第 10 页

In the case of most of us the discovery of these ruins in such a situation would have excited little more than idle wonder, coupled perhaps with a little vague surmise; but so far as the Doctor was concerned the case was different; he was an enthusiastic antiquary, and he vehemently declared that the discovery more than recompensed him for all the trials and hardships he had recently suffered, and that, even were a ship to heave in sight on the morrow, he would never quit the island until he had thoroughly examined every one of the ruins and fathomed the mystery of them.

The tower, which at the first glance seemed a commonplace structure enough, was a mystery in itself, when we came to examine it. The jambs and lintel of the doorway each consisted of a single block of stone, of so regular a shape that no doubt they had been hewn, although every indication that such was the case had vanished long ago through the action of the weather. The doorway was a trifle over five feet high to the underside of the lintel, but one suspected—what afterward proved to be the truth—that in the course of ages the soil had gradually drifted in and reduced the height. The opening measured only some three feet wide at the top, but from that point the jambs sloped away from each other, so that at the ground level the doorway was quite four feet wide. In the very centre of the tower there rose a cylindrical shaft of solid masonry, some six feet in diameter, round which wound a corkscrew stairway leading to a platform at the summit. The stone steps, although deeply worn, were solid and substantial, and the stairway itself had originally been lighted by circular holes about a foot in diameter pierced through the four-foot thickness of the walls. These holes, however, were now so choked with rubbish that little or no light penetrated, therefore, to start with, the stairs had to be negotiated with circumspection. Apparently the sole purpose of the tower was to afford a look-out over the surrounding country; but the puzzle consisted in the question; Who on earth could have wanted a look-out so badly as to build such a tower to obtain it?

That no human foot had traversed that stairway for years, perhaps for ages, was manifest directly we entered the building, for we found it in complete possession of a multitude of birds and bats, the former of which had built their nests so close together upon every stair that it was impossible to ascend without treading upon them, while whole rows of bats hung head downward from the rough underside of every step. Our attempt to ascend to the top of the tower was the signal for an indescribable disturbance, the birds raising a frightful clamour and seeming at first strongly disposed to dispute our passage; but upon finding that we would not be denied they finally flew up the stairway into the open air; the bats, on the contrary, took not the slightest notice of us; nor did we at first attempt to disturb them, since they were not in our way.

When, after ruining some hundreds of birds’ nests on the steps and in the circular apertures in the walls, presumably intended for the admission of light, we reached the summit, we were more puzzled than ever to find a reason for the erection; for while, admittedly, a fine view of the northern half of the island was to be obtained from the platform at the top, it was certainly not as fine as that obtained from the lip of the crater, or even from the bed of lava which surrounded the cone. This, however, did not discourage the Doctor, who felt assured that the people who built the tower must have had some good and sufficient reason, and that that reason would be made clear through a thorough exploration of the structure and the adjacent ruins.

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Chapter Seven: We make several important Discoveries—including Savages.

Having at length satisfied—or, more correctly speaking, stimulated—our curiosity by ascending to the platform at the top of the tower, we busied ourselves in making arrangements to camp upon the open grass space surrounding the base of the tower, this open space being, it will be remembered, hemmed in on all sides by a belt of scrub so thick and impenetrable that we had had the utmost difficulty in finding a way through it; these conditions seeming to render our camping ground almost ideally safe, even should there be savages upon the island, as to which I was still a little uneasy, although we had as yet been unable to detect any sign of their presence. Our preparations were soon made, and the sun was still half an hour above the horizon when we sat down to a sumptuous meal consisting of roast bread fruit, roast pigeons, several kinds of delicious fruits, and tea. The two girls, fatigued with their unwonted exertions, retired to their tent soon after darkness fell, but the rest of us sat round the embers of our camp fire, chatting for an hour or more, and making plans for the immediate future. As for me, I was determined to devote the next day—and as many more days as might be necessary—to the completion of my survey of the island; for I knew that it would be impossible to rest content before I had settled the question whether our party constituted its sole inhabitants. Upon learning my decision Mr Oldroyd volunteered to accompany me, while his chum, Mason, undertook the charge of the camp during our absence.

The chirping and twittering of the birds in the tower, as they bestirred themselves at the approach of dawn, awakened those of us who were sleeping in the open, and with one consent we arose and sallied forth, intent upon making our way to the brook and, if a suitable place could be found, indulging in the luxury of a fresh-water bath. We passed out through the encircling belt of scrub by the same intricate passage through which we had entered, and which, upon careful inspection, we found to be so perfectly adapted for our purpose, and with so artfully concealed an entrance, that we at once decided to leave it as it was, without improvement, except to widen it slightly here and there.

We found a satisfactory bathing-place, within a quarter of a mile of our camp. It was at a spot where the stream, tumbling over a rocky ledge some twelve feet high, fell into a rock basin, about seven feet deep and thirty feet across, while immediately beneath the fall there was a smooth, narrow ledge of rock, by standing upon which one obtained a perfect shower bath. We enjoyed our dip amazingly, carried a bucket of clear, sparkling water back to camp for culinary purposes, and found the girls up and busily engaged in collecting wood for the breakfast fire. We relieved them of this duty, and the Doctor forthwith guided them to the spot where we had bathed, and left them to their own devices. By the time that they reappeared, breakfast was ready, and we sat down to the meal.

According to programme, Oldroyd and I left the camp upon our exploring expedition immediately after breakfast, carrying with us as weapons a rifle for protection and a shot gun wherewith to supply the requirements of the table; we were taking no food, for we knew that the forest was capable of supplying all that we needed.

Taking the winding stream as our guide, we followed along its left bank for about two miles, proceeding leisurely and affording ourselves ample opportunity to observe the novel sights that frequently presented themselves, and to examine the various trees and plants which we met with. My companion hailed from Virginia and seemed to know something about the culture and cure of tobacco, and it was to this knowledge that we were indebted for the discovery that tobacco is indigenous to the island. We found about an acre of it, growing wild and apparently flourishing, in an open space alongside a big bend in the stream, and after submitting it to a careful examination my companion pronounced the leaf to be of the finest quality he had ever seen, while at the same time capable of considerable improvement by a judicious course of thinning out and cultivation. This was a find of value, for our stock of tobacco, meagre to start with and hoarded with the utmost care, was already approaching exhaustion. Happily for those of us who indulged in the “weed” the plants were practically at the ripening stage; some of the leaves indeed were already mature enough to be picked, and we spent a couple of hours prospecting the patch, plucking such leaves as were ready, and spreading them out to dry.

Resuming our journey we decided to leave the stream and take what we believed would be a short cut through the forest, partly to save distance, and partly to obtain the materials for our lunch. This decision, while it achieved both its objects, resulted in our making another valuable discovery; namely, that of a species of liana, very thin, being about the diameter of ordinary whipcord, and quite as tough and pliant. This we foresaw would be of the utmost use to us, for we had no cordage at all, apart from the boat’s equipment, while if these lianas but retained their strength and pliancy after being cut and dried, we should be able to make from them all the cordage we might need. We cut a length of about a hundred feet and hung it in a tree to dry, in order to test this, intending to leave it there until our return, or even later, if need were.

It was about an hour after noon, when, quite unexpectedly, we emerged from the forest to find ourselves on the margin of the lake for which we had been making. We struck it at its south-eastern extremity, and quite close to the spot where the stream we had been following discharged into it. At this spot there chanced to be a small strip of sandy beach—the only bit of beach anywhere around the lake, as we afterward found. We decided to camp there for the luncheon hour and cook the food we had secured on the way.

While cooking and partaking of our lunch we had an opportunity to study the lake and verify our previous impression of it.

It was of very irregular shape, consisting of a number of small bays separated by headlands; and everywhere, excepting at the small strip of beach which we had chosen for our camping place, the ground sloped steeply, indeed in some places perpendicularly, down into the water; the banks ranging from two or three feet to as much as thirty feet in height. The land all round about it was covered with forest trees, the multi-coloured foliage of which presented a magnificent appearance in the brilliant light of the afternoon sun. The water was clear as crystal, and, upon tasting it, it was found to be quite fresh and palatable. A few gleaming, silver shapes flashing out of the water here and there at intervals and falling back with a splash, told us that there were fish in the lake, and Oldroyd and I thereupon resolved to make it our business to return at an early date, construct some sort of a raft, and test the capabilities of the lake as a source of supply to the general larder.

Luncheon over, we resumed our journey, making our way along the north-east margin of the lake, and intending to follow the opposite side upon our return journey. We found the forest fairly open, as we went, and were accordingly able to proceed without much difficulty; but we found so many objects, animate and inanimate, inviting our attention, that our progress was really slow. For instance, about a mile from the spot where we had camped for luncheon, we came upon an open patch of swampy ground, the whole surface of which was covered with reeds, some of which were as much as twenty feet high, and thick in proportion, while others, three to four feet long, were only about a tenth of an inch in diameter. They grew perfectly straight, and resembled hollow canes, their chief characteristic being lightness combined with rigidity. Oldroyd cut and examined one as we continued our walk. After splitting it lengthwise and so demonstrating that it had no interior joints like those of the bamboo, he remarked—

“Say, Massey, how long do you think it will be before we are taken off this blamed island?”

“Ah!” responded I. “I wish I could tell you. I have worked out its position; and so far as my memory serves me, I believe it to be uncharted; which means—strange as it may sound to you—that we are its actual discoverers, and that it is unknown to the rest of the world. So it may be years before a ship, blown out of her course, happens upon it, especially as sailing ships are becoming rarer every day, while steamers have their regular ‘lanes’ which they follow with undeviating exactitude. True, a wandering whaler may drift within sight of it and shift her helm to get a nearer look; but that is about our only chance, I fear, and it may be years before that happens.”

“Then,” said Oldroyd, “I guess it is up to us to hoard our ammunition as if every cartridge was a diamond, instead of blazing it away upon birds for lunch and dinner, isn’t it?”

“I have thought so more than once when I have seen you and Mason blithely popping away,” said I; “but I didn’t like to mention it, seeing that the ammunition is your own.”

“Not so, my son,” retorted Oldroyd. “Under the existing circumstances I guess that our souls are about all that we can claim as strictly our own. Everything else that we possess, including our intellects, our knowledge, our labour, ay, and our very lives, belong to the community, and must be expended if need be for its benefit. Don’t you agree with me?”

“I do, most certainly,” I assented; “but I am by no means sure that the others will.”

“I guess Mason will,” asserted Oldroyd; “and I believe the Doctor will, too. I’m not prepared to answer for the two sailormen; you will probably be the best judge as to their views upon the subject; but if there is any doubt about the matter, they must be brought to see it as we see it; there must be no such thing as private property or independence of action among us so long as things are with us as they are. And that brings me to the point suggested by the discovery of these reeds. As I said just now, we have to hoard our every cartridge, in view of the fact that a time may come when they will be needed for the defence of our lives. No more of them must be expended in shooting birds for food. That does not mean, however, that we are to cut birds out of the menu but simply that we must learn to get them by means of bows and arrows, or blowpipes, or something of that sort. Now, the smaller kind of these reeds will make perfect shafts for arrows, while the bigger ones will make admirable blowpipes, and I feel sure that among all the trees on this island we shall find some, the wood of which will serve as bows, while, in the absence of anything more suitable, I guess those thin, tough lianas might make passable bowstrings. What we have to do now is to look-out for a suitable kind of wood out of which to make bows.”

I was very glad to hear talk like this, because it chimed in so accurately with my own views. True, not very much ammunition had thus far been fired away; perhaps not more than a dozen cartridges altogether, but I had grudged every one of them, and was more than pleased that the proposal to economise should have come from one of the two who owned the ammunition.