Adriftin The Pacific

CONTENTS
PAGE
T
T HE S ORM
CAST ADRIFT
T HE FI RST DA Y ASHO RE
T HE V IE W FRO M T HE CA PE
A SPE LL OF RAIN
T HE RAFT
T HE C OLON Y
WI NT R
E Q ARUTE R S
BRAVO BAX TE R
,
ACROSS T HE LAKE
THE NE W CH IE F
T HE SE PARATION
T HE INVASI ON
ALL TOG ETHE R

T HE E NE MY I N S IG HT
DIA MON D C UT D IAMON D
T HE FORTUNE O F W AR
AFLOAT ONCE MORE

HO ME
ADRIFT IN THE PA CIFIC ,
CHAPTE R I
THE S O T RM
Ir w as th e 9 th o f March 18 6 0 and eleven O clo ck at
’
, ,
nig ht Th e sea and sky were as o ne and the eye co uld

.
,
pierce but a few fatho ms into the glo o m Thro ugh .
t he raging sea o ver whi ch the w aves bro ke wi th a liv i d

,
light a h ttle shi p w as dri ving under almo st bare po les

, .
Sh e w as a sch o o ner Of a hundred to ns H er name .
w as the S leuth but yo u wo uld have so ught it in vain

,
o n her st em fo r an acci den t of so me so rt had t o rn i t

,
away .
In this latitude
begin ning Of March the
, at the ,
ni ghts are sho rt Th e day wo uld dawn abo ut fi v e

.
O clock But wo uld the dangers that thr eat ened the
’
.
scho o ner gro w less when the sun illumin ed th e sky ?
W as no t the frail vessel at the mercy Of the waves ?

Undo ubtedly ! an d o nly the calming Of the billo w s and
th e lulli ng Of the gal e co uld save her fro m that mo st
awful Of shi pwr eck s — fo undering in the o pen sea far
fro m any co ast o n whi ch the survi vo rs might fi nd safety .
In the stern Of th e scho o ner were three boys o ne ,
about fo urt een the tw o o thers abo ut thi rt een years Of

,
age these with a yo ung negro so me twelve years Old

, ,
wer e at th e wheel and with their united strengt h ,
st ro ve to check the lurches which threat ened every

in stan t t o thro w the vessel bro adside o n It w as a .
difficult task fo r the wheel seemed as tho ugh it wo uld

,
turn in spit e Of all they co uld do and hurl them again st ,
the bulwark s Just befo re midnight such a wav e

.
came thundering again st the stern that it w as a w o nder

th e rudder w as n o t unshi pped Th e boys were thro w n .
8 ADRIFT IN THE P ACIFIC
backwards by the sho ck b ut they recovered themselves ,
almo st immedi at ely .
Do es she still steer ? asked o ne Of them .
Yes G o rdo n
, an swered Bri an t w h o had co olly
, ,
resumed hi s place o ld o n tight Do nagan

. he H , ,
co ntinued and do n t be afrai d There are o thers be

,
’
.
si des ourselves to lo o k aft er Yo u are no t hurt Mo ko ? .
NO Massa Briant , an swered th e b o y

, But w e
must keep the yacht befo re the wind o r w e shall b e ,
po o ped .
At this moment door Of the companio n leading

th e
to the salo o n w as thro wn Open Tw o little heads .
appeared ab o ve the level Of th e deck and wi th them ,
came up the genial face Of a do g who saluted with a ,
lo ud, Wh o ugh l w ho ugh l

Briant l Bri ant l sho ut ed o ne Of the yo ungst ers
What Is the matter ?
No thi ng Iverso n no thing I
, returned Briant
,
.
G e t do wn agai n with D o le and lo o k Sharp ! ,

”
W e are awfufly frightened do wn here said the ,
o th er b o y w h o w as a li ttle yo unger
, .
All Of yo u ? ask ed Do nagan .
Yes all Of us sai d D o le .
,
”
Well get back agai n said Briant Shut up ! , .
g et u n der t h e clo thes sh u t y o ur ey es an d no thi ng

will hurt yo u There is no danger ! .
Loo k o ut sai d Mo k o , Here s ano ther wave .

’
A vio lent blow sho o k the yacht s stem This time ’

.
fo rtunat ely the wave di d no t co m e o n b o ard fo r if t h e ,
water had swept do wn the co mpanio n the yacht would ,
have been swamped .
G et back will yo u , shout ed G o rdon .
do wn o r I ll co me after yo u i
’
Lo o k here said Bri an t rather mo re gently

, ,
.
G O do wn yo u yo ung uns
’
, .
The tw o heads di sappeared and at the same mo me n t ,
another boy appeared i n the doo rway .
Do yo u want us Briant ? ,
”
No Bax t er said Briant
, , Let yo u and Cro ss an d .
mg STORM 9
Webb and Se vice
r and Wilco x stop with the little
on es i W e fo ur can manage .
”
Bax ter shut the do o r fro m w ithi n .
Yes all Of us D o le had sai d

, , .
But were there o nly little bo ys o n bo ard thi s schooner

thus driven befo re the storm ? Yes only bo ys 1 And ,
ho w many were there Fifteen counting Gordon , ,
Briant D o ne gan and the negro

, , How came they to .
b e there That yo u shall kno w shortly .
W as there no t a man o n the yacht No t a ca t ain

p
to lo o k after i t No t a sai lo r to give a hand in its
man agement ? No t a hehnsman to steer in such a
st o rm ? NO I N ot o ne
—
An d mo r e than that t h ere w as no t a person o n
b o ard w h o knew th e schoo ner 3 po sitio n o n th e o cean
’
.
A nd what ocean Th e largest o f all th e Pacifi c , ,
w hi ch stretches fo r 6 000 miles f ro m Australia and New

Zealand to the co ast o f So uth America .
What then had happened ? H ad the scho o ner s

, ,
’
crew disappeared in so me catastro phe Had th e

Malay pirates carried them Ofi and left o n bo ard o nly
this batch Of bo ys fro m fo urteen do wnwards ? A
yacht o f a hundred to ns o ught to have a captain a ,
mate and fi v e o r six men and o f these all that had been
, ,
left w as the nigger b o y 1

Where did th e scho o ner co me fro m ? From what
Australian po rt o r Oceanic archipelago di d She hail
Ho w lo ng had sh e been at sea ? Whi ther w as sh e
bo und Th e bo ys wo uld pro bably have been able t o
an swer th ese questio ns h ad t hey be en ask ed th em by
any capt ai n s peaking th e scho o ner o n her co urse !
b ut there w as no vessel in sight neither st eamer no r ,
saili ng shi p and had th ere been o ne She wo u

-
, ld have ,
h ad qui te eno ugh to do to look after herself without ,
g i ving ass ist an c e t o t hi s yacht that t h e sea w as throw i ng

ab o ut lik e a raft .
Briant and hi s fri ends did th eir utmost to keep th e

scho o ner st raight ahead .
What is to b e do ne ? asked Do nagan .

IO ADRIFT IN T H E P ACIFIC
All w e can to v v Heaven helping us
sa e o ursel es , ,
answer ed B riant , although even the most en ergeti c
fo r th e sto rm w as increas ing in violence .
The gale blow in thun derclaps as the sailors say and , ,
the ex pressi on w as o nly to o true The scho o ner ha d .
lost h er mainmast , go ne about four feet above th e

partners, so that no trysail could b e set under which
she mi ght have been mo re easily st eered The foremast .
still held b ut th e Shro uds had stretch ed and every

, ,
minute it threatened to crash o n to the deck The fo re .
st aysail h ad been Spli t to ri bbo ns, an d kept up a co n
stant crackin g, as if a ri fl e were being fi red The o nly .
sai l that r emai n ed soun d w as the fore s ai l, and this

seemed as th o ugh it w o uld go every mo ment fo r the ,
boys had no t been stro ng en o ugh to manage the last

reef .If it were to go the sch o o ner could n o t b e kept
,
befo re the win d, the waves wo uld board her o ver th e

quarter , and she wo uld go do wn .
N ot an island had been sighted ! and there co uld be

no co n ti nent yet aw hile to the eastward TO r un .
asho re w as a t errible thing t o do , b ut the boys di d n o t

fear its terrors so much as tho se Of this interminable
sea . A
lee shore with its shoals, its breakers th e
, ,
terri ble waves roarin g o n to it and beaten in to surf by ,
the rocks, might , th ey tho ught , prove safe en ough to

them at least i t wo uld b e fi rm ground , an d no t thi s
rag ing o c ean which any mi nut e might Open un der th eir
,
feet And so they lo o ked ahead fo r so me light to which

.
they co uld steer .
But there w as no light in that thick darkness !

Suddenly , about o n e O clo ck , a fearful crash was
’
heard above the ro aring Of th e storm .
There goes the fo remast I sai d B onagan .
“
NO , sai d Mo ko i t is the foresail blo wn o ut o f
W e must clear it ,d Briant

sai . Yo u remain at
the wheel Gordon , , with B onagan ! and Mok o , come
an d help me .
THE S O T RM II
Briant was no t quite ignorant o f things nauti cal On .
hi s vo yage o ut from Europe h e had crossed the N o rth

Atlanti c and Pacific and had learnt a little seamanshi p
, ,
and th at w as why hi s compa ni o ns who knew no ne ,
whatever had left the sch oo ner in his and Moko s

,
’
hands .
Bri an t an d th e negro r ushed for war d At all costs .
th e fo resail must be cut adri ft fo r it had caught an d ,
w as bellying o ut in such a w ay th at th e schooner w as

in dang er o f capsizing an d if th at happened sh e could
,
never b e righted unless th e mast were cut away and

,
th e wire shro uds bro ken an d ho w co uld the boys ,
man age th at ?
Bri ant an d Mo ko set to wo rk with remarkable j udg
men t Their Obj ect w as to keep as much sai l o n the
.
schooner as possi ble so as to st eer her before th e win d

,
as lo ng as th e storm last ed Th ey slacked OR the .
halliards and let the sail down to within four o r fi v e

feet of th e deck and they cut Off the torn stri ps with
,
thei r knives secured the lo wer co rners and made all

, ,
snug . Twenty times at least wer e they In danger o f

, ,
being swept away by th e waves

Under her very small Spread o f canvas the scho oner
.
could still be k ept o n her co ur se and though the win d ,
h ad so li ttle to take hold Of sh e w as driven along at ,
the speed Of a torpedo bo at Th e faster she went the-

.
b etter Her safety depen ded o n her go ing faster than

.
t h e waves so that none co uld fo llo w an d board her

, .
Briant an d Moko were making their w ay back t o the

w heel when the door Of t he co mpani o n again Opene d .
A b o y 3 head agai n appeared

’
This time it w as J ack .
,
B ri ant s broth er an d three years his j uni or

’
.
,
Wh at do yo u want J ack ask ed hi s broth er

, .
Co me here ! Come here ! sai d J ack There s ’
”
w ater in the saloon .
saloon confusedly lighted by a lamp which the

was ,
r o lling swung backwards and for war ds Its light .
r evealed a dozen boys lounging o n th e couches around .

—
The yo ungest there were so me as young as eight
were huddling agai nst each o ther in fear .
There is no danger said Briant wishing to give , ,
them co nfi dence W e are all ri ght D o n t b e afraid

.
”
.
’
.
Th en ho lding a lighted lantern to the floo r he saw ,
that so me water w as washing fro m si de t o side .
Wh ence came this water Did it co me from a leak

That must b e ascertained at once .
Forwar d o f the salo o n w as th e day sal oo n then the -

,
dining salo o n and then the crew s quart ers

’
-
.
,
B ri ant wen t thro ugh th ese in o rder and found that ,
the w at er h ad been taken in fro m the seas dashing o ver

th e bo ws do wn the fo re co mpani o n which h ad no t
,
-
,
been quite clo sed and that it h ad been run aft by the
,
itchi ng Of th e shi p There w as thus no danger o n this

pd
.
ea .
B ri anttopped to cheer up his co mpanions as he

s
went back thro ugh the sal oon an d then r eturned to his ,
place at the helm Th e scho o ner w as very stro ngly

.
built and had o nly j ust been t e co ppered so that she

,
-
,
might withst and th e waves fo r so me time .
It w as then about o ne O clo ck Th e darkness w as ’

.
darker than ever and the dark clo uds still gathered !
,
and mo re furi o usly than ever raged the sto rm T he .
yacht seemed to be rushi ng thro ugh a liquid mass that

flo wed above beneath and aro und her The shrill
, , .
cry Of th e petrel w as heard in t he ai r Did its appea r .
ance mean that land w as near ? N0 fo r it is Often

met w ith hundreds Of mi les at sea And in truth .
,
these birds of the sto rm fo und themselves po werless

to str uggle agai nst the aeri al current and by it were ,
bo rne alo ng like the scho o ner .
An ho ur later ther e w as ano ther report fro m th e b o w .
What remai ned Of the fo resail had been Spli t to ri bbo ns

and th e stri ps flew Off into Space lik e huge seagulls .
W e have no sail left ex claimed Bo n agan

and it i s impo ssible fo r us to set ano ther .
Well it doesn t matter said Briant

,
’
We shall
, .
no t get along so fast that is all i ,

THE STORM 3
What !
an answerreplied Do nagan If that is .
yo u r s ty le o f seamansh i p
Lo o k o ut fo r the w ave as tern ! sai d Moko
Lash yo urselves o r you ll be swept o verboard
’
T h e bo y had no t fini sh ed the sentence when sev eral

to ns o f water came with a leap ov er the taflrail Bri ant , .
Do nagan an d G o rdo n were hurled agai nst the co m

,
pani o n to w hi ch they managed to cling But the

, .
negro had disappear ed in the w ave whi ch had swept

the d eck fro m stem to bo w carrying away the binnacle, ,
a lo t Of S pare Sp ars and the three bo ats whi ch were

,
swi ngi ng to the davi t s in board The deck w as cleared .
at o n e blo w b ut th e wat er almo st inst antly fl o wed Off,

,
and the y acht w as saved fr om sin king beneath the

flood .
Moko Moko sho uted Briant as soon as he could ,
See if he s gone o v erbo ard said Do nagan

’
N sai d Gor do n lean i ng o ut to leew ar d

, .
I do n t see him and I do n t hear him

’
,
’
.
We must save him ! Throw hi m a buoy ! Thro w

him a ro pe I sai d Bri ant .
A nd in a voi ce that rang clear ly o ut in a few seconds

Of calm he shouted again
, ,
Mo k o ! M o ko !
H ere elp Hrepli ed the negro
”
.
He is n o t in the sea sai d Gordon , .
comes from the bow .
I ll save him sai d Briant

’
.
,
A nd he crept fo rw ard alo ng the heaving sl ppery deck ,

i ,
av oidi ng as best he might th e blo ck s swingi g fro m

n
t h e ro pes that wer e all adri ft The boy s vo i ce w as
’
.
h ear d agai n and then all w as silent

, By great effort .
B ri ant reached th e fo re companion

- .
He sho ut ed There w as no reSpOIIse

. .
H ad Moko been swept away into the sea since he

uttered his last cry ? If SO he must b e far astem no w ,
fo r the waves co uld no t carry hi m along as fast as the

sc hoo ner w as go ing And then he w as lo st
. .
I4 ADRIFT IN THE PACIFIC
NO ! A feeble ched
Briant w ho hurried to
cry rea ,
the Windlass in th e frame o f whi ch the foo t Of th e

bo wspri t w as fitted There he foun d th e negro stuck
.
in the very angle Of th e bo w halli ar d w as tighten

. A
i ng every instant r o un d hi s neck He had been saved .
by it when the wave w as carryi ng him away Was he .
no w to b e strangled by it ?
B riant o pened hi s knife and with some diffi culty
, , ,
managed to cut the ro pe Mok o w as then dragged aft

.
,
an d as so on as he had recovered strength enough to

S peak ,
Thanks Massa Briant he said and imme
, , ,
diately resumed his pla ce at the wheel where the fo ur ,
did their utmost to keep the yacht safe fr om th e enor

mo us waves that no w ran behin d them fo r the waves ,
n o w ran faster than th e yacht and could easily boar d ,
her as they passed But what co uld b e done ? It w as

.
impo ssi ble to set the least scrap Of sail .
In the southern hemisphere the mon th o f March

S
co rrespo nds to that Of eptember in the no rthern and ,
the ni ghts are sho rter than the days bo ut fo ur . A

0 clock the ho ri zon wo uld gr o w gr ey i n the east whither
’
the schooner w as being borne W ith daybreak the .
sto rm might lull .Perhaps land might be in Sight and ,
the fate Of th e sch oon er s passengers b e settled in a few

’
minutes
Abo ut half past fo ur a difl used light began to appear
U
-
overhead . n fo rtunately the mi st limit ed th e range o f

v iew t o less than a quarter Of a mile The clouds .
swept by w i th t errible rapidi ty Th e sto rm had lo st .
n o thi ng Of i ts fury ! and b ut a sho rt di stan ce Off th e

sea w as hi dden by th e veil Of spray f ro m th e raging
waves The scho o ner at o ne mo ment mo unting the
.
wave crest at the nex t hurled into the trough would

-
, ,
have been shattered to pieces agai n an d agai n had sh e

touch ed the groun d .
Th e fo ur boys loo ked o ut at the chao s Of wild water

th ey felt that if the calm w as lo ng in co ming thei r
situatio n wo uld b e desper at e It w as impo ssible th at
.
the schooner could flo at fo r another day, fo r the wav es

THE S TO RM I5
o d
w ul assure dly sweep way
a the compani ons and
But suddenly th ere came a cry fro m Mo ko of L nd
a ,
Land
Thr o ugh a ri ft in the mist the bo y thought he had
seen t he o utlin e o f s co ast to th e eastwar d W as he .
mist ak en N othi ng is mo re diffi cult than to reco gnize

t he fai n t outlin es Of land w hi ch ar e so easily con fo un ded
,
w ith tho se Of th e clo uds .
Lan d ! ex claimed Bri ant .
Yes,
replied M o ko . L
an d ! to th e eastwar d .
And he poin ted to wards a part Of the horizon no w

hi dden by a mass o f vapours .
Ar e yo u sure ? ask ed Do nagan

—
.
Yes -
Yes l Certai n sai d Moko If the mi st
—
.
Opens agai n yo u look — there a little to the right o f th e

L
—
foremas t o o k loo k I
Th e mist began to o pen and ri se from the sea few . A
moment s more and th e ocean reappeared fo r several
miles in fro nt Of the yacht .
Yes ! Land ! It is really land ! shouted Bri ant .
An d land that is very lo w added Gordon, who had

’
j u st c au ght sight o f th e i n di ca t ed coast .
There was no w no room fo r do ubt —

land co n . A
—
tin ent , o r isla nd lay some fi v e o r six miles ahead
al o ng a large segmen t Of th e hori zo n In th e directio n
.
she w as go ing and whi ch the sto rm would no t allow

,
h er t o dev i ate from, the scho oner wo uld be driven o n

i t i n less than an ho ur . That she would b e smashed ,
p ar ti cu la rly if break ers sto pped her befo re she reached
t h e shore, ther e w as every r eason to fear But th e .
b oys did no t give that a tho ught In this land .

,
w hi ch had Ofl ered itself so unex pect edly to their sight ,

t h ey saw , they could only see a means of safety , .
And no w th e wi nd blew wi th still greater strengt h ,
t h e schooner , carri ed al ong lik e a feather w as hurled ,
t owards the coast , whi ch sto o d o ut like a line o f ink o n

t h e whi tish wast e Of sky In the b ackgro und w as a
.
cli ff, fro m a hundred and fifty to tw o hundred feet

16 A DRIFT IN THE PACIFIC
high in the foreground w as a yello wish bea ch endi n g
to wards the ri ght in a ro unded mass which seemed to
belong to a fo rest further in land .
Ah If the scho o ner co uld reach the sandy beach

witho ut meeting with a lin e o f reefs if th e mouth Of a ,
river wo uld only o ffer a refuge h er p assengers might ,
perhaps escape safe and sound

Leaving Do nagan Gordon and Mo ko at th e helm
, , , ,
Briant went fo rw ar d and ex ami ned the land whi ch he

w as nearing so rapidly But in vain did h e lo o k fo r
.
so me place in which the yacht could b e run asho re

witho ut risk There w as the mo uth Of no river o r
.
st ream n o t even a sandbank o n whi ch th ey could run ,
her agro und ! b ut th ere w as a line o f breakers wi th th e

black heads Of rock risin g amid the undulatio ns o f th e
surge wh ere at the fi rst sh o ck th e sch o on er wo uld b e
,
wrench ed to pieces .
It o ccurred to Briant that it wo uld b e better fo r all

his fri ends to b e o n deck when the crash came and ,
o pening th e co mpani on do o r h e sho ut ed do wn -

,
Co me o n deck ev ery o ne Of yo u
,
I mmediately o ut j umped the do g and then th e ,
eleven boys o ne after th e o ther the smallest at t h e ,
sight Of th e mighty wav es aro un d them b eginning t o

yell with terr or .
It was a li ttle befo re six in the morning when the

sch o o ner reach ed the fir st line o f break ers .
Ho ld o n all o f yo u shouted Briant stripping Off

, ,
half his clo thes so as to be ready to help tho se who m the

,
surf swept away fo r the v essel wo uld c ertai nly st rik e

, .
Suddenly there came a sho ck The scho oner h ad .
g r o un d ed un d er t h e st ern B ut t h e hu ll w as no t
.
damaged and no water r ush ed in

,
A seco nd wave .
t o o k h er fifty feet furt her j ust skimming the ro cks ,
that ran abo ve the water level in quite a tho usan d

places Then sh e heeled over to po rt and remained
.
mo tio nless surro un ded by th e bo ili n g surf

,
.
Sh e w as n o t i n t h e Open sea but she w as a quart er o f ,
a mile fro m t h e b each

, .
18 ADRIFT IN THE PA IFIC C
of li berty And fo r bo ys there w as the
so me of th e
prospect of a sea v oyage whi ch had been talked abo ut
in scho o l fo r mo nths How the o thers envi ed tho se w ho
.
wer e to go o n this cruise in which New Zealan d w as to be

circumnav igated The scho o ner had been chartered
by the boys fri ends and fitt ed o ut fo r a vo yage o f
’
si x weeks She belo nged to the fath er o f o ne Of the

.
oy s Mr William H G arn ett an Old mer chant capt ain

b , . .
,
in whom every co nfidence w as felt A subscriptio n .
had been raised amo ng the parents to co ver the ex

penses ! and great w as the j o y of the yo un g fo lks ,
10 would hav e fou nd i t di fli cult to sp end th eir ho li days

32
tt er .
The for tunat e boys came from all o f the fi rst fo rms Of
the sch ool an d as w e h ave seen were Of all ages fro m
, ,
eight to fourt een With the ex ceptio n o f th e Briants

.
w ho were F
ren ch, and Gordon w ho w as an merican , A
they were all English .
Do nagan and Cross were the sons Of ri ch landh o lder s ,
w ho occupy the highest social rank in New Zealand .
They were cousins ! both were a li ttle over t hi rt een an d

both were in the fifth fo rm Do nagan w as so mew hat .
o f a dandy and w as undoubt edly th e mo st pr o mi nen t

,
p u pil in t h e school H e w as cl ev er an
. d h ar dwo rk ing ,
an d by his fon dness fo r study and his desir e to ex cel ,
he easily maintained his po sitio n certai n ari sto . A

cratic arrogance had gained hi m the nickname o f Lo r d
Do nagan, and hi s Imperio us charact er led hi m to st ri v e
to command wherever he w as placed ence b etwee n . H
him an d Bri ant there had spr ung up thi s ri v ah y whi ch
'
had become k eener than ever since circumst ances h a d

incr eased Bri ant s in fluence over hi s co mpani o n s
’
.
Cr o ss w as a very or dinary so rt o f b o y di stinguished b y ,
a const an t admirati on fo r ev erythi ng hi s c o usin sai d o r
Baxt er w as fo rm boy He w as thirt ee n

also a fifth -
.
years of age a cool thoughtful ingeni o us fello w w h o

, , , ,
could do almost anyt hing wi th his hands He w as th e .
so n o f a merch ant w h o w as n o t p art icularly well o fi .

C A ST A RIFT D 19
Webb and Wilcox who wer e bo th about twelve and

,
a half wer e in the four th form

, They were no t parti cu .
larly bright and were rather i nclin ed to b e quarrelso me

, .
On o ne th ing they pri ded themselves that w as their

i ntimate kn o wledge o f faggism in all it s branches .
Every information o n the fag an d ho w to treat him , ,
w as to be Obt ai n ed grati s fr o m Messrs Webb and .
Wilcox Their fathers were wealthy men and held

.
,
high rank among th e magi stracy of the colo ny .
Garnett and Servi ce were in the thir d fo rm They .
were both twelve years o ld One w as the so n o f a .
reti red mer chant captain

'
the o ther s father w as a ,
well to do coloni st liv ing o n the N orth Sho re o n the

- -
,
upper coast Of W ai temata Har bour Th e families .
were ver y intimate and Service an d G arnett were

,
almost in separable They were go o d hearted bo ys

.
-
,
no t ov er fon d of work and if they h ad been gi ven the

,
key Of th e fi elds they wo uld n o t have let it rest i dle

,
in their po cket s Garnett had an o ver mastering -
—
.
passion he loved an accordi o n ! An d he to ok it

with him o n board the yacht to occupy his spare time ,
in a way befi tting a sailor s so n Serv ice was the scho ol

’
.
wag th e li veli est and noisi est o f the lo t a devourer Of

, ,
traveller s t ales an d a worshi pper o f Ro bin son C ruso e

’
and the S wiss Family Robinson whi ch he knew by ,
Among boys wer e two Of nine years Old The

th e .
fi rst o f these w as J enkins the so n o f th e secret ary Of the

,
New Zealan d Royal So ciety th e other w as Iverso n ,
whose father w as the minist er o f th e church o f St Paul . .
J enkins was in the third form Iverson i n the secon d ! ,
but both wer e goo d bo ys D o le and Co star were each a

.
yea r younger than Iverson and were the sons of mili tary ,
Ofli cers at On ehunga six miles fr o m Auckland

,
in ,
Manukau Harbour They were both little fello ws

. .
Dole w as very o bstinate and Co star very greedy , .
Bo th were in the fi rst fo rm and bo th knew ho w to read ,
and write an d th a t is all w e need say about them

, .
Of the three w e have left to the last Gordo n the , ,

20 ADRIFT IN THE PACIFIC
Ame ican r b t fo urteen and in his somewhat
, w as a o u , ,
angular build already betrayed hi s Y ank ee o rigin

, .
Slightly awkward and a little heavy he w as far and

, ,
away th e st eadi est b o y in th e fifth form

,
an d altho ugh
there w as no thing very brilliant abo ut him he had a ,
C lear head and a strong fun d Of co mmo n sense Hi s .
tastes ran in a serious directio n an d h e w as Of an o bser ,
vant character and co o l temperament H e w as metho .
di c even t o th e slightest det ai l C lassifying his i deas i n ,
h is head as h e arranged th e thi ngs in his desk where ,
e v erythin g w as classifi ed do ck et ed an d en t ered in it s , ,
special no t e book His compani o n s lik ed him and

-
.
,
r eco gnized his go od qualiti es He w as a nati ve o f .
Bo sto n b ut having n ei the r father no r mo ther he had

, ,
been tak en care Of by hi s guardian a co nsular agent ,
w ho had made hi s fo rtun e an d settled i n New Zealan d .
Fo r so me years he had lived in o ne o f tho se pr etty

v illas scatt ered o n the h eight s n ear the village e f M o un t
’
St John
. .
Briant an d hi s brother wer e th e so ns Of a Fr ench

engineer w ho fo r t w o years and a hal f had been em
, , ,
ployed in charge of the wo rks fo r draining a marsh in

the cent re o f th e No rth I slan d Briant w as thirte en .
,
an int elligent lad with no par ti cular liki ng fo r hard

wo rk an d figuring with un desirable fr equency at the
,
w ro ng en d o f th e fifth fo rm W hen he made up his .
min d ho wever he speedily ro se in the class thanks

, , ,
t o his facility o f assi milat io n aud his remark able

memo ry H e w as bo ld enterprising active qui ck at
.
, , ,
r epart ee and go o d n atur e d

, H e w as generally lik ed
-
.
,
an d when the schoo ner w as in difli culties hi s co mpanio n s

with a few ex ceptio ns di d as he told them principally , , ,
as w e kn o w fro m hi s having gained some nauti cal

,
kno w ledge o n his w ay o ut from Euro pe .
His yo ung bro ther Jack w as the funny b o y Of the, ,
third form w ho wo uld have been the scho o l j ester had

,
it no t been fo r Ser vi ce He spent his time chiefly in .
in venting new modes o f mischi ef fo r the benefit o f his

sch oo lfello w s and being consequently in frequent ho t
,
CAST ADRIFT 21
water ! b ut fo r some r eason his conduct o n the yacht

di ffered very much fr om what it had been at school .
Such wer e th e schoolbo ys whom the storm had cast

ashore in the Pacifi c Dur ing the cruise roun d New
.
Zealand the scho oner was to be commanded by Gar

nett s father who was o ne Of the best yatchsmen in
’
Australasia Many times had the schooner appeared

.
o n th e co ast Of Australia fro m th e so uth ernmo st cape o f
Tasmani a to To rres Strai ts and even in the seas Of the ,
Mo luccas and the Philippines which are so danger ous ,
to vessels Of greater to nnage But she was a well .
bui lt boat han dy weatherly and fit to keep the sea

, , ,
in all weathers .
The cr ew co nsist ed o f the mate six sailors a cook and , , ,
a boy Mo ko th e young negr o of twelve whose fami ly

, , ,
had been in th e service o f a well known co lonist fo r -
many years And w e ought t o mention Fan a do g o f

. ,
American ex traction whi ch belo nged to Go rdon and , ,
never left her master .
The day Of departure had been fix ed fo r the I sth of

Febr uary Th e yacht lay mo ored at th e end o f Co m
.
mercial Pier Th e cr ew was no t o n boar d when o n

.
the evening Of the 1 4th th e young passengers embark ed , .
Captain Garnett was no t ex pected till the last mo ment ,
and th e mate and the b o y r ecei ved Gordon an d his

compani o ns the men hav ing go ne ashore to take a
,
parting glass When the yacht had been cleared o f

.
v i si to rs and the boys had all gone to bed so as t o be

, ,
ready early in the morning fo r th e start it occurred t o ,
the mate th at he would go up i nto th e t o w n an d lo o k

fo r his men lea ving Moko in charge
, An d Mo ko w as .
too tired to keep awake .
What happen ed immedi ately the mat e left was a

mystery b ut accidentally o r purposely the mo o rings
, , ,
Of the yacht go t cast Ofl without any o ne o n boar d being

th e wiser .
It w as a dark night The land breeze was stro ng .

-
,
and th e tide r unning o ut and away went the schoo ner ,
to sea
22 A DRIFT IN THE PAC IF IC
When Moko awoke he fo un d the yacht adrift
His shouts brought up Gordon Briant Do nagan , , ,
an d a few o f th e o thers fro m b elow b ut no thi ng co uld ,
they do They called fo r help in vai n

. o ne of th e . N
harbo ur lights were visible The yacht w as right o ut .
in th e gulf thr ee miles from lan d .
A t the suggestio n o f B riant an d Moko the boys ,
tried to get sail o n the yacht so as to beat back into th e

harbo ur But th e sail was to o heavy for them to set
.
pro perly, and the result was that the yacht, in stead Of
keeping her head up , dro pped dead aw ay to leeward .
Cape Co lville w as do ubled and the strai t between ,
Great Barrier Island and the mainlan d r un through ,
and so o n the scho o ner w as o ff to th e eastwar d, many

miles fro m New Zealand .
It w as a serious posi ti on There could b e no help .
fro m th e land If a vessel were to come in sea rch

.
,
several hour s must elapse before she could catch them,
even supp o sing that sh e co uld fi n d themin the darkn ess .
And ev en when day came , h o w could sh e descry so small

a cr aft o n the high sea ? If the wind did no t change,
all hop e Of r eturni ng to lan d must b e given up There .
remained only th e ch an ce Of being spok en by so me

v essel o n her w ay to a New Zealand po r t An d t o .
meet this, Moko hasten ed to hoist a lantern at the fore

mast head And then all that co uld be done was to
.
M any o f the smaller bo ys were still asleep and it w as ,
tho ught best n o t to wake them .
Several attempts wer e made to bring the schoo ner

up in the wind b ut all wer e useless
, Her head fell Off .
immediat ely an d away sh e went drifting to th e east

,
ward .
Suddenly a light w as sighted two o r three miles 03 .
It was a whi te masthead li ght sho wing a st eamer under ,
w ay .Soon the side lights red and green rose abo v e

-
, ,
the water an d the fact o f their being seen together

,
Showed that the steamer was st eeri n t i ht f th

g s ra g o r e
yacht .
C AS T ADRIFT 23
The bo ys shouted in v ain The wash of the wav es .

,
the r oar Of the steam blowi ng Off and the mo on o f the ,
ri sing win d united to drown th ei r v o ices But if they .
co uld no t hear the cries the lo o k Outs might see the

,
-
light at th e schooner s for emast It w as a last chance

’
an d un fo rtunat ely i n o ne o f the yacht s j erky pitches

’
the halliar d broke and the lan t ern fell into th e sea ,
an d there was nothi n to Show th p c of t h

g e resen e e
sc hoon er which the steamer was steering straight
,
do wn upon at the rate of twelve knots an hour .
In a few secon ds she had struck th e yacht an d wo uld ,
have sunk her had she no t tak en her o n the slant clo se
,
t o the stern as it was she carried away o nly a b it o f

th e name boar d .
The shock had been so feeble that the steamer kept

o n le
, a ving the schooner to the mercy o f th e appro ach
i ng st o rm It is oft en the ease unfortunat ely that
.
, ,
captains do no t trouble abo ut sto pping to help a v essel

they have run into But in this case some ex cuse
.
co uld b e made fo r those o n bo ard the steamer felt

,
n o thing of th e collisi on and saw nothing o f the yach t

,
in th e darkn ess .
they were lost When day came the wide horizo n was
.
deserted In the Pacific ships bound from Australia

.
,
to Ameri ca o r fr om America to Australi a take a more

, ,
n o rtherly o r m ore so utherly route than that taken by

the yacht No t o ne was sight ed and although the
.
,
w in d mo derat ed occasio nally y et i t nev er cease d ,
blo w ing fr o m the westward .
Ho w lo ng this drifting w as to last neither Briant ,
n o r hi s co mrades knew In vain they tried to get the

.
schoo ner back i nto New Zealand w at ers It was under .
these co ndi tions that Bri ant di splaying energy superi o r

,
to his age began to ex er ci se an influence over hi s co m

,
panio ns to which even Bo nagan submi tted Altho h

, .
with Mo ko s help he co uld no t succeed in getting e

’
yacht to the westward he co uld and did manage to

, , ,
keep her nav igable He did no t spare himself He

. .
watched ni ght and day He swep t the ho rizon fo r any
.
chance Of safety An d he threw o verbo ard se vera l

.
bo ttles co ntain ing an account of what had happened

to th e scho o ner ! it w as a slender chance do ubtleSS , ,
b ut h e di d no t care to neglect it .
A few ho ur s after the yacht left Hauraki Gulf the ,
st o rm ar o se and fo r tw o week s it raged w i th unusual

,
impetuo si ty Assaulted by eno rmo us waves and

.
,
escaping a hun dred times fro m bei ng Ov erw hehn ed b

y
the mo un tains o f wat er th e yacht had go n e asho re
,
o n an unkn o wn land In th e Pacific .
What w as to be the fate Of these shi pwrecked scho o l

boys ? Fro m w hat side w as help to co me to them if
they co uld no t help themselves
Their families had o nly t o o go od reaso n to suppo se
that they had been sw allo w ed up Wh en it w as fo und .
that the yacht had di sappeared the alarm was given .
W e need no t dwell o n th e consternat ion pro duced by

th e news .
Without losing an instant the harbo ur master sent ,

-
o ut tw o small st eamers in sear ch w i th or der s t o ex plor e

,
th e gulf and so me miles bey o nd it All that ni ght .

,
tho ugh th e sea grew ro ugh the little steamers sought

,
in vain ! an d when day came and they retur ned t o

Auckland it was to deprive the un fo rtunate relatives
,
Of every ho pe They had no t fo und the scho o ner but

.
,
they had fo un d th e wreckage kno cked away in co lli sio n

—
by the Qui to a collisio n o f which tho se o n board the
Q u i to knew no t hi ng .
And in thi s wreckage were three o r fo ur letters o f the

scho oner s name
’
.
It seemed certain that the yacht had met w ith di sas

ter an d go n e do wn wi th all o n boar d wi thin a dozen
,
miles o f New Zealand .

26 ADRIFT IN T HE PACIFIC
Old ag e, lay o n the groun d an d the boys sank to their
,
knees in the carpet of dead leaves But the birds fl ew .
away in alarm as if th ey had learn t that man w as their
enemy and i t w as th er efore likely that if the i sland w as

,
n o t in habit ed it w a s o ccasio nally v isited by th e natives

,
o f a neighbo uring terri to ry .
In t en minutes th e b o ys were thro ugh th e wo o d ,
which grew thicker wher e the ro cks at the back ro se

li k e a wall fo r a hun dr ed and eighty feet W as ther e .
in this wall any break o r ho llo w which wo uld affo r d

them a refuge ? A cave sheltered fro m the win ds o f
th e sea by the curt ain o f t rees and beyo nd th e reach ,
Of th e see even in storms would b e the v ery place fo r

the bo ys to tak e up as their quarters until a careful
exp lo ration enabled th em to mo v e fur th er inlan d
U
.
nluckily the wall w as as bare o f irr egulari ty as th e

curtain Of a fortification There was no cave n or w as
.
,
there any place where the cli ff could b e climbed TO .
r each the int erior the shore wou ld have to b e fo llo wed
till the Cliff ended .
Fo r half an ho ur Briant and hi s companion kept o n

to th e so uthward alo ng th e fo o t o f the cli ff and th en ,
they r eached the right bank o f the str eam which came ,
mean deri ng in from the east On t he right bank they

.
sto o d un der th e shade o f th e lo fty tr ees b ut the left

bank bordered a country o f very differ ent aspect
flat an d verdureless i t loo ked lik e a wide mar sh ex t end
,
ing t o the southern ho rizo n Disappointed in their

.
ho pe o f reaching th e to p o f the cliff where they might ,

have h ad a v iew o f many miles over the co untry the ,
bo ys returned to the wreck .
Do nagan and a few o thers were strolling amo ng th e

rock s while J enkins Iver son, Dole and Co star wer e
,
amusrng themselves by co llecting shellfi sh Th e ex

U
.
p lo r ers r epo rt ed th e r esult Of th eir journ ey n t il a

l
.
more distant ex pedition could be un dertaken it seemed ,
best no t to abandon the wreck which altho ugh stove, , ,
in b elo w and h eeli ng co nsiderably would do very w elh ,
as a t emporary dwelling place -

The deck had been half
. ,
THE FIRST DA Y ASIIORE 27
torn up forward but the saloons yielded ample shelter

,
against a storm The galley had no t been damaged at

.
all to the v ery great satisfactio n of the smaller boys

, .
It w as lucky fo r them that the thin gs had no t had to

be carried fro mthe wr eck t o th e sho re If the schooner .
had remai ned in her fi rst positi on o n the r eef it is ,
diffi cult to see how the many useful articles could have
been saved The sea would so on have bro ken up the
.
wreck and prov isio ns weapo ns clo th es bedding and

, , , , ,
co o king tra ps wo uld have been scatter ed in co nfusion

o n th e b each Fo rtunately the schooner had been
.
swept o n to the sand in such a stat e i t is tr ue that

, , ,
She wou ld never flo at agai n b ut still habitable at least, ,
fo r a time .Befo re she became useless as a dwelli ng

th e bo ys might hope to fi nd so me town o r v illage o r , ,
if th e i sland was a desert o ne some cav e in th e rocks ,
which they might make their ho me .
That v ery day they set to wo rk to make th e schooner

co mfo rtable A ro pe ladder o n th e starboard si de
.
,
-
g a v e eas y a cc ess t o th e be a ch M oko who as a ca.b i n

b o y knew so methi ng Of co o king t o ok charge of th e ,
g a lle y , an d h el
,pe d by S er vi c e pr ocee de d t o coo k a ,
meal which thanks to ex cellent appetite gave general

, ,
satisfactio n ! and even J enkins Iverso n Dole and COS , ,
tar b ecame quit e li vely Jack alone co ntinued miser

.
able ! his charact er seemed to have qui te C hanged !

b ut to all his co mpani ons sai d to hi m o n th e subj ect
he gav e evasive r epli es .
Tho roughly tired o ut after so many days and ni ghts

o f dang er th e need Of a go o d soun d sleep w as apparent
,
to all . The yo ungsters wer e the fi rst to fi nd their w ay

t o th e saloon and th e o thers so o n fo llowed
, Bri ant .
,
Go rdo n and Donegan to ok it in turns to keep watch .
Might no t so me wild beast s put in an appearance ?

Or even a ban d o f nativ es w ho would b e mo re fo rmi d ,
able ? But nei ther came Th e night passed wi thout .
an alarm of any kind ! and when the sun ro se th e boys
j o in ed in prayer to God fo r their deliverance from peril ,
an d st art ed o n such work as was necessary .

T he fir st thi ng was to mak e a li st Of the pro v i sions,
an d then o f th e weapo ns in st rument s, ut ensils C loth es
, , ,
to o ls et c Th e fo o d questio n w as serio us fo r it seemed

, .
,
they were in a desert land T hey would have to tr ust .
to fi shing and sho oting if anythi ng remai ned to b e,
sho t. Do ne gan w ho was a capital sho t had seen

, ,
no thing yet b ut th e bir ds o n th e r eef and beach But .
t o b e reduced to feeding o n sea bir ds w as n o t a pleasant

-
pro spect , and it w as desirable to kno w ho w lo ng the

sch o o ner s pro vi si o ns wo uld last if managed with care
’
.
If was fo und that ex cept th e biscuits o f which ther e ,
w as a large sto re th e preserves, hams meat biscui ts

, ,
made o f fl o ur minced pork and Spice c orned beef

,
— , ,
salt beef and sea sto r es generally could no t last lo nger

, ,
than tw o mo nths so that fr o m the very first they must

,
have reco urse to the pro ductio ns o f the co untry, an d

keep the pro vi sio ns in case they had to j o urney some
hundreds of miles to r each a po rt o n the co ast o r a
t o wn in the interio r .
S uppose some Of these things have been damaged

asked Bax t er . If the sea water go t into the hold
-
That w e shall see when w e o pen the cases that lo o k

as tho ugh they h ad been kno ck ed ab o ut sai d G o r do n , .
If w e were to co o k them up again, they might do .
I ll lo o k after that sai d M o ko

’
.
,
The so o ner the bett er sai d Briant , fo r the first day

,
”
o r two w e shall have to li ve entirely o n these things .
An d why sho uldn t w e start to d ay ? ask ed W il

’
co x , and see if w e cann ot fi n d some mor e eggs amo ng

tho se ro cks to the no rthwar d ?
Yes that s it sai d Dole
’
.
And why sho uldn t w e go fi shing ? ask ed Webb

’
Are ther e n o t any fi shing lin es o n board ? Wh o ll

’
-
g o fi sh i ng ?
I wi ll I will ! sai d the youngsters .
”
All right sai d Bri an t
, But n o playi ng abo ut
.
w e on ly gi ve th e lin es t o th o se who mean busin ess .
D o n t get ex ci ted, sai d Iverson W e will be as

’
.
t dy
s ea as
THE FIRST DA Y ASHORE 29
But lo o k here sai d Go rdon ! w e must first make

,
a li st Of wh at there Is o n bo ar d W e have o ther things .
to think o f besid es what there Is to ca .
Yo u can go an d get a few Oysters fo r lunch sai d

Service
,
Ah ! th at I ll do sai d Gordo n
’
Off yo u go in
, .
two s an d threes ! an d Mo ko yo u go with them , , .
The negro co uld b e trusted He w as w illin g clever .

, ,
an d plucky an d wo uld probably b e Of gr eat use

, He .
w as parti cularly att ached to Brian t w ho di d no t ,
conceal his liking fo r hi m .
Come o n ! sai d Jenkins .
Ar e yo u no t go ing wi th them J ack ? as ked Bri ant , .
Jack replie d in the negati ve .
Jenki ns Do le Co star an d Iver son then went Ofl in

, ,
charge Of Mo ko an d scrambled up o n to th e reef which

,
the se a h ad j ust left dry In th e cr acks and cran ni es .
they mi ght perchan ce co me acro ss man y mo llusks ,
mussels clams an d even o ysters whi ch ei ther raw o r

, , , ,
co o ked wo uld fo rm a welco me re in fo rcemen t

,
Away .
they went runni ng and j umping and ev i dently loo king ,
o n th e exp edi ti o n as o n e o f pleas ure r ath er th an wo rk !

at t heir age they remembered li ttle Of th e tri als they
h ad passed thr o ugh an d tho ught less Of the dangers ,
to come .
A s so on as they h ad gone th e elder boys began th eir

search o n th e yacht D o nagan Cro ss Wilco x and .
, , ,
Webb devo ted themselves to the weapo ns ammuniti o n , ,
clo thes bedding to o ls and utensils whi le Brian t

, , , , ,
Garnett Bax ter and Ser vice to o k sto ck o f the dr ink

, ,
ables . As each article w as called o ut Gordo n entered

i t i n h i s n o t e bo o k - .
It was fo un d that the yacht h ad a complete set o f

spare sails and riggi n g o f all so rt s co rdage cables , , ,
h awsers &c and if sh e co uld have been go t aflo at

,
.
,
agai n co uld h ave been co mple tely refitted But these .
best quali ty sails and new co rdage wo uld never agai n

b e used o n the sea ! they wo uld come in useful in oth er
ways A few fishing appli ances hand li nes and deep
.
,
-
,
ADRIFT IN THE PAC IFIC
se lines figur ed in th e inventory and v ery v aluable

a-
,
they would be fo r fish was abundant , .
The li st Of weapo ns in th e no te book gav e eight

-
c n tral fire fowling pi eces a lon g range duck gun,

e - - - -
,
an d twelve revo lver s ! fo r ammu n i ti o n there were 300

cartri dges fo r th e bree ch lo aders tw o b arrels Of gun -
,
powder, each Of twenty fiv e po un ds and a large

-
,
quan ti ty o f lead small shot and bullets Thi s ammuni

, .
tio n intended to b e used o n the New Zealand coast at

,
th e places the yacht put in at wo uld come in more ,
useful fo r th e general secur ity T he sto re-roo m als o .
con tai ned a few rockets fo r night signalling and thi rty ,
cartridges and proj ectiles fo r the tw o small cann ons

o n boar d whi ch i t w as h o ped wo uld no t have to b e
,
used in repulsin g a n ati ve attack

Th e coo king utensils an d such like were eno ugh , , ,
even if the st ay w as to b e a len gthy o n e Tho ugh a .
ood d eal O f t h e crockery h ad been smashed when th e

g
yacht ran ashore o n the reef yet eno ugh remain ed at ,
th e serv ice Of the t able And these things were n o t

.
abso lutely ne cessar y There were more valuable thin gs

.
,
such as garme n ts of flann el clo th co tt o n an d lin en in , , ,
suffi ci en t quan ti ty to gi ve a ch ange fo r each change of

cli mate And if the land w as in the same lati tude as
.
A ucklan d which w as likely as th e vessel had r un

, ,
befo re a westerly wind all th e ti me the boys might ,
ex pect a ho t summer an d very co ld win ter Fo t tun .
ately there w ere o n bo ar d a who le heap o f clothes r eady

fo r an excursio n Of man y weeks In the seamen s
’
.
chests there were tro users linen fr o cks waterpro of , ,
co ats an d thick j erseys that could b e made to fit big

, ,
o r li ttle an d en able them to defy th e rigours o f th e

,
wi n ter If ci rcumstan ces o bliged them to abando n the

.
scho on er each could t ak e away wi th hi m a co mple te

,
set Of b eddi ng fo r th e bunks w ere well suppli ed wi th

,
mattr esses sheets blankets pillo ws an d quilts and

, , , , ,
wi th care these things would last a lo ng ti me .
A long ti me ! That might mean fo r ev er In G o r .
do n s note book there w as also a li st Of the instr umen ts

’
-
THE F IRST DAY ASHORE 31
on b oard ! two aneroid baro meters a Spirit ther ,
mo meter tw o chro no meters several copper speaking

, ,
trumpet 3 three t elesco pes Of short and long range a

, ,
binnacle compass an d tw o smaller ones a storm glass

, ,
-
in dicating the appro ach o f t empestuo us weather ,
sev eral Bri ti sh ensigns and j acks and a set o f signalli n ,

g
flags And there was also a Halk ett bo at a li tt le
.
—
in die rubb er canoe which folds up lik e a b ag and i s
-
,
large eno ugh to take a perso n acro ss a river o r lake .
There were plenty o f t o o ls in the carpenter s chest ’
b ags Of nails turrels screws and iro n nuts and ban ds

, , ,
Of all so rts fo r repairin g the yacht Thread and needles .
w er e no t w an tin g fo r the moth er s had prepar ed fo r

,
frequent mending s Ther e was no risk o f being de

.
p ri v ed o f fi re f o r wi th
, o ut r ec ko n in g m a tc h es th er e
were enough tinder box es and tin der to last fo r a lo ng
-
time .
There were some large scale chart s but only fo r the ,
coast o f New Zealand and co nsequently useless fo r ,
the part wh er e they had been wr ecked b ut luckily

Go rdo n had bro ught w ith him a general atlas an d the ,
y a cht 3 li
’
br a r y in clud e d sev er a l g oo d w o rk s o f t rav el
and manuals Of sci en ce t o say n o thi ng o f Robin son
,
Cruso e and the Sw iss Family Robinso n which

”
, ,
”
Service had saved fro m the w reck as did Camo ens his
Lusiad And o f co urse Garn ett had taken goo d
.
”
care that his famo us acco r dio n had co me Off safe and
so un d Wh en the r eading mat erial s had b een dispo sed
.
of , the writing mat erials were no t ed do wn There .
were pens and pencils and ink and paper an d an al , ,
manack fo r 188 0 which was at o nce handed o ver to

,
Bax t er fo r hi m to can cel each day as it elapsed .
It w as o n the 1 0th Of March said he that w e , ,
came asho r e Well o ut go es the ro th o f March and

.
,
all t he days b efo r e it .
In th e stro ng b o x Of the yacht there w as from I 501 .
in go ld which might co me in useful if the boys reached

,
so me port from whi ch they could get home .
G ordon t o o k careful stock Of th e casks stowed in the

32 ADRIFT IN T HE PACIFIC
ho ld Many o f them containi ng spiri t s ale o r wine
.
, , , ,
had been sto ve while th e yacht w as being dashed ab Out

o n the reef But there wer e still a hundred gallo ns o f
.
clar et and sherry fifty gallo ns o f gi n brandy and

, , ,
whi sky and fo rty ho gsheads o f ale besi des thirty bo ttles
, ,
o f different li queurs in straw envelo pes which had no t

been bro ken .
SO that fo r so me time at least the fift een surv ivors ,
Of the scho oner were in no fear Of starv ation It .
r em ain ed to b e seen if th e co untry wo uld yield anythi n

g
to allo w o f th eir pro vi sio ns being eco no mized If it .
w as an islan d o n whi ch th e storm had throw n them ,
they could hardly ho pe to get away fro m it unless a ,
shi p wer e t o appear and mak e o ut their signals To .
repair the yacht an d mak e goo d the damage t o th e hull ,
wo uld b e a task beyo nd their power and require to o ls ,
they did no t po ssess T o build a new bo at o ut Of the

.
r uins o f the Old o ne did no t ent er their minds and as ,
th ey knew nothin g Of navigatio n ho w were they t o ,
cro ss the Pacific to get back t o New Zealand ? In

th e sch o oner 5 b e ats they might have go t away
’
, ,
per haps ! but the bo ats had go ne ex cept the yaw ] , ,
an d th at at the o ut si de w as only fit fo r sailing alo ng

th e co ast .
Abo ut no on the yo ungsters headed by Mo ko

, , ,
r eturn ed They had after a time qui eted do w n an d

.
set seri o usly t o wo rk an d th ey h ad bro ught back a

,
g oo d st o r e o f Sh ellfi sh wh i ch th e cab in b o,y un d er t o o k -
t o get r ea dy A s t o eggs there o ught to b e a gr eat

.
,
quantity fo r M o ko had no ted the presence o f innumer

,
able r o ck pigeo ns o f an edi ble kind nestling o n th e

higher le dges Of the cliff .
Th at i s all right sai d Briant One Of these

, .
mo rnings w e will go o ut after them and get a ,
lo t .
We to do that said Mo ko
ar e sur e Thr ee o r ,
.
four sho ts will gi ve us pigeo ns by the do zen It will .
b e ea sy to get to th e nest s if w e let o urselves do wn with a

CHAPTE R IV
THE VIE W FROM THE CAPE

WAS it an islan d o r a co n tinen t ? Th at w as the
,
q uesti o n constan tly occupying the min ds o f Brian t ,
G o rdon, and Do nagan w h o by th eir character and

,
in telligence were th e chiefs o f thi s li ttle wo rld Th ink .
ing Of th e future when th e youn gsters o n ly tho ught o f

th e presen t they Often talked to gether o n th e subj ect
, .
Whether it w as insular o r con tin ental the lan d w as ,
evi den tly no t in th e t ro pi cs Th at co uld b e seen by

.
—
th e vegetati on o aks b eeches b irch es el ders pin es
, , , , ,
an d fi rs o f difl er ent so rt s an d several o f th e myr t ac eae

,
an d sax i fr agacea e whi ch ar e n eith er sh r ubs n o r t rees .
It seemed as though the co un try must b e n earer the

so uth ern pole than New Zealan d and if so a sever e, ,
winter mi ght b e an tici pated lready a thick carpet

. A
Of dead leaves cov ered the groun d in the wo o d n ear
th e cli ff ! the ines and firs al o ne retainin g their fo li age
E
.
That is W sai d Gordon th e morning after the

,
wr eck I thought it best no t to lo ok o ut fo r a permanent

settlement hereabout s .
That i s what I think sai d Do nagan , If w e .
wai t fo r the b ad seaso n i t wi ll b e to o late to get to

,
sc>me inh abit ed part fo r w e ma h av to h un dre d

, y e g o s
0 f miles
”
.
But w e are only in the fi rst h alf Of March sai d ,
Brian t .
Well sai d Do n agan

, Th e fi ne weather may
.
A
last till th e end o f pril an d in six weeks w e might get
,
well o n the road

If there is a ro ad
An d why Sho uldn t there b e
’
”
Q u i t e so , sai d G o r don B u t if th er.e is , do y o u
kno w where it leads
THE VIE W FROM THE C APE 35
I kn ow o ne thing said Do n ag an , It will b e .
absur d n o t to have left th e sch o oner b efore the co ld

an d rai n y seaso n and to do th at w e need no t see o nly
, ,
di fficulti es at each step .
Better see them th an st art Ofl like fools acro ss a

coun try w e kn ow nothi n g about .
It i s easy to call peo ple fo o ls when they don t ’
think th e same as yo u do ”
.
Do n agan s observati on mi ght h av e soon led to a

’
quarrel had no t Gordon intervened .
There is no good in arguing Let us un derstand .
each o ther . Do nagan is right i n saying that if w e are

n ear an inh abi ted coun try w e sho uld get there wi th o ut
delay But Bri ant says Is it po ssible w e are near to
. ,
such a coun try ? and th ere is no h arm in th at

”
.
”
But Go rdon sai d Do nagan, if yo u go to the ,
n or th o r th e so uth o r th e east yo u mus t get to the

, , ,
peo ple in time ”

.
Yes if w e are o n a co n tin ent sai d Briant

,
an d , ,
no t o n an i slan d perh aps a deser t islan d

, .
That is why w e ought to fin d o ut sai d Go rdon , .
To leav e th e schoo ner before w e know whether th er e

i s o r is n o t a sea to th e east o f us
It i s the schoo ner th at will leave us sai d D o negan , .
She c ann ot las t o ut th e win ter st o rms o n thi s beach

”
.
Agreed sai d Gordo n but befo re w e v en ture into

, ,
th e interio r w e must kn ow where w e are going

’
.
”
I ll go o ut an d reco nn o i tre sai d Bri an t
’
.
,
SO will I sai d Do nagan

, .
”
We ll all go sai d Go rdo n b ut w e do n t wan t to
’
, ,
’
drag th e yo ungsters with us and tw o o r three Of us ,

”
w ill be eno ugh .
It i s a pity sai d Briant that there i s no hi gh hill

, ,
fro m which w e co uld h ave a goo d vi ew Th e lan d li es .
lo w and ev en from th e o fli ng I saw no elev ati o n

,
The .
highest gro und seems to b e thi s cliff Beyo nd i t I .
suppo se there are forest s and plai ns and marshes , ,
thro ugh which the stream r uns

”
.
W e ought to h av e a loo k ov er the co untry before

A DRIFT IN THE PAC IFIC
trying to get r oun d th e cliff where Bri an t and I failed
to fin d th e cave .
Well , we ll
’
try the nor th, sai d Bri an t If w e .
can get up th e cape at th e far end, w e might see a long
Th at cape sai d Gor do n is 2 50 o r 300 feet hi gh

, , ,
and o ught to lo o k right o ver t he cli ff .
I ll go sai d Bri an t
’
.
,
Th e b ay en ded in a huge pile o f r ocks like a hill ,
ri sing in to a peak o n th e si de n earest the sea Alo ng .
the cur ve of the beach i t w as seven o r eight miles away

but in a b ee line as the Ameri can s say i t w as pro bably
, ,
n o t mo re than fi v e an d G o r do n h ad n o t o ver es timated

,
-
th e height of th e bill at 300 feet from th e sea level -

.
W as this suffi ci en tly hi gh fo r a good view over th e

co un try ? Wo uld no t th e landscape b e shut in by hi gh
g r o un d to th e eastw ar d ? B u t at lea st i t wo uld b e
seen i f the coas t line con tin ued tow ar ds the n o r th o r

-
no t .
And so it w as decided that th e ex plorati o n should b e

made an d that the w reck Sh o uld no t be aban do ned
un til It h ad b een discovered whe ther th e boys had bee n
cast o n an island o r a co n tin en t, whi ch could only b e
th e Ameri can continent But no start co uld b e made .
fo r th e n ex t fi v e days, o wi ng t o th e weather hav in g

become misty and rai n y ! an d un til the wind freshen ed
to blo w the fo g away, th e vi ew would no t be wo rth th e
c t
as en .
The days were no t lost They were spen t in work . .
Brian t made it hi s duty to lo ok after the yo un ger bo ys ,
as if to watch over them wi th paternal affecti o n w as a
wan t Of his nature Than ks to his constan t car e, they

.
wer e as well looked af ter as circumstances permi tted .
The wea ther w as getti ng co lder and he made them put ,
o n warmer clothes fr om th e stor es foun d in th e seamen s

’
chests an d this gave a go od deal of tai loring work in

, ,
which the scissors were more in re uest than the needle, q

an d Moko greatly di sti ngui sh ed himself Costar Do le .
, ,
J enkins and Iverso n wer e elegantly attired in tr o users

,
T HE I
V EW FR O M T HE CAPE 37
j
and erse s y much too roomy fo r them but reduced to a ,
ro per length Of ar m and leg The o th ers were no t

p
Under Gar nett o r Bax ter they were 05 amo ng
.
Idle.
,
th e r ocks at lo w ti de gathering mo llusks o r fi shin g

, ,
wi th lines and nets at the mo uth Of th e stream amusing

themselves to th e advan tage Of all Busy In a w ay .
th at pleased them they har dly tho ught o f the po si ti o n

,
in which they wer e placed an d they did n o t kno w ho w ,
serio us i t w as When they tho ught o f their par en ts

.
an d fri ends as th ey o ften di d th ey were so rr o w ful

, ,
en o ugh ! b ut th e idea that th ey would never see them

ag ai n n ever occurred to th em .
Go r do n an d Brian t seldom left the wreck Servi ce .
w as wi th them a good deal an d w as alw ays go o d tem ,

-
pered an d useful He liked Bri an t and had never

.
,
j o ined Do nagan s party an d Briant w as no t insensible

’
to his lo yalty .
Thi s is first r ate sai d Servi ce , Th e scho o n er .
must have been dropped gen tly o n th e beach by so me

g o od fa ir y ! Th er e w a s n o such luck a s thi s wi th
Ro binson Crusoe no r the Swiss family
’
.
Y o ung J ack gr ew str anger in hi s mann er every day .
Altho ugh h e helped his bro ther in many ways yet he ,
r arely repli ed to a que s ti o n an d tur ned away hi s eyes ,
when ever he w as looked at in the face Bri an t w as .
seri o usly un easy at all this Being his seni o r by so me

.
fo ur years he had always had a go o d deal o f infl uen ce

,
o ver him an d ever sin ce they h ad come o n bo ar d th e

,
scho o ner h e had n oticed th at J ack se emed like a b o y

affli cted wi th r emo rse H ad he don e an ythin g that he
.
dared no t tell hi s bro th er ? Several times Bri ant

n o ti ced that hi s eyes wer e red fr o m crying W as J ack .
g o in g t o b e seri o us ly ill ? If so h o w co uld they loo k ,
aft er him ? Here w as tro uble in store And so

Brian t asked his brother qui etly what ai led him .
There s nothi ng the matter wi th me answered

’ ”
,
J ack And that w as all he co uld get fro m him

. .
Durin g the 1 1 th and I sth o f March Bo nagan Wilcox , , ,
Webb and Cro ss wen t sho o ti ng ro ck pigeo ns They

, .
38 AD RIFT IN THE PAC IFIC
al ways kept together and it was Obv ious that they

,
wished to form a clique apar t fro m the rest Go rdo n .
felt anx io us about this ! h e saw that tr ouble must come

o f it an d when an o ppor tuni ty o fl ered h e spo k e about
,
i t an d tried to make th e disco n ten ted ones un derstand

,
how necessary uni o n w as fo r th e go od of th e co mmuni ty .
But D o n agan repli ed to his advances so coldly that h e

thought it unreaso nable to insist though he di d n o t
despai r o f destro ying the germs o f dissensio n which
might have deplorable r esults fo r events might ten d ,
to bring abo ut an un d er standi ng w h ere advi ce failed .
Wh ile the ex cursio n to the n orth Of th e b ay w as

sto pped by th e misty weather Do nagan and hi s fri en ds
,
had plen ty Of sport . He w as really an ex cellent sho t ,
and h e w as very pro ud o f hi s skill and despised such ,
con tr i van ce s as traps ne ts an d sn ares in whi ch Wilco x

, , ,
delighted Webb w as a goo d han d with th e gun b ut

.
,
di d no t pretend to eq ual Do nagan Cro ss had very .
li ttle o f the sacred fi re an d con ten ted himself w i th

,
prai sing his cousin s pro wess Fan the do g di stin

’
.
, ,
ui sh ed herself highly and made no hesitatio n in

g ,
j u m pi n g i n to th e w av e
s i n re tr i e ving th e so mewha t
miscellan eous victims o f th e guns Mo ko refused to .
have an ythi ng to do wi th the co rmoran ts gulls , ,
seamew s an d greb es b ut there were qui te en o ugh r ock

, ,
pigeo ns as well as geese and ducks to serv e his pur po se .
Th e geese were o f the berni cle kind and fr om th e ,
directio n they too k when th e report o f the gun scar ed

them away it w as suppo sed that they lived in th e
,
in terio r of the coun try .
Do nagan shot a few o f th o se oyster catchers which -
liv e o n limpets co ckles an d mussels

, , In fact there .
,
w as plenty o f cho ice altho ugh M o ko foun d i t n o eas y

,
matter to get ri d o f the o ily tas te and did no t always

,
succeed to th e gen er al sati sfacti on But as Gor do n .

,
sai d th e bo ys n eed n o t b e to o parti cular fo r th e mo s t

, ,
must b e made o f th e pro visio ns o n bo ar d .
On the I sth Of M ar ch the weather appeared favour

able fo r the excursion to th e c ape whi ch w as to so lv e
,
m v mw mo m ma CAPE 39
th e pro blem as to island o r co ntinent Duri ng the .
n ight the sky clear ed up the mist whi ch the calm o f th e
p ece g d y
r di n a s h ad a m
ccu ul ted
a land breeze swept
- . A
i t away in a few hours The sun s brig ht rays gi lded
’
.
th e crest o f the cli ff It loo ked as if in the afterno on

.
the eas tern ho rizon would b e clearly v isi ble ! and that
w as the ho rizon o n which their ho pes depended If .
the line o f water con ti nued along i t, the lan d must b e

an i slan d, and th e only ho pe o f rescue w as fr om a shi p .
Th e i dea o f thi s vi sit to th e en d of the b ay, fi rst

occurred it will b e remembered, to Briant, an d he had
,
r eso lved to go o ff alone H e wo uld gladly have been

.
acco mp ani ed by Gordon, b ut h e di d no t feel j ustifi ed in

leav ing his compani ons wi thout an y o ne to loo k after
th em .
On the vening o f the I sth finding the barometer

e ,
remai n ed st eady he to ld Gordo n h e would be o fi at

,
dawn nex t mo rning Ten o r eleven miles there and

.
,
b ack w as n o thing to a healthy lad w ho di d no t mind

,
fatigue The day would be eno ugh fo r th e j o urney

.
,
an d he would b e sure to ge t back befo re night .
Bri an t w as o ff at daybreak with o ut the others kn ow

ing he had gone His weapo ns were only a sti ck an d a
.
revo lver so as to b e pr epared fo r an y wild beast that

,
came along although Bo n agan had no t co me across

,
any in hi s shooting ex pedi ti o ns Wi th these he also

—
.
too k o n e o f th e schoo er s t c p
n eles o es a Splendi d i nstr u
’
men t o f great r ange and clearness o f vision In a bag .
hun g to hi s b elt he to o k a little biscuit and salt meat ,
an d a fl ask o f brandy so as to b e pr epar ed in case an

,
y
adven ture d elayed hi s retur n .
Walking at a good pace he followed the tren d of the ,
co ast alo n g the inn er line o f r eefs his road mar ked by a ,
bo rder o f seaweed still w et wi th th e retiring tide In .
an ho ur h e h ad passed th e ex treme point reached by

Do n agan in his fo r ay after the rock pigeons The .
birds had no thing to fear fro m him no w His o bj ect .
w as to push o n an d reach the fo ot o f the cape as so o n

as po ssi ble The sky was clear of cloud and if the mist
. ,
came back in the aft ern o o n , hi s j o urney might be
useless .
Durin g the first ho ur h e kept o n as fast as he co uld

walk, an d go t over half hi s j o ur ney If no o bstacle .
hi n dered him, he ex pected to reach the pro mo nto ry by

eight o clo ck But as th e clifi r an n ear er to the r eefs
’
.
,
th e beach became mo re di ffi cult to tr averse Th e .
strip o f lan d gr ew so n arr o w th at instead o f th e fi rm

elasti c p ath n ear th e str eam, h e h ad to tak e to the slip
pery ro cks, an d mak e hi s w ay o ver vi sco us seaweed,
an d ro un d deep pools an d over loo se pebbles , o n whi ch
there w as no saf e fo o ting It w as tiring walking, and .
to o k tw o full ho urs mo re than he ex pected

I
.
must get to th e cape before hi gh water, sai d he

t o hi mself Th e beach i s co ver ed by th e t ide, an d
I
.
th e sea r un s up to th e fo o t o f th e cliff If am o bliged

I
.
t o go b ack at all o r to take r efuge o n so me r ock, sh all
g e t th er e to o lat e I mu st ge t o
. n at all c o st b e for e th e
ti de r un s up .
And th e br ave b o y, tr ying to forget the fatigue whi ch

began to creep o ver his limbs, str uck o ut acro ss what
seemed th e sho rt est w ay Man y times he h ad to take
.
o ff hi s b o o ts an d st o cki n gs, an d wade th e poo ls, and

n o w an d then wi th all hi s str engt h an d acti vi ty, he
,
co uld n o t avo id a fall .
It w as here as w e have sai d that the aquatic bir ds

,
were in gr eatest number Th ere were li terally swarms

.
o f p geons, o yster catchers, an d wild ducks

i -
few . A
co uples o f seals were sw immin g amo ng the breakers,
b ut they sho wed no fear, and n ever att empted to di ve .
As they were n o t afrai d, i t lo o ked as tho ugh man y years

h ad elapsed si n ce men had c o me in chase o f them .
Thinki ng fur ther o f the seals, Brian t co ncluded that

th e co as t must b e in a higher lati tude than he h ad
imagined and that it must b e so me dist an ce so uth o f
,
New Zealan d Th e yach t must have drifted to th e

.
so uth west o n her w ay acr o ss the Pacifi c

-
A nd this .
co nj ecture w as co nfi rmed when Bri an t reached the fo o t

o f th e pr omon tor y, an d fo und a flock o f pen ui ns
g .
42 A DRIFT IN THE PAC IFIC
could bar ely reach up them But as he belonged to .
that order o f boys w e classi fy as climbers and brought ,
all his gi fts in to play h e even tually reached the top

, .
With his glass at his eye h e fi rst lo o ked to th e east .
The co un tr y w as fl at as far as he co uld see The cliff .
w as the greatest elevati o n and the gro un d gen tly ,
sloped t o war ds th e in teri o r In th e di stan ce were a .
few hillocks hardly wo rth mentio ni ng There w as .
much fo rest lan d and under the yello w foli age ro se

,
many streams that ran to wards the co as t The sur face .
w as level up to the ho rizo n whi ch might be a dozen ,
miles away It did no t look as tho ugh the sea w as

.
ther e .
To th e no rth Brian t could make o ut th e beach run

ning strai ght away fo r se ven o r eight miles ! beyo n d
another cape and a stretch o f san d th at lo o ked like a
,
huge des er t To the so uth w as a wide marsh Brian t

. .
had sur veyed th e who le sweep of the westerly ho ri zo n .
W as he o n an island o r a co n tin en t ? He could no t

say . If it w as an island it was a large o ne That w as
, .
all he could di scover .
Then he lo o ked to th e westward Th e sea w as shin .
ing under the o blique rays o f th e sun whi ch w as slo wly ,
Suddenly he brought his glass to his eye, and lo o ked

a way into the o fli ng .
Shi ps ! he ex clai med Shi ps go ing past l .
Thr ee black spots appeared o n the circle o f gleaming

waters abo ut fifteen miles away .
Great w as his ex citemen t W as he the sport o f an .
illusion ? Were th ey vessels he saw ?

He lo wered the glass and cleaned the eyepiece , ,
which had C lo uded wi th his breath H e loo ked agai n . .
T he three poin ts lo o ked like ships w i th n othing

v isible b ut th eir hulls There w as n o sign o f their
.
mas ts and no smo ke to sho w that they were under w ay

, .
A n d then th e th o ught o ccurred to him that they ,
were too far o fi for hi s signals to b e seen ! and as i t

w as likely that his companions had n o t seen thes e
THE v mw PRO M m CAPE 43
p
shi s, best thi ng he co uld do w as to get back to
the
the w reck an d light a b ig fi re o n the beach A nd then .
when the sun w en t do w n

A s he tho ught he kept h is eye o n th e thr ee black
spo t s One thi ng w as cer tain
. they did n o t mo ve .
Agai n he lo o ked thr o ugh the glass and fo r so me ,
minutes he kept them in the fi eld o f his o bj ecti ve .
An d then h e saw that they wer e thr ee small islands

th at the scho o n er must have passed close by when
they were hidden In th e mi st .
It w as tw o o clock Th e ti de b egan to retir e leav ing

’
.
,
the li ne of reefs b ar e at the fo ot o f the C lifi Brian t .

,
thinkin g it w as time to return to the wreck prepared ,
to descen d th e hill .
But o n ce agai n he loo ked to the eastward In the .
more obli que po si tion o f the sun he might see somethi ng

that had hither t o escaped hi m An d he di d no t regret .
do ing so fo r beyo nd the border o f fo rest he co uld

no w see a bluish line whi ch stret ched fr om n o rth to
,
so uth fo r man y miles wi th its tw o ends lost behi nd

,
the co nfused mas s o f tr ees .
What is that ? he asked himself .
And agai n he lo o ked .
“
Th e sea l Yes ! Th e sea l
An d the glass almo st dro pped from hi s han ds .
It w as the sea to th e eastward there co uld be no ,
do ubt It w as no t a co ntinen t o n whi ch he had been

cast b ut an island An island in the immensi ty o f the
, .
P acific whi ch i t wo uld b e impo ssible to leave l

,
A n d then all th e perils that begi r t him pr esen ted them

selves to his min d as in a vi sio n His hear t almo st .
ceased to beat But str uggling against the invo luntary

.
weakness he reso lved to do his best to the last however

, ,
threatenin g the future might be .
A quar ter o f an ho ur afterwards he had regain ed the

beach an d by th e same w ay as he had co me in th e
,
mo rni ng he r eturn ed to the wreck He reached i t

m
.
abo ut fi v e o clo ck an d fo un d hi s comrades im tient ly

’
awai ting his retu rn .

CHAPTE R V
A S PE LL o r RAIN
IN th e evening after supper Brian t to ld the bigger
bo ys the result o f his ex plo rati o n Bri efly it w as as .
fo llo ws : to th e east, beyo nd the fo rest zo ne h e h ad ,
di stin ctly seen a lin e o f water ex ten di ng fr o m n o r th to

so uth. That thi s w as the ho ri zo n o f the sea appear ed
in dubi table H
en ce i t w as o n an islan d an d n o t o n a
. .
co n tinen t that the yacht h ad been w recked .
G o rdo n an d th e o thers received the in fo rmati o n with

co nsiderable ex citemen t What ! They wer e o n an
.
i slan d and deprived o f every mean s o f leavin g it !

Their scheme o f fi nding a r o ad to th e eastw ar d wo uld
have to b e abando n ed ! They wo uld have to wai t
till a ship came in sight l Co uld it b e true that thi s
w as their o nly C han ce o f r escue
But w as n o t Bri an t mi staken ? as ked Bo n ag an .
Did yo u n o t mistak e a b ank o f C lo uds fo r th e

sea ? asked Cro ss .
No , answered Bri an t I am certai n I made no

.
mistake What I saw w as a lin e o f water and i t

.
,
fo rmed the h o rizo n .
H o w far o ff w as i t ? asked Wilco x .
A bo ut six miles fro m the cape ”

.
An d b eyo n d th at ask ed Webb

, were there no
mo un tains no elevat ed gr o un d
,
No l N
o thi ng b ut the sky .
Brian t w as so po siti ve that it w as n o t reaso n able to

r etai n th e least d o ubt in th e matt er .
But Do n agan as w as alw ays th e case when he ar gued

,
w i th Brian t co n ti n ued o b stin ate

, .
A n d I repeat that B ri an t h as made a mist ak e .
And un ti l w e h ave seen i t w i th o ur o w n eyes

A S PELL o r RAI N 45
Which h sai d Go rdo n

w e s all do , fo r w e mus t ,
kno w the truth abo ut it .
An d I say w e have no t a day to lo se sai d Baxter , ,
if w e are to le ave thi s place befo re th e b ad weather ,
suppo sin g w e are o n a co n tin ent .
W e will go to mo rrow if the we athe r permi ts

-
, ,
sai d Gordo n W e will start o n an ex pedi tio n that

.
may last so me days I say weather permi tting fo r .

,
to plun ge int o th e forest in b ad weather wo uld be

madness
Agreed Go do n ,
r Bri an t ,An d when ans wered .
w e reach the o ther si de o f th e islan d

If it is an islan d ? interrupted Bonagan .
But it is o n e I replied Bri an t im ti ently I m .
have made no mistake I distin ctly saw the sea in the .
east . It pleases Bo nagan to co n tradi ct me as usual

An d yo u are no t in falli ble Bri an t l ,
No I am no t ! But thi s time I am l I w i ll go my

,
self to thi s sea an d if Bo n agan li kes to co me wi th rue

,
Cer tainly I will go .
An d so will w e sai d three o r four of the bigger boys

, .
”
Go od l sai d Go rdon But don t get ex ci ted .
’
my dear youn g frien ds If w e are o nly bo ys w e may .

,
as well act li ke men Our posi tio n is serious an d an y

.
,
i mpruden ce may make it wo rse W e must no t all .
i n t o thi s fo rest T h e yo un gters canno t co me w i th

g o .
us and w e can no t leave th em all o n th e wreck

,
Do n a .
g a n an d B ri ant m aygo an d two oth ers mayg o w i th ,
them
I 11 go I sai d Wilcox .
So will I l sai d Serv i ce

”
.
Very well sai d Gordo n ,

Fo ur is qui te eno ugh .
If yo u are t o o lo ng co min g back w e can send a few

o thers to your assi st ance w hi le the rest remain wi th th e ,
s ch ooner Don t fo rget that this is o ur camp o ur

.
’
ho use o ur ho me and w e can o nly leave it when w e are

, ,
sure that w e are o n a co n ti nen t .
W e are o n an islan d sai d Briant Fo r the last , .
time I say so l
46 ADRIFT IN THE PAC IFIC
That w e shall see l repli ed B onagan .
Gordo n s sensible advi ce h ad had its effect in calming

’
the discord .
—
Obviously and Brian t saw it clearly
en ough - i —
it w as adv i sable to push thro ugh th e cen tr al
fo rest an d reach the line o f water If it w as a sea to .
th e eastward there might b e o ther i slands separat ed

,
fro m them by a chan nel they might cro ss and if they

wer e o n an island o f an archi pelago surely it w as ,
better to kn o w it befo re taki ng any steps o n whi ch

their saf ety might depend It w as cert ai n that there
.
w as n o lan d to the we st ri ght away to New Zealan d .
Th e o n ly chan ce o f reachi ng an inh abi ted coun try w as

by j o urn eying to war ds the sun ri sing -
.
But i t wo uld n o t be w i se to attempt such an ex pedi

ti o n ex cept in fi ne weather As Go rdo n had j ust sai d
.
,
i t wo uld n o t do t o act like children b ut li ke men ,In .
th e circumstan ces in whi ch they were placed wi th th e ,
future so threatening if the intelli gence o f these b o ys

,
di d no t develo p qui ckly if th e lev i ty an d in co nsi stency

,
natur al at th eir age carri ed th em aw ay o r if di suni o n ,
w as allo wed amo ngst them the po si tion o f things wo uld

,
beco me criti cal And it w as fo r thi s reas o n that

.
Go rdo n reso lved to do everythi ng to mai ntain order

amo ngst hi s co mrades .
However eager Do nagan and Brian t might be to

start a ch an e o f th e weather obli ed th em to wai t
, g g A .
co ld rai n had fallen sin ce th e mo rnin g Th e falling o f .
th e b aro meter in di cated a perio d o f squally weather o f ,
which i t w as impo ssible to predi ct the duratio n It .
wo uld have been to o risky to venture o ut under such

cir cumstan ces .
But w as thi s t o b e regretted Assuredly no t That .
all were in a hur ry t o kno w i f th e sea surro un de d them ,
may be imagin ed But even if they were sure o f bein g

.
o n a co n tin en t were they li kely to venture into a

,
co un try they kn ew nothing about and that when th e ,
r ai n y seaso n w as co min
g o n S uppo se t h e jo urne y
w as to ex t en d to hun dreds o f miles could they bear ,
the fatigues ? Wo uld even the strongest among them

A S PE LL o r RAIN 47
rea ch th e end ? No l to carry o ut such an ex pedi tion

w i th success it must b e put o fi till the days were long
, ,
an d th e in clemen cy o f win t er overpas t An d so they

.
would have to co n tent themselves wi th spen din g the

r ai n y season at th e wreck .
Go rdo n h ad meanwhile been trying to find o ut in

what part o f the ocean they h ad been wrecked His .
at las co n t ai n ed a seri es o f maps o f the Pacific In .
tracing the co urse fro m Aucklan d to the American co ast

h e fo un d that the n ear est i slan ds passed to the n o rth
were th e So ciety I slan ds Easter I slan d an d th e island
, ,
of J uan Fern andez o n whi ch S elkirk a real Cruso e

,
—
h ad passed so much o f hi s li fe To the so uth there
.
w as n o t an islan d up to th e bo un dary o f th e Ant arcti c

Ocean To th e east there were o nly the Archi pelago es
.
o f th e Chi lo e I slan ds an d M adr e de Di o s alo ng th e ,
co ast o f Patagonia an d lower do wn were tho se abo ut

,
th e S tr ai ts of M agellan and Ti erra del Fuego whi ch are ,
lashed by the terri ble sea ro un d Cape Ho rn .
If the scho o ner h ad been c as t o n o ne of these un

in habi ted islan ds o ff th e Pat ago ni an pampas ther e ,
wo uld be hundreds of miles to b e traversed to reach

C hrli o r th e Argen tin e Republi c A nd th e bo ys wo uld
.
hav e to act with great circumspection if they were n o t

to p erish miserably i n cro ssing the un kn o wn .
So thought Go rd o n Brian t an d Bax ter loo ked at the

.
matt er in th e same w ay And do ubtless Do nagan an d

.
the o thers wo uld i n the end agr ee with them

, , .
Th e scheme o f ex plo ring th e eastern co ast w as no t

g i ve n up b ut
, d uri n g th e n ex t fo r tn i ght i t w as im p o ssi b le
to put i t in to ex ecution The weather w as abo minable

.
,
n othin g b ut r ain fro m mo rni ng to night and violen t ,
Squalls .Th e w ay thro ugh th e fo rest would have been

impr acti cable an d th e ex pedi tio n h ad to b e postponed
’
n o twi th st anding the keen d esire to unravel th e myst ery

of co n ti nent o r islan d .
Duri ng these sto rmy days the boys remained at th e

wreck b ut they were no t idle They were co nstantly
, .
at work making good the d amage do ne to the yacht

by the inclemen t weather fo r o win g to the wet the ,
planks began to give and the deck ceased to be water ,
tight In places the rain wo uld co me in through the

.
j o ints where the caulking had been to rn away an d this ,
h ad to b e made go o d without delay Repai rs wer e .
also n eeded to step no t only the water ways b ut th e -

,
ai r ways Opened in th e hull

-
Gordo n wo uld have used .
so me of th e S pare sails fo r the purp ose b ut he could ,
n o t bri ng himself to sacrifi ce th e thi ck can vas whi ch
might co me in so useft fo r tents an d so he did th e ,
bes t he co uld with tarpaulins .
Besides thi s ther e w as the urgent questi o n of finding

,
a better shelt er Even if they di d go eas tward they

.
,
could no t mo ve fo r fi v e o r six months and the schoo ner ,
wo uld no t last as lo ng as that and if they had to aban ,
do n h er in th e rai n y se aso n where were they to fi nd a ,
refuge ? The cli ff o n its western face had no t th e

, ,
sli ghte s t in den t atio n that co uld b e utilized It w as .
o n th e other Si de where i t w as sh eltered fro m the win d

,
fro m the sea that sear ch must be made and if neces

, , ,
sary a ho use built large en ough to ho ld them all

, .
M ean while the car go w as do ne up into bales an d

packages all duly numbered and en tered in Go rdon s ’
po cket bo o k so that when i t became neces sary they

-
,
co uld be quickly car ried away under th e trees .
Whenever the weather w as fi ne fo r a few ho urs ,
Do n agan Wilco x an d Webb wen t o ff after the pigeo n s

, , ,
whi ch Mo ko mo re o r les s successfully co o ked In difi erent

ways Garnett Service Cro ss and th e yo ungsters
.
, , , ,
in cludin g J ack when hi s b ro th er in sisted o n i t wen t

, ,
away fi shi ng Among the sho als of fi shes th at haunted

.
the weeds o n th e reef w ere man y specimens o f th e

g e n us n o t o th eni a an d h ak e o f large si ze
, an d in an d ,
o ut amo ng th e thon gs o f th e huge fuco i ds some o f ,
which w ere four hun dred feet lo ng w as a pro digi ous ,
quantity o f small fi sh that could b e caught by th e han d .
It w as a treat to hear th e ex clamatio ns o f the youth

ful fi shers as they drew their nets o r lines to th e edge
o f th e reef .
mous ch elo nian s that usually met with floating o n ar e
th e sur face o f th e sea This time it h ad been surprised
.
o n th e beach , an d w as seeking to regai n i ts n atural
In vai n th e boys w ho had sli pped a stri ng ro un d its

,
n eck w er e t ryin g to keep th e an i mal back

,
H e kept .
mo vi ng o ff wi th irresi sti ble stren gth draggi ng th e who le ,
ban d behi nd hi m Fo r a lark J enkins had per ched

.
Co s tar o n the back wi th Do le astri de behind hi m !

,
an d th e yo ungst er began to scream wi th fright as th e

tur tle Slo wly n eared the water .
Ho ld o n ! Ho ld o n Costar ! sai d Gordon , .
Take care yo ur ho rse doesn t get the bit between ’
hi s t eeth ! shout ed Servi ce .
Bri an t co uld n o t help laughing ! fo r th ere w as no

dan ger A s so on as Do le let go Costar h ad only to
.
,
sli p o ff to b e safe .
But i t w as advisable to catch th e animal an d if

Bri an t an d th e o thers uni ted th eir effo rts to tho se o f
th e li ttle o n es they mi ght stop hi m
, an d th ey must
p u t a stopp e r o n hi s p ro gr ess b efo re h e r ea ch ed t h e
water where he wo uld b e safe

, .
Th e revo lvers Go rdon an d Brian t had bro ught wi th

them fro m the scho o ner w ere useless fo r the shell o f ,
a tur tle is bullet proof an d if they attacked him wi th

-
the ax e h e wo uld dr aw in his head and paddles and

,
b e un as sailable .
There is only o ne way sai d Gordon ! w e must ,
turn him o ver !

An d h o w ? sai d S ervi ce H e must w eigh at .
leas t three hundredweight an d w e can never ,
G et so me Spar s ! G et so me spars ! sai d Bri an t .
A n d fo llo wed by M o ko h e ran o ff to the schooner ,

.
Th e tur tle w as no w n o t mo re than thirty yards fro m

the sea Go rdo n so o n had Co star an d Do le 03 i ts
.
back an d then seizing the stri ng they all pulled as

, ,
har d as they co uld wi tho ut in th e leas t stopping th e

,
advance o f th e an imal w hi ch co uld have dragged all ,
C ha rman s schoo l behin d i t

’
.
P
A S E LL o r RAIN 5 1
Luckily Brian t
, an d Mo ko re turned befo re the tur tle
rea ched the sea .
Two spars were then run un derneath it and with a ,
gr ea t effor t he w as p i tch ed o ver o n his b ack Th en h e .
w as a prisoner fo r he could n o t turn o ver o n to hi s feet

, .
An d j ust as he w as draw ing in his head Bri an t gave ,
hi m such a crack wi th th e hatchet th at h e died almo st ,
immedi ately .
Well Co star are yo u still afraid o f this big br ute

, ,
asked Bri an t .
No ! N o ! Brian t fo r he s dead
’
.
,
Good sai d S ervice b ut yo u daren t eat him I

’
Can yo u eat hi m
Certai nly .
Then I ll eat him if he s good sai d Costar li cki ng

’
,
’
, ,
hi s li ps at the tho ught .
It is good stufi said Mo ko who w as qui te within

, ,
th e truth in saying that turtle meat w as qui te a ,
As they could no t thi nk of car rying aw ay the turtle

as a who le th ey h ad t o cut i t up wher e i t w as
, Thi s .
w as no t very pleas ant b ut the boys h ad begun to get ,
used to th e occas i o nally disagr eeable n ecessi ties o f

Crusoe li fe The mo st di fficult thing w as to break into
.
th e car apace fo r i ts metallic hardn ess turn ed th e edge

,
o f th e ax e . They succeeded at last in dri ving in a co ld

chisel be tween the plates Then the meat cut away in .
,
pieces w as carri ed to the scho o ner And that day the

, .
bo ys h ad an o ppo r tuni ty o f co nv incing themselves that

tur tle so up w as ex quisi te to say no thing o f the grilled ,
fl esh which Service had unfo rtun ately let burn a li ttle
over to o fi erce a fi re Even Fan Sho wed in her w ay that
.
th e rest of th e animal w as no t to b e despised by th e

cani ne race
—
.
Th e turtle yi elded o ver fifty po un ds o f me t a

a
g r eat sav i n g to th e stor es o f th e yacht .
In this w ay th e mo n th o f M arch en ded During .
th e three weeks since the wreck all the bo ys h ad do ne

th eir bes t prepari n g fo r a long stay o n thi s par t o f the
52 ADRIFT IN THE PA IFIC C
co ast . Befo re th e w in ter set in th ere remai ned to
b e settled thi s import an t questi on o f continent o r
island .
A
On th e 1 st of pril the w eather gave signs of chan ging .
The b aromet er slo wly r ose an d the win d began to ,
moderate There were unmistakable symptoms o f

.
an appro achin g calm of perhaps longi sh dura ti o n .
Th e bigger bo ys discussed th e matter an d began to ,
prepare fo r an ex pedition, the importan ce o f which was

o b v i o us to all .
I don t think there ll be anything to stop us to

’ ’
mo rrow ,
”
d Do negan sai .
N othi ng I ho pe sai d Brian t , W e o ught to b e ,

”
.
ready to get away early .
”
I understan d sai d Gordon that the lin e o f
, ,
water yo u saw in the east was six o r seven miles from

”
th e cape .
”
Yes sai d Brian t
, but as the b ay i s a dee p curve ,
it is possible that the sea may b e much n earer here .
Then co n tinued Gordo n yo u will no t be away

, ,
more than twen ty four ho urs -
That is i f w e can go due east But can w e fi nd a

, .
w ay through th e fo rest when w e h ave go t ro und thi s

clifi
Oh that won t stop us I sai d Do nagan ’
.
Perh aps n o t sai d Brian t b ut there may b e

o ther obstacles— a waterc o urse a marsh who know s
, ,
, ,
It w ill be best I thi nk to take ratio ns fo r some days

,
And ammuni tio n added Wilco x , .
Q u i t e so sai d B r ia n t a n
, d let i t b e un d erst o o d ,
that if w e ar e no t back in two days yo u need n o t b e

”
anx io us .
I shall be anxious if yo u are away more than half a

day , sai d Go rdon But that i s no t the questio n . .
As the ex pedi tio n h as been decided o n let it pro c ee d , .
Yo u h ave no t o nly to reach this eastern sea b ut to ,
reconno i tre the coun try behi n d th e cliff This si de w e .
hav e foun d no cave and when w e leave the schooner ,
we shall h av e to carry the thi ngs where they ll b e

’
A S PE LL OF RAIN 53
h t
s el ered from the sea breeze To spend the rai ny .
season o n this beach seems to me impracti cable .
Yo u are right Gordon ,answered Brian t

, an d ,
we ll look o ut fo r some place where w e can instal o ur

’
s elve
s .
At leas t , until w e have found that w e canno t get

o ut o f thi s pretended island, sai d Do nagan , returni ng
t o hi s i dea .
That is understoo d, said Go rdon, al though the

seaso n is already rather advanced t any rate, w e ll . A ’
act fo r th e best .
-
S
o to morro w yo u start !
Preparati o ns were soo n fi nished Four days pro vi
’
.
si ons were stow ed in bags to b e car ried over th e shoul

d e rs ,f ur guns, our ev lvers two boarding ax es a
o f r o -
, ,
pocket compass, a po werful telesco pe, and th e usual

pocket utensils matches an d tin der b o x seemed enough
,
-
fo r a short ex pedi tion that w as n o t w i thout i ts dangers .
S
Brian t an d Donegan , and ervi ce and Wilcox , w ho were
to go with them, were cauti o ned to b e careful no t to
push forward without extreme circumspecti on, and
v to separate
ne er .
Go rdo n co uld no t help feeling that he would hav e been

o f use to keep Bri an t an d Do nagan to ether B ut i t
g .
appeared to hi m th e better plan t o remai n at the wreck ,
so as to watch the younger boys 5 0 he took Bri an t .
apar t an d made him promise to avo id any subj ect that

,
Th e ho pes o f the w eather were reali zed Befo re .
nightfall th e last C louds h ad vanish ed in the west .
The li n e of sky and sea met in a clear hori zon The .
magnificen t constellati o ns o f th e southern hemi sphere

sparkled in the fi rrnament , the o uthern Cross co nspi S
cuo usly po in ting to th e n t arcti c Pole A .
On th e ev e of their separati o n Gordo n and hi s co m

rades were sad at heart A nd as their eyes sought th e
.
sky there came to them th e thought of the fath ers and

,
mo thers and friends and country that they might nev er

see again .
C HAPTER VI
THE RAFT
g
Bri an t , Do nagan an d Serv ice w en t o ut o n a lo n exp lo rin g exp edi
v d
tio n an d di sco v er ed th at so meo n e h ad li ed an d i ed o n t h e Islan d
b efo r e t h eir co mi n g, fo r t h e y fo un d th e r uin ed aj o u a o r h ut In w hi ch
g
h e h ad li v ed, r o ugh to o ls h e h ad made , a b o las fo r un t in an d a map
w hi ch sh o w ed t h e place t o b e a large islan d w i th a go o dly ri v er ,
lake an d den se for es ts . Fin ally, t h ey came acr oss hi s skelet o n an d

b uri ed i t. Fro m th e pape rs o f t h e unfo r tunate man th ey learned
t h at h e w as a Fre n ch sailo r F ran oo is Ba udo i n an d t h at h e had
, ,
b een cast upo n th e i slan d mo re th an fi ft y years

th ey h ad met w i th a li ke fate Full o f th u s tidi ngs th ey return ed
.
t o th e w reck an d th e res t o f th ei r part y .
TIIE c pti on the ex plo rers met with ca n be imagined

re e .
Gordon Cross Bax ter Garnett and Webb clasped

, , , ,
them in their ar ms w hile th e little ones threw their

,
arms aroun d their n ecks an d shouted fo r joy Fan .
to o k part in th e rej o icing and barked as loudly as th e ,
yo ungsters cheered It seemed so long since Brian t

.
an d his compan i o ns had go n e away .
Were they lost Had they fallen amo ng savages

H ad they been attacked by can ni bals Such were
th e questi ons those w ho remai ned behin d had asked
themselves .
But Bri an t Do nagan Wilco x and Service had come

, , ,
back agai n to tell them th e sto ry o f their ex pedi tio n .
As ho wever they were very ti red after their lo ng day 5

’
, ,
wo rk the story w as po stponed till the morning

, .
W e are o n an i slan d
v
re eal th e troubles in sto re fo r them, although Gordon re
cei v ed th e n ews wi tho ut be traying much disco uragemen t .
Go o d I I ll wai t he seemed to say to himself

’
,
”
,
and no t t rouble myse lf abo ut i t till i t co mes .
N t mo rning the sth f April Go rdon Brian t

ex — o — , ,
T HE RAFT 55
Bo nagan, Cro ss Wilco x Service Webb

Bax t er , , , , ,
Garnett , Mo ko whose advice w as always

and also ,
v aluable , ga t er d
to geth er in th e b o w o f the yacht
h e ,
while the others were still asleep In turns Brian t and .
Do nagan to ld th eir co mrades all that h ad happened .
They to ld them h o w a causeway acro ss a stre am an d ,
th e remai n s o f an aj o upa h ad led them to beli eve th at

th e coun try w as inh abited They ex plai ned h o w the
.
wide sheet o f water they h ad at fi rst tak en fo r the sea

w as no thi ng b ut a lake ho w fresh tr aces th ey h ad co me
upo n led th em to th e cave n ear where th e str eam fl o wed
,
o ut of th e lake how the bo n es o f Fran co is Baudo in

h ad been di sc o vered an d ho w the map made by him
sho wed that i t w as an islan d o n whi ch th e sch o oner
had been wrecked .
Th e sto ry w as to ld in full nei ther Brian t n o r B onagan

,
omi tting the smallest detail an d no w all w h o lo o ked

at th e map un dersto o d o nly to o well that help co uld
come to them b ut fr om th e sea .
However if the future presen ted itself in th e glo o miest

,
co lours an d th e bo ys co uld only place their hope in

,
G o d th ere w as o n e who felt much less alarmed than th e

,
others and that w as Gordo n The yo ung American

,
.
h ad no relati ves in New Zealan d A n d to his practi cal .

,
metho di cal o rganizing min d there w as no thi ng so

, ,
very diffi cult in the task o f fo unding a co lo ny He saw .
th e C han ce that offered fo r th e ex erci se o f his n atural

g ift, an d h e d id n o t h esi t ate to ke e p u p th e S p i ri ts o f
his comrades by promising them a fairly go od time if
they wo uld o nly help hi m .
An d in th e fi rst place as th e islan d w as o f co nsi derable

,
size it seemed impo ssib le th at it w as no t marked o n th e

,
map o f the Pacific near th e Ameri can co ast Th ey .
t urned to the atlas b ut no island o f impo rt an ce co uld

,
th ey fi nd o utsi de the Archipelago es whi ch in clude th e

Fuegian o r Magellanic Islands an d those o f Deso lati o n , ,
Q u een A d elai de C la r en ce e t c
,
et c ,If i t h.ad bee n in
, .
o ne o f these Archi pelag o es an d o n ly separ at ed fr o m the

,
co ntinen t by n arrow ch ann els Baudo in wo uld cert ainly ,

have shown it o n hi s map an d thi s h e had no t done , .
It mus t be a lo nely islan d and pro bably more to the ,
n o r th o r th e so uth th an the s e Archi pelag o es But .
wi tho ut th e necessary elemen ts o r instrumen ts i t w as

i mpo ssible to fix i ts posi tio n in the Pacifi c .
A ll that co uld b e do ne at pres ent w as to take up thei r

quart ers and make themselves comfortable before the
w et seaso n had made i t impossi ble to mo ve .
Th e bes t thing to do sai d Brian t is to mo v e into

, ,
the ca v e near the lake It would make a capital place

.
to live in .
Is i t large eno ugh to hold th e lo t o f us ? asked

Bax ter .
No , wered Do nagan b ut I thi nk w e could

ans ,
make it larger by di ggi ng o ut another cave from i t .
W e h av e to o ls
Let us try it first as it is said Gordon an d if i t , ,
is too small w e can

And let us get there as so o n as we can interrupted ,
Bri an t .
Th e matter w as urgen t As Gordo n had said th e .

,
scho o ner became less habi t able every day The late .
rain s and th e h o t sun h ad o pen ed up the cr acks in th e
hull and deck considerably The torn sails allo wed the .
win d and water to fi nd their w ay insi de The san d o n .
which it rested had been undermi ned an d it had slanted ,
further over an d sunk deeper in to th e sand If a .
sto rm were to co me there w as every chance o f the

,
w reck going to pieces in a few ho urs Th e sooner the .
bo ys cleared o ut th e better an d i t would b e well fo r ,
them to take th e hull to pieces methodi cally so as to ,
secur e all that wo uld b e useful such as beams planks , , ,
i ro n co ppe r wi th a view o f pro perly fitting up Fren ch

, ,
Den , as th e cave h ad b een called i n memo ry o f the

shi pwr ecked Fren chman .
And in the mean time where shall we liv e ? asked

Do nagan .
In a tent , an swered Gordon . In a tent under

the trees by the ri ver side-
.
58 ADR IFT IN T H E PACIFIC
By th e sth of April there o nly remai ned o n the
I
schooner such things as were to o h eavy to move until
sh e h ad br oken up— amo ng them th e pigs o f lead used
fo r b allast the water t an ks in th e ho ld th e W indlas s
,
-
, ,
an d th e galley whi ch w ere to o heavy to b e t ak en away

,
wi tho ut apparatus The spars an d rigging shro uds

. , ,
an d stays of iro n chai ns an cho rs ropes hawsers

, , , , ,
lin es yarns an d such thin gs o f whi ch there w as a

, , ,
g re at q uan ti ty o n t h e y acht w ere g r adually re m o v ed ,
to th e gro un d n ear th e ten t .
Busy as th ey were wi th this wo rk th e wants o f each ,
day w ere n o t neglected Do nagan Webb an d Wilco x

.
, ,
devo ted a few ho urs t o Sho o ting the ro ck pigeo ns and

th e bir ds fre quentin g th e marsh T h e yo ungsters w en t .
searching fo r mo llusks when th e ti de left th e r ee f bare .
It w as pleasant to see Jenkins Iverso n D o le and Co star , , ,
hun ting abo ut in the po o ls li ke a lo t of ducklings ,
an d so me times getting their legs w et so as to b e

sco lded by the severe Go rdo n and ex cused by ,
th e gen tler Briant J ack also went o ut w ith the

.
youngsters but he never j o in ed in their sho uts o f

,
laughter .
Things w en t o n satisfactorily and metho dically ,
thanks to Go rdo n who se soun d co mmo n sen se was

,
seldom at fault Ev idently Bo n agan gave in to him

.
when he wo uld n o t give in to Briant o r any o n e else .
An d harmo n y reign ed in the li ttle wo rld .
But ther e w as n eed o f despatch Th e sec o n d fo rt .
night o f April w as less fi n e The mean temperatur e .
sen si bly fell an d man y times during th e early mo rnin

,
g
th e thermo meter fell belo w freezi n g The win ter w as .
co ming an d with it would appear its retinue o f hail and

,
sn o w an d st o rm
, .
The yo ung an d the o ld began to clo the themselves

mo re warmly to put o n the thick j erseys an d j ackets
, .
To fi nd them w as eas y enough fo r they were do wn all ,
in Go rdo n s n ote bo o k arranged in quali ti es an d Sizes

’
-
, .
T he yo un gest bo ys were Bri an t s especi al car e H e saw

’
.
th at they had no t co ld feet and that they did no t dawdle ,

THE RA FT 59
in the co ld ai r when they were o ut fo r a swim at the

least co ld in th eir heads he made them sleep n ear the
fi re whi ch he kept in ni ght an d day ! and o ften he
,
kept Do le and Co star in the tent while Mo ko gave ,
rem gr uel an d physi c fro m th e scho o ner s medi cine
g
’
l est .
When cho oner had been emptied o f all it co n

th e s
tai n ed hull which had bro ken apart in many
, the ,
places w as attacked Th e sheets of C C pper sheathing

, .
were taken o ff very carefully Then the pincers and .
cro wbars and hammers were bro ught into play to rip
,
o fl th e plank s which the n ails an d tren ails fas ten ed to
th e frame Thi s w as a tro ubleso me task fo r inex peri

.
en ced han ds and n o t ver y vigo rous ar ms A nd the .
breaki ng up wen t o n very slowly until o n the 2 sth

o f April a sto rm came t o help .
Duri ng the night although th ey were already in the

,
cold season a thun dersto rm occurred Th e li ghtning

, .
played acro ss th e sky and the ro lling o f the thunder ,
lasted fro m mi dnight to sun rise to th e great terro r o f ,
th e li ttle ones It did no t rain fortunately but twi ce

. ,
o r th ri ce it w as n ecessar y to support th e ten t again st
the fury of the wi nd Owing to its being fi x ed to the

.
trees it remain ed un damaged no t so the yacht ,
whi ch lay directly ex po sed to the gusts from the o ffi ng

an d th e full fo r ce o f th e waves .
The breaking up w as co mplete Th e planks were .
to rn o ff the frame bro ken up th e keel smashed an d

, , ,
th e whole thing reduced to w reckage A n d there w as .
n othin g to co mplai n o f in th e w ay i t w as do ne fo r the ,
waves as they retir ed carried o ff b ut a small po r ti o n o f

th e wr eck whi ch fo r th e mo st par t w as kept back by th e
reef .Th e iro nwo rk w as easily picked up o ut o f th e
san d an d all th e bo ys se t to work during th e nex t day
,
o r so to co llect i t Th e beams planks water tanks

.
, ,
-
,
and other thi ngs which h ad n o t b een swept away lay ,
scattered o n the beach an d all that h ad to b e do n e w as

,
to transpo rt them to the right bank o f the stream a few

yards from the tent .
A DRIFT IN THE P ACIFIC
It was a heav y jo b , b ut in time it was done though ,
no t wi thout a good deal o f fati ue It w as c urious to

g .
see the bo ys all hanging o n to a h ea

haulin g it alo ng and encouraging each other with many
a shout The heavier timbers were ro lled o n bi ts of
.
ro un d wood and levered alo ng by spars The most .
diffit things to mo ve were the Windlass the galley ,
stove and the i ron tanks whi ch were o f consi d erable

, ,
weight If th e bo ys had only had some practical man

.
to guide them I If Bri an t had h ad his father G arnett ,
his the engineer and th e captai n would have saved them

,
fr om many mi stakes they commi tted an d would again ,
commi t Baxter who w as very in telligent in moeb ani

.
,
cal matt ers displayed much cleverness and zeal

,
i t w as o n his advi ce wi th the ag reemen t o f Mo ko that

, ,
tackles were fix ed to piles dri ven in to the sand and ,
thereby tenfold strength gi ven to the boys so as to ,
enable th em to finish their task .
In sho rt o n th e eveni ng of the 2 8 th all that remai ned

, ,
o f the scho oner had been taken to th e place o f embar ks

ti on ! an d without do ubt the wo rst o f the enterprise ,
w as over fo r the ri ver w as to take the materi al up to

,
Fr ench Den .
To mo rrow said Gordon we will begin to build

-
, ,
the raft
’
.
Yes sai d Bax ter !

, and to save any tro uble in
launchi ng it I propose to build i t in th e ri ver
, .
That will no t b e easy sai d Do nagan , .
Never mind answered Gordo n w e will try If

”
, , .
it gi v es us more trouble to get together i t will no t ,
trouble us to get it aflo at .
There could b e n o doubt thi s w as the best w ay

and nex t morning they began th e framewo rk o f th e
raft whi ch w as to b e suffi ciently lar e to recei v e a
, g
The beams from th e schoo ner the keel bro ken in ,
tw o pieces the foremast what remained o f the main

, ,
mas t bro ken thr ee feet abo ve the deck th e rails an d , ,
the mid sh p beam the bowspri t the fo re yard, the

i - -
, ,
THE RAFT 61
mai n boom and the

-
aff
g , been taken to a part o f
had
th e river beach whi ch the water only covered at high
ti de
. The bo ys wai ted till th e ti de ro se and then the ,
w ood w as bro ught o ut in to th e str eam There the .
larges t pieces were placed si de by si de and bound ,
to ether w ith th e others placed cro ssways

gn this w ay a so li d framewo rk w as o btained measur
.
,
ing abo ut th irty feet lo ng an d fifteen feet w ide All .
day long the bo ys wo rked hard at the raft and by night ,
fall th e framewo r k w as co mplete Bri ant then to o k

.
care to mo o r it to th e trees o n the bank so that th e ,
rising ti de could n o t carr y i t u stream o r th e eb b take

p ,
it o ut to sea Then every o ne tho ro ughly tired o ut

.
,
after such a h ard day sat do wn to supper wi th a fo r

,
midab le appeti te an d slept so un dly till the morning

, .
At dawn they again set to w ork A platfo rm had .
no w to b e built o n the framewo rk The deck planks .
an d str eak s o f th e scho o n er s hull no w came in to use

’
.
Nails driven in with heavy hamme stro kes and ro pes

r-
,
passed o ver and under fastened ev erything firmly

,
to gether .
Working at th e hardest this took three days al

, ,
tho ugh there w as n o t an hour to lose A li ttle ice had .
already appear ed o n the surface of th e po ols amo ng th e

reefs and alo ng th e edge o f th e str eam The shelter of .
the tent became in sufi ci ent in spite o f the fi re Sleep .
ing C lo se to each o th er co vered with th e thi ckest wraps

, ,
Go rdo n an d his companio ns fo und it difi cult to put

up with th e co ld Hence the neces sity o f pushing o n
.
with the wo rk fo r taki ng up thei r quarters in the cave ,
where they ho ped to defy the w inter which in these ,
latitudes is very se vere .
Th e deck had been fix ed o n as fi rmly as possible so ,
that it sho uld no t be displaced o n the vo yage fo r that

mean t th e swallo win g up of the cargo in the b ed of th e
st ream and to save such a di saster i t w as b etter to
delay th e departure fo r a day .
w e must no t delay o ur
”
Ho wever said Briant
, ,
departure beyond the 6 th o f M ay .

62 A DRIFT IN THE PACIFIC
Why no t ? asked Go rdo n .
—
Bec ause the day after to mo rro w is n ew mo on and ,
the ti des will b e hi gher fo r a few days after th at Th e .
higher they are th e easier w e shall get up the ri ver

, .
J ust think what a fix w e shall b e in if w e have to to w

this heavy raft o r po le i t up ] W e could never do i t
agai n st th e curren t 1
Yo u ar e right sai d Gordon , W e must b e o fi in .
three days at th e latest .
And all agreed to take no rest un til th e work w as

fi nished .
On th e 3rd o f M ay th ey began to lo ad th e raft being ,
car eful to trim it so as to keep it level Every o ne w as

J
.
o ccupi ed in thi s wo r k acco r din g to hi s str ength en .
kins I v erso n Do le and Co star to o k charge of the

, , ,
lighter things the tools an d in str umen ts an d lai d

, , ,
them o n the deck where Briant and Bax ter sto red
,
them under Gordon 5 di recti o ns The bigger bo ys ’

.
busied themselves abo ut the heavier thi ngs such as ,
th e sto ve th e w ater tanks th e W indlass th e iron wo rk

,
-
, ,
-
,
th e sheathi ng &c th e rest o f th e timbers o f th e

, .
,
schooner ,th e ribs th e plan king th e deck r ails et c

, ,
-
, .
In th e same w ay were brought o n bo ard th e b ales o f

pro visio ns the casks o f wine ale an d spiri ts n o t fo r
, , , ,
g e tti n g se v er al sacks o f sal t th at h ad b een fo un d amo ng

th e ro cks . To as sist in th e lo adi n g Bax ter had erected ,
two spars which were kept in po si tio n by means o f

fo ur stays To th e end o f thi s crab w as fasten ed a
.
tackle wo rki ng ro un d o n e o f th e yacht s laun ches so ’
that th e things co uld b e li fted o ff th e ground an d lai d

o n th e deck gen tly an d qui etly .
All wen t o n wi th so much care that in th e af tern oon

o f th e sth o f M ay ever ythin g w as i n i ts place o n b o ard ,
an d n o thi ng remai ned b ut to cas t o ff th e raft s mo o ri ngs

’
That wo uld b e do n e nex t mo rni ng abo ut eight o clo ck ’
when the ti de began to rise at the mo uth o f the stream .
The bo ys do ubtless imagi ned that their t ask being

over they were to spend the rest of the day in taking
things eas y They were destined to be disappo inted
.
,
ms RAFT 63
fo r Go rdo n made a pro posal whi ch gave them so m

else to do .
My co mrades he sai d w e are no w going away

, ,
from thi s b ay and will no mo re b e able to lo ok o ut

,
o ver th e sea an d i f an y shi p co mes in sight o f th e islan d

, ,
w e shall n o t b e able to sign al t o h er It will th erefo re .
b e best I thin k to rig up a mast o n the cliff and ho ist

, ,
o n e o f o ur fl ags an d keep i t flying That w ill pro bably .
b e en o ugh to attract th e atten ti o n o f any shi p that may

”
pass w i thin sight o f it .
Th e idea h aving been adopted th e schooner s

’
,
to pmas t whi ch had no t been used in the raft w as

, ,
dragged to the fo o t of th e cliff where the slope by th e

ri ver ban k w as n o t too great an d it requir ed a go od deal
-
,
o f efi o rt to get i t up th e rugged slo pe o f the ridge .
Success came at las t ho wever and the mas t w as firmly

, ,
fi xed in the gro un d Then w i th a halli ar d Bax ter

.
hoisted the British fl ag an d the same momen t Do nagan ,
salut ed i t by fi ring hi s gun .
Hallo 1 sai d Go rdo n to Brian t There is .
Do n agan taking po ssession o f the islan d in th e name of

Great Bri tain !
I shall b e much astonished if it doesn t belong to
’
Great Britai n already sai d Briant , .
Go rdo n s reply w as a gr imace an d by his al ways

’
speaki ng o f i t as his islan d it seemed as tho ugh h e

h ad claimed i t fo r th e Uni ted S tates .
N ex t morni ng at sunrise all were astir The tent .
w as taken do wn an d th e beddi ng carri ed o n bo ard th e

raft wi th th e sail put o ver it to p ro tect i t from th e
,
weather whi ch ho wever pro mised to be favo urable

, , ,
en o ugh al tho ugh a ch an ge in th e di rectio n o f th e win d

,
h ad brought a go o d deal o f mi st in from the sea .
By seven o clo ck everythi ng w as ready The raft

’
.
h ad been so lo aded that i t gave accommo dati on fo r

th e compan y fo r two o r three days an d M o ko h ad ,
co o ked enough fo od to last so that a fi re would n o t b e ,
needed .
A t half pas t eight th e boys all gathered o n th e raft

-
.
64 D
A RIFT IN ms FAC IFIc
The bigger o nes armed with poles an d spars, to o k up

,
their places ready to steer it, fo r a rudder wo uld hav e

been n o use in go ing w ith th e stream .
A little befo re nin e o clock the tide began to make

’
i tself felt and th e framewo rk began to creak an d gro an

, .
A tten tion l sho uted Bri an t .
Ready 1 sai d Bax ter .
These were at th e ro pes which moored the raft fore

and aft by th e ri ver ban k-
.
W e are all ready l sai d Do nagan, w ho with Wilcox

w as in the fro n t o f the raf t .
S o o n th e r aft w as afl o at .
Cast o fi sai d Brian t .
A way w en t the ro pes and the heav ily lo aded mass

-
began to drif t up stream to wing th e yawl astern

, .
E very o ne w as pleased when the raft began to mo ve .
If th e b ys ad bu lt a sea go ing ship they co uld no t

o h i -
have been mo re satisfi ed wi th themselves 1 And

thei r li ttle sen timen t o f vani ty may b e fo rgiven them 1
Th e right b ank o f th e ri ver w as bo rdered w ith tree s ,
an d higher th an th e left whi ch r an along by th e marsh

, .
Brian t , Bax ter, Do n agan , Wilco x an d Mo ko used ,
every effo rt t o keep th e raft away fro m th e ban ks fo r ,
i t would n ever do to run agro und , b ut at th e same

time they did no t cro ss the stream fo r th e tide w as ,
stro n ger al o n g th e fi ght bank and th e h eigh t o f th e ,
bank gave better ho lding to thei r poles .
Tw o ho urs af ter t heir departure they had fl o ated

abo ut a mi le .Th ey h ad no t gro un ded o nce o r run
asho re But acco rdi ng to Brian t s estimate th e river
’
.
w as qui te six mi les lo ng and as they co uld n o t ho p e

,
to advan ce mo re than tw o miles with each ti de , i t

wo uld take them several tides to reach their destinatio n .
In fact about eleven o clo ck the ebb began t o declar e

’
, ,
itself an d th e b o ys h ad to bestir themselves to get th e

,
r aft mo o r ed so th at i t di d n o t dr ift b ack t o th e sea .
Evi den tly th e raft wo uld mak e a fresh star t in th e

ev n ei ng b ut to ven ture wi th it th en would b e d anger o us
, .
I think it would b e unwi se sai d Gordon We , .

ro un d turning to the wreck Advantage w as
in re .
taken o f th e hal t to ex plo re the par t adj o ining th e

ri ver . Fo r a mile an d a half M o ko Bo n agan and , ,
Wilco x in th e yawl rowed away to the no rth and ,
sto pped o nly When the water became to o shallo w The .
swamp w as a par t o f th e marsh whi ch ex tended alo ng

,
th e left bank It seemed very ri ch in water fo wl

.
-
,
an d B o n agan w as able to sho o t a few snipe to add to

th e bust ards an d tin amo us in the larder o n bo ard .
The night w as very still an d co ld with a quiet bi ti ng

,
breeze that almo st died away as it cro ssed the river

valley Ice w as fo rmed in the stream b ut o nly in
.
,
thi n flakes whi ch bro ke o r melted at the leas t sho ck

, .
In spi te o f every effo rt to keep warm n o o n e w as ,
co mfo rtable o n the raft Amo ng the youngsters.

,
J enkins an d Iverso n were in a very b ad humo ur and ,
co mplai n ed bitterly at having had to leave the schooner!

an d Bri an t had to tak e th em in han d an d talk th em to
sleep .
At length in the afterno on of the nex t day with the

, ,
ai d o f the tide whi ch las ted ti ll h alf past three in th e

,
-
aftern o on th e raft arri ved in sight o f the lake an d w as

, ,
ru n agr oun d in fron t o f the en tran ce to Fren ch Den .

“
CHAPTER VI!
TH E C OLONY
THE boys had o ften lo oked alo ng th e chffs In th e ho pe

o f fi ndin g an o th er cave If they had di sco vered o n e
.
,
th ey wo uld have used it as a gen er al sto re fo r what had

no w to b e left o ut i n th e o pen But the sear ch had
.
been in vain an d they had had to return to th e scheme o f

,
enlargin g th eir dwellin g place by digging in to the walls

-
.
There w as no diffi culty in do ing this in th e so ft li me

stone an d th e work wo uld gi ve th em so mething to do
,
during the win ter an d co uld b e fini shed by th e return

,
o f th e fi n e season .
There w as no n eed to take to blasting The too ls .
they had were sufli cient fo r them to cut the ho le fo r

th e chimn ey o f the sto ve to b e run o ut o f an d Bax ter ,
h ad already been able wi th so me difli culty it is true

, ,
to enlarge th e o peni n g in to th e cav e so as to fit it ,
with o ne of th e do o rs from the scho o ner and right

and left o f th e do o r two holes h ad been cut in the wall ,
admi ttin g light an d air .
The b ad weath er h ad set in a week ago iolen t . V

sto rms had swept acro ss th e i slan d b ut th e cave h ad ,
n o t h ad to face them o wi ng to i ts lying n o rth an d

so uth. The rain an d sno w passed away o ver th e crest
of th e cli fi The spo rtsmen h ad to leave the game alo ne
.
i n th e v i cini ty o f th e lake and th e wild ducks sni pe

, , ,
lapw in g rail coot an d whi te pigeon remain ed un dis

, , ,
t urb ed . The lake an d th e ri ver h ad no t yet been

frozen b ut it only required a qui et ni ght when the fi rs t
,
dry co ld would succeed the sto rm fo r them to be cov ered

w i th ice .
Th e work of enlargi ng the cav e could thus b e co n

v eni en tly begun and a start w as made o n th e a7 th o f
,
A DRIFT IN THE PAC IFIC
The right wall w as fi rst attacked .
If w e dig o n th e slant, sai d Bri an t, w e may come

o ut by th e lake si de an d so get a secon d en tran ce
-
,
.
That would give us a better look o ut, an d if the b ad

-
weather kept us in o n o ne side, we might get o ut o n th e

o ther .
’
Thi s would in every w ay b e an advan tage and there ,
seemed to b e no reaso n why th e plan should n o t succeed .
Only forty or fifty feet separated the cave fro m th e

east ern face an d a gallery could eas ily b e dri ven in the
,
right directi on by co mp ass care being t aken to av o i d

, ,
a fall or founder Bax ter s plan w as to begin wi th a

’
n arro w tunn el an d then enlarge i t till i t w as o f th e

,
requi red size The two rooms o f the cave could th en

.
b e uni ted by a passage which could be clo sed at both

,
en ds an d o ne o r tw o galleri es dri ven right an d left o f

,
i t t o give addi ti o n al r oom Th e plan w as evi dently a .
g o od o n e i t
, a llow ed of t h e r ock b ei ng dug i n to wi th
car e so that any sudden inrush o f water co uld be
,
satisfactorily dealt wi th an d the di gging stopped if

,
nece s sary .
Fo r thr ee days fro m the a7th to th e 3o th May the

, ,
work went o n favo urably The soft limestone co uld be .
cut wi th a knife ! woo dwork h ad t o b e used to support

th e ro o f o f th e galler y b ut th at w as easily man aged
,
.
Th e rubbish w as t aken o utside so as no t to li tter th e ,
fl o o r o f the cave There w as no t room enough fo r all

.
hands to work at once so th e boys took it in turns ,

.
W hen the rain an d snow ceased Gordon and th e elder ,
boys took th e raft to pi eces so that the deck and frame ,
co uld b e used up in an o ther w ay An d they ov erhauled .
th e things stowed away agai nst the clifl whi ch the t ar

paulins did no t cover satisfacto rily .
The work o f boring adv an ced gradually no t w ithout ,
many a sto to so un d an d make sure that

w as safe . w
o ur o r fi v e feet had been dug o ut when , ,
in the afternoon of th e 3o th something v ery unex pected ,
happened .
Brian t o n his knees in the hole like a hewer in a

, ,
m co w s ? 69
co al mine tho ught he heard a slight no ise in the interio r

-
,
o f th e rock .
He stopped his picking and listened Agai n the .
To get o ut o f the ho le and tell Gordo n an d Bax ter , ,
who were standi ng at the entrance was the work o f an ,
in stan t .
It is an illusio n said Go rdo n Yo u imagined , .
y o u h e ar d i t .
Take my place then put your ear to the w all and ,
hsten
'
Go rdon go t into the hole and stayed there a few ,
minutes .
I Yo u are ri ght sai d he I hear a sor t of distan t

, ,
g r ow lin g .
Bax ter wen t in an d co nfirmed this , .
Wh at can it b e ? he asked .
I cann o t thi nk sai d Go rdo n We must tell , ,
Do nagan an d t h e o th ers .
No t th e yo ungsters sai d Brian t it wo uld give , ,
th em a scare .
But as they all came in to dinner at the moment the ,
secr et co uld no t b e kept .
Bonagan Wilcox Webb an d Garnett o ne after the

, , ,
oth er wen t into th e cav 1ty an d listen ed But the

, .
so un d h ad ceased prob ably fo r th ey hear d no thing

, , ,
an d con cluded th at their co mr ades h ad b een mistaken .
Mistake o r no mistake i t w as reso lved to continue ,
the wo rk an d as so o n as th e meal w as over th e di gging

, ,
recommence d During the afterno o n no noise w as

.
heard b ut about nine o clock in the eveni ng the growling

,
’
w as distinctly heard through the rock .
Fan ran in to th e ho le and immedi ately came o ut ,
ag ai n wi th unmi st ak able signs o f anger her co at ,
bri stling her lips showi ng her teeth and barking

, ,
lo udly as if in reply to th e gro w hng in the ro ck

, .
An d then the al arm mingled w i th sur pri se that the , ,
smaller bo ys had hi ther t o felt gav e p lace t o fear , .
In v ai n Bri an t tried to so othe Do le Co star and even , ,

7 0 ADRIFT IN T HE PA C IFIC
J enkins and Iverson un til he at last go t them to bed ,
an d to sleep .
Go rdo n an d the others continued to discuss this

stran ge affai r Every n o w and then th e gro wlin g wo uld
.
b e heard an d Fan wo uld reply to i t wi th a lo ud bark

, .
Fatigue at las t o vercame them an d they went to b ed , ,
leavi ng Bri an t an d Mo ko to watch an d till daylight

silen ce reigned in Fren ch Den .
All were up ear ly n ex t mornin g Bax ter an d .
Bo n agan crawled to th e en d o f the ho le No so un d .
co uld b e hear d The do g ran to and fro witho ut

.
sho w i n g an y un easin ess an d made n o attempt to das h ,
herself agai nst th e wall as she h ad do ne the night before .
”
Let us wo rk sai d Brian t , .
Yes , replied Bax ter There will alw ays be .
time to leave o ff if w e hear an y n o i se .
Is i t n o t po ssi ble said Do n agan that the gro wl

ing w as simply a spri ng in th e ro ck
Then w e should hear it no w sai d Wilcox , ,
”
w e do n t
’
.
Th at is so sai d Go rdo n , I think it mo re li kely .
to have co me fro m th e wind in some crack leadi ng do wn

fro m the to p o f the cli ff .
”
Let us go up o n the to p an d see sai d Service , .
This w as agreed to .
Abo ut fifty yards away there w as a w inding path

to the summit o f the hill In a few minutes Bax ter .
an d tw o o r thr ee o thers were walkin up it o ver Fren ch

g
Den . Their j o urney w as useless The ridge w as .
clo thed with sho rt clo se herbage an d had no opening ,
by which a curren t o f ai r o r a stream o f water co ul d fi nd

its w ay in An d when th e bo ys go t do wn agai n they
.
knew no mo re than the yo ungsters .
T he wo rk o f digging the hole w as co nti nued to th e

en d o f th e day There w as none o f the noise o f the
.
even ing befo re b ut Bax ter ex amined th e wall an d

, ,
fo und that i t so un ded ho llow W as the tun nel go ing .
to end in a cave W as it in this cave that the mysteri

o us soun d had ar isen ? As may b e imagined the bo ys ,
T HE C OLO N Y
7 1
wo rked hard and the day w as o ne o f the most tiri ng

t hey h ad yet ex peri enced Nevertheless it would have .
passed wi thout adven ture had no t Gordon no ti ced ,
that th e do g had di sappeared .
Generally at meal ti mes Fan w as to b e found near

,
-
,
h er master s seat b ut no w h er place w as empty

’
, .
They called Fan Fan di d no t an swer Go rdo n. .
w ent to th e door He c alled h er agai n

. Co mplete .
silen ce
.
Do n agan and Wilco x wen t o ut o n e along the ban k ,
o f th e stream th e other alo ng th e shore o f th e lake

,
b ut th ey fo un d n o trace o f th e do g .
In vai n w as th e search ex tended fo r a few hun dred

yards ro und French Den Fan w as no t to be fo un d . .
It w as eviden t that th e do g w as n o t withi n call fo r ,
if she h ad been she wo uld h ave an swered

, Had she .
strayed away That w as unli kely Had she perished .
in the j aws o f some wi ld b eas t Th at w as po ssible ,
an d it w as th e b est ex plan ati o n o f h er disappearan ce

that o fl ered .
It w as nine o clock at night Thi ck darkn ess en

’
.
v elo ped th e cliff an d th e lake The search had to b e .
g i v en u p
.
Th e bo ys wen t back to th e cave They were un easy .

,
an d n o t o nly uneasy b ut gri eved to think th at th e do g

,
h ad vani sh ed perh aps fo r ever

, .
So me stretched themselves o n their beds o thers sat ,
ro un d the t able n o t thi n king o f sleep

, It seemed that .
they were mo re alone than ever mo re fo rsaken mo re , ,
remo ved fr o m th e co un try and thei r fri en ds .
Suddenly in the silence the no ise broke o ut afresh .
This time there w as a lo ng howl an d a cry o f pai n ,
lasti ng fo r n early a min ute .
It rs fro m over there over there that it comes I , ,
ex clai med Bri an t rushi ng to the tunn el

, .
They all rose as if wai ting fo r a ghost Terro r had .
seized upo n the li ttle ones who hi d themselves un der ,
their b ed clothes
-
.
When Briant came back he said ,

9
‘
s ADRIFT IN THE FAcrrrc
Th ere must be a cav ern beyond, the entrance to

which is at th e foot of the cliff .
And in whi ch i t is pro b able that animals ta ke shel

ter d uri ng the ni ght added Gordon , .
That is it said Bonagan

, And to morrow we
- .
At this moment a ba k w as heard then a howling

r , and .
The soun d came fro m the interi or o f the rock .
Can Fan b e there ? asked Wilcox an d fighting ,
with so me animal ?
Bri ant went back in to the tunn el and listened wi th
hi s ear against th e wall But there was nothi ng more
. .
Whether Fan w as there o r no t it w as ev iden t that there,
must be a seco n d Openi ng whi ch o ught to communicate

w i th th e ex terior pro bably by some gap in th e thicket
,
o f brushwoo d .
being ag ai n heard .
N ex t morning the search w as begun at break o f day ,
b ut wi th no more result than th e day befo re Fan .

,
so ught fo r and shouted fo r all over the nei hbo u ho d

g r o ,
di d no t come back .
Bri an t an d Bax ter took turns at the di ggi ng Pick .
axe an d shov el were kept constantly at wo rk During .
th e morning th e tunnel w as made two feet lo nger .
Fro m time to time the boys stopped to listen b ut ,
no thing could they hear .
taken in case a blo w o f th e pickax e knocked thro ugh

th e wall an d gave pas sage to an animal The yo unger .
boys were taken o ut to the ban k of the river G un in .
h an d , Do nagan , Wilco x , an d Webb sto o d ready fo r

an ythi ng th at might happen .
About two o clo ck Brian t suddenly ex claimed His

’
.
pickax e had gone through the limestone, whi ch had

fall n i n an d left a good sized hole
e -
.
I mmediately he returned to his co mrades, who co uld

only think
But before they had time to o pen their mouths, an
74 A DRIFT IN THE PA C IFIC
ho wlin g o f the j ackal an d the barking o f the do g who

fo r twenty fo ur hours had fo un d it irn po ssib le to get
-
o ut .
Great w as the satisfacti on at these thi ngs Not only .
w as Fan r eturn ed to her yo un g masters b ut labo ur ,
w as spared them Here ready made as Do le sai d

.
,
-
, ,
w as a large cave whi ch Baudo in h ad never suspected .
By making th e o penin g larger they wo uld get a seco n d ,
do o r to wards the lake that wo uld b e o f great co n v eni

e nce to th em A n d n atur ally the bo ys as they st o od
.
,
in the n ew cave i ndulged In a roun d o f ch eers in whi ch

, ,
Fan j o in ed wi th a j o yo us bark .
Vigo ro usly they set to wo rk to make the tunnel a

practicable gangway to th e seco nd ex cavatio n they
g a ve th e n ame o f t h e h all a n d i ts si ze j us tifi ed th
,e m”
i n
do ing so It wo uld do fo r th e do rmito ry an d wo rk
.
ro o m while the fi rst c ave wo uld se rve as ki tchen

,
b ut as they in tended to mak e i t a gen eral magazine ,
Go rdo n pro posed to call it the store ro o m an d thi s -

,
w as ado pted .
So o n they set to wo rk to shift the beds and arran ge

them o n th e san d o f th e h all where there w as plen ty ,
o f ro o m fo r them Then th e furnitur e o f the scho o ner

.
,
th e couches arm chai rs tables cupbo ards et c an d

,
-
, , , .
—
what w as very impo rtan t the sto ves fro m th e yacht s ’
day an d ni ght salo o n s were put in po si ti o n A t th e .
same ti me th e en tran ce o n th e lake side w as clear ed

o ut an d enlar ged s o as to fit o n e o f th e sch o o n er 5 do o rs
’
—a j o b which co st Bax ter a go o d deal o f tro uble On .
each side o f the do o r tw o n ew o penin gs were made so
as to give li ght un til th e eveni ng wh en a lamp hung

, ,
fro m the cen tre lighted the cave .
T o do all thi s to o k a fo rt night and it w as no t fi nished ,
an y to o so o n Th e w eather h ad begun to change

. It .
w as n o t as yet very co ld b ut th e sto rms h ad beco me so

vio lent that o ut doo r ex cursion s were no t to b e tho ught
-
of
In fact such w as the fo rce o f th e w i nd th at th e waters
,
o f the lake were lashed into w ave s as if i t w ere a sea .

THE COLONY 75
The waves broke angrily o n th e beach an d assuredly a ,
fi shing boat wo uld have so ught to cross it in vai n

-
.
The yawl h ad been dragged as hore to save its bein g ,
washed away At times the waters o f the stream were

.
held back by the w in d an d o v erfl o w ed the ban ks

,
.
Fortunately neither the sto re ro o m no r the hall w as -
di rectly ex posed to the fur y o f th e gale which blew ,
from the west ! an d th e sto ves an d Co o ki ng appar atus -
wo rked admirably being fed w i th dry wood o f whi ch

, ,
ample pro vi sio n h ad b een gathered .
It w as a great triumph to get everythin g saved fro m

th e scho o n er un der co ver Th e weather co uld n o t no w
.
damage th e pro visio ns Go rdo n and his co mrades

.
,
no w impriso ned fo r the win ter h ad time to mak e them,
selves co mfo rt able They had enlarged th e pas sag e

.
an d dug o ut tw o deep si de chambers o n e o f whi ch

-
,
clo sed with a do or an d w as r eserved fo r the ammuni

,
ti on so as to avoid any danger o f an ex plo sio n

,
.
Altho ugh th e gunn ers co uld no t get away fr o m th e

neighbo ur ho o d o f Fren ch Den yet there were en o ugh ,
b irds C lo se han dy whi ch fi lled Mo ko s lar der al tho ugh

’
he did n o t always man age to co ok them so as to get

rid o f their marsh y taste .
When thi ngs were fai rly in order Go rdo n pro po sed
drawing up a pro gramme to which all wo uld have t o
submi t when i t h ad been appro ved by all H o w lo ng .
w as thei r stay to b e o n thi s islan d When they came to

leave i t wo uld it no t b e a sati sfacti o n to thin k that th e
,
ti me had no t been wasted With the bo o ks fro m the

.
scho o ner 5 li brary th e bigger b o ys c o uld in crease thei r

’
kno wledge at the same time as they taught the yo unger

ones An ex cellen t task which wo uld usefully and
.
,
agreeably o ccupy th e lo n g ho urs o f win ter !

Ho wever befo re the pro gramme w as finished ano ther
, ,
measur e w as ado pted under th e fo llo wi ng circumstan ces

, .
On th e ni ght o f J un e 1 oth after supper all were in

, ,
th e h all seated ro un d th e sto ve when con versatio n

, ,
turn ed o n th e chan ce that o ffered to give n ames to

th e chief portions o f the island .
7 6 ADRIFT IN THE PAC IFIC
That wo uld be very useful sai d Briant , .
Yes let s hav e names sai d Iverso n

”
an d let u
’
, s
, ,
have c
ni e n a mes .
”
Let us do the same as has been done by o ther

Crusoes real o r imagin ary sai d Webb
,
”
, .
”
An d in reality sai d Go rdo n w e are no thing , ,
more than
A Crusoe sch oo l in terrupted ervi ce S .
Besides , co nti nued Gordo n ,

’
with names given
to the b ay th e stream, the forests the lake the C li ff
, , , ,
t e marshes and capes, we shall find i t easier to speak o f

i
tr
em .
W e have Schoo ner

whi ch the yacht was Bay, on
wrecked sai d Bo n agan and I think we might as

, ,
well keep to the n ame w e ar e used to .
Right yo u are sai d Cro ss , .
An d in the same way we ll keep the name o f French

’
Den fo r o ur cave in memory o f poo r Baudoin whose

,
place w e have taken .
There w as no o bj ecti o n to this pro posal ev en fr om ,
Do n agan although the suggesti on came fro m Bri ant

,
.
An d no w sai d Wilco x , what shall we call the ,
river w hi ch fl o ws in t o S cho o n er Bay
Zealan d River said Baxter the name will

, ,
remin d us o f o ur coun try .
Agreed ! Agreed ! Carried unani mo usly .
An d the lake asked G arne tt .
A s yo u gave the n ame o f Zealan d to the river i n

memo ry o f your coun try sai d Bon agan
”
yo u might, ,
as well call the lake Fam i ly Lake in memory of yo ur ,
r elatives .
This w as also agreed to ! and in the same w ay the

n ame o f Aucklan d Hill w as gi ven to t h e cliff The cape .
at th e en d whence Bri an t tho ught he had seen th e sea

t o the eastward w as called False Poin t .
Th e other names adopted o ne after the o th er were : ,
Trap Woods fo r th e part o f th e forest where the trap

,
had b een fo un d Bo g Wood fo r the o ther par t be tween ,
Scho oner Bay and the cliff So uth Mo or fo r the marsh ,

THE C OLONY 77
o
c v ering the whole o f th e south o f the island ! Dike
Creek , fo r th e b ro o k i n whi ch th ey h ad found th e cause
w ay Wreck Co ast, fo r the co ast o n whi ch the yacht
h ad co me ashore Game Terrace, fo r th e sp ace b etween
th e b anks Of th e ri ver an d lak e where th e games o n th e
pro gr amme were to take place .
Th e o ther part s Of th e i slan d were n amed as they were

disco vered, an d th e names bore referen ce to what had
happened there at th e time o f th eir disco ver y It, .
ho w ever, seemed adv i sable to gi ve n ames to the princi

p al c a p es m a rk ed o n Ba u do in 3 m ap , so th at in th
’
e
n o rth Of th e i slan d th ere w as a o r th Cape an d in the N ,
so uth Of th e i slan d th er e w as a outh Cape, an d it w as S

agreed to gi ve th e three west ern cap es t h e n ames Of
th e n atio n s r epresen t ed in th e co lo n y whi ch mean t a ,
, A
Bri tish Cape an merican C ape, an d a French Cape .
W e sai d colo ny ! Yes ! The bo ys wer e no lo nger

th e cas taways Of the scho on er ! they were th e colonists
Of an islan d
But of what island ? The island wanted naming
in i ts tum
H ere ! ere !H I know what to call it ! sai d
Costar .
Yo u know do yo u sai d Bon agan

, .
Yo u are getti ng o n little Costar sai d Gar nett

, .
Of course yo u ll call it Baby Island ? sai d Servi ce

’ ”
.
Come do n t chaff him sai d Bri an t let us hear

,
’ ”
, ,
what h e h as to say .
Th e li ttle fello w did no t speak .
Speak up Co star said Briant I am sure your

, ,
idea is a go od o ne What is it .
Well sai d Co star as w e all come from Charman s

, ,
’
Scho o l w e o ught to call it Charman Island

,
Than this they co uld n o t do better and the n ame w as ,
received wi th ge eral app ause

n l —which made Costar
lo ok qui te impo rtan t .
Ch ar man Islan d ! Really the name had the true

ring abo ut it an d would no t disgrace any atlas !
,
Th e ceremo y being at an
n en —
d to the general satis
c o —
fa ti n the time had co me to go to bed when Bri an t ,
b egged to b e allo wed to speak .
My friends he sai d no w that w e have named our

,
”
,
island is it n o t fi tting that we should C hoo se a chi ef to

,
rule it
A f
chi e asked Bonagan .
Yes It seems to me that things would go better

. ,
conti nued Bri an t if o ne Of us had autho ri ty over the

,
o thers ! Wh at is do ne in every o ther country ought

w e no t to do in Char man I sland ?
Yes ! A chief ! Le t us have a chi ef ! said the
little an d the b ig to gether .
Let us have a chief sai d Bo nagan

, b ut o n co n ,
—
di tio n that it is o nly fo r so me stated time a year fo r ,
ex ample —4
”
A n d who can b e re elected added Bri an t
-
, .
Agreed ! Who is it to be ? asked Do n agan in an

anx io us tone .
An d i t seemed that th e j ealous lad had only o ne fear ,
that in spite Of hi m the C hoice Of hi s co mpani ons would

fall o n Bri ant He w as wro ng
. .
Who is it to be replied Brian t Why the .

,
wisest Of us to be sure o ur fri end Go rdo n

,
Yes ! Yes ! Hurr ah fo r Go rdo n !

Go rdon wo uld at first have refused th e honour they
wo uld have bestowed o n hi m sayi ng that he w as better
,
fi tted to o rgani ze th an to co mman d But he fo resaw .
th e tro uble that the passi o ns o f these yo ung people

might lead to in the future an d i t appeared to hi m that
,
his authori ty might n o t b e wi tho ut its value .
And that is h o w Gordo n w as proclaimed chief Of th e

li ttle colony Of Charman I slan d .
CHAPTER VIII
W INTE R QUA RTE RS
THE wi nter seas on h ad defini tely set in o n Charman

I slan d at the begi nning Of M ay Ho w lo ng w o uld it .
last Five mo n ths o r less if th e latitude w as th e same

as th at o f New Zealan d An d th erefore Go rdo n pre
.
pared fo r the rigo urs Of a lo ng winter .
Th e yo ung Ameri can made car eful n ote Of hi s meteo

ro lo gical Ob servati o ns He fo un d that as th e winter
.
di d no t begin un til M ay, that is two mo n ths befo re

J uly whi ch an swers to J an uary in the no rthern b emis
,
h i t w uld p ro b ably las t fo r tw o mo n th s af terwar ds

p er e , o ,
o r about the middle of S

eptember when th e sto rms ,
prevalen t about the time o f the equin o x wo uld fo llow

o n to pr o lo ng i t . Consequen tly the young co lo nis ts
F
might b e kept at ren ch Den ti ll the ear ly days Of
October befo re they were able to make a lo ng ex cursion
ei th er acro ss o r r o un d Ch arman I slan d H e h ad thus .
t o draw up a pro gr amme Of daily work such as would

be the best fo r th e life in th e cave .
An d in th e fi rs t place h e decided to have n o thing to

do wi th faggism such as they h ad been used to at
’
S
Charman e cho o l His whole effo rt w as directed to
.
accustomi ng th e boys to th e i dea that th ey were almost

men an d h ad to act as such There were to b e n o fags
, .
at Fren ch Den that is to say th e yo unger boys were no t

,
t o b e th e servan ts Of th e elders .
Th e library Of Fren ch Den co n tai ned only a few books

o f sci en ce and travel so that the bigger boys could
,
o nly pursue their studi es to a limi ted ex ten t But the .
diffi culti es o f life th e constan t struggle to supply their

,
wan ts would teach them to regard life seri o usly an d as ,
th ey were natur ally designed to be the educato rs o f

79
80 A DRIFT IN THE FAC IFIC
their young compani ons it wo uld be th eir duty to be ,
their teachers .
In o rder n o t to ov erbur den th e youngsters wi th work

to o great fo r their age ever y opportuni ty wo uld be ,
taken Of ex ercising their bo di es as well as their min ds .
When the weather permitted they wo uld b e allo wed

o ut in sui table clo th es o f co urse to r un an d en j o y th em
, ,
selves in the fresh ai r o r wor k at such labo ur as th eir

,
strength allo wed them In sh o rt th e plan w as drawn

.
,
up o n the fo ur main pri n ci ples whi ch fo rm

English educati o n
Ii yo u ar e frightened at a thin g do it , .
N ever lo se a ch ance o f doing yo ur very bes t .
N ever fear fatigue fo r nothi ng yo u can do is ,
useless
’
.
A healthy body means a healthy mind .
An d thi s is what w as agreed upon af ter di scussio n at

a gen eral meeti ng Of th e b o ys .
Fo r tw o ho ur s every morning, and two hours ev ery

ev ening all wo uld wo rk in the h all
,
Taking it in turns , .
Brian t Bo n agan Cross an d Bax ter , Of th e fifth fo rm

, , , ,
and Wilco x an d Webb Of the four th would ho ld Classes ,
fo r their scho o lfello ws Of th e thi rd seco n d and fi rst , ,
forms They wo uld teach them mathematics, geo

.
g ra phy , hi st o ry , add i n g to th e kn ow le dg e th ey h a d
g ai n ed at schoo l by th a t Obta i n ed fro m th e book s in
th e librar y This would preven t th eir forgetting what
.
they already knew Twi ce a week, o n un day and

. S
Th ursday, there wo uld b e a debate o n so me subj ect o f
sci en ce, o r hi story , o r ac tual even t , in whi ch all wou ld
take par t .
Go rdo n as chi ef Of the colony would see that th e

, ,
pro gr amme w as carr ied o ut .
To b egi n with an arrangement w as made regarding

,
time Th ey had th e yacht s alman ac but each day

.
’
h ad to b e regularly run th ro ugh and th ey had watches , ,
but it w as n ecessary fo r them to b e r egular ly w ound up

and adj usted so as to keep ex act time Two Of th e .
bigger boys were en trusted with this duty Wilco x .

During J une the cold gradually increased Webb

reported that the baro meter w as stead y at j us t above
twenty seven inches and the thermometer w as fro m
-
,
eighteen to twen ty degr ee s below freezing As so o n .
as th e wi nd which blew fr o m the south shi fted towards

, ,
the wes t the tem rature r ose a li ttle an d the surro un d ,
ings o f French en were covered wi th a deep sn o w .
The sn ow w as no t unwelcome as i t afforded an o ppo r ,
tun i ty for a gran d sn owballi ng match in whi ch a ,
few Of th e boys suffered severely notably J ack w h o , ,
sto o d l oki ng o n
o A b all thr own furio usly by Cro ss
.
missed i ts mark and hi t him hard enough to mak e him

Idid n o t do it o n purpose said Cr oss wi th th e , ,
usual ex cuse Of the clumsy .
”
Perhaps no t sai d Bri an t
, who had noticed his ,
brother 5 cry but yo u sho uldn t throw so hard

’
,
’
.
Well why did he get in the w ay ? asked Cross

, .
Why isn t he playing

’
What a fuss about a little brui se sai d Bo nagan , .
Perhaps i t is no t very seri ous an swered Bri an t ,

’
seein g that Do n agan wished to in t erfere in th e matter

”
b ut I ll ask Cross no t t o do i t agai n
’
.
H o w can he man age that ? as ked Do nagan

j eeri ngly, if he di dn t do it o n pur pose ’
I don t know what business i t is o f yours Do n a

’
g an , sai d B ri an t i t o nly c o n ce rns C r oss an d me

An d it con cerns me too Briant if that is th e ton e , ,
y o u t ak e sa
, i d D o n ag an .
—
A s yo u please an d when yo u please ,
Brian t , crossing his arms .
Le t us hav e i t n o w then, said Donegan , .
A t this momen t Go rdo n came up, j ust in time to

preven t th e quarrel endi ng In a fight
He deci ded that B onagan w as in the wrong An d .
Bo n agan had to submi t an d much to hi s disgust wen t ,
back to French Den But it w as to be feared that so me

.
o th er inci den t wo uld soon bring th e ri vals to blo ws .
The snow continued to fall fo r two days To amuse .

W INTE R QUA RTE RS 83
th e little ones Service and Garnett made a large sn ow

man wi th a b ig head an d an en o rmo us no se And it
, , .
may as well b e co n fessed that al tho ugh during the day

Do le an d Costar were brave enough to pelt the man with
sno w b alls yet at night when the darkn ess h ad made the
, ,
figure lo o k larger they could no t lo o k at it W i thout

,
bei ng fri ghtened .
Oh ! the cowards ! said Iverso n an d J enkin s ,
w h o preten ded to b e very brave al though they were no ,
les s terrifi ed th an their yo ung co mpanio ns .
At the en d Of June their amusemen ts had to be

g i ven u p Th .e sn o w piled up t o thr
, ee o r fo ur fee t in
thickn ess rendered i t ahno st impossible to get o ut
, .
TO ven ture mo re than a few hun dred yards from French

D en w as to r un th e ri sk Of being un able to return .
The yo ung co lo nists were thus kept in fo r a fo rtni ght

- un til the 9 th o f J uly Th e work di d no t suffer ! o n
.
the con trary th e dai ly pro gramme w as stri ctly adhered

,
to. The di scussio ns to o k place o n th e pro per days .
In them all to ok delight an d it is n o t sur prising that ,
Do nag an w i th hi s cas e o f speech an d advan ced educa

,
tio n held th e first place

, But why w as he so vai n of .
it His vani ty spo ilt all hi s brillian t quali ti es .
Altho ugh th e ho urs Of recreati o n had to b e passed in

the hall th e general heal th did no t suffer thanks to
, ,
th e ven tilati on Obtai ned by means Of the passage .
Th e questi o n o f health w as an importan t o n e If o ne .
o f th e bo ys w as to fall ill h o w co uld th ey gi ve hi m th e
n ee dful atten ti o n ? Fortunately they escaped wi th a

few co lds and so re throats whi ch rest and warm drinks ,
soon g o t rid Of .
There w as a no ther questi on to be solved In .
practi ce the water h ad been go t from the stream at lo w

ti de when the bracki shn ess had disappeared But .
when th e surf ace o f the stream w as fro zen over thi s

would no t be po ssible Go rdo n co nsulted with Bax ter
.
,
his engin eer in o rdinary as to what w as best to be ,
done Bex ter after consideration pro posed to mm a

.
, ,
pipe a few feet below the bank so that the water in

itwould no t freeze o n its w ay to the store roo

- m . This
would hav e been a diffi cult job if Bax ter had no t had
af ert many attempts water was at last lai d o n in to

, the
the in teri or of the sto re ro om Fo r lightin g there
- .
w as still en ough Oil fo r the lanterns b ut af ter th e ,
winter it would b e necessary to mak e candles o ut o f

th e fat whi ch Mo ko car efully preser ved .
The feeding Of the li ttle colo ny was another subj ect o f

more trouble duri ng thi s time for nei ther th e sho o ters
,
no r the fishermen co uld fu rni sh thei r usual tribute A .
Game Terrace ! b ut these were the j ackals that Do n a

gan an d C r oss seared away w i th th e r e po r t o f a g un .
One day they came in a troop—there were about twen ty

—
Of them and th e do o rs Of the hall and sto re room had -
fierce by hunger w as a formidable afi ai r owever, . H

Fan gave th e alarm in time, an d they did no t force their
w ay in to rench DenF
U
.
n der these unfo rtunate co nditio ns Moko was

obliged to attack the pro visi o ns from the yach t , which
Gordon ne erv gave his fo r them
permission willin gly
to b e used and it w as w ith disgust he saw hi s co l mn
,
o f ex penses leng thenin g while that Of his recei pts

u
remain ed stati onar y H
o wever , as there w as a large
.
stock Of ducks and bustards whi ch had been sealed

in casks af ter being half co o ked Moko w as able to make ,
use Of them in additio n to a certai n uan ti ty Of salmo n

, q
preserved in brine But it sho uld no t b e forgotten
.
that Fren ch Den had fifteen mouths to satisfy , an d

the e wi th appeti ties o f fro m eight to fourteen years
0l ds
N
ever thele
s s, during this win ter there w as no t an ,
ex
p er ttrapping kept several
in , fi gur e O f 4 t r ap s
go ing o n th e ri v er bank w
-
i th su ccess an d w i th th e ai,d
o f his com ani ons he ri d u f w ti c l t
p gge p a e v er a n e s o n
W INTE R QUARTE RS 85
high sticks in the meshes o f whi ch the birds flying

,
ac ross t he stream fro m So uth Mo o rs were o ften caught

an d altho ugh mo st o f them go t away yet occasio n ally ,
eno ugh were t aken to fo rm a welco me addi tio n to th e

day s tw o meals
’
.
On the 9th o f July when Brian t wen t o ut fi rst thing

,
in the mo rnin g he fo un d that the w in d had suddenly

,
go t b ack to th e so ut h .
Th e co ld had beco me so keen th at Bri ant at o nce

went into the hall and to ld Go rdo n Of the ch ange o f
,
That is what I feared said Go rdo n and I sh all , ,
no t b e sur prised if w e have to put up wi th several

mo n ths o f very se vere win ter .
”
That would show sai d Bri ant th at th e yacht
,
dri fted much far ther to the so uth th an w e suppo sed

”
.
”
Doubtless said Go rdo n
, b ut o ur atlas has n o
islan d li ke this o n the boun dar y Of the Ant arcti c
O cean
Really I do no t kno w where w e shall go if w e
man age to leave Ch arman Islan d ”
.
Leave o ur island ex clai med Go rdon Are .
y o u alw a ys thin k i n g o f t h a t
Alw ays sai d Briant If w e could build a boat
th at wo uld b e seawort hy I sho uld n o t hesi tate to go o n
,
”
a vo yage o f discovery .
All right sai d Go rdo n But there is n o hurry .
Wai t a little till w e have go t o ur co lo ny in to o rder .

”
Eh sai d Bri an t Yo u fo rget w e have left

.
behin d us o ur fathers and mo thers

—
Of co urse o f course sai d Go rdon But w e
.
are n o t so b adly o ff here W e are getti ng o n and I ,
am begin ni ng to ask myself what i t 18 w e have no t go t .
”
Man y thin gs Gordo n sai d Briant no t cari ng to
, , ,
p ro lon g t he co n v ers a ti o n o n thi s s ubj e ct Fo r

‘
inst an ce w e are runnin g sho rt o f fuel

, .
Oh all the forests In the islan d are no t yet burnt .
NO But w e ought to re plenish o ur stock of woo d

.
,
fo r it is nearly at an end .
’
—
We ll see about that to day What does the th er .
mo meter register ?
The thermo meter in the sto re ro o m sh o wed only -
altho ugh th e sto ve w as do in g i ts best But when .
t he i nstrumen t h ad been taken o utsi de and ex posed ,
again st th e o uter wall i t wen t do wn to zero,

.
Thi s cold w as in tense and it wo uld certai nly increase

,
if the weather remain ed clear an d dry fo r a few weeks .
Already no twi thstan ding the ro arn o f th e sto ves in

,
th e hall and the co o kin g range th e temperature wen t

,
-
,
do wn in the in terio r Of French Den .
Abo ut ni ne O clo ck after breakfast it w as deci ded

’
, ,
to b e o fi to Trap Wo o ds an d bri ng in a stock o f ,
fuel .
When the atmo sphere is calm the lo w est temperature

can b e suppo r te d It is duri n g the bi tter wind that
.
h ands an d face are fro st bitten and life is in dan ger-

,
.
Fo rtun ately o n this day the w in d w as ex tremely

,
feeble and the sky wi tho ut a clo ud as if the ai r w as

, ,
fro zen In place o f the so ft sno w in to whi ch the ni ght

.
befo re th e legs w o uld sin k th e sur face w as no w as h ard

,
as i ro n an d t o avo i d falli ng the bo ys h ad to walk as

,
carefully as if they were o n Family Lake o r Ze alan d

Riv er whi ch were no w enti rely fro zen o ver Wi th a
, .
few pai rs Of sno w sho es such as are used by the n ati ves
-
,
Of po lar regio ns o r even w i th a sledge drawn by do gs

,
o r rein deer the lake co uld h ave been ex plo re d fro m

,
n o rth to so uth i n a few ho urs .
But n o such lo n g ex pediti on w as in ten ded to d ay .
To go to th e neighbo urin g fo res t to repleni sh th e

sto ck Of fuel th at w as the i mmediate necessity
bring a sumci ent quan ti ty to the cav e
,
an d to
wo uld be arduo us wo rk if it h ad to be transpor ted ,
in th e arms o r o n the b ack But Mo ko had an .
i dea whi ch h e pro ceeded to put into ex ecution .
The b ig table in th e sto re roo m stro n gly built an d -

, ,
measurin g twelve feet in length by fo ur in breadth ,
wo uld that no t do fo r a sledge if the legs were turne d

uppermo st ? Wh y certai nly and th at is what w as
, ,
W INTE R QUARTE RS 87
do ne ! and with fo ur of the bigger boys dr aggin g it

by co rds attached to its legs the departure w as made ,
to Trap Wo o ds .
The little o nes wi th r ed n oses an d heal thy C heeks

, ,
frisked alo ng in fro n t an d Fan set them the ex ample

, .
O ccasio n ally they caught ho ld Of the table no t w itho ut ,
disputes an d runni ng fights b ut all in fun and at the , ,
risk o nly Of a fall whi ch co uld do them no har m

, .
Their sho uts reso unded wi th ex trao rdinary clearness

in th e co ld dry atmo sphere
, And in truth it w as .
, ,
qui te refres hing to see all the li ttle co lo n y in good

humo ur and good heal th .
Everything w as whi te as far as the eye could see

between Auckland Hill an d Family Lake The trees .
,
wi th their ri my bran ches lo aded with gli ttering crystals ,
ro se n ear an d far in masses as in a fi er y gar den , O ver .
th e sur face o f the lak e th e bir ds flew in flocks Dona .
ga n an d C ro ss h a d n o t f o r gott en t o b rin g th e ir g u n s
—
wi th them a wise precautio n fo r footprin ts were ,
n o ticed that must have been made by other wild animals
than j ackals cougar s and j aguars

, , .
Perhaps they are the wild cats they call paj eros ,
sai d Go rdo n .
Oh ! sai d Cost ar shr uggin g hi s sho ulders

, if ,
they ar e o nly cats

And tigers are o nly cats sai d J enkins , .
Is it true Servi ce , as ked Costar , that these ,
cats are dangero us

Q ui te tr ue sa,i d S e r v i ce A n d th ey sc ra .
g li ttle
bo ys as easily as they do mice .
And th e an swer made Co star rather un eas y .
The half mile between French Den and Trap Woods

-
w as so o n acco mpli shed an d th e yo ung wo o d cutters

,
-
g o t to wo rk . Th e a x e w a s o nly lai d t o su ch tr ees a s

were Of a cer tain size these were stripped Of their
smaller bran che s so as to yield no t o nly faggo ts which
,
wo uld blaze away in a momen t b ut good sized blo cks ,

-
that would come in useful fo r the stoves and range .
Then the table sledge was heavily loaded b ut it slipped

-
,
o g so easily that before twelve o clock it had made

al n
’
tw o jour neys .
After a meal the wo rk went o n till fo ur O clock when ’
the day began to Clo se In It w as tiring work an d as

.
, ,
there w as no need to carry anyt hing to ex cess Go rdo n ,
called the boys Ofl in ten di ng to return in th e mo rning

, .
An d when Gordon ordered they had to Obey .
Bes i des as soon as they return ed to French Den

, ,
they could employ themselves in sawi ng the blo cks ,
spli tti ng them an d sto wi ng them awa y an d that wo uld

, ,
occupy them till it w as time to go to b ed .
Fo r six days this wood cutting went o n W i tho ut a

-
break an d eno ugh fuel w as co llected to last fo r many

,
weeks Of co urse all thi s wood could no t b e sto wed in

.
,
the s to re ro o m ! b ut there w as n o reason why the

-
grea te r part sho uld n o t r emain in safety agai n st th e clifl
Th e 1 5 th Of July, according to the almanac, w as St .
S within s Day ’
.
Then sai d Bri an t

, as it rains tod ay, are w e
,
g o in g t o h av e fo rty d ays r ai n ?
’
But th e rain did no t co n tinue, the wind return ed to

th e so uth e ast an d i t became so cold that Go rdo n wo uld
-
,
no t allow any o f the li ttle On es to set foot o ut o f d oo rs .
In th e fi rst week in A
ugust th e thermo meter sank
to 14 below zero , an d th e breath Of those w ho fo r a
°
mo men t ex posed themselves to the ai r condensed in to

sno w . Th e b and co uld n o t touch a piece Of metal
w itho ut a sh arp pain as o f b uming C are had to b e
.
taken to keep the temperatur e indoors sufficiently high .
A mo st painful fortnight followed All suffered, more

.
o r less, fro m the want o f ex ercise Bri an t could no t

.
see w ith out feeling anxi o us the pale looks Of the li ttle
o n es , w hose colour h ad qui te disappeared owever , . H
t hanks t o the ho t dri nks, which were always procurable ,
with the ex ception o f a few colds, the young people
escaped wi thout much damage .
A
On the 16 th o f ugust the ai r un derwen t a change, as
the win d shifted into the west, an d the thermometer
ree f which was then covered wi th a thick b ed o f ice

,
.
But to kill an y th e bo ys wo uld have to cut Off their

retreat as when Bri an t and hi s comrades approached
,
they too k to flight wi th man y ex trao rdinary an tics ,
an d disappeared in th e sea Evidently an ex pediti on

.
fo r th e capture Of thes e an imals wo uld have to b e

o rgan ized later o n .
After having lunched o n the few pro vi sions they had

brought with them the boys set to work to ex amine the
,
who le stretch o f the b ay .
One lo n g whi te shee t ex tended fro m Zeal an d River to

False Po int Ex cept the penguins an d sea birds such
.
-
,
as petrels an d g ulls i t seemed as th o ugh the o ther birds

,
had aban do ned th e beach fo r th e in terior in search Of

foo d .
TW O o r three feet Of sno w lay o n th e beach and all ,
that r emain ed o f the schooner had b een hi dden by i t .
The li nes o f seaweed o n the n ear si de Of the breakers

showed that Schoon er Bay had no t been invaded by
the hi gh tides Of th e equi n o x .
The sea w as still deserted as far as co uld b eseen , ,
up to th e very limi t o f th e horizo n that Bri an t h ad n o t

lo o ked upo n fo r three lo ng mo nt hs An d beyo nd .
,
hun dreds Of miles away w as this New Zealand that he ,
B ax ter busi ed himself in ho isti ng the new flag whi ch

h e had brought wi th him, an d n ailing to the fl agstafl
th e plate giving the posi tio n o f Fren ch Den at six miles
up the course Of th e stream Then abo ut o ne O Clock ’
.
,
in the aftern oon they star ted ho mewards

, .
On the w ay Do n agan sho t a brace o f pin tail and lap

wing whi ch were skimming o ver the river and to
war ds fo ur 0 clock, as dusk w as co ming o n they reached
’
the cave Go rdo n w as to ld o f all that h ad passed , an d

.
agreed that the seals should b e attacked as so on as th e

weather permi tted .
In fact , th e win ter w as n early over Duri ng the .
A
last week of ugust and th e first week of eptember S ,
the sea breeze blew

-
A
seri es Of squalls bro ught o n a
.
W INTE R QuA RTE Rs 9 1
gr eat increase of temperatur e The sn ow b egan to

.
melt the surface Of the lake began to break up w i th a

,
deafening n o ise The bergs that did no t melt in the

.
lake were swept in to th e ri ver an d, piled o n e o n th e

,
o ther , fo rmed a b arrier that did no t clear awa t ill t h

y e
S
r o th Of ept embe r .
An d so the win t er had passed Owing to the pr e

.
cautio ns that had be en taken the li ttle colony had n o t

,
suffered much . All had kept in good healt h , an d th e

studi es having been atten ded to Gor don had had hardly
,
o n e co mplain t to deal wi th .
One day, however h e h ad had to chastise Do le,

,
whose co n duct required punishment .
S ever al times th e o bsti n ate b o y had refused to do

what he w as told, an d Go rdo n had repri mande d him ,
b ut h e took no noti ce o f hi s o bservations An d in th e

.
end Gordo n sen ten ced hi m to b e flogged .
An d so Dole recei ved a birching at the han ds o f

Wilco x , who had been selected by lo t fo r the po st Of
publi c ex ecutioner And the ex am e had its effect,
.
in pr even ting any further disobedi en ce

m .
S
On ep tember the ro th si x months had go ne by sin ce
the schoo ner w as lost o n the reefs o f Charman Islan d .
C HAPTE R IX
TW O hundred yards fro m the creek there w as a hill

abo ut fifty feet hi gh whi ch formed an Observ ato ry fro m
, ,
whi ch Gordo n an d hi s co mrades might have an ex tended

view o f the country And as soon as the sun rose they
.
The glasses were immediately po i nted t o the n o rth .
If the san dy deser t stretched away as the map sho wed , ,
it w as impo ssi ble to as cer tai n i ts bo undary line fo r t he

ho rizon Of sea would b e about twelve miles to the
n orthward ,an d mo re th an seven to th e eas tw ard .
There seemed to be no go o d in going further no r th .
”
Then as ked Cross, what ar e w e to do ?
,
”
G o back , sai d Gor do n .
No t befo re breakfast sai d

, erv ice S .
Get the cloth lai d , said Webb .
”
If w e are go ing back , sai d Do nagan , co uld w e no t
go an o th er w a y
W e will try to do so sai d Go rdon
, .
It seems to me, sai d Do nagan that we sho uld

”
,
co mplete o ur ex plo ration if w e wen t alon th th

g e o er
bank Of the lake .
“
That would b e rather long said Go rdon , Ac .
cordi ng to th e map that must b e fro m thi rty t o fo rty

miles and it would take fo ur o r fi v e days supposing w e
,
met wi th nothing to stop us ! A

t French Den they
”
would be In a state of great anxiety fo r us .
“
But said Bo nagan , sooner or later i t will b e
necessar y to ex plo re that par t
’
.
“ ”
Certai nly, sai d Gor don ! and I in tend to hav e
an ex pedi tio n o ver there .
But, said Cro ss, D

to go back the same w ay
BRAVO, EAxT E R ! 93
Q u i t e so , sa i d Go rd o n an d I p ropo,se t o follo w
S
the lake sh o re to to p River , an d then to stri ke Off fo r
”
th e cli ff an d ski r t it o n o ur w ay to th e caves
, .
A nd why gO do wn the ri ver ? asked Wilcox .
Why indeed ? sai d Do n agan

, Wh y n o t make .
a sho rt cut across th e san d to th e fi rs t tr ees in Trap

W oods, whi ch are no t mo re than three o r four mi les
to the south west -
Because w e must cross top River , answered S

Gordo n . W e kn o w w e can get acro ss w here w e
crossed yesterday ! but farther down w e might fi nd a
to rrent that wo uld gi ve tro uble If w e enter the fo rest .
o n the left b ank o f th e ri ver w e must b e all ri ht

, g .
Always cautious Go rdo n ! ex claimed Do na an

,
g ,
w ith j ust a to uch o f iro n y .
Yo u never can b e tOO cauti o us sai d Go rdo n .
And then they all slipped do wn the hill r egain ed their ,
camp ate a li ttle biscui t an d cold veni son ro lled up

, ,
their blankets and star ted back o n the road they had
,
come alo ng th e night befo r e .
The sky w as magnificen t A light breeze barely

.
r ufi ed the surf ace Of th e lake There was every sign Of

.
a fi n e day If the weather would o nly keep fine fo r

.
thi r ty six ho urs Go rdo n would b e satisfi ed for he

-
,
c o un ted o n reachin g Fr ench Den the n ex t evening .
By eleven O clo ck the boys were back at S to p Ri v er

’
.
N o thin g had occurred o n the w ay ex cept that Do nagan

h ad sh o t tw o splen di d tuft ed bustards wi th a plumag e ,
o f black mixed wi th r ed above an d whi te belo w which ,
p u t hi m in as go o d a h um our as S er v i ce w h o w as ,
always ready to pluck dra w and roast any bird

, ,
This w as the fate o f the bustar ds an hour later when ,
the bo ys h ad cro ssed th e ri ver in the Halkett boat .
NOW w e are under the trees sai d Gordon and I

”
, ,
hOpe Bax ter w ill have a chance Of using the lasso o r

”
t h e b o las .
He hasn t do ne much with them as yet sai d

’
B o n agan w ho did n o t thin k much Of any weapo n o f

t h e chase ex cept fi rearms
And what could w e do with the birds ? as ked

Bax ter .
Birds o r quadr upeds Bax ter, I do n t thi nk ,

’
much of
No I r , a dded Cross , al ways rea dy to ppo rt

su his
Yo u well wai t until he has tri ed them

might as
befo re yo u condemn them sai d Go rdon I am sure, .
he will do something good When our ammunitio n .
gi ves o ut th e las so,

an d th e bo las will n o t fail us .
But th e birds w ill sai d Do nagan , .
W e will see sai d Go rdo n and n o w let us lunch

’
.
, ,
But th e preparati o ns took so me time as Service ,
wan ted his bustard cooked to a turn The o ne bird .
w as en oug h fo r the meal it w as a go o d sized o ne and -

,
n ear l y three feet from beak to tail being amo ng

, the
w as ea en t to the las t mo uthful and even to , th e las t

bon e , fo r Fan , to W ho m the carcase fell left , as li ttle
as her masters .
Lu ch b i
n ver the boys started Off in to the
e ng o ,
unkn o wn par t o f Trap Wo o ds traversed by S to p Ri ver

o n i ts w ay to the ocean Th e map sho wed that i t .
curved towards the n o r th west to get rou n d th e C lifl -

,
an d that its mouth w as beyo n d False Po in t ! and ,
therefo re Gordon resolved to leave the river which

, ,
wo uld take him in the o pposite dir ecti on to French

Den hi s Obj ect being to tak e th e sho rtest ro ad to
,
Auckland Hi ll and then strike northwards alo ng its

,
Co mpass in hand Go rdo n led the w ay to the west .
The trees wider apar t than in the mo re so utherly

,
district Ofl ered n o Obstacle and the gro un d w as fai rly

, ,
Amo ng the birches and beech es li ttle cleari ngs

Opened n o w and th en into whi ch th e sun-ra s pen etra
y
gr een o f o
th e f li age and the carpet o f grass In places .
,
su erp b seuecios bo re their blooms o n stems two or

BRAVO, EAe R ! 95
S
three feet high , an d erv ice Wilcox , and Webb gathered
,
so me Of th e flo wers an d stuck them in their coats .
Then it w as that a discovery o f great use w as made

by Gordon whose botani cal kn o wledge w as often to b e
,
o f use to the li ttle colony His attenti on w as attracted

.
by a very bushy shrub , wi th poorly developed leaves,

and spiny bran che s , beari ng a r ed di sh fr ui t abo ut the
size o f a pea .
That is the trulca, if I am no t mistaken said he , .
It is a frui t much used by th e In dians .
” “
S
If it is eatable, sai d ervi ce, let us eat it, fo r
i t costs n o thin g .
And befo re Gordon co uld stop him ervi ce began to S

crack some Of th e frui t between his teeth He made a .
h orri ble grimace, and hi s co mrades roar ed wi th laughter ,

w hile h e spi t o ut the abun dan t sali vati on eaused by the
Yo u told me i t w as eatable he ex clai med .
I did no t say it w as eatable, repli ed Go rdon

’
.
The In di an s use the frui t fo r making a dri n k they

O btain by fermen tation The li quor will b e Of great
.
v alue to us when o ur bran dy has all gon e that is if , ,
w e min d what w e ar e doing wi th it , fo r it soon gets into

t h e h ead Fill a b ag wi th the tr uleas , and we ll ex peri ’
.
ment wi th them at French Den

”
.
The frui t w as no t easy to gather from among the

t ho usan ds o f tho rns, b ut by beatin g the branches Bax ter
and Webb kn ocked en ough o n th e groun d to make a
bagful, and then the journey was res umed .
ga thered They were the pods Of the algarr obe

.
,
an other So uth Ameri can n ati ve whi ch also by fermen ,
t atio n yield a strong li quo r

. Thi s time Serv ice ab
.
stai n ed fro m tryin g them an d he did well fo r al tho ugh

, ,
th e algarrobe seems sweet at first yet the mo uth is ,
so on affected w i th ex treme dr yness .
In th e afternoo n a quar ter o f a mile befo re they

,
reached the slope of Auckland Hill the bo ys made ,
another discov ery o f qui te as much irnpo rtan ce The .
upect o f the fo rest had Changed In more sheltered .

96 A DRIFT IN THE PA C IFIC
positi o n the vegetati o n w as more richly developed .
Six ty o r eighty feet fro m the gro und the trees spread
their huge bran ches amid whi ch innumerable song,
birds chattered One o f th e fi nest of the trees w as the

.
an tar cti c beech whi ch keeps i ts ten der green fo li age

,
all th e year ro und No t qui te so high b ut still magn ifi

. ,
cent ro se clumps Of winters wi th bar k the flavo ur

, ,
Of cinnamo n .
N ear these Go rdon reco gnized the pemettia the ,
tea tr ee o f the who rtleberry family met wi th in hi gh

-
,
lati tudes .
That will take the place Of o ur tea sai d Gordon , .
Take a few han dsful Of the leaves and later o n w e ,
will come back and gather enough fo r th e winter .
It w as fo ur o clock befo re Aucklan d Hill w as reached

’
n ear i ts n o rt h ern en d Although i t di d no t seem to b e

.
as high here as at Fren ch Den yet it w as impos si ble to ,
ascend it o wing to its almost perpen di cular slo pe .
Thi s was ho wever o f no consequence as it w as intended

, , ,
to fo llo w its base all the w ay to Zealan d Ri ver .
TW O miles far ther o n the bo ys heard the murmur of a

torren t whi ch fo amed thr o ugh a n arrow gorge in the
C liff and whi ch w as easily fo rded
, .
This o ught to b e the stream sai d Do nagan , ,
that w e di sco vered o n o ur fi rst ex pedi tio n .
Th at in which w as the causeway ? asked Gordo n .
Yes sai d Bonagan

, an d whi ch w e called Di ke
,
Creek .
Well let us camp o n its right ban k sai d Gordo n

, , .
It is j ust fi v e O clock an d if w e are to pass an other

’
night in th e o pen ai r w e might as well do i t here un der

,
the shelter o f these b ig trees To morrow I ho pe w e .

-
,
shall sleep o n o ur beds in th e hall .
Ser vice busied himself prepari ng the second bus tard

fo r dinn er It w as to be ro asted like the other o ne
.
b ut i t is n o t fai r to fi nd fault wi th S ervi ce o n accoun t

Of the samen e s s Of his bill Of fare .
While dinner w as being go t ready Go rdon an d Bax ter ,
stro lled o ff into th e wood o n e in sear ch Of new plan ts ! ,
the oth er wi th the in tention Of usin g his lasso o r

98 A DRIFT i n THE PAC IFIC
the vicugna by the cord o f the bolas th e other carrying ,
a ki d un der each arm A s their mother w as s till .
no urishing them i t w as pr obable that th e youngsters

,
co uld b e bro ught up wi thout di ffi culty They might .
beco me a herd that wo uld become very useful to the

co lo ny Do nagan do ubtless regretted the splendi d sho t
.
h e h ad missed b ut when the game h ad to b e taken ali ve ,
h e had to admi t that th e bo las w as be tter than th e gun .
The bo ys di n ed o r rather supped in high spiri ts The .
vicugna tied to a tree did no t refuse to feed while th e

, , ,
kids gambo lled r o un d her .
Th e night ho wever w as no t so quiet as the o ne spent

, ,
in S andy Desert This part o f th e fo rest w as visited

.
by animals mo re fo rmidable than j ackals and their ,
cries were recognizable as being a co mbinati on o f ho wl

ing and b arking at th e same time About three o clo ck .
’
in the mo rnin g th ere w as an alarm due to th e gro wling

,
clo se by .
Donegan o n guard near th e fi re wi th his gun in

,
han d di d no t think it wo rth while to wake hi s co mrades

, ,
b ut the gro wling became so v i o lent as o f i tself to wake

them .
What is the matter asked Wilcox .
There are some wild beas ts prowling roun d said ,
Don agan .
Pro bably j aguars o r coug ars I sai d Gordon .
On e is as b ad as th e other .
No t qui te Do n ag an , th e cougar is no t so dangerous

,
as the j aguar ! b ut in a pack they are dan gero us
We are rea dy fo r them said Do nagan And h e

, .
p u t hi m self o n th e , defensiv e while his comrades go t

o ut th eir revolvers .
Do n t sho o t un til yo u can t miss, sai d Gordon

’ ’
.
I thi nk the fire will keep themo ff .
They ar e close by sai d Cro ss , .
And th e pack w as near eno ugh to j udge by the fury

o f Fan , who m Gor do n had so me diffi culty in ho ldin
g
back But it w as impo ssible to distinguish any form
.
in the deep darkness of the fo rest .

BRAVO, BAXTE R ! 99
Ev iden tly the creatures were accustomed to come and

drink at night in this place Finding their haunt .
occupied they sho wed their displeasur e by th eir frig ht

ful gro wls .
Suddenly moving spots o f light appea red some

,
twenty yards away Instantly there w as the report o f

.
a g un .
Do n agan h ad fi red , and a storm of gr owls replied .
His co mrades, rev olver in han d, were ready to sho o t

if th e wild beasts rushed at th e camp .
Bax ter seizing a burning bran d , hur led i t straight

,
at th e gli tteri ng eyes ! an d inst an tly the growlin

g
s t o pped and the an imals o n e o f whom sho uld have
, ,
b een hit by Do nagan, were lo st in the depths o f Trap

Wo o ds .
They hav e moved o fi sai d Cross , .
Go od luck to them sai d Service

”
, .
Will they come back as ked Cr oss .
That is no t li kely sai d Gordon ! b ut we will

,
”
watch till dayli ght .
So me wo o d w as thro wn o n the fire which w as kept

blazing till the day bro ke Th e camp w as str uck .
,
an d th e bo ys ran o ff in to the thi cket to see if o n e o f th e

an imals had n o t been killed .
They found the gro un d stained wi th a large patch o f

blo o d The brute h ad been able to get away and it
.
,
wo uld have been eas y to reco ver it if Fan h ad been

sen t in search b ut Go rdo n did no t think it worth while
,
to go furth er in to th e forest Th e ques tio n arose as .
to whether they wer e j aguars o r co ugar s o r so mething

as dangero us b ut after all th e impo r tan t point w as
, , ,
th at the bo ys were all safe an d so un d .
At six o clo ck they were o fi again There w as no

’
.
time to lose if they were to co ver during the day the

ni n e miles betw een th em an d Fren ch Den .
Service and Webb took care o f the yo ung vicugnas ,
while the mo ther was quite satisfi ed to fo llo w Bax ter

w ho led her with the string .
There was no t much vari ety m the road On the left .
w as a curtain o f trees so metimes in masses so metime s

, ,
I OO A DRIFT IN T HE PAC IFIC
in c ttered clumps To the right ran the rocky

s a .
w all striped here and th ere wi th pebble b an ds in the

,
limesto ne and ri sin g higher an d higher as the travellers

,
wen t so uthwards .
At eleven o clo ck the fi rst halt w as made fo r lunch

’
an d thi s ti me so as to lose n o ti me the pro v isio ns i n th e

, ,
bags were attacked After the fresh start w as made

.
pro gress w as mo re rapi d and no thi ng occurred to sto p ,
i t un ti l abo ut th ree o clo ck in the afternoo n the report

’
o f a gun echo e d amo n g the trees .
Bo n agan Cro ss an d Webb accompanied by Fan

, , , ,
were a hun dred yar ds in adv an ce and thei r comrades ,
co uld n o t see them when t hey heard the sho ut of ,
Lo o k o ut I
Suddenly an animalo f large si ze came rushing thro ugh
th e thi cket Bax ter whi rling hi s lasso over his head
.
too k a flyi ng shot The no o se fell over the n eck o f the

.
ani mal b ut so pow erful w as i t th at Bax te r wo uld hav e

,
been dragged away if Go rdon Wilcox and Servi ce had ,
no t hun g o n to the en d o f th e lin e and whi pped i t ,
ro un d th e t run k o f a t ree .
No sooner had they do n e so than Webb and Cro ss

appe are d from un der th e t rees fo llow e d by Bo n agan , ,
who ex claimed in a tone o f ill temper Confo un d the -

,
beast 1 How could I have mi sse d it

Bax ter di dn t miss i t sai d Serv ice
”
and here w e
’
, ,
have i t all ali ve o h 1

,
Wh at does it matter ? asked Bonagan You ll .

’
have to ki ll it .
Kill i t I sai d Go rdo n No t at all I It is o ur .
beast o f burden I
“
Wh at this thi n g ? ex claimed Serv i ce
, .
It is a guanaco sai d Go rdon and gu

, anaco s ,
figure largely in the studs o f So uth Ameri ca

Useful o r no t useful Bonagan w as v ery sorry he had
.
no t sho t it But he sai d n o thi ng an d went up to

.
,
ex a mi neit .
Altho ugh the guanaco is clas sed wi th the camels,

i t in n o w ay resembles those animals at fi rst glance .
Its slender neck, elegan t head, long, r ather lanky

C HA PTE R X
AC RO S S T HE LA KE
Ir w as n earl y ten mo n ths c

boys had been
sin e the
w recked and thro wn o n thi s island ei ght een hun dred
,
leagues away fro m New Zealan d Duri ng this time as

.
,
w e have seen their positi o n h ad gradually impro ved

,
an d i t seeme d as tho ugh no w they were at leas t se cur e

Of th e necessaries Of li fe .
But sti ll th ey were ab an do ned o n an unknown islan d

—
Would the help fro m w i thout the o nly help they co uld
—
ho pe fo r come be fo re the en d Of th e hot seaso n ?
Wo uld the colon y have to en dure a seco n d antarctic
w i nter. Hitherto there had been no illness All .
,
yo ung and Old had been as well as possible Owing

—
.
,
to Go rdo n s care and no t wi tho ut an occasi on al

’
g r um b le at his st ri ct n ess— n o irnp r uden ce n o ex cess ,
h ad been commi tted But if the presen t w as pros

.
perons enough the future could only be Viewed w i th

,
anxiety .
Bri an t s co ns tant tho ught w as to get away from

’
Charman Islan d But wi th the only bo at th ey

.
po ssessed the yawl ho w could they ven ture o n a vo yage

, ,
that wo uld b e a lo ng o ne even if the island di d no t belo ng

to o ne Of th e Pacifi c Archi pelago es ? Even if tw o o r
three o f the bo ldest Of the bo ys ven tured in search o f
lan d to th e east ward ho w few were th e chan ces th at
,
they wo uld reach it Could they build a boat large

en o ugh to carr y th em ? Certainly no t I That would
be be yo n d their streng th fo r Bri an t s only idea o f a
’
bo at w as o ne that wo uld carry them all .
All they could do w as to wai t an d wo r k to make ,
themselves co mfo rtable at Fren ch Den And if no t .

,
this summer when they had almost eno ugh to do to

,
AcRo ss ms LAKB 103
prepare fo r the winter at least n ex t they co uld fini sh

, ,
th e ex plo ratio n of their is lan d .
Reso lutely they set to work Ex perience had taught .
them ho w cold the winter co uld be Fo r weeks fo r .

,
mo n ths even b ad weather might oblige them to remai n

,
in the hall and they must abo ve all things be prepared

,
against cold and hunger the two enem , i es they had most
t o fear .
TO fight the cold in French Den was only a questi o n o f

fuel an d the autumn shor t as it might b e could no t
, ,
close un til Go rdo n had enough wood in store to keep

the stoves going ni ght and day But ought no t some .
thi ng to be done fo r th e do mes ti c animals in the en

clo sure and po ultry yard ? TO shelter them in the
sto r e ro o m wo uld no t be very pleasan t
- an d w o uld ,
certainly b e unwise fro m a heal th po in t Of View Hence .
th e n eed Of maki ng th e shed more habi table and o f ,
heating it by means o f a fi re place whi ch could always

-
keep the ai r at a fai r temperature An d during the .
fi rst mo n ths o f the new year Bax ter Briant Ser vice , , ,
an d M o ko were busily emplo yed in thi s matter .
In the equally importan t task o f provisi oning the

Den for the lo ng win ter Donegan an d his compan i ons
,
fo und quite en ough to do Every day they visi ted the

.
traps snares an d nets Wh atever w as caught and

, , .
,
w as no t required fo r daily use w ent to sw ell th e reserv es

,
o f salted o r smoked meat whi ch Moko w as prepar ing

,
w i th much car e .
But an ex plori ng expedi tion w as urgently called

fo r ! n o t to ex plo re the who le o f th e unkno wn terri
to ri es of Charman Island b ut those o nly to the east Of
,
Family Lake Did these consist o f forest marsh o r

. , ,
b e used ?
One day Bri an t had a talk with Go rdon o n the subj ect
tr eating i t fr o m a n ew po in t of Vi ew .
Altho ugh Baudo in 3 map may be fai rly correct

’
sai d he ,it is des irable that w e sho uld ex plo re the

eastern side fo r ourselves W e have good glasses
.
.
104 A DRIFT m ma PAC IFIC
h ch Baudoin di d no t have and w ho kn ows if w e might

w i ,
no t see lan d th at h e co uld no t His map makes Char

man Islan d a soli tar y o ne and it may no t b e so , .
”
Always the same idea sai d Gordo n ,

’
ar e mi serable at no t getti ng away I

Yes and at hear t I am sure yo u feel the same as I
, ,
do Ought w e no t to do all w e can to get ho me again

.
as soo n as possi ble

”
Well sai d Gordon w e will organize an expedi
, ,
An pedition in whi ch w e can all take part ?

ex
NOIt seems to me that six o r seven of us
.
That would be to o man y If they are so numero us .
they wo uld o nly be able to get r ound th e lake at the

n or th o r south and w ho kn ow s what difli culties they
,
might meet wi th .
’
W hat then do yo u pro pose

I pro pose to cross the lake in the yawl and to do , ,
th at only two o r thr ee need go

, .
An d who wi ll have ch ar ge o f th e yawl

H e kn ows h o w to manage a
”
Mo ko sai d Brian t , .
bo at an d I understan d a li ttle about it With the

, .
sail if th e w in d is fai r an d wi th th e tw o o ars

, if i t is
, ,
ag ai ns t us w e might easily man age th e fi v e o r six miles

,
acr oss the lake and reach th e watercourse whi ch , ,
acco rding to th e map r uns through th e eas tern fo rest

,
and w e could go dow n that to i t s mo uth

”
.
Agreed I approve Of your idea But who will

. .
g o w i th Moko ?
I will fo r I di d no t take part in the ex pedi tion to
,
the north Of th e lake It is my turn to b e Of use

. .
TO b e Of use I sai d Gordon Have yo u no t .
been o f great use Have yo u no t done more than any

of the others ?
Well w e have all done o ur duty sai d Bri ant
, , .
SO it is a reed th en
g
Yes it i s agreed But who is to go wi th yo u ? I
, .
sho uld n o t pro pose Do nagan fo r yo u do no t et o n well

g ,
to gether .
106 A DRIFT m rnB PAC IFIC
the c opy which had been made Of Baudoin s map ’

,
in w hi ch the new name

s were wri tten as they wer e
gi ven .
On the 4th o f Februar y abo ut eight 0 clock in the

’
morning Brian t J ack and Mo ko bade go o dbye to

, , ,
their comrades and embar ked It w as a splendi d

, .
mo rning wi th a light wind fro m the south west The

-
.
sai l w as set , and M o ko took th e hehn leaving Briant ,
to look after the sheet The surface Of th e lake was .
ri ppled by t he bree ze an d thi s the yawl felt more as ,
she go t furth er o ut and in half an hour Gor do n an d

th e o thers fro m the terrace could see only a black spot ,
w hi ch so o n disappeared .
M o ko w as seated aft Brian t more forwar d an d J ack , ,
at th e fo ot o f the mast Fo r an hour the high ridge o f .
A uckland H
ill remai ned abo ve the horizo n But th e .
oppo site sho re o f the lake h ad n o t yet risen in to View

altho ugh it could no t b e far Off nfo rt un ately as . U ,
Often happens when the sun gai ns in power th e wind ,
showed a ten den cy to di e aw ay, and about noon i t
It is a pity , said Brian t, that the breeze has

go n e .
It would have been wo rse if it had headed us ,
sai d M o ko .
Yo u ar e a philoso pher said Briant , .
I do n t know what yo u understand by that sai d

’
th e cabin bo y b ut I certai nly make the best Of what

comes .
Well that is philosophy, .
Then hoo ray fo r philo so phy and let us take to the ,
oars W e must reach th e sho re before night if w e can

.
an d if —
w e can t w e can t th at s all
’ ’
,
’
.
That s i t Moko I ll take an oar yo u take an o ther

’
, .
’
, ,
an d J ack tak es the helm .
An d if Mas ter J ack steers well w e shall make goo d
Tell me what to do , sai d J ack , and I ll do

’
my
Acno ss mm
: mm 107
Moko took in the sail whi ch had even ceased to flap ,
fo r the win d h ad quite gone The boys then had a .
mo rsel to eat and then wi th Moko fo rwar d and J ack

, ,
at th e tiller th e bo at b egan to mo ve to th e n o rth e as t

,
-
,
the course being st eered by compass She w as then .
in the cen tr e Of the large sheet Of water an d j ust as if ,
sh e were o ut at sea the surface w as bounded by th e

,
li ne of sky J ack kept an anx ious look o ut for th e

.
-
shore o ppo si te Fr en ch Den .
Abo ut three 0 clock Moko taking the glasses ah

’
, , ,
n o un ced that h e saw signs of lan d A little later .

,
Brian t agreed that he w as no t mi staken At fo ur .
o clo ck th e to ps Of tr ees showed themselves rising fro m

’
a lo w fl at shore whi ch Brian t had been un able to

, ,
detect fro m False Poin t SO th e only heights o n Char .
man Islan d were those Of Auckland Hill .
The bo at w as still fro m two miles and a h alf to thr ee

miles away fro m th e eastern sho re Briant and Mo ko ,
ro wing steadily o n an d getting very tir ed ow ing to t he

,
g r e at h ea t Th e.sur fac e o f t h e lak e w as li k e a mi rr or .
Every n o w and then the botto m could be seen twelve

o r fifteen feet do wn co vered wi th water plan ts among ,
w hi ch myriads Of fi sh were swimming .
It w as n early six O clock when the yawl near ed the

’
shore at the fo o t o f a ban k ab o ve whi ch spread ,
th e clustering br anch es of gr een o aks an d sea pin es -

.
Th e bank w as to o hi gh fo r the bo ys to lan d and ,
they had to coast alon g fo r h alf a mile o r so to the

n orth .
There is the ri ver mar ked o n the map sai d Brian t , ,
poin ting to an o pening in the ban k through which ,
flowed th e waters Of the lake .
Well sai d Moko I thi nk w e ought to give it a

, ,
na me .
”
All right, d Brian t let us call it East Ri ver

sai , ,
as i t flows t o the eas t .
That w ill do said Moko , An d no w w e have .
only to get into th e stream and dri ft down i t .
We w ill do that to morrow Mo ko W e had better -

, .
108 ADRIFT IN r BB PAC IFIC
camp here W e can star t at daw n to morrow

.
-
an d
ex plore bo th banks of th e river .
Shall w e go asho re asked Jack .
Oh yes , sai d Brian t and camp un der

, , the
The boys to ok the bo at into a li ttle creek an d scram

bled Out o n to the bank They mo ored the yawl to a .
stump an d took o ut o f her th e arms an d pro visio ns

,
.
A good fi re o f dry wo od w as lighted at the fo ot Of a

lar ge green o ak an d they had a meal of biscui t and cold
,
meat and were no t at all so rry to get to sleep

,
.
Co me wake up let us be moving sai d Briant

,
”
, ,
who w as th e first to awake at six O clo ck nex t morning ’

.
And in a few mi nutes all three were back in th e boat and

o ut in the str eam .
—
Th e curren t w as rather strong the ti de had turned
about half an hour before — an d the c ars were n o t
needed Briant an d J ack were in th e b o w Of the yawl
.
,
while Moko wi th o ne o f the car s o ut as tem kept the

, ,
bo at in mid stream - .
”
It is likely sai d Moko that w e shall get down to
, ,
th e sea in o n e ti de if E ast Ri ver is only six miles lo ng ,
as the curren t is much strong er than in Zealan d Ri ver .
Let us hope so
”
said Brian t When w e come , .
back w e may hav e to take tw o o r three ti des ”

.
That may be sai d Moko and if you like we can , ,
star t wi th the nex t ti de .
”
Yes sai d Brian t
, as so on as w e have seen that ,
th ere is no land to th e eas tward .
The yawl drifted along at a rate Moko estimated Of , ,
abo ut a mile an hour Acco rding to the compass East .
River ran in an almost strai ght course to th e east

no r th east
- It was more shut in than Zealand River
.
,
an d i t w as no t so wide being only about thi r ty fee t ,
across Brian t s only fear w as that there might be

’
.
some rapi ds o r whi rlpools in i ts course b ut there would ,
be time enough to prepare fo r any Obst acle .
The boys were in a forest in whi ch the vegetati o n ,
w as v ery thick th e trees being similar to these in Trap

,
I IO A DRIFT IN THE PAC IFIC
t
s eere d bo at
in to the left ban k an d then, car rying
the ,
th e grapn el to lan d he stuck i t fi rmly in to the ground

, .
H ere w as qui te a di ffer en t state Of affai rs to th at o n

th e other si de o f the island It w as a deep b ay, but
.
in stead o f the wide san dy beach and lin e o f reefs and

,
lo fty cli fl s as o n Wr eck C o ast there w as a mass of ro cks

, ,
amo ng whi ch , as Brian t soon fou n d, there were at least

a sco r e o f caves .
This si de Of the islan d was consequently well fi tted fo r

habitatio n an d if the scho oner had come ashore here,
,
an d it had bee n possi ble to fl o at h er afterwards she ,
co uld have been taken in to the li ttle harbo ur at the

mouth Of the river, where, even at lo w tide, there w as
always water .
B rian t lo oked away o ut to sea to the far horizon ,
stretching fo r so me fifteen miles fr om po in t to po int

o f tw o sandy cli fl s The lo ng bay o r gulf rather w as
.
, ,
—
deserted as it doubtless always w as No t a ship w as .
in sight On land o r sea there w as no sign of man

. .
M Oko accusto med to reco gni ze the vague lines Of

distant hills, mo ulded and marked with clouds, could
disco ver no thing w i th his glasses .
Charman Island seemed to be as lonely in the eas t

as it w as in the west And that w as why Baudoin s
’
.
map sho wed no lan d in that directio n An d Bri ant .
co n tented himself w ith naming the gap in the coas t

Deceptio n Bay .
Co me sai d he it is no t from this si de we shall

, ,
t t when we go back
s ar .
I think w e had be tter have so mething to eat said

‘
MO O L .
,
Right said Brian t

, b ut b e quick When can
, .
w e get back up the ri ver ?

If yo u want to go by this ti de yo u ought to start ,
”
at on ce .
That is impossible I must have a go od look round

.
the horiz on fro m so me hi gh poin t .
Then w e shall have to wai t fo r the nex t ti de and ,
that means ten 0 clock to night ’

-
.
AC ROSS THE LA KE 1 1!
Are yo u afraid to trav el during the ni ght as ekd

Brian t .
NO d Moko and there wo uld be no dan ger

, sai , ,
fo r w e shall have th e mo on Besi des the course Of th e

.
ri ver is so strai gh t that w e can steer the boat wi th an

o ar all ri ght An d if th e stream meets us w e can ro w
.
up o r if it is to o str ong w e can r un asho re and wai t

,
till it is day .
Then let it be so , sai d Bri ant , an d now w e hav e

twelve hours before us, let us make the most o f them to
complete an ex plo rati on .
And the time w as spent in v isi ting this par t o f the

coast where the trees came down to the very edge o f the
r ocks . Th e birds were as numerous as at French Den ,
and Brian t w as able to shoot a few tin amo us fo r supper .
The mai n feature Of th e coast w as the heaped up -
g r ani t e ma sses th at mad e th e place a so r t Of fi eld o f

K amak , where the arr angemen t owed n othing to the
hand of man .
In the space of half a mile Briant fo un d a dozen halls

an d sto re ro oms that would have sufli ced fo r the wan ts
-
Of the li ttle co lo ny .
He w as naturally led to inquir e why Baudo in had no t

taken up his quarters o n thi s side Of the island There .
w as no do ubt he had visited i t fo r the mai n lin es Of th e

,
coast were accurately show n o n the map That he had .
left no trace behi n d him w as pro b ably b ecause he had

fix ed his ho me at Fren ch Den befo re he h ad ex plored ,
this east ern terri to ry and fi ndi ng the shore mo re

,
ex posed to the storms from the sea, had thought it

best to remai n where he w as .
At two 0 clock th e time appear ed favourable fo r a

’
careful ex aminati on o f th e o fli ng Brian t , J ack and .

,
Mo ko set to work to scale an en o rmous rock whi ch in

o utli ne so mewhat resembled a bear The blo ck w as .
about a hundr ed feet away from the li ttle h ar bo ur ,
and i t w as no t wi th o ut diffi culty that th ey clambered

to its top .
When there, they looked back o v er the island To .

IIZ ADRIFT IN THE PAC IFIC
the west lay Family Lake screened by a thick mass o f

,
verdure ! to the south the coun try w as seamed with

yellow san dhills bo rdered by blackish fi rs as in the dry
plai ns of the no rth ! to the no rth the outli ne Of the b ay
en ded in a lo w cl iff whi ch fo rmed the li mi t Of an
immense sandy plai n str etching beyon d In short .
,
Charman Island w as o nly fertile In i ts cen tral portio ns ,
where the sweet waters Of the lake spread life ar ound

as they flowed Oh to th e sea .
Brian t then turned his glasses to the east where the ,
hori zon w as no w as clear as could be Any lan d w i thin.
seven o r eight miles would certai nly have been n otice
ab le .
sea an d the unbroken line o f sky .
Fo r an hour Brian t , J ack, an d Moko con tinued to

loo k aro und them, and they were abo ut to descen d to
the beach again when Moko suddenly stretched o ut his
hand to the north east , and asked,
-
Wh at is that ?
Bri an t brought his glas ses to bear o n the spo t in di
cated .
A li ttle abov e the horizon w as a whi tish stai n that th e

eye might have tak en fo r a clo ud , h ad no t th e sky been
q ui te clea r at th e time B ri an.t kept i t i n th e fi eld o f

his glasses fo r a lo ng time, and ann oun ced that i t
I do kn o w what that can b e he sai d unles s

no t , ,
it is a moun tai n an d a moun tai n would n o t lo o k like

,
that .
A few mi nutes afterwards the sun had sunk more to

th e wes t , and the spot had disappeared W as it some .
high peak , o r a light refl ected from the waters, as J ack

and Moko suggested ?
Soo n all three were back at the mouth o f Eas t River
where the yawl w as moored J ack co llected some dry
.
wood from under the tr ees, an d th en h e lighted the fi re

whi le Moko coo ked the ro ast tin amous .
A t sev en O clock J ack and Bri an t were walking along

’
u4 A DRIFT IN T HE PAC IFIC
But wi ll the others fo rgi v e him ?

”
Perhaps, sai d Mo ko In any case better they
.
,
should know no thin g I ll kee p silen ce, yo u may

’
depen d .
Ah 1 Po o r Mo ko l sai d Brian t , clasping him by
Fo r t wo hours up to the time of embarki ng Bri ant ,
di d no t say a wo rd to J ack who remai n ed si tfi n g at ,
the foot o f a rock clo se by an d evi dently nearly b roken

,
hearted no w that h e had made hi s co nfessio n .
About ten O clo ck the flOOd t de began to make itself

’
- i
felt an d Brian t, J ack and Mo ko took thei r seats in the

, ,
bo at As soo n as the grapnel w as taken up she began

.
to mo ve w ith the curren t .
Th e moon had risen sho r tly after sunset and gav e ,
o o d li ght fi ll h alf past mi dni ght

-
Wh en the eb b set
g .
in the c ars were go t o ut an d after an hour s pulling

’
, ,
n o t a mi le up st ream w as gai ned .
Brian t then prepared to an chor un til daybreak ,

when the tide would flo w again , and thi s w as do ne .
A t six O clock the vo yage w as resumed and at nine

‘
,
O clo ck the yawl w as back in amily Lake There

’
F .
Mo ko re hoisted the sail and wi th a fair beam win d

-
,
steere d strai ght fo r Fren ch Den .
Abo ut six O clo ck in the evening after a pleasant

’
vo yage during whi ch nei ther Bri ant no r J ack hardly

,
s po ke a wo rd , the yawl w m hailed by Garnett who ,
w as o ut fi shi n g o n the bank and a few min utes later

she ran alo ngsi de where Gordo n gave her passengers
,
a he arty welcome .
C HAPTE R XI
THE NE W C H IE F
BRIANT tho ught it best to say nothing Of what had

passed between him and his bro ther even to Go rdon , .
But th e sto ry o f hi s tri p he to ld to all as they sat round

him that evening .
H e descri bed the eastern coas t o f Charman I slan d all

r oun d Decepfi o n Bay ! he to ld them ho w Eas t Ri ver ran
thro ugh the fo rest an d how ri ch the fo rest w as in trees
,
Of all kinds He stated that better quarters could be

.
foun d o n th e east than o n the wes t if it ever became

,
necessar y to ab an do n Fren ch Den As to the sea

.
,
there w as no land In sight b ut he menfi o ned the strange

,
whi te patch abo ve the ho rizo n whi ch he co uld no t

ex plain . Probably it w as merely a column o f vapo ur ,
an d would b e ex plained when th e nex t visi t occurred

to D ecepti o n Bay . In short it w as o nly to o certai n
,
that Charman Island had no land near it an d do ubtless ,
man y hun dred miles divided it from the co nfi nent o r

th e near est archi pelagoes .
Th e boys had ther efo re to resume their stmggle for

ex istence, awai ti ng some help from wi th o ut fo r it ,
seemed unli kely that they would ever be able to do

an ything o f the mselves towar ds a rescue They set to .
work vigo ro usly preparing fo r the winter Brian t .
wo rked har der than ever ! and it w as no fi ced that he

h ad beco me q uieter and that like hi s brother he rath er
,
kept himself away fro m the rest Go rdo n in taki ng

.
,
note o f this change in his character Observed that

,
Bri an t w as always seeking to put J ack t o th e fro nt o n

ever y occas i on in whi ch pluck h ad to b e sho wn o r danger
ru n and th at J ack eagerly accepted such tasks
, But .
as Briant had sai d n o thing to hi m, an d gave him n o

o ppor tuni ty Of as king Go r do n r emai ned silen t , alth o ugh
,
he suspected th at an ex planafi o n had taken place b e

tween the b ro thers .
1 16 A DRIFT IN TIIB PAC IFIC
F
Th e month o f ebr uary w as passed in vari o us w ays .
Wilco x h ad fo un d the salmo n swimming up the river to

L
th e fresh waters of Family ake and man y were caught ,
in n ets stretched fro m bank to b ank TO preserve .
th em required a large quanti ty Of salt an d to get this a ,
g r eat m an y jou rn ey s we r e n eed ed t o Sch o o n er Bay ,
where Bax ter and Bri an t h ad established a small salt

—
mars h a square po o l in which the sea w ater w as -
evapo rated by th e sun an d depo si ted the sal t .
In the fi rst fo rtnight o f M arch thr ee o r fo ur Of the

young co lo ni sts went Off to ex plo re a par t o f th e marshy
S
district o f o uth Mo o rs which lay acro ss Zealand Ri ver .
This ex pedi tio n w as Do n egan s idea and at hi s sugges

’
tio n Bax ter made several pai rs Of stilts o ut o f th e li ght

sp ars A s th e marsh w as in places co vered wi th a
.
sh allo w sh eet o f water th ese stilts allo wed their wearers

,
to stride alo ng dr y fo o ted .
A
In th e morning Of pril 1 7th Bo n agan , Webb an d , ,
Wilco x cro ssed the river and lan ded o n th e left b ank .
They carried their guns slung o ver their sho ulders and ,
Do nagan h ad a duck gun wi th hi m, from th e arsenal

-
of French Den which he tho ught he would have a

,
favo urable o ppo rtuni ty to use .
As so o n as th e th ree reached the b ank they put o n

their stilts an d set o ut fo r th e higher part Of th e marsh,
whi ch w as dry even at high fi de Fan acco mpan i ed .
them She did no t wan t stilts as she did no t mi nd

.
,
wetting her feet in cro ssing th e po o ls .
Do nagan Wilco x an d Webb w en t ab o ut a mile in a

, ,
so uth westerly di recti o n b efo r e they r eached the dry

-
g r o un d an d
,
th ey th e n t o o k o fl thei r stilt s so as t o b e ,
at th ei r ease in pursui t o f th e game whi ch swarmed o ver

—
th e wi de ex ten t o f mo o r z sni pe pin tai l wild duck , , ,
rai l plo ver t eal an d th o usan ds o f sco t ers wo rth mo re

, , , ,
fo r their do wn than th eir fl esh b ut very fi n e eating ,
when pro perly co o ked Do n agan an d his co mrades

.
co uld sho o t at hun dreds Of these birds wi tho ut wastin g a

si ngle sho t an d th ey were n o t un reaso n able an d co n ,
tented themselves w i th a few do zen birds whi ch Fan

retrieved in fi ne style from the pools Of the mar sh .
1 18 A DRIFT IN THE PA C IFIC
b ut it did no t gain him

fri en ds In two months an y
m
.
Go rdon 5 term o f c cc wo uld be over, an d he recko ned

’
o n succeeding him as chi ef o f the colony He per .
sue ded hi mself that th e po si fi o n w as his as a matter Of

right . W as it no t unj us t that he had no t been elected
at the first ? Wilcox Cro ss, an d Webb unfo rtunately
,
encou rag ed him in these i deas and began to can vas ,
fo r him hav ing no do ubt Of his success

, .
But Bonagan , all the same did no t command a ,
maj o rity o f the votes n o r did Go rdon w ho saw clear ly ,
all th at w as going o n make any attempt to Obtain a

m
,
co n fi nuance o f O ce H e felt that the severity he had

.
h ad to sho w duri ng his year of Ofi ce wo uld n o t gai n him

an y vote s His pracfi cal good sense had n o t made him
.
po pular an d this un po pular i ty Bonagan ho ped to turn

,
wo uld pro bably be a somewhat interesfing co ntes t .
Wh at the youngsters chiefl y complain ed Of was

Go rdo n s care in th e matter Of sweetmeats And in
’
.
addi ti o n to thi s there w as hi s scoldi ng them fo r no t

,
taking pro per care Of their clothes w hen they came back
the ques fi o n of fo o t gear a very serious o ne And then .
fo r every lost butto n what reprimands and so metimes

, ,
And then Bri an t would intercede so mefi mes fo r

en —
J kins, so metimes fo r Dole and in that w ay lay his
r oad to popu lari ty Then the yo ungsters kn ew that
.
the two co cks, S

er v i ce and Moko, were devo ted to
Brian t , an d if ever he became chief of Charman Island,
there wo uld be a
dainty bi ts !
Wh at is the wo rld co ming to ? In this very colony
w e have b ut a type o f society in general In what did .
these children difi er fro m full gro wn men ?

-
Brian t took little i ntere st in these things He

worked away steadily and keeping his brother fully ,
emplo yed , both of them the fi rst and last at wo rk as

if th ey had so me special duty to fulfil .
THE NE W C HIE F 1 19
But the days were no t en fi rely devoted to scho ol

work There were hours Of recreafi o n set down in the
.
p g
r o r amm e O n e Of the
. c o n d i ti on s Of r em a i nin g in
health w as that ex ercises sho uld be pracfi sed in whi ch
Old and yo un g took part Th e bo ys climbed trees .
,
g etti n u
g p t o th e lo wer bo u g h s by me an s o f a r o p e
wo und ro un d the trunk They j umped wi th an d with .
o ut th e po le They swam in the lake and tho se who

.
,
could no t swim were so o n taught to do so Th ey ran .
race s and swam races fo r prize s They pracfi sed wi th .
th e bolas and the lasso They played cricket and .
r oun ders an d quo i ts an d wi th regar d to the las t a

, ,
It w as o n the asth o f April in the aftern oon Eight , .
o f th e bo ys were playing fo ur o n a si de B o n agan , ,
Webb Wilcox an d Cross agai nst Brian t Bax ter

, , , ,
Garnett and Ser v ice , .
On th e level stri p o n the t errace th e two pins

h ad been dri ven in to the gro und about fifty feet apart ,
and it w as o f cou r se the Ob j ect Of the players t o thro w

, ,
their quo its o n to them o r as near them as possible , .
The players were greatly ex ci ted parti cular ly as Dona ,
g an w as Oppo se d t o B r i an t T w o gam es ha d bee n .
played Brian t s side had w o n the fi rst with seven

.
’
po ints ! Bonagan 3 had w o n the second with six An d

’
.
n o w the y wer e playi ng the con queror an d ther e wer e ,
o nly tw o quo i ts to throw .
N ow Do nagan ! It is your turn” said Webb

, , .
Aim straight It is o ur last C hance

. .
”
Do n t get exci ted r epli ed Do n agan
’
, .
An d with o ne foot in fron t Of the o ther he sto od the ,
right han d ho ldi ng th e quo i t th e body ben t fo rward , ,
and in such a posi tio n as to gi ve him the best chan ce

Of a go od thr o w His who le so ul w as in the game his
.
,
teeth were clen ched his checks were pale his eyes , ,
g lo w ed ben ea th th e k n i tt ed br o ws Aft er a car eful .
,
—
loo k he thr ew the quo it strai ght an d tr ue a lo ng lo w ,
thr ow that only j ust missed ringing the pin and struck ,
i t j ust at the si de .
1 20 A DRIFT IN THE PAC IFIC
It pity
’
s a yo u missed , sai d Cross , b ut it s th e
’
best thro w yet .
A nd the game is o urs, added Wilcox , unless

Bri an t man ages to drop o n to the pin Look o ut I .
Brian t took up hi s po si fi o n , mo v ing the quo i t back

wards and fo rwards o n ce o r twi ce, and ai med so well
that, rising high in curve it dropped ri ght o n to th e pin
, .
A ringer l sho uted ervice tri umphantly S Th at .
makes us seven, an d it is o ur game

”
.
NO l sai d Do nagan, stepping forward, the game

”
is no t yours .
W h y no t asked Bax ter .
”
Because Bri an t cheat ed .
Cheated l sai d Brian t .
Yes I Cheated I sai d Bon agan Bri an t w as .
over the mark He stepped in two feet

. .
That he didn t sai d ervice ’

S .
NO, I di dn t , sai d Brian t An d even if I di d

’
. ,
it w as a mistake, and I will no t stand Bonagan calling

me a cheat l
I n deed l Yo u wo n t stan d it sai d Do nagan
’
.
No , I will n o t ! replied Briant , gettin g very angry .
An d first I ll pro ve that my feet were o n the lin e

’ ”
.
Yo u can t I sai d Webb and Cross

’
.
Well, sai d Brian t, there are my footmarks o n the

”
san d ! And as Bo nagan must have known th at , I tell

him he s a liar !
’
A liar , am I sai d Do nagan , stepping quie tly

towar ds him, j acket Ofi shi rt sleeves tucked up all , ,
ready and anxio us fo r a fi ght .
Bri an t h ad reco vered his temper and sto od quietly ,
watching him as if he were ashamed to be the fi rst to

fight o n e Of hi s co mrades, and set an evil ex ample to
the co lo ny .
Yo u were wrong to insult me, Do nagan, he sai d

and yo u ar e wro ng no w to challenge me .
Indeed sai d B o nagan in a tone o f th e pr ofo und ,
est con tempt It is always wrong to Challenge those

.
w ho are afrai d to defend themselves .
I l afrai d
But n o thing furth er w as sai d an d th e wo rk o f pre ,
paring fo r th e win ter went o n in peace Durin g the .
first week m M ay the co ld w as keen eno ugh fo r Go rdo n

to gi ve o r ders fo r th e sto ves to b e light ed up in the cave,
an d kept go ing night an d day an d soon afterw ar ds i t
became n ecessary to warm the shed o f the en clo sure,
which duty fell to Garnett and ervice S .
A t the same time th e bir ds b egan to depar t in

flocks Whi ther di d they go
. Evidently to the
n o rth ern co un tries o f the Pacific o r the merican , A
co nti nent where the climate w as milder than that o f
,
Charman Islan d .
Amo ng these birds the chi ef were th e swallow s ,
tho se mar vello us migr an ts flyi ng such en o rmo us dis

tances In hi s co nstan t en deavo ur to avail himself o
.
f
e ver y means to leave th e islan d it o ccurred t o Bri an t ,
to use these bir ds as messen gers No thing w as eas ier .
than to catch a few dozens o f these birds fo r they had ,
b uilt inside th e sto re ro o m an d to their necks w as

-
,
ti ed a li ttle lin en b ag co n t ai ni ng a letter ann oun cing

,
th e wreck o n Charman I sland wi th a request fo r the ,
news to be sen t o n at on ce to Aucklan d Then the .
swallo ws were r eleased an d wi th much emoti o n the

,
boys saw them depart It w as a very slen der chan ce

.
o f saf ety b ut i t w as a chance and Bri an t w as qui te

, ,
ri ght in n o t n eglectin g i t .
Th e sn o w came o n the 2 5th o f M ay a few days ear lier ,
than the preceding year W as th e wi nter to b e earli er

.
an d se verer th a n befo re ? It w as to b e fear ed so .
Luckily w armth light and food were assur ed fo r man y

, ,
mo nths The wi n ter clo thi ng had been given o ut a

.
few weeks befo r e ! an d Go rdon s heal th measures were

’
stri ctly en fo rced .
During thi s time French Den became the scene o f an

agitati o n whi ch caused a go o d deal o f ex ci t emen t amo ng
t h e yo ungst er s Th e year fo r whi ch Go rdo n h ad been
.
elected Chief o f Charman I slan d ex pired o n th e r o th of
J une And m co nsequence o f thi s there began a seri es

.
o f co nferen ce s an d co nsultatio ns that much agi tated ,
this li ttle wo rld Go rdo n as w e have sai d w as qui te

.
, ,
r m: N E W cn mr 123
in di fferent to what w as go ing o n an d Briant being o f ,
Fren ch descen t co nsidered that his o w n chance w as

,
hopeles s in a co lony where Engli sh were in a maj o rity .
But Do n agan w as very anx io us abo ut th e electio n and ,
wi th his mo re than o rdinary cleverness an d his co urage ,
that no bo dy do ubted h e wo uld have had an ex cellen t

,
chance o f electio n had he no t been so haughty do mineer ,
ing an d en vi o us H e h ad made u hi s min d to b e

.
p
Go r do n s successo r altho ugh hi s vani ty preven ted him
’
fro m can vassing fo r vo tes and he preten ded to be quite,
un con cerned in th e matter But what h e di d n o t do.
o penly hi s frien ds di d fo r him in secret and Wilco x

, , ,
Webb an d Cro ss were un tirin g in their effo rts at per

,
suading t h e little o nes .
Th e ro th o f J un e arri ved .
In the af tern o o n th e electio n to o k place Each .
b o y had to wri te o n a slip o f paper th e name o f the

can didate fo r who m he inten ded to vo te Th e maj o rity .
o f vo tes wo uld deci de th e electi o n As the co lo n y had

—
.
o nly four teen memb ers fo r Moko as a n egr o did no t

—
vo te e ight vo tes wo uld carry the electi o n .
At tw o o clo ck Go rdo n Opened th e poll an d the voting

’
w as co n duct ed wi th great gr avi ty as beseemed such a

serio us ceremo n y When the vo tes were co un ted the
.
,
following w as the result

Brian t 8
Bo n agan 3
Go rdo n I
Nei ther Go rdo n no r Do nagan had voted an d Brian t ,
had vo ted fo r Gordo n .
When the poll w as declared Do nagan could no t ,
restrai n his deep irri tati o n an d disgust .
Bri an t w as surprised at recei ving th e maj o ri ty o f

votes an d w as o n the po in t o f declining to serve b ut
, ,
hi s eyes happen ed to rest o n J ack and an idea occurred ,
to him so that he sai d

,
I th an k yo u my fn en ds and I accept the positi o n

, ,
yo u have o ffered me .
An d at sunset Bri an t began his year of o fiioe as Chief

o f Charman I sland .
CHAPTE R XII
T HE snr m r ro n
11 w as the
‘
oth o f October The in fluence o f the warm
r .
seaso n w as maki ng i tself felt Beneath th e trees . ,
clo thed in their fresh verdur e the groun d had resumed ,
th e ga r b o f spr in g A p l
.ea san t br eeze ri ppled th e
sur face o f th e water n o w lighted by the last rays of

,
the sun which lingered o n the vas t plai n o f South

Moors A narro w beach o f san d formed the bo rder o f
.
th e mo o r . Flocks o f birds wi th much noise flew over

head o n their w ay to rest fo r th e ni ght in th e shadow o f
the wo o ds o r the crev i ces o f th e cliff A few gro ups .
o f evergreen trees pin es green o aks and a few acres

, , ,
o f fi rs alo n e b ro ke th e mon otonous b arrenness o f this

part of Char man Island .
A fi re w as burning at th e fo o t o f a pine tree an d its -

,
fragran t smo k e w as driftin g o ver the marsh A co uple .
o f ducks were co oking over th e fi re Supper o ver .

,
th e four bo ys had n o thin g to do b ut to wrap themselves

up in their rugs and while o ne watched three o f th em
, , ,
could sleep .
They were Do negan Cross Webb an d Wilco x An d

, , , .
th e circumstan ces under whi ch they had separ ated

from their companio ns were these .
During th e later mon ths o f the second winter the ,
r elatio ns between Do nagan an d Bri an t h ad beco me mor e
strai n ed th an ever It wi ll no t have been forgo tten

.
it what en v y B on agan had seen the electi on o f his

w
mv g 1h
M o re j ealo us and irri table than ever it w as with the ,
at t d iffi culty b e submi tt ed to the o rders of th e

gre es
new chi ef o f Charman I slan d That he di d no t resis t
.
openly w as because the majority would no t support

134
A D RIFT IN THE PAC IFIC
to put an end to this by resigning in your favour

all ,
or perhaps in Do nag an 5 That wo uld cut sho rt all

’
.
this ri valry .
No Brian t, sai d Go rdon deci dedly , yo u wo uld ,
fail in yo ur duty to wards those w ho have elected

y o u
.
Amid thes e discussio ns the win ter came to an end .
Wi th the fi rst days o f Octo ber the co ld defi ni tely dis

appeared an d th e surface o f the lake and ri ver became
,
free fr o m ice An d o n the evening o f the 9th o f the

.
mo n th Do nagan anno un ced the reso lve o f hi mself and

Webb Cro ss an d Wilcox to leave French Den
, , .
Yo u wis h to aban do n us sai d Gordo n .
To aban do n yo u ? No Go rdo n sai d Do nagan , .
On ly Cross Wilco x , Webb and I have agreed to mo ve

, ,
to ano ther part o f the islan d .
An d fo r what reaso n as ked Bax ter .
S
imply because w e wan t to li ve as w e pleas e an d I ,
tell yo u fran kly because it do es no t sui t us to take

orders fro m Bri an t .
What have yo u to complai n o f about me sai d

Bri an t .
N o thin g— ex cept your being at o ur head sai d ,
Do naga
n W e h ad a
. ankee as chief o f t he co lo n y Y
n o w i t is a Fren ch fello w w ho rs in co mman d ! ex t N
time I sup ose w e shall have a nigger fellow Mo ko fo r
in stan ce
p ,
Do yo u mean that as ked Go rdo n .
I do sai d Bo nagan an d nei ther I no r my friends

”
, ,
car e to serve under an y b ut o ne o f o ur o wn race .
V ery w ell
”
sai d Briant Wilco x , Webb Cross
, , , ,
and yo u Do n egan are qui t e at li berty to go , and t ake

, ,
away yo ur shar e o f th e things .
W e never suppo sed o therw ise Bri an t an d to ,
morrow w e wi ll clear o ut o f Fren ch Den .
An d may yo u never have cause to repen t o f y ur

o
determi natio n sai d Gordon, who saw that reaso ning
,
wo uld be m vain .
Do nagan s plan w as as follows When Bri ant had

’
.
r an SE PARATION 1 27
to ld the story o f his expedition across the lake he had

stated th at th e li ttle co lo n y could take up th eir quart ers
o n the eas tern si de o f the islan d un der very favourable
condi tions Among the rocks o n the sho re were man y
.
caves the ri ver yielded fresh water in abun dance

, .
Th e fo rest ex tended to the beach there w as game ,
furred an d feathered in ab un dan ce an d life wo uld be ,
as easy there as at Fren ch Den an d much easier than ,
at Schooner Bay Besides the distan ce between

.
,
French Den and the co ast w as o nly a do zen miles o f ,
whi ch six were across the lake an d six do wn the East

Ri ver so that in case o f necessity co mmuni catio n w as
,
no t diffi cult .
But it w as no t by water that Do nagan proposed to

reach Decepti o n Ba H i plan w as to c o as t alo n
y s .
g
Family Lake to its so uthern po in t and then fo llo w the ,
bank to East Ri ver ex plo ring a co un try up to th en

,
unkn own —
This w as a lo ngi sh j o urney frfteen o r
.
si x teen miles — b ut he and his fri ends wo uld treat the

trip as a sporting ex pedi tio n and get some shooting as
they went Bonagan h ad thus no need of the yawl
.
,
an d co nten ted himself wi th the H alkett boat whi ch ,
would suffi ce fo r the passage o f Eas t Ri ver and any

other stream she might meet wi th .
As this ex pediti o n had fo r i ts obj ect o nly the ex plo ra

ti on o f Decepti on Bay w i th a view o f selecting a per
,
manen t dw elling Do nagan to o k no more baggage wi th

,
him than he co uld help Tw o guns four revolvers

.
, ,
tw o axes suffi ci ent ammuni tio n

, a few fi shin g line s , ,
so me travelling rugs o ne of the pocket co mpasses

-
, ,
th e indi arubb er boat and a few preserves fo rmed th e

, ,
outfit .
The ex pedition w as expected to las t about a week ,
an d when th ey had selected their future home Do nagan ,
an d his frien ds would return to Fren ch Den an d tak e

away o n the ch ario t their share o f the ar ti cles saved
from the w reck of the schooner If Gordon o r any o f
.
t he rest came to v isi t them they wo uld b e glad to see

,
them b ut to co ntinue to live at Fren ch Den under the

,
128 ADRIFT IN THE p acrr rc
present state of things they had no intentio n of doing

, ,
an d n o thing could sh ake th eir determin atio n to set u

p
a little colo n y o f t heir o w n .
A t sunri se the fo ur to o k leave of their comrades ,
w h o were ver y so rry t o see them go an d maybe , , ,
B o nagan and hi s fri en ds were no t unmo ved .
They were t aken across Zealan d River in the yawl by

Mo ko an d then leisurely wal ked o ff alo ng th e sho re o f
,
Family Lake by th e edge o f the wide stretchi ng So uth -
Mo o rs .
A few birds were killed as they wen t alo ng by the

si d e o f the marsh b ut B o n agan kno wing h e mus t b e
, ,
careful of his ammuni ti o n co n tented himself wi th o nly

,
sho o ting eno ugh fo r t he d ay s rati o ns That day the ’

.
bo ys acco mplished between fi v e an d six miles and ,
abo ut fi v e o clo ck in th e eveni ng arri ving at th e en d o f

’
th e lake they camped fo r the night .
Th e mght w as c o ld b ut the fi re kept themco mfo rt able

,
an d all fo ur were awake at the dawn The so uthern .
ex tremi ty of Family Lake w as an acute angle fo rmed by

two high banks the right o ne o f which ran due n o rth
, .
On th e east th e co un tr y w as still marshy b ut the gro un d ,
w as a few feet above th e level o f th e lak e so that i t ,
w as no t floo ded Here an d there a few kn o lls do tted

.
w i th un dersiz ed tree s b ro ke the sameness o f th e gree n
ex panse As th e co un try co nsisted chi efly o f san dhills

.
Do nag an gave i t th e n ame o f D une Lan ds an d n o t
w ishi ng to plunge to o far in to the unkn own h e decide d ,
to keep to the lake sho re an d leave further explo rati o n

,
fo r a future time .
If sai d he the map is right w e shall fi nd East

”
, , ,
Ri ver abo ut seven miles fro m here an d w e can easily ,

”
do that before ni ght .
Wh y no t stri ke o ff to th e north eas t so as to get t o -

,
th e mo uth o f th e ri ver direct asked Wilco x .
That would save us a third of the w ay sai d Web b , .
So it wo uld sai d Bo nagan b ut why sho uld w e

, ,
venture across thi s marshy co untry which w e do n o t ,
kno w and run the risk o f hav ing to come back here ?
,
1 30 ADRIFT IN 1111: PAC IFIC
same trees ppeared the bes t thing to do and that is

a ,
what w as done .
Eight month s befo re when Brian t had stopped at

,
the same place he li ttle tho ught that fo ur of hi s co m

,
pan io ns wo uld come here in th eir turn wi th the in tsu ,
ti o n o f li ving by themselves in this part o f Char man

Island And perhaps Cro ss Wilcox and Webb when
.
, , ,
they fo un d themselves far fro m their comfo rtable beds

in French Den felt mo re regret at bein g there
, But .
their fate w as no w boun d up with Do nagan s and ’
Bonagan w as to o vai n to acknowledge his mistakes too ,
obstin ate to abandon his plans an d too j ealous to giv e ,
in t o a ri val .
Nex t mo rning Bonagan pro posed to cross the riv er

Having done that , sai
he dw e can spen d the
,
day in getting down to the sea, whi ch is under six miles

fro m here .
Yes said Cro ss

, An d it w as o n th e left ban k
that Mo ko foun d th e pine cones, and w e can gather
o ur foo d as w e go .
The in di ar ubber bo at w as then un packed an d as ,
so on as i t w as in th e water Do nag an wo rked it across

to the opposi te ban k to wing a line behin d as h e did so
, .
With a few strokes o f the paddle he w as soon across th e

fo rty feet o f the river s width Then by pulling at
’
.
,
th e line Wilcox , Webb an d Cross go t th e bo at back

, ,
while Do nagan let o ut a lin e from hi s si de an d so in ,
fo ur tri ps all were o n the left ban k of the ri ver .
That done, Wilco x fo lded up the boat as if it were a

travelling bag , and put it o n hi s back It wo uld, o f
-
.
course have been les s fatiguing to have flo ated dow n

,
East Ri ver in the yawl as Bri an t, J ack and Mo ko h ad

,
do ne but the indi ar ubb er boat could o nly take o ne

,
passenger at a time an d th e river vo yage w as no t to

,
be tho ught of .
It w as no t easy travelling The forest w as so dense, .
th e gr oun d bristled wi th thi ck p atches o f underwoo d ,

and w as strewn wi th branche s bro ken o ff in the recen t
me SE PARA TION 1 31
t ms an d man y were the swamps an d quagmir es

s or ,
ro un d whi ch th e travellers h ad t o B o f u d
go n ag an o n .
n o tr ace s o f Baudo in s passage thro u h the fo rest such

’
g ,
as ex ist ed in Tr ap Wo o ds b ut th ere co uld b e n o do ubt

,
h e h ad been there fo r the map in di cated ex actly the

,
course o f the river ri ght do wn to the b ay .
At noo n a halt w as made fo r luncheo n un der the ,
pine trees where Cross gathered a quanti ty o f the

-
,
frui t o n which they regaled themselves Then fo r

, .
,
the n ex t tw o miles the bo ys h ad to make their w ay

,
thr ough clumps o f underwo o d where occasionally , , ,
they had to cut a path with their ax es so as no t to ,
stray to o far fr om th e ri ver On acco un t of the delay

.
thi s caused i t w as no t till seven o clo ck that they go t

,
’
o ut o f th e fo rest Night w as co ming o n and Bonagan

.
,
could make o ut no thin g o f the co ast li ne All he co uld -

.
see w as th e lo ng li ne o f fo am as he listened to the

murmur o f the sea rolling o n to the beach .
It w as decided to camp where they were in the Open , .
A few gro use were co o ked fo r supper and the fire that ,
h ad been lighted w as kept in during the night It w as .
Do ne gan s turn to watch Wilco x Cro ss and Webb

’
.
, ,
stretched th emselves un der th e b ran ches of a large

par aso l pine an d tired o ut by the lo ng day 5 work
,
’
,
were immedi ately asleep .
Do negan had great diffi culty in keeping awake He .
succeeded ho w ever ! b ut wh en th e time came fo r him

,
to be r elieved by o n e o f his co mpani o ns they were all

so so un d asleep th at he co uld no t make up his mi n d to
wake an y o f them Th e fo rest w as SO qui et that they
.
were as safe as if they were at French Den An d so .

,
having thro wn a few han dfuls o f wo o d on the fire ,
Do n egan lay do wn at th e foot of th e tree and closed ,
his eyes to o pen them when the sun was up lighting a

, ,
wide horizo n of sea .

C HAPTE R XII I
THE INVA SION
T h e n ex t day, o n th e b each , D o n agan and hi s par ty fo und an

hi i d l d i h b u uld
’
upt urn ed s p s b o at , e v en t y n e w ly
- r v en as o r e, t co
di sco v er n o trace o f sur v i v o rs T h ree days lat er Bri an t , G o r do n
J
.
m
,
an d ack came acr o ss a w o an h alt -dead fr o m fati gue an d h un ger

n o t v er y fa r fr o m Fren ch D en S h e w as K ate R eady serv an t to a
.
,
family that h ad sailed fro m San Fran ci sco o n a merch an t shi p, th e

S ev en . W h en sh e w as ab le t o speak sh e to ld th em th at ni ne days
o ut o f po r t t h e maj o ri t y o f th e cre w h ead ed b y a sco undrel W alsto n ,
, ,
h ad muti ni ed se i zed th e shi p killed t h e captai n, t he lo yal sailo rs

, ,
an d th e few p assen ge rs sp arin g o nl y K at e and M r E v an s , t h e first

, .
mate, w h o m t h ey fo rced at th e muzzle o f a rev o lv er to nav igate th e

sh i p. Fire h o w e v er , b r o ke o ut th e shi p w as ab ando n ed an d fin ally
, , ,
th e lo n g b o at w as dri v en ash o re o n t h e i slan d Kat e h ad escaped, .
leav in g M r E v ans st ill a pri so n er

. The muti n eers w ere stri v in g t o
.
repair th e b o at in o rder t o ge t aw ay .
SU C H w as Kate s story—
very serio us state o f
’
an d a
affai rs w as reveal ed by it On Charman Islan d wher e .
,
th e yo ung co lo nists had hi ther to li ved in comple te

secur i ty there h ad lan ded n o w se ven men capable of
,
an y crime If they disco ver ed French Den wo uld

.
,
they hesitate to attack it ? N0 They h ad to o real .
an in t er est in seizing i ts store s taking away its provi ,
si o ns weapo n s an d parti cularly its to o ls wi thout

, , ,
whi ch it wo uld be imp o ssible fo r them to repair their

boat so as to fi t her fo r sea And what res istance could .
Bri an t an d his co mrades offer when the eldes t w as only

fi ft een an d the yo un ges t sc arcely ten years o ld
,
W as t his n o t an alarmi ng state o f thin gs If Walsto n

remai n ed o n th e islan d there co uld be no do ubt he
,
would attack them The in terest with which Kate .
w as lis t en ed to can b e eas ily imagined .
O y
n l o n e th g
i n B ri an t thought o f— that Do nagan ,
Wilcox Webb and Cross were n o w in great peri l

, , .
Ho w could they be o n their guard if they did no t kn o w

13 2
134 AD RIFT rN THE PAC IFIC
If they were to remai n o n Charman Island she wo uld

be their devoted ser van t — Sh e would take care o f them ,
like a mo ther And already to the li ttle ones Do le

. ,
an d Co star she h ad gi ven the en d eari n g n ame o f

,
papooses applied to babies in the western states o f

,
’
America .
Service in the spirit o f hi s favourite ro man ces had

, ,
already proposed to c all her M rs Fri day fo r i t w as o n a .

,
Friday that Kate had arrived at French Den An d he .
had added when he made the suggestio n

, ,
These scoundr els are like Cruso e s savages There ’

.
is always a time when the savages arrive j ust as the ,
time co mes when they are beaten .
At eight o clock the prepar atio ns fo r depar ture were

’
co mplete Moko who m no danger co uld frighten w as

.
, ,
delighted at having to acco mp any Bri an t The tw o .
emb arked takin g w ith them a few prov isio ns an d a

,
revo lver and cutlass each After bidding far ewell to .
their co mrades w ho did n o t see them depar t wi tho ut a

,
feeli ng o f sorrow they were so o n o ff o ut o f sight in th e

,
sh ado w o n Family Lake Wh en th e sun set a gen tle .
breeze had spr ung up fro m the north whi ch if i t , ,
last would sui t the yawl bo th outwar ds an d ho me

g
e
,
w ar
The night w as dark—a fo rtunate thin g fo r Brian t,
w ho di d n o t wish to be seen e tting their course by . S
the compass, they co uld reach the opposi te sho re an d ,
then work up i t o r do wn it until they came to the

mo uth o f the river .
B an t an d Moko kept a go o d look o ut ahead when

ri -
they feared they sho uld see so me fi re whi ch wo uld

pro claim the presence o f Walsto n and his co mpanions,
f r Do nag an w as almost sure to be camped o n the sea
i
S o re .
In tw o hours th e six miles had been sai led The .
breeze had fres hened but the yawl w as no ne the wo rse ,
for i t She made th e landfall close to where she had

.
do ne so the first time and about half a mile from where ,
the stream ran o ut This half mile took so me time to

-
.
THE INVASION 135
ac complish ,
wind w as dead ahead and the cars
fo r the ,
had to b e used Everythin g seemed quiet under th e

.
-
trees ! no t a yelp o r a gr o wl w as hear d in th e fores t ,
an d no t the Sign o f a fi re w as seen un der th e black

masses o f fo liage .
Abo ut half past ten Bri an t who w as in the stern o f

-
,
the bo at t o uched Mo ko s arm

,
A few hundr ed feet ’
.
aw ay fro m Eas t River a h alf ex tingui sh ed fi re shed its -
ex pi rin g li ght th ro ugh th e d ar kn ess Wh o w as camped .
there ? Walsto n o r Do nagan ? It w as necessary to

know befo re entering the stream .
Put me ashore sai d Brian t

”
.
,
Shall I no t co me wi th yo u ? asked the negro in a

No It is better I Should go al ne, o there is less
ch ance o f my being seen .
Th e yawl ran alongside th e b ank an d Bri an t j umped ,
asho re after telli ng M o ko to wai t fo r hi m

, He h ad hi s .
cutlass in his hand and in his belt w as th e revo lver

, ,
which he h ad resolved no t to use ex cept in the last

ex tremi ty He climbe d the ban k an d glided under the
.
trees.
Suddenly he stopped Abo ut twen ty yards away in .

,
th e half light of the fi re h e saw a Shadow crouching in

-
,
th e gr ass Immedi ately a fo rmi dable grunt w as hear d

.
,
and a dar k mass leapt in fro n t o f hi m .
It w as a j aguar of lar ge size Immedi ately there was .
a shout o f
Help Help !
Brian t reco gnized Do nagan s voice It w as Bonagan ’
.
,
in fact an d his compani o ns were asleep in c amp n ear

,
th e ri ver .
Kno cked o ver by the j aguar Bo nagan w as struggling , ,
unable to use hi s gun .
Wilco x awaken ed by the sho ut j umped up and

, , ,
brought hi s gun to th e sho ulder r eady to fi re , .
Don t fi re l Don t fi re cri ed Bri an t And befo re

’ ’
.
Wilcox co uld see him he had sprun g at the wild beast , ,
whi ch turned agai nst hi m and left Do nagan free to

136 A DRIFT IN me PAC IFIC
get up . Luckily Brian t w as

ble to step aside and gi ve
, a ,
it a thr ust wi th hi s cutlas s The j aguar w as mo rtally .
wo unded and r o lled o n to the gro un d as Webb an d ,
Cro ss rush ed to Do nagan s assistance ’

.
But the v icto ry might have co st Bri an t dear fo r his ,
shoulder w as ri pped by the an imal S claws an d began

’
to bleed pro fusely .
H o w did yo u co me here ? ex claimed Wilcox

That yo u will kno w soon ! said Brian t .
co me wi th me Come
No t till I have thanked yo u Bri an t sai d Do na ,
Yo u have saved my life !

I only di d what yo u wo uld have done in my place ,
repli ed Brian t b ut do n t say an y mo re about that

’
.
Come wi th me
Brian t s wo un d however w as n o ti ced
’
, Although it , .
w as no t a seri o us o ne it had to b e bo un d up ti ghtly wi th

,
a h an dkerchi ef an d while Wilco x w as do ing this Dona

,
g an w as to ld wh a t had tak en p lace .
An d so these men w ho had co me by t he boat were

ali ve ! They were wanderi ng abo ut the islan d They
were sco undr els stai ned with murder ! A wo man had
been wrecked wi th them in the boat an d this wo man
w as n o w at Fren ch Den There w as no w no safety o n
Char man Islan d ! That w as why Bri ant had told
Wilco x no t to fi re at th e j aguar fo r fear the repo rt wo uld
b e hear d an d that w as why Briant had tr usted only to
,
the cutlass !
Ah Brian t yo u are a better fellow than I am l
, ,
sai d Do n ag an wi th deep emo ti on .
”
No Do nagan
, sai d Bri an t ,but no w I ho ld
yo ur han d I will n o t let it go till yo u have promised
to co me b ack wi th me .
Yes I must co me
, sai d Do n agan Yo u can , .
tr ust me Hencefo rth I shall b e the fi rst to obey

.
o rders ! —
To mo rrow at daybreak w e will be o ff
-
.
No sai d Bri an t w e must start at o nce witho ut

, , ,
th e risk o f being seen .
An d how asked Cress

CHA PTE R XIV
ALL TOGE THE R

THE co lo n y complete and peace reigned at
w as agai n ,
French Den peace th at w as to be un tro ubled fo r the

-
futur e . The separ ati o n o f tw o o r thr ee days h ad b o rne

i ts fr ui t Mo re than o nce already Bonagan wi thout
. ,
sayi ng an ythi ng to his co mrades h ad been led to thin k ,
h o w stupid had been hi s o bsti nacy an d Wilco x Cross , ,
an d Webb h ad had Similar tho ughts

, After what .
Bri an t had do n e Do nagan s better n atur e h ad tri umph

’
ed and the chan ge w as to b e las ti ng

, .
But Fren ch Den w as in serious danger It w as .
ex po sed to the attack of seven well armed sco un -
drels o bvi o usly Walsto n s bes t course w as to leav e

’
th e islan d as so o n as he could b ut if he came to suspect

the ex is ten ce o f a li ttle co lo ny well pro vi ded wi th all
that he wanted he wo uld no t refrai n from an attack
,
in whi ch h e had almo st every chance o f success Th e .
bo ys wo uld be o bliged to be most car eful no t to go far

fro m Zeal an d River o r the lake SO lo ng as he w as in the
Do n agan w as as ked if he had seen an y trace o f the
sailo rs o n his j o urn ey b ack .
No sai d he
, But when w e wen t back we did
.
n o t go th e same w ay as at fi rst
”
.
But w e ar e sure that Walston wen t o fl to the east

”
ward sai d Go rdo n
, .
Ag reed an swe r
, ed’
D o n e gan b u t h e w e n t alo n g
,
th e sho re while w e came thro ugh Beech Forest

, If .
yo u lo ok a t t h e m ap y o u w ill see th ere i s a v er y b o ld

curve j ust above Decepti o n Bay and there is a go od ,
stretch of co un try there where the men could take

refuge wi tho ut go ing too far away from th eir bo at .
I 38
ALI TOGE THE R
. 1 39
But perhaps K
ate can t ell us whereabo uts Charman
Islan d is
K ate had already been asked by Gordo n and Bri ant ,
an d co uld tell them no thing fter the burni ng o f . A

th e S ev ern M r Evans had lai d the course Of the bo at
, .
strai ght fo r th e A
meri can co n tinen t and co nsequen tly ,
Charman Islan d co uld n o t be very far away fro m it .
But th e name Of th e islan d o n whi ch he h ad been cast ,
h e had never men ti oned during the sto rm Th e .
n umer ous archipelagoes o n th e co ast must b e w i thin a

Sh o rt di stan ce an d there were v ery go o d reaso ns fo r
,
Walsto n to try and reach them and in the mean time ,
to stay o n the eas tern shore If he co uld o nly get his .
bo at into a seawo rthy state he wo uld no t have much ,
trouble in reaching the o uth merican co as t S A

U
.
he co mes to the mo uth of

”
nless sai d Bri an t
, ,
East River and fin ding there traces o f yo ur camp

, ,
Bon agan reso lves to search furth er in lan d

’
.
,
But what traces ?

”
repli ed Bo n agan few . A
C inders ! what wo uld th at t ell him ? th at th e islan d is
in habited ! an d if so th e scoun drels wo uld only think ,
o f hidin g themselves
U
.
”
Ex actly said Bri an t , n til they discovered .
th at th e po pulati o n o f the islan d consi sted o f a par cel

Of boys W e must do no thin g to let him kno w w ho
.
w e are ! And that remin ds me , Bo nagan , did yo u

fi re your gun o n yo ur j o ur ney back to Deception
Bay .
No ! and that is r ather stran ge sai d Do n ag an , ,
smiling . Fo r I am rather in cli n ed to burn to o much

po wder Wh en w e left the shore w e h ad a go o d supply
.
o f game and no sho o tin g to o k place to reveal o ur

,
p resence L
ast ni ght Wilco x w as going t o fire at the
.
a
j g u ar b
, ut lu ck il y yo u a rri ved in t ime an d save d m y
life at the risk of yo ur o w n .
Yo u need say no mo re about that D o negan , ,
sai d Brian t But don t let us have an other gun fired

’
let us keep away from Trap Woods, and let us li ve o n

o ur reserv es .
We y j ust men ti on that since his arri v al at

need o nl
French Den Bri an t had had everyt hing necessar y do n e
to his wo un d and that i t had healed in a few days
, .
Ther e remai ned a cert ai n amo un t o f discomfo rt in the

arm b ut that so o n disappear ed
, .
October w as near i ts en d and Walsto n had no t been

,
seen in the neighbour ho od o f Zeal an d River Had h e .
repaired his boat and left the is lan d It w as no t

impo ssi ble He had an ax e as Kate remembered
.
—
an d co ul d make use o f those large kni ves whi ch sailo rs
always have in th ei r po ckets an d wo o d there w as in
abun dance n ear S evern Reefs But in ignoran ce Of
.
what he had do n e the every day life at French Den

,
-
had been en tirely ch an ged There were no mo re di stan t

.
ex cursi o ns ex cept o n ce when Bax ter an d Do n agan wen t

,
o ff to th e cre s t o f Aucklan d Hill an d lo wered the hag

staff .
From this elev ated point Bo nagan ex amined thro ugh

his glass all th e masses o f verdure to the eas tward .
And al though he co uld see right away to the see no t a ,
trace Of smoke rose to indicate that Walsto n and his

companions were encamped o n the island Neither .
in that directi on no r in the di recti o n o f S chooner Bay

di d Do nagan see an ythi ng suspicio us .
No w th at all ex pedi tions were forbidden and the

g u n s lay i dle th e s p o r,tsa Of t he c o lo n y h a d to gi v e
up their fav o uri te amusemen t Fo rtunately the nets
.
an d sn are s set abo ut French Den yielded game in

sum
,
ci ent quan ti ty and the ti n amo us an d ostriches in

,
the poultry yard had multi pli ed so much that Service

-
and Garnett were o bliged to sacrifice a good many o f

them As th ey had gathered a lar ge cro p of the leaves
.
o f the t ea tr ee and a ood deal o f th e maple syrup that

-
g ,
changes so easily into sugar there w as no necessi ty to ,
g o to D ik e C r ee k t o r e n e w th e st o ck o f p r ov i si ons A n d .
even if th e win ter came befo re th e bo ys reco vered thei r

liberty they wer e sufli cien tly pro vid d wi th o il for
,
e
their lamps and wi th preserved prov isi ons fo r their
,
larder All th ey h ad to do w as to g et some more wood

.
,
14 2 ADRIFT IN TIIE PAC IFIC
Go rdo n made a gas h in the bark of the tree an d o ut

flowed the sap an d Kate caught two goo d pmts of it
in a cup She had brought wi th her .
It is a whiti sh li quor appetising enough to look at

, ,
and co mpri sing th e same elemen ts as cow s milk At ’

.
the same time i t is more nourishin g thi cker an d has a , ,
more agreeable savour Th e cup w as empty in a .
minute at French Den an d Co star smeared hi s mo uth

,
all r oun d as if h e were a young cat At the thought o f

.
all he could do wi th thi s n ew substance Moko di d n o t ,
co nceal his satisfacti on He would hav e no tro uble

.
to go and get his vegetable milk .
—
In short and w e eed hardly repeat t Charman
n i —
Island would supply th e wan ts Of a large colo ny The .
boys could certain ly li ve there fo r a lo ng time ! and the

ar ri val of K ate amongst them to lo o k af ter them like a
mother an d she qui te inspired them w ith maternal
,
afl ecti o n had do ne much to make their existen ce more

,
comfo rt able .
Why had the former securi ty been tro ubled What

discoveri es Brian t an d his comrades wo uld have made
in those un kn o wn parts o f th e east whi ch they no w had
to consider as clo sed to them Would they ever b e
able to resume their ex cursi ons hav ing no thi ng to
,
fear b ut wild beasts far less dan gerous than the wild
,
beasts in human form against whom they had to be o n

,
their guard night and day

No vember had begun and there w as still no trace o f
,
suspicio us C haracters r oun d Fren ch Den Brian t even .
doubted if the sur vi vors of the S evem were still o n the

islan d .But had no t Bonagan seen w ith his o w n eyes
that the boat w as in a b ad w ay with her bro ken mast
, ,
tattered sails an d shattered si de t —

It is r ue and
Mr Evans wo uld know this—if Charman I slan d had
,
been near a co n tin ent o r archi pelag o the bo at might ,
have been suffi ciently put to ri ghts and go ne to sea .
It w as po ssible fo r Walsto n to have left the islan d H ad .
he done so That would have to be discovered before

the usual ro und o f li fe w as res umed .
ALI TO G E THE R
. 1 43
Often Bri an t had thought o f ex ploring the distri ct o n

the east of Family Lake Do n ag an Bax ter and
.
, ,
Wilcox would have been o nly too glad to go w ith hi m .
But to run the ri sk Of falli ng in to Walsto n s po wer an d

’
thereby disco ver to hi m ho w little fo rmidable were th e

adversaries wi th who m h e h ad to do would h ave had ,
the most serious co nsequences An d SO Go r do n who se

.
,
adv i ce w as always list ened to persuaded Briant no t

,
to venture into Beech Fo rest .
Kate then made a pro po siti o n whi ch wo uld avo id ,
this danger o f di sco very One evenin g when all the

.
,
boys were united in the hall she asked Bri ant if he ,
w ould allow h er to leave them in the morning .
Leave us K ate ! sai d Briant

, .
Yes l Yo u cann o t remai n much longer in thi s

uncertai nty as to whether Wal ston is still o n the islan d ,
an d I vo lun t eer to go to the place where the sto rm left

me an d fi nd o ut if the bo at is still th ere If it is
, .
there W alsto n has no t go n e aw ay ! if it is no t there

,
y o u n ee d h ave n o furt her fea r o f hi m .
”
Th at sai d Bo nagan is what Brian t and Bax ter
, ,
an d Wilcox an d I propo sed to do o urselves

’
.
Tr ue Mr Bo n agan sai d Kate

, .
,
”
But what is .
dangerous fo r yo u has n o danger for me .
But Kate sai d Gor don if yo u fall into Walsto n s

’
, ,
han ds
Well in terrupted K ate I shall b e where I w as
, ,
befo re I ran away That is all

.
An d if thi s rascal makes away with yo u as he very ,
li kely w ill ? asked Brian t .
I escaped befo re and why sho uld I no t escape

,
ag ain par ti cular ly as I no w kno w th e ro ad to Fren ch

,
Den An d if I co uld get away w ith Mr Evan s after — .
—
telling hi m all abo ut yo u thi nk what a help he wo uld
b e to yo u
If Evans had a C han ce o f escape sai d Do nag an , ,
would he n o t have go ne already Is there no t every

reaso n fo r hi s tryi n g to save hi ms elf
”
Bo n agan is right , sai d Gordon Evans knows .
Walsto n s secret and Walsto n would have no hesi tatio n

’
,
in killing him as soon as h e had no n eed o f his help to

g u i de th e bo at t o th e c o n tin en t If Evans h as n o t .
sli pped away fro m hi s co mpan io ns by no w i t is because ,

”
he is too well guarded .
Or that he has already paid wi th hi s life fo r an

attempt to s cape An d so Kate
”
said D o n agan
, .
, .
unless yo u wi sh to b e recaptured
DO yo u thi nk I wo uld n o t do all I could to avo i d
being caught
Of cour se yo u wo uld sai d Bri ant , But w e will .
never let yo u run th e risk No We must seek o ut

.
some less dangero us w ay o f discoveri ng if Walston is

still o n Charman Island .
Kate s pro posal having been rej ected there w as no

’
more to do than keep a good look o ut Ev i dently if -

.
Walsto n w as able to leave the islan d he would do so

befo re the w et season began so as to reach some co un tr y
,
where he and hi s co mpani o ns would b e welcomed as ,
all Shi pwrecked fo lks ar e welcomed no matter whence ,
they may come .
If Walston w as in the islan d he seemed to have n o in

te n tio n o f ex ploring the in terior Frequen tly o n the . ,
dark nights Brian t Do nagan an d Moko had crosse d

, , ,
the lake in the yawl and never had they seen a fi re

, ,
either o n the Opposi te ban k o r beneath the tree s do w n

,
East Riv er .
’
w o n t get much by sto pping here
Evidently the only .
reaso n they have no t reli eved us o f their presence is
that they have no t been able to get their boat made

seawo rthy .
Brian t S news w as o f the greates t impo r tan ce to the

’
li ttle co lo n y It sho wed fo r certai n that Charman

.
I slan d w as n o t iso lated in the Pacific as they had

tho ught But the fact that Walsto n had taken up his
.
quarters at Eas t River serio usly co mplicated matters .
He had left the place where he had co me asho re an d ,
come a do zen miles n ear er the camp He had o nly to .
as cen d th e ri ver to r each the lake and h e h ad o nly to

ski rt th e so uthern shore Of the lake to discover French
Den .
TO provide agai nst this Briant had to take every ,
precautio n Hencefo rth the bo ys were allowed o ut

.
only when abso lutely necessary Bax ter hid the .
fen ce o f th e en clo sure with a curtai n o f brushwo o d ,
and In th e same w ay he con cealed th e en tr ances o f th e

hall and sto re roo m NO o ne w as allowed to Sho w
-
.
himself in the o pen between th e lake and Auckland

An d dded to these diffi culties there were no w other
a
causes Of anxiety Co star w as ill Of a fever and in
. ,
danger Of his li fe Go rdo n had to prescribe fo r him

.
fro m the schooner S medici ne chest no t wi tho ut so me

’
-
,
nervo usn ess that he mi ght make a mistak e l Luckily ,
Kate w as qui te a mo ther to the po o r sick b o y S he ,

.
watched over him with a pai n staking affecti o n an d ,
nursed hi m ni ght an d day Than ks chiefly to h er th e

. ,
fever left hi m and he soon afterwar ds qui te reco vere d

,
.
During the first fo rtni ght o f N o vember there were

frequent sho wers but o n the 1 7 th th e baro meter ro se
,
and steadied an d th e warm seaso n set in fo r goo d

, .
Trees and Shrubs and all the vegetation were so on

co vered wi th leaves an d fl o wers The customary .
v isi to rs o f So uth Moors returned in great numbers .
Bo nagan w as miserable at n o t being able to go o ut

sho o ting acro ss the mar shes an d po o r Wilco x w as n o n e
,
the less so at no t being able to spread his nets Ari d .

THE E NE M Y IN SIG HT 147
no t o nl y di d the birds sw arm o n t he island but o thers ,
wer e taken in th e snares near French Den .
Duri ng these lo ng idle days man y were the hours

, ,
no w passed in the hall Bax t er w h o had charge o f the

.
,
log fo un d no t an inci den t to relate

, And in less than .
four mo n ths th e third win ter would begin for the

colo ni sts o f Charman I slan d
The bo ys n oticed w ith deep anx iety how discourage ,
men t w as seizing upon the most energeti c wi th the -
ex cepti o n o f G o rd o n who w as always d eep in th e

details o f man agement .
Even Briant at times despair ed al tho ugh he did his ,
best to hi de it He tried to enco urage his comrades to

.
co n tin ue their studi es to resume t heir debates and th eir

, ,
readin gs alo ud He remi n ded them const an tly o f

.
their country an d their fri ends e v en ing that o ne day ,
th ey w o uld go back He did all he co uld t o keep up

.
their spiri ts b ut with li ttle success and his great fear

, ,
w as that des pai r would o verw helm them .
Nothing o f the so rt l Events o f the greatest import

an ce wer e at han d whi ch soon gave them qui te sufli ci ent
ex ci temen t .
It w as o n th e 2 1st of No vember about two o clo ck in ,

’
the afternoo n when Do nagan w as fi shi ng in the lake

, ,
that his atten tion w as attracted by the disco rdant

cri es o f a score o f bir ds h o vering ov er the left bank o f
th e stream .
—
If the birds were n o t cro ws whi ch they
somewh at r esembled — they evi den tly belo nged to the
same speci es .
B o n agan w ould have taken li ttle noti ce o f their

cries had no t their beh av i our been strange .
radi us as they neared the groun d un til in a compact ,
gr oup th ey swoo p ed do wn .
Then the noise became greater than ev er but in ,
v ain D o negan tri ed to catch a glimpse o f the birds

among th e thi ck bushe s in which they had disappeared .
Th e thought occurred to him that th e carcase Of so me

animal must b e th ere Curio us to kno w what was the
.
matter he returned to French Den and asked Mo ko to

,
x4 8 AD RIFT IN THE PAC IFIC
take him over in the bo at to the other side o f Zealand

River .
They pushed o ff an d in ten minutes had slipped in

among th e vegetation o n the bank At once the birds .
took to flight pro testi ng by their screams at being dis

,
There lay the body of a young guanaco that had

eviden tly been dead fo r o nly a few hours inas mw h ,
as it w as no t qui te cold .
Bo nagan an d Mo ko no t car ing to burden their larder

wi th the remains o f the birds dinner were abo ut to ’
leave i t when i t occurred to them to ask why the

g uana c o h ad co m e t o di e o n the ski rt o f th e marsh so ,
far from the eastern fo rest whi ch its fellows so seldo m
Do nag an ex a mined the body

There was a wound in
.
the fl ank a wo un d whi ch could no t have been giv en by

,
th e tooth o f a j aguar o r any other beas t of prey

, .
This guanaco was shot ! said Do nagan .
An d her e is the proof sai d the cabin bo y pi cking -

,
o ut a bullet fro m the woun d wi th the po in t of his kn ife .
The bullet w as mo re o f the size carried by a shi p s

’
rifl e than by such a gu n as spo rtsmen use It must .
therefore have been fired by Walston o r o ne o f his

co mpan i ons .
Bo n ag an an d Moko leaving the carcase to the birds

, ,
retur ned to French Den to consult wi th their co m
p an i ons .
That the guan aco had been Sho t by o ne o f the

Severn men w as evi dent fo r nei ther Bonagan no r any ,
o ne else had fi red a gu n fo r mo re than a month But .
had re eic ved the bullet .
c
ne essary for the animal to cross the Down Lan ds so
as to reach th e river Consequently o ne of Walsto n s ’
.
,
men must that morning hav e been at the south po int

o f Family Lake and the party mu
, st have cro ssed East
As n ne o f o us mo ke
s , sai d b e, this pipe must
have been lo st
By o ne of the men unless i t belonged to the French
,
man who w as her e b efo re us ”

.
No ! The pi pe h ad no t belonged to Baudo in, who

had di ed twen ty years befo re It had been dr o pped .
ver y recen tly as the fragmen ts Of tobacco inside it

,
clearly sho wed A

few days befo re, perhaps a few
.
ho urs befo re o ne of Walsto n s compan ions o r perhaps

,
’
Walsto n himself had been o n this Side of the lake .
Go rdo n an d Bri ant returned at once to th e cave .
K
There ate stated that she had seen this very pipe in
Walsto n s possession
’
.
There w as no w no doubt that the pirates h ad go t

roun d th e so uth o f the lake Perhaps during the ni ght .
they had reached the bank o f Zealand River And if .
French Den had been disco vered if Walston kn ew ab o ut ,
th e co lo n y wo uld he no t have th o ught that th e tools

, ,
instrumen ts, ammuni ti on an d stores he w as so much ,
in n eed of were here to be h ad, and that seven acti ve

men would eas ily get the better of fifteen boys—e speci
ally if h e co uld take them by surprise ? nyhow A ,
there w as no longer ro om to doubt that his party w as

no w clo se to them .
with hi s co mrades that a more acti ve watch sho uld b e

arr anged Duri ng the day an o utpo st w as stationed o n
.
Auckland Hill so as to co mmand the appro aches from

,
all si des .Duri ng the night tw o o f the bigger bo ys

mo un ted guard at the en tr ances to the cave The .
do ors were strengt hened with supports an d in a momen t ,
i t w as ren der ed possi ble to b arricade them wi th th e

large sto nes that were heaped up inside th e cave In
the narro w win do ws dri ven thro ugh th e rock the tw o ,
li t tle canno ns were kept ready One defen ded th e .
Zeal and River side the o ther the Side towards the lake
, .
Guns and revo lvers were so disposed as to b e ready fo r

use at th e least alarm .
It was no w the 27th o f November Fo r two days the .

THE E NEM Y IN SIG HT 1 51
heat had been s tifling . Huge

d passed heavily C lo u s
over the island an d distant thun dering announced the

,
appro ach of a storm In th e eveni ng Bri ant and hi s

.
compan i o ns had retired earli er th an usual into th e h all ,
after taki ng th e pr ecauti o n as h ad been th eir custom

,
th e las t few ni ghts of hauling th e boat in to th e store

,
roo m . Th e do o rs were shut an d th e o nly thing to b e

,
do ne no w w as to wai t fo r bed time and kneel In prayer -

,
an d thi n k o f ho me .
Abo ut half past nine the sto rm w as in full fury

-
.
Th e cave w as lighted up by th e vi vid fl ash es an d th e ,
hill seemed to Shake wi th th e rollin g thun der peals .
It w as o ne o f tho se storms wi tho ut win d o r rai n which ,
are the most terri ble of all for th e mo ti onless clo uds
,
dis charge their electrici ty o ver th e o n e spot and o ften a ,
w ho le ni ght will go by and the sto rm b e unex haust ed .
Co star Do le Iverson and J enkins hi d in their beds

, , ,
an d j umped at every dreadful outburst th at sh o wed

ho w near the lightnin g w as to them But th ey h ad .
no thi ng to fear in that cav e Th e fl ash es might strike

.
twen ty times a hundred times the crest o f the bill

, , .
It could no t penetrate the thi ck walls of French D en .
Fro m time to time Brian t B o n agan o r Bax ter went

, ,
an d held th e door aj ar an d return ed immediately h alf

b lin ded by the fl ashes The heavens seemed o n fi re
.
,
and th e lake o ne huge sheet o f fl ame .
From ten o clock to eleven O clo ck there w as no t a

’ ’
mo ment s peace between th e lightning and the thunder

’
.
It w as no t ti ll n ear mi dni ght that th e storm began to

Slacken . Lo nger and lo nger intervals separated the
thun derclaps whose vio len ce dimini shed as they grew
,
more and mo re di stant Then the win d rose and dro ve

.
away th e clo uds that hung SO n ear the earth an d th e ,
rai n fell i n t o rrents .
Then the yo ungsters began to be les s afrai d Two o r .
three heads hi dden benea th th e be dc lo thes came in to

v iew although i t w as time fo r all to be as leep
, Bri an t .
an d th e others having taken the usual prec autio ns

, ,
were going to bed when Fan gave unmistakable signs

,
of un easiness She j umped up an d ran to the do o r

.
an d gave a long co n ti nuo us gro wl .
H as Fan scen t ed an yt hi ng ? asked Bon ag an ,
trying to qui et the do g .
When that intelli gent an imal went o n like this

befo re, sai d Bax ter, she made no mi stake
’
.
w e must fi n d
”
Befo re w e go to bed, sai d Gor don ,
o ut what i t all mean s
"
.
”
Q u i t e so sai d ,B ri an t b u t let n o,
body g o o ut ,
an d let us b e ready to defend o urselves .
Each to o k his gun and revo lver Then Do n ag an .
stepped to wards the do o r o f th e hall an d M o ko t o war ds ,
the do o r o f the sto re ro o m -

They listened at the
.
thresho ld but no t a so un d di d they hear outsi de

, ,
altho ugh Fan co n tinued t o growl and began to b ark

lo udly . This w as mo st un fo rtunate, and Go rdon tri ed
in vai n to keep her qui et .
Suddenly there w as the report o f a gun There .
co uld b e no mistaking it fo r a thun der clap And the-

.
gu n m u s t h av e b e en fi r ed w i thi n t w o hu n dr ed ya r ds o f
Fren ch Den .
Do nagan Bax ter, Wilcox , an d Cro ss picked up their

,
rifl es and st o od ready at the do o rs to o pen fi re o n w ho

ever appro ached The o thers had begun to heap up
.
the st o nes an d form th e bar ri cade, when a voi ce outside

w as hear d sho uting
H
elp ! H
elp !
There w as a man in danger of his li fe un doubtedly .
H
elp ! repeat ed th e voice, this ti me b ut a few
yar ds away .
Kate w as listening near the doo r .
It is him ! she sai d .
Him ? ex clai med Bri an t

”
.
Open the do o r ! Open the do or ! sai d K ate .
The do o r w as Opened an d a man dr ippin g wi th wat er

,
r ushed in amo ngst them It was Evans o f the S evern

. .
wasting time he wo n dered why no thin g h ad been done

,
between th e 2 7 th and 3oth o f No vember Then the .
i dea o ccurred to hi m that Walston w as endeavo uring '
to get in t o Fren ch Den by strategy an d n o t by fo rce ,

.
”
While w e are in th e cave sai d he to Brian t , ,
Walsto n wo uld h ave to fo rce his w ay in thro ugh o ne

o f th e do o rs unless so meb o dy o pen ed them fo r him !
,
He wi ll try to get in by so me do dge

Ho w ? asked Go rdo n .
This w ay perhaps Yo u see there are o nly K ate

, .
an d I w h o co uld den o un ce him as th e chief o f a gan g o f

ro bbers seeki n g to capture yo ur colo n y an d h e fan cies ,
Kate died at the wreck As fo r me I am dro wn ed in

.
,
the ri ver yo u kn o w
, He do es no t kno w yo u kno w
.
an ythin g — n o t even that h e i s o n the islan d If he .
w as to co me as i f h e had been wrecked he may thi n k ,
y o u w o uld r ec ei v e hi m an d on ce h e go t i n to the ca ve ,
h e co uld let in hi s co mpanions when resistan ce would b e

,
impo ssible .
Well said Briant if Walston o r an y of them

, , , ,
came aski ng shelter w e wo uld sho o t

,
Or take o ur hat s o ff Whi ch as ked Gordo n .
That might b e better sai d the sailor , .
Di amo nd cut di amo nd eh Let us talk it over

,
.
Nex t mo rning passed without adventure Evan s .

,
with Do nagan and Bax ter went o ut for half a mile

, ,
as far as Tr ap Woods keeping well un der the t rees at

, ,
th e base o f Aucklan d Hill They saw n o thi ng unusual

.
,
an d Fan w h o acco mpani ed them gave n o al ar m

, ,
.
But in th e even ing j ust befo re sunset Webb an d

, ,
Cro ss came in hur ri edly from their po st o n the hill ,
an d an n o un ced th e appro ach o f tw o men alo n g the so uth

Side o f th e lak e o n th e other si de o f Ze alan d Ri ver .
Kate and Evans no t wish ing to b e o bserved at

, ,
o nce hurr ied in to th e sto re ro o m and loo ki ng through

-
, ,
the lo o pho les so o n caught sight o f Rock an d Fo rbes .
Evi den tly sai d the sailo r they ar e go ing to try

, ,
treachery They are coming as shipwrecked sailors

.
-J "
What Shall we do asked Bri ant .

DIAM OND C UT D IAM ON D 155
Take them in sai d Evans .
Welcome those scoun drels ? Sai d Briant .
nev er can
I can d Gordon
, sai .
Well then do so l sai d Ev an s

, , But do n t
’
let them have a suspi cio n of o ur presence K ate and I .
will appear when it is time .
Evans an d Kate retired in to th e cupboard in th e

passage between the r oo ms .
A few minutes afterwards Go rdo n Bri ant Do n agan , , ,
an d Bax ter ran o ut o n to the river bank Th e tw o men -

.
,
n o w clo se to th e other si de pret en ded immense sur prise
when they saw them An d Gordon looked even mo r e

.
W ho are yo u he as ked .
W e have been wrecked o n the t

So u h o f this island
in the boat o f the Shi p S ev en s .
A re yo u English
N A
0 , merican s .
W here are your comp anio ns ?

All lo st W e alone escaped the w reck and w e ar
.
almost d o n e up Who are yo u please ?

.
,
The co lo nists o f Charman Islan d

’
.
Perhaps the co lonists then, will take pity o n us , ,
an d help us fo r w e have go t n o thing

,
All w ho are wrecked h ave a ri ght to be helped ,
sai d Go rdon Yo u are welcome .
A t a Sign from hi m Moko entered the yawl, which

w as mo o red close by an d in a few str okes o f th e car
,
the tw o men were across th e ri ver .
Do ubtless Walston had no choice, b ut it must b e

co n fessed that R o ck s fac e w as no t o ne to in spire co nfi
’
den ce ev en wi th boys
, He did hi s best to look like an
.
ho nest man , but what could he do with his n arrow fore

head, his head so big behind and his remarkable lower
—
,
j aw ? Fo r bes i n who m a cco r di ng to at e ev er y K

—
, ,
feeling o f humanity was no t yet dead w as a much

bett er lo o king fellow, which w as probably the reaso n
-
that Walston had sent him .

They played their par ts well Wh en a more direct .
questio n than usual pro ved embarr assing they pleaded ,
that they were quite tired o ut and begged that they ,
might take a rest and even pass the night at French

,
Den . As they en tered the cave Go r don watched them

throw a sear chi ng lo o k ar ound an d n o ti ced their sur ,
prise at th e means o f defence par ticularly at the li ttle ,
cann o n It is pro bable that th e bo ys wo uld have been

.
unable t o keep up th e little dr ama had the men no t ,
asked to b e allo wed to li e do wn an d po stpone th e story ,
o f th eir adven tur es un ti l th e mo rn ing .
A b ed o f leaves will do fo r us said Rock b ut , ,
as w e do n t wish to b e in yo ur w ay if yo u have an other

’
Yes d Gordon w e have o ne w e use as a

, sai ,
kitchen an d yo u can stay there till to morro w

,
- .
Rock an d his compan i o n passed into the sto re roo m -

,
whi ch they ex amined with a searching glan ce and no ted ,
that the door o pen ed o n to the river .
In a comer they lai d themselves down They were .
no t al on e fo r M o ko Slept there b ut they did no t think

, ,
much Of hi m as they had made up their minds to twist

'
his n eck if they fo un d him Sleepin g wi th only o ne eye .
At the ho ur agreed they could Open the sto re room -
door an d Walsto n who w as pro wling abo ut th e neigh

, ,
b o urho o d would so o n be master o f Fren ch Den

, .
Abo ut nine o clock when Rock an d Fo rbes were

’
seemingly so un d asleep Moko en tered an d thr ew him ,
self d o wn o n th e bed ready to gi ve th e alarm ,B rian t .
an d th e others remai n ed in the hall the do o r o f th e

passage was shut an d Evans and Kate came to them
,
o ut o f thei r hidin g place Thi ngs had gone exactly

-
.
as the sailor h ad fo reseen an d h e had no doubt th at ,
Walsto n w as close at han d wai ting the signal to break in , .
W e must be o n o ur guard sai d he

”
, .
Two ho urs passed an d M o ko w as asking himself if

,
Ro ck an d Forbes had n o t postponed their scheme fo r

an other ni ght when hi s atten ti on was attracted by a
,
sli ght n oise in the comer o f the cave .

C HAPTER XV II
THE F ORT U NE OF WAR
AT daylight Evan s B1i ant, Do nagan , and Gordon went

,
o ut o f th e cave, k eeping careful watch ar oun d them .
A s the sun rose th e mo rning mists co n densed, and the

lake appear ed ri ppled by a gentle breeze fro m the east
war d .
All was quiet ro un d French Den by the side o f

,
Zeal an d Ri ver as well as by Trap Wo o ds In the en .
clo sure the domestic an imals moved about as usual,

an d th e do g gave n o Sign .
Evans lo o ked o n the ground fo r footpri n ts, and he

found man y, parti cularly n ear Fren ch Den They .
cro ssed each other in man y dir ecti ons, and sh o w ed that
during th e night Walston and his mates must have
reached th e ri ver bank, an d wai ted till the cav e door
w as Opened fo r them
—
.
There w as no trace o f blood o n the sand a proof

t h at Rock h ad n o t even been wo un ded .
But o n e questio n remai n ed un an swered Had W al .
st o n co me by th e south o f the lake o r by th e n o rth

If the latter were the case, Ro ck must have fled towards
A s it w as impo rt an t to clear this up, it w as deci ded
to questi on Fo rbes K
Wo uld grati tude to ate who h ad
.
,
saved his life awaken an y feeli ng o f human i ty wi thin

,
him Wo uld he fo rget that he h ad begged ho spi tali ty

fro m tho se w ho m he intended to betray ?
Ev an s wen t back into the cave open ed th e do o r of the
,
F
cupboar d where orbes w as co nfi ned, un did his band
ages an d bro ug ht hi m in to the hall
, .
Fo rbes, sai d Evans, your stratagem has no t

succeeded . It is impo rtan t that I Should kno w what
ar e Walsto n S plans as far as k o W
’
yo u n w ill yo u .
answer
THE FORTUNE OF W AR 1 59
Forbes bo w d e his head and lowered his eyes , no t

daring to look at Evan s o r K ate o r the boys before w hom
Kate spoke ”
.
Forbes said she yo u once Show ed a little pi ty

, ,
in preven ting your mates fro m killing me during the

mutiny o n the Ship Will yo u do no thin g to save the
.
children fro m a more frightful massacre

Fo rbes did no t reply .
Forbes said Kate they hav e given you your li fe

”
,
when yo u deserved to di e ! All human ity is no t dead

w i thin yo u After doing so much ev il why no t do a ,
li ttle good ?
A half stifled sigh came fro m Fo rbes
-
.
Wh at can I do he asked almost in a whisper , .
Yo u can tell us sai d Ev an s what w as to hav e

, ,
happen ed las t night what is to happen no w W as , .
Walston wai ting outside till o ne of the doors was

o pened
Yes sai d Forbes
, .
An d these children who welco med you were to be
Fo rbes bowed his head agai n .
Which way did the ot hers co me here ? k

as ed
From the no rth o f the lake answ ered Forbes , .
Wvhile Rock and yo ucame from the south

es .
’
H a e they been in the wes t of the island yet I 13

No t yet .
Where are they no w ?

Ido n t know
’
.
Yo u can tell us no more ?

No .
ut yo u think Walston will co me back

B
’
i
do .
E v iden tly Walsto n had been alarmed by the shot ,
an d seeing th at th e strat agem h ad failed , had j udged

it best to clear o fi till a mo re favour able occasion .
Evans des paired o f getting any more informati on

from Fo rbes and led hi m , back to the cupbo ar d , an d

locked him in .
Matters were no w serious enough Where w as W al .
ston W as he camped in the thi ckets of Trap Woods

It w as necessary to kno w an d Evan s decided to seek ,
in th at di recti o n although th e attempt might b e ,
It y noo n when Moko took th e priso ner

w as nearl
so me fo o d Forbes har dly touched i t so depr essed di d
.
,
he seem to b e What w as passing in hi s min d ? Had

.
his co nsci ence made hi m a prey to remo rse ?

After di nner Evan s to ld the bo ys o f his in tentio n to go
o ut towards Trap Wo o ds wi th a vi ew o f fi nding o ut if
the pirates were still n ear French Den The pro po si ti o n .
hav ing been accepted with o ut di scussion arrangements ,
were made to run th e least danger .
Walsto n an d his co mpan io ns were no w o nly Six Since

Forbes S capture while th e little co lo ny numbered
’
fifteen witho ut co un ting Kate and Evan s But from .
the seven teen in all there h ad to be taken the yo un ger ,
o nes w ho co uld take no direct part in the fi ght

, It w as .
deci ded therefo re that while Iverson J enkin s an d

, , , ,
Do le remained in the cave wi th Kate Mo ko and J ack , , , ,
in charge o f Bax ter the bigger bo ys Brian t Go r do n , , ,
Do n agan Cross Serv ice Webb Wilco x and Garnett

, , , , ,
should acco mpan y Evans Eight bo ys to Six men did .
no t appear to b e a fair match b ut each o f them w as ,
ar med wi th a gun an d a revo lver while Walsto n o nly ,
had th e fi v e guns saved fro m the shi p so that a lo n g

ran ge fight might gi ve them a chan ce par ti cular ly as ,
Bo nag an Wilco x an d Cro ss were much better sho ts

, ,
t han the Ameri can seamen Besi des they had plenty .
,
of ammuni tion while Walston w as reduced to a few

,
car tri dges .
It w as tw o o clock when Evan s an d his troop set o ut

’
.
Bax ter J ack M o ko Kate and the li ttle o nes immedi

, , , ,
ately returned to th e cave and Shut b ut di d n o t barri ,
cade bo th do ors in cas e the sco uti ng par ty had to

, ,
run fo r shelt er There w as n othing to fear o n the

.
so uth ern side o r even o n th e western fo r to come that ,

16 2 A D RIFT IN THE PAC IFIC
The dog d to the fro nt and Bonagan in his

rushe ,
ex ci temen t
dash ed af ter hi m .
Fo rward l shouted Evan s W e mustn t leav e .

’
him to fight them single han ded !
st ood round a co rpse in the grass .

”
That s Pike l said Ev ans
’
The sco undrel is .
st one dead He s o ne to yo u Do nagan

’ ’
. .
The others cann ot b e far o ff I sai d Cro ss .
No my b o y but keep under C over ! Do wn wi th

, ,
yo u ! D o wn !
Servi c e, ducked quickly eno ugh had his

w ho had no t ,
forehead gr azed by th e bullet .
Yo u are hit sai d Gor don r u shi ng towards him , .
said Serv ice

”
It s nothing ! It s n othing ! It
’ ’
.
is only a scratch l
It w as necessary fo r th e boys to keep toge ther .
Pike lay dead between them and Walsto n and th e fo ur

men who were probably posted behind the trees an d
, ,
a c ompact gro up ready fo r an attack fr om any si de .
Suddenly Gar nett ex claimed ,
Where i s Brian t
I do n t see him said Wilco x
’
.
,
an d it see med as though the boy t

w as s r uggling with
Bri an t ! Bri an t ! shouted Do nagan .
And away the boys all ran after the do g Ev an s .
could no t keep them back They ran from tree to tree

. .
L
o o k o ut, M r Evan s ! shouted Cross, thro wing
.
himself flat o n the groun d .
Instin cti vely the sailo r stooped as a bullet pinged ,
past a few in ches abo ve hi m .
Ri sing in stantly he saw o n e of Walston 5 men runni ng

’
o ff I
.t w as R o ck wh o m h e had m,
i ssed th e ni ght befo re .
There S o ne fo r yo u Rock he sho uted Quickly

’
,
.
he ai med and fi red , an d Ro ck disappear ed as suddenly

as if the ear th had open ed un der his feet .
THE FORTUNE OF W AR 16 3
Missed again I suppo se ! said Evans , .
All this took place in a few seco nds Immedi ately .
aft erwards Do nag an S voi ce w as heard

’
.
H o ld o n Brian t ! , o ld o n he shouted H .
Evans and th e o thers dashed towar ds him an d fo und ,
Bri an t str uggling wi th Cope who had thr own him ,
do wn an d w as go ing to run him through wi th his cutlass

,
when Doneg an j umped to the res cue j ust in time to

turn the thr ust in to his o wn bo dy and fall without
uttering a soun d .
Co pe seeing Evans Garnett an d Webb attempting to

, , ,
cut o fi his retreat fl ed away to th e n ort h recei ving a

, ,
str agglin g volley as he did so He disappear ed and Fan .

,
retur n ed wi thout having r eached him

,
.
Bri an t ro se from the gr oun d and lifted Do nagan s

’
head an d tri ed to revive him Evan s and the others

,
.
came ro un d after qui ckly lo ading their gun s

,
.
Do gn a an h a d b ee n s ta bb e d fu l l in th e ch es t a nd ,
seem ngi l y m o r tal

,
ly H i s e y es w ere .S h u t hi s fa c e w a s ,
as wh i t e as w a x a n d h e m a d e n o m ov e m e n t n o t e ve n ,
when Brian t called to him .
Evans sto o ped opened the bo y 3 w aistco at and tore

,
’
open the shi rt whi ch w as w et with bloo d There w as a

,
.
thin bleeding gash near the fourth rib o n the left side , .
Ha d th e cu tl a ss to u ch e d th e h e
s r t ? N o fo r D o n eg a n ,
t
s ill b rea th ed B u t i t w a
. s to b e fe a r ed t h a t th e lu n g
had ee b n p i er ce d fo r th e b re a t h
,
i n g w as ex t re m e ly
feeble .
W e must t ake him back to d Go rdo nthe cave sai .
That s the o nly place where w e can loo k after him

’
.
”
An d sa v e hi m s a i d B ri an t O h m y poo r .
,
frien d It w as fo r m e th a t y o u ri s k ed yo u r lif e
There seemed to be an en d to the battle and Evans ,
ga v e o r de rs fo r D o n a g a n t o b e t a k en a t o n c e t o F re n ch
De n .
A pp a r e n tl y W a ls t o n h a d se e n th i n s
g g o in g b a d l y
w it h him a n d h a d r e t re a t ed i n to th e w o o d s B u t
—
,
.
,
t
s range to sa y
— an d th i s m a d e Ev an s an x i o u s n e i th er
W alston no r Bran dt no r Co o k had been seen and
, , ,
.
h
t ese e w r e th e m o s t f o r m i d a b le o f t h e g g
an .
Do nag a n s s t at e re q u
’
ir e d th a t h e S h o u l d b e c a r ri e d
16 4 A D RIFT IN T HE PACIFIC
witho ut being j o lted and Service an d Wilco x made a,
li tter of bo ughs o n whi ch they lai d him still un co n

, ,
sci o us
. Then fo ur o f hi s co mpanio ns gently bo re it ,
while th e o thers walked o n either side w ith guns lo aded ,
and revo lvers in h an d .
They made strai ght fo r Auckland Hill Better th at .
than follo wi ng the path along th e lake No thi ng .
happene d to interfere wi th th em S o meti mes Do n agan .
wo uld gi ve such a pain ful sigh th at Go rdo n wo uld

signal a hal t i n o r der t o li st en to th e respir ati o n an d a
, ,
mo men t afterwards they wo uld resume their pro gress .
Three quarters o f an ho ur h ad go n e an d they were

-
,
clo se to Fren ch Den al tho ugh the do o r w as hidden by a

,
sho ulder o f th e cli fi .
Suddenly there w as a sho ut fro m Zealan d River and ,
Fan sprang o fi to war ds it .
French Den w as bein g attacked by Walsto n an d hi s

tw o co mpanio ns While Ro ck Co pe an d Pike lay in
.
, ,
ambush in Trap Woo ds Wals to n B ran dt an d Co o k , , ,
h ad climbed Aucklan d Hill up th e dry b ed o f the ,
to rrent th at fed Dike Creek Rapidly run ning alo ng .
the ri dge they had descen ded th e go rge Openin g o n to

,
th e ri ver n ear th e sto re ro o m an d then wi th a rush h ad

-
, , ,
fo rced th e do o r which had no t been barricaded

, .
Wo uld Evan s co me up soon e no ugh ?

His plan w as formed in stan tly Leaving Cro ss .
,
Webb and Gar n ett to guard Bo n ag an w ho co uld no t

, ,
be left alo ne he wi th Go rdon Brian t Serv ice an d

, , , , ,
Wilco x took th e sho rtest cut to the cave .
In a few stri des they co uld see the terrace where a ,
sight met th eir ey s that almost dro ve them to despai r

e .
Wals to n w as co ming o ut o f the door dr agging o ne o f ,
th e bo ys to wards the stream .
It w as Jack An d in vain Kate stro ve to tear hi m

.
fro m Walsto n .
A mo men t afterw ar ds Brandt appear ed clutching ,
young Co star an d bearing h im off in the same dire cti o n

, .
Bax ter threw himself upo n Brandt w ho wi th a blo w , , ,
kno cked him to th e gro un d .

C HA PTE R XVIII
AFLO AT ONC E M ORE
AN D no w a new era began fo r the coloni sts of Char man

Islan d
Up to
.
they had had to str uggle fo r thei r existen ce

no w ,
no w they were to work fo r their deli verance .
After the ex citement caused by the incidents Of the

They were as i t were o verwhelmed with their success
, , .
T he dan ger w as over an d it appear ed greater th an it

,
—
h ad ever been much gr eater in fact th an it w as , , .
After the first engagemen t in Trap Wo o ds their chan ces ,
h ad co nsi derably impro ved But wi tho ut Fo rbes s

’
.
in ter ven tion Walsto n Cook an d Bran dt wo uld have

, , ,
escaped Moko wo uld n o t have dared to fi re his gun

.
an d ri sk killing Co s tar an d J ack .
Wh at wo uld then have happened ? At what pri ce

would Walston have gi ven back his prisoners
When Bri ant and his comrades coolly reviewed the
si tuati o n a sort o f terro r seized hold o f them
, It did .
no t las t long fo r un til th e fate Of Rock an d C Ope w as

,
settled life o n Char man Islan d could no t b e co nsi der ed

,
ab solutely safe .
Th e heroes o f the battle were co ngr atulated as they

des erved to b e Moko fo r his shot with the canno n
.
,
Jack fo r his coolnes s wi th the revolver Fan receive d .
her fai r shar e o f cares ses an d a stock Of marr owbones ,
with whi ch Moko regaled her fo r having so cleverly

pinned that rascal Bran dt , .
After Mo ko s shower Of grape Bri an t had returned

’
,
to the li tter A few minutes afterwards Bo nagan had

.
,
been lai d in the hall witho ut hav ing recovered consci ous
r66
AFLOAT O NC E M ORE 167
ne
s s, Fo rbes w as lai d o n the floor of the
w hile
sto re r oo m
- All thro ugh th e night Kate Go rdo n
.
, ,
Brian t Wilcox and Mr Evans w atched over th e

, , .
That Bonagan had been serio usly hurt was only too
ev i den t But as he respired reg ularly it looked as
.
,
tho ugh the lung had no t been t o uched To dr ess the .
woun d K ate h ad used cer tai n leaves such as are used

,
in Western Ameri ca which she foun d gro wing o n so me ,
o f th e bushes at t h e ri ver si de They were leaves o f -

.
th e alder tree whi ch r ubbed and made into co mpresses

-
,
are ver y goo d fo r C heckin g in tern al bleedi ng in whi ch ,
th e chi ef dan ger co n sis ted But with Fo rbes it w as .
differen t Walston had wounded hi m in the sto mach .
He kn ew the thrust w as mo r tal an d when he returned ,
to consci o usnes s and saw Kate bending over him he , ,
had murmured ,
Thank yo u Kate ! Thanks ! It is useless I ,
am don e fo r !
And the tears w alled in to his eyes .
Ho pe Fo rbes ! sai d Evan s , Yo u have atoned .
fo r your crimes Yo u w ill live . .
NO l the unfo rtunate man w as to die In spite o f all .
that w as do ne h e grew hourly worse and about fo ur

, ,
o clo ck his spirit passed away

’
.
They buried hi m in the mo rning n ear Baudo in and ,
tw o cro sses no w mark the tw o gr aves .
But the presen ce o f Ro ck an d C Ope w as dangerous

securi ty could no t b e co mplet e un til they were unable
to do inj ury An d Evans decided to have don e with
.
them befo re star ting fo r Bear Ro ck With Go rdo n .

,
Bri an t Bax ter and Wilco x h e wen t o ff that ver y day

, , , ,
fully ar med an d accompani ed by Fan to whose instinct

, ,
they tr usted to recover the trail .
Th e sear ch w as n ei ther diffi cult no r long no r dan , ,
Th ot hi n g to fear fro m Walsto n s

’
g aro us er e w as n
.
mates COpe w as fo un d dead a few yards fro m where

.
he h ad recei ved the vo lley in his b ack Pike w as fo un d .
where he had been shot at the begi nning o f the battle ,

16 8 ADRIFT IN T H E PACIFIC
an d t he mystery of Rock 5 disappearance w as so o n ’
solved by his bein g fo und in o ne o f Wilco x s ’
traps which so o n served fo r the gr ave o f all three

,
mutin eers .
When Evans returned w i th the news that the co lo ny

h ad n o w n o thi ng to fear th e j o y wo uld have been co m
,
l t h ad n o t Do nagan been so gri evo usly wo un ded

p e e,
.
But n o n e co uld help hOping .
In the mornin g there w as a di scussio n as to future

plans It w as evi den t that th e first thi ng to b e do n e
.
w as to t ake po ssessio n o f the bo at That necessi tated .
a vo yage and even a so journ at Bear R o ck where the

repairs wo uld h ave to b e made to get h er se awo rthy .
An d it w as agr eed that Evan s Bri an t an d Bax ter , , ,
sho uld cro ss by w ay o f th e lake an d Eas t Ri ver whi ch ,
w as at o n ce the saf es t and sho rtest w ay .
The yawl had been reco vered in o n e o f th e backw aters

o f th e ri ver The men had fallen o ut o f h er an d been
.
carried away o ut to sea an d sh e had been almo st unhurt

,
by M o ko s vo lley whi ch had passed j ust o ver her She

’
.
w as bro ught back to French Den an d lo aded w i th to o ls

and pro visi o ns an d wi th a favo urable win d she w as
, ,
o fi o n th e 6 th Of D ecember in E v ans s charge

’
.
She w as so o n acro ss the lake an d befo re half pas t ,

-
eleven Brian t po in ted o ut the creek by which th e ri ve r

,
en tered Run ning down with the ti de she w as soon

.
,
do wn the ri ver and o n th e san d near Bear Ro ck they

,
fo un d th e Severn boat hi gh and dry .
After a car eful ex amination Evans repo rted as ,
fo llo ws :
W e have the needful tools but w e wan t timber fo r ,
th e ri bs and plan king No w at Fren ch Den yo u have

.
,
th e remains Of the schooner whi ch would wo rk in ad

mir ab ly And if w e co uld get th e bo at round to Zea
.
lan d Ri ver
Whi ch I am afrai d is impossible sai d Brian t
I do n t thi nk so co ntinued Evan s If the bo at
.
,
”
’ “
.
,
c an be go t fro m S evern S ho re to Bear R ock why can t

’
i t be go t fr o m Bear Ro ck to Zealan d Ri ver ? W e co uld

long pull, and a stro ng p ull, w as required to begin with

to get the bo at ashore .
Evans, w ho w as as goo d a carpenter as he w as a

sai lo r , co uld appreci ate Bax ter s ski ll There w as no
’
.
scarci ty o f materi als o r t o o ls Wi th the remains of the

.
schoo ner s hull, they co uld re place the b ro ken ri bs

’
an d gapin g strakes an d Old to w st ee ped in pine sap

,
ser ved to caulk e very leak an d make her tho ro ughly
The bo at , o r sloop as w e mi ght as well call her , had a

half deck fo rw ard w hi ch secured a sh elter against the
-
,
weather th at w as li kely, how ever to gi ve li ttle tro uble

,
in this se co n d half Of the summer The passengers .
co uld stay o n this deck o r belo w i t as they ple ase d .
The to p mast o f th e scho o ner di d fo r the main mast ,

- -
an d K
ate , un der E v ans s di recti o ns , man aged to cut a
’
lug main sail o ut o f the s pare fo re-sail besi des a lug

U
-
,
mi zzen an d a go od si zed fo re sail

- - n der thi s lug .
ri g the bo at wo u l d be well balan ced an d very weatherly .
The w o rk to ok thirty days an d w as no t o ver befo re th e

,
8th Of J anuary . In the mean time Christmas had bee n ,
kept wi th a certai n ceremo ny, as also had New ear s Y ’
Day o f 1 86 2 , the last the co lonists ho ped to see o n

Charman I slan d .
Do n egan had no w sufi ci ently recovered fo r him to

be taken o ut o f do o rs, altho ugh he w as still v ery weak .
T he fresh ai r and mo re subst anti al foo d v isib ly impro ved

hi m an d hi s co mrades had no i n ten ti o n o f go i n g aw ay
b efo re he w as ab le to endure a vo yage o f so me weeks
wi tho ut fear o f a relapse .
T he usual dai ly ro un d had been resumed at French

Den altho ugh the lessons were rather n eglected fo r
, ,
di d no t the yo un gs ters co nsi der they were enti tled to a

ho li day ? And so Wilcox an d Cross an d Webb went
o ut agai n o n thei r spo rti ng ex cursio ns over outh Mo o rs S
an d th ro ugh th e thi ckets of Trap Wo ods No w the y .
sco rn ed tr aps an d sn ares an d in s pi te o f the adv i ce o f

,
Go rdo n , w ho w as alw ays care ful of ammuni tion , th ey

blazed away to their hearts con tent , an d Moko s larder
’ ’
'
AFLOA l ONC E M ORE
became stocked with fres h venison which came in ,
handy fo r pres erving fo r th e vo yage .
If Do nagan had been able to resume his functi ons as

hun ter in C hief to the colony wi th what ar dour would
- -
,
he have go n e at all this furred and feather game no w ,
that he no longer had to be sparing o f his powder an d

shot ! A bitter disappoin tmen t it w as to him no t to
b e able to j o in hi s comrades But he had to be resigned .
to it an d commit no impruden ce
, .
During the last days o f Jan uary Evans began to ,
stow his car go Bri an t an d the o thers wo uld have liked

.
to take wi th them all that remai ned of the schoon er !

b ut that w as impossible and they had to make a ch o ice , .
In th e fi rst place Go rdon bro ugh t o n board the,
mo n ey that w as o n the yacht and whi ch they might ,
fi n d useful In getting them back ho me Mo ko requi red .
eno ugh provisi o ns fo r seven teen peo ple n o t o nly fo r a ,
sh o rt p assag e o f three weeks b ut In cas e they were co m ,
p elle d by so m e acc i d en t to lan d o n o ne o f th e islands o f

the achi pelago before reachi n g Punta Arena P o rt ,
Gallan t o r Port Tamar Then what w as left Of th e

, .
ammuni ti o n w as stowed away i n th e lo ckers as were th e ,
un an d revolvers A nd even Bonagan asked that th e

g s .
two li ttle cannon should no t b e left behind .
Bri an t too k care that there w as taken a good assor t

ment o f C lo thes most o f the books in the library the
, ,
t ves fro m the sto

s o th e ins tr umen ts
-
re r —
oom and
needful fo r n avigation the chrono meters glasses , , ,
co mpasses lo g lanterns
,
an d of co urse the Halkett
, ,
bo at Wilcox chose amo ng his nets an d lin es tho se

.
tha t would b e of most use fo r fi shing o n the voyage .
The fresh water taken from Zealan d Ri ver w as put

, ,
into a dozen small barrels Gordo n ar ran ged along the

earlin e in th e boat s ho ld And the spiri ts and li queurs
’
.
w ere no t forgo tten no r were those made fro m th e

,
tr ulcas an d the algar rob es .
F
On th e 3rd of ebruary all the cargo w as in i ts place,
and it o nly remained to fix the date o f sailing, if Do na
1 72 ADRIFT IN T H E PACIFIC
gan to
w as s r ng en o ugh to stan d th e voyage The brave .
fello w answered fo r himself that h e w as H is wo un d .
had clo sed and , his appeti te had return ed and all h e ,
had to do w as n o t to eat to o much Assisted by Bri an t .
an d K ate he n o w to o k a walk o n th e terr ace every day

I lo ng to be
, .
”
Let us b e Off he sai d ,
let us be o ff
, .
o n th e w ay home Th e sea will soo n set me up

. .
Th e depar ture w as fix ed fo r the sth of Febr uar y .
The eveni ng befo re Go rdo n set at liberty all the

,
do mestic an imals The guanaco s vicugn as o stri ches

.
, , ,
an d all c leared Ofi at full speed of their legs an d win gs ,
wi tho ut even a Thank yo u fo r the kin dness that

h ad been sho wered upo n them .
Th e ungrateful beggar s sai d Gar nett after ,
all that w e have do n e fo r them

It s the w ay Of th e wo rld sai d Servi ce so so lemn
’
ly that there w as a general sho ut o f laughter .
In th e morning th e bo ys embarked in the sloop wi th

the yawl in to w Do neg an w as laid aft n ear Evans
.
,
w ho too k charge o f th e ti ller In th e b o w Brian t an d

.
Mo ko looked after the sails although they trusted t o ,
th e curren t to t ake them do wn the ri ver .
The o thers in cludi ng Fan were where fan cy led them

, , .
The moori ngs wer e cas t o ff and the sweeps str uck ,
Thr ee cheers saluted the hospi table cave whi ch fo r so

man y mon ths had affo rded the boys a shelter and it w as ,
n o t wi tho ut emo ti o n that they saw Aucklan d Hill

disappear behind th e trees .
In descendi ng th e ri ver th e sloop went n o faster than

,
the curren t whi ch w as ver y rapid

, At no o n when .
,
clo se to the swamp in Bo g Woods Evan s an ch o red fo r , ,
in that part Of th e course th e ri ver w as sh allo w an d i t ,
w as better to wai t fo r th e ti de than n m the ri sk o f
During the halt the passengers indulged in a hearty

meal after which Cross an d Wilcox wen t o ff sni pe
,
sho o ting o n th e ski rt o f S o uth Moors Fro m the stern .
o f the slo o p Do nagan man aged to bri n d w n b

g o a race
C HAPTE R XIX
HOM E
WE need no t i h l f h lo pas sage through

’
g v e t e o g o t e s o p s
mar ked by no adv enture o f impo rtan ce The weather .
remai ned fi ne thro ugho ut and in the s e channels of six ,
o r seven mile
s acro ss the sea is nev er very rough .
fo r congratulati on as the nati ves o f the islan ds are no t

,
always in a hospi table humo ur Once o r twice duri ng .
the night fi res were n oti ced well inlan d , but no body
On th e February the sloop whi ch had been

r 1 th o f ,
favo ured with a fair win d all the time en tered the ,
Strai ts o f Magellan do wn Smyth Chan nel between th e ,
wes t coast o f Queen Adelaide Island and the heights o f

King William Land TO the right rose th e peak o f
.
St Anne To the left at the bottom of Beaufo rt Bay

. .
, ,
were the en ds o f so me Of th e glaciers that Bri an t had

seen fro m Han o ver I slan d .
All wen t well o n bo ard Th e sea ai r j us t sui ted Do n a

.
gan w, ho n o w felt qu i t e e q ual to lan din g g

a ai n i f n o c es
sary an d resuming the Cr usoe life

, .
During th e 1 2 th o f Februar y the sloop arrived in

sight o f Tamar I slan d where th e haven o r creek held
,
at the time no o ccupan t Wi thout sto pping Evans .

,
do ubled Tamar Cape and headed south east in to th e -
Strai ts .
On o n e si de the lo ng Land of Desolati o n develope d i ts

fl at an d arid sh o res sho wi ng n o trace o f the rich vegeta
,
tio n o f Charman Island On th e other was the in den ted

.
Cro cker Peninsula alo ng which Evans intended t o

HOM E 175
coas t so as to get round Cape Frowar d and run up the ,
coas t o f th e Br un swi ck Peninsula to Pun ta Aren a .
It w as no t necessary fo r him to go so far .
In th e morning o f the 1 3th Serv ice who w as o n the

, ,
lo o k o ut In th e b o w repo rted
-
,
Smo ke o n the star board bo w

The smo ke o f a fi sherman s fi re ? asked Go rdo n
’
.
No , sai d Evans
“
th at Is a steamer s smo ke
,
’
.
In that di rectio n th e land w as too far Ofi for th e smoke

from th e camp to be seen .
Immedi ately Briant climbed to the mast head - .
A ship a ship ! he sho uted

. .
Th e ship w as so on in sight fro m th e deck It w as a .
steamer o f about eight hun dr ed tons appro aching at ,
the rate o f eleven kno ts an ho ur .
There were C heers fro m th e sloop and some o f the ,
gu n s wer e fi red . Sh e w as sight ed an d ten m in utes ,
after war ds she w as alongsi de the Grafton bo und to ,
Australia .
Captai n Long of the Grafton w as immediately told

, ,
o f th e wr eck o f the sch ooner th e news o f which had been

,
v ery wi dely spread in Englan d an d Amerci a and at ,
o n ce to o k the sloop s passengers o n board He even

’
.
Offered to tak e them o n direct to Aucklan d whi ch wo uld ,
n o t b e ver y far o ut of his ro ad fo r t he Grafton s destin a

’
ti o n w as Melbourn e in the so uth o f Australia

, .
Th e vo yage w as a qui ck o ne and o n th e 2 5 th o f ,
Febr uary the steamer cast an cho r in Auckland Harbour .
Within a few days tw o years had elapsed since the

fi fteen pupils fro m Charman s School had been cast
’
adrift in the Pacific .
W e need no t dwell o n the j o y o f th e famili es to whom

th e boys came back O f all who had been carried away
.
t hat lo ng eighteen hun dred leagues fro m New Zealand ,
n o t o ne w as mi ssing Wh en the n ews spread that the

.
G rafto n w as in the harbour w ith th e boys o n bo ar d th e ,
who le to wn turned o ut to welco me them .
A nd h o w every o n e lo nged to hear in det ail all that

h ad pas sed o n Charman Islan d ! And curio sity w as
176 ADR IFT IN THE PACIFIC
soon gratified Bo nagan gave a few lectures o n the
.
subj ect an d th e lectures were a grea t success

, an d
Do n agan w as very pro ud indeed o f their success Then .
—
th e lo g whi ch h ad b een kept by Bax ter almost ho ur
by ho ur w e might say h ad been prin ted an d hundreds
,
— ,
o f co pies were sold A n d the newspapers

. r eviewed
th e j o urn al so as to gi ve all that w as in ter esting in i t

wi th the leas t tro uble to themselves an d in sho rt , ,
th e who le o f Austral as ia bec ame in tereste d i n the sto r y

o f th e stran ge adventure A nd Gordo n s pruden ce
’
.
,
Bri an t s unselfishness Do n agan s co urage an d th e tr ue

’ ’
, ,
man lin ess o f all became th e themes o f general admira
Kate Evans had o f course a gran d receptio n

an d , , .
A public subscripti o n w as star ted and a ship w as ,
bought and n amed th e C barman Of whi ch Evans w as ,
to b e o wn er an d captai n o n condi tio n that Aucklan d,
remai ned her head quar ters And when sh e return ed

-
.
fro m h er vo yages Evans always met w ith th e warmest

,
of welcomes fro m hi s fri ends the bo ys .
Wh at w as to be do n e with K ate ? The Brian ts the ,
G ametts th e Wilcox es and man y Of th e o thers wan ted

, ,
to secure her servi ces fo r life Finally sh e deci ded o n .
en ter ing th e servi ce o f Do ne gan 5 family fo r it w as his

’
life that had been saved by her car e .
An d n o w to co n clude Never before had schoolbo ys

—
.
passed their ho li days in such a w ay But as all .
bo ys ought to know—w ith metho d and zeal and co ura ge

there is no posi tio n ho wever dangero us fro m which
, ,
there may n o t be an es cape Our heroes had passe d .
through a severe appren ti ceshi p ! their C haracters h ad

been strengthen ed by bitter ex perien ce ! the li ttle ones
h ad beco me b ig an d th e b ig o nes had beco me almo st
,
men duri ng the two years they were Adri ft in the

B O YI ’
B OO K!
J A C K H E M I N G
2/ 6 net
T H E A IR T REA S U RE H T Ma o r Max w e Mo o UN
in his ant j ll dy gi
yi g i i
.
u
fl n bo at fl es t o So t h A me r ca to fi nd t he lnca s t reas re, but
’
u
he co mes up g i
a a nst a gan o f g v ill i
a ns w ho are o n efeat e t he ly d d by
pluck o f a bo y pil
o t i n t he ex e p di i
t on
h
.
i u
T H E A IR C IRC U S The A ir C rc s Is an air s ho w w o se lo b is t o
p v i i pl b pi
.
ro e t hat Br t sh anes are t he est There Is a gan o f s es fro m g

u y p i i u
.
ano t he r co nt r w ho st o at no t h n t o w re ck t he C rc s. b ut
i y
ch efl ow n ig
t o a o ng crack yu pil
o t t e C rc s w ns t hro h i u i ug
L YN OO k d
.
P A I G FO R T H E S C H L Bro o w o o Scho o was In a l

y li
.
g
bad w ay. but t he ne w ames mast e r and a ne w bo Mo nt C ar n.
v lu i
re o i h l
t o n se t he sc o o In a w ay t hat is full o f t hr il s and fun .
A N T O N L I N D
net
S IX T O U G H FELLOW S A f i b y iv Al bu d o re n o arr es at to n an
ifi f ud —
b u h d Fif h Sudd y h
.
u
ca ses a t e rr h c e et w e e n t e o rt an t en e
i kid pp d u d d kid pp d g i d h b k d i
.
s na e resc e an na e a a n. an t e oo en s n
g d dv u d h my yi
.
a ran ha hi hu m fi d hi m
e nt re w en s c s n an t e st e r s
l d up
c eare
bu b u
.
S U PER T ERM YO U C H A PS ! i Al h hu m nt o to n rst s t e an

b mb h l l B b M i H i u h u i v y b dy i
,
o s e o art n e s s c a n sance t at e e r o s ts
lf l h g I u bl d u hi
. .
on him e t i u a o ne e ets nt o se r o s t ro e an ca ses s

b h f i d m h i dv u
ro t er s
’
r e n s so e e ct c a e nt res
W IN T H RO U G H A LT O N BU RY I Af Sp Al
.
D y ter o rts a at to n
b u y fiv b y d id p d h u mm h l i m l u h
,
r e o s ec e to s e n t e s er o s n a oto r a nc
v y gi g u d h Th y fi d h il l g l d ippi g fu
.
t e co ast t r
n
o a ro n . e n s a o re an r n n
as w e !
G . G I B B A R D J A C K S ON
2/ 6 net
T H E A IR LD H GO h i l li g
T ERS UN
A t r n tale o f a search fo r
b pu dv u h il l gh
.
o ld air in Pa a A e nt res and t r s all t he w ay t hro u I

i
.
B FFLI C T H E A IR BA N D ITS A yo ung a rman and his ch m u

iv yp pl g g pi d ig
.
n e nt a ne w t e of ane . b ut a an o f s es t ry t o ge t t he es ns
iig y iu y
.
An e xc t n and m st e r o s st o r
O O y i
.
T H E A IR PIRA T ES O F T H E C NG Tw o bo s. t he r
pl u p
.
fat he r and t w o o t he rs set o ut in a sea ane t he C o n o t o fi nd g

a h ug u u bi
e t reas re o f r es . but t hey me et t he A ir P rat es and get i
ifi d v b y
Int o so me t er r c a e nt ures e fo re t he fi nd t he ru es bi .
G . G I B B A R D J A C K S O N
21
6 net
A IR S PIES O F T H E NO
RT H S EA A pl endid st y f s or o
ig pi pl u i d by me s h l bo ys w ho se
.
fo re n s es in sea anes o t w tt e so c oo
dv u ll y illi g
.
a e nt res are rea t hr n .
FIG H T IN G S KYBIRDS A ae i l u t fo r the t rea u re f ‘
n r a es s o a
l t i v i li z t i excit ing but t he ad v
.
os c t he Am az
a on on It so u tu
o n. n s en res
i t he b o k w i l l far u rpass all ex p ctat io n
n o s e .
S PEED BO A T S PIES Th b y f C m S h o l re mu h e i t d e o s o a s c o a c xc e
by t h v i it f g h t d my t i u p d b at H w f w f
.
e s s o a os an a s er o s s ee o o a e o
th m l u p t h myst ery Is v y it i g d i g
.
e c ear e er exc n rea n .
S C H OO L B O Y S P E E D -KIN G S S v l by f m h l e e ra o s ro a sc o o
kl nd are i v lv d i t h a t i v it i o f a g g f a
.
ne ar B ro o a s n o e n e c es an o e r
t hi v Th y b i ng t h
e es e t j u t i but t b f re g i g t h ugh
r ese o s ce no e o o n ro
m y t h ill i g dve t u
.
an r i
n i g ars
a n res n rac n c .
FLY IN G S M U GGL ERS S m b y f Swanb u y Scho o l d i co v

o e o s o r s er
th t th fly ing amu l s w k i g i t he e i g hb u h d
.
a e re are er or n n n o r oo
Th y t y t d ef at t he m but a e ve ry li ve ly t ime befo e t h y w in
.
e r o e . v a r e .
SC H OO LBO Y S L E U T H S W hy d t he He d m at g t o es a s er o o
d ese t d t in mine t ig ht ! Si b y t C lando S ho l t y
.
th e r e a n x o s a n c o r
t o fi d ut n d t h e i r dve nt u res make e cit ing re di g
o . an a x a n .
2/ net
T H E G U EST O F T H E OS PREY The st o r y hu f o f t he nt or

i bul u v lu xi m d d g
.
a m ne o f fa o s a e Any a mo u nt o f e c te e nt an an e r
dv u
.
and a e nt re .
P IRA T ES G A IN ST T H EIR W ILL i bl y h illi g pi

'
A t err t r n rat e
y f fig h idi g p i p lu k
.
ar n. o u t s. ra n art es. t reas re . t o rt u d g

re an reat c .
M I C H A E L P O O L E
net
-
T H E s ce ne r senv i e s o r T H E A IR Two bo y
s l i
o n t hi e r
ll y vi d
.
fo r m-mast e r, w ho is rea a Br t sh Secret Ser ce A ii gent in efeat i g

n
pl h i dv
.
t he rrib le Q T e r a e nt res, in t he u air o r no t . are

h
an
e .
t e rrl c .
M YST ERY O F C RA N ST O N S C H OO L Th fi t XI ik
m
e rs cr c et
pi h C d ug u p igh d I p d u d u
.
tc w
at ranst o n as at n t . an t ro ce a s r
my y t h t t k t h m u d iv ll t h i i m
st e r a oo e a at e r et ect es a e r t e to so .
2/ net
U N DER RIN G W OO D S RU LE J acks n W rex ham d ides '

o ec
t h t he do e n t li ke Rln S ho o l but his ch u ms w it h so me
.
a s o c
t h il l i g scrapes change h view !
. .
r n . s
( 3 1
S E R C O M B E G R I F F I N
net
T H E C RIM S ON
C A T ERPIL A R. Ho w a Frenc bo y and an L h
En s g li h cro sse d
t he Sahara i n t he w o n erf car w t a oa d ul ih l d
o f sa t l cam e t o t he C t Be neat h t he San F iy
o f su er d ull p
ad ve nt u res
.
G O D F R E Y F . P U L L E N
no t
j ER R Y S M AS H ES T H R G H I e r w as OU
no w n as a s ac e r at k l k
h v h h
.
Daw neco mbe . but w en he ea es he s ws w at he is wo rt and l

b k
co mes ac t o Daw neco mbe to get mxe in an a ent re mo re i d up dv u
xii g h h
e c t n t an t o se he had a rea had A an -t r n t ale l d h ill i g
OU O b
. .
T H REE ST T FELL W S A D M E his o o k t e s o f t he ll

l v ly i u hu h— h illi g d v u
.
i e t me fo r c ms had at sc o o l Scrapea. t r n a ent res .
and gam es o f rugger and cricket no t s dry m om ent .
R . A . G O O D Y E A R
net
T U D O RVA LE C OLO U RS Tudo rvale s s o rts ca ta n is een

’
p p i k ly
d h
.
i nt e nt o n cre at n ig l
a new reco r w e n he o ses his t w o chief C o lo rs u
st ru gg l e resul h h
.
The xi
ts in mat c es o f te rr lflc e c te ment . and w it a
y y
m st er and a sc h l ud k
oo fe y ull h ill
ma es t he ear f of t r s .
2/ net
O O kd l l
T H E H A RDY BR C KDA LE B YS. Bro c a e o o ks do w n o n
l d li
a nearb scho o o f e cat e d
but s se ries o f se nsat io nal a ve nt ures
i
b r n t e t w o sc o o ls h lvl
e r o n e e t er m s
NG L hi
.
O M H I IK E A C H U a s p-w re ck jo ins
t he sc o o h l d v u ll dv u
A ent re fo o ws a e nt re. and t he o ys have a b
ll y l i v l y i m
.
rea e t e
A LL O U T FO R T H E S C H OO L u d by h
.
Mu h fu i c n s ca se t e
iv l t W lv
.
arr a a oS h l f
ert o n i m wh
c oo dd z o h
tw n ast ers . o a est t o t e
l if f h h l Th i mu h fu i h i l d m t i i g
e o t e sc o o . e re s c n n t s ta e an so e s rr n
acco u fS
nt s o m h
o ccer at c es.
S T RIC KLA N D O F T H E S IX T H H h ll S h l h f ll ane n a c oo as a en
b dd y S i k p i d mi m k hi g
.
”
on a Bu
a s. h
t tr c t e ca t a n. et er nes t o a e t n s
hum H w h d yi ig t y
.
o i I
e o es t s a ve r nt erest n s o r .
BO YS O F T H E M YST ERY S C H OOL y fu ll f t h ill
.
A sto r o r s
p i ul ly i igui g m d ip i
.
art c Fi nt r
333, f b y
a ar n ne escr t o ns
i k A
cr c et n es.
T H E FELLO W S O F gEN T RE2 £
v
2H O O L N ly
or o s.
y ear ev e r
d b i b
.
y t
resen e Jl
“
g m m f t h S
e nh l Bua i h e er o e c oo t n t e
d hi p lu k w p fm t d b y
.
en s c im h on t e res ect o lik as ers an o s a e.
[ ‘l
G . F O G R A N T R S Y T H
T H E BERES FO RD BO YS W il m i u d fb ki g h l ot s acc se o rea n sc o o
v y i m bu v u ll y h p v hi
.
ul
r d h
es, an as a er ro tt en t e. t e e nt a e ro es s
i nno ce nce
T H E BO YS O F PE N RO H N b h
.
Tw h l o ro t e rs e nt e r sc o o
u d l ud f hi h i i ifi d f A h ll by h pp i g
.
n er a c o o so rro w . w c s nt e ns e or t o a en n s
tohi b h S hwv h f
s ro t er m ligh d w
o o n. o e e r. t e acts co e to t an e
l v A h ll h ppy d p p ul
.
ea e t o a an o ar.
net
H E H ER O O F C RA M PT O N SC H OO L Tw o c hum t i k s s c
h h d u i g ug h t i m t h l g y whi h
.
t o eac ot er r n a ro e a sc o o A reat arn c

ll b y jy
.
a o s en o .
H A R R C O L L I N G W O O D
Y
2 t ne
H E c au se o r T H E FLY IN G FIS H ”
Th m zi g flyi g “ - e a a n n
b u bm i w hv h m
.
o at -
s l
ar ne d i as sto e n. an t s o w ne rs a e t e o st ex t ra
di y d v u b f I i
or nar a e nt v d res e o re t s re co e re
A N D RO M EDA A h i ll i g y
.
“ ”
T H E W REC K O F T H E t r n sto r
hip k d p y h l d d ful i l d w h m y
.
f o as w rec e w art w o an on a o n er s an e re an
g hi h p
st ran e t h m
n a e n to t e
O EL D O RA D O W ilf d E l d Di k C v
.
IN S EA RC re ar e an c a en
di h di v i y d
.
s u set oy d t to tr h u f
an E l D sco er t e t reas re c t o o ra o .
Th y h ve h m a e h ill i g d v u
t e d mk
o st h
t r m n a e nt res. an a e t e o st
u s i l u di v i
r rs sco e r es.
U N ER FO REIG N FLA G Th y f P ul S i b u e sto r o a w n rne . a
y w h i u j u ly d i mi d h S vi H l u h vy
.
sno tt o s n st s sse t e er ce e o s t e na
h u y d p v hi i y y
.
f o ano t e r co nt r A an ro es s nno cence. ne rac arn .
I6 t ne
H E V O YA G E O F T H E “
A U RO RA Y u gC p i G g ”
o n a ta n eo r e
b ug h h Au J mi H h d y
.
L i e cest e r o d u ft t e ro ra an set o t or a a ca e a an
u mb f b h ki g dv u b f h g h
.
n er o reat -t a n a e nt res e o re e ot t e re.

U N DER T H E M ET EO R FLA G R l p h h h I f h a t e e ro . s o ne o t e
d hi g mid h i p m h v b h d Hi d v u
. ,
m o st as n s en w o e er reat e s a ent res o n

vi u p h ill i g d i g
.
secre t se r ce are s e r-t r n rea n .
H A R C O U R T B U R R A G E
2/ net
T H REE C H U M S The t ree nse ara es w e re s r nt e eca se h i p bl di g u l d b u
hy b vd k u hu
.
t e had een mo e fro m t he co c ho se t o a new o se . and

d i d l kb
et e r m ne t o s ac o t h in w o r and ames But t he new t e r m k
u d d ly h h d h lv
.
i
fo n t he m nw ar rat e r as ame t emse es .
G E O R G E C U P P L E S
2/ net
T HE G REEN HA ND Start n as ig v yg
a er ree n h d h
an e so o n
b pi h i li g p g
. .
eca me mart as
as s a nt Lat er. w e n sa n as a asse n e r. he
d y h
.
t akes co mman in an m g e e r e nc and ret urns o me in char e g of

a pi r ze ca t p u d by h i m lf
re se .
.
C HA R L E S c o w a n o c s
2/ ne t
T H E N EW H O U S EM AST ER W h w h ? Th b y d id t o as e e o s n
’
h dm h p li l
.
kno w . no r t he ea But h g g f
ast er. no r t e o ce. t e an o co ners
knew . and se u d h b di g h l t e v hi p i
o ar n sc o o t o co e r t e r o e rat o ns .
H . E L R I N G T O N
2/ net
THE O UTS ID E H O U S E Th h u u id h h l g e o se o ts e t e sc o o at es
l g h yV k bi g w pi i i
.
a tobu H et e r ro tt e n. t arr e re e r r n s a ne s r t nt o
i d h
t . an u id h ut e m k g d A i pp i g y
o ts f p lu k
e o se a es oo r n arn o c
d dv
.
an u ah l ent re at sc o o .
G N T Y
2/ net
j A C K A RC H ER A mi d hipm s in t he C r mean W ar has t he

en i mo st
i l l i g dv b h v h
.
t hr n a e nt res u ot at sea and o n land. and co e rs i mse lf

w it h g l o y r .
I[ 6 net
W N N IN G H IS S PU RS The t y o f an E gli h lad w h wo n

I s or n s o
p u rs aft many w de ful d d and hai breadt h c p s
.
his s er on r ee s r es a e
d u i g the C rusades N t dry h i t y but se ies o f grand
r n o s or a r
dve t u res
. .
a n .
T H E C O RN ET O F H O RS E Adve t u r a d p lu k i t he g ll nt n e n c n a a
d ys o f ld ri pp i g t ry f a y u g o ffi in M l b ug h
.
’
a o a n s o o o n ce r ar o ro s
fam us army
.
o .
J . P E R C Y G R O V E S
2/ net
C H A RM O U T H G RA N G E Ph i l i p Rud d k i d hi b t oc tr e s est o
y w i h h y u g h i Bu y u g R ld C h w i h
.
do awa t t e o n e r. t o n o na at cart . t
t re me n d u plu k m i hi
o s c f
ca m y h i ii g
e nt o s own a ter an a r-ra s n
a dv u ent res.
.
W A L D E N
I net
T H E A DV E NT U RES O F j i M M Y BR OW N J i mmy w i hi r t es s
di ry— ll b ut hi w p dv u Ripp i g fu
.
ow n a a a o s o n scra es and a e nt res . n n.
R . B A L L A N T Y N E
2/ - net
T HE YO U NG g y fC d
pi —
FU R T RA DERS The ri n st o r o ana a
h d y i di b v u p h i li g I g y !
.
’
i n t e a s o f t he n an ra es S . r-
e t r n t s a reat arn
M A RT IN RA TT LER H i i i g d v u I B il d a r-ra s n a e nt res n raz an at sea.

A gl i u y by
.
f
or o s arn or o s.
G . M A N V I L L E F E N N
2/ - net
O FF T O T H E W I DSL Tw o bo go o n h ig
a s o ot n it i ou
il d o f S u t h i d ve t u res d ne fu
.
i
nt o t he w s o Afr ca . e r r ific a n an n.
FIRE IS LA N D The dve nt u es o f a ch e y s h i p s crew amo ng

’
a r e r
Pap u savages C a t h ig h nd d y by t id l w ve u p
.
an s t he h e a r a a a on s or
v l i i l d t hey fi d it a veritabl e h u nter s parad ise T
.
’
of a o can c s an n o ns
o f ad ve t u re
. .
n .
I[ 6 net
L
T H E B A C K BA R Tw o reat c g hum s are mi d h i pm
s en In t he
i ig v h ygt i v y igh
.
st rr n da o f t he s a e t rade rs T l e e nt o e e r so rt o f t t
h v dv u
.
co rne r an a e a e nt res gal o re.
T H E S ILV ER C A NO N A s Iendld rn o f a e nt dv u re and t h ill

r s
pl i hi h
.
on t h M i e ex can a ns. and o

'
t he Si ver C aiio n w c co nta ned i
f b ul u w l h
a o s ea t .
G R O U P S C O U T M A S T E R
R O M E A T T W E L L
2/ 6 tne
BIN D O O F A V O N S ID E P k d wi h h—ill i g d v u ac e t t r n a e nt res .
p h l l if d v y ph f S u i g mpi g ki g
.
s o rt . sc o o - e . an e er ase o co t n ca n t rac n
hi ki g d p l k
. .
n an at ro -w o r .
P E T E R M A E L
2/ ne t
U N DER T H E S EA TO T HE N O RT H PO LE A t h ill i g r n
dv u y i r g i w it h h d hip g l e
.
st o r of a e nt re in t he A rct c e o ns. ar s s aor

m i h pl u k d d u
et w t c an en rance .
C A P T A I N M A R R Y A T
2/ ne t
M R M IDS H IPM A EA S N
O ne o f t he reat est o s st o r es Y g by ’
i
i
iddy d v
v il l u k
. .
o f t he sea e e r w r tt e n The m s a e nt res w in t rn ma e

’
u
i l ug h
i xi
.
y o u ro ar w t h a t er and t e nse w t h e c t e me nt .
T O MB E V A N
2/ n t e
T H E M YST ERY T RA IL O p di i R l d L li i n an ex e t o n. o na es e s
p u d by bl k m T hi m z m h fi d h h h
.
ca t re ac en o s a a e e nt e n s t at e as
b kid pp d by d f w h i m w h i ki d f ki g i
.
ee n na e o r er o a te an. o s a n o n n
h w ild
t e u y co nt r .
BO B BLA IR—PLA IN S M A N A u p y f f u d i Au li s er arn o a e n st ra a.

B b Bl i uggl w i h b u h g g g i mfuil f h i l l
.
’ ’
o a r s st r e t a s ran e r s an s cra o t r s.
I[6 net
T H E H ER IC y d O i p
IM P ST ER O
Henr Bo r e n was an m o st e r :
u ld ppi h p pl lp
.
but ho w co u he he it ! so m ch ha ness fo r o t e r eo e
dp dd e u l l i i gu
en e d gon ig It F o f nt r
. e and an e r and t ht co rne rs .
F C A R L T O N W IS E M A N
.
-
l/ 6 net
O N E EX C IT I T ERM NG
And a t r ul y t h il l i g t m it was w it h
r n er
xi l b y l i f t i m B y S ut d
. .
ug
h e c t e me nt t o ast mo st o s
i t ry f my t e y a d ps
e no a e e. o co s an
all o t he r by
o s. t o o ) w ill re e i n t h s v l s o o uck s r n
and a e nt redv u .
H A R O L D A V E R Y
2/ net
A BO Y A LL OV ER Fre d and Bo b. tw o h l hu m h v
sc o o c s. a e a
y pd u u ll y
.
g reat man esca a es and s a co me o ut o n t o p.
D . M C A L L O W
2/ ne t
T O BY IN T H E S O U T H S EA S Tw i b h w i h h i n ro t ers. t t e r
f mily li v i l d h y h v m g d dv u
.
a S u hS e on a o t e as s an t e a e so e ran a e nt res
d ippi g fu
.
an r n n.
H A R R Y C O L L IN G W O O D A N D
PE RC I VAL LA N CASTE R
2/ ne t
IN T H E P OW ER O F T H E EN EM Y D uigr n a Zu l u
vl re o t
ug li l b h i l ild ii g
.
H h s tt The w mo st h i
’
e ro t er s st o en est . a r-ra s n
d v u h pp b hb
.
a e nt res a e n to ot ro t he rs .
W . B O U R N E C O O K E
2/ net
THE L G REY W I A RD Z h ill i g pi

A t r n rat e sto r y i h kid p d
w t a na e
i g hidd u ly p i u v i l i
. .
bo y a secret co nce rn n u e n t reas re . a t r o so no s a n.

h y p lu k h ppy d i g
.
t reac e r . c . and a a en n .
J U L E S V E R N E
2/ net
TW E NT Y TH S A N D LEA OU
ES DER T H E S EA The GU U N
pi ub i u di g v yg
.
mast e r e ce o f all s mar nes. it s o a es and t he ast o n n adve n

u k i ig i v
t res o f it s cr ew ma e o ne o f t he mo st fasc nat n st o r es e e r
p u bl i h d s e .
DRO PPED FRO M T H E C LO U DS Fi v m p i g by e en esca n

b ll f m Am i i y i id u
.
a oo n ro an im e r can c t n w ar-t e . are carr e o t t o sea

by h u i a Af
rr cane .h m u p il h yte r t e up o st ac t e er s t e are cast o n an
Il d f
s an f ml d
ar ro an .
T H E A BA N D O N ED Th i i h y f h my i u i l d s s t e st o r o t e st e r o s s an
u w hi h h l d
.
n c w D
t e castaw a
p d f m h C u d e re ro e ro t e o s an
a so h y f ig b u l g i l h p v d v m f
t e st o r o a ne o r n s an t at ro e e en o re o
my
a y
st e r .
T H E S EC RET O F T H E IS LA N D A my iu l f st e r o s ta e o an
p gu d b d f w y x m ly
.
u nse e n wh
e rso n o A ar s a an o cast a a s. n e t re e
xii gb k
e ct n oo .
A DRIFT IN T H E PA C IFIC Ju h b k f b ! A p st t e oo or o s art

f h l b y u dd ly fi d h m l v w k d y ly i l
.
o sc o o o s s en n t e se es rec e o n a o ne s an
Ev y yp er t f dv ue o a e nt re .
A RO U N D T H E W O RL D IN EIG H T Y DA YS Phi F gg neas o

mp u d h h i ig h y d y I i
. .
f or a w g a e r. att e ts t o 0 ro n t e eart n e t a s. t s a
case of w h i lw i d vl r pl w
n t ra e h Iv t d o r aero anes e re no t t en n en e .
I" )
J U L E S V E R N E
21 net
L
T H E C IPPER O F T H E C LO U DS The mo st d ul w o n e rf ae ro
v y fI ld i de v y g I
.
plane t hat e e r ilew . t he sto r w o ts or -w o a e s o ne

i u u h ill
co nt n o s t r .
T H E C RYPT OG RA M Th i w h d um w i I s as t e secret oc e nt . r t te n n
diffi ul p h w h i h p l i m d h i
.
a c t e r. c f J mDro c a e t e nno ce nce o oa aco sta.

m
a m d
an co n e d h I mk ne to h lli g y
eat . t a es an e nt ra n sto r .
T H E M AST ER O F T H E W O RLD H id h h e co ns ers t at t e

d ful flyi m h i h h i v d g iv him mpl
.
w o n er ac ne e l as n ente es co et e co nt ro
gu h m J h S k I
n
f ll
o a i nat o ns . t e eet s o n to c
T H E FU R C O U N T RY P il d i m i h A i Ci l
er s an ex c t e ent nt e rct c rc e.
y b y w ill j y h i h illi g b k
.
eve r o en o t s t r n oo .
FRO M T H E EA RT H T O T H E M OO N A N D A T RIP RO U N D
IT A Am i n d mi d vi —
e r can i h m et e r h md ne to st t e o o n. so e a e an
h ug p j il d i d
.
e no rm u gu o d s n an a e ro ect e an tr e .
GO DFREY M O RG A N G df y M g i w y f luxu Hi o re o r an s ear o s

f d u l ll w him v y h
.
on nc e a o g ff s g w i tohi u o o T on a o a e t s t t o r. e two
are t h w up ro i l d d h v mu h dv u
n o n an s an . an a e c a ent re.
EIG H T H U N DRED L EA G U ES O N T H E A M A ZO N N ot
m ly d i p i f j u y d w h m w d ful i v
.
e re a escr t on o a o r ne o n t e o st o n er r er
h id bu h y f b g lm gful l y u d
2 rm
t e vo r . t t e sto r o a rave e nt e an w ro n acc se
s a e
A FLO A T IN G C IT Y T H E BLO C KA D E RU N N ERS Th e

u g kipp g
.
Bl k d Ru
oc a e ll h nners te s ow h a o n s er ran a car o to t e
Am i p d u i g h C ivi W A y f
er can o rt s r n t e xi m ar. st o r o t e nse e c t e ent .
FIV E W EEKS IN A BA LLOO N I b ll h i v n a a oo n. t e n ento r.

f i d
.
hi f i hful
s at d se rv ant . an Af i f mE a Wr en cross r ca ro ast to est .
M y dv p id v y g
.
an u
a m
e nt h i
res co e to t e nt re o a e rs.
T RIBU LAT IO N S O F A C H IN A M A N A C h i m w i na an r t es an
d hi f i d h h g hi mi d d
.
o r e r to kill him H
s r en to e t en c an es s n an w ants
li v bu f i d d p p h v b h d i pp d
.
to e. t r en an a er a e ot sa eare .
D IC K S A N DS Th p i b ili y f b i g i g ili g h ip f ly
e res o ns t o r n n a sa n s sa e
d v lv u p Di k S d b y f fif m y d u
.
to rt e o es on c an s. a o o t een. an a ve nt res
h i b dh
a r- rea t p b f ll him esca es ea .
J U L E S V E R N E
I/ - ne t
B U RBA N K T H E N O RT H ERN ER Bu b k t h ro ug h hi r an s
my g ts I to o me v y t ig ht
. .
e ne m hi t i o
’
s ac na ns. e n s er co rners a
t h illi g t l e
.
r n a
T EX A R T H E S O U T H ERN ER d id d ! ugl y
.
T i e xar s ec e an
u t o me Du i g t he Ame i C i v il W r h d his t t o ui n
.
c s r . r n r can a e o es es r
t he m a h h t n e a es.
T H E C H ILD O F T H E C AV ERN Th t ry f t he m t e s o o os
o di y ad v t u i mi o f f bu lo u w lt h
.
t
e x ra r nar en res n a ne a s ea .
Also l/ e dit io ns o f
TW E N T Y T H U S A N D LEA O G U ES U N DER T H E S EA .
T H E S EC RETO F T H E IS A L ND
A D RIFT IN T H E PA C IFIC
T H E C LIPPER O F T H E C L O U DS
G E O R G E L I T T L E
Il6 net
LIFE O N T H E O C EA N Th h i l li g u f e t r n acco nt o t w e ntyy ears
ld vividly Fig h d mu i y ib l d pi
.
at sea t o ve t s an t n cann a s an rat es.

ll h v i m ki g v y x i i g di i gb k
.
.
a h i a e t e r s are n a n a er e ct n an nt erest n oo .
J . M A C G R E G O R
l/6 net
O NE T H OU N
S A D M ILES IN T H E RO B RO Y C A E NO
i h i lli g u i ll v y
.
Th s is t he lo g o f a t r n cr se in a sma cano e . o e r man o f

iv u p g d dv u
t he r e rs o f E ro e A ran a e nt re . .
B E S S I E M A R C H A N T
l/ 6 net
O N T H E T RA C K A bo y n fid g pp
s st ran e d hi y a e rs. an a st o r of
g ld lli g df h m y bf
.
t reas re u te ho w his at
n
ran an ears e o re .
g
o e r.
gl d i d f u d m vi g v u
.
l
eft En an fo r So u Ame r ca. an o n o n a e nt res and
y
man har kno cks d .
l/ ne t
IN T H E C RA D LE O F T H E N O RT H W IN D T hi s st o o f
i i g h i p in t h b u d gi
.
t he se a and a h nt fo r a mss n u s e ice- o n re o ns 0 t he

no rt hi s we ll w o rt h rea d i ng
F R A N C I S M A R L O W
l/ 6 ne t
T H E S EC RET O F T H E S A N D H I LS L A iig y
mo st e xc t n st o r
hidd ll y i igu w il d d v u
.
of e n t reas re u
it t e s o f t reache r . nt r e. a e nt
fi ld vi ll i
. re .
and na o w nfa o f t he ll
a n-ln-ch ef i .
W . C L A R K R U S S E L L
ne t
T H E W REC K O F T H E G ROSV EN O R R g i d ”
e co n se as o ne
l v wi bl y f
.
o f t hegreat e st sea t a es e Th u f g er r t t e n. e n o r ett a e st o r o

h i i i g dv u
t he a r-ra s n a e nt resb d w i h h mu i i p w on o ar t t e t nee rs n o e r.
T H E FROZ E N PIRAT E A g i f f z st ran e . ee r e sto o a ro en

ig h h u y pi w h m l if S m i g l og h
.
e t ee nt ce nt r rat e o co es t o e o n at et er
y
.
igi l i
or na n sea ar ns.
T H E S EA Q U EE N A dv u u v y g i ili g h i p n a e nt ro s o a e n a sa n s
wi h mu i y h i p ifi
.
.
t a fi d t n . sm on re an a t er r c st o r .
L U C I E N B I A R T
I/6 ne t
FR O M LA BRA D O R T O M EX IC O Thi s st o r y k u i
t a es s nt o
m y l d m g ll ki d f i i d g p p l Th
.
an an s. a a n s o nt erest n an st ran e
y u g m h d y hi g bu dull i m g
on eo e. e
o n an a an t n t a t e
B E R N A RD H E L D M A N
I/ 6 net
M UT INY O N BO A RD T H E “ LEA hi b k I N D ER T s oo s
p ck d w it h t h rill f ll k i d hipw k v g p i
.
a e s o a Fin s re . s re c sa a es. rat es.

sl av y d fi al p ll d t m k b h l i
.
.
er an n esca e a te n ot f a e re at ess nt eres or

d
.
bo y-rea e rs.
C H Y N E
I/ 6 ne t
SA N DY C A RM IC H A E San L dy
Is a ra e tt e rch n. w ho gg d li l u i
vl m y dv u i p vg
.
t ra e s far. has an a e nt res . and so m resses t he sa a es he

fid in s h m se f am l
o n . t hat t he g y d id
e c e to m a e him n k ki g .
A R T H U R K N I G H T
I/ 6 net
IN j uN G A N D KRAA
LE The a L dv u f w y ug ent res o t o o n
i d ip j u gl yl p di i i
.
m sh me n in t he n es o f C e o n A h n ex e t on nt o t e
j u g l pl d y dv u h y i i p u i g
.
n e is anne . and. aft e r man a e nt res t e ass st n ca t r n

a liv h d
e a er o f ele ant s ph .
l/ ne t
O
BR T H ER M IDDI‘ A N D S A V ERS A H L OY Th e adven
id d i h v g iu f
.
u
t res o f t wo o n u g m es w ho see mt o a e a en s o r fa lli g n
In and o ut a e nt dv u res.
P E R C I V A L L A N C A S T E R
l/6 net
C A PT A I j AC KN O
H A RA . R N ’
A ro c n st o r o f a sa o r lli k i g y il
y dv u k ki d i k d
. .
w ho has man a e nt res. w ho t a es all n s o f r s s. and is afrai

o f no t hi g
n and no o ne but t he e ro ne But he s ccee s t ere to o h i . u d h .
A N D R E L A U R I E
I/6 net
T H E C R ST A Y C IT Y L U N DER T H E S EA The Crys City

ic t ale f o u g mid h i p m w h washed
.
under the Sea is a fant ast o a

fi nds h i mse lyIn wo derful gl city u nd r
n s an. o .
o erbo ard in a st o rm. a n ass e

g
t e sea.
A S C O T T H O P E
2/ - net
T HE B OYS O F W H IT M IN ST ER Thi b k s oo reco u nts t he

d i dv u o f sch o l bo ys li v ly b u h
.
u res
a ve nt and msa e nt res o f as
e a nc o
y u
as c ul
o d w i h to meet s o .
REDS KIN S A N D S ET T L ERS Ya ns f lif In t he W il d W est r o e

M y t h ill n adv nt u
. .
an r are o ded i g phi

e t yl
res i t h t i mes
re c r n ra cs e. n e
f Bm Bi l nd Kit C arso n t he t i mes o f fi er e fi g ht i g w it h
ad l II
a
:
‘ . . c n
e nc na.
THE TR A U NT FR OM SC H OOL A bo runs awa y

fro m
h l fi d ju i i g life amo g y
ed ind ians ll y
.
sc o o and n s st ho w exc t n n rea is .
[ 16 ]
C H A R L E S B R U C E
I/ - net
A G
N I H T IN A S N O W ST O RM ll e t io
A co c n of v yer fi ne
by hy it i g i nterest i g d
.
i
st o r es fo r o s. t e are exc n . n an w e ll w r tt e n i .
M A U D E B U T L E R
l/ - ne t
M ID N IG H T PL C K Tw o o n U o s a e a er y u g b y h v v y i hi v u
msc e o s
id hy v d id u p
.
u
t rn o f m n T e go t o o far o ne day. ho w e e r. and ec e on
hi pu i q ui p lu k h h y i gi d
.
t e r own n s hment it re res m o re c t an t e ma ne .

d
.
b ut all e n s w ell .
A . H A Y D O N
2/ net
U P-S C H OOLA T M O N KS H A LL Fre F t o n is se nt to a d ul

p u bl i l by i d di i
.
fine c scho o fr e n o f his fat he r s o n co n t o n t hat

’
a
d ly h
he o es exact w at he is t o t o do ld
Lat er he n s he m st c o o se fid u h
b yi g h hu
.
bet w e e n et ra n his fat er o r his c m .
R O B E R T O V E R T O N
2/ - net
A SO N O F T H E SC H A
pie ndid yarn w c w OOL t r h i h ill h ill
by s ik b l h
.
ail o s u
The re are fi ne acco nts C ‘ cr c et and fo o t al mat c es
h pi dv u
.
and mo re t an a s ce o f a e nt re .
L O U I S R O U S S E L E T
2/ net
N
T H E S ERPE T C H A RM ER A s en st o r of n a An pl d id y i di
di p i hi l d v y u lly
. .
in an r nce t reat s a w h t e man and his c i

re n e r cr e . but
k h
t he re is an o ld sna e c arme r w ho he s t he m. aft er man a e nt res. lp y dv u
p
t o esca e .
The re is also a l/ net e dit io n o f t his bo o k .

J E N N I E C H A P P E L L
l/ - net
A o o A T -aov BA RO N E I yugby
An o r na st o r o f a o n
‘ ‘
igi l y o
li y b y i by d i v i g
.
.
ug
w ho t ho h in rea t a aro net . earns mo ne fo r a t me r n
g ig id i l iv
a o at carr a e in t he seas e t o w n w he re he and his s st e rs e.
R O B E R T R I C H A R D S O N
l/ net
T HE B OYS OF W I LLO U G H BY S C H OOL A y f st o r o

pi g h l lif h
.
ca m n -o ut ex e r e nces i w ll as A li l F e as sc o o e. tt e re nc
a ast e r is gga g d d l by h b y bu u u p u mp i t e t t rns tr
g
ra a oo ea o s. s n
t e end
R I C H A R D R O W E
I/- net
THE LD DI GO GG ERS A o y u gm l v
n an ea es En gl d an and i
t r es
lu k u li h d im h gl a d
.
his c In A st ra a. Afte r ar t es e r et u t r ns o En n
and his eo e p pl .
L . T I D D E M A N
I/- net
T H E A DV E NT U RES O F j A C K C H A RRIN GT O N The lit t l e

l d i d ces i t h t ts o f B ul g b use he b li v
.
son of a so er an n e s ree o o ne eca e e es

his f t h er is beggared
a He m kes f i e nd s w it h d l ig htful litt l e
. a r a e
l me girl
a .
F . W E A T H E R L Y
l/- net
T H E H EA D BO Y O F W I T SC H L ON OOL The so n o f a
il g u lly u d
.
sa o r has a bad t me He is w ro n f acc i se o f cheat n . and i g

i p v d u il i i hv
.
his nno ce nce is no t ro e nt his mse r es a e led him t o run

aw y a .
II net
REP O RT ED M IS S I NG A bo y ea l vi g
h l v y u d d lyn sc o o er s en
d hi b u pp id d m h d i
. .
o es s est to s o rt his w o we d ot er an s st e r. an to
l
c ear his fat he r
’
s g
oo d name He s cce e . u d v y bly h y ll
s er a . as t e sto r te s .
H A RV E SI C Y N LA IR H ar e v y Si l i i u ful i bu i
nc a r s as s ccess n s ness
ho o l nd i f b i gi g gd
.
as he w as at sc . a s t h m e eans ow r n n a ro n - o e r t o
G ID I J B OO K]
’
L O U I S A A L C O T T
2/ 6 net
LITT LE W O M EN Th g y f gi l v w i e i reat est st o r or r s e er r tt e n. t

i t w h mu i g p d p i
.
co nce rns f u o r s s e rs o se a s n scra es an ex er ences are

v iv id l y d i b d escr e .
LITT LE W O M EN W EDDED Th i i i u i f h s s a co nt n at o n o t e
l iv f Li l W m h u h Li l W m
.
”
tt e w t o so o n e see tt e o en
Tg
es o o e n.
h g d i G d W iv i p f h i li v i v y v i v id l y
”
c an e nt o oo es . s art o t e r es s er
an d pl ly w i
easant r tt en.
LITT L E M EN J w i h h h u b d t u p h l f o. t er s an se s a sc o o or
b y wh g gl i u p d mk h
. .
o s. io h m et nt o t e o st or o s scra es an a e t e
v y mu i g
er a s n .
j O '
S B O Y S T h i d lig h fu l b k h ws h L
ei l M t oo s o s t e tt e en
wh h y g w u p Th k hy u
.
en t e ro M dM Bh an s t o r. an rs. ae r t e are s ccess

d h ppy I i v y iig l
.
ful an a . t s a er e nt e rta n n ta e .
U N D ER T H E L ILA C S B d hi d g u w y f m i u e n an s o r n a a ro a c rc s
d li v w i h B b d B y B i v y dv
.
an e t o an u u d hiett en s er a e nt ro s. an s
p l d w i h ll Mi Al h u m u d ymp hy
.
’
scra e s are re ate t a ss co tt s o r an s at .
EIG H T C O U S IN S A li l gi l R liv w i h h u tt e r o se . o es t o e t e r a nts

v b u i H gu di b y
. .
an d se e n o co l M s ns i er ar an. nc e ax . s a reez sea

p i d y h v m i ppi g im g t h
.
ca ta n. an t e a e so e r n t es to e er.
RO S E IN BLOO M Th fu h f R Th h mi e rt e r st o o o se . e c ar n
bu d f g i l bl m u i b u i i d l b l m id A
.
o a r oo s o t nt o a ea t ii an o va e a e n.
v y h mi g l
er c ar n ta e.
j A C K A N D l L A v i v i d p y l f h h m d h l o rt ra a o t e o e an sc o o
lif f J k d J i ll d h i f i d i N w E d v ill g
.
e o ac an an t e r r en s n a e n an a e.
J k d J ill h v gl i u ly h p py i m d i g l m
ac an a e
.
a or o f s a t e o n a anner o
inte rest ni g hi g t n s .
A N O LD FA S H IO N ED G IRL
- A d ll h ful u d y f h l hy e t st o a ea t
u y gi l w h g y w i h i h l d Ev yb dy l
.
co nt r r o o es t o st a t r c r e n s. er o ear ns
l v h f h h m d u lfi h d h p v
.
t o o e er or e r c ar t b an nse s ness. an s e ro es o e
a v y h l pful p
er e e rso n.
A U N T j O S S C RA P BA G A N D S H A W L ST RA PS Th -
’
- e
u mb f p y
.
S pBg
cra - a i co nt a ns a n i d Sh wl St p er o ret t st o r es. an a - ra s
i
s a d ligh ful u f h u h ug h Eu p f p y f
e t acco nt o t e r n t ro ro e o a art o
h mi g Am i
c ar n gi l e r can r s.
S ILV ER PIT C H ERS Eig h i i Mi Al t b t v i : ’

t st o r es n ss co t s es e n
j ll y gi l d q u lly j l ly b y full f lif d p i i d d l ig h ful
.
o r s an e a o o s. o e an s r t s an e t
t o p d
s en v i g wi h
an e e n n t .
M A R Y L O U I S E P A R K E R
2/ ne t
T HE M YST ERY G L hi
O F T H E N EW d iff
IR T s Is a ere nt
"
l y d k p gu i g u il h d
.
h
sc o o st o r . and it s rea e rs w ill be e t ess n nt t e en
bf hye o re t e y iu gi l
fi nd o ut t he m st e r o s ne w r s secret
’
.
“ M ISS S PIT FIRE A T SC H OOL ”

Th y f h lif e st o r o er e at
S h v m h u p pul i y
.
R lh m M
o s a l d h w h
ano r c oo an o s e o e r co es er n o ar t
w ill pp la ll gi l
ea Th i b k i p k d w i h x i m
to a r s. fus oo s ac e t e c te e nt . n
d p
an s o rt .
GOO D C H U M S A LL A i pp i g y f gi l h l wi h r n st o r o r s at sc o o t
p l y f p fu d dv u
.
.
e nt o s o rt . n an a e nt res.
PA T O F T H E FIFT H A fi y f h l i l lif P d ne st o r o sc o o r e. at an
f i d m g v y ki d f p
.
h er r en s f ll i ana e to i b a nt o e er co nce va e n o scra e

d dv
an au e nt re
M O LLIE O F ST M ILDRED S d Ch i b
.
M lli m g '
o e an rs eca e reat
v y u ful h p fi l d A g y
. .
hum w s an e re er s ccess on t e s o rts e reat st o r

f gi l d
.
or r s.
T H E G IRLS O F ST H ILDA S Th p i fid h jb ’
w e ne ca t a n n s er o
v y d iffi ul bu i h d w i h g p lu k h w i h ug h
. .
er c t. t n t e en . t reat c s e ns t ro .
I/ 6 net
D IA N A A N D PA M C H M S —
D ana Te m et o n fo U i pl d Pm u n a
yb idg j u hu b pi hy
.
W e r e st t he c m she had een ho n to fi nd T w e re

gi l g u h
e
dpi p bl j y di g
.
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AN N S DIFFIC U LT T ERM W h n W andh m Hill was am l
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M A J O R C C . . T U R N E R
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i nt erest .
G . G I BBA R D J A C K S O N
BRIT IS H LO C O M OT IV ES Th f w b y wh i e re are e o s o can res st
pp l f m h i y i m p d by h i l y
.
ht e a ea o ac ner n ass as re rese nt e t e ra w a

engi A w l h f i f m i
ne . g di g i m
ea t o n or at o n re ar n ro n o nst e rs
”
.
T RIU M P H S A N D W O N D ERS O F M O D ERN EN G IN EERIN G

Ev y ph f md gi i g i h w 3 i i b k h
.
er ase o o ern e n nee r n s s o n t s a oo t at

b y w ill v l I
o s re e n.
BRIT IS H RA ILW A YS Th h i y f u ilw y m k fi e st o r o o r ra a s a es a ne

l f g i d d mi i v m l m i u m u bl
.
ta e o r t an ete r nat o n t o o e rco e a ost ns r o nta e

d iffi ul i c t es .
FRO M P O ST BO Y T O A IR M A IL Th y f h P e st o r o t e ost
Offi i w ll k m ly i i g d w ll
.
ce w bu i i
s no t e - no n. t t s ext re e nt erest n an e
w h
o rt di g rea n .
P A U L L E W I S
T HE R O M A N C E O F W A T ER POW ER it is t he ai m of
h i b k ll f W P w i pl i m i mp le pict u e
.
t s oo t o te o at e r o er n a n t er s and s r s.
wi h u di
t o i g h l y d w i h i ifi
t st ress n t e a rea e r t sc e nt c or t echnical matt e r .
W J . P A S S I N G H A M .
RO M A N C E O F LO N D O N S U N D ERG RO U N D B id h ’
es es t e
ly b bi g h p d v d h hi y f h i gig i
.
i nt e nse a so r n c a t e rs e o te to t e st o r o t s ant c
p i h i l d ip i f h u d g u d d y
e nt er r se . t e re s a c ear escr t on o t e n e r ro n to - a .
W I L F R I D L R A N D E L L .
T H E RO M A N C E O F EL EC T RIC IT Y El iiyi f h ect r c t s o ne o t e

p w I m d lif d h u h h g
.
rest est o e rs n o e rn e. an t e a t o r se es t e reat

i l f h
asc nat o n o y b hi d p w i
t e d mi i st o r e n o e r stat o ns an t rans ss o n
H o b b i es
H A R O L D A R M I T A G E
3M T H IN G S A BRIG H T BO Y C A N DO All bo y w i l l fi nd s
t d l t pt u e t h i r i t e e t in t hese l mo t i u me bl e
.
a g rea ea o ca r e n r s a s nn ra
gam a d ho bbies
es n .
M A E L K I T T Y G I BBA R D
B
H O BBIES FO R G IRLS T h i l i h f m hi g o t e r n searc o so et n
x p l i d l g um igi l d f i i g
.
d
to o are e f a ne a ar e n er o or na an asc nat n
h b bi o es .
PA ST IM ES H O BBIES A N D S P O RTS FO R G IRLS M y an

ll g m p i l ud d i h i b k
.
.
exce e nt d h bb i a es. s o rts an o es are nc e n t s oo .
G . G I J A C K S O N
B B A R D
PA ST IM ES H O BBIES A N D S P O RT S FO R BOYS Thi s
b k i f h b y wh i k ud gm d i v y
. .
oo s or t e o o s ee n o n o t oo r a es an s er
h lpful d u fu l
e an se .
H O BBIES FO R BO YS Th hi y v h p i hi b k e t rt -se en c a t e rs n t s oo
v m d u mu u d d h b y wh
.
co e r a t re f en o s a o nt o ro n an t e o o canno t
m h i g w h w h il i p g w il l b iy
.
fi d n so et n o rt e n t ese a es e a rar t .
J E A N S T E W A R T
30I T H IN G S A BRIG H T G IRL C A N D O A d i i ly n ext rao r nar
b k N g i l f ll fi d m h i g i i k h
.
oo oo o r can a to n so et n n t t o ta e er
lg d
.
nt e rest .
S c ien c e
G E R A L D B E A V I S
T H E BOO K o r T H E M IC RO S C O PE A fi b k w hi h ne oo c
p v fi ld h hu i d giv g d l f u ful
.
o e ns a ast e to t e ent s ast an es a reat ea o se

h lp h b g i
e to t e e nne r.
T H E RO M A N C E O F T H E H EA V EN S i h i v lu m n t s o e an
mp h b md d l i h h m i id pl i
.
at t e t as ee n a e to ea w t t e ro ant c s e . t o ex an
m f h my
so e o i d f
t e I i h l i l b di
st e r es an to o st er an nt e rest nt e ce est a o es.
S c ien c e
FREDERICK P R E S C OTT M sc J .
. . .
M O D ERN C H EM IST RY i hi b k h d w h w i h n t s oo t e rea er o s es t o

k w m hi g f h m i i g d i mp di v i
.
no so et n o t e o re nt e rest n an o rtant sco e r es

d ppl i
an i af md h mi y i k b hi d h
cat o ns o o er n c e st r s ta e n e n t e sce nes
d h w h
an h y w md
s o n ow t e e re a e.
A n im a l s
F . M ARTI N D U N CA N F R M S F Z , . . . . . S .
C LO S E U PS FRO M N A T U RE
- M M i Du r art n ncan. t he
w ll k u l i giv m y m k b l i i m pi u
. .
w
e - no n nat ra st . es an re ar a e nt at e ct res o f
an i mal . mar i ne and i nse ct life .
H . J
S H E P S T O N E
.
W IL D BEA ST S T O -DA Y Th i i t u ral h i t o y w k of s s a na s r or

u u u l type f it desc i bes a i m l i capt iv it y w il d a i m l
.
n s a or s r n as n n a
far m and reservat i o ns
. .
s. .
G E R T R U D E G L E E S O N
T H E ZOOLO G IC A L G A RD E N S Th Z h ld f i e oo o s a asc na
i f ly Thi b k g i v g ph i d i p i
.
t on o r near ev e f o ne s oo es ra c escr t o ns o
i h bi
.
i ts d
n a l li tant s an t e r ves.
O th er L a n d s
H . A N D L . C O U R T
T H E RO M A N C E O F T H E BRIT IS H EM PIRE i hi b k n t s oo
t he au t h s h v ut t t e ll p p l e In iv m m
.
etor a e s o o eo an att ract e anne r o re

abo u t t he w o nd e ful Emp i e r r .
G .G I BBA R D J A C K S O N
T H E RO M A N C E O F EX PLO RA T IO N Th b f e re can e ew
m i u bj h xpl i hi v l u m h
.
m o re ro ant c s d i ects t an e o rat o n. an n t s o e t e

uh
a t ll h y f h g
o r te s xpl d h mi
t e st o r l f o t e reat e o rers an t e rac es o
di v y
sco er .
T h e A n c ien t W o r ld
W . H B O U L T O N .
T H E RO M A N C E O F A RC H E OLOG Y Du i g t h p t r n e as
hu d d N w W ld h b di v d
.
n re ears a th
e or as ee n sco e re o r ra e r. an
Ol d W d h b u t d fr m t h d u t f g Th w h l
.
or as ee n res rrec e o e s o a es. e o e

ro mance is t o ld h e re .
O N
T H E R M A C E O F T H E BRIT IS H M U S EU M The B it i h r s
g h uses in t he W o rl d An
.
u u
M se m is o ne o f t he reat est t reas re o u
h i gb k
.
e nc ant n oo .
C H A R L E S R B E A R D .
T H E RO M A N C E O F T REA S U RE T RO V E A b k h oo on t e
v p p u l u bj f bu i d g i
.
e er o ar s u d h
ect o r e t reas re . an t e st ran e r tes
co nnecte d w i h I I i im t t n anc e nt t es.
M A RG A R ET A M U R RAY F S A . . . . .
EG Y PT IA N T EM PL ES A f i l y d il d y ily u d ard eta e et eas n e rst o o .

u f m f h mp l f Egyp i by w ll k
. .
acco nt o so e o t e te es o t w r tt e n a e - no w n
Egyp l g ito o st .
H . J P E A K E . M A , . .
EA RLY ST EPS IN H U M A N PROG RESS Thi w ll illu d s e - st rat e

b k p i mi iv m mp m k lif i d
.
’
oo t races r t e an s att e ts t o a e e eas er o w n to
h B
t e d i
ro nze an g ro n a es.
A L A N W S H O R T E R .
EV ERY DA Y L IFE IN A N C IEN T EG Y PT A p I d v iv id o ar an

u f Egyp i l if I h i m f h Ph ll y
.
acco nt o t an e Yu
n t e t es o t e arao s. o rea
live i h i m hil
n t o se t di g h b k
es w e rea n t e oo .
A W R I G H T
. M A , . .
T H E RO M A N C E O F L IFE IN T H E A N C IE N T W O RL D
A iv up d
n att ract e u v y f i hi y -t o - at e s r e b k o anc ent st o r a oo
w hi h I full f p
c s go il lu mi i g mu
assa es so b d v nat n st no t e asse o er
m i mul i g
o st st Ti m Li
at n y Su ppl m
.
” p es t e rar e ent .
’
Lo nd o n
A A N
L I V I M E Y
T H E RO M A N C E O F LO N D O N W ritt en i a p leasa t ve i n n n
t hi b k o p s l ge fi el d o f i terest to t h e w h are tt acted
.
s oo en a ar n os o a r
by t he g reat capital.
6 1 net
L o nd o n
C O L . R . J . BL AC K H A M . o . s o . .
LO N D O N S L IV ERY C O M PA N IES Th C i C mp i f
’
e t o an es o
L d m k bl li f h Mi di Ag w hi h
.
h m
o n o n are t e o st re ar a e re cs o t e e es c
u v iv
s r d y
e to - a .
T H E ST O RY O F T H E T EM PL E G RA Y S A N D L IN C OL N S ’ ’
IN N T h i b k i m d ip i f h C u ,
hs m oo s o re t an a e re escr t on o t e o rts.
i g iv p i u f h m w h liv i h m
.
f or t es a ct re o t e en o e n t e .
G ener a l
S T A N L E Y P H I L L I P S
ST A M P C OLL EC T IN G Th u h f hi b k wh h e a t or o t s new oo o as
h d hi y y xp i ll d l dl u h
. .
’
a t rt ears e e r e nce as co ect o r. ea e r an ect re r . e re
iv u h y f h p g mp d h m
s t e st o r f h o t e o st a e -
sta t e ro ance o t e
gbby f w h i h i i h bj
es an
o o c t s t e o ect.
C A PTA I N S A G A R N H A M AND
H A D F I
. .
R O B E R T L . E L D
S U BM A RIN E C A BLES I Subm i C bl h wh n ar ne a es t e l
o e st o r y of
h i ly I i g d d m i w k f bl yi g
.
t e nt e nse nt erest n an ra at c or o ca e la n and

p i i g l ld
re a r n s to .
A G OWANS W HYTE AN D
H A D F I E L
.
R O BE R T L . D
DEEP S EA S A LVA G E H ld i f i i u e re are to st o r es o t t an c st r ies
i u k v l d l u bm i
! .
to ra se s n e n d w u
esse s an o st s ar nes an to rest s n e n
g ldof m h A h i l li g b k
ro t e sea h illi g u bj
. t r n oo on a t r n s ect .
D U D E DT L IB DA DY
“
R R O F THE DAlLY EXPRESS
’
( UPE T )
l l net
M A R Y T O U R T E L
P IC T U R ES A N D V E RS ES O N EV E RY P A G E
LIST O F T IT ES L
RRUUPP RR AANN DD H ENLA HKANDWE DARPFRIN SS
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ar se r es o oo s es ec a r en o c n ca
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n o an r c es e s a an
h i l b k b ut m d g i ee i g ch i vem t
. no n
t e c n ca oo s a o o e rn e n n r n a e en s .
W . H O U L T O N
. B
T H E SPL E N DID BOO K O F RA ILW A YS
T H E S PL E N DID BOO K O F EM PIRE RA ILW A YS
M A BE L K I T T Y G I BBA R D
T H E S PL E N D ID BOO K O F G IRLS IN D OO R G A M ES A N D ’
PA ST IM ES
G . G I BBA R D J A C K S O N
T H E S PL E N D ID BOO K O F A C H IEV EM EN T S
T H E S PL E N D ID BOO K O F IN V EN T IO N S
T H E S PL E N D ID BOO K O F T H E A RM Y A N D A IR FO RC E
T H E S PL E N D ID BOO K O F A N IM A LS
T H E S PL EN D ID BOO K O F T H E N A V Y
T H E S PL E N D ID BOO K O F M OT O RS
T H E S PL E N DID BOO K O F ST EA M S H IPS
T H E S PL EN D ID BOO K O F LO C O M OT IV ES
T H E S PL E N D ID BOO K O F A ERO PLA N ES
T H E S PL E N D ID BOO K O F E N G IN EERIN G
T H E S PL E N DID BOO K O F BO YS IN D OO R G A M ES A N D
’
PA S T IM ES
S T A N L E Y P H I L L I P S
T H E S PL E N DID BOO K O F S T A M PS
T H E BEG IN N ER S BOO K O F S T A M P C OLL EC T IN G
’
SA M PS O N L OW M ARSTO N , 8: CO LT D .
‘0 1

Adriftin The Pacific

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Adriftin The Pacific

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CONTENTS

ALL TOG ETHE R

DIA MON D C UT D IAMON D

AFLOAT ONCE MORE

nig ht Th e sea and sky were as o ne and the eye co uld

pierce but a few fatho ms into the glo o m Thro ugh .

t he raging sea o ver whi ch the w aves bro ke wi th a liv i d

light a h ttle shi p w as dri ving under almo st bare po les

Sh e w as a sch o o ner Of a hundred to ns H er name .

w as the S leuth but yo u wo uld have so ught it in vain

o n her st em fo r an acci den t of so me so rt had t o rn i t

ni ghts are sho rt Th e day wo uld dawn abo ut ﬁ v e

scho o ner gro w less when the sun illumin ed th e sky ?

W as no t the frail vessel at the mercy Of the waves ?

In the stern Of th e scho o ner were three boys o ne ,

about fo urt een the tw o o thers abo ut thi rt een years Of

age these with a yo ung negro so me twelve years Old

wer e at th e wheel and with their united strengt h ,

st ro ve to check the lurches which threat ened every

difﬁcult task fo r the wheel seemed as tho ugh it wo uld

turn in spit e Of all they co uld do and hurl them again st ,

the bulwark s Just befo re midnight such a wav e

came thundering again st the stern that it w as a w o nder

almo st immedi at ely .

Do es she still steer ? asked o ne Of them .

resumed hi s place o ld o n tight Do nagan

co ntinued and do n t be afrai d There are o thers be

si des ourselves to lo o k aft er Yo u are no t hurt Mo ko ? .

NO Massa Briant , an swered th e b o y

At this moment door Of the companio n leading

appeared ab o ve the level Of th e deck and wi th them ,

came up the genial face Of a do g who saluted with a ,

lo ud, Wh o ugh l w ho ugh l

G e t do wn agai n with D o le and lo o k Sharp ! ,

All Of yo u ? ask ed Do nagan .

Yes all Of us sai d D o le .

g et u n der t h e clo thes sh u t y o ur ey es an d no thi ng

Loo k o ut sai d Mo k o , Here s ano ther wave .

A vio lent blow sho o k the yacht s stem This time ’

fo rtunat ely the wave di d no t co m e o n b o ard fo r if t h e ,

water had swept do wn the co mpanio n the yacht would ,

have been swamped .

G et back will yo u , shout ed G o rdon .

Lo o k here said Bri an t rather mo re gently

The tw o heads di sappeared and at the same mo me n t ,

another boy appeared i n the doo rway .

Bax ter shut the do o r fro m w ithi n .

Yes all Of us D o le had sai d

But were there o nly little bo ys o n bo ard thi s schooner

ho w many were there Fifteen counting Gordon , ,

Briant D o ne gan and the negro

b e there That yo u shall kno w shortly .

W as there no t a man o n the yacht No t a ca t ain

A nd what ocean Th e largest o f all th e Paciﬁ c , ,

w hi ch stretches fo r 6 000 miles f ro m Australia and New

What then had happened ? H ad the scho o ner s

crew disappeared in so me catastro phe Had th e

left w as the nigger b o y 1

saili ng shi p and had th ere been o ne She wo u

h ad qui te eno ugh to do to look after herself without ,

g i ving ass ist an c e t o t hi s yacht that t h e sea w as throw i ng

Briant and hi s fri ends did th eir utmost to keep th e

What is to b e do ne ? asked Do nagan .