Chapter XXI

The life of the colonists went on. Jup became the useful part of the party, and Top was his best friend. But the engineer wished to explore the well opening into the corridor. Why did Top run round this place so often? Why did he whine in that strange way? Moreover, Jup shared Top’s anxiety. Had this well other branches beside the communication with the sea? This is what Smith wanted to discover. He had resolved to make this exploration during the absence of his companions, and one day there was the opportunity.

It was easy to descend to the bottom of the well by means of the ladder. The engineer dragged this ladder to the opening of the well, and let it unroll itself into the abyss. Then he lit a lantern, and placed a revolver and cutlass in his belt, and began to descend the rungs. The sides of the well were smooth, but some projections of rocks appeared at intervals, and somebody could raise himself to the mouth of the well. The engineer noticed this, but throwing the light of the lantern on these points he could discover nothing interesting.

Smith descended deeper, examining every part of the well, but he saw nothing suspicious. When he had reached the lowermost ring, he was at the surface of the water, which was perfectly calm. Neither there, nor in any other part of the well, was there any lateral opening. The wall sounded solid. It was a compact mass. In order to reach the bottom of the well, and from thence climb to its mouth, it was necessary to traverse the submerged passage under the shore, which connected with the sea, and this was only possible for marine animals.

Smith ended his exploration, remounted the ladder, covered over the mouth of the well again, and returned thoughtfully to the great hall of Granite House, saying to himself:

“I have seen nothing, and yet, there is something there.”

Chapter XXII

The colonists were making a boat. The construction advanced rapidly. The ceiling and the deck were finished towards the 13th of September. For caulking, they used some dry wrack, and the seams were then covered with boiling pitch, made from the pine trees of the forest.

The arrangement of the boat was simple. A deck was placed over the ballast, and the interior was divided into two compartments, the larger containing two bunks, which served as chests. The foot of the mast was at the partition separating the compartments, which were entered through hatchways.

The boat was launched on the 10th of October. Pencroff was radiant with delight. As the tide rose, the boat was on the surface of the water, amid the applause of the colonists, and especially of Pencroff, who showed no modesty on this occasion. The title of captain was bestowed upon him unanimously. And as the weather was fine, the breeze fresh, and the sea calm, the trial was made at once in an excursion along the coast.

“Get aboard! Get aboard!”cried Captain Pencroff.

On going out from Union Bay they had a fair wind, and they were able to see that their speed was excellent. The passengers were enchanted. They had a good boat, which, in case of need, could render them great service. Pencroff stood out to sea two or three miles. In the foreground were the pine forests, contrasting with the foliage of the other trees, and over all rose Mt. Franklin, its head white with snow.

“How beautiful it is!” exclaimed Herbert.

Spilett, seated by the mast, sketched the panorama before him, while Smith looked on in silence.

“What do you say of our boat, sir?” demanded Pencroff.

“It acts very well,” replied the engineer.

“Good. And now don’t you think it could undertake a voyage of some length?”

“Where to, Pencroff?”

“To the nearest island, for instance.”

“My friend,” replied the engineer, “I believe that in a case of necessity we will use this boat even for a longer journey; but, you know, I would be sorry to see you leave for the nearest island, because nothing obliges you to go.”

“One likes to know one’s neighbors,” answered Pencroff. “There is no risk in it, Mr. Smith.”

“Possibly not, Pencroff; but, I repeat, that it is not necessary.”

The obstinate sailor did not answer. They were half a mile off shore, the sea was as smooth as glass. Herbert was standing in the bows indicating the channel-way. Suddenly he cried:

“Luff! Pencroff, luff!”

“What is it?” cried the sailor. “A rock?”

“No, hold on, I cannot see very well.”

While speaking, the lad lay down along the deck, plunged his arm quickly into the water, and then rising up again with something in his hand, exclaimed:

“It is a bottle!”

Smith took it, and without saying a word, withdrew the cork and took out a wet paper, on which was written these words:

A shipwrecked man. Tabor Island: 153° W. lon. 37°11' S. lat.

“Someone shipwrecked!” cried Pencroff, “abandoned some hundred miles from us. The nearest island must be Tabor Island! Oh! Mr. Smith, you will no longer oppose my project!”

“No, Pencroff, and you must leave as soon as possible.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow.”

The engineer held the paper which he had taken from the bottle in his hand. He considered for a few moments, and then spoke:

“From this paper, my friends,” said he, “we must conclude that, in the first place, the person cast away upon Tabor Island is a man well informed, since he gives the latitude and longitude of his island exactly; secondly, that he is English or American, since the paper is written in English.”

“That is a logical conclusion,” answered Spilett, “and the presence of this person explains the arrival of the box on our coast. There has been a shipwreck, since someone has been shipwrecked.”

That evening all the details of the expedition were arranged. It was agreed that Herbert and Pencroff, who understood the management of a boat, were to undertake the voyage alone. Thus, Smith, Neb, and Spilett were to remain at Granite House; but at the last moment, the latter, remembering his duty as reporter, declared that he would swim rather than lose such an opportunity.

The night and the next day passed quietly and safely. Tabor Island was not as large as Lincoln Island. By noon the sloop touched the beach, the anchor was let go, the sails furled, and the crew stepped on shore. Pencroff and his companions, well armed, ascended the coast towards a round hill, some 250 feet high, from the summit of which they expected to have a good view of the island.

The explorers followed the edge of grassy plain which ended at the foot of the hill. Having reached the hill the party soon climbed to its summit, and their gaze traversed the whole horizon. They were certainly upon an island, not more than six miles in circumference, in shape a long oval. All around it, the sea, absolutely deserted, stretched away to the horizon.

“The place is small,” said Herbert.

“Yes,” replied the sailor. “Too small for us.”

“And,” added the reporter, “it seems uninhabited.”

“Nevertheless,” said Pencroff, “let us go down and search.”

The party returned to the sloop, and they decided to walk round the entire island before venturing into its interior. But they did not see any trace of a habitation, and not even a footprint. Perhaps the paper had been in the water for many months, or even years, and it was possible, in that case, that the shipwrecked one had been rescued or that he had died from suffering.

The exploration was following diagonally across the island, and by this means the sailor and his companions reached the little stream which flowed towards the sea. Herbert was overjoyed when he discovered potatoes, succory, sorrel, carrots, cabbage, and turnips, the seeds of which would enrich the garden at Granite House.

“Doubtless,” said Spilett, “it looks as if the place had not been inhabited for a long time.”

“You think that the paper had been written a long time ago?”

“Undoubtedly.”

“See, it is getting dark,” said Pencroff. “And I think we had better come back.”

“We will go aboard, and tomorrow we will begin again,” replied the reporter.

Suddenly Herbert, pointing to something dimly visible, through the trees, exclaimed:

“There’s a house!”

All three directed their steps towards the place indicated, and they found a hut that was built of planks, and covered with heavy tarpaulin. The door, half closed, was pushed back by Pencroff, who entered quickly. The place was empty!

Chapter XXIII

Pencroff, Spilett and Herbert stood silent in darkness. Then the sailor lit a twig, and the light illuminated for a moment a small room, seemingly deserted. At one end was a large chimney, containing some cold cinders and an armful of dry wood. Pencroff threw the lighted twig into it, and the wood caught fire and gave out a bright light.

The sailor and his companions discovered a bed in disorder; in the corner of the fireplace were two rusty kettles and an overturned pot; a clothes-press with some sailors’ clothing; on the table a tin plate, and a Bible; in a corner some tools, a shovel, a mattock, a pick, two shot guns, one of which was broken; on a shelf was a barrel full of powder, a barrel of lead, and a number of boxes of caps. All were covered with a thick coating of dust.

“There is no one here,” said the reporter.

“Not a soul. This room has not been occupied in a long time.”

They agreed to pass the night in this house. No sound was heard, the door did not open, and the hours passed by.

All were anxious to renew the search of the day before, and to explore the innermost recesses of the islet. As soon as it was daylight they began to examine the house. It was prettily situated under a small hill, on which grew several fine gum trees. A small lawn, surrounded by a dilapidated fence, extended to the bank of the little stream.

As it was likely that the solitary inhabitant of this island was dead, the party sought rather to find his remains. But during all the morning they were unable to find anything.

“We will leave tomorrow at daylight,” said Pencroff to his companions.

“I think we need to take those things which belonged to the poor man who lived here?” queried Herbert.

“I think so,” answered Spilett.

“And we must gather some seed,” added Herbert, “which will give us some vegetables.”

“Perhaps it would be better to spend another day here, in order to get together everything that we want,” suggested the reporter.

“No, sir,” replied the sailor. “I want to get away tomorrow morning.”

“Then don’t let us lose any time,” said Herbert, rising.

“We will not,” replied Pencroff. “Herbert, you get the seed, and Spilett and I will chase the pigs.”

Herbert, therefore, followed the path which led to the cultivated part of the island, while the others plunged at once into the forest. However, after half an hour the hunters heard terrible cries.

“It is Herbert!” said the reporter.

“Hurry!” answered the sailor, as the two ran towards the place from whence the cries came.

In the path they saw the lad prostrate beneath a gigantic ape, who was throttling him. To throw themselves on this monster and pinion him to the ground was the work of a moment.

“You are not wounded, Herbert?”

“No, oh no.”

“This ape…”

“But he is not an ape!” cried Herbert.

At these words Pencroff and Spilett looked again at the object lying on the ground. In fact, it was not an ape, but a human being, a man! But what a man! He was a savage: matted hair, tangled beard descending to his waist, his body naked, wild eyes, long nails, dark skin; such was the miserable creature. Isolation had made him a savage, a real creature of the woods.

Spilett spoke to him, but he neither understood nor listened. Spilett looked attentively at the miserable creature and said:

“What he is, what he has been, and what he will be; it is still our duty to take him to Lincoln Island.”

“Oh yes, yes,” exclaimed Herbert, “and perhaps we can, with care, restore to him some degree of intelligence.”

The prisoner had been placed in the forward hold, where he lay calm, quiet, insensible, and mute. Pencroff offered him some cooked meat to eat, but he pushed it away; but when they gave him one of the ducks which Herbert had killed, he devoured it bestially.

At daybreak the next day, the anchor was raised, and Pencroff headed directly towards home.