THE
FAMILY ROBINSON CRUSOE.
CHAPTER VII.
Second journey of discovery performed by the mother of the family.
You pretend, said my wife with a little malicious smile, to be curious about my history, and for all that, you have not let me speak a single word in all this time; but the longer a torrent is pent up, and interrupted in its course, the longer it flows when once let loose. Now then, that you will have the condescension to attend, I shall give vent to a certain little movement of vanity, which is fluttering at my heart. Not, however, to intrude too long upon your patience, I will take a leap over the first day of your absence, in the course of which, nothing new took place, except my anxiety on your account, which confined me for the most part to the spot from whence you embarked, and from which I could see the vessel. But this morning, after the gratifying sight of the signal you had promised, and having set up mine in return, I looked about, before the boys were up, in hopes to find a shady place, in which I might sit down and rest myself: but not an inch of ground appeared of this description, for there is not a single tree in any direction near us, and the only bit of shade which presented itself, was behind our tent. This occasioned me to reflect a little seriously on our situation. It will be impossible, said I to myself, to remain in this place, scorched, during the whole of the day, by the burning heat of the sun, without any other shelter than a miserable tent, under which the heat is even more excessive than without. Courage then! said I, my husband and my eldest son are at this moment actively employed in the vessel for the general good; why then should not I, on my part, be active and enterprising also? why not undertake, with my youngest sons, to do something that shall add some one comfort to our existence? I will pass over with them to the other side of the river, and with my own eyes examine the country respecting which my husband and Fritz have related such wonders. I will try to find out some well shaded agreeable spot, in which we may all be settled. I now cast another look towards the vessel; but perceiving no sign of your return, I determined to share a slight dinner with the boys, and courageously to set out on a journey of discovery for a habitation which might afford us more convenience, and a better shelter from the sun.
In the course of the morning, Jack had slipped away to the side of the tent where Fritz had hung his jackall, and with his knife, which he sharpened from time to time upon the rock, he cut some long slips of skin, lengthways, from the back of the animal, and afterwards set about cleaning them with great attention. Ernest discovered him employed in this uncleanly occupation; and as he is, as we all know, a little delicate, and afraid to soil his fingers, he not only refused to give Jack any assistance, but thought fit to sneer a little at the currier-like trade which he had engaged in. Jack, who, as we also know, has not the most patient temper in the world, raised his hand to give him a little cuff. Ernest made his escape, more alarmed, I believe, by Jack’s dirty hands, than by the expected blow; while I, for my part, ran to set them right, and to give a mother’s reproof to both. Jack persisted that he had a justification full and undeniable, in the great usefulness of the said dirty work; for, said he, it is intended to make some collars, which I shall afterwards arm with spikes, and the dogs will wear them for our defence. I saw in an instant that Ernest had been the aggressor, and on him fell the reproof; I represented how little a squeamish delicacy like his, suited with the difficulties of our situation, in which one and all were called upon to assist, in any employment that should promise to contribute to the general good.
Jack returned to his strips of skin, the cleaning of which he completed very cleverly. When he had finished this part of his undertaking, he looked out from the chest of nails, those that were longest, and which had the largest and flattest heads: these he stuck through the whole of the bit of skin intended for the collar, at small distances. He next cut a strip of sail-cloth the same breadth as the leather, and, laying it along on the heads of the nails, politely proposed to me the agreeable occupation of sewing them together, to prevent the heads of the nails from injuring the dogs. I begged leave to be excused; but observing afterwards the good-humour with which he set about trying to sew them for himself, and that with all his good-will it was too difficult for a boy to execute, I conquered my repugnance to the wild fetid smell of the leather, and rewarded him by completing the job myself;—a mother seldom refuses the sacrifice of a little personal convenience, if it can afford delight to a virtuous child.
But now having yielded the first time, I found I had made myself liable to a further claim on my good-nature. The next thing was a belt for himself, which he had manufactured of the same materials, and was impatient to see completed,—it being intended to contain his two pistols. We shall see, said he, strutting about as he spoke, if the jackalls will dare to attack us now. But, my dear Jack, said I, you do not foresee what will happen;—a piece of skin not entirely dry, is always liable to shrink when exposed to the heat. So, after all the disagreeable task you have imposed upon me, you will not be able to make use of it. My little workman, as I said this, struck his forehead, and betrayed other marks of impatience. What you say is true, said he, and I had not well considered; but I know of an effectual remedy. He then took a hammer and some nails, and stretched his strips of leather on a plank, which he then laid in the sun to dry quickly, thus preventing the possibility of their shrinking. I applauded his invention, and promised him I would not fail to give you a full account of his proceedings.
I next assembled them all three round me, and informed them of my plans for an excursion, and you may believe I heard nothing like a dissenting voice. They lost not a moment in preparing for our departure; they examined their arms, their game-bags, looked out the best clasp knives, and cheerfully undertook to carry the provision-bags; while I, for my share, was loaded with a large flask of water and hatchet, for which I thought it likely we might find a use. I also took the light gun which belongs to Ernest, and gave him in return a carbine, which might be loaded with several balls at once. We took some refreshment, and then sallied forth, attended by the two dogs for an escort. Turk, who had already accompanied you in the direction I intended to take, seemed well aware that he knew the way, and proceeded at the head of the party in quality of a conductor. We arrived at the place at which you had crossed the river, and succeeded in passing over as securely as you had done, not however without considerable difficulty.
As we advanced, I reflected that our safety depended in some measure on the two boys, because it was they only who knew how to use the guns. I now for the first time began to feel how fortunate it was, that you had accustomed them from infancy to face danger of every kind; in our own country I had sometimes blamed you for allowing them the use of guns, and showing them how to fire. I was averse to their conceiving a partiality to field sports, and apprehended numberless accidents that might happen to them. But at present I am convinced that every parent who adopts a hardy scheme of education acts the wisest part. Let me now resume the passing of the river.
Ernest was first in reaching the other side, and met with no accident. The little Francis entreated me to carry him on my back, which appeared difficult enough, as I must have left the things with which I was loaded, on the shore, and have returned to fetch them. At length we found means to manage pretty well, thanks to Jack, who relieved me of my gun and hatchet. But for himself, finding he was scarcely able to stand under this added weight, he resolved to go straight into the water at once, rather than run the risk of slipping, by stepping on the loose wet pieces of stone, when so heavily loaded. I myself had great difficulty to keep myself steady with the dear little burden at my back, who joined his hands round my neck, and leaned with all his weight upon my shoulders. After having filled my flask with river water, we proceeded on our way; and when we had reached to the top of the ascent on the other side, which you described to us as so enchanting, I myself experienced the same effect from the delightful scenery around. I continued for some time to look and admire in silence; and for the first time since the event of our dreadful accident at sea, I felt my heart begin to open to a sense of enjoyment and of hope.