The Girl Crusoes: A Story of the South Seas

by Oliver Optic

  "The rope is not long enough," said Mary.

  "Not to reach the bottom, but that doesn't matter. I can drop a fewfeet. When you have let me down, run down that slope, Mary, and you'llfind the brook a little way to the right. Bring two of the leavesfilled with water, and let them down by the rope. Pierce a hole ineach side of the cups near the top, and pass the rope through: you'llsee how to do it. Now take the rope firmly. I'll slip over the edge,and when I give the word let it run out gently around the tree."

  Pale with anxiety and weakness, Mary took up her position at the tree.She made a determined effort to obey Elizabeth's instructions. Inch byinch the rope slipped through her hands, at last so fast that she heldher breath in terror lest Elizabeth should be dashed to the ground.The rope was stretched to its extreme tension; then it suddenlyrelaxed; and next moment she heard the welcome cry from the pit: "I'msafe. Now for the water."

  Gathering herself together, Mary sped off to the brook, carrying thetwo leaf cups. Eagerness to help lent her strength. She returned withthem brimming, drew up the rope, and unfastened the loop at the end.Then passing two of the strands through the holes made in the cup, shelet it down slowly into the pit. Some of the water was spilled in thedescent; but Elizabeth said that enough was left for the moment.

  "How is she?" asked Mary, dreading to hear that Tommy was past help.

  "She is unconscious, but breathing," said Elizabeth. "I'll give hersome water."

  For some little time Mary heard no more. Elizabeth bathed Tommy's headand moistened her lips. At length the young girl gave a long sigh andmoan.

  "I'm here, dear," said Elizabeth gently. "Mary is above. You are safenow."

  "The face!" moaned Tommy, her mind leaping back over all that hadhappened since she had seen those eyes staring at her.

  "Hush!" said Elizabeth, stroking her head. "There is nothing to harmyou. Drink a little water; we must see about getting you out of thispit, you know."

  Tommy drank eagerly, holding Elizabeth's hands in a tight clasp.

  "We are getting on famously," Elizabeth called to reassure Mary.

  Tommy lay still, taking a sip of water every now and again, too weak tomove or to speak. Meanwhile Elizabeth was beating her brain for somemeans of getting her to the surface. It was clear that Tommy for sometime would be unable to do anything for herself. Lightly built thoughshe was, her dead weight was far more than Elizabeth could hope tosustain, hanging on to the rope, and with no one but Mary to assistfrom above. The rope was too short by several feet; the firstnecessity was to lengthen it. Presently, therefore, when Tommy wasmore recovered, Elizabeth asked Mary to cut some more creepers andthrow them down. Now her practice in splicing on board her uncle'sship was very useful. She quickly added three or four feet to therope's length.

  "Tommy dear, I'm going to leave you for a little," she said. "You arequite safe now. I'm going to arrange about lifting you out of thishorrid place. You must be hungry, poor thing. I'll get a few oranges;you can reach them if we throw them down, can't you? and bananas too;they're more substantial. By the time I am ready to lift you outyou'll be heaps stronger."

  "Mary won't go?" said Tommy quiveringly.

  "No, she'll stay with you. You can hear her when she speaks to you:but don't try to talk yourself; just eat the fruit I shall give you andget strong."

  She then told Mary to come to the edge of the pit and be ready to helpher.

  "But take care you don't overbalance," she said. "It mustn't be a caseof three girls in a pit."

  Tired as Elizabeth had been, the joy of discovering Tommy alive hadbraced her, and she felt equal to any exertion. But she had not hadTommy's practice in tree-climbing, nor in clambering up the rigging onthe barque; and when she clasped the rope and tried to draw herself upshe slipped down again and again. For a time she felt baffled, but ameans of overcoming the difficulty occurred to her.

  "Pull up the rope, Mary," she said, "and make knots in it about twofeet apart. I shall be able to manage it then, I think."

  When the knots were made she tried again. It was a terrible strain onher wrists, and she got no assistance for her feet from the shelvingsides of the pit. But the knots gave a firm hold, and she managed toclimb hand over hand to the edge, where, with Mary's help, she heavedherself on to the level ground.

  "Do rest," said Mary, noticing the signs of strain on her sister's face.

  "I am not a bit tired. Look, Mary, I want you to plait another rope.I'll get the stuff for you."

  She hastened into the undergrowth, and returned with her arms full ofcreepers.

  "Now I'm going to get Tommy some food, and then run back to the hut.I'll be as quick as I can. Talk to her while I am away to keep herspirits up."

  Soon she was flinging an armful of bananas and oranges, one by one,into the pit.

  "There's a feast for you," she said cheerfully. "Now in about an houryou'll be released. Eat slowly, that's the rule after fasting, isn'tit?"

  "You are a dear," said Mary, hugging her. "What should we have donewithout you?"

  "My dear girl, without me you wouldn't have been here at all, we allcame together. Good-bye for an hour."

  She flitted off as lightly as a bird, overflowing with happiness.Reaching the hut she took up the longest of the mat beds, her own, andwithout waiting for a moment to rest, hurried back to her sister,announcing herself from a distance by a cheerful cooee.

  "All well?" she said.

  "Tommy has been telling me all about it," said Mary. "She saw thelittle brown face again."

  "Bother the little brown face!" said Elizabeth. "Really, I should liketo smack it. Tommy's well enough to talk, is she?"

  "Yes, but she has sprained her ankle."

  "Poor girl! it will be hoppety-hop when we get her up, then. Now seehow we'll manage it. You've finished that rope? We'll make a cradleof my bed."

  She made two holes at each end of the mat large enough for the ropes topass through. In this way she formed a rough cradle upon which Tommycould be drawn up, for the girl's weight would keep it steady if theropes were placed far enough apart. The cradle was soon ready forlowering.

  "Can you manage to get on to it yourself, Tommy?" asked Elizabeth, "orshall I come down again and help you?"

  "I can manage," answered Tommy. "I am ever so much better. Are yousure it's strong enough?"

  "Certain, I'd trust myself on it. All you will have to do will be toclutch a rope at each end and hold tight. Call out when you are ready."

  She and Mary then each took the end of a rope and passed it round atree, the two trees being not quite so far apart as the length of themat. Tommy gave the word. They began to haul. The trees relievedthem of all strain, and making a succession of short pulls, with restsin between, they drew the cradle inch by inch to the surface.Elizabeth was afraid that Mary's strength might give way, or that Tommywould lose her grip of the ropes; but neither of these mishapsoccurred, and with a final pull they hauled Tommy and cradle over thebrink of the pit.

  "WITH A FINAL PULL THEY HAULED TOMMY OVER THE BRINK."]

  And then overwrought nerves gave way. Elizabeth ran to Tommy, claspedher in her arms, and burst into tears. A little later, when all threegirls were sitting together weeping in sympathy, Elizabeth exclaimed--

  "Well, we are a lot of babies. We ought to be shouting for joy. I'mquite ashamed of myself."

  "I'm not," said Mary stoutly. "I think it's a blessing we can cry alittle. It eases the nerves. Boys never cry, and what's the result?They get as crabby as two sticks."

  "How am I to get you two poor invalids home?" said Elizabeth. "Youhave done wonders, Mary, but you would be utterly done up if you triedto walk back. And Tommy certainly can't walk. We shall have to stayhere for the night; fortunately, it is fine."

  "Oh, no, we _must_ get home, Bess," said Tommy earnestly. "I could notbear to stay here after seeing that face."

  "But there can't be anything to harm us," persisted Elizabeth. "
I havewalked round and round, miles altogether, and haven't seen a singlesign of people. You are quite sure it was a human face? Mayn't ithave been a monkey or an owl?"

  "No, I am sure of it. You never saw such eyes, they seemed to burnlike fire."

  "But didn't you see a body, too?"

  "No, just a face. That was what frightened me so; just a face thatseemed all eyes."

  Elizabeth saw that Tommy had been too much scared to take real noticeof anything, and decided that for the sake of her peace of mind itwould be better to make an attempt to reach home.

  "Very well, then, it's a case of pick-a-back. I'll carry you. Marymust get along as well as she can. It will take us an age, but we canrest on the way."

  They started, Mary carrying Elizabeth's mat, and Elizabeth carryingTommy. Slowly and with many halts they made their way down, reachingthe hut about their usual tea-time. The two elder girls had takenprecautions to fill their pockets with fruit as they skirted the orangegrove. They had no other fruit in the hut except cocoanuts, andElizabeth was too worn out to think of catching fish. They satisfiedthemselves with a meal of fruit.

  Tommy was delighted with the behaviour of her parrot, Billy. Overjoyedat the return of its mistress, it hopped upon her shoulder, cocking itshead and uttering cries loud but by no means sweet.

  "A welcome home, Tommy," said Elizabeth, smiling. "We can't gush, Maryand I, but we are more glad than we can say, dear, and Billy says itfor us as well as he can."

  Then, after Tommy's ankle had been bathed and bound up, they threwthemselves on their simple couches, and, all their present anxietiesset at rest, slept heavily until the sun woke them to another day.

  CHAPTER XVI

  NEW TERRORS

  A few days' rest, and a steady improvement in the weather, restored theinvalids to their former health. The daily round went on asbefore--fishing, gathering fruit, ascending the cliff to take theircustomary look over the sea. They often talked of the face Tommy hadseen. It was more mysterious than ever. Elizabeth, while her sisterswere still confined to the hut, made a visit by herself to the orangegrove, and determined if she saw the face to discover once for all towhom it belonged. But though she looked in every tree and bush andscoured the neighbourhood thoroughly, she never once caught sight ofthe face with the two burning eyes. Once she heard a rustling amongstthe bushes and dashed towards the sound, but there was nothing to beseen, and she returned thoroughly baffled.

  One morning when Elizabeth was preparing breakfast she heard Mary, whohad gone to the look-out, shouting in great excitement. The two othergirls rushed to join her, and saw far away in the offing a three-mastedship under full sail. The breeze was light, and the vessel appeared tobe moving very slowly. Mary had already waved her handkerchief: theothers did the same, but they soon realized that the ship was too faraway for their signals to be noticed.

  "Let's go after her in the boat," suggested Tommy. "They might seethat moving on the water."

  As there seemed just a possibility of thus attracting attention, theyran down to the beach and launched the boat. Elizabeth, being thestrongest, took the sculls and pulled as hard as she could towards theopening in the reef; while Tommy steered, and Mary from time to timerose in her place and waved her handkerchief. By the time they cameinto the open sea the ship was almost opposite to them, sailing duewest. There was no sign that they had been observed; she held steadilyto her course. They shouted; Tommy put her fingers to her lips andgave a shrill whistle, an accomplishment which some of her friends athome had condemned as unladylike. But the ship stood on her way. Thegirls' hearts sank as they saw the distance between it and themgradually widen; and Elizabeth, who had been pulling gallantly forhalf-an-hour or more, at last collapsed on her oars.

  They were all too much upset to speak. To have seen a vessel at last,after so many weeks of waiting, and then to be passed by, was aterrible disappointment to them. They were distressed not merely atthe loss of the chance of immediate rescue, but at the staggeringthought that the same thing might happen again. It was evident thatthe island lay out of the usual track; no vessel could ever have areason for visiting it; and lacking the power of making effectivesignals they might remain there for years and years without any oneever being aware of their existence.

  The light boat rocked to the long Pacific swell, and the girls battledwith their tears. They strained their eyes after the dwindling vessel,hoping against hope that even yet she might change her course and comeback to them. But when there was nothing but a speck on the horizon,Elizabeth, her face full of despair, took up the sculls again and beganto pull slowly in silence towards home.

  As the boat's head turned they were aghast to find how far distant theywere from the island. The high cliffs seemed little more than a lowbank: clearly they were miles away. Elizabeth, knowing that hersculling powers could not wholly account for the great distance,suddenly remembered the current. From the time the boat passed thereef it had been subject to the full strength of the ocean stream thatswept the shore. They would have to row back against it, and with thesun mounting higher, and no food or water on board, they realized thatthey must look forward to hours of discomfort, if not actual danger.

  The boat made little headway against the current, and Elizabeth hadworked so hard that now she was scarcely able to move the sculls.

  "Tommy, can you take my place for a little while?" she said. "I willrow again after a rest."

  They exchanged places, stooping low and moving very carefully. Theboat lost many yards while the exchange was being made. Tommy hadquite recovered her strength, and was able to take a long spell at thesculls. But progress was very slow. Elizabeth steered with the ideaof getting under the shelter of the island. She noticed by and by thatTommy was tiring, and proposed to take the sculls again; but Marypleaded to be allowed to share in the work. Thus relieving oneanother, they crept gradually towards the island, not daring to ceasesculling altogether, and yet finding it more and more exhausting as theday grew hotter.

  By almost imperceptible degrees the cliffs heightened and objects uponthem became more distinct. The girl who was steering at the timeencouraged the sculler by mentioning each new landmark as it becamedistinguishable. Recognizing that it would be hours before they couldattain their own little harbour, Elizabeth decided to make for thenearest point of the shore in the hope of finding anotherlanding-place. At last they began to benefit by the shelter of theisland, and their progress became more rapid. But when, afterexertions that had tried them all severely, they came out of thecurrent into comparatively still water near the shore, they had to rowfor some distance before, in a cutting between the cliffs, theydiscovered a broad, sandy beach on which it was possible to land. Herethey pulled the boat a few yards up the sand, and then hurried alongthe chine in search of fresh water to assuage their burning thirst.

  Within a short distance of the beach the chine was covered withvegetation, among which they saw several cocoa-nut palms. To thesethey hastened in the hope of finding some nuts upon the ground. Butthere were none. Tommy looked longingly up into the trees, but it wasimpossible to climb them, and the girls hurried on again, expecting tofind somewhere a rill trickling from the high ground to the sea.

  When they had gone some distance the trees thinned, and they saw, somehundreds of yards in front of them, a sheer wall of rock, rising to aconsiderable height and dotted here and there with scrub.

  "Do you know, I believe that's the end of the ridge," said Elizabeth,who had a shrewder eye than the others for country, and had a betternotion as to the part of the island to which they had come.

  "I don't care," cried Tommy; "_that's_ what I want." She pointed to asparkling waterfall that plunged over a ledge a good way to their left.They ran eagerly towards it, scrambling over impediments, and soon cameto the stream which the waterfall fed. Then they threw themselvesdown, and gulped large draughts of the cold water. After resting for awhile on the grassy bank, Elizabeth looked at her watch.
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  "It is past two," she said; "what a time we have been!"

  "Without breakfast or dinner," said Tommy dolefully, "and no chance ofsupper either, as far as I can see, if we have to row back."

  "Perhaps we had better walk it," suggested Elizabeth; "I've had enoughrowing for one day."

  "Can we find the way?" asked Mary.

  "If we are near the end of the ridge, as I think we are," repliedElizabeth, "we can't go far wrong. It takes us half-an-hour or morefrom the ridge home, and I shouldn't think it would take us long toreach a place that we recognize."

  "You mean the orange grove," said Tommy; "I won't go past it, Iabsolutely won't."

  "Well, dear, I dare say we can go round about," said Elizabethplacably, "though I'm so tired and hungry, and I am sure you are too,that the shorter our walk the better. Let us rest a little longeruntil it's not quite so hot. But we mustn't stay too long, in case Iam mistaken and we find ourselves lost in the dark."

  About half-an-hour later they rose to make their way homeward.Elizabeth had resolved to follow up the stream until they reached thewaterfall, then to strike to the left, skirting the precipice. Sheexpected to come to the thick belt of woodland of which the orangegrove was a part. Tommy did not go ahead as her custom was. Since herfright she had been a more sedate and sober Tommy.

  They had gone but a short distance upstream though a fringe of trees,when all at once they halted and started back. The trees suddenly cameto an end, and a few yards in front of them stood a tiny structure,which, ignorant as they were, they knew for a native hut. It wasconical in shape, made apparently of grass and thatch, with a smallopening only high enough to crawl through. It was placed at the footof a slope, and the space before it had evidently been cleared by hand,for there were stumps of trees here and there.