Chapter Ten.
We arrive at the island.
The surf was breaking heavily over the whole length of the barrier reef; but my experience among the Caroline and Marshall Islands led me to believe that somewhere in that reef a break might be found wide enough to allow the passage of the ship through it. Examining the long line of the leaping surf very carefully through the ship’s telescope, I at length thought I detected such a passage, some two or three miles to the southward of the point at which the ship’s bowsprit was pointing; I accordingly hailed the deck, directing the helmsman how to steer for it, and at the same time requested Polson to join me.
“There, Polson,” I exclaimed, “what think you of that for an island upon which to settle? It ought to be big enough to accommodate all hands of you, with room to spare. Its soil is fertile, if one may judge by its luxuriantly wooded appearance; and, thus far, I have been unable to detect any signs of inhabitants upon it. Do you think it good enough to justify us in attempting to find a way through that reef in order to get a closer view of it?”
“Do I?” repeated the boatswain, feasting his eyes upon the lovely prospect the island presented in the rays of the afternoon sun, which happened at that moment to fall at just the proper angle to reveal clearly the gently undulating character of the island, scored here and there with ravines which seemed to promise not only a series of charming prospects, but also an abundance of fresh water from the streams that had their origin in the central peak—“Yes, Mr Troubridge, I most certainly do, if a way can be found of gettin’ at the place. Why, it’s the very kind of island as I’ve been picturin’ in my mind ever since that chap Wilde began to talk about his plans, except that yonder island is a good bit bigger and altogether more promisin’ than I’d ever hoped to stumble upon. But how is that there line of surf goin’ to be passed through, Mr Troubridge?”
“Take this glass, Polson,” I said, “and very carefully examine the spot immediately over our jibboom-end. To my mind there seems to be a very narrow patch of unbroken water there, which may yet prove wide enough to take the ship through with a leading wind.”
“Ay, sir,” answered Polson, “I sees what you mean; there certainly do look to be a bit of a passage there; and, narrer as it looks, it may, as you say, be wide enough for the Mercury to slip through. And what’s them two p’ints on the mainland, just over the break, with the blue shadder showin’ beyond it? Don’t it look to you somethin’ like a bit of a cove, or a harbour of some sort?”
I looked at the spot indicated, and thought I could detect something of the kind suggested by the boatswain; but my unaided vision was not strong enough to enable me to be sure; I therefore borrowed the glass from Polson, and then saw that there was indeed an indentation of some sort which had the appearance of being spacious enough to give harbourage to the ship. That, however, was a point that did not call for immediate settlement, although it was certainly to be kept in mind.
Meanwhile, the ship, running off with the wind now a couple of points over the port quarter, had been sliding rapidly down toward the reef, and had by this time drawn so near it that I felt morally certain not only of the fact that there actually was a passage through it, but also that it was wide enough for the ship to go through. Yet I did not altogether like the idea of pushing the ship through it without further ado, for a rather unpleasant thought had flashed through my mind, which I at once proceeded to communicate to the boatswain.
“Now, look here, Polson,” I said. “That is undoubtedly a passage through the reef; and as we draw nearer to it I grow the more disposed to believe that it may be possible to take the old Mercury through it. Yet I am strongly opposed to the idea of doing anything hastily. What I mean is this,” I continued in answer to the quick glance of half-suspicious enquiry that he flashed upon me. “There is no sign that we can detect of natives upon that island; yet there may be hundreds, ay, thousands, of them there for all that. If so, what is to prevent their having us in sight all day to-day, and hiding their canoes and otherwise obliterating all indication of their presence, in the hope that, by so doing, we may be tempted to pass through the reef and come to an anchor under its lee and in pretty close proximity to the island. Once through that passage, Polson, and, with the wind as it is now, we should be in a trap from which it might be difficult, if not absolutely impossible, to escape in the event of our being attacked by a strong body of hostile natives. Now, my idea is this. If we were to enter that lagoon this evening, by the time that we had come to an anchor and rolled up our canvas it would be altogether too late to go ashore and explore satisfactorily that island; and, as I said just now, if there happen to be hostile natives there we might find ourselves in an exceedingly awkward fix. I propose, therefore, that instead of attempting to go inside to-night, we should shorten sail to our three topsails, go round under the lee of the island, and either heave-to or stand off and on until daylight. If we do this at once we may hug the lee side of it as closely as we please, and subject that side of the island to a pretty searching scrutiny while it is still daylight; and if the lee side is as bare of any sign of inhabitants as the weather side seems to be, I think we may venture with tolerable safety to go through the passage to-morrow morning as soon as there is light enough, when we shall have the whole day in which to explore the island. What say you?”
“Yes, Mr Troubridge, you’re quite right, sir,” answered the boatswain. “That there island looks most terrible temptin’, shinin’ there in the a’ternoon sunlight, and I should dearly like to stretch my legs by takin’ a run ashore there afore I turn in to-night—as I make no doubt is the case with all hands; but what you say is right, sir; and what you propose is the proper thing to do. Shall I go down on deck and start shortenin’ sail at once, sir?”
“Yes, if you please, Polson,” answered I. “Meanwhile, I will remain up here and see as much as I can.”
Whereupon Polson descended the rigging, and, taking charge, proceeded to clew up and haul down until the canvas was reduced to the three topsails and the fore topmast staysail, afterward sending the hands aloft to make a harbour furl of everything.
By the time that all this was done we had run down to within a mile of the opening which I had detected in the reef, and I now perceived it to be wide enough to allow of the passage of not only a single ship, but of half a dozen vessels abreast, of the tonnage of the Mercury. At this distance from the reef, and at my elevation above the level of the water, it was possible not only to see this, but also to make out that a fringing reef stretched along almost the entire eastern face of the island, to the northern and southern extremities of which the barrier reef was united with but one opening in it, namely the one that I had already discovered. The fringing reef—the whereabout of which was indicated by the pale-blue tint of the water, varied in width from two miles, at the north-eastern extremity of the island, where the barrier reef joined it, to an average of about half a mile along the rest of the shore—except for a break of some two miles in length at the point where Polson had detected indications of a cove or an inner harbour.
This much determined, I hailed the deck, instructing the boatswain to haul up to the southward; and when we had brought the passage through the reef in line with the summit of the peak I again hailed him to take the bearings of the latter, to serve as a guide when running for the passage on the morrow. This bearing I found to be north-west by west-a-quarter-west, of which I made a note in my pocket book.
The sun was within half an hour of setting when at length, having closely skirted the southern shore of the island, we opened out its western side, which, all aglow as it was in the golden light of evening, presented a picture of absolutely fairy-like beauty, its wooded slopes revealing in the nearer distances a thousand varied tints of verdure, from brilliant yellow to deepest olive, relieved here and there by great patches of white, scarlet, purple, and other lovely tints that could only proceed from immense masses of blossom of some kind. As this blaze of rich and varied colour receded from the eye into the middle and more remote distances, it gradually merged into an all-pervading tint of delicate, exquisite, ethereal grey.
With the gradual unfolding of the charming picture presented by the western side of the island—which seemed to throw all hands down on deck into ecstasies of delight, judging from the continuous exclamations of rapture that reached me from below as fresh beauties swung into view with the progress of the ship—it became apparent that the barrier reef existed only on the eastern side of the island; but the fringing reef seemed to run all round it, with a narrow margin of dazzlingly white coral sand above high-water mark. The land seemed to rise everywhere from the beach at a very gentle slope; and the vegetation came down right to the inner margin of the sand. In fact there was a thick fringe of what I took to be coconut trees growing all along the edge of the beach, and encroaching upon it so far in places, that the roots of the trees must be actually washed by the salt water at the top of the spring tides. But, search the shore as carefully as I might—and now that we were to leeward of the island I did not hesitate to approach the ship to within a quarter of a mile of the edge of the reef, in order that I might obtain the best possible view—I could discover no sign or trace of human beings. There were open patches of delicious greensward here and there visible among the clumps of trees, but no suggestion of cultivation; there were no canoes on the beach—indeed I greatly doubted whether it would have been possible for canoes to pass through the line of surf that boiled and swirled all along the edge of the reef, even on the lee side of the island—nor could I detect any feather of smoke rising among the trees, or other sign of human occupancy, although we were now so close to the land, and the evening light smote upon it so strongly, that had there been any natives moving about on the beach or in the nearer open spaces, I could scarcely have failed to see them.
The ship, now under the lee of the island, and moreover under short canvas, did little more than barely drift to the northward, along the western edge of the reef, and long before we arrived off the north-western extremity of the island the sun had set, and it had become too dark for me to complete my survey of this lonely but lovely spot; yet I had seen enough to assure me that there was only one place along that lee side at which it would be possible for the ship to anchor. Even there, although the place in question took the form of a bay, I did not altogether like the look of it; for nearly half its area consisted of fringing reef, upon which, if a ship were to drive ashore during a sudden shift of wind, she would infallibly go to pieces in a few minutes. It might possibly be made to do, failing a better place, by riding with both anchors down; but I determined to have a look at Polson’s cove round on the weather side of the island, under the shelter of the natural breakwater formed by the barrier reef, before risking the ship by taking her into such an unsatisfactory anchorage.
The second dogwatch had passed before we drew out clear of the island, and once more felt the full strength of the breeze, whereupon I gave instructions for the ship to be kept “full and by” on the starboard tack until four bells in the middle watch, when the officer of the watch was to wear ship and come to the wind on the port tack, heading to the southward for the island again, the weather side of which I considered we ought to fetch by daylight, in good time to allow of our passing through the reef and coming to an anchor about breakfast-time.
The first rays of the morning sun were flashing off the placidly heaving waters, and into my cabin, when Chips awakened me with the news that the peak of the island was broad on our lee bow, and that there was now light enough to enable us to see our way in through the reef. I accordingly turned out and went forward to get my usual douche bath under the head-pump prior to dressing, taking note on the way of the fact that we were still some ten miles to the northward and eastward of the opening in the reef. Moreover, the wind was blowing a very gentle breeze, pushing the ship along at scarcely more than three knots; I therefore so far modified my arrangements of the previous night as to give orders for breakfast to be prepared half an hour earlier, in order that the meal might be disposed of before the real business of the day began. But long before the cook’s husky notes summoned the emigrants’ messmen to the galley, to receive their morning allowance of cocoa and their tins of “lobscouse”, all hands were on deck, the emigrants gathered in the waist of the ship, leaning over the lee rail, and devouring with their eyes the beauties of the lovely island, fresh, green, and sparkling with the dews of the past night. It was rather amusing to note that many of these people, especially the women and children, had donned their best clothes in which to go ashore, as though it were a festive occasion.
By the time that breakfast was over the ship had drawn well down toward the southern extremity of the island; and at length the peak was brought to bear by compass north-west by west-a-quarter-west, by which I knew that it and the passage through the reef were now in line. Accordingly we bore up and wore round, heading straight for the peak. Slinging the ship’s telescope over my shoulder, I once more wended my way aloft to the fore topmast crosstrees, in order that from that commanding elevation I might perform the delicate task of conning the ship through the passage in the reef, and at the same time maintain a sharp lookout for what now seemed to be the only peril to be guarded against, namely, the possible existence upon the island of hostile natives.
Although we were some four miles from the reef when we bore up, I had not the slightest difficulty in discovering the whereabouts of the passage through it immediately upon my arrival in the crosstrees; and I now at once brought the telescope to bear upon it, in search of possible dangers in the form of sunken rocks; for although that apparently narrow stretch of unbroken water was the sure indication of a break in the continuity of the reef, it was just possible that there might be a detached rock or two in the fairway, lying deep enough to allow the swell to roll over it unbroken, yet not quite deep enough to permit a ship of the size of the Mercury to pass over it.
But a prolonged inspection with the aid of the glass failed to reveal any such danger, and in the course of the next half-hour we had drawn so close in, that I could see as much in that direction with the unaided eye as with the telescope. I therefore diverted my attention for a few minutes to the more distant beach, and the still more distant open grassy spaces of the island, in search of possible indications of life and movement. But here, too, my quest was vain, for nowhere could I detect the slightest signs of life, except that of birds, a few gulls and pelicans being visible, busily engaged in seeking a breakfast on the waters of the lagoon, while it was also possible to detect the occasional flash of wings among the trees that so thickly clustered on the slopes of the island.
At length the moment arrived when it became necessary for me to give my undivided attention to the passage through the reef, which the ship had now approached, to within a distance of a couple of cable-lengths, while the air was vibrant with the deep, hoarse, thunderous roar of the surf that eternally flung itself in foam and fury upon those ten miles of submerged coral wall which I have spoken of as the reef. This wall, or reef, I could now see, was of a tolerably uniform width of about one-third of a mile throughout its length, and its top was so nearly level with the surface of the ocean that it constituted a very perfect breakwater, excluding from the lagoon which it enclosed all surface disturbance except the trifling amount caused by the incessant beat of the surf upon it, and revealed itself in the form of some eight or ten lines of miniature swell, sweeping inward from the reef and losing itself in the smooth, sparkling surface of the lagoon within a distance of half a mile.
Thus far I had failed to discover any submerged dangers in the passage through the reef, and we were now so close in that I must have seen them through the clear, transparent water, had such existed. I therefore directed the helmsman how to steer, so as to take the ship through the middle of the channel, which now revealed itself as an opening fully sixteen hundred feet wide, and a minute later we surged into it on the back of a swell which crashed down upon the reef to right and left of us with a roar that made one’s very ears tingle, while the spray, snow-white, and sparkling in the dazzling sunshine like countless millions of diamonds, leapt into the air as high as our maintop, to fall, a cable’s length to leeward, in a glittering shower upon the seething turmoil of lace-like foam that swirled hither and thither above the reef.
Five minutes sufficed us to accomplish the passage through the reef, when we found ourselves gliding gently forward upon the placid surface of the lagoon, which formed a magnificent crescent-shaped, natural harbour, some ten miles long by about two and a half miles wide at its widest part, tapering away to nothing at its northern and southern extremities, where the barrier and fringing reefs united. The floor of this lagoon, as I could distinctly see from my elevated post of observation, was composed of fine white coral sand, with no sign of rock or any other obstruction upon it so far as my sight could reach. We of course had a leadsman in the chains taking continual casts of the lead as we proceeded, and from these it appeared that the depth of water in the lagoon, close up against the inner face of the reef, amounted to seven and a half fathoms, shoaling very gradually and regularly as we neared the island, the exceeding beauty of which evoked a continuous chorus of admiration from the delighted emigrants as its many attractions unfolded themselves at our approach.
Upon clearing the passage through the reef I had shouted instructions down to the man at the wheel to haul up a couple of points to the northward, which had brought our jibboom-end pointing fair between the two headlands opening into the indentation which I have termed Polson’s harbour, and I now judged, from what I could see, to be of quite respectable extent. I had no intention, however, of attempting to take the ship into it without first subjecting it to something in the nature of a preliminary examination. I therefore now called to them on deck to stand by to let go the anchor, to which Polson responded that they were all ready for letting go.
“Stand by to let run your topsail halyards!” was the next order, which was obeyed with a rush as of a parcel of schoolboys eagerly anticipating a holiday. I allowed the ship to drive ahead a little farther, until we had arrived within half a mile of the two headlands, which, I now saw, were about a quarter of a mile apart, and then gave the order: “Hard down with your helm, and let her come head to wind!” closely followed by: “Let run your topsail halyards!” and the next moment, with a screaming of sheaves and a rattle of parrals, the three topsail yards slid down the topmasts and brought up with a thud upon the caps, to the accompaniment of a jubilant cheer from the crowd on deck. Then, a minute later, when the ship had lost her way, followed the order: “Let go your anchor!” succeeded by a yell from the carpenter of “Stand clear of the cable!” a few clinking strokes of a hammer, the sudden plunging splash of the anchor into the placid waters of the lagoon, and the rattling roar of the cable through the hawse-pipe. Chips snubbed her with the twenty-five fathom shackle just inside the hawse-pipe, the depth of water alongside being a deep five fathoms, and then the men sprang into the rigging and laid out on the bowsprit to furl the topsails and fore topmast staysail.
Then, turning myself about with my face toward the stern of the ship, I seated myself comfortably in the crosstrees and, once more bringing the telescope into action, proceeded again to subject the island to a searching scrutiny. We were now so close to it that, had there been human beings upon it, I could scarcely have failed to detect some indication of their presence; but, search as I would, no sign of life, save that of birds, could I discover. I therefore finally came to the conclusion that, strange as it might be, this lovely island was actually uninhabited, and, therefore, in that respect, perfectly suited to the experiment which Wilde and his disciples were about to attempt upon it. Nor did it appear less suited in other respects. Its size was ample; its fertility indisputable, and apparently exuberant. Glimpses of tiny rivulets of water could be caught, here and there, flashing and sparkling through its glades; there appeared to be no noxious animals upon it to endanger life; and, so far as beauty was concerned, the place seemed to be a perfect Eden, the woods being gay with flowering shrubs and trees, that everywhere diversified the innumerable shades of green with great splashes of vivid and gorgeous colour. Nor could much fault be found with the climate, for, although the island lay well within the tropics, the constant sea breeze must certainly temper the heat and render it perfectly endurable.
The people on deck, seeing how I was engaged, waited with exemplary patience until I should make a move; but the moment I rose to my feet and prepared to descend the rigging there was a rush to that part of the deck which I must first touch, upon my return from aloft, every individual in the crowd evidently charged with questions which he fully intended to fire off at me without further delay. While descending the ratlines, therefore, I hastily prepared a little speech which I hoped would not prove disappointing to them.