"Savages, perhaps cannibals?" said Tommy, with a shiver.
They stood holding each other, afraid to stir. Elizabeth for a moment had a wild notion of dragging the boat down again, and putting to sea in the hope of meeting Uncle Ben; dread of the unknown had possession of her. But she recognized that so to act would be foolish, and crushing down her fears, she said quietly--
"I think we had better look about a little; perhaps Uncle has already landed."
Hope springs up easily in young minds.
"Of course," said Tommy valiantly. "Who"s afraid! I--no, you go first, Bess, as you"re the biggest. I know; you take an oar, and Mary another, and I"ll take the boat-hook."
Thus armed, after making the boat secure, they took their way up the strand, through a gap in the wooded cliffs that seemed to have been carved out in some past time by a stream. They walked slowly and timidly, as if half expecting to find a savage lurking behind every bush or tree. But as they went on, and found no wild islanders to molest them, they began to be more aware of the beauty of their surroundings. On either hand there was a riot of splendid vegetation.
Strange plants and trees, some bearing brilliant flowers, others tempting fruits, grew in magnificent profusion, and birds gorgeous in colour flitted from tree to tree.
Here were feathery palms, there a cl.u.s.ter of small trees like hazels; all about, the ground was carpeted with ma.s.ses of convolvulus and creeping plants innumerable, and the air was heavy with mingled scents.
"What a lovely place!" said Mary.
"Not to us," said Tommy. "We might as well be in a desert. Oh, what"s that? I saw something move."
She pointed to the right hand, and for a moment the girls held their breath. Then they laughed, but very nervously; the something was nothing but a little animal, of what kind they knew not, that scuttled away into the woodland.
They went on again, becoming less timid the farther they advanced, for there was no sight or sound to alarm them. They began to talk more freely, but always in low tones.
"I suppose it _is_ an island," said Tommy.
"It must be," replied Mary. "There is no other land until you get to Australia, and that"s thousands of miles away."
"Then what shall we do if we don"t find Uncle?"
The question recalled to them all that had happened, and again they felt the bitterness of misery and despair.
"We must keep up our spirits," said Elizabeth, trying to speak cheerfully. "At any rate we shan"t starve if these fruits are good to eat."
"I don"t see any breadfruit," said Mary.
"Well, it looks as if we are to be Crusoes," said Tommy, "only Crusoe was alone. Goodness! I couldn"t bear to be alone. I should go mad.
Do you think Uncle will find us, Bess?"
"I hope and trust he will, dear. We are safe; why shouldn"t he be?
Don"t let"s look on the black side of things. Shall we go back to the boat and eat some of the food we brought? It won"t keep like the fruits. Then we had better rest; I"m sure you are worn out; we can look round again presently, when the sun isn"t so hot."
They returned to the boat, and made a meal of some biscuit and cold bacon, carving the bacon somewhat clumsily with their jackknives, remembering how their uncle had laughed at them for buying such manlike implements.
"I"m terribly thirsty," said Tommy. "I wonder if the water in the stream there is good to drink!"
She pointed to a brook that meandered down to the sh.o.r.e from amid the woodland above, purling musically, and flashing like silver in the sunlight.
"There"s not much fear of that," said Mary. "I"ll get some while you cut me another slice of bacon."
The water was delightfully fresh and cool, proving that there was a spring somewhere in the interior.
Having made a heartier meal than any of them expected to make, they lay down under the shade of a large tree, and talked until they fell asleep from sheer fatigue. The air was much cooler when they awoke. At Mary"s suggestion they climbed to the highest point of the cliffs, from which they could command a wide prospect over the sea. When they reached the summit, they scanned the surface, now as smooth as a lake, for signs of boat or raft; but nothing was in sight, except far away several dusky spots which Mary at once declared must be other islands.
"Very likely we drifted past them in the night," said Elizabeth. "Look at that ma.s.s of floating seaweed just beyond the reef; you see there is quite a strong current."
"If we went as fast as that in the dinghy, we must have come miles from where the wreck happened," said Tommy. "And Uncle won"t know; he"ll never find us."
At this the shadow of their misfortune once more descended on them, and they turned away from each other to hide their distress. Then Tommy swung round and cried--
"I won"t be a baby! Bess, if you see any sign of waterworks again, smack me. What"s the good of crying? Let"s go exploring; that"ll help to keep off the blues."
But in spite of their brave attempts, they veered between hopefulness and despondency all the rest of the day. They roamed here and there, not really going very far, for they still felt safer within easy distance of their boat. More than once they returned to the cliff to search the horizon longingly for any sign of ship or boat, but always in vain.
In the course of their wandering they came upon some trees bearing fruit about which they had no doubt.
"Bananas!" cried Tommy, with excitement. "How jolly! and look at the cl.u.s.ters on the ground. We"ve only to pick them up."
Several cl.u.s.ters had fallen from the trees, and lay ripening where they fell. The girls ate some of the fruit, taking note of the position of the trees, so that they might come to them again.
Then they strolled on, keeping close to the sh.o.r.e, and stopping every few minutes to gaze yearningly over the sea for the raft they longed to behold. Turning their backs on this disappointing horizon, they let their eyes range over the island, their minds confused between admiration and wondering awe. The ground rose in a succession of irregular terraces, covered with vegetation in every imaginable shade of green. In the distance the prospect terminated in a ridge, above which hovered a light ma.s.s of opalescent cloud. What forms of life were stirring amid that dark woodland? What lay beyond that curtain of rose pink and pearl? The girls were awed by the mystery of things, as if subject to an enchanter"s spell.
"What"s the time?" asked Tommy, presently, bringing them back to the commonplace. Both Mary and Elizabeth had watches pinned upon their dresses, but on looking at them they found that each told a different hour, and both had stopped.
"I forgot to wind mine up," said Elizabeth.
"So did I," said Mary.
"It must be getting late," said Tommy. "Look at the sun."
It was clear from its position that night was at hand. And then Tommy asked a question that brought back all their uneasiness.
"Where are we to sleep?"
"I have thought of that all day," said Elizabeth.
"Then it"s clear you are the statesman of the family," said Tommy. "I couldn"t have thought about it all day without telling you, and you haven"t said a word. It didn"t occur to me until a moment ago."
"There are no wild beasts in the South Sea Islands--at least, I"ve never heard of any," said Mary.
"That"s one comfort," said Tommy, "and we"ve seen no savages or anything else to alarm us. Now if we were boys--scouts or something, used to campaigning in the open--we shouldn"t care a pin, but I feel dreadfully shaky. What are we to do?"
"We must face it," said Elizabeth quietly. "I think myself we had better stay in the boat."
"How awful! think of last night," said Tommy dolefully.
"Perhaps there would be a storm and we should be upset, or blown out to sea," said Mary.
"Oh, I didn"t mean to launch the boat," said Elizabeth. "That would be too risky. We"ll leave it on the beach."