Chapter XX

"WHAT THEIR FATE WAS TO BE THEY COULD NOT EVEN GUESS."

After the boat left the _San Salvador_, with little Cassia-bud steering, and the great Newfoundland, Hurricane Bob, lying at his feet by way of balancing her, and keeping her well down by the stern, "Steer right away for the island," cried Fred. "We are going to row and sing, and never look behind us."

But when they had rowed for fully half an hour, and the ship looked very far away indeed, Frank, who was stroke, lay on his oar, and the others followed suit.

"Why," he said, peeping round, "we ought to be there by now."

"Dear me!" cried Fred, "how deceiving! The island looks as far away as ever!"

"Yes, and it has altered in appearance somehow, hasn't it?"

"Well, of course; but then we are low down in the water, you know. Anyhow, I'm hungry and thirsty both. Happy thought, to have a rest and some lunch."

The good things were brought out accordingly, and everybody, even Hurricane Bob, shared and shared alike. Then Quambo lit a huge pipe, and Magilvray, the sailor--a stout young fellow with a merry-looking face of his own--bit a huge quid off a stick of niggerhead, and began to look very contented indeed.

After another half-hour's pulling catspaws began to creep over the water, and a sail was hoisted.

"We'll soon be there now," said Fred.

Immediately after there was a cry from the little black coxswain.

"Oh, massa Fred, I's so frightened!"

"Whatever is the matter, Kashie?"

"See, sah, see!" he cried, pointing away ahead. "De island done go clear away out ob de world, sah!"

It was difficult indeed for any one in the boat to believe his senses. Every one felt dazed, and looked dazed. The island was gone sure enough; yet how or whither seemed inexplicable.

But the wind kept increasing every minute, and to go back now in the teeth of it was utterly impossible. So on and on the little boat flew for a time. The sea had got up so high too, all at once, that they were afraid to venture on lying to, and to lower sail meant being pooped by the racing, threatening waves.

How long they ran before the wind they never could tell. They had given themselves up for lost, however, and sat there in the gathering gloom of the awful thunder-storm silent and despairing, like men without hope and energy.

Fred himself had taken the tiller, and Cassia-bud was crouched in the bottom of the boat, hugging his friend Bob in abject terror.

But if Fred and Frank were puzzled by the disappearance of the fairy-isle, as they had called it, their astonishment knew no bounds when the boat was suddenly caught up by a huge wave, and hurled forward into a chaos of broken water and roaring breakers. Hurled into it? Yes, and hurled over it, into water that was as smooth as a mill-pond stirred by a summer's breeze. Behind them and away in a circle all around breakers foamed and roared and thundered. There was the quick, incessant gleam of lightning from out the blackness of the weather clouds; but yonder, not a hundred yards away, was an island, low and almost level, but fringed with cocoa-nut trees, and with an undergrowth of waving palms and other tropical shrubs.

In five minutes' time the boat was drawn up on the snow-white coral beach, and the thunder-storm had burst over them in all its violence.

By-and-by the sky partially cleared, and though the wind still blew high they crept out from the shelter of a cave in which they had found refuge, and began seriously to consider their position.

It was some time, however, before the whole extent of their misfortune was fully realized by them.

But as the time went on, and the hurricane appeared to be again on the increase, causing them to seek for shelter once more in the cave, a hurricane such as no ship dare attempt to lie-to in, then indeed hope began to die out in their hearts, and they _felt_ they were alone. They felt this still more when the sun went down, and pitch darkness almost immediately followed.

They dared even yet, however, to hope against hope; the ship would surely return and seek for and find them. It was gloomy enough in this cave certainly, with the wind tearing through the scrubby jungle and the cocoa-nut palms that covered the little island, and with the awful boom of the breakers on the circular reef of coral surrounding the lagoon, but then it was only for a night.

"_Only_ for a night," said Frank.

"Yes, _only_ for a night," reiterated Fred.

"If we had a light, though, it would be all the more cheerful."

"Yes, well I have matches, but there is nothing here to light."

"We'd better keep the matches," said Frank. "Are you sure you have them safe and dry?"

"But why so anxious, lad?"

"I don't know. I----I----"

"Oh, brother, don't think of it! I'm going out to feel for the boat and fetch the supper."

"And I'll go with you."

In the darkness this was no easy task, and the wind was so high they had to bend low, almost crawling in fact.

But they were lucky enough to find the food, and a portion being handed round to everybody, not forgetting Bob, all hands did justice to the good cheer, and then Quambo and Magilvray lit their pipes, and the cave was more home-like after that.

They sat talking there till it must have been far into the night, then, lying back on the soft, warm sand, one by one they dropped off to sleep.

They had not even thought of setting sentry. What was there here to be afraid of? Nothing, surely. Besides, the great, honest dog, Hurricane Bob, always made a point of sleeping with one eye a little open, so if anyone was sentry that night it was Bob.

The sun was high in the heavens when Fred awoke next morning, and shouted to his companions:

"What's for breakfast?" said Frank, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Ah! what indeed?" said Fred, laughing. "Why we ate all our breakfast last night. But where is Cassia-bud?"

Cassia-bud was not to be seen, but presently he appeared out of the jungle laden with cocoanuts and pandany. This pandany or pandanus is the screw pine, which grows on nearly all the islands of these regions, and is one of the first to appear when coral reefs assume the shape and substance of islands, the seed being either floated thither on tree trunks or brought by birds.

Finding the cocoanuts had been a far too easy task, for every tree was levelled almost to the ground, one alone being left standing.

After breakfast Fred and Frank set out to explore the island, leaving the others on the beach with the boat. This exploration did not occupy much time, the whole island being only a few acres in extent, and scarcely anything growing on it except the few cocoanut trees, and the strange-looking scrubby pandanus. This tree, the leaves of which are like big vegetable corkscrews, grows from roots that are above ground, like the legs of a milking-stool, somewhat after the fashion of the mangrove trees of African shores.

The wind had almost died away, but the breakers still thundered on the reef that surrounded the lagoon. I trust I make the position of our heroes clear enough; the little island was nearly round, and entirely surrounded by a broad natural moat, let us call it, of water, which in its turn was encircled by the coral reef. The moat, however, was about seventy yards wide or more all round.

They now launched the boat, and embarking pulled right round the inside of the reef, with the view of finding out the lane therein that led to the sea. They did so at last, but it was so narrow that the presumption was, they had been carried right over the reef itself, on the previous day, by a high tidal wave.

Like nearly all Scotch boys who are brought up in the woods and wilds, Fred Arundel could climb trees well. It did not take him very long, therefore, to shin to the top of the solitary cocoanut tree, although it was fully forty feet in height. It afforded a splendid ocean view all around, and Fred managed to unsling his telescope, and scan the horizon on every side. As far as he could make out never a ship nor sail of any kind was visible, but his heart beat high with hope and joy when, away towards the south, his glass rested on what appeared to be the hills or mountains of some island in the midst of the sea.

His hopes fell again, however, when he thought of the fairy island that had lured them away from the ship the day before. This also might be a mirage. Well, if it were so it would dissolve away; they could but wait and see. So he came down again to report.

It was far on in the afternoon before they succeeded in getting enough dry stuff to light a fire withal.

Meantime Cassia-bud, who had constituted himself caterer and lions' provider, had found some huge crabs, and having killed them they were cooked in their shells, and a very delicious meal they made, washed down with a drink of cool milk from young cocoanuts.

When they had dined more bark was heaped upon the fire, and green stuff spread over that in order to raise as dense a smoke as possible. For trailing across the blue sea of the tropics smoke may be seen a very long distance off.

Before sunset Fred once more ascended the tree or look-out station, as he called it, and once more scanned the horizon. It was much clearer now, but no sail was visible.

But to his joy the island in the south was still there. So he concluded it must be real.

Cassia-bud had been paddling about in the lagoon all by himself, and just as the sun was dipping low towards the ocean he landed, and with a face that positively beamed with joy he threw down five beautiful fish at Fred's feet. They were beautiful in colour as well as in size and substance. "How lucky we were to have brought fishing-gear with us," cried Fred; "and really, Kashie, you're a perfect treasure."

Meanwhile Quambo had cleared the fire and erected a tripod of sticks over it with cross-pieces, and on this the fish were hung, and soon began to fizzle and steam.

Fred and Frank were lying on the smooth white sand, watching Quambo's preparations for supper. "I say, Fred," said Frank, "what does this remind you of?"

The tears rushed to Fred's eyes.

"Oh, Frank, I well remember! You are thinking of our Crusoe life on the desert island in Scotland. Ah! dear me, and now we are Crusoes in stern reality."

"Don't you wish that Toddie was here? Dear wee Toddie and the little dog Tip."

"I do and I don't. I wish we could only bring back old times, when you and I were young, though."

"Ah! well, we're not very particularly old yet, are we?"

"Supper is all ready, sah," said Quambo. And a glorious supper it was; for everyone was gloriously hungry.

The only part of yesterday's provisions that still held out was the salt. For in his hurry, when coming away, Quambo had rolled an immense piece in a table napkin.

There was enough fish left for breakfast, but they took the precaution to stow it away in the locker of the boat.

Next day and another and still another passed monotonously away, and it was now evident to all they might never expect to see their ship again. And do as they would, they now began to feel lonely and cheerless.

They were prisoners in this cockle-shell of a coral island, and the hope of being picked up seemed very remote indeed. Meanwhile what about food even? The fish might possibly fail them, the robber crabs might keep aloof, and they would soon eat up all the cocoanuts and pandanus fruit in the place.

To remain here, therefore, was but to wait for death, and to attempt to get away was--well, what was it?

"What do you think about it, Frank," said Fred one evening, as they all lay on the soft sand, with the cheerful light of the camp fire flickering in their faces.

"About what?" said Frank, whose thoughts had been far, far away indeed.

"Why about attempting to escape?"

"Oh, we are, very likely, a thousand miles and over from any civilized settlement!"

"Quite true, but the island yonder, for it is no mirage, affords us the chance of life that this island will very soon deny us."

"How far does it seem to be off, sir?" said Magilvray.

"As near as I can judge, about forty miles."

"A long pull, sir."

"True," said Fred; "but better, I think, to start early on a calm day and pull all the way, than trust to the treacherous winds of these regions, which in half an hour may increase to hurricane force."

"That is so, sah, for true," said Quambo.

"Then," said Frank, "supposing we manage to land there, what next?"

Quambo smiled grimly.

"What are you thinking about, Quambo?"

"I think, sah, dat if sabages lib on de island yonder, dey soon cook us all and gobble us up plenty quick. Dat all, sah."

"Yes, Quambo," said Frank, "that would be all."

There was silence for a time after this, a silence that Fred Arundel was the first to break.

"Boys," he said solemnly enough, "I believe I have thought the matter out in all its bearings. To me it is evident enough, that our only chance of life lies in an attempt to reach yonder island, and if death it is going to be, surely it is better to die at once, even at the hands of savages, then stay here to be slowly starved to death."

"That is just what I think too, sir," said Magilvray, "and what is more, the sooner we set about it the better."

So it was resolved that very night, that all preparations for the daring voyage should be gone into next day, and that on the day following, if the weather were favourable, they should leave the island.

Fred slept more calmly that night than he had done since they landed. Before lying down he had gone away by himself for a little distance into the jungle, and kneeling down beside a fallen tree, prayed long and earnestly that He who had hitherto protected and guided him through many a danger, seen and unseen, would condescend to bless their little enterprise, and grant them hope and safety.

He sat for some time on the tree stem, for the stars were shining very brightly and clearly, then slowly returned to the cave, and threw himself down on the warm white sand; and thinking of home and the dear ones in the fisherman's cottage, he was soon fast asleep. The preparations for the voyage were few but important; namely, the procuring and cooking of a good supply of food.

But fortune favoured them. They loaded their boat therefore the night before, and as soon as day broke over the ocean they rowed out through the narrow opening in the reef, and headed away for the distant island. What their fate was to be they could not even guess. They trusted all to God.