Chapter XXX

"THERE IS NO GOING BACK NOW," FRANK SAID.

Frightened the savages certainly had been at the sudden rush of three white men and one black giant--Quambo--from the bush in what they must have thought an uninhabited island; but cowards they were not. Indeed, as soon as they found themselves captured they submitted to the inevitable with a grace that was highly dignified.

Quambo had sailed in the Southern Pacific for many years, and was not now surprised that he could understand the language of these men. He was very proud, however, at being suddenly raised to the dignity of interpreter. With all the inborn courage of island warriors those savages seemed to possess the simplicity of childhood. They were talking to Quambo, and pointing to Fred, when the latter begged Quambo to translate. "They say," said Quambo, "they not have eat since yes'day; they say, suppose you gib 'em banana now to eat and cocoanut water to drink, the savages will taste yum yum when we cook and eat them."

Quambo laughed, but Fred shuddered. What ghastly humour was hidden in those words!

But the poor savages were at once supplied with food and drink, and told that the white man was their friend, and that, although they must keep them on the island, it was only for the white man's safety, as they did not wish to be discovered.

It is to be presumed that Quambo proved a very faithful interpreter indeed; for the savages seized Fred's hand, and bending low pressed it for a moment to the forehead in a way that was most affectingly dignified.

Very much surprised, indeed, were both Cassia-bud and Hurricane Bob, who had been left as camp keepers, to see the party return in company with two tall and soldierly-looking savages. Bob at first seemed much inclined to resent the intrusion, but as soon as matters were explained to him he walked up to the new-comers and licked their hands, as much as to say, "So long as you're good you won't be touched, but I'm going to keep my eye on you."

That evening the prisoners were allowed to dine on the floor of the cottage, and appeared to adapt themselves at once to their new mode of life. They were afterwards shown their bed under a bush. Their canoe had been drawn up quite close to the garden gate. Quambo and Cassia-bud took it by turns to do sentry duty all night, but the weary savages slept soundly, and awoke happy, hungry, and contented.

After breakfast was over our castaways sat down under the shadow of the trees, and the savages were made to squat near them. They then told their story, and an interesting one it was.

Their home was in a group of islands far, far away to the west. While fishing they had been caught in a squall and blown out to sea. The weather had continued very thick and bad all night, and at daybreak they found themselves near to a strange island, and had therefore landed in quest of food and water. Had they ever seen white men before? they were asked. "Oh, yes!" they answered, holding up both hands, with fingers outspread to indicate the number ten. Ten men had come, many, many moons ago, to their islands in canoes. They were hungry and thin, and were accordingly housed and well fed, because the flesh of white men is so much sweeter than that of black. They had been well fed, better fed than pigs, the savages explained, but would not grow fat. But they began to teach the natives many curious things, and to heal the sick, and staunch blood, and do much good; so instead of being killed and cooked they were permitted to live, and were now slaves to the king on the far-away islands. Where these white men had come from, they were, of course, unable to tell. They had come from the sea, was all they were able to say for certain; and reckoning on their fingers and toes the time, counted by moons, would correspond pretty nearly with the date of the abandonment of the brig _Resolute_. Then Fred got Quambo to enquire what the white men looked like.

Quambo laughed when he received their reply.

"Like de debbil hisself," he explained, "suppose the debbil wore clothes."

Now Fred was a very fair artist in his way, for Eean had taught him the rudiments of drawing, and besides he seemed to have a natural gift for caricature; so on the fly-leaf of a book he sketched a very good likeness of the skipper of the _Resolute_--jacket, hat; hooknose, and goatee beard all complete--in fact as he had last seen him.

When Quambo showed the savages this they roared with delight and astonishment, so much so in fact that Hurricane Bob had to put himself on the defensive.

"If there is much more of that sort of thing," Bob gave them to understand, "I'll be obliged to bring you to your senses."

"Did they ever see that man, Quambo?" asked Fred.

"Oh, yes! They say, sah," replied Quambo, "he de biggest and de cleberest debbil ob all de ten, sah."

This was conclusive enough.

It was evident, therefore, that the ten poor fellows who had landed on one of this unknown but cannibal group of islands were a portion of the crew of the lost brig _Resolute_, and that they still lived there as slaves.

The savages, as soon as they found out that they were to be well fed and treated, instead of being cooked and eaten, became very happy and contented indeed. As a mere matter of precaution their clumsy old dug-out was broken up and used as firewood, and after this it became quite unnecessary to set sentries of a night Hurricane Bob was sentry enough. He tolerated the savages, that was all. He never quite trusted them.

* * * * * *

And now the building of the yacht was commenced in earnest.

The first thing to be done was to erect a shed on the beach under which the keel could be laid, and the work carried on pleasantly and as coolly as possible. The dimensions of the yacht were carefully studied and planned out; she was to have a twenty-feet keel, and to be sufficiently narrow in beam to permit of her being easily towed through the gap in the reef. This did not give her quite so much breadth as Fred could have wished, and he determined, therefore, to give her a good deep keel, and a not too high free-board, though the latter must of course be consonant with safety.

The building of the workshed occupied the castaways for the best part of a week, although they were ably assisted by their slaves the savages.

On the particular part of the beach where the shed was erected there was a nice slope towards the water, though it was not too steep; and so determined was Fred that his yacht should take the water like a duck, that he not only laid a slip for her descent, but had a strong railing of stanchions built on each side, so that an accident was simply out of the question.

He was determined also that in building his yacht, beauty and appearance should be sacrificed to safety and strength.

And now came the laying down of the keel. He and Cassia-bud had wandered in the woods for weeks scanning the trees, and at last, half-way up a hill they had been fortunate enough to find a tree, the upper part of whose trunk had been bent by the winds in such a way that it would suit admirably. When trimmed for the keel the bent portion would represent the fore part, that and the keel would be all in one piece. Well knowing that the whole build of a craft greatly depends upon the straightness, strength, and justness of the keel, much time was spent in forming this, and getting it fixed in position. But at long last Fred felt certain he had made a fair beginning. And now came the question of knees and ribs, the general skeleton, including the cross-beams, to keep all in place and to support the decks.

As they proceeded with the making of the skeleton, all hands, including even the savages, began to take an intense interest in the work, and to go at it morn, noon, and evening cheerfully. But until he commenced to plan and make and place the ribs, Fred had had no idea there was so much study and thought required in building even a boat like this. It should be remembered too that he was not only deficient in some most important tools, but in iron and nails as well.

One day he held a regular survey on nails, and finding he had so few he resolved to use pegs of hard wood wherever possible, reserving the iron for the most important parts.

After three weeks of the hardest work and study ever Fred had endured in his life, the whole framework and skeleton of the vessel was completed, and great was the joy of the castaways accordingly. And to give the young man his due as a ship-builder, it must be confessed that though her lines would not be by any means perfection, and would neither rival those of the model yacht _Thistle_ or an Aberdeen clipper, they were not so far out by any manner of means. Nor would she be lopsided or in any way askew.

Being quite certain and satisfied on these points, the work of planking the craft was cautiously and carefully commenced. Luckily they had the best of planes, and they had splendid wood, so this part of the work went on smoothly and merrily enough, and every day Fred's men, as he called them, improved in the niceties of their trade of ship-carpentering.

But how genuinely tired and hungry they used to be of an evening!

Ah! well, the dinner that Cassia-bud prepared entirely banished the hunger, and a rest afterwards either in the cottage-ornée as a book was being read, or outside around the camp fire, made them forget all the toils and worries of the day. In fact, every evening the castaways gave themselves up body and soul to the enjoyment of the _dolce far niente_. In plainer language, they had nothing to do, and they did it well.

Reading indoors was all very well, but they enjoyed lazing in the sand by the camp fire far better. The nights at present were nearly always fine. There was the glitter of stars or glimmer of moonlight on the quiet sea.

There were fire-flies and a hundred other phosphorescent things flitting or crawling in garden, trees, or bush; there was the soft whispering of the breeze through the branches; the lulling sound of falling waters on the far-off reef; and above all there was the companionship of the log fire itself, that somehow never failed to talk to Fred and Frank, and tell them tales of their British home.

Songs were never forgotten around the camp fire, and there is no saying how much good they did not effect. Why, those songs used to please even the savages, and it was amusing, if not affecting, to hear them join in singing "Home, Sweet Home," or "Auld Lang Syne."

Before the deck of the vessel was completely planked over, the ballast was carefully adjusted and fastened down to the sturdy boat's bottom.

While digging in the garden Quambo had come upon quite a store of a curious kind of amber-like gum. This was melted and mixed in a cask containing a reddish pigment kind of earth, and lo! a paint of a pitchy nature was formed, and every seam of the yacht, outside and in, was carefully done over with this twice, and they had the satisfaction of finding that it did not become too brittle when dry. The same red earth was mixed with oil and a portion of the gum, and formed an excellent paint to go over all the work with before the vessel was launched.

Two hatches were fitted, each having rough, short ladders descending to the hold, or fore-cabin and saloon, as Fred grandly termed them.

The rudder was next made, and properly and scientifically shipped, and a handy tiller adjusted. Then the mast and a short jibboom were stepped, and after this the vessel was ready for launching, for they longed to prove if she was seaworthy.

Fred could not remember ever having longed for anything half so much as he longed to see the yacht afloat, and if real shipbuilders are as anxious for some days before they succeed in launching their ventures, then they must have a very uneasy time indeed.

But the eventful morning arrived at last, and the vessel was duly christened, not with a bottle of wine it is true, but with the milk of a beautiful green cocoanut, and named the _Island Queen_.

"Let go all now!" cried Fred.

Props were knocked out, the little ship swerved and swayed for a moment, then gently commenced her descent, moving on without a hitch, and finally taking the water just like the perfect duck she was unanimously declared to be. Of course they gave her three times three cheers as she slid into the water, with another little cheer for luck; then everybody crowded round Fred Arundel, the worthy shipbuilder, and shook hands with him in the most approved style; after which all retired to a sumptuous breakfast, quaffing the cocoa-nut of peace, as Frank called it, and wishing jolly good luck to the _Island Queen_.

"I think I can eat to-day," said Fred, with a soft sigh of satisfaction.

"Well, you ought, Fred," said Frank, "for you are positively getting thin."

They had not considered yet what they were going to do with their yacht, or where they should venture to sail to. They were possessed of no chart of the seas around here, but as near as Fred could judge they must be fully a thousand miles from either Auckland or Fiji. Would it or would it not be dangerous to make so long a journey in so small and frail a craft? All agreed, anyhow, that an attempt should be made to rescue the ten men who were still held prisoners, if not even made slaves of, in the cannibal islands from which the two savages had arrived.

Every preparation for the voyage was set about, therefore, without any loss of time.

Luckily they had plenty of spare canvas that had been found in the wreck, so the rigging, &c., of the _Island Queen_ was perfected in a few days' time.

Then the first trial trip was made. The boat was sailed and manoeuvred all round the bay at first. Then she was towed with a boat ahead through the gap. It would have been risking too much to have sailed through, for at any moment a sea might have lifted her and carried her against the sharp coral rocks, after which there would have been no more _Island Queen_.

Once away out on the billowy breast of the blue ocean, all sail was set, and the craft was tried in every manner that could occur to a thorough seaman, and behaved herself in everything as a beauty.

"She's a beauty, Fred, a beauty," Frank said, over and over again, "and does you ample credit."

"Does us, you mean."

"No, no, Fred, old man. Honour to whom honour is due. Yours was the working head, ours only the willing hands."

* * * * * *

On a bright and beautiful morning, with a gentle breeze blowing from the nor'ard and west, the manned and armed cruiser-yacht _Island Queen_ left her anchorage in the bay near which our heroes had resided so long, and sailing easily through the reef gap, hoisted all sail again, and steered to the east away.

The Isle of Good Hope kept receding and receding as the day wore on, till at eventide it was seen but as a green cloud far away on the ocean's horizon.

But higher land was steadily rising ahead. Other green clouds appeared. A whole group of islands stretched out before them, and be their fate what it might they would cast anchor among them early next morning, if the wind but held.

Both Fred and Frank were uneasy in their minds.

"There is no going back now," Frank said.

"Come weal or come woe," replied Fred with great earnestness, "we shall do our duty, and trust all the rest to a Higher Power."

"Amen," said Frank.