"Shove off, lads!" cried the first mate, seizing an oar, and the rest of us imitating his example, aided by the wind, we speedily drove the boat away from the sh.o.r.e.
The savages, seeing us about to escape them, bent their bows and let fly a shower of arrows, which came whistling about our ears, some falling in the boat and others on either side.
The first mate steered, Blyth sat by his side with a musket in his hand ready to fire, while our Papuan guide crouched down in the stern-sheets.
"Shall I fire?" asked Blyth, "I can knock over one of those fellows; the chief, I suspect, who seems to be leading them on."
"No, hold fast, I would not injure the poor wretches if it can be avoided," answered the first mate. "We shall be out of their reach in another minute. We can then settle how to treat with them."
A few strokes took us beyond the range of their missiles. He was right, for their bows were comparatively small, intended rather to shoot birds than for war, while their javelins could not be thrown to any great distance.
He now directed Ned to tell Kalong to address them, and to say that we had come with friendly intentions to trade, and to recover some countrymen who had been wrecked on their coast.
The chief, on hearing this, invited us on sh.o.r.e, observing that we could talk more easily there, and that he would hear what we had to say.
The Malay and our native guide talked together.
"Kalong says we had better not trust them," observed Ned; "if we land they may shoot us for the sake of getting our goods. They don"t know how far our firearms can reach. Better give them a volley to show them."
This Uncle Jack was unwilling to do, though we might have shot down half a dozen of them at least, had we fired as Ned proposed.
While this palaver was going forward I took a glance seaward, when what was my astonishment to see the "Iris" and "Lily" standing along the coast, under close reefed topsails, as if coming to look for us. I could judge by the way they heeled over that a pretty strong breeze was blowing in the offing.
If we were to get on board there was no time to lose; indeed, it seemed very doubtful whether we could reach either of the vessels. They were too far off to see us, and it was doubtful whether they could hear our muskets. Uncle Jack directed Blyth and me to fire at the same time, but neither the ship nor the brig altered their course. They had good reason for not wishing to approach the land, as the wind, rapidly increasing, was shifting to the north-west, and they might at any moment find themselves on a lee sh.o.r.e. They had also got so far from the harbour they had left that it was evident that they could not manage to get back.
"They"ll not desert us, lads, depend upon that," said Uncle Jack, as we saw them standing away from the coast; "we can neither overtake them nor land while those fellows on sh.o.r.e show so unfriendly a disposition. We must try and get back to the village where we procured our guides, though I don"t know what sort of reception we shall meet with when their friends hear that we have lost one of them. It will be a long pull and a heavy one, for we shall have a head sea as soon as we get clear of this bay."
"Why not then make for yonder island to the eastward?" I observed.
"These savages, who don"t appear to have any canoes, cannot follow us there, and we shall be able to remain in safety until our friends come to take us off."
"We may have to follow your suggestion, Harry, but we must first try to get back to the river to land our guide according to our promise. He has proved faithful, and we will supply him with goods with which he may be able to ransom his companion."
This was said as we were pulling out of the bay, but no sooner did we get beyond the point than we met so heavy a sea that it was impossible to pull the whale boat against it, and we were in danger of being swamped. Our only alternative was, as I proposed, to run for the island. Even now we had to pull hard to avoid the following seas which threatened to p.o.o.p us. We saw the savages on sh.o.r.e dancing, shouting, and gesticulating when they discovered that we had escaped them. On finding, however, that we were steering for the island they rushed along the beach in the same direction, which made us fear that they might possess the means of crossing over to it, and that after all we should have to fight for our lives. We had not much apprehension, however, as to the result. Uncle Jack intended to pull round to the lee side of the island, and then, should they persist in attacking us, we could shoot them down from the boat while we kept out of range of their arrows.
As we pulled along we watched the two vessels which were getting further and further from the coast, although the ship had only her fore and mizen topsail set, and the brig was under equally snug canvas.
Aided by the wind the boat went faster than the savages could run, and they were out of sight when we reached the pa.s.sage between the island and the main land. We could see no canoes on the sh.o.r.e, and this made us hope that we might at all events avoid an attack until the gale was over, and we could resume our search for my father.
We did not doubt for a moment that the "Lily" would come to look for us, and by hoisting a signal on the outer end of the island we hoped to attract her attention. Pa.s.sing through the channel, which was about a mile wide, we rounded the eastern point of the island where the water was perfectly smooth, when discovering a small bay with a sandy beach we at once pulled in. As we saw no huts or plantations we calculated that the island was uninhabited. We therefore landed without hesitation, and hauled up our boat. From a rocky elevation on the northern side of the bay we could command a view of the main land along the whole length of the strait.
Uncle Jack sent Blyth and me to watch should any natives appear, but sharp as were our eyes we could discover neither canoes nor human beings moving about.
The savages therefore supposing we had escaped had, we concluded, returned to their village. As there was some probability that we should have to remain several days on the island, Uncle Jack proposed that we should build a hut, which would be a pleasanter sleeping-place than under the boat. We at once therefore set to work.
The Papuan showed himself an adept at the use of the axe, and understanding clearly what we wanted was of great a.s.sistance. A bamboo thicket and some large palm leaves afforded us materials, so that in a short time we had a well built hut erected capable of containing all the party, the upper floor affording us a sleeping-place, while the lower would shelter us during the day should it come on to rain. We naturally felt much anxiety about the vessels, though we trusted that they would avoid any of the dangers which lay to the westward.
Night pa.s.sed without any adventure. The gale raged with unabated fury, though we felt it but little in our sheltered cove. We had brought a good store of provisions and a breaker of water in the boat, but that, from the frequent applications to it, was almost exhausted. It was necessary to search for a fresh supply. Uncle Jack was unwilling to leave the beach in case the natives might find the means of crossing.
Blyth and I therefore undertook to go in search of water. We hoped, although we might not discover a stream--which from the size of the island was unlikely--we might find a spring, or ground by digging into which fresh water might be reached. As soon, therefore, as we had breakfasted we set off. As we had pulled along it the previous day we calculated that the island was between three and four miles long and about two miles broad.
Besides our guns we each carried a long bamboo stick, one end pointed and the other formed like a gouge to serve as a spade, with which we might dig for water, should we fail to find a stream.
So thick was the jungle immediately at the back of the cove that we had to proceed along the sh.o.r.e some distance before we could make our way inland. In several places we found it lined with the panda.n.u.s or screw palm, which looks as if it had branches at both ends, the lower being the roots which had lifted the trunk into the air. In other places there were cocoa-nut trees with nuts hanging from them, so we knew that even were we to be kept there many weeks we should have an ample supply of vegetable diet.
"We shall find other food too," said Blyth, pointing to some trees which grew in a hollow at the foot of a hill. "Those are sago trees; if hard pressed we might manufacture sufficient sago from them to last us for months, or even years. They require moisture, and I have little doubt that by digging we shall find water not far from their roots. But we will search further, perhaps we may discover a spring which will give us a more ample supply, so that there is no fear of our starving. What a number of birds there are! Many of them, too are birds of paradise. I cannot tell you their names, but they seem to be the same as are found in the Aru islands away to the southward. We shall have no difficulty in shooting them, or some of those magnificent pigeons when we want them, but it would be a pity to expend our ammunition unnecessarily. We can kill a few as we return to serve us for dinner."
The whole of the island indeed appeared to be a perfect garden, and yet, as far as we could discover, not a single inhabitant did it contain. We made our way on, not without great difficulty, sometimes having to cut a pa.s.sage for ourselves through the underwood until we reached the southern end, or rather western sh.o.r.e, where we could see the ocean still covered over with raging foam-topped seas, which made us fear that for many days to come our friends could not return, and until the brig did come back I was sure that Uncle Jack would consider it his duty to remain on the island, whence he could communicate with her.
As we were more likely to find a spring inland than on the coast we continued our course up the centre of the island. "We shall have to dig, I suspect, after all, in the sago grove," said Blyth, as we at last began our return. "However, we may as well carry some game with us; I intend to shoot the first fine pigeon I see. You can try your luck, although I would advise you not to fire unless you feel sure of your aim."
In a short time Blyth, who was a good shot, killed three or four pigeons, and I had shot a parrot and a bird of paradise, but I felt ashamed at having deprived so beautiful a creature of life, yet thousands were flying about unseen by human eye, which they are formed to delight. We went on a little further, when I again fired and brought down another parrot. Just as I pulled the trigger I caught sight between the trees of a face watching us. At the first glance I thought it must be some huge baboon, but still it looked human though covered thickly with hair. I was a little in advance of Blyth. Supposing that if not a baboon it was a savage, I was hurriedly reloading, ready to defend myself, when a man stepping forward exclaimed--
"Who are you mates, and where do you come from?"
For a moment my astonishment at the sudden apparition prevented me from answering. The man, however, advanced without fear. His dress, though in tatters, was that of a seaman, fastened together by all sorts of contrivance, while a roughly-formed palm-leaf hat covered his head.
"I heard your shots some time ago, and have been long hunting for you, for I was sure no natives could have fired as you have done."
Without answering his inquiries, I with intense eagerness put the same questions, "Who are you? And where do you come from?"
"I am an Englishman, who was cast away out there, and who was kept a prisoner for many a long year by a set of savages up the country, until about six months ago, when the captain and I got free from them and crossed over here, where we have been ever since, hoping that some craft would appear and take us off."
"What ship did you belong to? Who is your captain?" I asked, with intense eagerness.
"The "Amphion," Captain Musgrave was my captain," he answered.
"He is not, then, living?"
"Yes, he is alive, but he is in a bad way, I fear. He kept up his spirits until yesterday, when we saw two English vessels run past us to the southward. Then it seemed to him, and to me too, for that matter, that all hope was gone, and that we might have to remain here for years more for what we could tell, since all the time we have been here we have never seen a vessel."
At that moment Blyth came up, and in a voice choking with agitation I told him what I had heard.
"Lead us at once to your captain," he said, turning to the seaman; "we came here expressly to look for him, and are expecting the vessels back as soon as the weather will allow them to return to the coast. If your father is ill, Harry, there will be a risk in agitating him by presenting yourself suddenly to him. Let our friend here first tell him that he has found some Englishmen on the island, and then I will go in and tell him that his son and brother-in-law have come to look for him.
Where is he living?" he asked of the sailor.
"In a poor enough place, sir, close on the sea sh.o.r.e. It is a cave, inside a rock. We thought it safer than a hut, where the natives, if they had come to the island, would be more likely to find us."
I begged the seaman to hurry on. "What! Are you the captain"s son?" he asked, as I ran by his side. "Often and often he has talked about you.
If anything will set him on his legs the sight of you will."
We soon reached the beach, when scrambling for some distance among the rocks the seaman pointed to the entrance of a cave at the side of a hill which sloped up from the water.
As agreed on the seaman went first, followed by Blyth. I stood outside eagerly waiting to be summoned. It seemed so long that I was afraid my father had been overcome with the news.
At length Blyth appeared, and beckoned me in, and the next instant I was kneeling by my father"s side, as he lay stretched on a bed of leaves and matting, which d.i.c.k Meade, his faithful follower, had arranged for him.
"What! Are you Harry, really my son Harry?" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around my neck; "I was sure that you and my good brother Jack Radburn would come to look for me if you thought I was alive, and not until yesterday, when G.o.d in his mercy had sent you to this island, did I lose hope. Ungrateful I was, after having been preserved from so many dangers; but your appearance has brought me back to life."
"What the captain wants is some good food," I heard d.i.c.k observe to Blyth; "if you"ll let me cook one of those pigeons it will do him all the good in the world."