Part 7 (1/2)
By these laws cooks were appointed, of whom I was made chief, and it became an offence, punishable by death, for any except those duly qualified to indulge in cooking Regulations were also made for the distribution of food, and each day, at stated hours, the tribe assembled round the fires, when they were served with their portions, which they greedily devoured There were no birds upon the island, or I ame to our bill of fare, but turtles were plentiful, and, when captured, were cooked under es that I was of divine origin Thethat so long as I preserved this secretthe iht to these people by the introduction of the use of fire aarded est to hiht be applied One of his slaves inadvertently picked up a burning brand, which burnt his fingers, and the pain which it caused suggested to Ackbau that fire ht be employed in torture He ruled by fear, and the fear of fire had now beco the islanders Ackbau spoke toof this new eleive me a seat on the council if I would surrender to him my flint and steel, but I told hi fire, and that any other atte upon himself inevitable disaster Ackbau's ambition to become a fire-maker was checked for the moment, but I could see it was not satisfied
CHAPTER XX
THE SNAKE God
I was now to meet with a surprise The chief deity worshi+pped by the people of the Island of Geular, intervals visited a coral cave rising out of a pool of water said to be fathomless, from which I conjectured it was connected with the sea The water in this pool was of a deep blue colour, salt to the taste, which further convinced ht of each full moon a human sacrifice was offered, hich the monster retreated into the coral cave, where it re this period the natives continued without sleep, and fasting At the end of three days the snake God disappeared, nor was it seen again until its next periodical visit
There ran, a legend a the people of the Island of Gems that if a human sacrifice was not , the island would be destroyed and its people exterreat care was taken to provide the monster with its accustoers found upon the island, were, in the first place, offered to the snake God, and, failing these, a victi the tribe
It now appeared, so far as I could gather fro er upon the island, I myself would have been offered as a sacrifice to the snake God at his next co, and it was for this reason I had been received with apparent friendshi+p But a fresh captive being taken soon after I had been washed ashore had caused a change of plan very e Queen Melannie also had interested herself in my favour, and had refused to speak words at the secret council which would have decreed ht assure myself, said Ackbau, thatof the snake God, next after the one immediately expected, my death had been decided upon I appealed to Melannie, but she could only confirm what Ackbau had told me
”I cannot save you, Peter,” she said, ”unless you will beco, weand queen upon this island But if that cannot be, let us escape by a means that I know of”
I put aside the question of erly embraced the proposal to escape
Melannie then led me, secretly, by a path known only to Ackbau, the council, and herself, to a rock cavern close to the water's edge, in which was kept a shi+p's boat, which the queen told me had been washed ashore at the sa upon the beach It was a well-built, serviceable cutter, with spare oars, and a sail stowed under the thwarts, just as they had been placed in her when she had put to sea, but there was neither food nor water in the boat, although I discovered a water-tank forward, which could readily be filled from one of the many streams on the island I becarave
”You are glad to go, Peter,” she said ”Go, then; take the boat, and leave me to my fate”
”Not so, Melannie,” I answered ”I will take you with me, and restore you to your own people It is not es”
At these words Melannie recovered her gaiety
”Lether hands with pleasure ”It is all I ask But if ould not be followed by war canoes, which could easily overtake us, we ”
We then took counsel together, when Melannie advised that our best chance to escape would be at the ti of the snake God
When the monster appeared, and for three days afterward, while it rees would be held to the spot by their traditions froht then slip away unobserved, and be out of sight of land before the ceremonies in connexion with the sacrifice were over This appearing to be our opportunity, we at once set aboutpreparations From a stream near the cave I filled the boat's water-tank, and we collected a quantity of coconuts, bananas, and other fruits, which we stowed on board; nor did I forget to take soems from the treasure cave, which I stuffed into old I did not touch It was heavy to carry, and its transport ht have caused suspicion We also launched the boat, with some difficulty, into a natural boat harbour for away All being ready, aited impatiently for the day upon which we had planned to set out upon our voyage
During this tie upon the mountain in the centre of the island The smoke cloud, which always hovered over it, had increased until it hung like a funeral pall over the top of the volcano Loud rus also were heard like distant thunder, while earth tremors were constantly felt I mentioned these matters to Melannie, but she did not appear to attach any importance to them
”The mountain was always like that,” she said ”Perhaps the evil spirits who live there are angry” But I knew frons and portents were such as heralded an eruption In the exciteot ard to the volcano
I now questioned Melannie with regard to the white stranger whose co offered as a sacrifice to the snake God
At first she refused to tellhim, but when I pressed her she conducted me to a cavern in which the captive was confined The door of this dungeon was a swinging rock, which Melannie caused to open by some means of which she knew the secret, when the wretchedin darkness at the farther end of the cave He came toward us bent double
There was a scared look upon his face The light dazzled him I knew him at once, and held my breath It was Van Luck When he saw me he threw himself upon his knees and implored me to save him, but I told him I had no power to avert his death even if I would In answer to my question as to how he came upon the island, he answered, that almost at the same time as I had been washed overboard he himself had been precipitated by a wave into the sea
”Well, Van Luck,” I said to him ”It seemeth to me that the hand of Providence is in this business But for your conduct we had both now been on board the 'Arms of Amsterdam,' yet no sooner was I cast into the sea by your treachery than you were ht to this island, where, but for your co, I would have been subject to the cruel fate which noaits you”