CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
THE PIRATE'S ISLAND--CONTINUED.
Next morning Sam Shipton awoke from a sound and dreamless slumber.Raising himself on the soft ottoman, or Eastern couch, on which he hadspent the night, he looked round in a state of sleepy wonder, unable atfirst to remember where he was. Gradually he recalled the circumstancesand events of the preceding day.
The forms of his companions lay on couches similar to his own inattitudes of repose, and the seaman still slept profoundly in theposition in which he had been laid down when brought in.
Through the mouth of the cavern Sam could see the little garden, glowinglike an emerald in the beams of the rising sun, and amongst the busheshe observed the old couple stooping quietly over their labour ofgathering weeds. The warm air, the bright sunshine, and the soft criesof distant sea-birds, induced Sam to slip into such of his garments ashe had put off, and go out quietly without rousing his companions.
In a few minutes he stood on the summit of the islet and saw the wideocean surrounding him, like a vast sparkling plain, its myriad waveletsreflecting now the dazzling sun, now the azure vault, the comminglingyellow and blue of which resulted in a lovely transparent green, savewhere a few puffs of wind swept over the great expanse and streaked itwith lines of darkest blue.
"Truly," murmured Sam, as he gazed in admiration at the glorious expanseof sea and sky, "Robin is right when he says that we are not halfsufficiently impressed with the goodness of the Almighty in placing usin the midst of such a splendid world, with capacity to appreciate andenjoy it to the full. I begin to fear that I am a more ungratefulfellow than I've been used to think."
For some time he continued to gaze in silence as if that thought wereworking.
From his elevated position he could now see that the islet was not quiteso barren as at first he had been led to suppose. Several littlevalleys and cup-like hollows lay nestling among the otherwise barrenhills, like lovely gems in a rough setting. Those, he now perceived,must have been invisible from the sea, and the rugged, almostperpendicular, cliffs in their neighbourhood had apparently preventedmen from landing and discovering their existence. One of the valleys,in particular, was not only larger than the others, but exceptionallyrich in vegetation, besides having a miniature lake, like a diamond, inits bosom.
Descending the hill and returning to the cave, Sam found his comradesstill asleep. Letta was assisting old Meerta in the preparation of asubstantial breakfast that would not have done discredit to afirst-class hotel.
"Oh, I'm so glad you've come!" said Letta, running up, to him and givinghim both hands to shake, and a ready little mouth to kiss, "for I didn'tlike to awaken your friends, and the sailor one looks so still that Ifear he may be dying. I saw one of the naughty men die here, and helooked just like that."
Somewhat alarmed by this, Sam went at once to the sailor and lookedearnestly at him.
"No fear, Letta," he said, "the poor fellow is not dying; he is only ina very profound sleep, having been much exhausted and nearly killedyesterday. Hallo, Robin! awake at last?"
Robin, who had been roused by the voices, rubbed his eyes, yawnedvociferously, and looked vacantly round.
"Well, now, that's most extraordinary; it isn't a dream after all!"
"It's an uncommon pleasant dream, if it is one," remarked Jim Slagg,with a grave stare at Robin, as he sat up on his couch. "I never in allmy born days dreamt such a sweet smell of coffee and fried sausages.Why, the old 'ooman's a-bringin' of 'em in, I do declare. Pinch me,Stumps, to see if I'm awake!"
As Stumps was still asleep, Slagg himself resorted to the methodreferred to, and roused his comrade. In a few minutes they were allseated at breakfast with the exception of the sailor, whom it wasthought best to leave to his repose until nature should whisper in hisear.
"Well now," said Slagg, pausing to rest for a few seconds, "if we _had_a submarine cable 'tween this and England, and we was to give 'em anaccount of all we've seen an' bin doin', they'd never believe it."
"Cer'nly not. They'd say it wos all a passel o' lies," remarked Stumps;"but I say, Mr Sam--"
"Come now, Stumps, don't `Mister' me any more."
"Well, I won't do it any more, though 'tain't easy to change one's'abits. But how is it, sir, that that there electricity works? That'swhat I wants to know. Does the words run along the cable,--or 'ow?"
"Of course they do, Stumpy," interrupted Slagg, "they run along thecable like a lot o' little tightrope dancers, an' when they come to theend o't they jumps off an' ranges 'temselves in a row. Sometimes, incoorse, they spells wrong, like bad schoolboys, and then they've to bewalloped an' set right."
"Hold your noise, Slagg, an' let your betters speak," returned Stumps.
"Well, if they don't exactly do that," said Sam Shipton, "there arepeople who think they can do things even more difficult. I rememberonce, when I was clerk at a country railroad station and had to work thetelegraph, an old woman came into the ticket office in a state of wilddespair. She was about the size and shape of Meerta there, but withabout an inch and a half more nose, and two or three ounces less brain.
"`What's wrong, madam?' I asked, feeling quite sorry for the poor oldthing.
"`Oh! sir,' said she, clasping her hands, `I've bin an' left mypassel,--a brown paper one it was,--on the seat at the last station, an'there was a babby's muffler in it--the sweetest thing as ever was--an'f-fi' pun t-ten, on'y one sh-shillin' was b-bad--boo-hoo!'
"She broke down entirely at this point, so, said I, `Madam, make yourmind quite easy, sit down, and I'll telegraph at once,' so Itelegraphed, and got a reply back immediately that the parcel had beenfound all right, and would be sent on as soon as possible. I told thisto the old lady, who seemed quite pleased, and went on to the platformto wait.
"I was pretty busy for the next quarter of an hour, for it was marketday at the next town, but I noticed through the window that the old ladywas standing on the platform, gazing steadily up at the sky.
"`Broxley--third class,' said a big farmer at that moment, with a headlike one of his own turnips.
"I gave him his ticket, and for five minutes more I was kept prettybusy, when up came the train; in got the struggling crowd; whew! wentthe whistle, and away went the whole affair, leaving no one on theplatform but the porter, and the old woman still staring up at the sky.
"`What's the matter, madam?' I asked.
"`Matter!' she exclaimed, `a pretty telegraph _yours_ is to be sure!wuss than the old carrier by a long way. Here 'ave I bin standin' forfull 'alf-an-hour with my neck nigh broke, and there's no sign of ityet.'
"`No sign of what, madam?'
"`Of my brown paper passel, to be sure. Didn't you tell me, young man,that they said they'd send it by telegraph as soon as possible?'
"`No, madam,' I replied, `I told you they had telegraphed to say theywould send it on as soon as possible--meaning, of course, by rail, forwe have not yet discovered the method of sending parcels by telegraph--though, no doubt, we shall in course of time. If you'll give me youraddress I'll send the parcel to you.'
"`Thank you, young man. Do,' she said, giving me an old envelope withher name on it. `Be sure you do. I don't mind the money much, but Icouldn't a-bear to lose that muffler. It was _such_ a sweet thing,turned up with yaller, and a present too, which it isn't many of 'emcomes my way.'
"So you see, Stumps, some people have queer notions about the powers ofthe telegraph."
"But did the old lady get the parcel all right?" asked Stumps, who was asympathetic soul.
"Of course she did, and came over to the station next day to thank me,and offer me the bad shilling by way of reward. Of course I declined itwith many expressions of gratitude."
While they were thus adding intellectual sauce to the material feast ofbreakfast, the rescued sailor awoke from his prolonged sleep, andstretched himself.
He was a huge, thick-set man, with a benign expression of countenance,but that phase of his character was somewhat con
cealed at the time bytwo black eyes, a swollen nose, a cut lip, and a torn cheek. Poorfellow, he had suffered severely at the hands of the pirates, andsuddenly checked the stretch in which he was indulging with a sharpgroan, or growl, as he sat up and pressed his hand to his side.
"Why, what's the matter with me, an' where am I?" he exclaimed, gazinground the cave, while a look of wonder gradually displaced theexpression of pain.
"You're all right--rescued from the pirates at all events," answered SamShipton, rising from table and sitting down beside the seaman's couch.
"Thank God for that!" said the man earnestly, though with a troubledlook; "but how did I escape--where are the rascals?--what--"
"There, now, don't excite yourself, my man; you're not quite yourself inbody. Come, let me feel your pulse. Ah, slightly feverish--no wonder--I'll tell you all about it soon, but at present you must be contentmerely to know that you are safe in the hands of friends, that you arein the pirates' cave, and that the pirates and their vessel are now atthe bottom of the sea."
"That's hardly c'rect, Mr Shipton," murmured Slagg; "I would have saidthey was blow'd to hatoms."
The seaman turned and looked at the speaker with what would have been atwinkle if his swelled visage would have permitted, but the effortproduced another spasm of pain.
"I must examine you, friend," said Sam; "you have been severely handled.Help me to strip him, Robin."
The poor man at once submitted.
"You're a doctor, sir, I suppose?" he asked.
"No," said Sam, "only an amateur; nevertheless I know what I'm about.You see, I think that every man in the world, whatever his station orprofession, should be at least slightly acquainted with every subjectunder the sun, in connection with which he may be called on to act. Inother words, he should know at least a little about surgery, and physic,and law, and carpentering, blacksmithing, building, cooking, riding,swimming, and--hallo! why, two of your ribs are broken, my man!"
"Sorry to hear it, sir, but not surprised, for I feels as if two orthree o' my spines was broken also, and five or six o' my lungs bu'sted.You won't be able to mend 'em, I fear."
"Oh, yes, I shall," said Sam cheerily.
"Ah! that's well. I'd thowt that p'r'aps you wouldn't have the tools'andy in these parts for splicin' of 'em."
"Fortunately no tools are required," returned Sam. "I'll soon put youright, but you'll have to lie still for some time. Here, Robin, go intothe store-cave and fetch me a few yards of that white cotton, youremember, near the door. And, I say, mind you keep well clear of thepowder."
When the cotton was brought, Sam tore it up into long strips, which hewound somewhat tightly round the sailor's huge chest.
"You see," he observed, as he applied the bandages, "broken ribs are notnecessarily displaced, but the action of breathing separates the ends ofthem continually, so that they can't get a chance of re-uniting. All wehave to do, therefore, is to prevent your taking a full breath, and thisis accomplished by tying you up tight--so. Now, you can't breathe fullyeven if you would, and I'd recommend you not to try. By the way--what'syour name?"
"Johnson, sir,--John Johnson."
"Well, Johnson, I'll give you something to eat and drink now, afterwhich you'll have another sleep. To-morrow we'll have a chat on thingsin general."
"I say," asked Robin that night, as he and Sam stood star-gazingtogether beside a small fire which had been kindled outside thecavern-mouth for cooking purposes, "is it true that you have studied allthe subjects you mentioned to Johnson this morning?"
"Quite true. I have not indeed studied them long or profoundly, but Ihave acquired sufficient knowledge of each to enable me to takeintelligent action, as I did this morning, instead of standinghelplessly by, or, what might be worse, making a blind attempt to dosomething on the chance that it might be the right thing, as oncehappened to myself when a bungling ignoramus gave me a glass of brandyto cure what he called mulligrumps, but what in truth turned out to beinflammation."
"But what think you of the saying that `a little knowledge is adangerous thing,' Sam."
"I think that, like most of the world's maxims, it is only partially, orrelatively, true. If Little Knowledge claims the position and attemptsto act the part of Great Knowledge, it becomes dangerous indeed; but ifLittle Knowledge walks modestly, and only takes action when none butIgnorance stands by, it is, in my opinion, neither dangerous nor liableto be destructive."
While they were speaking, little Letta came out of the cavern and rantowards them.
"It is like a dream of the Arabian Nights to meet such a little angelhere," murmured Robin; "what a dreadful blow the loss of her must havebeen to her poor mother!"
"O! come to Johnson, please," she said, taking Sam by the hand with avery trustful look and manner.
"Why; he's not worse, is he?"
"O no! he has just awakened, and says he is _very_ much better, and _so_peckish. What does he mean by that?"
"Peckish, my dear, is hungry," explained Robin, as they went into thecave together.
They found that Johnson was not only peckish but curious, and thirstingfor information as well as meat and drink. As his pulse was pronouncedby Dr Shipton to be all right, he was gratified with a hearty supper, along pull at the tankard of sparkling water, and a good deal ofinformation and small-talk about the pirates, the wreck of the Triton,and the science of electricity.
"But you have not told us yet," said Sam, "how it was that you came tofail into the hands of the pirates."
"I can soon tell 'ee that," said the seaman, turning slowly on hiscouch.
"Lie still, now, you must not move," said Sam, remonstratively.
"But that not movin', doctor, is wuss than downright pain, by a longway. Hows'ever, I s'pose I must obey orders--anyhow you've got the whiphand o' me just now. Well, as I was sayin', the yarn ain't a long 'un.I sailed from the port o' Lun'on in a tea-clipper, of which I was thecook; got out to Hong-Kong all right, shipped a cargo, and off again forold England. We hadn't got far when a most horrible gale blew us farout of our course. When it fell calm, soon arter, we was boarded by apirate. Our captain fought like a hero, but it warn't of no use. Theywas too many for us; most of my shipmates was killed, and I was knockedflat on the deck from behind with a hand-spike. On recoverin', I foundmyself in the ship's hold, bound hand and futt, among a lot ofunfortunits like myself, most of 'em bein' Chinese and Malays. Thereptiles untied my hands and set me to an oar. They thrashed us allunmercifully to make us work hard, and killed the weak ones to be rid of'em. At last we came to an anchor, as I knew by the rattlin' o' thecables, though, bein' below, I couldn't see where we was. Then I heardthe boats got out, an' all the crew went ashore, as I guessed, exceptthe guard left to watch us.
"That night I dreamed a deal about bein' free, an' about formervoyages--specially one when I was wrecked in the Atlantic, an' our goodship, the Seahorse, went down in latitude--"
"The Seahorse!" echoed Robin, with an earnest look at the sailor; "wasshe an emigrant ship?"
"Ay, that's just what she was."
"Was she lost in the year 1850?" continued Robin, with increasingexcitement.
"Jus' so, my lad."
"And you were cook?"
"You've hit the nail fair on the head," replied the sailor, with a lookof surprise.
"Well, now, that _is_ most remarkable," said Robin, "for I was born onboard of that very ship."
"You _don't_ mean it," said Johnson, looking eagerly at our hero. "Wasyou really the babby as was born to that poor miserable sea-sickgentleman, Mr Wright--you'll excuse my sayin' so--in the middle of athunder-clap an' a flash o' lightnin' as would have split our main-mastan' sent us to the bottom, along wi' the ship, if it hadn't bin for thenoo lightnin' conductor that Mr Harris, the inventor, indooced ourskipper to put up!"
"Yes, I am that very baby," said Robin, "and although, of course, Iremember nothing about the thunder and lightning, or anything else. Myfather and mother have often told me al
l about it, and the wonderfuldeliverance which God mercifully sent when all hope had been given up.And many a time did they speak of you, Johnson, as a right good fellowand a splendid cook."
"Much obleedged to 'em," said Johnson, "an' are they both alive?"
"They were both alive and well when I left England."
"Come now, this _is_ pleasant, to meet an old shipmate in such pecooliarcircumstances," said the sailor, extending his hand, which Robin shookwarmly; "quite as good as a play, ain't it?"
"Ay," observed Jim Slagg, who with the others had witnessed this meetingwith deep interest, "an' the babby has kep' the lighten' goin' eversince, though he's dropped the thunder, for he's an electrician noless--a manufacturer of lightnin' an' a director of it too."
The sailor wass good deal puzzled by this remark, but when its purportwas explained to him, he gave vent to a vigorous chuckle,notwithstanding Sam's stern order to "lie still."
"Didn't I say so?" he exclaimed. "Didn't I say distinctly, that night,to the stooard--Thomson was his name--`Stooard,' said I, `that therebabby what has just bin born will make his mark some'ow an'somew'eres.'"
"Well, but I have not made my mark yet," said Robin, laughing, "soyou're not a true prophet, at least time has not yet proved your title."
"Not yet proved it!" cried Johnson with vehemence, "why, how much proofdo you want? Here you are, not much more than a babby yet--any'owhardly a man--and, besides havin' bin born in thunder, lightnin', wind,an' rain, you've laid the Atlantic Cable, you've took up lightnin' as aprofession--or a plaything,--you've helped to save the life of JohnJohnson, an' you've got comfortably located in a pirate's island! Ifyou on'y go on as you've begun, you'll make your mark so deep that it'llnever be rubbed out to the end of time. A prophet, indeed! Why, I'mshuperior to Mahomet, an' beat Nebuchadnezzar all to sticks."
"But you haven't finished your story, Johnson," said Jim Slagg.
"That's true--where was I? Ah, dreamin' in the hold of the pirate-ship.Well, I woke up with a start all of a suddent, bent on doin' suthin', Iscarce knew what, but I wriggled away at the rope that bound me till Igot my hands free; then I freed my legs; then I loosed some o' theboldest fellows among the slaves, and got handspikes and bits o' wood toarm 'em with. They was clever enough to understand signs, an' Icouldn't speak to 'em, not knowin' their lingo, but I signed to 'em tokeep quiet as mice. Then I crep' to the powder-magazine, which thereckless reptiles fastened very carelessly, and got a bit paper and madea slow match by rubbin' some wet powder on it, and laid it all handy,for I was determined to escape and put an end to their doin's all atonce. My plan was to attack and overpower the guard, free and arm allthe slaves, blow up the ship, escape on shore, an' have a pitched battlewith the pirate crew. Unfortunately there was a white-livered traitoramong us--a sort o' half-an'-half slave--very likely he was a spy.Anyhow, when he saw what I was about, he slipped over the side and swamquietly ashore. Why he didn't alarm the guards I don't know--p'r'aps hethought we might be too many for 'em, and that if we conquered he stoodbut a small chance. Anyhow he escaped the sharks, and warned the crewin good time, for we was in the very middle of the scrimmage when theysuddintly turned up, as you saw, an' got the better of us. Hows'ever Imanaged to bolt below and fire the slow match, before they saw what Iwas after. Then I turned and fought my way on deck again, so that theydidn't find out. And when they was about to throw me overboard, thethought of the surprise in store for 'em indooced me to give vent to ahearty cheer. It warn't a right state o' mind, I confess, and I wasproperly punished, for, instead o' killin' me off quick an' comfortable,they tied me hand and futt, took me below, an' laid me not two yardsfrom the slowly burnin' match. I felt raither unhappy, I assure you;an' the reptiles never noticed the match because o' the smoke o' thescrimmage. I do believe it was being so near it as saved me, for whenthe crash came, I was lifted bodily wi' the planks on which I lay, and,comin' down from the sky, as it appeared to me, I went clean into thesea without damage, except the breakin' o' one o' the ropes, which,fortunately, set my right arm free."
"Come now, Johnson, you must go to sleep after that," said Sam. "You'reexciting yourself too much; remember that I am your doctor, andobedience is the first law of nature--when one is out of health."
"Very good, sir," returned the seaman; "but before I turn over MrWright must read me a few verses out o' that bible his mother gave him."
"Why, how do you know that my mother gave me a bible?" asked Robin ingreat surprise.
"Didn't I know your mother?" replied the sailor with a flush ofenthusiasm; "an' don't I know that she would sooner have let you go tosea without her blessing than without the Word of God? She was thefirst human bein' as ever spoke to me about my miserable soul, and thelove of God in sendin' His Son to save it. Many a one has asked meabout my health, and warned me to fly from drink, and offered to help meon in life, but she was the first that ever asked after my soul, ortried to impress on me that Eternity and its affairs were of moreimportance than Time. I didn't say much at the time, but the seed thatyour mother planted nigh twenty years ago has bin watered, thank God an'kep' alive ever since."
There was a tone of seriousness and gratitude in this off-hand seaman'smanner, while speaking of his mother, which touched Robin deeply.Without a moment's hesitation he pulled out his bible and read a chapterin the Gospel of John.
"Now you'll pray," said the sailor, to Robin's surprise andembarrassment, for he had never prayed in public before, thoughaccustomed from a child to make known his wants to God night andmorning.
But our hero was morally as well as physically courageous--as every heroshould be! He knelt at once by the sailor's couch, while the othersfollowed his example, and, in a few simple sentences, asked for pardon,blessing, help, and guidance in the name of Jesus Christ.
Thus peculiarly was bible-reading and family worship established on thepirates' island in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-eight.
The Battery and the Boiler: Adventures in Laying of Submarine Electric Cables Page 18