Part 7 (1/2)
CHAPTER IX
Bad Weather -- The Hydraulic Lift -- Manufacture of Glass-ware -- The Bread-tree -- Frequent Visits to the Corral -- Increase of the Flock -- The Reporter's Question -- Exact Position of Lincoln Island -- Pencroft's Proposal
The weather changed during the first week of March There had been a full moon at the commencement of the month, and the heat was still excessive The atmosphere was felt to be full of electricity, and a period of soth of tempestuous weather was to be feared
Indeed, on the 2nd, peals of thunder were heard, the wind blew froainst the facade of Granite House like volleys of grape-shot The door and ere i in the roo these hailstones, so, Pencroft's first thought was that his cornfield was in serious danger
He directly rushed to his field, where little green heads were already appearing, and, by ed to protect his crop
This bad weather lasted a week, during which time the thunder rolled without cessation in the depths of the sky
The colonists, not having any pressing work out of doors, profited by the bad weather to work at the interior of Granite House, the arrange -lathe, hich he turned several articles both for the toilet and the kitchen, particularly buttons, the want of which was greatly felt A gun-rack had been made for the firearms, which were kept with extreme care, and neither tables nor cupboards were left incomplete They sawed, they planed, they filed, they turned: and during the whole of this bad season, nothing was heard but the grinding of tools or the hu of the thunder
[Illustration: PENCROFT TO THE RESCUE]
Master Jup had not been forgotten, and he occupied a room at the back, near the storerooood litter, which perfectly suited his taste
”With good old Jup there is never any quarrelling,” often repeated Pencroft, ”never any improper reply! What a servant, Neb, what a servant!”
Of course Jup was noell used to service He brushed their clothes, he turned the spit, he waited at table, he swept the rooathered wood, and he perforhted Pencroft--he never went to sleep without first co to tuck up the worthy sailor in his bed
As to the health of the members of the colony, bipeds or bi to be desired With their life in the open air, on this salubrious soil, under that te both with head and hands, they could not suppose that illness would ever attack them
All were indeed wonderfully well Herbert had already groo inches in the year His figure was for more manly, and he promised to be an accomplished man, physically as well asthe leisure hours which manual occupations left to him; he read the books found in the case; and after the practical lessons which were taught by the very necessity of their position, he found in the engineer for science, and the reporter for languages, hted to complete his education
The tempest ended about the 9th of March, but the sky re the whole of this last suitated by the electric commotions, could not recover its for, except for three or four fine days on which several excursions wereone which belonged to the same sex as its mother, and which throve capitally In the corral, the flock of musmons had also increased, and several laht of Neb and Herbert, who had each their favourite a these new-comers An attempt was also made for the domestication of the peccaries, which succeeded well A sty was constructed near the poultry-yard, and soon contained several young ones in the way to become civilised, that is to say, to beco thes from the kitchen, etc, acquitted himself conscientiously of his task He sometimes amused hi their tails; but this was mischief, and not wickedness, for these little twisted tails a, and his instinct was that of a child One day in this ineer, re of a promise which the latter had not as yet had time to fulfil
”You once spoke of an apparatus which would take the place of the long ladders at Granite House, captain,” said he; ”won't youwill be easier; but is this a really useful thing?”
”Certainly, captain After we have given ourselves necessaries, let us think a little of luxury For us it s it is necessary It isn't very convenient to cli ladder when one is heavily loaded”
”Well, Pencroft, ill try to please you,” replied Cyrus Harding
”But you have no machine at your disposal”
”We will make one”
”A steam machine?”
”No, a water machine”
And, indeed, to work his apparatus there was already a natural force at the disposal of the engineer which could be used without great difficulty For this, it was enough to augment the flow of the little stream which supplied the interior of Granite House ater The opening a a strong fall at the bottoe, the overflow froineer fixed a cylinder with paddles, which was joined on the exterior with a strong cable rolled on a wheel, supporting a basket In this way, by round, which enabled theulate the motive power, they could rise in the basket to the door of Granite House
It was on the 17th of March that the lift acted for the first tiave universal satisfaction Henceforward all the loads, wood, coal, provisions, and even the settlers themselves, were hoisted by this simple system, which replaced the priretting the change Top particularly was enchanted with this improvement, for he had not, and never could have possessed Master Jup's skill in cli ladders, and often it was on Neb's back, or even on that of the orang, that he had been obliged to make the ascent to Granite House About this tilass and he at first put the old pottery-kiln to this new use There were some difficulties to be encountered, but after several fruitless attelass manufactory, which Gideon Spilett and Herbert, his usual assistants did not leave for several days As to the substances used in the colass, they are simply sand, chalk and soda, either carbonate or sulphate Now the beach supplied sand, lime supplied chalk, sea weeds supplied soda, pyrites supplied sulphuric acid and the ground supplied coal to heat the kiln to the wished-for te ready for setting to work
The tool, the manufacture of which presented the lass , which collects on one end the , thin piece of iron rolled up like the barrel of a gun, Pencroft succeeded ina tube soon ready for use
On the 28th of March the tube was heated A hundred parts of sand thirty-five of chalk, forty of sulphate of soda, mixed with two or three parts of powered coal, composed the substance which was placed in crucibles When the high temperature of the oven had reduced it to a liquid, or rather a pasty state, Cyrus Harding collected with the tube a quantity of the paste, he turned it about on a ive it a for, then he passed the tube to Herbert, telling him to blow at the other extremity
[Illustration: THE GLass-BLOWERS]
And Herbert, swelling out his cheeks, blew socare to twirl it round at the salassy mass Other quantities of the substance in a state of fusion were added to the first, and in a short time the result was a bubble whichthen took the tube out of Herbert's hands, and, giving to it a pendulousthe ive it a cylindro-conic shape
The blowing operation had given a cylinder of glass terminated by two hemispheric caps, which were easily detached by means of a sharp iron dipped in cold water; then, by the sathways, and after having been rendered , it was extended on a plate and spread out with a wooden roller
The first pane was thus manufactured, and they had only to perform this operation fifty times to have fifty panes The s at Granite House were soon furnished with panes; not very white, perhaps, but still sufficiently transparent
As to bottles and tumblers, that was only play They were satisfied with them, besides, just as they came from the end of the tube Pencroft had asked to be allowed to ”blow” in his turn, and it was great fun for him; but he blew so hard that his productions took the most ridiculous shapes, which he ad and Herbert, whilst hunting one day, had entered the forest of the Far West, on the left bank of the Mercy, and, as usual, the lad was asking a thousand questions of the engineer, who answered the was not a sports chearoos, capybaras, and agoutis caun; the consequence was that the day was already advanced, and the two hunters were in danger of havinga cry of joy, exclai, do you see that tree?” and he pointed to a shrub, rather than a tree, for it was cole stem, covered with a scaly bark, which bore leaves streaked with little parallel veins
”And what is this tree which rese
”It is a 'cycas revoluta,' of which I have a picture in our dictionary of Natural History!” said Herbert
”But I can't see any fruit on this shrub!” observed his companion
”No, captain,” replied Herbert; ”but its stem contains a flour hich nature has provided us all ready ground”
”It is, then, the bread-tree?”
”Yes, the bread-tree”
”Well, ineer, ”this is a valuable discovery, since our wheat harvest is not yet ripe; I hope that you are not mistaken!”
Herbert was not mistaken: he broke the stelandulous tissue, containing a quantity of floury pith, traversed oody fibre, separated by rings of the saed concentrically With this fecula was reeable flavour, but which it would be easy to get rid of by pressure This cellular substance was regular flour of a superior quality, extre; its exportation was for and Herbert, after having exarew, took their bearings, and returned to Granite House, where they made known their discovery
The next day the settlers went to collect some and returned to Granite House with an aineer constructed a press, hich to extract the led with the fecula, and he obtained a large quantity of flour, which Neb soon transfors This was not quite real wheaten bread, but it was very like it
Now, too, the onaga, the goats, and the sheep in the corral furnished daily the milk necessary to the colony The cart, or rather a sort of light carriole which had replaced it, made frequent journeys to the corral, and when it was Pencroft's turn to go he took Jup, and let hi his whip, acquitted hi prospered, as well in the corral as in Granite House and certainly the settlers, if it had not been that they were so far from their native land, had no reason to complain They were so well suited to this life, and were, besides, so accustomed to the island, that they could not have left its hospitable soil without regret!
And yet so deeply is the love of his country implanted in the heart of ht of the island, the colonists would have nals, would have attracted her attention, and would have departed!
It was the 1st of April, a Sunday, Easter Day, which Harding and his companions sanctified by rest and prayer The day was fine, such as an October day in the northern he after dinner, were seated under the verandah on the edge of Prospect Heights, and they atching the darkness creeping up from the horizon Some cups of the infusion of elder berries, which took the place of coffee, had been served by Neb They were speaking of the island and of its isolated situation in the Pacific, which led Gideon Spilett to say,-- ”My dear Cyrus, have you ever, since you possessed the sextant found in the case, again taken the position of our island?”