Part 2 - Abandoned: Chapter 9

by Jules Verne

　　The weather changed during the first week of March. There had been a fullmoon at the commencement of the month, and the heat was excessive. Theatmosphere was felt to be full of electricity, and a period of some lengthof tempestuous weather was to be feared.

　　Indeed, on the 2nd, peals of thunder were heard, the wind blew from theeast, and hail rattled against the facade of Granite House like volleys ofgrape-shot. The door and windows were immediately closed, or everything inthe rooms would have been drenched. On seeing these hailstones, some ofwhich were the size of a pigeon's egg, Pencroft's first thought was thathis cornfield was in serious danger.

　　He directly rushed to his field, where little green heads were alreadyappearing, and by means of a great cloth, he managed to protect his crop.

　　This bad weather lasted a week, during which time the thunder rolledwithout cessation in the depths of the sky.

　　The colonists, not having any pressing work out of doors, profited by thebad weather to work at the interior of Granite House, the arrangement ofwhich was becoming more complete from day to day. The engineer made aturning-lathe, with which he turned several articles both for the toiletand the kitchen, particularly buttons, the want of which was greatly felt.A gunrack had been made for the firearms, which were kept with extremecare, and neither tables nor cupboards were left incomplete. They sawed,they planed, they filed, they turned; and during the whole of this badseason, nothing was heard but the grinding of tools or the humming of theturning-lathe which responded to the growling of the thunder.

　　Master Jup had not been forgotten, and he occupied a room at the back,near the storeroom, a sort of cabin with a cot always full of good litter,which perfectly suited his taste.

　　"With good old Jup there is never any quarreling," often repeatedPencroft, "never any improper reply. What a servant, Neb, what a servant!"

　　Of course Jup was now well used to service. He brushed their clothes, heturned the spit, he waited at table, he swept the rooms, he gathered wood,and he performed another admirable piece of service which delightedPencroft--he never went to sleep without first coming to tuck up the worthysailor in his bed.

　　As to the health of the members of the colony, bipeds or bimana,quadrumana or quadrupeds, it left nothing to be desired. With their life inthe open air, on this salubrious soil, under that temperate zone, workingboth with head and hands, they could not suppose that illness would everattack them.

　　All were indeed wonderfully well. Herbert had already grown two inches inthe year. His figure was forming and becoming more manly, and he promisedto be an accomplished man, physically as well as morally. Besides heimproved himself during the leisure hours which manual occupations left tohim; he read the books found in the case; and after the practical lessonswhich were taught by the very necessity of their position, he found in theengineer for science, and the reporter for languages, masters who weredelighted to complete his education.

　　The tempest ended about the 9th of March, but the sky remained coveredwith clouds during the whole of this last summer month. The atmosphere,violently agitated by the electric commotions, could not recover its formerpurity, and there was almost invariably rain and fog, except for three orfour fine days on which several excursions were made. About this time thefemale onager gave birth to a young one which belonged to the same sex asits mother, and which throve capitally. In the corral, the flock of musmonshad also increased, and several lambs already bleated in the sheds, to thegreat delight of Neb and Herbert, who had each their favorite among thesenewcomers. An attempt was also made for the domestication of the peccaries,which succeeded well. A sty was constructed under the poultry-yard, andsoon contained several young ones in the way to become civilized, that isto say, to become fat under Neb's care. Master Jup, entrusted with carryingthem their daily nourishment, leavings from the kitchen, etc., acquittedhimself conscientiously of his task. He sometimes amused himself at theexpense of his little pensioners by tweaking their tails; but this wasmischief, and not wickedness, for these little twisted tails amused himlike a plaything, and his instinct was that of a child. One day in thismonth of March, Pencroft, talking to the engineer, reminded Cyrus Hardingof a promise which the latter had not as yet had time to fulfil.

　　"You once spoke of an apparatus which would take the place of the longladders at Granite House, captain," said he; "won't you make it some day?"

　　"Nothing will be easier; but is this a really useful thing?"

　　"Certainly, captain. After we have given ourselves necessaries, let usthink a little of luxury. For us it may be luxury, if you like, but forthings it is necessary. It isn't very convenient to climb up a long ladderwhen one is heavily loaded."

　　"Well, Pencroft, we will try to please you," replied Cyrus Harding.

　　"But you have no machine at your disposal."

　　"We will make one."

　　"A steam machine?"

　　"No, a water machine.

　　And, indeed, to work his apparatus there was already a natural force atthe disposal of the engineer which could be used without great difficulty.For this, it was enough to augment the flow of the little stream whichsupplied the interior of Granite House with water. The opening among thestones and grass was then increased, thus producing a strong fall at thebottom of the passage, the overflow from which escaped by the inner well.Below this fall the engineer fixed a cylinder with paddles, which wasjoined on the exterior with a strong cable rolled on a wheel, supporting abasket. In this way, by means of a long rope reaching to the ground, whichenabled them to regulate the motive power, they could rise in the basket tothe door of Granite House.

　　It was on the 17th of March that the lift acted for the first time, andgave universal satisfaction. Henceforward all the loads, wood, coal,provisions, and even the settlers themselves, were hoisted by this simplesystem, which replaced the primitive ladder, and, as may be supposed, noone thought of regretting the change. Top particularly was enchanted withthis improvement, for he had not, and never could have possessed MasterJup's skill in climbing ladders, and often it was on Neb's back, or even onthat of the orang that he had been obliged to make the ascent to GraniteHouse. About this time, too, Cyrus Harding attempted to manufacture glass,and he at first put the old pottery-kiln to this new use. There were somedifficulties to be encountered; but, after several fruitless attempts, hesucceeded in setting up a glass manufactory, which Gideon Spilett andHerbert, his usual assistants, did not leave for several days. As to thesubstances used in the composition of glass, they are simply sand, chalk,and soda, either carbonate or sulphate. Now the beach supplied sand, limesupplied chalk, sea-weeds supplied soda, pyrites supplied sulphuric acid,and the ground supplied coal to heat the kiln to the wished-fortemperature. Cyrus Harding thus soon had everything ready for setting towork.

　　The tool, the manufacture of which presented the most difficulty, was thepipe of the glass-maker, an iron tube, five or six feet long, whichcollects on one end the material in a state of fusion. But by means of along, thin piece of iron rolled up like the barrel of a gun, Pencroftsucceeded in making a tube soon ready for use.

　　On the 28th of March the tube was heated. A hundred parts of sand,thirty-five of chalk, forty of sulphate of soda, mixed with two or threeparts of powdered coal, composed the substance, which was placed incrucibles. When the high temperature of the oven had reduced it to aliquid, or rather a pasty state, Cyrus Harding collected with the tube aquantity of the paste: he turned it about on a metal plate, previouslyarranged, so as to give it a form suitable for blowing, then he passed thetube to Herbert, telling him to blow at the other extremity.

　　And Herbert, swelling out his cheeks, blew so much and so well into thetube-taking care to twirl it round at the same time--that his breathdilated the glassy mass. Other quantities of the substance in a state offusion were added to the first, and in a short time the result was a bubblewhich measured a foot in diameter. Harding then took the tube out ofHerbert's hands, and, giving it a pendulous motion, he ended by lengtheningthe malleable bubble so as to give it a cylindroconic shape.

　　The blowing operation had given a cylinder of glass terminated by twohemispheric caps, which were easily detached by means of a sharp irondipped in cold water; then, by the same proceeding, this cylinder was cutlengthways, and after having been rendered malleable by a second heating,it was extended on a plate and spread out with a wooden roller.

　　The first pane was thus manufactured, and they had only to perform thisoperation fifty times to have fifty panes. The windows at Granite Housewere soon furnished with panes; not very white, perhaps, but stillsufficiently transparent.

　　As to bottles and tumblers, that was only play. They were satisfied withthem, besides, just as they came from the end of the tube. Pencroft hadasked to be allowed to "blow" in his turn, and it was great fun for him;but he blew so hard that his productions took the most ridiculous shapes,which he admired immensely.

　　Cyrus Harding and Herbert, while hunting one day, had entered the forestof the Far West, on the left bank of the Mercy, and, as usual, the lad wasasking a thousand questions of the engineer, who answered them heartily.Now, as Harding was not a sportsman, and as, on the other side, Herbert wastalking chemistry and natural philosophy, numbers of kangaroos, capybaras,and agouties came within range, which, however, escaped the lad's gun; theconsequence was that the day was already advanced, and the two hunters werein danger of having made a useless excursion, when Herbert, stopping, anduttering a cry of joy, exclaimed,--

　　"Oh, Captain Harding, do you see that tree?" and he pointed to a shrub,rather than a tree, for it was composed of a single stem, covered with ascaly bark, which bore leaves streaked with little parallel veins.

　　"And what is this tree which resembles a little palm?" asked Harding.

　　"It is a 'cycas revoluta,' of which I have a picture in our dictionary ofNatural History!" said Herbert.

　　"But I can't see any fruit on this shrub!" observed his companion.

　　"No, captain," replied Herbert; "but its stem contains a flour with whichnature has provided us all ready ground."

　　"It is, then, the bread-tree?"

　　"Yes, the bread-tree."

　　"Well, my boy," replied the engineer, "this is a valuable discovery,since our wheat harvest is not yet ripe; I hope that you are not mistaken!"

　　Herbert was not mistaken: he broke the stem of a cycas, which wascomposed of a glandulous tissue, containing a quantity of floury pith,traversed with woody fiber, separated by rings of the same substance,arranged concentrically. With this fecula was mingled a mucilaginous juiceof disagreeable flavor, but which it would be easy to get rid of bypressure. This cellular substance was regular flour of a superior quality,extremely nourishing; its exportation was formerly forbidden by theJapanese laws.

　　Cyrus Harding and Herbert, after having examined that part of the FarWest where the cycas grew, took their bearings, and returned to GraniteHouse, where they made known their discovery.

　　The next day the settlers went to collect some, and returned to GraniteHouse with an ample supply of cycas stems. The engineer constructed apress, with which to extract the mucilaginous juice mingled with thefecula, and he obtained a large quantity of flour, which Neb soontransformed into cakes and puddings. This was not quite real wheaten bread,but it was very like it.

　　Now, too, the onager, the goats, and the sheep in the corral furnisheddaily the milk necessary to the colony. The cart, or rather a sort of lightcarriole which had replaced it, made frequent journeys to the corral, andwhen it was Pencroft's turn to go he took Jup, and let him drive, and Jup,cracking his whip, acquitted himself with his customary intelligence.

　　Everything prospered, as well in the corral as in Granite House, andcertainly the settlers, if it had not been that they were so far from theirnative land, had no reason to complain. They were so well suited to thislife, and were, besides, so accustomed to the island, that they could nothave left its hospitable soil without regret!

　　And yet so deeply is the love of his country implanted in the heart ofman, that if a ship had unexpectedly come in sight of the island, thecolonists would have made signals, would have attracted her attention, andwould have departed!

　　It was the 1st of April, a Sunday, Easter Day, which Harding and hiscompanions sanctified by rest and prayer. The day was fine, such as anOctober day in the Northern Hemisphere might be.

　　All, towards the evening after dinner, were seated under the veranda onthe edge of Prospect Heights, and they were watching the darkness creepingup from the horizon. Some cups of the infusion of elder-berries, which tookthe place of coffee, had been served by Neb. They were speaking of theisland and of its isolated situation in the Pacific, which led GideonSpilett to say,--

　　"My dear Cyrus, have you ever, since you possessed the sextant found inthe case, again taken the position of our island?"

　　"No," replied the engineer.

　　"But it would perhaps be a good thing to do it with this instrument,which is more perfect than that which you before used."

　　"What is the good?" said Pencroft. "The island is quite comfortable whereit is!"

　　"Well, who knows," returned the reporter, "who knows but that we may bemuch nearer inhabited land than we think?"

　　"We shall know to-morrow," replied Cyrus Harding, "and if it had not beenfor the occupations which left me no leisure, we should have known italready."

　　"Good!" said Pencroft. "The captain is too good an observer to bemistaken, and, if it has not moved from its place, the island is just wherehe put it."

　　"We shall see."

　　On the next day, therefore, by means of the sextant, the engineer madethe necessary observations to verify the position which he had alreadyobtained, and this was the result of his operation. His first observationhad given him the situation of Lincoln Island,--

　　In west longitude: from 1500 to 1550;

　　In south latitude: from 300 to 350

　　The second gave exactly:

　　In longitude: 1500 30'

　　In south latitude: 340 57'

　　So then, notwithstanding the imperfection of his apparatus, Cyrus Hardinghad operated with so much skill that his error did not exceed five degrees.

　　"Now," said Gideon Spilett, "since we possess an atlas as well as asextant, let us see, my dear Cyrus, the exact position which Lincoln Islandoccupies in the Pacific."

　　Herbert fetched the atlas, and the map of the Pacific was opened, and theengineer, compass in hand, prepared to determine their position.

　　Suddenly the compasses stopped, and he exclaimed,

　　"But an island exists in this part of the Pacific already!"

　　"An island?" cried Pencroft.

　　"Tabor Island."

　　"An important island?"

　　"No, an islet lost in the Pacific, and which perhaps has never beenvisited."

　　"Well, we will visit it," said Pencroft.

　　"We?"

　　"Yes, captain. We will build a decked boat, and I will undertake to steerher. At what distance are we from this Tabor Island?"

　　"About a hundred and fifty miles to the northeast," replied Harding.

　　"A hundred and fifty miles! And what's that?" returned Pencroft. "Inforty-eight hours, with a good wind, we should sight it!"

　　And, on this reply, it was decided that a vessel should be constructed intime to be launched towards the month of next October, on the return of thefine season.