Part 11 (2/2)
They were by no means so pleased, however, when, in response to a reave them to clearly understand that I would not house the the coroup they would have to be content with such accoued hotly that, being castaways and survivors from the sa and were alike entitled to share equally in everything To which I replied that the bungalow, the sailing boat, and the cutter were all mine, built with my own hands out of material salved by me from the wreck; that they had not participated or helped in the slightest degree in any of the salving or building operations
Therefore I considered they were not entitled to clai frorace, I was prepared to allow thees; while, if they would help me to complete the cutter, e, they should be welcoe in her For a heated five minutes I believed I was in for very serious trouble with the two ument--which was chiefly between Van Ryn andhis co a few hasty words that see the Dutch--rather laht--that since I was evidently master of the situation, they supposed they ive the with the completion of the cutter, they expressed the to do so, since they had had ” it
”Now,” said I to theth coain warn you both to keep well clear of the house I have already told you that the ani is a leopard Now that you have arrived on the island I shall be obliged to keep him tied up; but if you approach the house it will be at your peril; for if Kit sees or scents either of you he will probably break adrift, and you will simply be torn limb from limb He is a ers; so bear in ive him a wide berth”
”Bud I vants to see the house,” protested Van Ryn ”How ao that pleasure, so that's all there is about it,”
I replied dryly
”If the brute interveres mit me, I vill kill 'im,” threatened the Dutchman
”Will you?” said I ”Why, man, you would stand no more chance with that leopard than if you were the h of this You had better pitch your tent on the beach, close to the cutter Go down there now and choose a spot to suit yourselves, and Billy and I will coear is necessary, and help you to rig it up”
By antine's fore-course, which I had salved--was satisfactorily rigged up, a trench dug round it to carry off water in the event of rain, and a sufficiency of rude but efficient furniture stored within it; and, somewhat to my surprise, the pair ere to occupy it expressed themselves as quite satisfied
Then, since it was too late in the day to do ive me a detailed account of how they had fared since the wreck It was Svorenssen who undertook to tell the story, and he told it in the coarse, uncouth language of the forecastle, e it here and there, after the manner of the shellback, by the introduction of words and phrases coible to a lands the narrative into plain, silish for the benefit of my readers Thus translated, it ran as follows:
”It must have been about half an hour after Chips came for'ard with the news that you had met with an accident, and had been carried down into your cabin, and the gale was still blowing as heavy as ever, when soht we heard another sound above the shriek of the wind and the hiss of the sea; and, looking ahead, we presently saw, stretching away on both bows, as far as we could see, an unbroken line of wildly leaping breakers and flying spray We at once hailed the quarterdeck, shouting: 'Breakers ahead and on both bows!' but it is exceedingly doubtful whether or not ere heard, and if we had been, it would havecould be done the shi+p was a the breakers, and a second later she struck, not very hard, but just sufficiently so to cant us broadside-on Then she struck again, and hung until a tre her decks and doubtless washi+ng all hands on deck overboard--at all events that sea took me and swept me helplessly over the bows, as also Van Ryn and anotherabout the a swimmer, I instinctively struck out, and I had not madethat I at once seized and clung to It proved to be a bit of topgallant bulwark, about six feet long, and it afforded me a most welco over me so furiously that it was only with the utmost difficulty I contrived to snatch a breath bethiles
But the breaking seas that ca me away fast to leeward, and after a tier broke overquite warm, I experienced no discomfort, apart from the uncertainty as to as to eventually happen tothe run of the seas
”Ithe salt water out of h the darkness, the sight of which greatly cheered me, for I had no doubt of my ability to hold out until I could reach the shore, and I had the co conviction that where there was land there was also safety
About an hour later I foundbreakers; but they were a mere trifle compared with those that I had already encountered, and shortly afterward e to which I had been clinging, I crawled up the beach to above high-watermyself down upon the warm sand, and instantly fell asleep
”When I awoke the sun was shi+ning brilliantly, and the gale had broken, although it was still blowing a strong breeze I looked out to seaward, and at once sighted the wreck, about two miles away, dis at s, I perceived that I had landed upon a beach of fine white sand, backed by country densely wooded, with hills stretching away to north and south The sight of the trees suggested possibilities of fruit, the thought of which ree into the woods in search of so in the direction froreat satisfaction, Van Ryn and Fle the beach
”Naturally we at once joined forces, and, they being like ry, we forthwith proceeded to hunt for food, speedily finding an abundance of cocoa-nuts that had fallen, ripe, froe of the beach We ate and drank our fill of the fruit andan our quest for a practicable path inland, for the idea of caht, had few attractions for us
But the undergroas so dense and impenetrable that it was not until we had traversed quite asun, that we at length found a spot where, by cutting and hacking the monkey-rope and creepers with our knives, we finally succeeded in working our way into a valley enclosed between two ranges of hills running practically parallel
”My word! that was hot work, I assure you, Mr Blackburn Of course there was no lack of shade, but, on the other hand, there was no air
The at, and ith that and the labour of hewing a way through the dense undergrowth--h, sharp thorns that got hold of our clothes, and not infrequently our skins, and refused to let go--the perspiration poured from us like water, and simply drenched our clothes But the monkey-rope, the creepers, the thorns, and the heat were not the worst of our troubles; the whole place ar with ely in a hundred places at once And, as though these were not enough, there wereand bit us even ely than the mosquitoes Luckily we did not encounter the ants until ere very nearly through the belt of bush, or we should have been compelled to abandon our attee of the bush, and found ourselves fairly in the valley, with long dry grass, waist-high, plenty of trees, big and little, but not much bush or creeper And then we encountered potential trouble of a fresh kind, for although ere no longer attacked by ants, we too frequently heard rustlings in the long grass that we presently discovered to be caused by snakes, and ere compelled to walk very warily, lest we should perchance unwittingly tread upon one of the creatures, and be bitten, perhaps fatally, as a punishment I confess that--well, to put it plainly, I did not half like it; but e to do? We were searching for a cave, or shelter of so and a place of protection in the event of a recurrence of bad weather, and ere not likely to find it by standing still Also ere looking for food, with a view to the future; but the question of supplies afforded us little anxiety, for banana and plantain trees were abundant in that valley, to say nothing of grapes and several other kinds of fruit
Co to a banana tree, the fruit of which was fully ripe, werather tired, we trarass, under the shade of a big tree, stretched ourselves thereon, and were soon fast asleep
”Judging froht be about five o'clock in the afternoon when I akened by so me by the shoulder, and as I openedto Dirk here, as saying, in a sort of whisper:--
”'Hush!+ don't make a noise, but just lift your head, cautious, and look'
”'Look where?' I returned, also in a sort of whisper; 'and what am I to hush for?'