A Century Too Soon Part 10

From the rustling it made, it was no doubt small and little to be feared. He listened for a moment, and then hurried on to the spring.

"Blanche will be lonesome," he thought. "Her father placed her in my charge, and I will protect her if I can."

Climbing the moss-grown stone, he descended into a dark ravine to the spring. The sun was set by this time, and the sombre shades of twilight began to spread over the scene. His eager eyes pierced the gathering gloom and discovered that the food left had been attacked by animals and the biscuit devoured.

He searched the ground, and saw footprints.

"Some animals have been here," he thought. "They evidently did not like dried fish, for, though they have trampled over them, they have devoured none; but the sea-biscuits are all gone."

It was impossible to determine what sort of animals they were, but he was quite sure they were not dangerous.

He took up the gun and returned to the tent, where he related to Blanche the loss of their biscuits.

"Then there are animals on the land," she said.

"Yes; but they are not dangerous," he returned. "These animals may prove useful to us for food."

"I hope so."

After several moments, she asked:

"How long must we stay?"

"I know not. Had I not better take the boat and go to the wreck for more food?"

"No, not to-night," she answered with a shudder. "I prefer to go without food than to be left an hour alone in the approaching night."

He had a sea-biscuit in his pocket, which he gave her and made his own supper of dried fish. With flint, steel and some powder, he kindled a fire near the tent and sat down before it with a gun across his knees and another at his side, his back against a tree. Thus he prepared to pa.s.s the night, urging his companion to go to sleep in the tent.

Patient, confiding Blanche went and laid down to sleep. She had borne up well, not uttering a single complaint throughout all their trying ordeals.

As John sat there keeping guard over his charge, his mind went back across the wild waste of waters to the home he had left. He seemed to feel the soft baby hands of little Rebecca on his face, or hear the prattling of his boy at play. His wife's great, dark eyes looked at him from out the gloom, and he sighed as he thought how improbable it was that he would ever see them again. Wrecked on an unknown sh.o.r.e, with dangers and difficulties to surmount, what hope had he of the future?

"Heaven watch over and guard my helpless ones at home, as I guard the charge entrusted to me," he prayed.

His fire was not so much to keep off the cold as wild animals. The distant roar of the ocean beating on the sh.o.r.e broke the silence. The low and melancholy sound fell on the ear of the unfortunate man, and, raising his eyes to the stars, he thought:

"The same stars s.h.i.+ne for them, and the same G.o.d keeps watch over all.

May his guardian angels watch over the loved ones at home until the father and husband returns."

John's heart was heavy. His fire had burned low, and he had forgotten to replenish it. Suddenly upon the air there came a half growl and half howl, and, looking up, he saw a pair of fiery eyes flas.h.i.+ng upon him. An animal was approaching the tent. John c.o.c.ked his gun, aimed at the two blazing eyes and fired.

In a moment the eyes disappeared, and Blanche, alarmed at the report of the gun, sprang from the tent and wildly asked:

"What was it? Are we attacked?"

"Peace! It was only an animal, which I should judge to be a fox,"

a.s.sured John.

The report of the gun awakened a thousand slumbering sea-fowls, which arose screaming on the air in every direction. John listened to hear some animal, but not a growl and not a cry came on the air. After a few moments all was quiet once more, and he begged his charge to retire to sleep, while he took up his post as guard.

CHAPTER VI.

THE ISLAND OF DESOLATION.

I am monarch of all I survey, My right there is none to dispute: From the centre all round to the sea I am lord of the fowl and the brute.

O Solitude! where are the charms That sages have seen in thy face?

Better dwell in the midst of alarms Than reign in this horrible place.

--COWPER.

Next morning Stevens went to find the animal, at whose eyes he had fired during the night; but it was gone without leaving even a trace of blood behind it. The boat had sustained some damages during the night from the surf das.h.i.+ng it against the rocks; but he managed to reach the wreck with it, where he quickly mended the seam started in its side.

He brought away a cask of fresh water, a chest of sea-biscuit, some Holland cheese, wine, salt pork and more dried fish. After they had dined, they set out to the nearest mountain, from the peak of which they hoped to get a survey of the surrounding country. He tried to induce Blanche to remain, but she insisted on accompanying him.

Nothing is more deceitful than distance, and they were compelled to pause and rest before they had reached the bluffs and foot-hills at the base of the mountain. While resting there, they heard a scampering of feet, accompanied by the loud snort of frightened animals flying from the plateau above them. They were gone before John and his companion were able to get a sight of them.

"What are they?" she asked.

"I know not, yet they seem to have a greater dread of us than we have of them."

Resuming their journey they had not proceeded half a mile, when John espied one of them looking down upon him and his companion from an airy cliff. Its bristling horns, long beard, and keen eyes were visible, though the ferns and gra.s.s concealed its body.

"It is a goat," he said. "The animals which we discovered were goats, and we have nothing to fear from them."

A little further on, he discovered a fox in the bushes. The animal was unacquainted with man and was very tame. It stood until they were within a few paces of it, and then it trotted off a short distance and halted to look at them. John's first impulse was to shoot it; but, on a second thought, he decided to reserve his fire for some larger and more useful game. At last the summit of the nearest hill was gained, and from it they had a survey of the country and discovered that they were on an island. Stevens' heart sank within him at the discovery, for now no human help was within their reach. The fear of Spaniards and savages gave place to the greater dread of pa.s.sing their lives on a desolate island.

The island was about sixteen miles long by ten wide. It had four lofty mountains in the centre, one of which was so high as to be above the clouds and covered at the peak with snow. These lofty elevations supplied the island with an abundance of pure, fresh water. In the fertile valleys below grew bread-fruit and oranges in profusion and many wild berries and vegetables excellent for food. They spent four days in exploring the island, hoping to find some sort of inhabitants, but were disappointed. Goats, foxes and a species of gray squirrel were the princ.i.p.al animals on the island. None were very dangerous; but the foxes proved to be mischievous thieves, and stole all of their provisions they could come at. Stevens began an early war against them, and shot them wherever they could be found.

Far to the north were two more islands evidently not so large as the one on which they were cast. Dangerous reefs lay between them and all about the three islands, making navigation difficult if not impossible.

Blanche bore the journey well and did not give way to despair even when they discovered that they were on an uninhabited island. For her sake Stevens kept up a show of courage, though he found despair rising within his breast.

"We must get the provisions and tools from off the wreck," he said, "and make our stay here as comfortable as possible.

"How long will that stay be?" she asked.

"G.o.d in heaven alone can tell."

"Surely some pa.s.sing s.h.i.+p will see us."

He hoped so; but that reef-girt sh.o.r.e seemed to forbid the approach of a vessel. Nevertheless he set up long poles with flags on them at different points of the island, so that a pa.s.sing s.h.i.+p might see them for miles out to sea.

Then he began the work of unloading the wreck. There was an inlet or mouth of a creek not far from the place where they first landed, and, constructing a raft on the wreck and loading it with arms, provisions, ammunition and tools, they took advantage of the tide to float it in to sh.o.r.e. This was repeated daily for weeks. Clothing, sails, provisions of all kinds, half a hundred guns and as many pistols and cutla.s.ses, with other weapons, tools, books, writing material, and, in fact, everything that could possibly be of service was brought off from the wreck. They were favored with mild weather, and John, soon learning to take advantage of the tides, had no difficulty in landing the goods.

The sh.o.r.e was strewn with boxes, barrels, arms, bales and piles of goods, with tools, provisions, rafts and broken bits of lumber, for he decided to bring away as much of the wreck as he could, for the boards would be very useful in the construction of houses. Weeks were spent in this arduous toil, and their efforts were fully rewarded.