"By means of one of the derricks," replied Ellerton promptly.
"Quite so; but where is the power required to turn the winches to come from? We"ve no steam at our command, you know, and these winches are not adapted to manual power."
The apprentice"s face clouded; he thought for a few minutes, then--
"We can top one of the derricks and rig up a tackle, sir."
"Good!" replied Mr. McKay. "But what is the weight of the boat?"
"Ours on the _Tophet_ weighed twelve hundredweight; this one is about the same size."
"Then rig a gun tackle, and the four of you will manage the job, I think."
Accordingly two large double blocks were obtained and the rope rove ready for use. One of the blocks was secured to the cud of the derrick, which was then hoisted to an angle of about forty-five degrees. This took time, but at length everything was ready for the crucial test.
"Now, all together!"
The three lads and the mulatto tailed on to the rope. The blocks squeaked as the strain began to tell; the cutter began to lift, then--crash!
Flat on their backs fell the four lads; high in the air jerked the disengaged lower block. The slings to which it had been fastened had snapped.
Slowly the victims regained their feet, Andy rubbing a tender portion of his anatomy, Terence gasping for breath, for Andy"s head had well-nigh winded him. Ellerton was clapping his hands to a rapidly rising b.u.mp on the back of his head, while Quexo, whose skull was as hard as iron, was hopping all over the deck, rubbing his shins, that had saved the apprentice"s head at the mulatto"s expense.
"Try again, boys!" shouted Andy. "Everything on board this blessed craft seems rotten!"
A new span was placed in position, and the tackle again manned, and this time their efforts were crowned with success. The cutter rose slowly in the air, till it hung fire five feet above the shattered bulwarks.
"Belay, there! Man the guy-rope!"
The derrick swung outboard, till the cutter was poised above the water and well clear of the sloping sides of the hull.
"Lower away handsomely."
Slowly the boat dipped, till at length she rode, sheltered under the lee of her stranded parent, upon the bosom of the ocean.
"Capital!" exclaimed Mr. McKay, as his son swarmed down the rope, disengaged the tackle, and allowed the cutter a generous length of painter.
Then the work of loading her was begun. It was decided that for the first trip nothing more than was absolutely necessary for immediate use was to be taken, until it was settled where their camp was to be fixed, and whether the island had any inhabitants.
"A small barrico of water will be sufficient, though I am certain there are springs amongst those trees," said Ellerton. His sense of responsibility was hourly increasing. "A barrel of flour, some tinned goods, canvas and rope for a tent."
"Not forgetting hatchets, knives, and firearms," added Mr. McKay.
"Firearms?"
"Aye; one never knows how the natives--if there be natives on the island--will greet us. Most of the Pacific Islanders are fairly peaceable, thanks to missionary enterprise and the fear of a visit from a warship; yet cannibalism still exists. I have known instances of the crews of small "pearlers" being treacherously surprised, killed, and eaten. So get hold of the arms; you"ll probably find the key of the captain"s cabin in the chart-house; if not, burst open the door."
Ellerton departed upon his errand, and presently returned with the news that there was no trace of the key. "Here is a s.e.xtant and a bundle of charts, however," he added. "They are bound to be useful, although I cannot understand the meaning of the depths on the chart."
"They are in "brazas," equal to about five and a half English feet.
But, as you say, the charts will be of extreme importance to us."
"Come on, Terence, let"s burgle the captain"s cabin," exclaimed Ellerton, laying hold of a hatchet.
Soon the sound of blows was heard, followed by the splintering of wood, and the two lads returned literally armed to the teeth.
Each had a couple of rifles slung across his back; Terence carried half a dozen revolvers in his arms and a sheath-knife between his teeth, while Ellerton staggered beneath the weight of several belts of ball cartridges and a box of revolver ammunition.
"There"s more to come; the place is like a regular armoury," explained Terence.
"That"s somewhat unusual," replied Mr. McKay. "Most captains keep firearms of a kind in their cabins. I strongly suspect that those arms were to be sold to some South American insurgents. They are much too good for bartering with the South Sea Islanders. Nevertheless, I"m right glad we have been able to arm ourselves thoroughly, as I expected we should have to be content with a couple of pistols between the lot of us."
The work of loading the boat proceeded briskly, till the strictly limited quant.i.ty of gear was carefully stowed under the thwarts. Then came the question, how were they going to transport the crippled Mr.
McKay to the sh.o.r.e?
"Hoist me over by the derrick, of course," replied he. "A couple of rope spans round the plank and their bights slipped over the hook of the lower block, and the trick"s done."
Ellerton and Terence thereupon slipped down a rope into the boat and carefully guided the swaying mess table and its helpless burden on to a couple of the after thwarts. This done, they were joined by Andy and Quexo, and, shipping the heavy ash oars, they pulled clear of the ship.
The first fifty yards meant hard and careful rowing, for directly they were beyond the shelter of the stranded vessel they felt the full force of the rollers as they dashed against the coral reef, barely a boat"s length to lee"ard.
Once, indeed, it seemed as if the cutter were bound to be swept upon the rocks; but by dint of the utmost exertions of her crew, the boat surely and slowly drew away from the influence of the rollers.
"My word, that was a narrow squeak!" exclaimed Andy, wiping his face, from which the perspiration ran freely. "I thought we were going to be capsized that time."
"It doesn"t say much for the chances of those poor fellows last night,"
replied Ellerton. "They must have dropped smack on top of the reef."
"We"ll soon find out," said Mr. McKay. "You see, they were immediately to lee"ard of the ship, and it was high water at the time. If they survived, we"ll find them ash.o.r.e right enough."
"But I saw no sign of the boat when I looked through the gla.s.s."
"That may be because there is a creek or cove that is invisible from the ship. Being directly to wind"ard, we are bound to find either the men or the remains of the boat."
"The ship is sitting up well," remarked Andy, for, the tide having dropped nearly six feet--it had been abnormally high by reason of the terrific wind--they could see the top of one of her propeller blades.
"Do you think she"ll stay there?"
"It certainly doesn"t seem as if she is likely to slip off into deep water, but we cannot say for certain. The first fine day there"s little or no swell we"ll sound all round her. Now, give way, lads."
The rowers resumed their oars, and the boat, pa.s.sing through the narrow gap in the reef, gained the shelter of the lagoon.
"Fine, isn"t it?" exclaimed Terence enthusiastically, as he rested on his oar and gazed into the clear depths of the tranquil water. "Won"t we be able to have some bathes?"
"You"ll have to be careful if you do," remarked Mr. McKay. "There are bound to be sharks about."
He did not think it advisable to call the lads" attention to a commotion in the water a few hundred yards in front of the boat. From his inclined position he could see ahead, while the rowers had their backs turned in that direction. His keen eyes had detected the sinister dorsal fin of not one, but many sharks, all cutting towards one spot. There could be but little doubt of the fate of the Peruvian seamen.
The noise of the approaching oars disturbed the huge monsters, and they darted off to the shelter of the rock-strewn floor of the lagoon.