CHAPTER NINETEEN.
THE FIRST RUN ASHORE.
Jack dropped down into the boat with a feeling of pity for the men whohad to stay on board with the mate. Sir John, the doctor, and CaptainBradleigh were of the party, all well-armed, and, to Jack's excitementand satisfaction, he found that the crew of the boat all wore cutlasses,with the peculiar hilt which enables the wearers to fix thembayonet-fashion to the muzzles of their rifles.
"Just as well to be prepared, Mr Jack," said the captain, smiling, ashe saw the interest the boy took in the men's appearance. "I don'tthink we shall find a soul in the island. If there had been, they musthave caught sight of us, and would have shown themselves, even if theyhad gone off into the woods when they saw us coming ashore. Well, whatdo you say to this for a treat? Think it's as good as Doctor Instowdescribed?"
"Better, ever so much," said Jack excitedly; "but please don't talk tome now. There is so much to see, I want to look about me. It is all sofresh and beautiful. But are there cocoa-nut trees?"
"Yes, of all sizes, from little ones a year old, to old ones in fullbearing. There they are."
"But I thought cocoanuts grew on a sort of palm-tree which went up fromthe ground as straight as an arrow."
"No: never. The cocoa-nut sapling springs up with a beautiful curvelike you see yonder, all alike, and no matter how the wind blows theykeep to it, bending down and springing up again as if they were made ofwhalebone. They get it badly though when there is a hurricane; scarcelyanything can stand that. But look down."
"Look down?"
"Yes, into the sea. You must not pass that over."
The boy glanced over the side of the boat, as the men rowed gentlyacross the lagoon, to find that they had gradually come into a shallowpart, whose waters, save for the disturbance made by the boat's passing,were perfectly calm and of crystal clearness. As they neared the sandyshore, the bottom, by the refraction, seemed to come nearer and nearerto the surface, through which he sat gazing into one of Nature'sloveliest aquaria, strewn with the most wondrous corals and madrepores,not dry, harsh, and stony, but glowing in colours imparted by the manycreatures which covered them. The seaweeds were exquisite, and theflowers of this submarine garden were sea anemones of wondrous tints,some closed like buds, others open wide, aster-like, and as bright intint, but with a slow, creeping movement of their petal-like arms, assome unfortunate water creature touched them and was drawn into thecentral mouth.
Shell-fish too of wondrous forms lay or crept about in the grottoes ofcoral rock. Some were anchored oyster-like, and of gigantic size, lyingas traps with shells apart, like the mouth of some terrible monsterlying hidden among the weeds; others with strange, striped shellscrawled snail-like over the bottom, amidst many so small that they weremere specks. And all the while, as the boat glided on over the surface,there were flashes of gold, silver, ruby, topaz, sapphire, and amethyst,for shoals of fish, startled by their coming, darted through the sunlitwater, to hide in the waving groves of sea-weed, or nestle down amongthe coral stones.
"Stop rowing, please," said Sir John suddenly; and Jack turned to seethat his father and the doctor had been gazing down into the water fromthe other side of the boat. "Only for a few minutes, captain: we mustnot pass over this too quickly."
"You have only to give your orders, sir," said the captain, smiling withsatisfaction; and as the men sat with their oars balanced, the boatglided slowly on, hardly disturbing the surface; but her shadow wassufficient as it darkened the water to still startle the fish from theirhomes.
"Here's work, Meadows--here's collecting. Jack, boy, what do you thinkof it?"
"Oh!" ejaculated the lad, without raising his eyes from the wondrousscene he was watching once more.
There does not seem much in that simple little interjection; but themeaning put into it by the tone and the face of the lad who uttered itspoke volumes.
"Ah, it is oh!" cried the doctor. "Here, Jack, it's all nonsense, Ican't be thirty-six; I feel only sixteen, and I want to begin wading inhere."
"I'd advise you to wear very thick boats then," said the captain. "Someof these things are knife-edged, some sharp as thorns. You'll have totake care."
"Oh, we will; eh, Jack?"
"Yes; but we must get a lot of these as specimens. Here, look--look!"
"Ah, one of those snakes," said Sir John. "One? Look--look! there aredozens of them gliding about."
"Then I shan't wade," said the doctor decisively. "I don't want anypatients this trip, and there wouldn't be much fun in laying myself upwith a bad leg, and having myself to attend. I shall do my wading in aboat."
"Yes; and we must fish for and catch some of these little fellows. Do,father, look at that one gliding along by that clump of branched stuff,plant or coral, or whatever it calls itself. Why it's like a gold-fishwith a great, broad bar of glittering blue across it."
"Lovely!" cried the doctor.
A discordant burst of shrill, whistling screams came from the cocoa-nutgrove ashore, and Jack looked up sharply.
"Paroquets," said the captain. "There they are, quite a flock of them."
Jack's hand stole behind him toward the guns and just then there was afluttering of wings, and a little cloud of green, shot with orangeyellow and blue, glided out of the grove and flew inland.
"Let's land," said Sir John. "There is so much to see, that we hadbetter content ourselves with a preliminary look round."
"Yes," said the doctor, "and devote separate days after to someparticular branch. Pull away, my lads."
"Yes; but very gently," cried Jack; and they glided on, the men guessingthe wishes of those on board by swinging together with a slow, steadymotion, and just lightly dipping their oars without a splash, so that,as they glided on toward a patch of sand some four hundred yards away,where the grove of palms was the highest, and the shade from the glowingsun the deepest, a glorious view of the submarine treasures was enjoyed.Jack sighed as the boat's prow touched the sands, the men sprang out oneither side in the shallow water, and ran her right up on the shore,close to a great cocoa-nut tree, ready for the painter to be attached incase the tide should rise as high.
Two men were left as keepers, and the party, shouldering their arms,prepared to start inland.
"It will be best, gentlemen," said the captain, "to make our way alongthe open ground between the lagoon and the forest to-day, and to keepwell together. I don't think there is a soul but ourselves on theisland, but it is as well to take every step as if we were in face ofenemies. For no doubt once upon a time the people who live among thesetropical islands were fairly amiable when not provoked; but I'm sorry tosay that they have been so ill-used by the sailors and traders of allnations, that whatever they may have been, they are often now ready tobehave in a very treacherous manner to white people."
"Quite right," said Sir John; "and it is hard to make them understandthat we are perfectly peaceable. I quite agree with Doctor Instow thatour pleasant voyage ought not to be made arduous to him and painful tous all by any sad accident. We do not want any patients suffering fromspear-thrust, or poisoned arrow sent from blow-pipe or bow, and I begthat every one will understand that I should look upon it as a calamityif, in defence of our lives, we were forced to fire upon a set ofignorant savages. Captain Bradleigh, we trust to your guidance onboard, we will continue to do so, please, on shore."
"Thank you, Sir John," said the gentleman addressed; "you have utteredmy sentiments exactly, and I am glad to say that I can trust my ladsthoroughly. So now, then, we'll go west slowly and easily, so that youcan take a look at anything which takes your fancy, and we will justskirt the woodland patches while we go as far as seems reasonable inthis direction, our main object being to find out whether we have theisland to ourselves."
"But we shall only be examining the narrow band by the water side. Whatabout inland?" said the doctor.
"If we go partly to-day and partly to-morrow round the island, I fancywe shall learn all we want,
" replied the captain. "If there are any ofthe black fuzzy-headed Papuans here, or the browner South Sea Islandstype of men, more like the Maoris, or lastly the Malay flat-nosedfellows, we are sure to find traces of them by the shore or up thelittle rivers. They don't care for the inland parts of an island likethis, where there is a volcano still more or less active. Theygenerally give these mountains a wide berth, unless there happens to bea tribe of the original people who have been driven inland by the morewarlike folk, who go filibustering about searching for new lands intheir great outrigger war canoes."
"Hang their war canoes!" said the doctor gruffly, "we don't want themhere."
"You, my lads," said the captain to the two men by the boat, "will notleave your posts, and you will keep the cutter just afloat, so that youcan leap aboard and keep her off at the first sign of danger. If thereis anything you will fire two shots sharply, as a warning to MrBartlett, though probably he will see it first and send help to you.Then keep on firing a shot every minute till you get an answer from us,followed by one shot, and then two more, which mean that we have heardyou and are coming back. Now I don't expect anything of the kind, butwe must be on the look-out till we have examined the place. Youunderstand?"
"Yes, sir."
"That's right. Don't leave your rifles, and don't go to sleep."
"Right, sir."
"Then now, gentlemen, we'll advance in a line. No straggling, mind.When one halts, all will stand fast. Forward!"
Jack shouldered his perfectly new double gun and stepped out, notfeeling the weight of either that or the satchel and cartridge pouchslung by cross-belts, while from that at his waist hung a leatherholster containing a revolver and a strong, handy sheath knife, suitablefor a weapon, for skinning a specimen, or for hacking a way throughtangled scrub. A feeling of subdued excitement set his heart beatingsteadily, and a thrill of returning health made his muscles feel tense,while his eyes flashed with eagerness, and there was an elasticity inhis step that sent a feeling of satisfaction home to his father.
He was between Sir John and the doctor as they stepped off in a lineover the soft sand, and the latter turned for a moment, looking serious.
"One word to you two," he said,--"medical adviser's word. This is a newcountry, and you are new to it. Just mind this: with quiet steady goingyou can do a great deal; but there must be no over-exertion so as to gettoo much heated. Chills are easily taken in these tropic lands, andthey mean fever and weakness, so let there be no false delicacy orshame, and fighting to keep up with men better fit for the work than weare. If either of you feels tired, stop at once and rest."
"That's all meant for me," said Jack, smiling.
"No, it isn't," cried the doctor sharply. "It's meant as much for yourfather, who has a deal more weight to carry than you have, and if I amnot much mistaken, Jack Meadows, Esquire, he is a good deal older. Nowyou understand. No over-exertion, no drinking cold water while you'rehot. As I told you before, I don't want patients till I get back home.I've come out to enjoy my trip, so have a little mercy, if you please."
They tramped on under the blazing sunshine, and where they could underthe shade of trees, starting crabs running in all directions, fish whichhad been basking on the wet sand by the water's edge wriggling andflopping back into the lagoon, and birds of brilliant colours from thetrees they passed; all of which excited a desire in Jack to begin tryinghis skill with his double gun; but it was an understood thing thatshooting was not to commence that day, but every hour be devoted toexploring.
Everything looked superlatively beautiful. Metallic-armoured lizardsdarted over the dry sand to hide amongst the scattered blocks ofsun-baked coral, lovely butterflies and other insects flitted amongstlow growth, in company with tiny sun-birds which seemed clothed inbrilliant burnished mail, and at every few steps larger birds, perfectlynew to the visitors, took flight or hurried thrush-like to take refugebeneath the bushes.
On their left the wondrously blue lagoon glittered through the tallstems of the cocoa-nut trees which fringed the shore; on their rightthey had the open park-like stretches of land, dotted with bush andstately tree; and every here and there, through an opening, they hadglimpses of the forest, which rose upward covering the flanks of themountain.
At the end of an hour, long after--through the curving of the shore--theyacht had disappeared from view, they made their first halt. Theystopped at a valley-like opening which ran in a sinuous manner up and uptill they had a glimpse of the central mountain nearly to its highestpart.
The captain, in his caution, set a man on the highest part to act assentry and guard against a surprise, and he himself took another andwalked a quarter of a mile farther in search of traces on the sands ofcanoes.
Jack threw himself down beneath a group of cocoa-nut trees, with thesoft sand for his couch, and was delighted and puzzled at the pleasant,restful sensations he enjoyed. Sir John and the doctor sat down alittle apart, and the sailors chose another group of cocoa-nut trees toindulge in a quiet chat.
Jack had just half-closed his eyes, to lie gazing through the lashes atdazzling light and rainbow-like effects seen in the mist caused by thebreakers on the reef, when a rustling sound behind him made him startand find that it was their man.
"Only me, Mr Jack, sir. Hope I haven't woke you out of a nap."
"Oh no. I was not asleep, Ned."
"Tired, sir?"
"No, not a bit."
"Feet hurt you?"
"No. Why should they?"
"With the walking, sir. You see, you're not used to it."
"No, I'm not used to it, Ned; but I soon shall be."
"That's right, sir. If they had been hurting you and your boots felttight, I was going to say, come down to the water's edge and paddle yourfeet a bit."
"But they're all right."
"Glad of it, sir. Mine ain't. At least they're better now. That'swhat I went and did, and it's lovely. Thirsty, sir?"
"Well, yes, I am thirsty."
"Then I'll get you a drink, sir, same as the men's had. Two of 'em'sbeen up one of those trees--these trees like we're under, sir. Theycalls 'em cocoa-nut, but that's all nonsense. They're not nuts."
"Oh yes, these are real cocoa-nut trees, Ned."
"Well, sir, I don't like to contradick you; it wouldn't be my place.But if these are real cocoanuts, them we buys--I mean I buys--at homeare sham ones."
"Oh, they're all the same, Ned."
"Well, sir, 'tain't for me to contradick. I dessay you're quite rightand they are all the same, but they're quite different. Them at home'shard shells with rough shaggy hairs on 'em, and inside they're whitesolid nut."
"So are these, Ned."
"Beg pardon, sir, have you tasted one? You must have seen 'em hanginghere in the trees."
"Of course I've seen them."
"Yes, sir, and they're twice as large as ours, with a cover to 'em likea piece of solid door-mat."
"That's the outer husk, Ned."
"Oh, is it, sir? I thought it was something. But you ain't tastedone?"
"No."
"Well, sir, it's hard work to cut them at home with a knife, they'rethat hard; as for these here they're too soft to cut with a spoon. Haveone, sir?"
"Oh no, I'm not disposed to eat nuts," said Jack, laughing.
"But you don't eat 'em here, sir; it's more drinking of 'em. Let me getyou one, sir."
"Very well: I do feel as if I could drink something."
"Then these are the very thing, sir," said the man, and he hurried off,Jack lying back watching him till he reached the knot of sailorsenjoying the shade.
Then as Jack watched quite out of hearing, a kind of pantomime began, inwhich the sailors seemed to be laughing, and Ned gesticulating, andholding his hand first to one and then another, slapping his kneeafterward, and seeming to go on in the most absurd manner; but the nextminute Jack began to grasp dimly what it all meant, and that the sailorswere daring their man to do something, and telling him it could not be
done.
There it all was: directly after Ned slipped off his straps and belt,pulled off his jacket, and then rapidly got rid of his boots.
Jack did not hear him say, "Now, my lads, I'll show you," but he seemedto say it, after shading his eyes and staring upward for a few momentsbefore spitting in his hands, taking a run and a jump, and beginning tohug and climb one of the cocoa-nut trees, while the sailors all sprangup to stand clapping their hands, and evidently bantering him or urginghim on.
This brought Jack into a sitting position, and the next minute he hadout his glass, and was watching with the actor apparently close at hand,drawing himself up a few inches at a time, as one would mount ascaffold-pole, and his wrinkled forehead, compressed lips, anddetermined eyes so plain that Jack could have fancied that he heard himbreathe.
"I wonder whether he'll do it," said the lad softly. "He is just one ofthose obstinate fellows who, if they make up their minds to do a thing,manage it somehow."
And feeling as deeply interested as the man himself, Jack felt ready torun across to the cocoa-nut grove and shout encouragement.
"Look so precious undignified if I did. But how strange it seems!There was he only the other day in his quiet livery and white tievaleting us, and waiting at table, and now he's climbing that tree likea boy."
"Or a monkey, Jack," said the doctor, who had come up behind, and SirJohn with him. "I didn't hear you," said Jack, starting. "Not likelywhen you were talking aloud with your ears glued to that lorgnette.Well, eyes then. But it's the air, my lad; I feel ready to do anystupid thing of that kind. I'd challenge you to climb the two nexttrees if we were alone."
"_I_ hope the foolish fellow will not meet with an accident," said SirJohn.
"Pooh! not he," said the doctor. "The lads have been challenging him, Isuppose."
"I think that's it, but he has gone to get a cocoa-nut for me."
"You did not send him to do it, Jack?"
"No, father: he came and proposed it."
"Tree's getting gradually thinner," said the doctor. "Easier to climb."
"I hope he will be successful," said Sir John. "The men will banter himso if he fails."
"How the tree begins to bend!" said Jack anxiously. "Why don't youshake it?" he cried, without considering that his words could not beheard. But, oddly enough, just at that moment the idea seemed to haveoccurred to Ned, who held on with his legs and shook the tree violently.
"You will not do it like that, my fine fellow," said the captain, comingup; "and lucky for you that you can't. A crack from one of those nutswould be no joke."
"Yes, they must be pretty heavy," said Sir John.
"Heavy enough to kill any one if they fell upon his bare head."
"Oh, look how the tree's bending over!" cried Jack.
"Yes, he had no business to choose such a slight one," said the captain,as the tree swayed beneath the man's weight.
"Had I better stop him?" said Sir John.
"I think perhaps you had better not startle him and make him nervous,father. We don't want any accidents."
"Indeed we don't," said the doctor; "better let him be. Why, if he goeson like this the tree will bend over like a fishing-rod, and he can dropfrom the top to the ground."
Then silence fell upon the group, and the sailors ceased to cheer, as,with the elastic rod-like tree bending more and more over, and swayingup and down, Ned climbed on, till the last part of his progress wasafter the fashion of a sloth, hanging back downward, and at everymovement coming nearer, till the great crown of leaves and nuts, whichhad stood forty feet in the air, was not more than twenty.
"Another two or three feet will do it," said the doctor; "but I'm afraidhe will not be able to get the nuts off."
"Oh yes; he can screw them off," said the captain.
"What I'm afraid of is--"
_Crack_!
A sharp loud snap, and the top of the tree came down, the big leafagehiding Ned; but he was standing up close to the broken-off tree, whichwas now like a thick pole, and rubbing himself hard, with the sailorsabout him, when the lookers-on reached the spot.
"Oh, Ned!" cried Jack, who was first up.
"Yes, sir, it is `Oh, Ned!'" replied the man angrily.
"Hurt?" cried the others in a breath.
"Don't know yet, Sir John," said the man, "I think my right leg's broke,though."
"Here, let me see," cried the doctor eagerly.
"No, it ain't, sir," said Ned, giving a kick. "It's the left one."
"Bah!" roared the doctor; "how could you stand upon it and kick out likethat if it were broken?"
"Right you are, sir; of course I couldn't. But something's broke, for Iheard it go. Maybe it's my arms."
"Maybe it's your head," said the doctor sarcastically, "for you aretalking in a very crack-brained fashion. Let me buckle your belt roundit tightly to hold it together."
The man stared wonderingly at the doctor, feeling his head all over thewhile, and his eyes having a puzzled look in them, as if he couldn'tquite make out whether the doctor was speaking seriously. But the nextmoment he took it as a piece of chaff and grinned.
"It's all right, sir, but it did come an awful whack against one ofthese nuts."
"Better see if you've damaged the nut," said the doctor sarcastically."No, never mind. Head's too soft."
Ned grinned again, and gave himself a rub as he looked down at the crownof the tree and then at the broken stump, snapped off a goodfive-and-twenty feet from the ground.
"Here," he said, turning to the group of sailors, "you were preciousfull of your brag about climbing, and saying I couldn't. But I did, andnow let's see one of you do that."
There was a roar of laughter, and Sir John turned away, but the captainspoke rather seriously.
"I wouldn't advise you to do this sort of thing again, young fellow.Now then, how do you feel? Can you go on with us, or will you wait heretill we come back?"
"Me wait here, sir?" cried Ned. "What, all alone? No, thank you, I'mall right, sir. Walk as well as any of them."
"Then whoever wants a cocoa-nut had better have it, for we go on in fiveminutes."
"Will you give me your knife, sir?" said Ned, turning to his youngmaster. "Thankye, sir; I know how it's done;" and chopping off the huskand the top of the soft shell of one of the great nuts, he handed it toJack, the sailors quickly getting the rest of the others and servingthem the same, to hand to Sir John, the doctor, and captain, who allpartook of the deliriously cool, sub-acid pulp. Then the word was givenand the march commenced once more.
Whether Ned suffered or not he kept to himself, for he resumed hisjacket, boots, and belts, clapped on his pith hat, and stalked off withthe rest, the way seeming to grow more and more beautiful, and thenatural history specimens more attractive at every hundred yards theyleft behind.
But there was no shooting, the object of the exploration beingrigorously kept in mind, and they were just rounding what seemed to bethe end of a great artificial dike that ran down from the slope on theirright, when one of the men cried--"Look out! They must be close here."Every one stopped short, and guns and rifles were brought to the ready.
"What is it?" said the captain in a low voice. "What did you see?"
"Didn't see nothing, sir," replied the man. "I smelt 'em."
"What do you mean?"
"Must be some huts or cottages close here, where the people keeps pigs."
"Yes, look, sir," cried another man, pointing; "they've been down hereto the sea."
He pointed to where, about a dozen yards away, there were abundanttraces of a drove of pigs, and as the captain advanced, the odour whichthe sailor had noticed now became plain to all.
Sir John looked inquiringly at the captain. "A good find," said thelatter, smiling. "We shall be able to shoot some fresh young porkers.Wild pig is not bad."
"Wild?" cried the doctor.
"Yes, there is evidently a herd of wild pigs in the island, if notseveral. They have been down he
re lately."
"But surely there would not be wild boars and sows in an island likethis?" said Sir John.
"No," said the captain, "but pigs that have run wild. You see, the oldvoyagers left two or three pairs in a good many places, and they haveincreased largely. This must have been one of the favoured islands."
Further proof was given a short distance farther on, for they had aglimpse of a herd which seemed to be fifty or sixty strong, whoseleaders stood grunting and staring at the new-comers for a moment or twobefore whisking round and dashing off among the trees, to be hiddendirectly by the low growth, a head or a tail being seen at intervals;and then every sign was gone.
"Well," said the doctor to Jack, "that's another discovery to the good:fresh pork and poultry."
"You can't eat parrots," said Jack, laughing.
"Why?" said the doctor.
"Oh, those highly-coloured birds can't be good."
"Wait a bit, my young philosopher. I never knew that gaily-colouredbarn-door cockerels were `bad', and I know that a young peacock is asgood as a pheasant; so where is your theory now?"
"Yes, Jack, you are beaten," said Sir John merrily.
"Oh, but I meant parrots and cockatoos and birds of paradise," said thelad hurriedly.
"Parrots and cockatoos live on fruit," said the doctor; "fruit is good,ergo parrots and cockatoos are good, and I'll have a curry made of thefirst I skin."
"You are right about the birds of paradise though, my boy," said SirJohn. "I should not like to try one of those, because they are sonearly related to the crow."
"A bird of paradise related to a crow--a black crow?"
"Oh yes, you'll find some of the most gaily painted birds out here inthe tropics very nearly related to some of our more common friends athome."
"Yes; look, there goes one, Jack. I could bring him down easily."
The lad had already caught sight of a lovely bird upon the ground, whichstood looking at them for a few moments before hopping away beneath thebushes and undergrowth, appearing again farther on, and then spreadingits wings for a short flight, and displaying the lovely colours withwhich it was dyed, the most prominent being shades of blue relieved bydelicate fawn and pale warm drab.
"What's that?" cried Jack eagerly.
"That's a thrush," said the doctor.
"A thrush!"
"Yes; not one of our olive-green, speckled-breasted fellows, but athrush all the same, and saving its colouring, wonderfully like one ofours."
There was plenty to say about bird and insect as they went on, keepingjust where the sand gave place to firm ground, for the birds wereexcessively tame, and gave evident proof that they were not muchdisturbed; while every now and then amid the lovely insects whichthronged wherever there were flowers, appeared some magnificentbutterfly, several inches across its wings, tempting Sir John to ceaseexploring for the sake of making captures.
But everything was given up to the main object, and mile after mile wastramped, every step seeming to reveal some new beauty--peeps through thegroves at the broad blue sea, or wonderful landscapes up ravines, withthe mountain towering up behind.
The natural history objects they encountered were plentiful enough. Infact very few steps were taken without something attracting attention.Lizards which seemed as they basked on pieces of the heated rock to havebeen cut out of glittering metal, till, at the jar of a footstep, or theshadow of any one cast across them, they darted away. In one place thedoctor pointed out sinuous markings on the sandy ground which looked asif freshly made.
"Yes, a snake," said Sir John, "and a good-sized one too."
"How large?" said Jack with suppressed excitement.
"Seven or eight feet long, I should say," replied his father.
Jack looked with an expression of mingled dread and longing at the patchof dense growth into which the track led, and directly after Edwardexchanged glances with him, the man's look seeming to say--
"I've marked down that spot, sir."
Glen after glen was passed, every one full of beauty and interest, andat last they were brought up short by what looked like some huge pierrunning right across their way, down over the sands, and ending suddenlyabout a hundred feet out in the beautiful blue lake. At the first sightit seemed like some great landing-place or wharf, but there was no signof handiwork about it, and the lad gazed at it in awe, as the doctorexplained that it was the end where it had cooled and solidified in thelake of a huge lava-stream which had flowed down from the mountain, highup on their right.
"But that means it must have run like so much liquid fire for miles."
"Yes, that's exactly what it does mean, Jack," said Sir John; "six orseven or eight. We shall know some day, when we have explored theplace."
"And that will be like a high-road to the top," said the doctor, "onlyI'm afraid it would be a rather rough one."
"We'll try it some day," said Sir John.
"Rather hard for your boots, sir," said the captain. "Look at it: likeglass, and as sharp in places."
"Why, it must be quite fresh," said Jack.
The captain smiled and shook his head.
"But some of these pieces look quite bright," said Jack.
"Yes; and these trees look quite green, and many of them may be ahundred or two hundred years old."
"What has that got to do with it?" said Jack. "Oh yes, I see now: theywould have been burned up. Of course."
"Yes," said Sir John, as he stood looking at the huge solidified stream;"everything about here must have been burned to ashes, and it would,even with the rapid tropic rate, have taken fully a hundred years forthese trees to grow."
"How wide is the stream?" said the doctor; and he led the way to climbup, startling something, which went off with a tremendous rush inland.
"What's that?" said Sir John.
"Couldn't catch a glimpse of it; but it wasn't a man. Four-leggedcreature of some kind. There, that's its cry."
A peculiarly weird howl rang out, and was answered from a distance off;but though the party waited in the hope of seeing what it was that hadbeen started, they were disappointed.
"Never mind," said the doctor; "we have proof that there are animalsabout. Now then, how wide do you make the lava-stream to be?"
"About four hundred paces," said Sir John.
"Quite that," said the captain. "Well, gentlemen, what do you say tomaking a halt just beyond the lava there--under one of those trees, say,beside that stream?"
"Couldn't be a better place," cried Jack. "I am getting hungry."
"I think we all are," said the doctor, smiling, "for we have beentramping quite two hours since Edward had his adventure on the cocoa-nuttree."
"If I might suggest, Sir John, I'd make this the farthest limit of ourtramp to-day. We shall be about four hours going back; and to-morrow wemight go in the other direction--sail round the island, if you like."
"I think we would prefer to explore it on foot, captain," replied SirJohn.
They crossed the remainder of the solidified stream of stone, ascendedto the beautiful grove of trees on the other side, where a swift streamof the purest water ran gurgling along to the sea, and here enjoyed, inthe cool shade, a delicious _al fresco_ meal, to which every one didample justice. After which a start was made for the yacht; but the heatproved to be so intense, there not being a breath of air, save asuccession of hot puffs which seemed to be wafted down from themountain, that the men began to flag and show signs of being overcome.Consequently, first one and then another halt had to be called, and whenthey were still a good three miles from where they had left the boat,the sun went down, and the night came on with startling suddenness, sothat at the end of a quarter of an hour it was dark as pitch beneath thetrees, and the order was given to bear off to the right, so as to followthe sand.
"Can't go wrong," said the captain, "if we keep within touch of thesea."
"Hark! hark! What's that?" cried Jack.
There was no need for him to speak, for eve
ry one had stopped short, andwas listening intently to the echoes which ran reverberating along avalley, after what seemed to have been the firing of a heavy gun.
Jack at Sea: All Work and No Play Made Him a Dull Boy Page 19