Adrift in Pacific and Other Great Adventures – 17 Titles in One Volume (Illustrated Edition). Jules Verne
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the position within a few seconds. These instruments will one day be added to Capt. Boyton’s bag of utensils, and shipwrecked men will no longer run the risk of being lost on the ocean.
Kin-Fo and his companions, now thoroughly rested and refreshed, unfurled the little sails, and resumed their course to the west, which had been agreeably interrupted by this morning repast.
The breeze still kept up for twelve hours, and the aquatic voyagers made good headway with the wind behind them; and they only needed to guide their course from time to time by a slight move of the paddle. Being gently and slowly drawn along in this horizontal position, they were somewhat inclined to fall asleep; but it was necessary to resist this inclination, which would have had inconvenient results. Craig and Fry, in order not to succumb to it, lighted a cigar, and smoked, like the dandy bathers in a swimming-school. Several times the voyagers were troubled by the gambols of several marine animals, which caused the unhappy Soun the greatest fear. Fortunately they were only inoffensive porpoises; and these “clowns” of the sea had innocently come to take a good look at the singular beings who were floating in their element, and who seemed to be mammifera like themselves, but no sailors.
What a curious spectacle these porpoises were, as they approached in clusters, darting along like arrows, and tinting the waters with their emerald hues! They bounded five or six feet out of the waves, making a kind of perilous leap, which proved the suppleness and strength of their muscles. Ah! if the aquatic voyagers could have cut through the waters with that rapidity, greater than that of the fastest ships, they would soon have reached land. It made one long to fasten himself to one of these fish and be towed along. But what somersaults and plunges they made! It would be much better to depend only on the wind to help one’s self; for, although it was slower, it was infinitely more available.
However, towards noon the breeze died away; and only an occasional capricious whiff swelled the small sails one moment, to leave them to fall inert the next.
The sheet slackened in the hand that held it, and there was no motion felt beneath their feet or head.
“A complication,” said Craig.
“Grave one,” answered Fry.
They stopped a minute, took in the sail, took down the mast; and each, placing himself again in a vertical position, looked at the horizon.
The sea was still deserted, neither a sail nor the smoke of a steamer against the sky being in sight. A hot sun had dried up the mists, and cleared the air. The temperature would have seemed warm even to men not clad in a double envelope of rubber.
Hopeful as Fry-Craig declared themselves as to the result of this adventure, they could not help feeling anxious. Indeed, they could not calculate the distance they had traversed for about sixteen hours; but what was more and more inexplicable was, that nothing—neither ship of commerce nor a fishing-boat—gave evidence of the proximity of the shore.
Fortunately Kin-Fo, Craig, and Fry were not men to despair before the journey’s end, if that time should ever come. They still had enough provisions for one day, and there was no indication of bad weather.
“Use your paddle,” said Kin-Fo.
This was the signal for departure; and the voyagers resumed their westward route,—sometimes on their backs, sometimes on their faces.
They did not go fast: for working the paddles soon fatigues arms not accustomed to the motion, and they often had to wait for Soun, who kept behind, and began his jeremiades again. His master called, abused, and threatened him; but Soun, no longer fearing for what was left of his braid, which was protected by the thick rubber hood, let him talk on, and the fear of being left behind was enough to keep him near.
About two o’clock several birds appeared. They proved to be sea-gulls, which are swift-winged, and fly far out to sea; so that one could not infer from their presence that the coast was near. Nevertheless this was considered a favorable sign.
An hour later the aquatic voyagers fell into a network of sea-weed, from which they had considerable trouble to extricate themselves.
They were as securely caught as fishes in the meshes of a net, and had to take knives, and cut their way out of the marine thicket.
This caused the loss of a full half-hour, and an expenditure of strength that might have been better utilized.
At four o’clock the little floating band stopped again, very much fatigued, it must be confessed. Quite a fresh breeze had arisen; but it blew from the south, which gave some cause for anxiety. Indeed, the voyagers could not navigate under the head-wind, like a boat whose keel keeps it from drifting. If they unfurled their sails, they ran the risk of being carried northward, and of losing a part of what they had gained in the west. Besides, a heavy swell was felt; and the waves dashing against them, as the tide rolled in, made the situation much more painful.
They made quite a long halt, and made use of it not only to take rest, but to strengthen themselves by attacking the provisions again. This dinner was less cheerful than their breakfast. Night would return in a few hours. The wind was starting up; and now what course should they take?
Kin-Fo, leaning on his paddle, frowning and more irritated than disturbed at this spitefulness of fate, did not utter a word. Soun gaped incessantly, and sneezed like a mortal threatened with a terrible influenza.
Craig and Fry felt that they were questioned by their companions; but they did not know what to answer.
Finally a very happy chance furnished a reply. Shortly before five o’clock, Craig and Fry, simultaneously pointing to the south, exclaimed,—
“A sail!”
Indeed, three miles away, and going with the wind, a boat appeared under full sail. Now, with the wind behind her, to continue in the direction she was taking, she would probably pass within a short distance of the place where Kin-Fo and his companions were resting. There was but one thing to do,—to block the way by rising perpendicularly to meet her.
The aquatic voyagers therefore proposed to do this, and their strength returned. Now that safety was once more in their hands, as it were, they would not let it escape.
The direction of the wind no longer allowed them to make use of the small sails; but the paddles would suffice, the distance to be gone over being comparatively short.
The boat was rapidly becoming larger to the sight, under the breeze, which was growing stronger. It was only a fishing-boat, and its presence here evidently indicated that the coast could not be very far away; for Chinese fishermen rarely venture out to sea.
“Now, then, dash ahead bravely!” cried Fry-Craig, paddling with all their strength.
They were not obliged to rouse their companions’ ardor; for Kin-Fo, lying flat on the water, sped along like a race-boat; and, as for Soun, he really surpassed himself, and kept ahead of them all, he was so afraid of being left behind.
But they must make half a mile in order to reach the waters in the vicinity of the boat. Besides, it was broad daylight; and, if the voyagers did not come near enough to be seen, they could at least make themselves heard.
But would not the fishermen take flight when they saw these singular marine animals, and heard them shouting to them? That would be very serious.
However, they could not afford to lose a single moment; and they struck out with their arms, the paddles beat the crest of the waves with the utmost rapidity, and the distance was perceptively lessening, when Soun, who was still ahead, gave a terrible cry:—
“A shark! a shark!”
This time Soun was not mistaken.
About twenty feet off, two appendages were seen above the water. They were the fins of a voracious animal peculiar to these seas,—the tiger-shark, which is fully worthy of its name; for nature has given him the twofold ferocity of the shark and the tiger.
“Your knives!” cried