Part 20 (2/2)

he said to himself. ”If there are, they will find us out; but they are not likely to be otherwise than friendly. However, when I call the captain I'll tell him to keep a sharp lookout.” When at length his watch was over, he roused up Captain Twopenny and told him what had occurred.

”Perhaps there may be natives on the island, after all,” observed the captain. ”Depend upon it, I will not be taken by surprise.”

w.i.l.l.y, who was longing to go to sleep, lay down, and before another minute had pa.s.sed was far away in the land of dreams. He was awoke by Peter Patch, who had had the last watch. Daylight was already breaking; the dogs had been heard barking during the night, and Peter said he had seen two or three creatures, which seemed from their movements to be like cats, stealing by; but each time, before he could get a shot, they had disappeared. Nothing else had occurred.

As the sun rose the mist cleared off; and as soon as they had breakfasted the doctor proposed that they should once more climb the mountain, in order to ascertain what direction to take. They had not gone far when some footmarks were observed on the soft ground over which they were crossing. The doctor examined them. ”Hogs,” he exclaimed.

”We shall have pork for dinner soon, I hope. They, at all events, are always in season, and will not take their departure like the seals and wild-fowl. We shall not starve here if like wise men we exert our wits.

Cats and dogs may serve us at a pinch; I prefer bacon. Captain, I daresay you will manage to shoot a porker before long.”

This discovery put the whole party in spirits, the doctor was so positive about the matter. w.i.l.l.y had gone on as usual some way ahead, when, looking out in the direction the smoke had been seen, he caught sight of a large vessel hove to close to the sh.o.r.e. He could scarcely believe his eyes. He rubbed them again and again. There was no doubt about it. He waved to his companions, who made their way up to the rock on which he was standing. He pointed in the direction of the vessel.

”She is a long way off from this,” observed the doctor, after looking at her for some moments. ”We must get down to the beach as fast as we can.”

”What has brought her in here, I wonder?” said Captain Twopenny.

”Probably the smoke we saw yesterday may have something to do with the matter,” observed the doctor. ”At all events, there is no time to be lost.”

He gazed as he spoke over the intervening country. There were deep valleys to be pa.s.sed, and steep hills, with rugged rocks and precipices, to be scaled. Having taken the bearings of the vessel, they set out.

They first had to descend the mountain side. They soon came to a soft boggy ground, and were obliged to make a wide circuit to avoid it. Not without considerable difficulty did they at length reach the bottom of the valley. A stream was to be crossed; they waded through it, regardless of the cold. Now they came to a precipice. Considerable time was spent before they could find a way to the top. Then they were involved in a labyrinth of huge rugged rocks. The sun s.h.i.+ning brightly enabled them to keep a tolerably correct course, otherwise it would have been difficult to determine in what direction they were going. On and on they went. The hope of obtaining relief for themselves and their friends kept up their spirits; but Peter Patch at length cried out that he could go no further. They had brought some baked roots and cooked wild-fowl with them. A stream which came trickling down the side of the hill afforded a refres.h.i.+ng draught of water. They would not stop to light a fire, but, taking a hurried meal, again pushed on. The doctor himself confessed that he was beginning to get knocked up; still they thought that they must soon reach a height from which they could make a signal to the s.h.i.+p. For the last hour or more, however, they had been unable to get sight of her.

”Had she been at anchor, I should have had more hopes of doing so,” said the doctor; ”but still we must not despair.”

”That's the hill,” cried w.i.l.l.y; ”I know it by its shape. If we can get to the top of it we shall reach the sh.o.r.e in a short time.”

The rest of the party thought w.i.l.l.y was right, and thus encouraged, made their way with renewed ardour. The summit of the hill was free of trees. They gained it at length. w.i.l.l.y was the first to reach the top.

A cry escaped him. ”She is gone! she is gone!” he exclaimed. He waved his cap frantically; he shouted as if his voice could reach across the intervening ocean. The rest soon joined him. A s.h.i.+p under all sail was standing away with a fresh breeze from the land, from which she was already some three miles distant.

”The smoke of a fire might still attract the attention of those on board,” said the doctor. w.i.l.l.y and Peter ran down the hill, and began hewing away at the driest bushes they could find. A fire was soon lighted. More bushes were brought; a thick column of smoke ascended in the air. How eagerly they gazed at the receding s.h.i.+p. Still she stood on. No attention was paid to their signal.

”They either do not see it, or think that it is the result of accident,”

observed the doctor.

More bushes were thrown on the fire, and then they hurried down the hill.

”Perhaps she may be a sealer, and landed some of the crew to catch seals from the sh.o.r.e. If so, she may return,” remarked the captain.

”She does not look like one,” said w.i.l.l.y.

The bottom of the hill was reached. They made their way along the beach. In a sheltered spot a hut was seen. It was rudely constructed from the wreck of a vessel. Outside there were the ashes of a fire still smouldering; within were several bedplaces covered with leaves.

Other signs showed that it had been lately occupied. Whoever the people were, they had just been taken off by the s.h.i.+p,--probably part of the crew of some vessel wrecked on the sh.o.r.e. They looked about in the neighbourhood, and discovered six or seven mounds which had the appearance of graves.

”Well, my friends, I am very glad that the poor fellows, whoever they were, got away; and for ourselves, we are not worse off than we should have been had we not discovered them,” observed the philosophical doctor. ”Don't let us be cast down. If one vessel comes, so may another; and next time we may be more fortunate. And now I advise that without loss of time we make the best of our way back to the settlement.”

As the sh.o.r.e appeared for some distance tolerably free of rocks, they agreed to keep along it till compelled by the rising tide to take their way over higher ground. Still, as they walked along they could not help every now and then turning round to watch the receding s.h.i.+p. Gradually her hull disappeared, her courses sank beneath the horizon, the topsails followed, and then w.i.l.l.y alone could discern a small dark speck, which soon faded from view. He heaved a sigh. ”I should like to have sent home news, at all events, that I was safe, and perhaps Charles and the girls may by this time have reached New Zealand. They will be very sorry when they hear that the s.h.i.+p has been lost, and of course they will think that I was lost in her.” w.i.l.l.y seldom allowed himself to give way to thoughts like these.

The doctor was very anxious to get back that night; so, although pretty well knocked up himself, he urged his companions to proceed as fast as they were able. For several miles they continued along the beach, occasionally having to climb over high ledges of rocks which jutted out into the water, or to go round bays or small inlets. Still, after the experience they had had of the interior of the island, they considered that this road was less fatiguing than the way they had come. Seeing a succession of rocks running out into the ocean, they were at length about to strike across the country, when a small hut was discovered at the head of a little bay just below them.

”Why, perhaps, after all, there are human beings besides ourselves on the island,” exclaimed w.i.l.l.y.

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