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

have said, we noticed a dark line, like

a low cloud or fog-bank, on the seaward horizon. The day was a

fine one, though cloudy, and a gentle breeze was blowing, but the

sea was not rougher, or the breaker on the reef higher, than usual.

At first we thought that this looked like a thunder-cloud; and, as

we had had a good deal of broken weather of late, accompanied by

occasional peals of thunder, we supposed that a storm must be

approaching. Gradually, however, this line seemed to draw nearer,

without spreading up over the sky, as would certainly have been the

case if it had been a storm-cloud. Still nearer it came, and soon

we saw that it was moving swiftly towards the island; but there was

no sound till it reached the islands out at sea. As it passed

these islands, we observed, with no little anxiety, that a cloud of

white foam encircled them, and burst in spray into the air: it was

accompanied by a loud roar. This led us to conjecture that the

approaching object was an enormous wave of the sea; but we had no

idea how large it was till it came near to ourselves. When it

approached the outer reef, however, we were awe-struck with its

unusual magnitude; and we sprang to our feet, and clambered hastily

up to the highest point of the precipice, under an indefinable

feeling of fear.

 

I have said before that the reef opposite Spouting Cliff was very

near to the shore, while, just in front of the bower, it was at a

considerable distance out to sea. Owing to this formation, the

wave reached the reef at the latter point before it struck at the

foot of Spouting Cliff. The instant it touched the reef we became

aware, for the first time, of its awful magnitude. It burst

completely over the reef at all points, with a roar that seemed

louder to me than thunder; and this roar continued for some

seconds, while the wave rolled gradually along towards the cliff on

which we stood. As its crest reared before us, we felt that we

were in great danger, and turned to flee; but we were too late.

With a crash that seemed to shake the solid rocks the gigantic

billow fell, and instantly the spouting-holes sent up a gush of

water-spouts with such force that they shrieked on issuing from

their narrow vents. It seemed to us as if the earth had been blown

up with water. We were stunned and confused by the shock, and so

drenched and blinded with spray, that we knew not for a few moments

whither to flee for shelter. At length we all three gained an

eminence beyond the reach of the water; but what a scene of

devastation met our gaze as we looked along the shore! This

enormous wave not only burst over the reef, but continued its way

across the lagoon, and fell on the sandy beach of the island with

such force that passed completely over it and dashed into the

woods, levelling the smaller trees and bushes in its headlong

course!

 

On seeing this, Jack said he feared our bower must have been swept

away, and that the boat, which was on the beach, must have been

utterly destroyed. Our hearts sank within us as we thought of

this, and we hastened round through the woods towards our home. On

reaching it we found, to our great relief of mind, that the force

of the wave had been expended just before reaching the bower; but

the entrance to it was almost blocked up by the torn-up bushes and

tangled heaps of sea-weed. Having satisfied ourselves as to the

bower, we hurried to the spot where the boat had been left; but no

boat was there! The spot on which it had stood was vacant, and no

sign of it could we see on looking around us.

 

“It may have been washed up into the woods,” said Jack, hurrying up

the beach as he spoke. Still, no boat was to be seen, and we were

about to give ourselves over to despair, when Peterkin called to

Jack and said, -

 

“Jack, my friend, you were once so exceedingly sagacious and wise

as to make me acquainted with the fact that cocoa nuts grow upon

trees; will you now be so good as to inform me what sort of fruit

that is growing on the top of yonder bush? for I confess to being

ignorant, or, at least, doubtful on the point.”

 

We looked towards the bush indicated, and there, to our surprise,

beheld our little boat snugly nestled among the leaves! We were

very much overjoyed at this, for we would have suffered any loss

rather than the loss of our boat. We found that the wave had

actually borne the boat on its crest from the beach into the woods,

and there launched it into the heart of this bush; which was

extremely fortunate, for had it been tossed against a rock or a

tree, it would have been dashed to pieces, whereas it had not

received the smallest injury. It was no easy matter, however, to

get it out of the bush and down to the sea again. This cost us two

days of hard labour to accomplish.

 

We had also much ado to clear away the rubbish from before the

bower, and spent nearly a week in constant labour ere we got the

neighbourhood to look as clean and orderly as before; for the

uprooted bushes and sea-weed that lay on the beach formed a more

dreadfully confused-looking mass than one who had not seen the

place after the inundation could conceive.

 

Before leaving the subject I may mention, for the sake of those who

interest themselves in the curious natural phenomena of our world,

that this gigantic wave occurs regularly on some of the islands of

the Pacific, once, and sometimes twice in the year. I heard this

stated by the missionaries during my career in those seas. They

could not tell me whether it visited all of the islands, but I was

certainly assured that it occurred periodically in some of them.

 

After we had got our home put to rights and cleared of the DEBRIS

of the inundation, we again turned our thoughts to paying the

penguins a visit. The boat was therefore overhauled and a few

repairs done. Then we prepared a supply of provisions, for we

intended to be absent at least a night or two, perhaps longer.

This took us some time to do, for while Jack was busy with the

boat, Peterkin was sent into the woods to spear a hog or two, and

had to search long, sometimes, ere he found them. Peterkin was

usually sent on this errand, when we wanted a pork chop (which was

not seldom), because he was so active, and could run so wonderfully

fast that he found no difficulty in overtaking the hogs; but, being

dreadfully reckless, he almost invariably tumbled over stumps and

stones in the course of his wild chase, and seldom returned home

without having knocked the skin off his shins. Once, indeed, a

more serious accident happened to him. He had been out all morning

alone and did not return at the usual time to dinner. We wondered

at this, for Peterkin was always very punctual at the dinner hour.

As supper-time drew near we began to be anxious about him, and at

length sallied forth to search the woods. For a long time we

sought in vain, but a little before dark we came upon the tracks of

the hogs, which we followed up until we came to the brow of a

rather steep bank or precipice. Looking over this we beheld

Peterkin lying in a state of insensibility at the foot, with his

cheek resting on the snout of a little pig, which was pinned to the

earth by the spear! We were dreadfully alarmed, but hastened to

bathe his forehead with water, and had soon the satisfaction of

seeing him revive. After we had carried him home he related to as

how the thing had happened.

 

“You must know,” said he, “I walked about all the forenoon, till I

was as tired as an old donkey, without seeing a single grunter, not

so much as a track of one; but, as I was determined not to return

empty-handed, I resolved to go without my dinner and - “

 

“What!” exclaimed Jack, “did you REALLY resolve to do that?”

 

“Now, Jack, hold your tongue,” returned Peterkin; “I say that I

resolved to forego my dinner and to push to the head of the small

valley, where I felt pretty sure of discovering the hogs. I soon

found that I was on the right scent, for I had scarcely walked half

a mile in the direction of the small plum tree we found there the

other day, when a squeak fell on my ear. ‘Ho, ho,’ said I, ‘there

you go, my boys;’ and I hurried up the glen. I soon started them,

and singling out a fat pig, ran tilt at him. In a few seconds I

was up with him, and stuck my spear right through his dumpy body.

Just as I did so, I saw that we were on the edge of a precipice,

whether high or low I knew not, but I had been running at such a

pace that I could not stop, so the pig and I gave a howl in concert

and went plunging over together. I remembered nothing more after

that, till I came to my senses and found you bathing my temples,

and Ralph wringing his hands over me.”

 

But although Peterkin was often unfortunate, in the way of getting

tumbles, he was successful on the present occasion in hunting, and

returned before evening with three very nice little hogs. I, also,

was successful in my visit to the mud-flats, where I killed several

ducks. So that, when we launched and loaded our boat at sunrise

the following morning, we found our store of provisions to be more

than sufficient. Part had been cooked the night before, and, on

taking note of the different items, we found the account to stand

thus:-

 

10 Bread-fruits, (two baked, eight unbaked.)

20 Yams, (six roasted, the rest raw.)

6 Taro roots.

50 Fine large plums.

6 Cocoa nuts, ripe.

6 Ditto green, (for drinking.)

4 Large ducks and two small ones, raw.

3 Cold roast pigs, with stuffing.

 

I may here remark that the stuffing had been devised by Peterkin

specially for the occasion. He kept the manner of its compounding

a profound secret, so I cannot tell what it was; but I can say,

with much confidence, that we found it to be atrociously bad, and,

after the first tasting, scraped it carefully out and threw it

overboard. We calculated that this supply would last us for

several days, but we afterwards found that it was much more than we

required, especially in regard to the cocoa nuts, of which we found

large supplies wherever we went. However, as Peterkin remarked, it

was better to have too much than too little, as we knew not to what

straits we might be put during our voyage.

 

It was a very calm sunny morning when we launched forth and rowed

over the lagoon towards the outlet in the reef, and passed between

the two green islets that guard the entrance. We experienced some

difficulty and no little danger in passing the surf of the breaker,

and shipped a good deal of water in the attempt; but, once past the

billow, we found ourselves floating placidly on the long oily swell

that rose and fell slowly as it rolled over the wide ocean.