As the Professor predicted, the guns which they recovered were too much rusted to be of any service, and furthermore, they were made of iron, very much softer than the steel of which their own guns were constructed, and it is questionable whether they would be able to withstand a charge of the comparatively high power powder which had been made for the modern guns.
As curiosities the weapons were good things to have; otherwise they were of no value. This was not so with the vessels, which could be and were utilized in the kitchen and in that capacity were of the highest use. The table was supplied with articles of the purest silver, and it had a royal look.
CHAPTER IX
MAKING ELECTRICITY
In order that you may get some sort of idea concerning the condition of our little colony, at this time, it would be well to give a brief review of the situation. When they landed on the island the year before, with nothing but the clothing they wore, the prospect of being delivered was not a flattering one, as day after day passed by.
Here were two boys, unused to the privations of life, with youth and vigor, cut off from all the pleasures of manhood, surrounded by dangers, and day after day having mysteries thrust upon them which only increased their fears. These things necessarily must have produced an impression much deeper than would be the case with hardened men.
In the effort to discover, produce and build the various tools, weapons, and articles of clothing, to hunt food, and in the endeavor to learn about the condition of the island, and guard themselves against foes which might be all about them, imposed immense responsibilities.
In their struggles were personified the contests of the human race from the beginning of the world, in the effort to conquer nature, and to make it contribute to their necessities.
The Professor knew how such a condition would tend to make active minds either productive of good, or to fly out in the opposite direction and cultivate the low and sordid instincts. Occupation, work, the utilization of the mind, and above all, to direct their energies into useful channels, had been the Professor's one absorbing aim.