Typee: A Romance of the South Seas

by Herman Melville

  CHAPTER FIVE

  THOUGHTS PREVIOUS TO ATTEMPTING AN ESCAPE--TOBY, A FELLOW SAILOR, AGREESTO SHARE THE ADVENTURE--LAST NIGHT ABOARD THE SHIP

  HAVING fully resolved to leave the vessel clandestinely, and havingacquired all the knowledge concerning the bay that I could obtain underthe circumstances in which I was placed, I now deliberately turned overin my mind every plan to escape that suggested itself, being determinedto act with all possible prudence in an attempt where failure would beattended with so many disagreeable consequences. The idea of beingtaken and brought back ignominiously to the ship was so inexpressiblyrepulsive to me, that I was determined by no hasty and imprudentmeasures to render such an event probable.

  I knew that our worthy captain, who felt, such a paternal solicitudefor the welfare of his crew, would not willingly consent that one of hisbest hands should encounter the perils of a sojourn among the nativesof a barbarous island; and I was certain that in the event of mydisappearance, his fatherly anxiety would prompt him to offer, by way ofa reward, yard upon yard of gaily printed calico for my apprehension.He might even have appreciated my services at the value of a musket, inwhich case I felt perfectly certain that the whole population of thebay would be immediately upon my track, incited by the prospect of somagnificent a bounty.

  Having ascertained the fact before alluded to, that the islanders,--frommotives of precaution, dwelt altogether in the depths of the valleys,and avoided wandering about the more elevated portions of the shore,unless bound on some expedition of war or plunder, I concluded that ifI could effect unperceived a passage to the mountain, I might easilyremain among them, supporting myself by such fruits as came in my wayuntil the sailing of the ship, an event of which I could not fail to beimmediately apprised, as from my lofty position I should command a viewof the entire harbour.

  The idea pleased me greatly. It seemed to combine a great deal ofpracticability with no inconsiderable enjoyment in a quiet way; for howdelightful it would be to look down upon the detested old vessel fromthe height of some thousand feet, and contrast the verdant scenery aboutme with the recollection of her narrow decks and gloomy forecastle! Why,it was really refreshing even to think of it; and so I straightway fellto picturing myself seated beneath a cocoanut tree on the brow of themountain, with a cluster of plantains within easy reach, criticizing hernautical evolutions as she was working her way out of the harbour.

  To be sure there was one rather unpleasant drawback to these agreeableanticipations--the possibility of falling in with a foraging party ofthese same bloody-minded Typees, whose appetites, edged perhaps by theair of so elevated a region, might prompt them to devour one. This, Imust confess, was a most disagreeable view of the matter.

  Just to think of a party of these unnatural gourmands taking it intotheir heads to make a convivial meal of a poor devil, who would haveno means of escape or defence: however, there was no help for it. I waswilling to encounter some risks in order to accomplish my object, andcounted much upon my ability to elude these prowling cannibals amongstthe many coverts which the mountains afforded. Besides, the chanceswere ten to one in my favour that they would none of them quit their ownfastnesses.

  I had determined not to communicate my design of withdrawing from thevessel to any of my shipmates, and least of all to solicit any one toaccompany me in my flight. But it so happened one night, that being upondeck, revolving over in my mind various plans of escape, I perceived oneof the ship's company leaning over the bulwarks, apparently plunged in aprofound reverie. He was a young fellow about my own age, for whom Ihad all along entertained a great regard; and Toby, such was the nameby which he went among us, for his real name he would never tell us, wasevery way worthy of it. He was active, ready and obliging, of dauntlesscourage, and singularly open and fearless in the expression of hisfeelings. I had on more than one occasion got him out of scrapes intowhich this had led him; and I know not whether it was from this cause,or a certain congeniality of sentiment between us, that he had alwaysshown a partiality for my society. We had battled out many a long watchtogether, beguiling the weary hours with chat, song, and story, mingledwith a good many imprecations upon the hard destiny it seemed our commonfortune to encounter.

  Toby, like myself, had evidently moved in a different sphere of life,and his conversation at times betrayed this, although he was anxiousto conceal it. He was one of that class of rovers you sometimes meetat sea, who never reveal their origin, never allude to home, and gorambling over the world as if pursued by some mysterious fate theycannot possibly elude.

  There was much even in the appearance of Toby calculated to draw metowards him, for while the greater part of the crew were as coarse inperson as in mind, Toby was endowed with a remarkably prepossessingexterior. Arrayed in his blue frock and duck trousers, he was as smart alooking sailor as ever stepped upon a deck; he was singularly smalland slightly made, with great flexibility of limb. His naturally darkcomplexion had been deepened by exposure to the tropical sun, and a massof jetty locks clustered about his temples, and threw a darker shadeinto his large black eyes. He was a strange wayward being, moody,fitful, and melancholy--at times almost morose. He had a quick and fierytemper too, which, when thoroughly roused, transported him into a statebordering on delirium.

  It is strange the power that a mind of deep passion has over feeblernatures. I have seen a brawny, fellow, with no lack of ordinary courage,fairly quail before this slender stripling, when in one of his curiousfits. But these paroxysms seldom occurred, and in them my big-heartedshipmate vented the bile which more calm-tempered individuals get rid ofby a continual pettishness at trivial annoyances.

  No one ever saw Toby laugh. I mean in the hearty abandonment ofbroad-mouthed mirth. He did smile sometimes, it is true; and there wasa good deal of dry, sarcastic humour about him, which told the more fromthe imperturbable gravity of his tone and manner.

  Latterly I had observed that Toby's melancholy had greatly increased,and I had frequently seen him since our arrival at the island gazingwistfully upon the shore, when the remainder of the crew would berioting below. I was aware that he entertained a cordial detestationof the ship, and believed that, should a fair chance of escape presentitself, he would embrace it willingly.

  But the attempt was so perilous in the place where we then lay, thatI supposed myself the only individual on board the ship who wassufficiently reckless to think of it. In this, however, I was mistaken.

  When I perceived Toby leaning, as I have mentioned, against the bulwarksand buried in thought, it struck me at once that the subject of hismeditations might be the same as my own. And if it be so, thought I,is he not the very one of all my shipmates whom I would choose: for thepartner of my adventure? and why should I not have some comrade with meto divide its dangers and alleviate its hardships? Perhaps I might beobliged to lie concealed among the mountains for weeks. In such an eventwhat a solace would a companion be?

  These thoughts passed rapidly through my mind, and I wondered why I hadnot before considered the matter in this light. But it was not too late.A tap upon the shoulder served to rouse Toby from his reverie; I foundhim ripe for the enterprise, and a very few words sufficed for a mutualunderstanding between us. In an hour's time we had arranged all thepreliminaries, and decided upon our plan of action. We then ratified ourengagement with an affectionate wedding of palms, and to elude suspicionrepaired each to his hammock, to spend the last night on board theDolly.

  The next day the starboard watch, to which we both belonged, was to besent ashore on liberty; and, availing ourselves of this opportunity,we determined, as soon after landing as possible, to separate ourselvesfrom the rest of the men without exciting their suspicions, and strikeback at once for the mountains. Seen from the ship, their summitsappeared inaccessible, but here and there sloping spurs extended fromthem almost into the sea, buttressing the lofty elevations with whichthey were connected, and forming those radiating valleys I have beforedescribed. One of these ridges, which appeared more practicable than the
rest, we determined to climb, convinced that it would conduct us tothe heights beyond. Accordingly, we carefully observed its bearings andlocality from the ship, so that when ashore we should run no chance ofmissing it.

  In all this the leading object we had in view was to seclude ourselvesfrom sight until the departure of the vessel; then to take our chance asto the reception the Nukuheva natives might give us; and after remainingupon the island as long as we found our stay agreeable, to leave it thefirst favourable opportunity that offered.