on growing old, this liquid began tobecome white and to be of a syrupy consistence.

  But there was something better to be made of it, and one day CyrusHarding announced that they were going to turn into refiners.

  "Refiners!" replied Pencroft. "That is rather a warm trade, I think."

  "Very warm," answered the engineer.

  "Then it will be seasonable!" said the sailor.

  This word refining need not awake in the mind thoughts of an elaboratemanufactory with apparatus and numerous workmen. No! to crystallize thisliquor, only an extremely easy operation is required. Placed on the firein large earthen pots, it was simply subjected to evaporation, andsoon a scum arose to its surface. As soon as this began to thicken,Neb carefully removed it with a wooden spatula; this accelerated theevaporation, and at the same time prevented it from contracting anempyreumatic flavor.

  After boiling for several hours on a hot fire, which did as much good tothe operators as the substance operated upon, the latter was transformedinto a thick syrup. This syrup was poured into clay molds, previouslyfabricated in the kitchen stove, and to which they had given variousshapes. The next day this syrup had become cold, and formed cakesand tablets. This was sugar of rather a reddish color, but nearlytransparent and of a delicious taste.

  The cold continued to the middle of September, and the prisoners inGranite House began to find their captivity rather tedious. Nearly everyday they attempted sorties which they could not prolong. They constantlyworked at the improvement of their dwelling. They talked while working.Harding instructed his companions in many things, principally explainingto them the practical applications of science. The colonists had nolibrary at their disposal; but the engineer was a book which was alwaysat hand, always open at the page which one wanted, a book which answeredall their questions, and which they often consulted. The time thuspassed away pleasantly, these brave men not appearing to have any fearsfor the future.

  However, all were anxious to see, if not the fine season, at least thecessation of the insupportable cold. If only they had been clothed in away to meet it, how many excursions they would have attempted, either tothe downs or to Tadorn's Fens! Game would have been easily approached,and the chase would certainly have been most productive. But CyrusHarding considered it of importance that no one should injure hishealth, for he had need of all his hands, and his advice was followed.

  But it must be said, that the one who was most impatient of thisimprisonment, after Pencroft perhaps, was Top. The faithful dog foundGranite House very narrow. He ran backwards and forwards from oneroom to another, showing in his way how weary he was of being shutup. Harding often remarked that when he approached the dark well whichcommunicated with the sea, and of which the orifice opened at the backof the storeroom, Top uttered singular growlings. He ran round and roundthis hole, which had been covered with a wooden lid. Sometimes even hetried to put his paws under the lid, as if he wished to raise it.He then yelped in a peculiar way, which showed at once anger anduneasiness.

  The engineer observed this maneuver several times.

  What could there be in this abyss to make such an impression on theintelligent animal? The well led to the sea, that was certain. Couldnarrow passages spread from it through the foundations of the island?Did some marine monster come from time to time, to breathe at the bottomof this well? The engineer did not know what to think, and could notrefr
ain from dreaming of many strange improbabilities. Accustomed to gofar into the regions of scientific reality, he would not allowhimself to be drawn into the regions of the strange and almost of thesupernatural; but yet how to explain why Top, one of those sensible dogswho never waste their time in barking at the moon, should persist intrying with scent and hearing to fathom this abyss, if there was nothingthere to cause his uneasiness? Top's conduct puzzled Cyrus Harding evenmore than he cared to acknowledge to himself.

  At all events, the engineer only communicated his impressions to GideonSpilett, for he thought it useless to explain to his companions thesuspicions which arose from what perhaps was only Top's fancy.

  At last the cold ceased. There had been rain, squalls mingled with snow,hailstorms, gusts of wind, but these inclemencies did not last. The icemelted, the snow disappeared; the shore, the plateau, the banks ofthe Mercy, the forest, again became practicable. This return of springdelighted the tenants of Granite House, and they soon only passed in itthe hours necessary for eating and sleeping.

  They hunted much in the second part of September, which led Pencroft toagain entreat for the firearms, which he asserted had been promised byCyrus Harding. The latter, knowing well that without special tools itwould be nearly impossible for him to manufacture a gun which would beof any use, still drew back and put off the operation to some futuretime, observing in his usual dry way, that Herbert and Spilett hadbecome very skilful archers, so that many sorts of excellent animals,agouties, kangaroos, capybaras, pigeons, bustards, wild ducks, snipes,in short, game both with fur and feathers, fell victims to their arrows,and that, consequently, they could wait. But the obstinate sailor wouldlisten to nothing of this, and he would give the engineer no peace tillhe promised to satisfy his desire. Gideon Spilett, however, supportedPencroft.

  "If, which may be doubted," said he, "the island is inhabited by wildbeasts, we must think how to fight with and exterminate them. A time maycome when this will be our first duty."

  But at this period, it was not the question of firearms which occupiedHarding, but that of clothes. Those which the settlers wore had passedthis winter, but they would not last until next winter. Skins ofcarnivora or the wool of ruminants must be procured at any price, andsince there were plenty of musmons, it was agreed to consult on themeans of forming a flock which might be brought up for the use of thecolony. An enclosure for the domestic animals, a poultry-yard for thebirds, in a word to establish a sort of farm in the island, such werethe two important projects for the fine season.

  In consequence and in view of these future establishments, it becameof much importance that they should penetrate into all the yet unknownparts of Lincoln Island, that is to say, through that thick forest whichextended on the right bank of the Mercy, from its mouth to the extremityof the Serpentine Peninsula, as well as on the whole of its westernside. But this needed settled weather, and a month must pass before thisexploration could be profitably undertaken.

  They therefore waited with some impatience, when an incident occurredwhich increased the desire the settlers had to visit the whole of theirdomain.

  It was the 24th of October. On this day, Pencroft had gone to visit histraps, which he always kept properly baited. In one of them he foundthree animals which would be very welcome for the larder. They were afemale peccary and her two young ones.

  Pencroft then returned to Granite House, enchanted with his capture,and, as usual, he made a great show of his game.

  "Come, we shall have a grand feast, captain!" he exclaimed. "And youtoo, Mr. Spilett, you will eat some!"

  "I shall be very happy," replied the reporter; "but what is it that I amgoing to eat?"

  "Suckling-pig."

  "Oh, indeed, suckling-pig, Pencroft? To hear you, I thought that youwere bringing back a young partridge stuffed with truffles!"

  "What?" cried Pencroft. "Do you mean to say that you turn up your noseat suckling-pig?'

  "No," replied Gideon Spilett, without showing any enthusiasm; "providedone doesn't eat too much."

  "That's right, that's right," returned the sailor, who was not pleasedwhenever he heard his chase made light of. "You like to make objections.Seven months ago, when we landed on the island, you would have been onlytoo glad to have met with such game!"

  "Well, well," replied the reporter, "man is never perfect, norcontented."

  "Now," said Pencroft, "I hope that Neb will distinguish himself. Lookhere! These two little peccaries are not more than three months old!They will be as tender as quails! Come along, Neb, come! I will lookafter the cooking myself."

  And the sailor, followed by Neb, entered the kitchen, where they weresoon absorbed in their culinary labors.

  They were allowed to do it in their own way. Neb, therefore, prepareda magnificent repast--the two little peccaries, kangaroo soup, a smokedham, stone-pine almonds, Oswego tea; in fact, all the best that theyhad, but among all the dishes figured in the first rank the savorypeccaries.

  At five o'clock dinner was served in the dining-room of Granite House.The kangaroo soup was smoking on the table. They found it excellent.

  To the soup succeeded the peccaries, which Pencroft insisted on carvinghimself, and of which he served out monstrous portions to each of theguests.

  These suckling-pigs were really delicious, and Pencroft was devouringhis share with great gusto, when all at once a cry and an oath escapedhim.

  "What's the matter?" asked Cyrus Harding.

  "The matter? the matter is that I have just broken a tooth!" replied thesailor.

  "What, are there pebbles in your peccaries?" said Gideon Spilett.

  "I suppose so," replied Pencroft, drawing from his lips the object whichhad cost him a grinder--!

  It was not a pebble--it was a leaden bullet.