The Coral Island - Robert Michael Ballantyne (little readers txt) 📗

hole in them, which, not

having anything better at hand at the time, he did with the point

of our useless pencil-case. Then he strung them on the cocoa-nut

spine, and on putting a light to the topmost nut, we found to our

joy that it burned with a clear, beautiful flame; upon seeing

which, Peterkin sprang up and danced round the fire for at least

five minutes in the excess of his satisfaction.

 

“Now lads,” said Jack, extinguishing our candle, the sun will set

in an hour, so we have no time to lose. “I shall go and cut a

young tree to make my bow out of, and you had better each of you go

and select good strong sticks for clubs, and we’ll set to work at

them after dark.”

 

So saying he shouldered his axe and went off, followed by Peterkin,

while I took up the piece of newly discovered cloth, and fell to

examining its structure. So engrossed was I in this that I was

still sitting in the same attitude and occupation when my

companions returned.

 

“I told you so!” cried Peterkin, with a loud laugh. “Oh, Ralph,

you’re incorrigible. See, there’s a club for you. I was sure,

when we left you looking at that bit of stuff, that we would find

you poring over it when we came back, so I just cut a club for you

as well as for myself.”

 

“Thank you, Peterkin,” said I. “It was kind of you to do that,

instead of scolding me for a lazy fellow, as I confess I deserve.”

 

“Oh! as to that,” returned Peterkin, “I’ll blow you up yet, if you

wish it - only it would be of no use if I did, for you’re a perfect

mule!”

 

As it was now getting dark we lighted our candle, and placing it in

a holder made of two crossing branches, inside of our bower, we

seated ourselves on our leafy beds and began to work.

 

“I intend to appropriate the bow for my own use,” said Jack,

chipping the piece of wood he had brought with his axe. “I used to

be a pretty fair shot once. But what’s that you’re doing?” he

added, looking at Peterkin, who had drawn the end of a long pole

into the tent, and was endeavouring to fit a small piece of the

hoop-iron to the end of it.

 

“I’m going to enlist into the Lancers,” answered Peterkin. “You

see, Jack, I find the club rather an unwieldy instrument for my

delicately-formed muscles, and I flatter myself I shall do more

execution with a spear.”

 

“Well, if length constitutes power,” said Jack, “you’ll certainly

be invincible.”

 

The pole which Peterkin had cut was full twelve feet long, being a

very strong but light and tough young tree, which merely required

thinning at the butt to be a serviceable weapon.

 

“That’s a very good idea,” said I.

 

“Which - this?” inquired Peterkin, pointing to the spear.

 

“Yes;” I replied.

 

“Humph!” said he; “you’d find it a pretty tough and matter-of-fact

idea, if you had it stuck through your gizzard, old boy!”

 

“I mean the idea of making it is a good one,” said I, laughing.

“And, now I think of it, I’ll change my plan, too. I don’t think

much of a club, so I’ll make me a sling out of this piece of cloth.

I used to be very fond of slinging, ever since I read of David

slaying Goliath the Philistine, and I was once thought to be expert

at it.”

 

So I set to work to manufacture a sling. For a long time we all

worked very busily without speaking. At length Peterkin looked up:

“I say, Jack, I’m sorry to say I must apply to you for another

strip of your handkerchief, to tie on this rascally head with.

It’s pretty well torn at any rate, so you won’t miss it.”

 

Jack proceeded to comply with this request when Peterkin suddenly

laid his hand on his arm and arrested him.

 

“Hist, man,” said he, “be tender; you should never be needlessly

cruel if you can help it. Do try to shave past Lord Nelson’s mouth

without tearing it, if possible! Thanks. There are plenty more

handkerchiefs on the cocoa-nut trees.”

 

Poor Peterkin! with what pleasant feelings I recall and record his

jests and humorous sayings now!

 

While we were thus engaged, we were startled by a distant but most

strange and horrible cry. It seemed to come from the sea, but was

so far away that we could not clearly distinguish its precise

direction. Rushing out of our bower, we hastened down to the beach

and stayed to listen. Again it came quite loud and distinct on the

night air, - a prolonged, hideous cry, something like the braying

of an ass. The moon had risen, and we could see the islands in and

beyond the lagoon quite plainly, but there was no object visible to

account for such a cry. A strong gust of wind was blowing from the

point whence the sound came, but this died away while we were

gazing out to sea.

 

“What can it be?” said Peterkin, in a low whisper, while we all

involuntarily crept closer to each other.

 

“Do you know,” said Jack, “I have heard that mysterious sound twice

before, but never so loud as to-night. Indeed it was so faint that

I thought I must have merely fancied it, so, as I did not wish to

alarm you, I said nothing about it.”

 

We listened for a long time for the sound again, but as it did not

come, we returned to the bower and resumed our work.

 

“Very strange,” said Peterkin, quite gravely. “Do you believe in

ghosts, Ralph?”

 

“No,” I answered, “I do not. Nevertheless I must confess that

strange, unaccountable sounds, such as we have just heard, make me

feel a little uneasy.”

 

“What say you to it, Jack?”

 

“I neither believe in ghosts nor feel uneasy,” he replied. “I

never saw a ghost myself, and I never met with any one who had; and

I have generally found that strange and unaccountable things have

almost always been accounted for, and found to be quite simple, on

close examination. I certainly can’t imagine what THAT sound is;

but I’m quite sure I shall find out before long, - and if it’s a

ghost I’ll - “

 

“Eat it,” cried Peterkin.

 

“Yes, I’ll eat it! Now, then, my bow and two arrows are finished;

so if you’re ready we had better turn in.”

 

By this time Peterkin had thinned down his spear and tied an iron

point very cleverly to the end of it; I had formed a sling, the

lines of which were composed of thin strips of the cocoa-nut cloth,

plaited; and Jack had made a stout bow, nearly five feet long, with

two arrows, feathered with two or three large plumes which some

bird had dropt. They had no barbs, but Jack said that if arrows

were well feathered, they did not require iron points, but would

fly quite well if merely sharpened at the point; which I did not

know before.

 

“A feathered arrow without a barb,” said he, “is a good weapon, but

a barbed arrow without feathers is utterly useless.”

 

The string of the bow was formed of our piece of whip-cord, part of

which, as he did not like to cut it, was rolled round the bow.

 

Although thus prepared for a start on the morrow, we thought it

wise to exercise ourselves a little in the use of our weapons

before starting, so we spent the whole of the next day in

practising. And it was well we did so, for we found that our arms

were very imperfect, and that we were far from perfect in the use

of them. First, Jack found that the bow was much too strong, and

he had to thin it. Also the spear was much too heavy, and so had

to be reduced in thickness, although nothing would induce Peterkin

to have it shortened. My sling answered very well, but I had

fallen so much out of practice that my first stone knocked off

Peterkin’s hat, and narrowly missed making a second Goliath of him.

However, after having spent the whole day in diligent practice, we

began to find some of our former expertness returning - at least

Jack and I did. As for Peterkin, being naturally a neat-handed

boy, he soon handled his spear well, and could run full tilt at a

cocoa nut, and hit it with great precision once out of every five

times.

 

But I feel satisfied that we owed much of our rapid success to the

unflagging energy of Jack, who insisted that, since we had made him

Captain, we should obey him; and he kept us at work from morning

till night, perseveringly, at the same thing. Peterkin wished very

much to run about and stick his spear into everything he passed;

but Jack put up a cocoa nut, and would not let him leave off

running at that for a moment, except when he wanted to rest. We

laughed at Jack for this, but we were both convinced that it did us

much good.

 

That night we examined and repaired our arms ere we lay down to

rest, although we were much fatigued, in order that we might be in

readiness to set out on our expedition at daylight on the following

morning.

 

CHAPTER IX.

 

Prepare for a journey round the island - Sagacious reflections -

Mysterious appearances and startling occurrences.

 

SCARCELY had the sun shot its first ray across the bosom of the

broad Pacific, when Jack sprang to his feet, and, hallooing in

Peterkin’s ear to awaken him, ran down the beach to take his

customary dip in the sea. We did not, as was our wont, bathe that

morning in our Water Garden, but, in order to save time, refreshed

ourselves in the shallow water just opposite the bower. Our

breakfast was also despatched without loss of time, and in less

than an hour afterwards all our preparations for the journey were

completed.

 

In addition to his ordinary dress, Jack tied a belt of cocoa-nut

cloth round his waist, into which he thrust the axe. I was also

advised to put on a belt and carry a short cudgel or bludgeon in

it; for, as Jack truly remarked, the sling would be of little use

if we should chance to come to close quarters with any wild animal.

As for Peterkin, notwithstanding that he carried such a long, and I

must add, frightful-looking spear over his shoulder, we could not

prevail on him to leave his club behind; “for,” said he, “a spear

at close quarters is not worth a button.” I must say that it

seemed to me that the club was, to use his own style of language,

not worth a button-hole; for it was all knotted over at the head,

something like the club which I remember to have observed in

picture-books of Jack the Giant Killer, besides being so heavy that

he required to grasp it with both hands in order to wield it at

all. However, he took it with him, and, in this manner we set out

upon our travels.

 

We did not consider it necessary to carry any food with us, as we

knew that wherever we went we should be certain to fall in with

cocoa-nut trees; having which, we were amply supplied, as Peterkin

said, with meat and drink and pocket-handkerchiefs! I took the

precaution, however, to put the burning-glass into my pocket, lest

we should want fire.