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

walked aft, and, leaning over the stern,

looked down into the phosphorescent waves that gargled around the

ladder, and streamed out like a flame of blue light in the vessel’s

wake. My thoughts were very sad, and I could scarce refrain from

tears as I contrasted my present wretched position with the happy,

peaceful time, I had spent on the Coral Island with my dear

companions. As I thought upon Jack and Peterkin anxious

forebodings crossed my mind, and I pictured to myself the grief and

dismay with which they would search every nook and corner of the

island, in a vain attempt to discover my dead body; for I felt

assured that if they did not see any sign of the pirate schooner or

boat, when they came out of the cave to look for me, they would

never imagine that I had been carried away. I wondered, too, how

Jack would succeed in getting Peterkin out of the cave without my

assistance; and I trembled when I thought that he might lose

presence of mind, and begin to kick when he was in the tunnel!

These thoughts were suddenly interrupted and put to flight by a

bright red blaze which lighted up the horizon to the southward, and

cut a crimson glow far over the sea. This appearance was

accompanied by a low growling sound, as of distant thunder, and, at

the same time, the sky above us became black, while a hot stifling

wind blew around us in fitful gusts.

 

The crew assembled hastily on deck, and most of them were under the

belief that a frightful hurricane was pending; but the captain

coming on deck, soon explained the phenomena.

 

“It’s only a volcano,” said he. “I knew there was one hereabouts,

but thought it was extinct. Up there and furl top-gallant-sails;

we’ll likely have a breeze, and it’s well to be ready.”

 

As he spoke, a shower began to fall, which we quickly observed was

not rain, but fine ashes. As we were many miles distant from the

volcano, these must have been carried to us from it by the wind.

As the captain had predicted, a stiff breeze soon afterwards sprang

up, under the influence of which we speedily left the volcano far

behind us; but during the greater part of the night we could see

its lurid glare and hear its distant thunder. The shower did not

cease to fall for several hours, and we must have sailed under it

for nearly forty miles, perhaps farther. When we emerged from the

cloud, our decks and every part of the rigging were completely

covered with a thick coat of ashes. I was much interested in this,

and recollected that Jack had often spoken of many of the islands

of the Pacific as being volcanoes, either active or extinct, and

had said that the whole region was more or less volcanic, and that

some scientific men were of opinion that the islands of the Pacific

were nothing more or less than the mountain tops of a huge

continent which had sunk under the influence of volcanic agency.

 

Three days after passing the volcano, we found ourselves a few

miles to windward of an island of considerable size and luxuriant

aspect. It consisted of two mountains, which seemed to be nearly

four thousand feet high. They were separated from each other by a

broad valley, whose thick-growing trees ascended a considerable

distance up the mountain sides; and rich level plains, or meadow-land, spread round the base of the mountains, except at the point

immediately opposite the large valley, where a river seemed to

carry the trees, as it were, along with it down to the white sandy

shore. The mountain tops, unlike those of our Coral Island, were

sharp, needle-shaped, and bare, while their sides were more rugged

and grand in outline than anything I had yet seen in those seas.

Bloody Bill was beside me when the island first hove in sight.

 

“Ha!” he exclaimed, “I know that island well. They call it Emo.”

 

“Have you been here before, then?” I inquired.

 

“Ay, that I have, often, and so has this schooner. ‘Tis a famous

island for sandal-wood. We have taken many cargoes off it already,

and have paid for them too; for the savages are so numerous that we

dared not try to take it by force. But our captain has tried to

cheat them so often, that they’re beginnin’ not to like us overmuch

now. Besides, the men behaved ill the last time we were here; and

I wonder the captain is not afraid to venture. But he’s afraid o’

nothing earthly, I believe.”

 

We soon ran inside the barrier coral-reef, and let go our anchor in

six fathoms water, just opposite the mouth of a small creek, whose

shores were densely covered with mangroves and tall umbrageous

trees. The principal village of the natives lay about half a mile

from this point. Ordering the boat out, the captain jumped into

it, and ordered me to follow him. The men, fifteen in number, were

well armed; and the mate was directed to have Long Tom ready for

emergencies.

 

“Give way, lads,” cried the captain.

 

The oars fell into the water at the word, the boat shot from the

schooner’s side, and in a few minutes reached the shore. Here,

contrary to our expectation, we were met with the utmost cordiality

by Romata, the principal chief of the island, who conducted us to

his house, and gave us mats to sit upon. I observed in passing

that the natives, of whom there were two or three thousand, were

totally unarmed.

 

After a short preliminary palaver, a feast of baked pigs and

various roots was spread before us; of which we partook sparingly,

and then proceeded to business. The captain stated his object in

visiting the island, regretted that there had been a slight

misunderstanding during the last visit, and hoped that no ill-will

was borne by either party, and that a satisfactory trade would be

accomplished.

 

Romata answered that he had forgotten there had been any

differences between them, protested that he was delighted to see

his friends again, and assured them they should have every

assistance in cutting and embarking the wood. The terms were

afterwards agreed on, and we rose to depart. All this conversation

was afterwards explained to me by Bill, who understood the language

pretty well.

 

Romata accompanied us on board, and explained that a great chief

from another island was then on a visit to him, and that he was to

be ceremoniously entertained on the following day. After begging

to be allowed to introduce him to us, and receiving permission, he

sent his canoe ashore to bring him off. At the same time he gave

orders to bring on board his two favourites, a cock and a paroquet.

While the canoe was gone on this errand, I had time to regard the

savage chief attentively. He was a man of immense size, with

massive but beautifully moulded limbs and figure, only parts of

which, the broad chest and muscular arms, were uncovered; for,

although the lower orders generally wore no other clothing than a

strip of cloth called MARO round their loins, the chief, on

particular occasions, wrapped his person in voluminous folds of a

species of native cloth made from the bark of the Chinese paper-mulberry. Romata wore a magnificent black beard and moustache, and

his hair was frizzed out to such an extent that it resembled a

large turban, in which was stuck a long wooden pin! I afterwards

found that this pin served for scratching the head, for which

purpose the fingers were too short without disarranging the hair.

But Romata put himself to much greater inconvenience on account of

his hair, for we found that he slept with his head resting on a

wooden pillow, in which was cut a hollow for the neck, so that the

hair of the sleeper might not be disarranged.

 

In ten minutes the canoe returned, bringing the other chief, who

certainly presented a most extraordinary appearance, having painted

one half of his face red and the other half yellow, besides

ornamenting it with various designs in black! Otherwise he was

much the same in appearance as Romata, though not so powerfully

built. As this chief had never seen a ship before, except,

perchance, some of the petty traders that at long intervals visit

these remote islands, he was much taken up with the neatness and

beauty of all the fittings of the schooner. He was particularly

struck with a musket which was shown to him, and asked where the

white men got hatchets hard enough to cut the tree of which the

barrel was made! While he was thus engaged, his brother chief

stood aloof, talking with the captain, and fondling a superb cock

and a little blue-headed paroquet, the favourites of which I have

before spoken. I observed that all the other natives walked in a

crouching posture while in the presence of Romata. Before our

guests left us, the captain ordered the brass gun to be uncovered

and fired for their gratification; and I have every reason to

believe he did so for the purpose of showing our superior power, in

case the natives should harbour any evil designs against us.

Romata had never seen this gun before, as it had not been uncovered

on previous visits, and the astonishment with which he viewed it

was very amusing. Being desirous of knowing its power, he begged

that the captain would fire it. So a shot was put into it. The

chiefs were then directed to look at a rock about two miles out at

sea, and the gun was fired. In a second the top of the rock was

seen to burst asunder, and to fall in fragments into the sea.

 

Romata was so delighted with the success of this shot, that he

pointed to a man who was walking on the shore, and begged the

captain to fire at him, evidently supposing that his permission was

quite sufficient to justify the captain in such an act. He was

therefore surprised, and not a little annoyed, when the captain

refused to fire at the native, and ordered the gun to be housed.

 

Of all the things, however, that afforded matter of amusement to

these savages, that which pleased Romata’s visitor most was the

ship’s pump. He never tired of examining it, and pumping up the

water. Indeed, so much was he taken up with this pump, that he

could not be prevailed on to return on shore, but sent a canoe to

fetch his favourite stool, on which he seated himself, and spent

the remainder of the day in pumping the bilge-water out of the

ship!

 

Next day the crew went ashore to cut sandal-wood, while the

captain, with one or two men, remained on board, in order to be

ready, if need be, with the brass gun, which was unhoused and

conspicuously elevated, with its capacious muzzle directed point

blank at the chief’s house. The men were fully armed as usual; and

the captain ordered me to go with them, to assist in the work. I

was much pleased with this order, for it freed me from the

captain’s company, which I could not now endure, and it gave me an

opportunity of seeing the natives.

 

As we wound along in single file through the rich fragrant groves

of banana, cocoa-nut, bread-fruit, and other trees, I observed that

there were many of the plum and banian trees, with which I had

become familiar on the Coral Island. I noticed also large

quantities of taro-roots, yams, and sweet potatoes, growing in

enclosures. On turning into an open glade of the woods, we came

abruptly upon a cluster of native