Chapter Nineteen.
As soon as the sail was lowered, the men leaped over the sides of the boat into the water, and waded to the rocks.
“Who are you?” said one of the men, addressing me, “and how many of you are there here?”
“There is no one on the island but myself,” replied I; “but I’m so glad that you have come.”
“Are you? Then perhaps you’ll tell us how to get something to eat, my hearty?” replied he.
“Oh yes, wait a little, and I’ll bring you plenty,” replied I.
“Well, then, look smart, that’s a beauty, for we are hungry enough to eat you, if you can find us nothing better.”
I was about to go up to the cabin for some birds, when another man called out:—
“I say—can you get us any water?”
“Oh yes, plenty,” replied I.
“Well then, I say, Jim, hand us the pail out of the boat.”
The one addressed did so, and the man put it into my hands, saying, “Bring us that pail, boy, will you?” I hastened up to the cabin, filled the pail full of water, and then went for a quantity of dried birds, with which I hastened down again to the bathing-pool. I found the men had not been idle; they had taken some fagots off the stack and made a large fire under the rocks, and were then busy making a sort of tent with the boat’s sails.
“Here’s the water, and here’s some birds,” said I, as I came up to them.
“Birds! What birds?” said the man who had first spoken to me, and appeared to have control over the rest. He took one up and examined it by the light of the fire, exclaiming, “Queer eating, I expect.”
“Why, you didn’t expect a regular hotel when you landed, did you, mate?” said one of the men.
“No, if I had, I would have called for a glass of grog,” replied he. “I suspect I might call a long while before I get any one to bring me one here.”
As I knew that Jackson called the rum by the name of grog, I said, “There’s plenty of grog, if you want any.”
“Is there, my hearty,—where?”
“Why, in that cask that’s in the water on the other side of your little ship,” replied I. “I can draw you some directly.”
“What! In that cask? Grog floating about in salt-water, that’s too bad. Come here all of you. You’re in earnest, boy—no joking I hope, or you may repent it.”
“I’m not joking,” said I—“there it is.”
The man, followed by all the rest excepting one of the party, waded into the water, and went to the cask of rum.
“Take care,” said I, “the spiles are in.”
“So I see—never fear, my hearty—come now all of us.” So saying, the whole of them laid hold of the cask by the chains, and lifting it up, they carried it clean out of the water, and placed it on the rocks by the side of the pool.
“Hand us the little kid out of the boat, Jim,” said the man; “we’ll soon see if it’s the right stuff.”
He took out the spiles, drew off some of the liquor, and tasting it, swore it was excellent. It was then handed round, and all the men took some.
“We’re in luck to-night; we’re fallen upon our legs,” said the first man. “I say, Jim, put them dried chickens into the pitch-kettle along with some taters out of the bag—they’ll make a good mess; and then with this cask of grog to go to, we shan’t do badly.”
“I say, old fellow,” said he, turning to me, “you’re a regular trump. Who left you on shore to get all ready for us?”
“I was born here,” replied I.
“Born here! Well, we’ll hear all about that to-morrow—just now, we’ll make up for lost time, for we’ve had nothing to eat or drink since Wednesday morning. Look alive, my lads! Get up the hurricane-house. Jim, put the pail of water into the kettle, and send the islander here for another pailful, for grog.”
The pail was handed to me, and I soon returned with it full; and, as I did not see that they had a pannikin, I brought one down and gave it to them.
“You’re a fine boy,” said the mate (as I afterwards found out that he was). “And now, I say, where do you hold out? Have you a hut or a cave to live in?”
“Yes,” replied I; “I have a cabin, but it is not large enough for all of you.”
“No, no! We don’t want to go there—we are very well where we are, alongside of the cask of rum; but you see, my lad, we have a woman here.”
“A woman!” said I; “I never saw a woman. Where is she?”
“There she is, sitting by the fire.”
I looked round, and perceived that there was one of the party wrapped up in a blanket, and with a wide straw hat on the head, which completely concealed the form from me. The fact is, that the woman looked like a bundle, and remained by the fire quite as inanimate. At my saying that I never saw a woman, the man burst into a loud laugh.
“Why, did you not say that you were born on this island, boy?” said the mate at last. “Were you born without a mother?”
“I cannot recollect my mother—she died when I was very young; and therefore I said that I had never seen a woman.”
“Well, that’s explained; but you see, my lad—this is not only a woman, but a very particular sort of a woman; and it will not do for her to remain here after we have had our supper—for after supper, the men may take a drop too much, and not behave themselves; so I asked you about your cabin, that you might take her there to sleep. Can you do that?”
“Yes,” replied I; “I will take her there if she wishes to go.”
“That’s all right then; she’ll be better there than here, at all events. I say, boy, where did you leave your trousers?”
“I never wear any.”
“Well then, if you have any, I advise you to put them on, for you are quite old enough to be breeched.”
I remained with them while the supper was cooking, asking all manner of questions, which caused great mirth. The pitch-kettle, which was a large iron pot on three short legs, surprised me a good deal; I had never seen such a thing before, or anything put on the fire. I asked what it was, and what it was made of. The potatoes also astonished me, as I had never yet seen an edible root.
“Why, where have you been all your life?” said one of the men.
“On this island,” replied I, very naïvely.
I waded into the water to examine the boat as well as I could by the light of the fire, but I could see little, and was obliged to defer my examination till the next day. Before the supper was cooked and eaten, I did, however, gain the following information.
That they were a portion of the crew of a whaler, which had struck on a reef of rocks about seventy miles off, and that they had been obliged to leave her immediately, as she fell on her broadside a few minutes afterwards; that they had left in two boats, but did not know what had become of the other boat, which parted company during the night. The captain and six men were in the other boat, and the mate with six men in the one which had just landed—besides the lady.
“What’s a lady?” said I.
“I mean the woman who sits there; her husband was killed by some of the people of the Sandwich Isles, and she was going home to England. We have a consort, another whaler, who was to have taken our cargo of oil on board, and to have gone to England with that and her own cargo, and the missionary’s wife was to have been sent home in her.”
“What’s a missionary?” inquired I.
“Well, I don’t exactly know; but he is a preacher who goes out to teach the savages.”
By this time the supper was cooked, and the odour from the pitch-kettle was more savoury than anything that I had ever yet smelt. The kettle was lifted off the fire, the contents of it poured into a kid, and after they had given a portion in the small kid to the woman, who still remained huddled up in the blanket by the fire, they all sat round the large kid, and commenced their supper.
“Come, boy, and join us,” said the mate, “you can’t have had your supper; and as you’ve found one for us, it’s hard but you should share it with us.”
I was not sorry to do as he told me, and I must say that I never enjoyed a repast so much in my life.
“I say, boy, have you a good stock of them dried chickens of yours?” said the mate.
“Yes, I have a great many, but not enough to last long for so many people.”
“Well, but we can get more, can’t we?”
“No!” replied I, “not until the birds come again, and that will not be for these next five moons?”
“Five moons! What do you mean?”
“I mean, five full moons must come, one after another.”
“Oh, I understand; why then we must not remain on the island.”
“No,” replied I, “we must all go, or we shall starve; I am so glad that you are come, and the sooner you go the better. Will you take Nero with you?”
“Who is Nero?”
“Nero—my seal—he’s very tame.”
“Well, we’ll see about it; at all events,” said he, turning to the other men, “we must decide upon something, and that quickly, for we shall starve if we remain here any time.”
It appeared, that they had left the whaler in such a hurry, that they had only had time to throw into the boat two breakers of water, four empty breakers to fill with salt-water for ballast to the boat, and the iron pitch-kettle, with a large sack of potatoes.
As soon as supper was finished, they went to the cask for the rum, and then the mate said to me:—
“Now I’ll go and speak to the woman, and you shall take her to sleep in your cabin.”
During the whole of this time, the woman, as the mate called her, had never spoken a word. She had taken her supper, and eaten it in silence, still remaining by the fire, huddled up in the blanket. On the mate speaking to her, she rose up, and I then perceived that she was much taller than I thought she could have been; but her Panama hat still concealed her face altogether.
“Now then, my lad,” said the mate, “show the lady where she is to sleep, and then you can join us again if you like.”
“Will you come with me?” said I, walking away.
The woman followed me up the path. When we arrived at the platform opposite the cabin, I recollected Nero, whom I had ordered to stay there till my return.
“You won’t be afraid of the seal,” said I, “will you? He is very good-natured. Nero, come here.”
It was rather dark as Nero came shuffling up, and I went forward to coax him, for he snarled a little at seeing a stranger.
“Have you no light at hand?” said my companion, speaking for the first time, in a very soft yet clear voice.
“No, I have not, but I will get some tinder, and make a fire with one of the fagots, and then you will be able to see.”
“Do so, then, my good lad,” replied she.
I thought her voice very pleasing.
I soon lighted the fagot and enabled her to see Nero (who was now quite quiet), and also the interior of the cabin.
She examined the cabin and the bed-places, and then said:
“Where do you sleep?”
I replied by showing her my bed-place. “And this,” said I, pointing to the one opposite, “was Jackson’s, and you can sleep in that. Nero sleeps with me. Here are plenty of seal-skins to keep you warm, if you are cold. Are your clothes wet?”
“No, they are quite dry now,” replied she; “if you will get me some seal-skins, I will lie down on them, for I am very tired.”
I spread five or six skins one on the other, in Jackson’s bed-place, and then I went out and threw another fagot on the fire, that we might have more light.
“Do you want anything else?” said I.
“Nothing, I thank you. Are you going to bed now?”
“I was meaning to go down again to the men, but now I think of it, I do not like to leave you alone with Nero, as he might bite you. Are you afraid of him?”
“No, I’m not much afraid, but still I have no wish to be bitten, and I am not used to sleep with such animals, as you are.”
“Well then, I’ll tell you how we’ll manage it. I will take some skins outside, and sleep there. Nero will not leave me, and then you won’t be afraid. The weather is clearing up fast, and there’s very little wind to what there was besides, it will be daylight in three or four hours.”
“As you please,” was the reply.
Accordingly, I took some seal-skins out on the platform, and spreading them, I lay down upon them, wishing her good night, and Nero soon joined me, and we were both fast asleep in a few minutes.