A Boy Crusoe; or, The Golden Treasure of the Virgin Islands

by Allan Eric

I strove to occupy my mind by digging a large store of yams, and gathering hundreds of cocoanuts, and storing them inside the house for use when the rain should prevent my going far from the shore. I also gathered an immense quantity of dead branches for firewood, which I piled in the rear of the house, covering it thickly with grass and then broad leaves and bark stripped from the trees, to shed the water.

The rain became almost constant, and after a day of hard work making some repairs that I thought necessary on my house, I lay on my couch, secure from the rain and wind, thinking of the past, present and future. The wind had risen rapidly until it had become a gale. I listened to the rustle and flapping of the leaves of the palm trees, and to the roar of the waves on the shore. At length, through the crevices around the door I could see that the night was frequently lighted up by vivid flashes of lightning. Heavy thunder began to rumble away back over the forest. The wind increased, and then came a roar which seemed to shake the earth, and shrieks sounded above the dashing of the surf as the wind came with terrible force.

I could hear the stockade creak, and see the walls of the house tremble. The rain came in torrents, and swept against the enclosure. Another blinding flash and roar, and, above the rattle of the palm leaves I could hear the crack and crash of breaking and falling branches and tree trunks. A hurricane had broken over the island. I lay appalled, and listened to the terrible havoc of the tempest. I could not close my eyes.

It seemed as though the night would never pass; but after long, weary hours, a faint gray light stole into the house, denoting the approach of day and the end of that awful night.

The storm abated a little, but the crashing sounds continued to come from the forest. As soon as it was light enough to see plainly I ventured to go outside the stockade. The structure had withstood the force of the wind; but what a pitiful sight greeted me as I looked about. Many of the tall cocoanut palms that had been my friends and companions from the first lay prostrate, twisted and broken. The ground was covered with nuts, leaves and broken branches. The little stream was full to the very top of the banks.

The waves roared and thundered on the narrow beach. I turned toward the sea and thought about the night of the wreck.

But had I gone mad? Had the horrors of the night so affected my mind? I covered my eyes, and in a moment looked again.

Yes, out toward the bluff, only a few rods from the shore, was a vessel. It lay as though at anchor. I saw that it was a barkentine. The vessel had not anchored; she was stranded. Then I ran to the shore and waved my arms wildly. I could not go to the bluff on account of the swollen stream. I saw several men walking around the windlass. Then they ran excitedly along the deck; and then I saw but two men on the deck. I gazed out at the rocking vessel and saw a boat slowly swing around the bow. It was filled with men rowing. I saw the boat pointed toward the shore. I watched it eagerly. The boat seemed to make no headway. But, yes, it was slowly making headway. Then again my heart sank, as through the flying spume I saw a mountain of water, a great billow many times higher than the stranded ship, come rolling into the bay. I stood transfixed with horror, spellbound, as I watched the water, coming with the speed of the wind, with a roar which every instant became more terrific. Powerless to aid the poor souls in the boat, struggling against a forlorn hope, in this moment of peril--of instant death, I stood, sick and faint, in contemplation of their fate.

The great wave now overhung the vessel. Its foam-fringed crest curled over and, with a fearful snarl of anger, like some dread monster with jaws agape, it rushed over the vessel and obscured it from sight.

I sank to the ground and covered my face, as I wept in anguish. I was overcome at the awful thought of the catastrophe and by the instant, but full realization of my great disappointment,--almost at the moment when rescue from my long, lonely exile seemed near, every hope vanished; and in a few moments I should see the bodies of those whom I hoped would succor me tossed ashore, bruised and mangled. These thoughts flashed rapidly through my mind as I sank to the earth.