These last words justified the colonists' presentiment. There had been somemournful past, perhaps expiated in the sight of men, but from which hisconscience had not yet absolved him. At any rate the guilty man feltremorse, he repented, and his new friends would have cordially pressed thehand which they sought; but he did not feel himself worthy to extend it tohonest men! However, alter the scene with the jaguar, he did not return tothe forest, and from that day did not go beyond the enclosure of GraniteHouse.
What was the mystery of his life? Would the stranger one day speak of it?Time alone could show. At any rate, it was agreed that his secret shouldnever be asked from him, and that they would live with him as if theysuspected nothing.
For some days their life continued as before. Cyrus Harding and GideonSpilett worked together, sometimes chemists, sometimes experimentalists. Thereporter never left the engineer except to hunt with Herbert, for it wouldnot have been prudent to allow the lad to ramble alone in the forest; andit was very necessary to be on their guard. As to Neb and Pencroft, one dayat the stables and poultry-yard, another at the corral, without reckoningwork in Granite House, they were never in want of employment.
The stranger worked alone, and he had resumed his usual life, neverappearing at meals, sleeping under the trees in the plateau, never minglingwith his companions. It really seemed as if the society of those who hadsaved him was insupportable to him!
"But then," observed Pencroft, "why did he entreat the help of hisfellow-creatures? Why did he throw that paper into the sea?"
"He will tell us why," invariably replied Cyrus Harding.
"When?"
"Perhaps sooner than you think, Pencroft."
And, indeed, the day of confession was near.
On the 10th of December, a week after his return to Granite House,Harding saw the stranger approaching, who, in a calm voice and humble tone,said to him: "Sir, I have a request to make of you."
"Speak," answered the engineer, "but first let me ask you a question."
At these words the stranger reddened, and was on the point ofwithdrawing. Cyrus Harding understood what was passing in the mind of theguilty man, who doubtless feared that the engineer would interrogate him onhis past life.
Harding held him back.
"Comrade," said he, "we are not only your companions but your friends. Iwish you to believe that, and now I will listen to you."
The stranger pressed his hand over his eyes. He was seized with a sort oftrembling, and remained a few moments without being able to articulate aword.
"Sir," said he at last, "I have come to beg you to grant me a favor."
"What is it?"
"You have, four or five miles from here, a corral for your domesticatedanimals. These animals need to be taken care of. Will you allow me to livethere with them?"
Cyrus Harding gazed at the unfortunate man for a few moments with afeeling of deep commiseration; then,--
"My friend," said he, "the corral has only stables hardly fit foranimals."
"It will be good enough for me, sir."
"My friend," answered Harding, "we will not constrain you in anything.You wish to live at the corral, so be it. You will, however, be alwayswelcome at Granite House. But since you wish to live at the corral we willmake the necessary arrangements for your being comfortably establishedthere."
"Never mind that, I shall do very well."
"My friend," answered Harding, who always intentionally made use of thiscordial appellation, "you must let us judge what it will be best to do inthis respect."
"Thank you, sir," replied the stranger as he withdrew.
The engineer then made known to his companions the proposal which hadbeen made to him, and it was agreed that they should build a wooden houseat the corral, which they would make as comfortable as possible.
That very day the colonists repaired to the corral with the necessarytools, and a week had not passed before the house was ready to receive itstenant. It was built about twenty feet from the sheds, and from there itwas easy to overlook the flock of sheep, which then numbered more thaneighty. Some furniture, a bed, table, bench, cupboard, and chest weremanufactured, and a gun, ammunition, and tools were carried to the corral.
The stranger, however, had seen nothing of his new dwelling, and he hadallowed the settlers to work there without him, while he occupied himselfon the plateau, wishing, doubtless, to put the finishing stroke to hiswork. Indeed, thanks to him, all the ground was dug up and ready to hesowed when the time came.
It was on the 20th of December that all the arrangements at the corralwere completed. The engineer announced to the stranger that his dwellingwas ready to receive him, and the latter replied that he would go and sleepthere that very evening.
On this evening the colonists were gathered in the diningroom of GraniteHouse. It was then eight o'clock, the hour at which their companion was toleave them. Not wishing to trouble him by their presence, and thus imposingon him the necessity of saying farewells which might perhaps be painful tohim, they had left him alone and ascended to Granite House.
Now, they had been talking in the room for a few minutes, when a lightknock was heard at the door. Almost immediately the stranger entered, andwithout any preamble,--
"Gentlemen," said he, "before I leave you, it is right that you shouldknow my history. I will tell it you."
These simple words profoundly impressed Cyrus Harding and his companions.The engineer rose.
"We ask you nothing, my friend," said he; "it is your right to besilent."
"It is my duty to speak."
"Sit down, then."
"No, I will stand."
"We are ready to hear you," replied Harding.
The stranger remained standing in a corner of the room, a little in theshade. He was bareheaded, his arms folded across his chest, and it was inthis posture that in a hoarse voice, speaking like some one who obligeshimself to speak, he gave the following recital, which his auditors did notonce interrupt:--
"On the 20th of December, 1854, a steam-yacht, belonging to a Scotchnobleman, Lord Glenarvan, anchored off Cape Bernouilli, on the westerncoast of Australia, in the thirty-seventh parallel. On board this yachtwere Lord Glenarvan and his wife, a major in the English army, a Frenchgeographer, a young girl, and a young boy. These two last were the childrenof Captain Grant, whose ship, the 'Britannia,' had been lost, crew andcargo, a year before. The 'Duncan' was commanded by Captain John Mangles,and manned by a crew of fifteen men.
"This is the reason the yacht at this time lay off the coast ofAustralia. Six months before, a bottle, enclosing a document written inEnglish, German, and French, had been found in the Irish Sea, and picked upby the 'Duncan.' This document stated in substance that there still existedthree survivors from the wreck of the 'Britannia,' that these survivorswere Captain Grant and two of his men, and that they had found refuge onsome land, of which the document gave the latitude, but of which thelongitude, effaced by the sea, was no longer legible.
"This latitude was 37 11' south; therefore, the longitude being unknown,if they followed the thirty-seventh parallel over continents and seas, theywould be certain to reach the spot inhabited by Captain Grant and his twocompanions. The English Admiralty having hesitated to undertake thissearch, Lord Glenarvan resolved to attempt everything to find the captain.He communicated with Mary and Robert Grant, who joined him. The 'Duncan'yacht was equipped for the distant voyage, in which the nobleman's familyand the captain's children wished to take part, and the 'Duncan,' leavingGlasgow, proceeded towards the Atlantic, passed through the Straits ofMagellan, and ascended the Pacific as far as Patagonia, where, according toa previous interpretation of the document, they supposed that Captain Grantwas a prisoner among the Indians.
"The 'Duncan' disembarked her passengers on the western coast ofPatagonia, and sailed to pick them up again on the eastern coast at CapeCorrientes. Lord Glenarvan traversed Patagonia, following the thirty-seventh parallel, and having found no trace of the captain, he re-embarkedon the 13th of November, so as to pursue his search through the Ocean.
"After having unsuccessfully visited the islands of Tristan d'Acunha andAmsterdam, situated in her course, the 'Duncan,' as I have said, arrived atCape Bernouilli, on the Australian coast, on the 20th of December, 1854.
"It was Lord Glenarvan's intention to traverse Australia as he hadtraversed America, and he disembarked. A few miles from the coast wasestablished a farm, belonging to an Irishman, who offered hospitality tothe travelers. Lord Glenarvan made known to the Irishman the cause whichhad brought him to these parts, and asked if he knew whether a three-mastedEnglish vessel, the 'Britannia,' had been lost less than two years beforeon the west coast of Australia.
"The Irishman had never heard of this wreck, but, to the great surpriseof the bystanders, one of his servants came forward and said,--
"'My lord, praise and thank God! If Captain Grant is still living, he isliving on the Australian shores.'
"'Who are you?' asked Lord Glenarvan.
"'A Scotchman like yourself, my lord,' replied the man; 'I am one ofCaptain Grant's crew--one of the castaways of the "Britannia."'
"This man was called Ayrton. He was, in fact, the boatswain's mate of the'Britannia,' as his papers showed. But, separated from Captain Grant at themoment when the ship struck upon the rocks, he had till then believed thatthe captain with all his crew had perished, and that he, Ayrton, was thesole survivor of the 'Britannia.'
"'Only,' he added, 'it was not on the west coast, but on the east coastof Australia that the vessel was lost, and if Captain Grant is stillliving, as his document indicates, he is a prisoner among the natives, andit is on the other coast that he must be looked for.'
"This man spoke in a frank voice and with a confident look; his wordscould not be doubted. The irishman, in whose service he had been for morethan a year, answered for his trustworthiness. Lord Glenarvan, therefore,believed in the fidelity of this man and, by his advice, resolved to crossAustralia, following the thirty-seventh parallel. Lord Glenarvan, his wife,the two children, the major, the Frenchman, Captain Mangles, and a fewsailors composed the little band under the command of Ayrton, while the'Duncan,' under charge of the mate, Tom Austin, proceeded to Melbourne,there to await Lord Glenarvan's instructions.
"They set out on the 23rd of December, 1854.
"It is time to say that Ayrton was a traitor. He was, indeed, theboatswain's mate of the 'Britannia,' but, after some dispute with hiscaptain, he endeavored to incite the crew to mutiny and seize the ship, andCaptain Grant had landed him, on the 8th of April, 1852, on the west coastof Australia, and then sailed, leaving him there, as was only just.
"Therefore this wretched man knew nothing of the wreck of the'Britannia'; he had just heard of it from Glenarvan's account. Since hisabandonment, he had become, under the name of Ben Joyce, the leader of theescaped convicts; and if he boldly maintained that the wreck had takenplace on the east coast, and led Lord Glenarvan to proceed in thatdirection, it was that he hoped to separate him from his ship, seize the'Duncan,' and make the yacht a pirate in the Pacific."
Here the stranger stopped for a moment. His voice trembled, but hecontinued,--
"The expedition set out and proceeded across Australia. It was inevitablyunfortunate, since Ayrton, or Ben Joyce, as he may be called, guided it,sometimes preceded, sometimes followed by his band of convicts, who hadbeen told what they had to do.
"Meanwhile, the 'Duncan' had been sent to Melbourne for repairs. It wasnecessary, then, to get Lord Glenarvan to order her to leave Melbourne andgo to the east coast of Australia, where it would be easy to seize her.After having led the expedition near enough to the coast, in the midst ofvast forests with no resources, Ayrton obtained a letter, which he wascharged to carry to the mate of the 'Duncan'--a letter which ordered theyacht to repair immediately to the east coast, to Twofold Bay, that is tosay a few days' journey from the place where the expedition had stopped. Itwas there that Ayrton had agreed to meet his accomplices, and two daysafter gaining possession of the letter, he arrived at Melbourne.
"So far the villain had succeeded in his wicked design. He would be ableto take the 'Duncan' into Twofold Bay, where it would be easy for theconvicts to seize her, and her crew massacred, Ben Joyce would becomemaster of the seas. But it pleased God to prevent the accomplishment ofthese terrible projects.
"Ayrton, arrived at Melbourne, delivered the letter to the mate, TomAustin, who read it and immediately set sail, but judge of Ayrton's rageand disappointment, when the next day he found that the mate was taking thevessel, not to the east coast of Australia, to Twofold Bay, but to the eastcoast of New Zealand. He wished to stop him, but Austin showed him theletter!... And indeed, by a providential error of the French geographer,who had written the letter, the east coast of New Zealand was mentioned asthe place of destination.
"All Ayrton's plans were frustrated! He became outrageous. They put himin irons. He was then taken to the coast of New Zealand, not knowing whatwould become of his accomplices, or what would become of Lord Glenarvan.
"The 'Duncan' cruised about on this coast until the 3rd of March. On thatday Ayrton heard the report of guns. The guns on the 'Duncan' were beingfired, and soon Lord Glenarvan and his companions came on board.
"This is what had happened.
"After a thousand hardships, a thousand dangers, Lord Glenarvan hadaccomplished his journey, and arrived on the east coast of Australia, atTwofold Bay. 'No "Duncan!" ' He telegraphed to Melbourne. They answered, '"Duncan" sailed on the 18th instant. Destination unknown.'
"Lord Glenarvan could only arrive at one conclusion; that his honestyacht had fallen into the hands of Ben Joyce, and had become a piratevessel!
"However, Lord Glenarvan would not give up. He was a bold and generousman. He embarked in a merchant vessel, sailed to the west coast of NewZealand, traversed it along the thirty-seventh parallel, without findingany trace of Captain Grant; but on the other side, to his great surprise,and by the will of Heaven, he found the 'Duncan,' under command of themate, who had been waiting for him for five weeks!
"This was on the 3rd of March, 1855. Lord Glenarvan was now on board the'Duncan,' but Ayrton was there also. He appeared before the nobleman, whowished to extract from him all that the villain knew about Captain Grant.Ayrton refused to speak. Lord Glenarvan then told him, that at the firstport they put into, he would be delivered up to the English authorities.Ayrton remained mute.
"The 'Duncan' continued her voyage along the thirty-seventh parallel. Inthe meanwhile, Lady Glenarvan undertook to vanquish the resistance of theruffian.
"At last, her influence prevailed, and Ayrton, in exchange for what hecould tell, proposed that Lord Glenarvan should leave him on some island inthe Pacific, instead of giving him up to the English authorities. LordGlenarvan, resolving to do anything to obtain information about CaptainGrant, consented.
"Ayrton then related all his life, and it was certain that he knewnothing from the day on which Captain Grant had landed him on theAustralian coast.
"Nevertheless, Lord Glenarvan kept the promise which he had given. The'Duncan' continued her voyage and arrived at Tabor Island. It was therethat Ayrton was to be landed, and it was there also that, by a veritablemiracle, they found Captain Grant and two men, exactly on the thirty-seventh parallel.
"The convict, then, went to take their place on this desert islet, and atthe moment he left the yacht these words were pronounced by LordGlenarvan:--
"'Here, Ayrton, you will be far from any land, and without any possiblecommunication with your fellow-creatures. You can-not escape from thisislet on which the 'Duncan' leaves you. You will be alone, under the eye ofa God who reads the depths of the heart, but you will be neither lost norforgotten, as was Captain Grant. Unworthy as you are to be remembered bymen, men will remember you. I know where you are Ayrton, and I know whereto find you. I will never forget it!
"And the 'Duncan,' making sail, soon disappeared. This was 18th of March,1855.
(The events which have just been briefly related are taken from awork which some of our readers have no doubt read, and which isentitled, "Captain Grant's children." They will remark on thisoccasion, as well as later, some discrepancy in the dates; butlater again, they will understand why the real dates were not atfirst given.)
"Ayrton was alone, but he had no want of either ammunition, weapons,tools, or seeds.
"At his, the convict's disposal, was the house built by honest CaptainGrant. He had only to live and expiate in solitude the crimes which he hadcommitted.
"Gentlemen, he repented, he was ashamed of his crimes and was verymiserable! He said to himself, that if men came some day to take him fromthat islet, he must be worthy to return among them! How he suffered, thatwretched man! How he labored to recover himself by work! How he prayed tobe reformed by prayer! For two years, three years, this went on, butAyrton, humbled by solitude, always looking for some ship to appear on thehorizon, asking himself if the time of expiation would soon be complete,suffered as none other suffered! Oh! how dreadful was this solitude, to aheart tormented by remorse!
"But doubtless Heaven had not sufficiently punished this unhappy man, forhe felt that he was gradually becoming a savage! He felt that brutishnesswas gradually gaining on him!
"He could not say if it was after two or three years of solitude, but atlast he became the miserable creature you found!
"I have no need to tell you, gentlemen, that Ayrton, Ben Joyce, and I,are the same."
Cyrus Harding and his companions rose at the end of this account. It isimpossible to say how much they were moved! What misery, grief, and despairlay revealed before them!
"Ayrton," said Harding, rising, "you have been a great criminal, butHeaven must certainly think that you have expiated your crimes! That hasbeen proved by your having been brought again among your fellow-creatures.Ayrton, you are forgiven! And now you will be our companion?"
Ayrton drew back.
"Here is my hand!" said the engineer.
Ayrton grasped the hand which Harding extended to him, and great tearsfell from his eyes.
"Will you live with us?" asked Cyrus Harding.
"Captain Harding, leave me some time longer," replied Ayrton, "leave mealone in the hut in the corral!"
"As you like, Ayrton," answered Cyrus Harding. Ayrton was going towithdraw, when the engineer addressed one more question to him:--
"One word more, my friend. Since it was your intention to live alone, whydid you throw into the sea the document which put us on your track?"
"A document?" repeated Ayrton, who did not appear to know what he meant.
"Yes, the document which we found enclosed in a bottle, giving us theexact position of Tabor Island!"
Ayrton passed his hand over his brow, then after having thought, "I neverthrew any document into the sea!" he answered.
"Never?" exclaimed Pencroft.
"Never!"
And Ayrton, bowing, reached the door and departed.
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