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Sunshine Bill, a fiction by William H. G. Kingston |
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Chapter 10 |
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_ CHAPTER TEN. Sunshine Bill and his two companions stood for some time watching the objects they had seen floating in the lagoon. "Yes, I'm sure there's a man there!" exclaimed Bill. "Let us shout to him: he will hear us, maybe, and it will keep up his spirits." They raised their voices in a hearty cheer. A faint answer came back. "I thought so," cried Bill; "but the man, whoever he is, must be tired, and the cheer did him good. I have a great mind to go off and help him on shore." "No, no, Bill," said Jack, "I'll do that. I am stronger than you are, and we cannot afford to risk losing you." Saying this, Jack, rushing into the water, boldly swam off through the surf towards the man they had seen. He soon got up to him, but only just in time to find him relaxing his hold of the timber he had been clinging to. "Come, mate, whoever you are," said Jack, as he saw him; "hold on, and I'll help tow you ashore." Bill and Tommy ran into the surf to help them as they landed. The other man was so exhausted that he could scarcely lift himself on his feet. "It's old Grim!" cried Bill, as he saw him. "Well, I am glad he has escaped." Tommy made them no answer, as he had not forgotten the many rope's-endings old Grim had from time to time given him. They got him up and seated him on the beach. He soon recovered his strength sufficiently to speak. "Thank you, mates, thank you," he growled out. "And I say, Bill, I told you ill-luck was coming. What have you got to say to it?" "That I am very thankful we have escaped with our lives," answered Bill. "And so we ought to be; and I have no doubt that He who has helped us thus far will help us still farther. That is all I have got to say now. But hurrah! Surely there's somebody else floating out there on a bit of timber. Jack, look! I am right, am I not?" "Yes, Bill, and I wish I was a better swimmer than I am; I would go off and help him. But old Grim cost me a good tussle, and I don't feel quite as if I could manage it again just now." Jack, in truth, had been considerably exhausted in coming through the surf, and had now to sit down and rest himself. Meantime they kept watching the surface of the lagoon, in the hopes that more of their shipmates might have escaped. Bill was most concerned about Mr Collinson. "Oh dear! Oh dear! If he should be drowned," he said to himself over and over again. "That poor young lady! It will break her heart--I know it will, for all that she looked so bright and spirited." Suddenly Bill started up. "Come along, Tommy; come along, Jack. I am sure I heard a shout a little way along the shore. It is there where the pieces of wreck are now drifting." Grimshaw was too tired to move, but Jack and Tommy followed Bill, who ran along the beach to a point towards which a large bit of timber was drifting. There was a man on it. He again shouted as they approached. "Ay, ay! We'll help you!" cried Bill. Probably the man dreaded, should he continue to cling to the pieces of wreck, that when he touched the beach it might roll over him. "Leave it and swim!" cried Jack. The man did so, and he and Bill rushed into the water, and just as the sea was carrying him off again, caught hold of his hands and dragged him up in time to escape the timber, which was cast with violence directly afterwards on to the beach. "Hurrah! I am so glad!" cried Bill, for he recognised in the rescued man his kind friend--Lieutenant Collinson. Mr Collinson was very much exhausted, and for some time after he had been assisted up to a dry place on the shore, was unable to speak. At length he told them that he had been endeavouring to help some of his companions, but in vain, and that he feared greatly all the rest were lost. He seemed much out of spirits. "We did all we could," he said, "and may be thankful that our lives are so far spared. When daylight returns, we may ascertain where we are; but I am afraid we are on one of the small islets of these seas, which afford no water, nor means of supporting life." "We will hope for the best, sir," said Bill. "And perhaps we may catch some fish, or some provisions may be washed on shore; and as for water, if we cannot find a spring, maybe the clouds will send it to us." "You set a good example of confidence in God's mercy," observed the lieutenant. "Yes, sir, I am sure He never forgets us; and so while there's life there's hope, for even at the last He may send us help." In vain the party looked out in the hopes of more of their shipmates being driven on shore. Once they thought they heard a cry as if some poor fellow had let go his hold of the plank to which he was clinging, but though almost wearied to death, they would not lie down, lest by so doing they might fail to rescue any who might still be alive. At length they had to give up all hopes of saving more lives, and went and laid themselves down under a clump of trees near the beach. All the party, with the exception of the lieutenant, were soon asleep. He sat up, thinking probably of those far away, and wishing that he could give notice to his friends at Jamaica of his safety. "When the corvette gets back, and it is found that the schooner has not arrived, it will be supposed that we are all lost. Ellen will be grieving for me, poor girl, and what would I not do to shield her from a minute's pain or suffering?" he thought. At length, however, he followed the example of his companions, and also, in spite of his anxiety, fell fast asleep. When morning dawned, the gale had altogether ceased. The sea was blue and shining, the lagoon calm almost as a mirror. The whole shore was strewn with pieces of the wreck and portions of the cargo. The party were soon on their feet. The place on which they had been thrown was a small islet, scarcely more than fifty yards wide, and five or six hundred long; a group of trees, a few bushes, and a sprinkling of coarse grass being the only vegetation upon it. The whole sea, as far as the eye could reach, was covered with similar islets, few of them of larger dimensions, while some were smaller, mere rocks rising out of the ocean. The difficulty of escaping from such a place was very great, as no vessels were likely to pass near so dangerous a portion of the sea, while the island afforded no means of building a boat, nor of supporting existence. As soon as the lieutenant had aroused himself, however, he directed his four companions to accompany him to the beach, that they might look for whatever had been thrown on shore. Eagerly they searched on either side. At length Bill espied a cask. They hurried towards it, and dragged it up out of the reach of the water. "It looks as if it had beef or pork in it," observed old Grim; "but unless we can get some biscuit and some water, it won't do us much good, as I can tell you from experience." "But what do you think of this cask?" cried Bill, running on a little farther. "This is bread--I am sure of it by its looks. Maybe we shall get some water too. We have no cause to complain. See! Here's a chest, too. It's the carpenter's; and if we put our hands to the work, perhaps we shall be able to build a boat, or raft of some sort, and get to the mainland." Numerous other articles were found and hauled up. Still no casks of water--the great want of all--had been discovered. They had been labouring for some time, having already collected a number of articles, when Tommy caught sight of several objects floating round the farther end of the island at no great distance from the shore. He shouted out to his companions, and they all ran in that direction. They were soon seen to be casks, mixed up with pieces of the wreck. The difficulty, however, was to get hold of them before they were swept away. "If we could but make a bit of a raft, now," said Jack, "I would not mind going out with a paddle and bringing them in." No sooner was the proposal made, than all hands set to work to build a light raft, for which there were ample materials. Bill volunteered to help Jack, and with the aid of a couple of roughly constructed paddles, they went off towards the casks. "They are water-casks! No doubt about that," cried Jack, as he got near to them; "but whether they have fresh or salt water in them remains to be proved." "Fresh water!" cried Bill; "let us hope so, at all events." Having brought some rope on their raft, they made the casks fast and towed them towards the beach. There were three. They considerably impeded the return of the raft to the shore. Still Jack and Bill persevered. It was very hard work, as there was a current against them. However, they determined to persevere as long as they should make way. The casks were too precious to be abandoned, so they kept on paddling and paddling. Sometimes Jack thought they were going farther off from the shore. "Keep on!" cried Bill. "We have gained an inch, and in another minute we shall have gained two inches. Hurrah!" Jack was inspirited by Bill's courage, and after a great deal of exertion they managed to get the raft to the shore, their friends hurrying down to meet them. The casks were dragged up. As they turned them round, they saw that the bungs were fastened down tightly. Before they could get them open they had recourse to the carpenter's chest. The difficulty, however, was to open that. They searched about in vain for any implement to force it open. They were, however, so thirsty that they could wait no longer, and at length, by means of a stick and a piece of timber to serve as a mallet, they drove in the bung. How eagerly they drew forth the water from the cask! Jack put down his mouth and tasted it. "Sweet as honey!" he exclaimed. "No fear now; if all the casks are like that, we shall do." "But it's not likely they will be all like that," said old Grim. "How that one has escaped is more than I can tell." The water greatly revived them. In the same way they knocked in the head of one of the casks which contained biscuit. It was found to have escaped the wet. All hands eagerly ate some, for they had tasted no food for many hours. Here was an ample supply to last them for some time. Greatly refreshed, with their spirits somewhat raised, they again went along the shore to try and pick up any further article that might be of use. Among others, Tommy found a saucepan with the lid firmly on. It had floated unharmed towards the island. This was eagerly secured. They had now the means of cooking their meat and boiling water. "Oh! Bill, what is that?" exclaimed Tommy, pointing to a distance along the beach. "There's a poor fellow, but he must be dead, I'm afraid." The boys hurried towards the man. He was perfectly dead; of that there was no doubt. They drew the body, however, out of the water, and in doing so recognised him as one of the carpenter's crew. "If he was alive, now, he would have assisted us," said Tommy, "in opening the chest and in building a boat. We will tell Mr Collinson, and he will have the poor fellow buried," observed Bill. "It may be difficult, though, to dig a grave in this thin coating of sand, with a hard rock below it. But hillo! What is here? See, Tommy; I have found this key fastened with a rope-yarn round his neck. I should not be surprised but what it's the key of the chest." Saying this, and covering up the face of the dead man with his jacket, which they took off for the purpose, they hurried back to their companions. Sure enough, the key opened the carpenter's chest, and they had now the means of tapping the other casks, and of building themselves huts, if necessary. Still, though there was an abundance of timber from the wreck of the schooner, no one had sufficient skill to build a boat. _ |
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