Chapter 30

by Jack London

　　Chapter XXX

　　No wonder we called it Endeavour Island. For two weeks we toiledat building a hut. Maud insisted on helping, and I could have weptover her bruised and bleeding hands. And still, I was proud of herbecause of it. There was something heroic about this gently-bredwoman enduring our terrible hardship and with her pittance ofstrength bending to the tasks of a peasant woman. She gatheredmany of the stones which I built into the walls of the hut; also,she turned a deaf ear to my entreaties when I begged her to desist.She compromised, however, by taking upon herself the lighterlabours of cooking and gathering driftwood and moss for ourwinter's supply.

　　The hut's walls rose without difficulty, and everything wentsmoothly until the problem of the roof confronted me. Of what usethe four walls without a roof? And of what could a roof be made?There were the spare oars, very true. They would serve as roof-beams; but with what was I to cover them? Moss would never do.Tundra grass was impracticable. We needed the sail for the boat,and the tarpaulin had begun to leak.

　　"Winters used walrus skins on his hut," I said.

　　"There are the seals," she suggested.

　　So next day the hunting began. I did not know how to shoot, but Iproceeded to learn. And when I had expended some thirty shells forthree seals, I decided that the ammunition would be exhaustedbefore I acquired the necessary knowledge. I had used eight shellsfor lighting fires before I hit upon the device of banking theembers with wet moss, and there remained not over a hundred shellsin the box.

　　"We must club the seals," I announced, when convinced of my poormarksmanship. "I have heard the sealers talk about clubbing them."

　　"They are so pretty," she objected. "I cannot bear to think of itbeing done. It is so directly brutal, you know; so different fromshooting them."

　　"That roof must go on," I answered grimly. "Winter is almost here.It is our lives against theirs. It is unfortunate we haven'tplenty of ammunition, but I think, anyway, that they suffer lessfrom being clubbed than from being all shot up. Besides, I shalldo the clubbing."

　　"That's just it," she began eagerly, and broke off in suddenconfusion.

　　"Of course," I began, "if you prefer - "

　　"But what shall I be doing?" she interrupted, with that softness Iknew full well to be insistence.

　　"Gathering firewood and cooking dinner," I answered lightly.

　　She shook her head. "It is too dangerous for you to attemptalone."

　　"I know, I know," she waived my protest. "I am only a weak woman,but just my small assistance may enable you to escape disaster."

　　"But the clubbing?" I suggested.

　　"Of course, you will do that. I shall probably scream. I'll lookaway when - "

　　"The danger is most serious," I laughed.

　　"I shall use my judgment when to look and when not to look," shereplied with a grand air.

　　The upshot of the affair was that she accompanied me next morning.I rowed into the adjoining cove and up to the edge of the beach.There were seals all about us in the water, and the bellowingthousands on the beach compelled us to shout at each other to makeourselves heard.

　　"I know men club them," I said, trying to reassure myself, andgazing doubtfully at a large bull, not thirty feet away, uprearedon his fore-flippers and regarding me intently. "But the questionis, How do they club them?"

　　"Let us gather tundra grass and thatch the roof," Maud said.

　　She was as frightened as I at the prospect, and we had reason to begazing at close range at the gleaming teeth and dog-like mouths.

　　"I always thought they were afraid of men," I said.

　　"How do I know they are not afraid?" I queried a moment later,after having rowed a few more strokes along the beach. "Perhaps,if I were to step boldly ashore, they would cut for it, and I couldnot catch up with one." And still I hesitated.

　　"I heard of a man, once, who invaded the nesting grounds of wildgeese," Maud said. "They killed him."

　　"The geese?"

　　"Yes, the geese. My brother told me about it when I was a littlegirl."

　　"But I know men club them," I persisted.

　　"I think the tundra grass will make just as good a roof," she said.

　　Far from her intention, her words were maddening me, driving me on.I could not play the coward before her eyes. "Here goes," I said,backing water with one oar and running the bow ashore.

　　I stepped out and advanced valiantly upon a long-maned bull in themidst of his wives. I was armed with the regular club with whichthe boat-pullers killed the wounded seals gaffed aboard by thehunters. It was only a foot and a half long, and in my superbignorance I never dreamed that the club used ashore when raidingthe rookeries measured four to five feet. The cows lumbered out ofmy way, and the distance between me and the bull decreased. Heraised himself on his flippers with an angry movement. We were adozen feet apart. Still I advanced steadily, looking for him toturn tail at any moment and run.

　　At six feet the panicky thought rushed into my mind, What if hewill not run? Why, then I shall club him, came the answer. In myfear I had forgotten that I was there to get the bull instead of tomake him run. And just then he gave a snort and a snarl and rushedat me. His eyes were blazing, his mouth was wide open; the teethgleamed cruelly white. Without shame, I confess that it was I whoturned and footed it. He ran awkwardly, but he ran well. He wasbut two paces behind when I tumbled into the boat, and as I shovedoff with an oar his teeth crunched down upon the blade. The stoutwood was crushed like an egg-shell. Maud and I were astounded. Amoment later he had dived under the boat, seized the keel in hismouth, and was shaking the boat violently.

　　"My!" said Maud. "Let's go back."

　　I shook my head. "I can do what other men have done, and I knowthat other men have clubbed seals. But I think I'll leave thebulls alone next time."

　　"I wish you wouldn't," she said.

　　"Now don't say, 'Please, please,'" I cried, half angrily, I dobelieve.

　　She made no reply, and I knew my tone must have hurt her.

　　"I beg your pardon," I said, or shouted, rather, in order to makemyself heard above the roar of the rookery. "If you say so, I'llturn and go back; but honestly, I'd rather stay."

　　"Now don't say that this is what you get for bringing a womanalong," she said. She smiled at me whimsically, gloriously, and Iknew there was no need for forgiveness.

　　I rowed a couple of hundred feet along the beach so as to recovermy nerves, and then stepped ashore again.

　　"Do be cautious," she called after me.

　　I nodded my head and proceeded to make a flank attack on thenearest harem. All went well until I aimed a blow at an outlyingcowls head and fell short. She snorted and tried to scramble away.I ran in close and struck another blow, hitting the shoulderinstead of the head.

　　"Watch out!" I heard Maud scream.

　　In my excitement I had not been taking notice of other things, andI looked up to see the lord of the harem charging down upon me.Again I fled to the boat, hotly pursued; but this time Maud made nosuggestion of turning back.

　　"It would be better, I imagine, if you let harems alone and devotedyour attention to lonely and inoffensive-looking seals," was whatshe said. "I think I have read something about them. Dr. Jordan'sbook, I believe. They are the young bulls, not old enough to haveharems of their own. He called them the holluschickie, orsomething like that. It seems to me if we find where they haul out- "

　　"It seems to me that your fighting instinct is aroused," I laughed.

　　She flushed quickly and prettily. "I'll admit I don't like defeatany more than you do, or any more than I like the idea of killingsuch pretty, inoffensive creatures."

　　"Pretty!" I sniffed. "I failed to mark anything pre-eminentlypretty about those foamy-mouthed beasts that raced me."

　　"Your point of view," she laughed. "You lacked perspective. Nowif you did not have to get so close to the subject - "

　　"The very thing!" I cried. "What I need is a longer club. Andthere's that broken oar ready to hand."

　　"It just comes to me," she said, "that Captain Larsen was tellingme how the men raided the rookeries. They drive the seals, insmall herds, a short distance inland before they kill them."

　　"I don't care to undertake the herding of one of those harems," Iobjected.

　　"But there are the holluschickie," she said. "The holluschickiehaul out by themselves, and Dr. Jordan says that paths are leftbetween the harems, and that as long as the holluschickie keepstrictly to the path they are unmolested by the masters of theharem."

　　"There's one now," I said, pointing to a young bull in the water."Let's watch him, and follow him if he hauls out."

　　He swam directly to the beach and clambered out into a smallopening between two harems, the masters of which made warningnoises but did not attack him. We watched him travel slowlyinward, threading about among the harems along what must have beenthe path.

　　"Here goes," I said, stepping out; but I confess my heart was in mymouth as I thought of going through the heart of that monstrousherd.

　　"It would be wise to make the boat fast," Maud said.

　　She had stepped out beside me, and I regarded her with wonderment.

　　She nodded her head determinedly. "Yes, I'm going with you, so youmay as well secure the boat and arm me with a club."

　　"Let's go back," I said dejectedly. "I think tundra grass, willdo, after all."

　　"You know it won't," was her reply. "Shall I lead?"

　　With a shrug of the shoulders, but with the warmest admiration andpride at heart for this woman, I equipped her with the broken oarand took another for myself. It was with nervous trepidation thatwe made the first few rods of the journey. Once Maud screamed interror as a cow thrust an inquisitive nose toward her foot, andseveral times I quickened my pace for the same reason. But, beyondwarning coughs from either side, there were no signs of hostility.It was a rookery which had never been raided by the hunters, and inconsequence the seals were mild-tempered and at the same timeunafraid.

　　In the very heart of the herd the din was terrific. It was almostdizzying in its effect. I paused and smiled reassuringly at Maud,for I had recovered my equanimity sooner than she. I could seethat she was still badly frightened. She came close to me andshouted:

　　"I'm dreadfully afraid!"

　　And I was not. Though the novelty had not yet worn off, thepeaceful comportment of the seals had quieted my alarm. Maud wastrembling.

　　"I'm afraid, and I'm not afraid," she chattered with shaking jaws."It's my miserable body, not I."

　　"It's all right, it's all right," I reassured her, my arm passinginstinctively and protectingly around her.

　　I shall never forget, in that moment, how instantly conscious Ibecame of my manhood. The primitive deeps of my nature stirred. Ifelt myself masculine, the protector of the weak, the fightingmale. And, best of all, I felt myself the protector of my lovedone. She leaned against me, so light and lily-frail, and as hertrembling eased away it seemed as though I became aware ofprodigious strength. I felt myself a match for the most ferociousbull in the herd, and I know, had such a bull charged upon me, thatI should have met it unflinchingly and quite coolly, and I knowthat I should have killed it.

　　"I am all right now," she said, looking up at me gratefully. "Letus go on."

　　And that the strength in me had quieted her and given herconfidence, filled me with an exultant joy. The youth of the raceseemed burgeoning in me, over-civilized man that I was, and I livedfor myself the old hunting days and forest nights of my remote andforgotten ancestry. I had much for which to thank Wolf Larsen, wasmy thought as we went along the path between the jostling harems.

　　A quarter of a mile inland we came upon the holluschickie - sleekyoung bulls, living out the loneliness of their bachelorhood andgathering strength against the day when they would fight their wayinto the ranks of the Benedicts.

　　Everything now went smoothly. I seemed to know just what to do andhow to do it. Shouting, making threatening gestures with my club,and even prodding the lazy ones, I quickly cut out a score of theyoung bachelors from their companions. Whenever one made anattempt to break back toward the water, I headed it off. Maud tookan active part in the drive, and with her cries and flourishings ofthe broken oar was of considerable assistance. I noticed, though,that whenever one looked tired and lagged, she let it slip past.But I noticed, also, whenever one, with a show of fight, tried tobreak past, that her eyes glinted and showed bright, and she rappedit smartly with her club.

　　"My, it's exciting!" she cried, pausing from sheer weakness. "Ithink I'll sit down."

　　I drove the little herd (a dozen strong, now, what of the escapesshe had permitted) a hundred yards farther on; and by the time shejoined me I had finished the slaughter and was beginning to skin.An hour later we went proudly back along the path between theharems. And twice again we came down the path burdened with skins,till I thought we had enough to roof the hut. I set the sail, laidone tack out of the cove, and on the other tack made our own littleinner cove.

　　"It's just like home-coming," Maud said, as I ran the boat ashore.

　　I heard her words with a responsive thrill, it was all so dearlyintimate and natural, and I said:

　　"It seems as though I have lived this life always. The world ofbooks and bookish folk is very vague, more like a dream memory thanan actuality. I surely have hunted and forayed and fought all thedays of my life. And you, too, seem a part of it. You are - " Iwas on the verge of saying, "my woman, my mate," but glibly changedit to - "standing the hardship well."

　　But her ear had caught the flaw. She recognized a flight thatmidmost broke. She gave me a quick look.

　　"Not that. You were saying - ?"

　　"That the American Mrs. Meynell was living the life of a savage andliving it quite successfully," I said easily.

　　"Oh," was all she replied; but I could have sworn there was a noteof disappointment in her voice.

　　But "my woman, my mate" kept ringing in my head for the rest of theday and for many days. Yet never did it ring more loudly than thatnight, as I watched her draw back the blanket of moss from thecoals, blow up the fire, and cook the evening meal. It must havebeen latent savagery stirring in me, for the old words, so bound upwith the roots of the race, to grip me and thrill me. And grip andthrill they did, till I fell asleep, murmuring them to myself overand over again.