Part 1 - Dropped from the Clouds: Chapter 9

by Jules Verne

　　In a few words, Gideon Spilett, Herbert, and Neb were made acquainted withwhat had happened. This accident, which appeared so very serious toPencroft, produced different effects on the companions of the honestsailor.

　　Neb, in his delight at having found his master, did not listen, orrather, did not care to trouble himself with what Pencroft was saying.

　　Herbert shared in some degree the sailor's feelings.

　　As to the reporter, he simply replied,--

　　"Upon my word, Pencroft, it's perfectly indifferent to me!"

　　"But, I repeat, that we haven't any fire!"

　　"Pooh!"

　　"Nor any means of relighting it!"

　　"Nonsense!"

　　"But I say, Mr. Spilett--"

　　"Isn't Cyrus here?" replied the reporter.

　　"Is not our engineer alive? He will soon find some way of making fire forus!"

　　"With what?"

　　"With nothing."

　　What had Pencroft to say? He could say nothing, for, in the bottom of hisheart he shared the confidence which his companions had in Cyrus Harding.The engineer was to them a microcosm, a compound of every science, apossessor of all human knowledge. It was better to be with Cyrus in adesert island, than without him in the most flourishing town in the UnitedStates. With him they could want nothing; with him they would neverdespair. If these brave men had been told that a volcanic eruption woulddestroy the land, that this land would be engulfed in the depths of thePacific, they would have imperturbably replied,--

　　Cyrus is here!"

　　While in the palanquin, however, the engineer had again relapsed intounconsciousness, which the jolting to which he had been subjected duringhis journey had brought on, so that they could not now appeal to hisingenuity. The supper must necessarily be very meager. In fact, all thegrouse flesh had been consumed, and there no longer existed any means ofcooking more game. Besides, the couroucous which had been reserved haddisappeared. They must consider what was to be done.

　　First of all, Cyrus Harding was carried into the central passage. Therethey managed to arrange for him a couch of sea-weed which still remainedalmost dry. The deep sleep which had overpowered him would no doubt be morebeneficial to him than any nourishment.

　　Night had closed in, and the temperature, which had modified when thewind shifted to the northwest, again became extremely cold. Also, the seahaving destroyed the partitions which Pencroft had put up in certain placesin the passages, the Chimneys, on account of the draughts, had becomescarcely habitable. The engineer's condition would, therefore, have beenbad enough, if his companions had not carefully covered him with theircoats and waistcoats.

　　Supper, this evening, was of course composed of the inevitablelithodomes, of which Herbert and Neb picked up a plentiful supply on thebeach. However, to these molluscs, the lad added some edible sea-weed,which he gathered on high rocks, whose sides were only washed by the sea atthe time of high tides. This sea-weed, which belongs to the order ofFucacae, of the genus Sargassum, produces, when dry, a gelatinous matter,rich and nutritious. The reporter and his companions, after having eaten aquantity of lithodomes, sucked the sargassum, of which the taste was verytolerable. It is used in parts of the East very considerably by thenatives. "Never mind!" said the sailor, "the captain will help us soon."Meanwhile the cold became very severe, and unhappily they had no means ofdefending themselves from it.

　　The sailor, extremely vexed, tried in all sorts of ways to procure fire.Neb helped him in this work. He found some dry moss, and by strikingtogether two pebbles he obtained some sparks, but the moss, not beinginflammable enough, did not take fire, for the sparks were really onlyincandescent, and not at all of the same consistency as those which areemitted from flint when struck in the same manner. The experiment,therefore, did not succeed.

　　Pencroft, although he had no confidence in the proceeding, then triedrubbing two pieces of dry wood together, as savages do. Certainly, themovement which he and Neb exhibited, if it had been transformed into heat,according to the new theory, would have been enough to heat the boiler of asteamer! It came to nothing. The bits of wood became hot, to be sure, butmuch less so than the operators themselves.

　　After working an hour, Pencroft, who was in a complete state ofperspiration, threw down the pieces of wood in disgust.

　　"I can never be made to believe that savages light their fires in thisway, let them say what they will," he exclaimed. "I could sooner light myarms by rubbing them against each other!"

　　The sailor was wrong to despise the proceeding. Savages often kindle woodby means of rapid rubbing. But every sort of wood does not answer for thepurpose, and besides, there is "the knack," following the usual expression,and it is probable that Pencroft had not "the knack."

　　Pencroft's ill humor did not last long. Herbert had taken the bits ofwood which he had turned down, and was exerting himself to rub them. Thehardy sailor could not restrain a burst of laughter on seeing the effortsof the lad to succeed where he had failed.

　　"Rub, my boy, rub!" said he.

　　"I am rubbing," replied Herbert, laughing, "but I don't pretend to doanything else but warm myself instead of shivering, and soon I shall be ashot as you are, my good Pencroft!"

　　This soon happened. However, they were obliged to give up, for this nightat least, the attempt to procure fire. Gideon Spilett repeated, for thetwentieth time, that Cyrus Harding would not have been troubled for sosmall a difficulty. And, in the meantime, he stretched himself in one ofthe passages on his bed of sand. Herbert, Neb, and Pencroft did the same,while Top slept at his master's feet.

　　Next day, the 28th of March, when the engineer awoke, about eight in themorning, he saw his companions around him watching his sleep, and, as onthe day before, his first words were:--

　　"Island or continent?" This was his uppermost thought.

　　"Well!" replied Pencroft, "we don't know anything about it, captain!"

　　"You don't know yet?"

　　"But we shall know," rejoined Pencroft, "when you have guided us into thecountry."

　　"I think I am able to try it," replied the engineer, who, without mucheffort, rose and stood upright.

　　"That's capital!" cried the sailor.

　　"I feel dreadfully weak," replied Harding. "Give me something to eat, myfriends, and it will soon go off. You have fire, haven't you?"

　　This question was not immediately replied to. But, in a few seconds--

　　"Alas! we have no fire," said Pencroft, "or rather, captain, we have itno longer!"

　　And the sailor recounted all that had passed the day before. He amusedthe engineer by the history of the single match, then his abortive attemptto procure fire in the savages' way.

　　"We shall consider," replied the engineer, "and if we do not find somesubstance similar to tinder--"

　　"Well?" asked the sailor.

　　"Well, we will make matches.

　　"Chemicals?"

　　"Chemicals!"

　　"It is not more difficult than that," cried the reporter, striking thesailor on the shoulder.

　　The latter did not think it so simple, but he did not protest. All wentout. The weather had become very fine. The sun was rising from the sea'shorizon, and touched with golden spangles the prismatic rugosities of thehuge precipice.

　　Having thrown a rapid glance around him, the engineer seated himself on ablock of stone. Herbert offered him a few handfuls of shell-fish andsargassum, saying,--

　　"It is all that we have, Captain Harding."

　　"Thanks, my boy," replied Harding; "it will do--for this morning atleast."

　　He ate the wretched food with appetite, and washed it down with a littlefresh water, drawn from the river in an immense shell.

　　His companions looked at him without speaking. Then, feeling somewhatrefreshed, Cyrus Harding crossed his arms, and said,--

　　"So, my friends, you do not know yet whether fate has thrown us on anisland, or on a continent?"

　　"No, captain," replied the boy.

　　"We shall know to-morrow," said the engineer; "till then, there isnothing to be done."

　　"Yes," replied Pencroft.

　　"What?"

　　"Fire," said the sailor, who, also, had a fixed idea.

　　"We will make it, Pencroft," replied Harding.

　　"While you were carrying me yesterday, did I not see in the west amountain which commands the country?"

　　"Yes," replied Spilett, "a mountain which must be rather high--"

　　"Well," replied the engineer, "we will climb to the summit to-morrow, andthen we shall see if this land is an island or a continent. Till then, Irepeat, there is nothing to be done."

　　"Yes, fire!" said the obstinate sailor again.

　　"But he will make us a fire!" replied Gideon Spilett, "only have a littlepatience, Pencroft!"

　　The seaman looked at Spilett in a way which seemed to say, "If itdepended upon you to do it, we wouldn't taste roast meat very soon"; but hewas silent.

　　Meanwhile Captain Harding had made no reply. He appeared to be verylittle troubled by the question of fire. For a few minutes he remainedabsorbed in thought; then again speaking,--

　　"My friends," said he, "our situation is, perhaps, deplorable; but, atany rate, it is very plain. Either we are on a continent, and then, at theexpense of greater or less fatigue, we shall reach some inhabited place, orwe are on an island. In the latter case, if the island is inhabited, wewill try to get out of the scrape with the help of its inhabitants; if itis desert, we will try to get out of the scrape by ourselves."

　　"Certainly, nothing could be plainer," replied Pencroft.

　　"But, whether it is an island or a continent," asked Gideon Spilett,"whereabouts do you think, Cyrus, this storm has thrown us?"

　　"I cannot say exactly," replied the engineer, "but I presume it is someland in the Pacific. In fact, when we left Richmond, the wind was blowingfrom the northeast, and its very violence greatly proves that it could nothave varied. If the direction has been maintained from the northeast to thesouthwest, we have traversed the States of North Carolina, of SouthCarolina, of Georgia, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, itself, in its narrowpart, then a part of the Pacific Ocean. I cannot estimate the distancetraversed by the balloon at less than six to seven thousand miles, and,even supposing that the wind had varied half a quarter, it must havebrought us either to the archipelago of Mendava, either on the Pomotous, oreven, if it had a greater strength than I suppose, to the land of NewZealand. If the last hypothesis is correct, it will be easy enough to gethome again. English or Maoris, we shall always find some one to whom we canspeak. If, on the contrary, this is the coast of a desert island in sometiny archipelago, perhaps we shall be able to reconnoiter it from thesummit of that peak which overlooks the country, and then we shall see howbest to establish ourselves here as if we are never to go away."

　　"Never?" cried the reporter. "You say 'Never,' my dear Cyrus?"

　　"Better to put things at the worst at first," replied the engineer, "andreserve the best for a surprise."

　　"Well said," remarked Pencroft. "It is to be hoped, too, that thisisland, if it be one, is not situated just out of the course of ships; thatwould be really unlucky!"

　　"We shall not know what we have to rely on until we have first made theascent of the mountain," replied the engineer.

　　"But to-morrow, captain," asked Herbert, "shall you be in a state to bearthe fatigue of the ascent?"

　　"I hope so," replied the engineer, "provided you and Pencroft, my boy,show yourselves quick and clever hunters."

　　"Captain," said the sailor, "since you are speaking of game, if on myreturn, I was as certain of roasting it as I am of bringing it back--"

　　"Bring it back all the same, Pencroft," replied Harding.

　　It was then agreed that the engineer and the reporter were to pass theday at the Chimneys, so as to examine the shore and the upper plateau. Neb,Herbert, and the sailor were to return to the forest, renew their store ofwood, and lay violent hands on every creature, feathered or hairy, whichmight come within their reach.

　　They set out accordingly about ten o'clock in the morning, Herbertconfident, Neb joyous, Pencroft murmuring aside,--

　　"If, on my return, I find a fire at the house, I shall believe that thethunder itself came to light it." All three climbed the bank; and arrivedat the angle made by the river, the sailor, stopping, said to his twocompanions,--

　　"Shall we begin by being hunters or wood-men?"

　　"Hunters," replied Herbert. "There is Top already in quest."

　　"We will hunt, then," said the sailor, "and afterwards we can come backand collect our wood."

　　This agreed to, Herbert, Neb, and Pencroft, after having torn threesticks from the trunk of a young fir, followed Top, who was bounding aboutamong the long grass.

　　This time, the hunters, instead of following the course of the river,plunged straight into the heart of the forest. There were still the sametrees, belonging, for the most part, to the pine family. In certain places,less crowded, growing in clumps, these pines exhibited considerabledimensions, and appeared to indicate, by their development, that thecountry was situated in a higher latitude than the engineer had supposed.Glades, bristling with stumps worn away by time, were covered with drywood, which formed an inexhaustible store of fuel. Then, the glade passed,the underwood thickened again, and became almost impenetrable.

　　It was difficult enough to find the way among the groups of trees, withoutany beaten track. So the sailor from time to time broke off branches whichmight be easily recognized. But, perhaps, he was wrong not to follow thewatercourse, as he and Herbert had done on their first excursion, for afterwalking an hour not a creature had shown itself. Top, running under thebranches, only roused birds which could not be approached. Even thecouroucous were invisible, and it was probable that the sailor would beobliged to return to the marshy part of the forest, in which he had sohappily performed his grouse fishing.

　　"Well, Pencroft," said Neb, in a slightly sarcastic tone, "if this is allthe game which you promised to bring back to my master, it won't need alarge fire to roast it!"

　　"Have patience," replied the sailor, "it isn't the game which will bewanting on our return."

　　"Have you not confidence in Captain Harding?"

　　"Yes."

　　"But you don't believe that he will make fire?"

　　"I shall believe it when the wood is blazing in the fireplace."

　　"It will blaze, since my master has said so."

　　"We shall see!"

　　Meanwhile, the sun had not reached the highest point in its course abovethe horizon. The exploration, therefore, continued, and was usefullymarked by a discovery which Herbert made of a tree whose fruit was edible.This was the stone-pine, which produces an excellent almond, very muchesteemed in the temperate regions of America and Europe. These almonds werein a perfect state of maturity, and Herbert described them to hiscompanions, who feasted on them.

　　"Come," said Pencroft, "sea-weed by way of bread, raw mussels for meat,and almonds for dessert, that's certainly a good dinner for those who havenot a single match in their pocket!"

　　We mustn't complain," said Herbert.

　　"I am not complaining, my boy," replied Pencroft, "only I repeat, thatmeat is a little too much economized in this sort of meal."

　　"Top has found something!" cried Neb, who ran towards a thicket, in themidst of which the dog had disappeared, barking. With Top's barking weremingled curious gruntings.

　　The sailor and Herbert had followed Neb. If there was game there this wasnot the time to discuss how it was to be cooked, but rather, how they wereto get hold of it.

　　The hunters had scarcely entered the bushes when they saw Top engaged ina struggle with an animal which he was holding by the ear. This quadrupedwas a sort of pig nearly two feet and a half long, of a blackish browncolor, lighter below, having hard scanty hair; its toes, then stronglyfixed in the ground, seemed to be united by a membrane. Herbert recognizedin this animal the capybara, that is to say, one of the largest members ofthe rodent order.

　　Meanwhile, the capybara did not struggle against the dog. It stupidlyrolled its eyes, deeply buried in a thick bed of fat. Perhaps it saw menfor the first time.

　　However, Neb having tightened his grasp on his stick, was just going tofell the pig, when the latter, tearing itself from Top's teeth, by which itwas only held by the tip of its ear, uttered a vigorous grunt, rushed uponHerbert, almost overthrew him, and disappeared in the wood.

　　"The rascal!" cried Pencroft.

　　All three directly darted after Top, but at the moment when they joinedhim the animal had disappeared under the waters of a large pond shaded byvenerable pines.

　　Neb, Herbert, and Pencroft stopped, motionless. Top plunged into thewater, but the capybara, hidden at the bottom of the pond, did not appear.

　　"Let us wait," said the boy, "for he will soon come to the surface tobreathe."

　　"Won't he drown?" asked Neb.

　　"No," replied Herbert, "since he has webbed feet, and is almost anamphibious animal. But watch him."

　　Top remained in the water. Pencroft and his two companions went todifferent parts of the bank, so as to cut off the retreat of the capybara,which the dog was looking for beneath the water.

　　Herbert was not mistaken. In a few minutes the animal appeared on thesurface of the water. Top was upon it in a bound, and kept it from plungingagain. An instant later the capybara, dragged to the bank, was killed by ablow from Neb's stick.

　　"Hurrah!" cried Pencroft, who was always ready with this cry of triumph.

　　"Give me but a good fire, and this pig shall be gnawed to the bones!"

　　Pencroft hoisted the capybara on his shoulders, and judging by the heightof the sun that it was about two o'clock, he gave the signal to return.

　　Top's instinct was useful to the hunters, who, thanks to the intelligentanimal, were enabled to discover the road by which they had come. Half anhour later they arrived at the river.

　　Pencroft soon made a raft of wood, as he had done before, though if therewas no fire it would be a useless task, and the raft following the current,they returned towards the Chimneys.

　　But the sailor had not gone fifty paces when he stopped, and againuttering a tremendous hurrah, pointed towards the angle of the cliff,--

　　"Herbert! Neb! Look!" he shouted.

　　Smoke was escaping and curling up among the rocks.