"No," he said; "if anybody attempts the thing, it must be me, my impulsive laddie! Do you think I could remain here quietly while you were risking your life to get food for us both?"
"And how do you expect me to do so either?" was the prompt rejoinder.
"I am the eldest, and ought to decide."
"Ah, we are brothers in misfortune now, as well as in reality; so the accident of birth shall not permit you to a.s.sert a right of self- sacrifice over me!" cried Eric, using almost glowing language in his zealous wish to secure his brother"s safety at the expense of his own.
"What fine words, laddie!" said Fritz, laughing again at the other"s earnestness, as if to make light of it, although he well recognised the affection that called forth Eric"s eloquence. "Why, you are speaking in as grand periods as little Burgher Jans!"
Eric laughed, too, at this; but, still, he was not going to be defeated by ridicule.
"Grand words or not, brother," he said, with a decision that the other could not bear down; "you shall not venture upon the swim while I stop here doing nothing!"
"Nor will I allow you to go and I remain behind," retorted Fritz.
"I tell you what, then," cried Eric; "as we"re two obstinate fellows and have both made up our minds, suppose we attempt the feat together, eh?"
Fritz urged at first that it was unnecessary for both to run the risk; however, Eric"s pleadings made him finally yield.
"You see," argued the sailor lad, "we can swim side by side, the same as we have done many a time in the old ca.n.a.l at Lubeck; and then, should either of us get the cramp, or feel "played-out," as the skipper used to say, why the other can lend a helping hand!"
And, so it was finally settled, that, on the first bright calm day when there should be but little wind, and while the tide was setting out of the bay in the direction favourable for them, which was generally at the full and change of the moon, they were to attempt the task of swimming round the headland to the west sh.o.r.e of the island. Thence they could ascend the plateau in search of that animal food which they so sadly required, the two having been restricted for some weeks to a diet of dry potatoes, without even a sc.r.a.p of b.u.t.ter or grease to make them go down more palatably.
This being determined on, the two quickly made their preparations for the undertaking, which to them appeared almost as formidable as poor Captain Webb"s feat of trying to go down the Falls of Niagara; although, it might be mentioned incidentally, that, at the time they attempted their natatory exploit, that reckless swimmer"s name was unknown to fame.
Of course, they had to consider that, should they reach the beach on the other side all right and thus get up to the tableland, they would require some weapon to bring down the animals they were going in chase of; and, as both the Remington rifles as well as Fritz"s shot gun had been lost with the whale-boat, the only firearm remaining was the needle-gun, which the elder brother had brought with him from Germany-- more, indeed, as a reminiscence of the campaign in which he had been engaged than from any idea of its serviceableness.
However, for want of anything better, there it was; and, as Fritz had plenty of cartridges which would fit it, the weapon had a chance of now being employed for a more peaceful purpose than that for which it was originally intended. It would, certainly, still take life, it is true; but it would do so with the object of ultimately saving and not destroying humanity.
There was the weapon and the cartridges; but, how to get them round with them was the question?
The brothers could swim well enough without any enc.u.mbrance, still, they would be crippled in their efforts should they be foolish enough to load themselves with a heavy gun, as well as sundry other articles which they thought it necessary to take with them for the success of their expedition.
Why, such a procedure would be like handicapping themselves heavily for the race!
What was to be done?
Eric, the "inventive genius," very soon solved this difficulty.
"I tell you what we"ll do, brother," he said; "let us put our blankets, with the kettle and rifle and the other things we require, in one of the oil casks. We can then push this before us as we swim along, the cask serving us for a life buoy to rest upon when we are tired, besides carrying our traps, eh?"
"Himmel, Eric, you"re a genius!" exclaimed Fritz, clapping him on the back. "I never knew such a fellow for thinking of things like you, laddie; you beat Bismark and Von Moltke both rolled into one!"
"Ah, the idea only just flashed across my mind," said the other, somewhat shamefaced at his brother"s eulogy and almost blushing. "It came just on the spur of the moment, you know!"
"But, how are we going to get the needle-gun into the barrel?" asked Fritz suddenly, taking up the weapon and seeing that its muzzle would project considerably beyond the mouth of the said article, even when the b.u.t.t end was resting on the bottom.
"Why, by uns.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the breech, of course," said Eric promptly.
Fritz gazed at him admiringly.
"The lad is never conquered by anything!" he cried out, as if speaking to a third person. "He"s the wonder of Lubeck, that"s what he is!"
"The "wonder of Lubeck" then requests you"ll lose no time in getting the gun ready," retorted Eric, in answer to this chaff. "While we"re talking and thus wasting time, we may lose the very opportunity we wish for our swim out of the bay!"
This observation made Fritz set to work: and the two had shortly placed all their little property in one of the stoutest of the oil casks, which they then proceeded to cooper up firmly, binding their old bed tarpaulin round it as an additional precaution for keeping out the salt water when it should be immersed in the sea.
Rolling the cask down to the beach, they tried it, to see how it floated; and this it did admirably, although it was pretty well loaded with their blankets wrapped round the needle-gun and other things. It still rose, indeed, quite half out of the water.
Eric then plaited a rope round it, with beckets for them to hold on by; and so, everything being ready, they only waited for a calm day to make the venture.
Some three days afterwards, the south-east wind having lulled to a gentle breeze and the sea being as smooth as gla.s.s, only a tumid swell with an unbroken surface rolling into the bay, the brothers started, after having first stripped and anointed their bodies with seal oil--a plan for the prevention of cold which Eric had been told of by the whalers.
Until they reached the headland, they had easy work; but, there, a cross current carried them first one way and then another, so much interfering with their onward progress that it took them a good hour to round the point.
That achieved, however, as the sailor lad had pointed out when they were first considering the feasibility of the attempt, all the rest of the distance before them was "plain sailing"; so that, although they had to cover twice the length of water, if not more, another couple of hours carried them to the west beach. Here they arrived not the least exhausted with their long swim; for, by pushing the cask before them in turn and holding on to it by the beckets, they, were enabled to have several rests and breathing spells by the way.
Arrived again on terra firma, they at once opened their novel portmanteau; and, taking out a spare suit of clothes for each, which they had taken the precaution to pack up with the rest of their gear, they proceeded to dress themselves. After this, they carried up their blankets and other things to a little sheltered spot on the plateau above, where they had camped on their previous expedition.
They did not find the tableland much altered, save that a considerable amount of snow was scattered about over its surface, acc.u.mulating in high drifts at some points where the wind had piled it in the hollows.
The ground beneath the various little clumps of wood and brush, however, was partly bare; so, here, they expected to find their old friend "Kaiser Billy" and the remains of his flock.
But, high and low, everywhere, in the thickets and out on the open alike, they searched in vain for the goats. Not a trace of them was to be seen; so, Fritz and Eric had finally to come to the conclusion that the islanders--along with their enemy, as they now looked upon him, Nat Slater--had paid another secret visit to the plateau and destroyed the animals. They believed the Tristaners did this with the object of expediting their departure from Inaccessible Island, where there could be no doubt they must have spoiled their sealing, thus depriving them of a valuable article of barter.
"Never mind," said Eric the indomitable, when Fritz lamented the disappearance of the goats. "We"ve got the wild hogs left; and, for my part, I think roast pig better than dry potatoes!"
"Himmel, the idea is good!" replied Fritz, who had already screwed on the breech of the needle-gun, making it ready for action. "We must go pig-chasing, then."
And, so they did, shooting a l.u.s.ty young porker ere they had travelled many steps further.
Eric"s matches were then produced, the inevitable box of safety lights being in the pocket of the sealskin jacket he had headed up in the oil cask; when, a fire being lit, the game was prepared in a very impromptu fashion, the animal being roasted whole.
On previously tasting the flesh of these island hogs, they had thought the pork rather fishy; but now, after weeks of deprivation from any species of animal food, it seemed more delicious than anything they had ever eaten before.
"Why, Eric, it beats even your roast beef!" said Fritz jokingly.
The lad looked at him reproachfully; that was all he could do, for his mouth was full and this prevented him from speaking.
"I beg your pardon," interposed the other. "I shan"t say so again; I forgot myself that time."
"I should think you did," rejoined Eric, now better able to express himself. "It"s best to let bye-gones be bye-gones!"
"Yes," replied Fritz; and the two then went on eating in silence, so heartily that it seemed as if they would never stop. Indeed, they made such good knife-and-fork play, that they were quite weary with their exertions when they had finished, and were obliged to adjourn to their little camp in the sheltered hollow where, curling themselves up comfortably in their blankets, they went cosily to sleep.
The next day, they killed several of the younger hogs and threw their carcases down to the bottom of the gully by the waterfall; for, besides planning out the manufacture of some hams out of the island porkers, they intended utilising the lard for frying their potatoes, in. This, in the event of their finding the pig"s flesh too rank after a time, would then afford them an agreeable change of diet to the plain boiled tubers with which hitherto they had had only salt to eat for a relish.
On the third day, as the wind seemed about to change and ominous clouds were flying across the face of the sky, they determined to return home, having by that time consumed the last of their roast pig as well as all the potatoes they had brought with them in their floating cask.
They were taking a last walk over the plateau, which they thought they might never see again--for the swim round the headland was not a feat to be repeated often, even if the weather allowed it, the currents being so treacherous and the sea working itself up into commotion at a moment"s notice--when, suddenly, Eric stopped right over the edge of the gully.