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

enemy sprang forward, the ponderous club was swung, but it did

not descend, for at that moment the savage was felled to the ground

by a stone from the hand of one who had witnessed his chief’s

danger. This was the turning-point in the battle. The savages who

landed first turned and fled towards the bush, on seeing the fall

of their chief. But not one escaped. They were all overtaken and

felled to the earth. I saw, however, that they were not all

killed. Indeed, their enemies, now that they were conquered,

seemed anxious to take them alive; and they succeeded in securing

fifteen, whom they bound hand and foot with cords, and, carrying

them up into the woods, laid them down among the bushes. Here they

left them, for what purpose I knew not, and returned to the scene

of the late battle, where the remnant of the party were bathing

their wounds.

 

Out of the forty blacks that composed the attacking party, only

twenty-eight remained alive, two of whom were sent into the bush to

hunt for the women and children. Of the other party, as I have

said, only ten survived, and these were lying bound and helpless on

the grass.

 

Jack and Peterkin and I now looked at each other, and whispered our

fears that the savages might clamber up the rocks to search for

fresh water, and so discover our place of concealment; but we were

so much interested in watching their movements that we agreed to

remain where we were; and, indeed, we could not easily have risen

without exposing ourselves to detection. One of the savages now

went up to the wood and soon returned with a bundle of fire-wood,

and we were not a little surprised to see him set fire to it by the

very same means used by Jack the time we made our first fire, -

namely, with the bow and drill. When the fire was kindled, two of

the party went again to the woods and returned with one of the

bound men. A dreadful feeling of horror crept over my heart, as

the thought flashed upon me that they were going to burn their

enemies. As they bore him to the fire my feelings almost

overpowered me. I gasped for breath, and seizing my club,

endeavoured to spring to my feet; but Jack’s powerful arm pinned me

to the earth. Next moment one of the savages raised his club, and

fractured the wretched creature’s skull. He must have died

instantly, and, strange though it may seem, I confess to a feeling

of relief when the deed was done, because I now knew that the poor

savage could not be burned alive. Scarcely had his limbs ceased to

quiver when the monsters cut slices of flesh from his body, and,

after roasting them slightly over the fire, devoured them.

 

Suddenly there arose a cry from the woods, and, in a few seconds,

the two savages hastened towards the fire dragging the three women

and their two infants along with them. One of those women was much

younger than her companions, and we were struck with the modesty of

her demeanour and the gentle expression of her face, which,

although she had the flattish nose and thick lips of the others,

was of a light-brown colour, and we conjectured that she must be of

a different race. She and her companions wore short petticoats and

a kind of tippet on their shoulders. Their hair was jet black, but

instead of being long, was short and curly, - though not woolly -

somewhat like the hair of a young boy. While we gazed with

interest and some anxiety at these poor creatures, the big chief

advanced to one of the elder females and laid his hand upon the

child. But the mother shrank from him, and clasping the little one

to her bosom, uttered a wail of fear. With a savage laugh, the

chief tore the child from her arms and tossed it into the sea. A

low groan burst from Jack’s lips as we witnessed this atrocious act

and heard the mother’s shriek, as she fell insensible on the sand.

The rippling waves rolled the child on the beach, as if they

refused to be a party in such a foul murder, and we could observe

that the little one still lived.

 

The young girl was now brought forward, and the chief addressed

her; but although we heard his voice, and even the words

distinctly, of course we could not understand what he said. The

girl made no answer to his fierce questions, and we saw by the way

in which he pointed to the fire that he threatened her life.

 

“Peterkin,” said Jack in a hoarse whisper, “have you got your

knife?”

 

“Yes,” replied Peterkin, whose face was pale as death.

 

“That will do. Listen to me, and do my bidding quick. Here is the

small knife, Ralph. Fly both of you through the bush, cut the

cords that bind the prisoners and set them free. There! quick, ere

it be too late. Jack sprang up, and seized a heavy but short

bludgeon, while his strong frame trembled with emotion, and large

drops rolled down his forehead.

 

At this moment the man who had butchered the savage a few minutes

before advanced towards the girl with his heavy club. Jack uttered

a yell that rang like a death-shriek among the rocks. With one

bound he leaped over a precipice full fifteen feet high, and,

before the savages had recovered from their surprise, was in the

midst of them; while Peterkin and I dashed through the bushes

towards the prisoners. With one blow of his staff Jack felled the

man with the club, then, turning round with a look of fury, he

rushed upon the big chief with the yellow hair. Had the blow which

Jack aimed at his head taken effect, the huge savage would have

needed no second stroke; but he was agile as a cat, and avoided it

by springing to one side, while, at the same time, he swung his

ponderous club at the head of his foe. It was now Jack’s turn to

leap aside, and well was it for him that the first outburst of his

blind fury was over, else he had become an easy prey to his

gigantic antagonist; but Jack was cool now. He darted his blows

rapidly and well, and the superiority of his light weapon was

strikingly proved in this combat, for while he could easily evade

the blows of the chief’s heavy club, the chief could not so easily

evade those of his light one. Nevertheless, so quick was he, and

so frightfully did he fling about the mighty weapon, that, although

Jack struck him almost every blow, the strokes had to be delivered

so quickly that they wanted force to be very effectual

 

It was lucky for Jack that the other savages considered the success

of their chief in this encounter to be so certain that they

refrained from interfering. Had they doubted it, they would have

probably ended the matter at once by felling him. But they

contented themselves with awaiting the issue.

 

The force which the chief expended in wielding his club now began

to be apparent. His movements became slower, his breath hissed

through his clenched teeth, and the surprised savages drew nearer

in order to render assistance. Jack observed this movement. He

felt that his fate was sealed, and resolved to cast his life upon

the next blow. The chiefs club was again about to descend on his

head. He might have evaded it easily, but instead of doing so, he

suddenly shortened his grasp of his own club, rushed in under the

blow, struck his adversary right between the eyes with all his

force and fell to the earth, crushed beneath the senseless body of

the chief. A dozen clubs flew high in air ready to descend on the

head of Jack, but they hesitated a moment, for the massive body of

the chief completely covered him. That moment saved his life. Ere

the savages could tear the chief’s body away, seven of their number

fell prostrate beneath the clubs of the prisoners whom Peterkin and

I had set free, and two others fell under our own hand. We could

never have accomplished this had not our enemies been so engrossed

with the fight between Jack and their chief that they had failed to

observe us until we were upon them. They still out-numbered our

party by three, but we were flushed with victory while they were

taken by surprise and dispirited by the fall of their chief.

Moreover, they were awe-struck by the sweeping fury of Jack, who

seemed to have lost his senses altogether, and had no sooner shaken

himself free of the chief’s body than he rushed into the midst of

them, and in three blows equalized our numbers. Peterkin and I

flew to the rescue, the savages followed us, and, in less than ten

minutes, the whole of our opponents were knocked down or made

prisoners, bound hand and foot, and extended side by side upon the

sea shore.

 

CHAPTER XX.

 

Intercourse with the savages - Cannibalism prevented - The slain

are buried and the survivors depart, leaving us again alone on our

Coral Island.

 

AFTER the battle was over, the savages crowded round us and gazed

at us in surprise, while they continued to pour upon us a flood of

questions, which, being wholly unintelligible, of course we could

not answer. However, by way of putting an end to it, Jack took the

chief (who had recovered from the effects of his wound) by the hand

and shook it warmly. No sooner did the blacks see that this was

meant to express good-will than they shook hands with us all round.

After this ceremony was gone through Jack went up to the girl, who

had never once moved from the rock where she had been left, but had

continued an eager spectator of all that had passed. He made signs

to her to follow him and then, taking the chief by the hand, was

about to conduct him to the bower when his eye fell on the poor

infant which had been thrown into the sea and was still lying on

the shore. Dropping the chief’s hand he hastened towards it, and,

to his great joy, found it to be still alive. We also found that

the mother was beginning to recover slowly.

 

“Here, get out o’ the way,” said Jack, pushing us aside, as we

stooped over the poor woman and endeavoured to restore her, “I’ll

soon bring her round.” So saying, he placed the infant on her

bosom and laid its warm cheek on hers. The effect was wonderful.

The woman opened her eyes, felt the child, looked at it, and with a

cry of joy clasped it in her arms, at the same time endeavouring to

rise, for the purpose, apparently, of rushing into the woods.

 

“There, that’s all right,” said Jack, once more taking the chief by

the hand. “Now Ralph and Peterkin, make the women and these

fellows follow me to the bower. Well entertain them as hospitably

as we can.”

 

In a few minutes the savages were all seated on the ground in front

of the bower making a hearty meal off a cold roast pig, several

ducks, and a variety of cold fish, together with an unlimited

supply of cocoa-nuts, bread-fruits, yams, taro, and plums; with all

of which they seemed to be quite familiar and perfectly satisfied.

 

Meanwhile, we three being thoroughly knocked up with our day’s

work, took a good draught of cocoa-nut lemonade, and throwing

ourselves on our beds fell fast asleep. The savages it seems

followed our