Chapter IV
The reporter walked along the coast. Herbert wished to go with him.
– Stay, my boy, – said the sailor. – We must pitch our camp for the night, and try to find something to eat. Our friends will need food when they come back.
– I am ready, Pencroff, – said Herbert.
– Good, said the sailor. – We are tired, cold, and hungry: we need shelter, fire, and food. There is plenty of wood in the forest, and we can get eggs from the nests; but we must find a house.
– Well, – said Herbert, – I will look for a cave in these rocks.
– Right, said Pencroff. – Let us start at once[20] .
They walked along the base of the rocky wall. Then they turned to the south. Pencroff noticed a narrow inlet in the coast. Now it was important to pitch the camp in the neighborhood of fresh water; in that part of the island, too, they could find Smith.
The rock rose 300 feet, smooth and massive. It was a sturdy wall of the hardest granite. About the summit hovered a host of aquatic birds, with long, narrow, pointed beaks.
Meanwhile Herbert soon noticed some rocks. On them lay hosts of bivalves. Herbert called to Pencroff.
– Ah, they are mussels, – said the sailor.
– They are not mussels, – said Herbert, examining the mollusks carefully, – they are lithodomes[21] .
– Can we eat them? – said Pencroff.
– Certainly.
– Then let us eat some lithodomes.
The sailor could rely on Herbert. Pencroff and Herbert made a good meal of them, they tasted like oysters.
Their hunger was allayed for the moment. The thing now was to find fresh water. Two hundred feet further on Pencroff and Herbert reached the inlet, through which a little river was flowing.
– Here is water, – said Pencroff, – and over there is wood. Well, Herbert, now we need the house.
The river water was clear. Pencroff and Herbert went down between the rocks, into sandy corridors.
– This is just what we want, – said Pencroff. – These Chimneys will be our house. But first we must get together some firing.
Herbert and Pencroff left the Chimneys, and walked up the left bank of the river. After a quarter of an hour’s walk, the two reached the elbow which the river made to the left. From this point they saw a forest of magnificent trees.
– Good, – said the sailor, – I do not know the name of these trees, but I know they will help us to make a fire, and that’s important.
It was easy to gather the firewood; plenty of dead branches lay at their feet. This dry wood burn rapidly. But how can two men carry such a load to the Chimneys? Herbert asked the question.
– My boy, – said the sailor, there’s a way to do everything.
– We have the river, – suggested Herbert.
– Exactly, said Pencroff. – The river will be our road and our carrier, too.
They looked at the ocean. The sea was a watery desert. The coast, too, was desolate.
– Something tells me, – said Herbert, – that Mr. Smith is a very energetic man. So he got to the shore; don’t you think so, Pencroff?
The sailor shook his head sadly.
– No doubt, – said he, – our engineer saved himself.
Pencroff and Herbert walked towards the west, they looked at the snowcapped mountain, which rose six or seven miles away. They saw a forest. Then from the edge of this forest to the coast stretched a plateau.
– Are we upon an island? – muttered the sailor.
– It is big enough, – said the boy.
– An island’s an island, – said Pencroff.
Chapter V
Pencroff made the Chimneys habitable. One narrow, winding passage was arranged to carry out the smoke and to quicken the draught of the fire. The Chimneys were divided into three or four chambers. They were dry, and they could stand up in them. The floor was covered with sand. Herbert and Pencroff chatted together.
– Perhaps, – said the boy, – our companions found a better place than ours.
– It is possible, – answered the sailor, – but don’t stop. Better have two houses than none at all!
– Oh, – said Herbert, – if they can only find Mr. Smith, and bring him back with them!
– Yes, – murmured Pencroff. – He was a good man.
– Was! – said Herbert. – Do you think we will not see him again?
– Never! – replied the sailor.
The work was rapidly accomplished, Pencroff was satisfied.
– Now, – said he, – our friends may return, and they will find a good shelter.
It was 5 o’clock when they returned again to the Chimneys. Towards 6 o’clock, Herbert, who was walking upon the shore, announced the return of Neb and of Gideon Spilett. They came back alone. The sailor was right: they could not find the engineer.
The reporter seated himself upon a rock. He was tired and very hungry, he was unable to utter a word. Neb’s eyes showed that he was weeping and lost all hope.
The reporter told about their search. Neb and he followed the coast for more than eight miles. The shore was deserted. Not a trace upon the sand, not a footprint, was upon the shore.
At that moment Neb raised his head, and exclaimed:
– No, he is not dead! It is impossible!
Herbert ran to him and cried:
– Neb, we will find him; God will give him back to us; but please eat something.
And the lad offered the poor servant some shell-fish. But Neb refused them. He wished no longer to live.
As to Gideon Spilett, he devoured the mollusks, and then laid down upon the sand at the foot of a rock. He was exhausted, but calm. Herbert took his hand.
– Mr. Spilett, – said he, – we have discovered a shelter where you will be more comfortable. The night is coming on; so come and rest there. Tomorrow we will see.
The reporter rose, and proceeded towards the Chimneys.
Pencroff took the match and made some fire. Herbert brought two dozen eggs and the reporter watched them. Did Cyrus still live? If alive, where was he?
In a few minutes the food was ready, and the sailor invited the reporter to eat. This was the first meal of the castaways upon this unknown coast. The eggs were excellent.
Thus passed the 25th of March. The reporter retired to a dark corner. Herbert fell asleep at once. The sailor passed the night by the fire. Neb wandered upon the sands. He was calling his master.
Chapter VI
The castaways had only the clothes they wore in the balloon. We must add Spilett’s watch and note-book; but there were no firearms and no tools, not even a pocket knife. They threw everything overboard to lighten the balloon. The castaways relied on their own hands.
It seemed to Pencroff better to wait a few days before an exploration. They must try to find food. It was decided then to wait a few days at the Chimneys, and to prepare for an expedition either along the coast or into the interior of the country.
Neb did not believe that Smith was dead. Upon the morning of the 26th of March, at daybreak, Neb started along the coast northward.
For breakfast that morning they had only eggs and lithodomes, with salt. Herbert found it in the cavities of the rocks. When the meal was over they divided forces. The reporter stayed to keep up the fire, Herbert and Pencroff went into the forest.
– We will hunt, Herbert, – said the sailor. – We will cut our guns in the forest.
At 9 o’clock the breeze blew from the southeast. When Herbert and Pencroff reached the forest, Pencroff broke from the first tree two thick branches. He made them into cudgels. The sailor carefully observed the character of the region. On this left bank the surface was flat. Sometimes it was moist and swampy. The opposite bank was more undulating. The hill was covered with trees. Along this right bank they could hardly walk, because the descent was steep, and the trees were only sustained by their roots. It is needless to say that both forest and shore looked wild. They saw fresh traces of animals.
They did not speak, their hunting was fruitless. Birds were singing and flying under the trees; but they showed an instinctive fear of the men. Among fir trees were fluttering birds with small bodies and long, glittering tails.
– These are couroucous[22] , – said Herbert. – Their meat is delicious. Besides, I think we can easily get at them with our sticks.
They used their sticks like a scythe, and they mowed down whole rows of the couroucous, of whom 105 were killed.
Then they saw a river. They followed it downward. And by 6 o’clock, Herbert and Pencroff re-entered the Chimneys.
Chapter VII
Gideon Spilett stood motionless upon the shore. He was gazing on the sea. The wind, already strong, was freshening, and the heavens had an angry look. Pencroff began to prepare dinner. At 7 o’clock Neb was still absent.
The storm began. A furious gust of wind passed over the coast from the southeast. At 8 o’clock Neb did not return. The birds were all they had for supper, but the party found them excellent. Pencroff and Herbert devoured them. Then each one retired to his corner, and Herbert was soon asleep.
It was about 2 o’clock when Pencroff suddenly woke up. The reporter was shaking him.
– What’s the matter? – Pencroff cried.
The reporter was bending over him and saying:
– Listen, Pencroff, listen!
The sailor listened, but could hear nothing interesting.
– It is the wind, – he said.
– No, – answered Spilett, – listen again! I think I heard…
– What?
– The barking of a dog!
– A dog! – cried Pencroff.
– Yes, the barking.
– Impossible! – answered the sailor.
– Wait and listen, – said the reporter.
Pencroff listened most attentively, and he caught the sound of distant barking.
– Is it? – asked the reporter.
– Yes, yes! – said Pencroff.
– It is Top! It is Top! – cried Herbert, and the three rushed to the entrance of the Chimneys. The darkness was absolute. Sea, sky, and earth were black.
For some moments the reporter and his two companions stood in this place. Then again, in the hush of the storm, they heard, far away, the barking of a dog. This must be Top. But was the dog alone?
It was indeed Top. But he was alone! Neither his master nor Neb accompanied him. It seemed inexplicable how, through the darkness and storm, the dog came to the Chimneys. Herbert drew the dog towards him; and the dog rubbed its neck against the lad’s hands.
– Top will guide us to its master! – said Herbert.
Pencroff made no objection. The tempest was terriblr. It was difficult to follow a straight course. The better way, therefore, was to trust to the instinct of Top. The reporter and the lad walked behind the dog, and the sailor followed after. The rain was not heavy, but the strength of the storm was terrible.
Probably, Neb found his master and sent the faithful dog to them. But is the engineer dead?
– Saved! He is saved! Isn’t he, Top? – repeated the boy. And the dog barked.
By 4 o’clock the wind was drier and colder. No murmur passed their lips. They were determined to follow Top wherever he wished to lead them.
At 5 o’clock the sailor and his companions were six miles from the Chimneys. Top ran ahead, returned, and ran again. The dog left the coast, and walked among the downs. The border of the downs was composed of hills and hillocks. It was like a little Switzerland of sand, but a dog instinct could find the way.
Five minutes after the reporter and his companions reached a hollow, before which Top stopped with a loud bark. The three entered the cave. Neb was there, he was kneeling beside a body upon a bed of grass. It was the body of Cyrus Smith.
Chapter VIII
Neb did not move. The sailor uttered one word.
– Alive? – he cried.
Neb did not answer. Herbert stood motionless. It was evident that the poor servant did not hear the voice of the sailor.
The reporter knelt down beside the motionless body, and pressed his ear to the chest of the engineer. Then he tried to detect some movement of the heart.
Gideon Spilett, after a long and attentive examination, rose up.
– He lives! – he said.
Pencroff knelt down beside Cyrus Smith; he also detected some heartbeats. Herbert hurried in search of water. Soon he found a brook; so the lad soaked his handkerchief in the stream, and hastened back with it to the cave.
The drops of fresh water produced an instantaneous effect. A sigh escaped from the breast of Smith.
– We will save him, – said the reporter.
Neb removed the clothing from his master. Neither on his head nor body nor limbs was there a bruise or even a scratch. That was astonishing.
– You thought he was dead? – asked the sailor Neb.
– Yes, I thought so, – answered Neb. – And I wanted to die beside my master.
Then Neb told them everything. Neb followed along the coast to the north, until he reached that part of the beach. There he searched the shore, the rocks, the sand for any marks. He did not hope to find his master. Then he decided to continue some miles further up the coast.
– I followed the shore two miles further, and yesterday evening, about 5 o’clock, I discovered footprints upon the sand.
– Footprints?! – cried Pencroff.
– Yes, sir, – replied Neb.
– And did they begin at the water? – demanded the reporter.
– No, – answered Neb, – above high-water mark. The sight of these footprints made me wild with joy. They went towards the downs. I followed them for a quarter of an hour. Five minutes later, I heard a dog bark. It was Top. And he brought me here, to my master.
– So you, Neb, – said the reporter, – did not bring your master to this place?
– No, it was not I, – answered Neb.
It was a real mystery. But they must carry Cyrus Smith to the Chimneys as soon as possible.
Soon the engineer opened his eyes. Neb and the reporter were leaning over him.
– My master! my master! – cried Neb.
The engineer heard him. He recognized Neb and his companions.
– Is it an island or a continent? – he murmured.
– What is the difference? – cried Pencroff, unable to restrain the exclamation, – you are alive! Island or continent? We will see that later.
The engineer seemed to sleep. The sailor was repeating:
– Island or continent! To think of that! What a man!
Pencroff and his companions constructed a litter, which they covered with leaves and grass. This work occupied some little time, and it was 10 o’clock when the three returned to Smith and Spilett.
The engineer woke from the sleep. The color came back to his lips. He raised himself slightly, and looked about.
– Well, – said the sailor, – Mr. Smith, your litter is ready, and we will carry you to our house.
– Thanks, my friend, – replied the engineer. – in an hour or two we will go.
The reporter related everything.
– But, – asked Smith, in a feeble voice, – you did not pick me up on the beach?
– No, – replied the reporter.
– And it was not you who brought me to this hollow?
– No.
– How far is this place from the reef?
– At least half a mile, – replied Pencroff, – and we are very surprised to find you here. But cannot you remember anything that happened after you were washed away?
Cyrus Smith tried to think, but he remembered little. The wave swept him from the net of the balloon. Then Top sprang to his rescue. Smith found himself in the midst of the tumultuous sea, more than half a mile from shore. He was swimming vigorously against the waves; but a strong current seized him. It carried him to the north, and soon he sank into the abyss. From that moment he remembered nothing.
– It’s strange, – said the reporter. – Did anyone rescue you from the waves?
– That is inexplicable.
Towards noon, Pencroff asked Smith if he felt strong enough. Fortunately, the rain stopped. At half past 5 the little party reached the Chimneys.
Chapter IX
The engineer was sleeping. First of all, they carried Cyrus Smith into the main corridor. There they were able to make for him a couch of seaweeds. The supper this evening consisted of the lithodomes.
The next day, the 28th of March, when the engineer awoke, about 8 o’clock, he saw his companions beside him, and, as on the day before, his first words were,
– Island or continent?
It was his one thought.
– Well, Mr. Smith, – answered Pencroff, – we don’t know.