CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
AQUATIC AMUSEMENTS.
Now, it must not be supposed that the wives and widows of thesemutineers gave themselves up to moping or sadness after the failure oftheir wild attempt to make their condition worse by slaying all the men.By no means. By degrees they recovered the natural tone of their mildyet hearty dispositions, and at last, we presume, came to wonder thatthey had ever been so mad or so bad.
Neither must it be imagined that these women were condemned to be thelaborious drudges who are fitly described as "hewers of wood and drawersof water." They did indeed draw a good deal of water in the course ofeach day, but they spent much time also in making the tapa cloth withwhich they repaired the worn-out clothes of their husbands, orfabricated petticoats for themselves and such of the children as hadgrown old enough to require such garments. But besides theseoccupations, they spent a portion of their time in prattling gossip,which, whatever the subject might be, was always accompanied with agreat deal of merriment and hearty laughter. They also spent no smallportion of their time in the sea, for bathing was one of the favouriteamusements of the Pitcairners, young and old.
Coming up one day to Susannah, the wife of Edward Young, ThursdayOctober Christian begged that she would go with him and bathe.
Susannah was engaged in making the native cloth at the time, and laiddown her mallet with a look of indecision. It may be remarked here thata mallet is used in the making of this cloth, which is not woven, butbeaten out from a state of pulp; it is, in fact, rather a species oftough paper than cloth, and is produced from the bark of the papermulberry.
"I's got to finish dis bit of cloth to-day, Toc," said Susannah, inbroken English, for she knew that Master Thursday October preferred thattongue to Otaheitan, though he could speak both, "an' it's gettin'late."
"Oh, _what_ a pity!" said TOC, with a look of mild disappointment.
Now Susannah was by far the youngest and most girlish among theOtaheitan women, and could not resist an appeal to her feelings evenwhen uttered only by the eyes. Besides, little Toc was a greatfavourite with her. She therefore burst into a merry laugh, gentlypulled Thursday's nose, and said, "Well, come along; but we'll git someo' the others for go too, an' have some fun. You go klect de jumpers.Me git de womans." Susannah referred to the older children by the term"Jumpers."
Highly pleased, the urchin started off at once. He found one of thejumpers, namely, Otaheitan Sally, nursing Polly Young, while shedelivered an oracular discourse to Charlie Christian, who sat at herfeet, meekly receiving and believing the most outrageous nonsense thatever was heard. It is but just to Sally, however, to say that she gaveher information in all good faith, having been previously instructed byJohn Adams, whose desire for the good of the young people was at thatperiod stronger than his love of truth. Wishing to keep their minds aslong as possible ignorant of the outer world, he had told them thatships came out of a hole in the clouds on the horizon.
"Yes, Charlie, it's quite true; father Adams says so. They comes out ofa hole on the horizon."
Charlie's huge eyes gazed in perplexity from his instructor's face tothe horizon, as if he expected to behold a ship emerging from a holethen and there. Then, turning to Sally again with a simple look, heasked--
"But why does sips come out of holes on de 'rizon?"
Sally was silenced. She was not the first knowing one who had beensilenced by a child.
Little Daniel McCoy came up at the moment. Having passed the"staggering" period of life, he no longer walked the earth in a state ofnudity, but was decorated with a pair of very short tapa trousers, cutin imitation of seafaring ducks, but reaching only to the knees. Healso wore a little shirt.
"Me kin tell why ships come out ob de hole in de horizon," he said, witha twinkle in his eyes; "just for notin' else dan to turn about an' goback into de hole again."
"Nonsense, Dan'l!" cried Sally, with a laugh.
"Nonsense!" repeated Dan, with an injured look. "Didn't you saw'd ithappen jus' t'other day?"
"Well, I did saw the ship go farer an' farer away, an' vanish," admittedSall; "but he didn't go into a hole that time."
"Pooh!" ejaculated little Dan, "dat's 'cause de hole was too far away tobe seen."
Further discussion of the subject was prevented by the arrival ofThursday.
"Well, Toc, you's in a hurry to-day," said little Dan, with a look ofinnocent insolence.
"We're all to go an' bathe, child'n," cried Thursday, with a look ofdelight; "Susannah's goin', an' all the 'oomans, an' she send me foryou."
"Hurrah!" shouted Dan and Sally.
"Goin' to bave," cried Charlie Christian to Lizzie Mills, who wasattracted by the cheering, which also brought up Matt Quintal, who ledhis little sister Sarah by the hand. Sarah was yet a staggerer, and sowas Dinah Adams, also Mary Christian; Polly Young and John Mills had notyet attained even to the staggering period--they were only what littleDan McCoy called sprawlers.
Before many minutes had elapsed, the whole colony of women, jumpers,staggerers, and sprawlers, were assembled on the beach at Bounty Bay.
It could scarcely be said that the women undressed--they merely threwoff the light scarf or bodice that covered their shoulders, but kept onthe short skirts, which were no impediment to their graceful movementsin the water. The jumpers, of course, were only too glad of the excuseto get out of their very meagre allowance of clothing, and the restwere, so to speak, naturally ready for the plunge.
It was a splendid forenoon. There was not a zephyr to ruffle the calmbreast of the Pacific, nevertheless the gentle undulation of that mightybosom sent wave after wave like green liquid walls into the bay inceaseless regularity. These, toppling over, and breaking, and coming inwith a succession of magnificent roars, finally hissed in harmless foamon the shingly beach.
"Now, T'ursday," said Mrs Adams, "you stop here an' take care o' desprawlers."
Adams's helpmate was the oldest of the women, and defective in vision.Her commands were law. Thursday October would as soon have thought ofdisobeying Adams himself as his wife. It was not in his nature, despiteits goodness, to help feeling disappointed at being left in charge ofthe little ones. However, he made up his mind at once to the sacrifice.
"Never mind, Toc," said Young's wife, with a bright smile, "I'll stayan' keep you company."
This was ample compensation to Thursday. He immediately flung himselfinto the shallow surf, and turning his face to the land, held out hisarms and dared the little ones to come to him. Two of them instantlyaccepted the challenge, crept down to the water, and were beaten back bythe next rush of foam. But they were caught up and held aloft with ashout of glee by Susannah.
Meanwhile, the women advanced into the deep surf with the small childrenon their shoulders, while the others, being able to look afterthemselves, followed, panting with excitement for although able to swimlike corks they found it extremely difficult to do battle with therushing water.
Deeper and deeper the foremost women went, until they neared theunbroken glassy billows.
"I'll go at de nixt," muttered Mrs Adams to Mary Christian, who was onher back, clutching tight round her neck.
The "nixt" was a liquid wall that came rolling grandly in withever-increasing force and volume, until it hovered to its fall almostover the heads of the daring women. Mrs Adams, Mainmast, and Mills'swidow, who were the foremost of the group, bent their heads forward, andwith a graceful but vigorous plunge, sprang straight into the wall ofwater and went right through it. The others, though a moment later,were quite in time. The children also, uttering wild screams in variedkeys, faced the billow gallantly, and pierced it like needles. Anothermoment, and they were all safe in deep water on the seaward side, whilethe wave went thundering to the shore in a tumultuous wilderness offoam, and spent its weakened force among the babies.
The moment the women were safe beyond the rolling influence of thesegreat waves, in the calm sea beyond, they threw the staggerers fromtheir shoulders and
let them try their own unaided powers, while thejumpers swam and floated around to watch the result.
These wonderful infants disported themselves variously in the sea. MaryChristian wobbled about easily, as if too fat to sink, and Bessy Millssupported herself bravely, being much encouraged by the presence and thecheering remarks of that humorous imp Dan McCoy. But Charlie Christianshowed symptoms of alarm, and losing heart after a few moments, threw uphis fat little arms and sank. Like the swooping eagle, his motherplunged forward, placed a hand under him, and lifted him on hershoulders, where he recovered equanimity in a few minutes, and soonwanted to be again sent afloat. When this had gone on for a littletime, the women reshouldered their babies and swam boldly out to sea,followed at various distances by the youngsters. Of these latter, Sallof Otaheite was by far the best. She easily outstripped the otherchildren, and could almost keep pace with the women.
Meanwhile Thursday October Christian and Susannah Young performedamazing feats with the infants in the shallow water on the beach. SarahQuintal and Johnny Mills gave them some trouble, having a strongdisposition to explore places beyond their depth; but Dinah Adams andPolly Young were as good as gold, spluttering towards their guardianswhen called, and showing no tendency to do anything of their ownimmediate free will, except sit on the sand and let the foam rush roundand over them like soap-suds.
Now, it is well-known that every now and then there are waves of the seawhich seem to have been born on a gigantic scale, and which, emergingsomewhere from the great deep, come to shore with a grander roar and ahigher rush than ordinary waves.
One such roller came in while no one was on the look-out for it. Itsdeep-toned roar first apprised Susannah of its approach, but before shecould run to the rescue its white crest was careering up the beach inmagnificent style. It caught the infants, each sitting with a look ofinnocent surprise on the sand. It turned them head over heels, andswept them up the shingly shore. It tumbled Susannah herself over inits might, and swept Thursday October fairly off his legs. Havingterminated its career thus playfully, the big wave retired, carryingfour babies in its embrace. But Susannah and Thursday had regainedtheir footing and their presence of mind. With a brave and, for him, arapid spring, Thursday caught little Sarah and Dinah as they wererolling helpless down the strand, the one by an arm, the other by a leg,and held on. At the same instant Susannah sprang forward and graspedJack Mills by the hair of the head, but poor Polly Young was beyond herreach. Little Polly was the smallest, the neatest, and the dearest ofthe sprawling band. She was rolling to her doom. The case wasdesperate. In this emergency Susannah suddenly hurled Jack Mills atThursday. The poor boy had to drop the other two in order to catch theflying Jack, but the other two, sliding down his body, held each to aThursday October leg like limpets. The result was that the fourremained firm and safe, while Susannah leaped into the surf and rescuedlittle Poll.
It all happened so quickly that the actors had scarcely time to think.Having reached the dry land, they looked seaward, and there saw theirmore practised companions about to come in on the top of a wave. For afew seconds their heads were seen bobbing now on the top, now betweenthe hollows of the waves. Then they were seen on a towering snowy crestwhich was just about to fall. On the summit of the roaring wave, as ifon a snowy mountain, they came rushing on with railway speed. To anunpractised eye destruction among the rocks was their doom. But theyhad taken good aim, and came careering to the sandy patch where thelittle ones sprawled. In another moment they stood safe and sound uponthe land.
This was but an everyday feat of the Pitcairners, who went up to theirvillage chatting merrily, and thinking nothing more about the adventurethan that it was capital fun.
The Lonely Island: The Refuge of the Mutineers Page 18