“I heerd ’bout that,” commented Cap’n Pem. “Wisht they’d been my crew. I’d a-heaved ’em over after them fittin’s. Derned if I wouldn’t. But look-a-here! It’s a-gittin’ too late ter be a yarnin’ with killin’ to begin in the mornin’. All han’s turn in!”
An hour later, only the protesting croaks of sleepy penguins and the distant barks of the sea elephants broke the silence that reigned over the island.
CHAPTER X
LOST
Early the next morning, preparations for the killing began. Armed with clubs, tin pans, flags and pieces of cloth, the men made their way along the beach between the big herd of elephants and the sea, and took up stands at intervals of a few hundred feet apart. Then, at a signal from Cap’n Pem, they advanced towards the elephants, shouting, hallowing, beating on their tins, waving their cloth and flags and jumping and prancing about like a lot of savages. Frightened and surprised at these strange figures advancing towards them, and dazed by the noise and fluttering rags, the huge, timid creatures hobbled and wriggled their way up the shingle, wrinkling their noses and barking in terror and stupidly getting further and further from their native element in their sole desire to keep away from the men. Wedged together in a closely-packed mass, the giant seals impeded one another’s progress and added to their terror until, presently, their retreat was a wild stampede towards the higher ground some distance from the sea.
It was a strange and remarkable sight to see these immense, powerful creatures with their strong, sharp teeth striving to escape the men and as frightened as a flock of sheep, when any one of the monsters could easily have crushed a man’s head in his jaws with a single bite. To the boys, it seemed pitiful and they were really sorry to think of such harmless, splendid creatures being thus ruthlessly slaughtered merely for the sake of their oil. But their sympathy for the elephants was not as great as it would have been had the animals appeared more helpless and gentle, for despite their timidity, the sea elephants, and especially the old bulls, were savage, ferocious-looking beasts. Naturally ugly, even when at rest, they appeared veritable monsters as their small, wicked eyes gleamed red and bloodshot, their trunklike snouts lifted above their great red mouths, their huge, sharp teeth gleamed and snapped and their snarling barks filled the air with a deafening roar.
Although they had been assured that the elephants were harmless and had been eye witnesses of the fact that the men could walk among them, kick them and even kill them without the least attempt at resistance on the animals’ part, yet neither Tom nor Jim could summon up enough courage to approach within reach of the waving, threatening heads and snapping jaws. But the men had no such fears and when, at last, the herd had been driven to the selected spot, they went among them, driving the big, full-grown animals into small bunches and ruthlessly clubbing them over the heads.
As the killing began and the heavy bludgeons thumped on the heads of the elephants, their humanlike sighs and screams, their choking, gurgling death coughs and the terrorized barks of their fellows were more than the two boys could stand. Hurrying from the scene of the slaughter, they made their way past the camp and started up the hillside beyond. It was hard climbing, for the sharp, volcanic rocks made footing uncertain, the scant gray moss and lichens and dried stiff grass were slippery and the hill was steep. Here and there, albatrosses were squatting on the ground and when the boys approached they merely hissed and struck out with their strong, hooked beaks, refusing to move. They were such enormous birds and appeared so vicious with their china-blue eyes and menacing bills, that the boys had no desire to get at close quarters in order to see if they had eggs; but they soon discovered that by shooing at the birds and showing no signs of fear they could force the albatrosses from their nests and they were greatly elated at sight of the enormous, rough, brownish eggs in little hollows of the stony ground.
Amusing themselves with the albatrosses, and taking their time, the boys reached the summit of the hill and seated themselves upon a rock ledge to rest. From where they sat, they could look down upon the camp and the beach and could see the men, still busily killing the elephants. But the slaughter evidently was nearly over, and presently, they saw the men stooping over and evidently engaged in stripping the skins and blubber from the carcasses. In the other direction, they looked down upon a sloping hillside ending in a small, bowl-shaped valley which the boys at first sight thought filled with snow; but a second glance showed it to be covered with great white birds.
“I wonder what they are,” said Tom. “They don’t look like albatrosses and they’re not penguins. Let’s go down and see.”
Rising, the boys were about to descend when their attentions were attracted by peculiar sounds apparently issuing from the earth under their feet.