Adrift in Pacific and Other Great Adventures – 17 Titles in One Volume (Illustrated Edition). Jules Verne
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on the ground, and the boys sank to their knees in the carpet of dead leaves. But the birds flew away in alarm as if they had learnt that man was their enemy, and it was therefore likely that if the island was not inhabited, it was occasionally visited by the natives of a neighbouring territory.
In ten minutes the boys were through the wood, which grew thicker where the rocks at the back rose like a wall for a hundred and eighty feet. Was there in this wall any break or hollow which would afford them a refuge ? A cave sheltered from the winds of the sea by the curtain of trees, and beyond the reach of the sea even in storms would be the very place for the boys to take up as their quarters until a careful exploration enabled them to move further inland.
Unluckily the wall was as bare of irregularity as the curtain of a fortification. There was no cave, nor was there any place where the cliff could be climbed. To reach the interior the shore would have to be followed till the cliff ended.
For half an hour Briant and his companion kept on to the southward along the foot of the cliff, and then they reached the right bank of the stream, which came meandering in from the east. On the right bank they stood under the shade of the lofty trees; but the left bank bordered a country of very different aspect; flat and verdureless, it looked like a wide marsh extending to the southern horizon. Disappointed in their hope of reaching the top of the cliff where they might have had a view of many miles over the country, the boys returned to the wreck.
Donagan and a few others were strolling among the rocks, while Jenkins, Iverson, Dole and Costar were amusing themselves by collecting shellfish. The explorers reported the result of their journey. Until a more distant expedition could be undertaken, it seemed best not to abandon the wreck, which, although stove in below and heeling considerably, would do very well as a temporary dwelling-place. The deck had been half; torn up forward, but the saloons yielded ample shelter against a storm. The galley had not been damaged at all, to the very great satisfaction of the smaller boys. It was lucky for them that the things had not had to be carried from the wreck to the shore. If the schooner had remained in her first position on the reef, it is difficult to see how the many useful articles could have been saved. The sea would soon have broken up the wreck, and provisions, weapons, clothes, bedding, and cooking traps would have been scattered in confusion on the beach. Fortunately the schooner had been swept on to the sand, in such a state, it is true, that she would never float again, but still habitable, at least for a time. Before she became useless as a dwelling the boys might hope to find some town or village, or, if the island was a desert one, some cave in the rocks which they might make their home.
That very day they set to work to make the schooner comfortable. .A rope-ladder on the starboard side gave easy access to the beach. Moko who as a cabin-boy knew something of cooking, took charge of the galley, and, helped by Service, proceeded to cook a meal which, thanks to excellent appetite, gave general satisfaction ; and even Jenkins, Iverson, Dole and Cos-tar became quite lively. Jack alone continued miserable ; his character seemed to have quite changed; but to all his companions said to him on the subject he gave evasive replies.
Thoroughly tired out after so many days and nights of danger, the need of a good sound sleep was apparent to all. The youngsters were the first to find their way to the saloon, and the others soon followed. Briant, Gordon and Donagan took it in turns to keep watch. Might not some wild beasts put in an appearance? Or even a band of natives, who would be more formidable ? But neither came. The night passed without an alarm of any kind; and when the sun rose the boys joined in prayer to God for their deliverance from peril, and started on such work ^s was necessary.
The first thing was to make a list of the provisions, and then of the weapons, instruments, utensils, clothes, tools, etc. The food question was serious, for it seemed they were in a desert land. They would have to trust to fishing and shooting, if anything remained to be shot. Donagan, who was a capital shot, had seen nothing yet but the birds on the reef and beach. But to be reduced to feeding on sea-birds was not a pleasant prospect, and it was desirable to know how long the schooner's provisions would last if managed with care.
If was found that except the biscuits, of which there was a large store, the preserves, hams, meat biscuits— made of flour, minced pork, and spice—corned beef, salt beef, and sea stores generally, could not last longer than two months, so that from the very first they must have recourse to the productions of the country, and keep the provisions in case they had to journey some hundreds of miles to reach a port on the coast or a town in the interior.
" Suppose some of these things have been damaged ?" asked Baxter. " If the sea-water got into the hold—"
" That we shall see when we open the cases that look as though they had been knocked about," said Gordon. " If we were to cook them up again, they might do."
" I'll look after that," said Moko.
" The sooner the better," said Briant," for the first day or two we shall have to live entirely on these things."
" And why shouldn't we start to-day ? " asked Wilcox, " and see if we cannot find some more eggs among those rocks to the northward ? "
" Yes ! that's it! " said Dole.
" And why shouldn't we go fishing ? " asked Webb " Are there not any fishing-lines on board ? Who'll go fishing ? "
" I will! I will! " said the youngsters.
" All right," said Briant. " But no playing about; we only give the lines to those who mean business."
" Don't get excited," said Iverson. " We will be as steady as—"
" But look here," said Gordon; " we must first make a list of what there is on board. We have other things to think of besides what there is to eat."
" You can go and get a few oysters for lunch," said Service.
" Ah! that I'll do," said Gordon. " Off you go in twos and threes; and, Moko, you go with them."
The negro could be trusted. He was willing, clever, and plucky, and would probably be of great use. He was particularly attached to Briant, who did not conceal his liking for him.
" Come on! " said Jenkins.
" Are you not going with them, Jack? " asked Briant.
Jack replied in the negative.
Jenkins, Dole, Costar, and Iverson then went off in charge of Moko, and scrambled up on to the reef which the sea had just left dry. In the cracks and crannies they might perchance come across many mollusks, mussels, clams, and even oysters, which, either raw or cooked, would form a welcome reinforcement. Away they went running and jumping, and evidently looking on the expedition as one of pleasure rather than work; at their age they remembered little of the trials they had passed through, and thought less of the dangers to come.
As soon as they had gone the elder boys began their search on the yacht. Donagan, Cross, Wilcox, and Webb devoted themselves to the weapons, ammunition, clothes, bedding, tools, and utensils, while Briant, Garnett, Baxter, and Service took stock of the drinkables. As each article was called out Gordon entered it in his note-book.
It was found that the yacht had a complete set of spare sails and rigging of all sorts, cordage, cables, hawsers, &c, and if she could have been got afloat again could have been completely refitted. But these best quality sails and new cordage would never again be used on the sea; they would come in useful in other ways. A few fishing appliances, hand-lines, and deep-sea-lines figured in the inventory, and very valuable they would be, for fish was abundant.
The list of weapons in the note-book gave eight central-fire fowling-pieces, a long-range duck-gun, and twelve revolvers; for ammunition there were 300 cartridges for the breech-loaders, two barrels of gunpowder, each of twenty-five pounds, and a large quantity of lead, small shot and bullets. This ammunition, intended to be used on the New Zealand coast at the places the yacht put in at, would come in more useful for the general security. The store-room also contained a few rockets for night signalling, and thirty cartridges and projectiles for the two small cannons on board, which it was hoped would not have to be used in repulsing a native attack.
The cooking utensils, and such like, were enough, even if the stay was to be a lengthy one.