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Jack at Sea, a novel by George Manville Fenn |
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Chapter 14. Doctor Instow Paints A Picture--With His Tongue |
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_ CHAPTER FOURTEEN. DOCTOR INSTOW PAINTS A PICTURE--WITH HIS TONGUE A quick run with a favourable wind across to Colombo, a very brief stay, and then on again. There were baffling winds and a sharp storm, during which it was found necessary to get up steam, but the yacht was as good in foul weather as in fair, and to Jack's great satisfaction he found that, in spite of the pitching and tossing of the vessel, he was not ill, but found a strange pleasure in being on deck in mackintosh and leggings, watching the yacht careen over and race through the foam. Every now and then a wave would appear gliding along like some huge bank of water, ready to roll over them and sweep the deck, but the well-trained hands at the wheel sent her racing up the watery slope, to hang poised for a few moments and then rush down again. "Isn't it glorious, Jack, my lad?" said the doctor, wiping the spray out of his eyes and off his beard, just in the height of the storm. "I don't know how you find it, but it excites me." "I like it," said Jack quietly; "it seems so grand, and as if the yacht was laughing at the waves and tossing them off to right and left. I wonder whether Captain Bradleigh would let me steer." "I hope not," said the doctor, with a droll look of puzzledom in his face. "Why, what's come to you, you reckless young scamp? No, thank you. If you're going to be indulged in any luxuries of that kind, I'm going to land at Penang or Singapore, and make my way home by the next boat that touches." Jack laughed. "Don't believe it," he said. "But doesn't it seem as if it would be nice to have full command of the yacht like that, and send her here and there just as one liked?" "Can't say that my desires run in that groove, Jack, my lad; I'm quite content to play the part of looker-on. But this storm is grand, and it's splendid to see how the little vessel shakes the water off her and rushes through it all. But I did want some calmer weather; we haven't done a bit of fishing since we left the Red Sea, and I meant to try every day. Well, captain, how long is this going to last?" "Another twelve hours, I should say," replied the captain, "and then we shall have calm weather all the way to Singapore, and with the exception of a few thunderstorms, light winds among the islands." It turned out exactly as the captain had said. The weather calmed rapidly, and their run down to the equator, between the Malay peninsula and Sumatra, was in brilliant hot weather all through the morning; while early in the afternoon, with wonderful regularity, there came on a tremendous thunderstorm, with peals heavier and lightning more vivid than anything Jack had ever encountered, and then at the end of a couple of hours all was clear again, and the evening was comparatively cool and beautifully fine. Singapore was so fresh and attractive that of necessity a few days were spent there, before a fresh start was made for a cruise through the islands in the region which was now exciting Jack's expectations. Soon after they were passing great heavy-looking junks with their Celestial crews, or light Malay prahus with their swarthy, coffee-coloured sailors in tartan skirts, in whose folds at the waist the formidable wavy dagger known as a kris was worn, the handle, like the butt of a pistol in form, carefully covered by the silk or cotton sarong to indicate peace. "If you see one of them with the handle bare," said the mate to Jack, "one has to look out, for it means war." Malay prahus were so thoroughly connected in the lad's reading with piracy, that he looked curiously at the first they encountered, and eagerly scanned the calm, rather scornful faces of the men who apathetically stood about the bamboo deck, and watched the passing of the swift, white-sailed yacht, while they distorted their cheeks by slowly chewing something within. "What's that fellow doing?" said Jack, handing his double glass to the mate, who gave a quick glance through and handed it back. "Look for yourself." Jack resumed his inspection of the prahu's deck, for it was not above forty yards away. "Doing something with a bit of--I don't know what, which he has taken out of a little bag." "Betel-nut from one of the palms which grow in these parts," said the mate. "Now he has slowly taken a leaf out of the same bag." "Sirih leaf; a kind of creeping pepper plant which runs up trees," said the mate. "And now he is opening a little brass box, which has something that looks like a white paint." "Lime," said the mate, "lime of a very fine kind, made by burning shells." "And he is spreading some of it with one finger upon the leaf." "Yes! See what he does next." "Rolled the piece of nut in it and put it in his mouth." "Yes," said the mate; "all the Malays do this betel-chewing." "What for?" "It is a habit like our sailors chewing tobacco. The Malays think it is good for them, and keeps off all choleraic attacks." "Does it?" asked Jack. "Ah, that I can't say. You must take the doctor's opinion." But Jack was too much interested in watching the prahu, which, in spite of only having matting sails, sped along over the calm water at a rapid rate, and he went on questioning his companion. "They seem fierce-looking fellows, and as if they could do a deal of mischief. Are they such terribly bloodthirsty people?" "Certainly not," said the mate. "I have always found the better-class Malays simple, gentlemanly, and courteous if they are properly treated; but if injured, I believe they can be treacherous and relentless." "But I remember once reading how bloodthirsty the Malay pirates are." "I don't think the English, Spanish, or French pirates were much better," said the mate, laughing. "Pirates are generally the scum of the ports they sail from; reckless, murderous ruffians. But I should say that of all pirates out in the East, the gentle, placid, mild-looking Chinaman makes the worst; for he thinks nothing of human life, his own or any one else's." "But there are no pirates now, of course," said Jack quietly. The mate turned and looked him in the eyes. "Do you want me to tell you some murderous narrative?" "Oh no; I don't care for such things. I know, of course, that there used to be plenty." "So there are now," said the mate. "They have hard work to carry on their piracies; but every now and then we have a bad case. They mostly come from the Chinese coast; but they are made up of ruffians of all kinds." Jack was silent for a few moments. "I heard Captain Bradleigh say that the men were all trained to use the small-arms," he said at last quietly. "Would they fight if we were attacked?" The mate hummed over a bit of a once popular song, beginning, "We don't want to fight, but by Jingo if we do." "That pretty well expresses the nature of English sailors, sir," he said quietly. "They don't want to fight, and never would if they were left alone. But if they do fight--well, Mr Jack, if they do they hit very hard." Jack laughed merrily, to the great satisfaction of two gentlemen across the deck, who turned their heads so as not to seem as if they noticed anything. "I dare say," continued the mate, "you remember how it was at school; you never wanted to fight, but when you had to I suppose you hit hard?" Jack was silent again, and at last said quietly-- "I never did have a fight at school." During the next few days they sailed slowly on at a short distance from the coast of the long island of Java, and except that the weather was very hot, and that they could see in the distance mountain after mountain rising up like a huge, blunt cone, several of them showing a cloud of smoke drifting slowly away before the wind, sailing here seemed in nowise different from by the coast of Spain or Portugal. But Jack was to see the difference before long. One evening over dinner their plans were discussed, the captain saying-- "Then I understand, Sir John, that you quite leave the choice to me?" "Certainly. We have not sailed these thousands of miles for the sake of visiting towns and show places. Take us to some one of the islands such as you described to me; uninhabited if you can. If you could cast anchor by one never yet trodden by the foot of man, so much the better." "Ah, that I can't promise you, sir," replied the captain, "for the people out this way are nearly all venturesome sailors, and for any number of years have put to sea in the most crazy of bamboo craft, and set sail to land where they could, some of them even going in mere canoes. So you see we may come upon people in the most unexpected places. But I have several islands in my mind's eye, between here and the east end of New Guinea, where you gentlemen may collect to your hearts' content." "Birds?" cried the doctor. "Birds, sir? Yes; some of the most beautifully coloured to be found on the face of the earth. Parrots, cockatoos, birds of paradise, sun-birds, something like the little humming-birds of the West Indies and South America. Oh yes; you'll find as many birds as you want." "Butterflies?" asked Jack. "Yes, and moths, some of them bigger than a cheese-plate." "Flies, of course?" said Sir John. "Oh yes, sir, and beetles too, some of the ugliest you can imagine, and some of them looking as if made of burnished metal. Then of course you'll have plenty of fireflies and mosquitoes too." "Of course we shall get them," said Sir John. "But what about serpents?" "Plenty, sir, sea and land; curious lizards too." "There will be no animals to shoot," said the doctor rather regretfully. "Tigers, elephants, or leopards? No, not unless we make for the mainland. But there is a great deal of unexplored country on the coast of New Guinea and Borneo, and there's no knowing what we might come across. There are elephants in Borneo, and our old friend the orang-outang." "Let's try one of the smaller islands first," said Sir John. "I'm getting eager to begin doing something." "I can't exist much longer doing nothing but parade up and down this deck. My joints are growing up. How do you feel, Jack?" said the doctor. "Lazy. I feel as if I could go on doing nothing for any length of time." "Here, this won't do," cried the doctor in mock horror. "'Bout ship, captain, and let's get back home, or else to one of these wonderful islands that make my mouth water. Let me see, something of this kind: a beach of coral with the waves always rolling over and breaking in foam, so that just within there is a beautiful blue lagoon of water, calm as a lake. Across the lake stretched right and left golden sands, at the back of which are cocoa-nut groves, with their great fern-like leaves rustling in the sea-breeze, crabs and fish scuttling about beneath them; and farther on where the land commences to rise the glorious tropic forest begins, trailed with orchids and wonderful creepers. Great palms rise like columns, and huge trees of the fig persuasion spread and drop down at several spots to form green bowers, and capital places to make huts. Monkeys climbing about. Birds swarming--nesting or swinging by the rotan canes. Farther on the land rising and rising, and all forest till it begins to be seamed with valleys, or rather deep gorges which run up to the central mountain, from which they radiate all round down toward the sea, and all of them forming glorious collecting grounds for naturalists. Then higher up the air growing cooler, save for a peculiar hot puff now and then with a taste in it of sulphurous steam. Then the trees growing thinner and not so majestic, but the flowers more abundant and the valleys more moist, where the streams trickle down; and here and there are little waterfalls, over which in the spray enormous fronds spread their green lace-work and sparkle with the fine pearly dew which is formed by the spray from the falling water. Here an icy spring of crystal purity gushes from amongst the mossy stones, and oddly enough a little farther on we come upon another spring, from which steam rises, but the water itself is of wonderful clearness, so hot that you cannot bear your hand in it, and the basin is composed of delicate pinky-white as beautiful as the inside of some of the shells which lie in the glorious marine garden at the bottom of the lagoon which spreads all round the island. We push on and at last leave the trees behind, to find the vegetation curiously dwarfed, masses and tufts of wiry grass, and we have to tramp over sandy, cindery stuff which gives way under our feet, and sets some of the big stones in motion. For we have come upon a slope which grows steeper and steeper, and runs up and up, till, quite breathless, we stop short among the great grey masses of pumice-stone and glassy obsidian which cut our boots. We look about and see from where we are over one side of the island, in whose centre we nearly stand. The forest is glorious, the lagoon looks like turquoise, and the coral reef which forms a breakwater round the place seems from our great height to be one mass of creamy foam, while beyond it stretching far and wide is the glorious sapphire sea. We are terribly hot with our climb, but the air here is splendidly invigorating, and we turn to finish our last hit of a few hundred feet over loose lava, pumice, and scoria. It is hard work, but we give one another a hand, and at last we stand at the edge of a tremendous depression like a vast cup in the top of the mountain, whose other side, similar to that on which we stand, is a mile away, while below its the cup is brimming with the verdure which runs up from a lovely blue lake a thousand feet below. All is beautiful, so beautiful, that it seems to take away our breath, for flowers are all about, the gorgeous butterflies are on the wing, noisy paroquets are climbing head up or head down, and there is nothing to show that we are on the edge of the crater of some tremendous volcano, but we catch sight of a thin thread of steam rising to form a cloud over a bare rock-strewn patch on one side. That tells us the fierce gases below are not quite extinct, but are smouldering ready to burst out at any time, sending forth the fiery rain to destroy the verdure, torrents of molten stone to run in streams down to the sea, or a flood of boiling mud to turn the lovely island into a wilderness. All is so beautiful that we can hardly turn away to begin our descent to where the yacht is lying in the lagoon, which forms a perfectly safe port into which it has been towed by the crew. But go down we must, for we are choking with thirst--at least I am, through talking; so long, and I'll trouble you, steward, for another glass of water." "Oh," cried Jack, who had been drinking in every word, his face flushed and eyes bright with excitement as he pictured mentally the glorious place the doctor had described, "what a cruel mockery to raise one's expectations like that. It's like waking one suddenly from a beautiful dream." "Don't quarrel with him, my boy. I say, Jack! I did not know the doctor could be so florid." "I didn't either," said the doctor, laughing, "not till I tried." "Capital!" cried the mate, clapping his hands softly. "Yes, excellent," said the captain, smiling, with a peculiar twinkling about the eyes. "But it seems to me, Sir John, that you do not need any guide." "Why not?" "Because I see the doctor has been there." "I never was farther from home than Switzerland in my life." "That's strange," said the captain, "for that's the very island I am making for now." "Oh! won't do," said the doctor. "Mine was all exaggeration, built up out of old books of travels." "The description was perfect, sir," said the captain quietly. "Eh, Bartlett?" "Photographic," said the mate. "Come, come, gentlemen, that won't do," said the doctor merrily. "I gave rein to my fancy. I knew that the coral islands are very lovely, and the volcanic islands very grand, and so I said to myself, I'll paint a regular tip-top one, such as ought to please friend Jack here, and I joined the volcanic on to the coral and astonished myself." "And me too," said Sir John, laughing. "And disappointed me horribly," said Jack; "I really thought there was such a place." "So there is, Mr Jack, and we're sailing for it now," said the captain quietly. "Aha! Which?" cried the doctor merrily, as he felt that he was trapping the captain fast,--"coral or volcanic?" "Both, sir," said the latter, and he looked at Jack as he spoke. "There are plenty of islands where a volcano has risen from the sea, and the coral insects in the course of ages have built a rampart of limestone to act as a breakwater, and thus prevented the lava and pumice from being washed away. The island I am making for is one of these." "But not so beautiful," cried Jack. "Well," said the captain, "our friend here the doctor did lay the paint on very thick in the picture he drew, and used all the brightest colours he had in his knowledge-box; but after all Nature's colours are purer and lovelier than any we can mix, and well as he painted he did not quite come up to the mark; and I think, sir, that when we've climbed up to the top of the mountain you will say the same." "Oh!" cried Jack rapturously, and he turned to his father. "_If_!" said the captain, very emphatically. "If? If what?" said Jack. "There has not been an eruption, and the whole island blown away." Jack felt as if some one had suddenly poured cold water all down his back. _ |
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