Next night, while the moon was shining low over the snow-clad hills, the whole camp was alarmed by the fierce barking of Briton. The mastiff was "wowffing", Veevee was "wiffing", and Flossy was moaning and wagging her tail in the air. Though it was long past midnight, Briton wanted to be off out and kill something or somebody he had heard, and Veevee would also go on the war-path for fear Briton might get hurt.
Almost immediately after came the most tremendous yelling the Crusoes had ever heard, and it was clear that a whole pack of foxes had invaded the island, and if Briton and Veevee had been allowed to go out, they would both have been torn to pieces. The awful din lasted for hours, with a sound now and then of fighting.
Then it stopped, and all was still.
Everybody went quietly off to sleep again, but next day, when they went to the lake-side, behold not a trace of the bear was to be seen. The beasts had eaten all the flesh, and carried away the bones and skin.
"Now, what if these wild dogs return some night," said Tom to Frank, "and attack the camp. Although no bear could squeeze in here, these half-bred wolves might, and tear us all in pieces.
"Don"t frighten a fellow, Tom," said Frank. "But I say, old man, we must puzzle our heads once again and make a gate."
"Well, that"s good!" cried Tom, laughing; "why, there is only one head between the two of us, and that belongs to me, Master Frank; and don"t you forget it."
"Well, well, you may have it, only for goodness" sake make good use of it!"
The cup-like top of the hill in which our Crusoes were living had but one entrance, as I have before told you, and the path leading to it was very steep, and made up of large stones and lumps of lava.
"It would be a good thing," Tom said, "to get a lot of these inside. They would come in very handy to throw at an enemy, eh?"
"That they would," said Frank.
Well, it took them three whole days to make and fix up a gate, which they could raise or lower before the entrance by means of ropes made out of long trailing weeds, or creepers.
Then, after they had carried about a hundred big stones inside, they began to feel happier and safer.
CHAPTER VII
One morning, a month or two after this, the Crusoes awoke to find that the sun rose that day for the last time, and, until spring should return, they would see his golden beams no more.
But there was a bright and beautiful twilight every mid-day for two weeks longer. Then they knew that the long, dreary Arctic night had come in earnest. For about a month the Crusoes had been eating very heartily every day and were getting quite fat. It was the same with the animals.
Flossy had long ago lost her puppy coat, and was now a bonny whitish-yellow seal, not very large, and with a black saddle on her back.
But Flossy got drowsy too, and if the boys had not stirred her up every day, and sent her off to catch fish, I believe she would have slept nearly all the time.
Even the boys felt sleepy, though they could not tell why. Said Tom one day to Frank as they sat playing draughts on a rough board, with nuts for men: "Frank, old man, by this time all the bears will have gone into winter quarters. They won"t come out much until the sun returns."
"Fancy," cried Aralia, clapping her hands, "Fancy all of us sleeping all night long--three months, didn"t you say, Tom? Wouldn"t it be nice? And if Uncle Staysail should come in to wake us in the morning! "Get up," he would say, "are you going to sleep all day?""
They all laughed at the idea, but it was not carried out. Besides the candles, which they only burned at supper and after, they had torches made of wood which they could burn at any time. Moreover, there was the light of the camp fire, which they kept always burning, for they had laid in a vast store of peat and wood.
Tom was time-keeper. He had a little log-book in which he had been careful to note down day and date every morning, and, like a good lad, he never forgot to wind his watch. He made a really first-cla.s.s Crusoe.
But they were all good. And what a grand guard Briton was! If ever he heard the slightest sound of bird or rabbit down amongst the trees or bushes beneath them, he gave a low growl. One night he sprang to his feet and barked very loudly and angrily.
The Crusoes were awake at once.
And no wonder, for terrible noises, like distant thunder, were heard just beneath their feet. They were startled still more when explosion after explosion took place, both in the air and in the earth, while the ground was shaken under them.
It was a curious, giddy movement, and made them all feel rather sick.
Then the thunder-storm burst in earnest, with rain and hail in torrents, and the whole island seemed to be on fire with the lightning.
Tom had to take Pansy in his arms to soothe her, for she shook and trembled like a little bird. But in two hours it was all over, and the stars were shining as bright and large and near as before.
Sometimes the moon shone with a stronger light than it ever does in this country. It seemed so close to them, too, that Pansy used to say it was only just resting on the snowy hill-top.
On moonlit days the children were always abroad in the forest or by the lake-side watching Flossy catching fish. She dived and swam far more quickly than an eel.
It is terribly dreary to want the sun, but after a month one gets used to it. Besides, one knows that bright and beautiful days are on ahead. Older people might have felt very weary, but none of our Crusoes lost heart.
I have not told you yet of the Aurora Borealis, which was best seen on dark, starry nights. It was not in the north only, but all around them, great bright fringes of coloured lights--chiefly green, crimson, or pink.
How they danced and flickered, to be sure! Such dazzling beauty no pen could describe, and I will not attempt it.
Well, Christmas-day came at last, and how glad they all were to be still spared alive and in comfort!
Tom meant to make the most of it. But, of course, there was no turkey or goose to roast. Instead, they had a splendid great rabbit stuffed with nuts, and roasted roots to eat with it.
They had no crackers either, but Tom and Frank got an immense pile of dry wood, and heaped it in the middle of the rocky bridge that led to the mainland, and early in the day or night--whichever you like to call it--they set it alight.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
Now, probably this pile saved some of their lives. It had been placed there about five days before Christmas, and a huge bear, who had the nightmare I suppose, came yawning out of his cave and down the mountain-side.
He had shambled along to about the centre of the bridge, then lain down among the wood and gone off to sleep.
He slept so soundly that he did not hear the boys crossing over to set the bonfire ablaze.
But when the smoke and crackling flames got towards him he started up and began to trot off, coughing and roaring till all the hills sent back the sound.
So awful was the echo that the boys were for a time almost terror-stricken. They thought that about a score of bears had left their snow-caves and were swarming down the hill.
Tom fired his rifle, but missed. Veevee wanted to follow up.
"Only just let me get at him," cried the little rascal, "and I"ll tear him limb from limb!"
Anyhow that was a fine fire, and it lit up the lake and the woods all about, while the numerous sparks that rose and fell in the air were like golden rain.
After the fire began to fade and to die they all returned to their Christmas dinner in the hut.
No fewer than four candles were lighted to-night, one in each corner of the room. Oh, Tom meant to do everything in first-cla.s.s form, I can tell you!