The Voyages of the "Ranger" and "Crusader" / And what befell their Passengers and Crews.

by William Henry Giles Kingston

This proposal was agreed to, and Harry resolved to wait a few hours longer, in the hopes of success. One of the men also stated that he had seen some pieces of timber apparently, thrown up into a shallow cavern at the north end of the rock, and a man with him had in vain tried to get down to them; but he thought, with the aid of ropes, they might be reached.

“Then let us get hold of them at once,” said the doctor; “they will serve as fuel, and fuel can procure us water—no time to be lost.”

Two lengths of rope, and three blocks to form a tackle, were therefore procured from the boat; and Harry, taking a party of men with him, under the guidance of the seaman proceeded to the spot. From a projecting point they could look into the cavern, where was seen a considerable amount of broken planking and timbers, the remains, apparently, of a large boat or small vessel One of the seamen volunteered to be lowered down to the spot. The tackle was secured to the rock overhead, and in a short time, to the doctor’s great satisfaction, a considerable amount of planking was hoisted up. He at once eagerly shouldered as much as he could carry, and two of the men who could be spared followed him to the cove. His still was landed, and a blazing fire being raised beneath it, he was soon able to offer a small quantity of the precious fluid to his thirsty companions. All had had enough to moisten their parched throats, when the remainder of the party arrived with a fresh supply of fuel.

“Poor fellows, little did they think, when their vessel was cast away, what a blessing her ribs and skin would prove to us,” soliloquised the doctor, as he added fresh fuel to his fire. A shot was just then heard. It was fired by Willy Dicey, who had remained on the summit of the rock; he was pointing westward, and waving his cap.

“The boat! the boat!” he cried out; and the top of the rock was soon crowded with most of the seamen, eagerly looking out in the direction towards which he pointed. There, just rising above the blue water, was seen a tiny white spot, some declaring that it was only the wing of a sea-bird; but when Harry arrived with his spy-glass, he at once pronounced it to be the sail of the cutter. So anxious were they all in watching it that most of them forgot the seals. Captain Twopenny, however, reminded by the doctor, had made his way, accompanied by Paul Lizard and one of the soldiers, towards the sandy beach. Here they concealed themselves among the rocks on either side of it, while Harry and Willy, with the rest of the party, were watching the approach of the boat on the top of the rock. First one dark head, and then another, was seen rising above the surface of the water, and presently the herd of seals made their way towards the beach. The creatures, after cautiously looking about them, began crawling up. The first which arrived lay down at no great distance from the edge; but soon others climbing up, giving them no very gentle shoves, they crawled on still further, and then again lay down, the next treating the last comers in the same way; till at length a herd of full fifty seals had landed, the inner ones being at a considerable distance from the water. The seamen on the top of the rock were eager to rush down and attack them.

“They will be off as before, and we shall lose them,” said Willy, in a low voice. Just then a shot was heard, then another and another, and presently Paul Lizard was seen scrambling along the beach, and followed by the captain and a soldier, and a regular onslaught on the seals was commenced. The seamen could restrain themselves no longer, and down they rushed pell-mell to assist their friends; the only weapons, however, which they possessed were some pieces of the wreck. The seals were rushing towards the water, tumbling over each other in their hurry to escape; a few old bulls, however, the patriarchs of the herd, were ferociously attacking their assailants. The captain was tumbled over, the soldier had nearly broken his rifle in defending himself against the assaults of a fierce bull, while Paul was laying about him right and left with his club, when the rest of the party arrived to their rescue. Two seals had been shot, and Paul’s club had brought down four more; the rest, charging all who opposed them, made their way to the water. The captain, though somewhat bruised, and having his clothes torn by the teeth of the seal which had attacked him, was not otherwise the worse for the encounter. The six seals which remained as trophies of the battle were well worth all the injuries which had been received. The seamen’s knives were quickly at work, and the flesh and blubber were cut off and carried away in triumph to be laid at the doctor’s feet. He was delighted when he saw the spoils brought to him.

“No fear now, my friends, of dying of thirst or hunger,” he exclaimed. “If we can keep our pot boiling, we shall do well.”

By this time the cutter had drawn near the rock, and Harry and Willy once more mounted its summit to watch her. They could see with the telescope the faces of those in her looking up with astonishment at them. Harry waved to them to go round to the other side of the rock; and as soon as they understood his signals, the boat was hauled on a wind, so as to weather the north point. They all seemed very pale and miserable.

“There are some people lying at the bottom of the boat,” observed Willy. “I fear they have been suffering greatly.”

The two friends hurried down to the cove, and in a short time the cutter was seen coming round and standing in for it. The sail was lowered, and the oars got out; but from the languid way in which they moved, it was evident that those who were rowing had but little strength. As she approached several people were seen pointing to their mouths.