XXVII
I SET MYSELF TO A HEAVY TASK
At last, after what seemed to me an age of waiting for it, a littlepinkish tone began to glow in the mist to the eastward; and as thathonest light got stronger the death-fires on the old galleon and onthe wrecks around her paled quickly until they were snuffed outaltogether--and then came the customary morning down-pour of rain.
With the return of the blessed daylight, and with the enlivening douseof cool fresh water upon me, I got to be myself again: my fancifulfears of the night-time leaving me, and my mind coming back soberly toa consideration of my actual needs. Of these the most pressing, as mystomach told me, was to get my breakfast; and when that matter, in avery poor way, had been attended to, and I had drunk what water Ineeded--without much relishing it--from a pool that had formed on thedeck where the timbers sagged down a little, I was in better heart tolay out for myself a plan of campaign.
In one way planning was not necessary. By holding to a northerlycourse I believed that I had got at least half way across mycontinent, and my determination was fixed to keep on by thenorth--rather than risk a fresh departure that might only carry me bya fresh way again into the depths of the tangle--until I should comeonce more to the open sea: if I may call open sea that far outlyingexpanse of ocean covered with thick-grown weed. But it was needfulthat I should plan for my supply of food as I went onward, that was tobe got only by returning to the far-away barque; and also I felt anitching desire--as strong as at first blush it was unreasonable--tocarry away with me some part of the treasure that I had found. That Iever should get out into the world again, and so have the good of myriches, seemed likely to me only in my most sanguine moments; but evenon the slimmest chance of accomplishing my own deliverance I had avery natural human objection to leaving behind me the wealth that Ihad found through such peril--only to lie there for a while longeridly, and then to be lost forever when the galleon sank to the bottomof the sea.
As to the gold, it was plain that I could carry off so little of itthat I might as well resign myself--having that which was better worthworking for--to losing it all. But my treasure of jewels was anothermatter. This was so very much more valuable than the gold--for thestones for the most part were of a prodigious size and a rarefineness--that between the two there really was no comparison; and atthe same time it was so compact in bulk and so petty in weight that Imight easily carry the whole of it with me and a good store of foodtoo. And so, to make a beginning, I picked the stones out of the slimyand stinking ooze in which they were lying and washed them clean inthe pool of water on the deck; and then I packed them snugly into theshirt-sleeve in which my beans had been stored--and tickled myself thewhile with the fancy that most men would be willing for the sake ofstuffing a shirt-sleeve that way to cut off the arm to whichit belonged.
My packing being finished, and my precious bag laid away in a cornerof the cabin until I should come to fetch it again, I was in a bettermood for facing my long march back to the barque: for I had come tohave fortune as well as life to work for, and those two strongstimulants to endeavor working together gave my spirits a great upwardpull. And, fortunately, my cheerfulness staid by me through my longscrambling struggle backward along my blazed path; nor was it, inreality, as hard a journey as I had expected it to be--for I had but alight load of food to carry, barely enough to last me through, and themarks which I had left upon the wrecks in passing made my way plain.And so, at last, I got back to the barque one evening about sunset,and had almost a feeling of homecoming in boarding her again; and Iwas thankful enough to be able to eat all the supper I wanted, andthen to lie down comfortably in her clean cabin and to rest myself insound slumber after my many restless nights on rotten old shipsreeking with a chill dampness that struck into my very bones.
I slept soundly and woke refreshed; and for that I was thankful, sincethe work cut out for me--to get back to the galleon with enoughprovisions to last me until I could cross the rest of thewreck-pack--was about as much as a strong man in good condition coulddo. However, I had thought of something that would make this hard jobless difficult; for the ease with which I had carried a part of myfood in long narrow bags, sausage-fashion--thereby getting rid ofboth the weight and the awkwardness of the tins--had put into my headthe notion of carrying in that way the whole of my fresh supply, andso carrying at least twice as much of it. And I calculated--since Icould go rapidly along my blazed path--that by cutting myself down tovery short rations I could get back to the galleon with a bigger stockof provisions than that with which I left the barque when I made myfirst start toward the north--and if the galleon lay, as I believedthat she did, about in the centre of the pack, this would give meenough food to last me until I got across to the other side. So Irummaged out some more of the linen shirts that I had found--taking afresh one for my own wear to begin with--and set myself to mysausage-making with the sleeves of them; packing each sleeve withbeans as tight as I could ram it, and working over each a netting oflight line that I finished off with loops at the ends. Ten of my bigsausages I made into a bundle to be carried on my shoulders like aknapsack; and the rest I arranged to swing by their loops from a ropecollar about my neck, with another rope run through the lower loops tobe made fast about my waist and so hold them steady--and thisarrangement, as I found when I tried it, answered very well. Andfinally, that I might carry my jewels the more securely, I cut off asleeve from the oil-skin jacket to serve for an outer casing for them,and took along also some of the light line to net over the bundle andmake it solid and strong; in that way guarding against the chance oftheir rubbing a hole in their linen covering--by which I might havelost them all.
I worked fast over my packing, and got it all finished and was readyto start away by not a great while after sunrise; yet when the timefor my start came I hesitated a little, so darkly uncertain seemed theissue of the adventure that I had in hand. Indeed, the whole of myproject was a wild one, such as no man not fairly driven into itwould have entertained at all. Its one certainty was that only byexcessive toil could I even hope to carry it through. All else wasdoubtful: for I knew not how distant were the farther bounds of thedesolate dead region into which I was bent upon penetrating; nor had Iground for believing--since I had food in plenty where I was--that Iwould gain anything by traversing it; and back of all that was thegloomy chance of some accident befalling me that would end in my dyingmiserably by the way. While I was busily employed in making ready formy march I had grown quite cheerful; but suddenly my little crop ofgood spirits withered within me, and when at last I did go forward itwas with a very heavy heart.
In the Sargasso Sea Page 27