Chapter 16

It was the 6th of May, a day which corresponds to the 6th of November in

the countries of the Northern Hemisphere. The sky had been obscured for

some days, and it was of importance to make preparations for the winter.

However, the temperature was not as yet much lower, and a centigrade

thermometer, transported to Lincoln Island, would still have marked an

average of ten to twelve degrees above zero. This was not surprising,

since Lincoln Island, probably situated between the thirty-fifth and

fortieth parallel, would be subject, in the Southern Hemisphere, to

the same climate as Sicily or Greece in the Northern Hemisphere. But as

Greece and Sicily have severe cold, producing snow and ice, so doubtless

would Lincoln Island in the severest part of the winter and it was

advisable to provide against it.

In any case if cold did not yet threaten them, the rainy season would

begin, and on this lonely island, exposed to all the fury of the

elements, in mid-ocean, bad weather would be frequent, and probably

terrible. The question of a more comfortable dwelling than the Chimneys

must therefore be seriously considered and promptly resolved on.

Pencroft, naturally, had some predilection for the retreat which he

had discovered, but he well understood that another must be found. The

Chimneys had been already visited by the sea, under circumstances

which are known, and it would not do to be exposed again to a similar

accident.

“Besides,” added Cyrus Harding, who this day was talking of these things

with his companions, “we have some precautions to take.”

“Why? The island is not inhabited,” said the reporter.

“That is probable,” replied the engineer, “although we have not yet

explored the interior; but if no human beings are found, I fear that

dangerous animals may abound. It is necessary to guard against a

possible attack, so that we shall not be obliged to watch every night,

or to keep up a fire. And then, my friends, we must foresee everything.

We are here in a part of the Pacific often frequented by Malay

pirates--”

“What!” said Herbert, “at such a distance from land?”

“Yes, my boy,” replied the engineer. “These pirates are bold sailors as

well as formidable enemies, and we must take measures accordingly.”

“Well,” replied Pencroft, “we will fortify ourselves against savages

with two legs as well as against savages with four. But, captain, will

it not be best to explore every part of the island before undertaking

anything else?”

“That would be best,” added Gideon Spilett.

“Who knows if we might not find on the opposite side one of the caverns

which we have searched for in vain here?”

“That is true,” replied the engineer, “but you forget, my friends, that

it will be necessary to establish ourselves in the neighborhood of a

watercourse, and that, from the summit of Mount Franklin, we could not

see towards the west, either stream or river. Here, on the contrary, we

are placed between the Mercy and Lake Grant, an advantage which must not

be neglected. And, besides, this side, looking towards the east, is not

exposed as the other is to the trade-winds, which in this hemisphere

blow from the northwest.”

“Then, captain,” replied the sailor, “let us build a house on the edge

of the lake. Neither bricks nor tools are wanting now. After having been

brickmakers, potters, smelters, and smiths, we shall surely know how to

be masons!”

“Yes, my friend; but before coming to any decision we must consider

the matter thoroughly. A natural dwelling would spare us much work,

and would be a surer retreat, for it would be as well defended against

enemies from the interior as those from outside.”

“That is true, Cyrus,” replied the reporter, “but we have already

examined all that mass of granite, and there is not a hole, not a

cranny!”

“No, not one!” added Pencroft. “Ah, if we were able to dig out a

dwelling in that cliff, at a good height, so as to be out of the reach

of harm, that would be capital! I can see that on the front which looks

seaward, five or six rooms--”

“With windows to light them!” said Herbert, laughing.

“And a staircase to climb up to them!” added Neb.

“You are laughing,” cried the sailor, “and why? What is there impossible

in what I propose? Haven’t we got pickaxes and spades? Won’t Captain

Harding be able to make powder to blow up the mine? Isn’t it true,

captain, that you will make powder the very day we want it?”

Cyrus Harding listened to the enthusiastic Pencroft developing his

fanciful projects. To attack this mass of granite, even by a mine, was

Herculean work, and it was really vexing that nature could not help them

at their need. But the engineer did not reply to the sailor except by

proposing to examine the cliff more attentively, from the mouth of the

river to the angle which terminated it on the north.

They went out, therefore, and the exploration was made with extreme

care, over an extent of nearly two miles. But in no place in the bare,

straight cliff, could any cavity be found. The nests of the rock pigeons

which fluttered at its summit were only, in reality, holes bored at the

very top, and on the irregular edge of the granite.

It was a provoking circumstance, and as to attacking this cliff, either

with pickaxe or with powder, so as to effect a sufficient excavation, it

was not to be thought of. It so happened that, on all this part of the

shore, Pencroft had discovered the only habitable shelter, that is to

say, the Chimneys, which now had to be abandoned.

The exploration ended, the colonists found themselves at the north angle

of the cliff, where it terminated in long slopes which died away on the

shore. From this place, to its extreme limit in the west, it only formed

a sort of declivity, a thick mass of stones, earth, and sand, bound

together by plants, bushes, and grass inclined at an angle of only

forty-five degrees. Clumps of trees grew on these slopes, which were

also carpeted with thick grass. But the vegetation did not extend

far, and a long, sandy plain, which began at the foot of these slopes,

reached to the beach.

Cyrus Harding thought, not without reason, that the overplus of the lake

must overflow on this side. The excess of water furnished by the Red

Creek must also escape by some channel or other. Now the engineer had

not yet found this channel on any part of the shore already explored,

that is to say, from the mouth of the stream on the west of Prospect

Heights.

The engineer now proposed to his companions to climb the slope, and to

return to the Chimneys by the heights, while exploring the northern

and eastern shores of the lake. The proposal was accepted, and in a few

minutes Herbert and Neb were on the upper plateau. Cyrus Harding, Gideon

Spilett, and Pencroft followed with more sedate steps.

The beautiful sheet of water glittered through the trees under the rays

of the sun. In this direction the country was charming. The eye feasted

on the groups of trees. Some old trunks, bent with age, showed black

against the verdant grass which covered the ground. Crowds of brilliant

cockatoos screamed among the branches, moving prisms, hopping from one

bough to another.

The settlers instead of going directly to the north bank of the lake,

made a circuit round the edge of the plateau, so as to join the mouth

of the creek on its left bank. It was a detour of more than a mile and a

half. Walking was easy, for the trees widely spread, left a considerable

space between them. The fertile zone evidently stopped at this point,

and vegetation would be less vigorous in the part between the course of

the Creek and the Mercy.

Cyrus Harding and his companions walked over this new ground with great

care. Bows, arrows, and sticks with sharp iron points were their only

weapons. However, no wild beast showed itself, and it was probable that

these animals frequented rather the thick forests in the south; but the

settlers had the disagreeable surprise of seeing Top stop before a snake

of great size, measuring from fourteen to fifteen feet in length. Neb

killed it by a blow from his stick. Cyrus Harding examined the reptile,

and declared it not venomous, for it belonged to that species of diamond

serpents which the natives of New South Wales rear. But it was possible

that others existed whose bite was mortal such as the deaf vipers with

forked tails, which rise up under the feet, or those winged snakes,

furnished with two ears, which enable them to proceed with great

rapidity. Top, the first moment of surprise over, began a reptile chase

with such eagerness, that they feared for his safety. His master called

him back directly.

The mouth of the Red Creek, at the place where it entered into the lake,

was soon reached. The explorers recognized on the opposite shore the

point which they had visited on their descent from Mount Franklin. Cyrus

Harding ascertained that the flow of water into it from the creek was

considerable. Nature must therefore have provided some place for the

escape of the overplus. This doubtless formed a fall, which, if it could

be discovered, would be of great use.

The colonists, walking apart, but not straying far from each other,

began to skirt the edge of the lake, which was very steep. The water

appeared to be full of fish, and Pencroft resolved to make some

fishing-rods, so as to try and catch some.

The northeast point was first to be doubled. It might have been supposed

that the discharge of water was at this place, for the extremity of the

lake was almost on a level with the edge of the plateau. But no signs of

this were discovered, and the colonists continued to explore the bank,

which, after a slight bend, descended parallel to the shore.

On this side the banks were less woody, but clumps of trees, here and

there, added to the picturesqueness of the country. Lake Grant was

viewed from thence in all its extent, and no breath disturbed the

surface of its waters. Top, in beating the bushes, put up flocks of

birds of different kinds, which Gideon Spilett and Herbert saluted with

arrows. One was hit by the lad, and fell into some marshy grass. Top

rushed forward, and brought a beautiful swimming bird, of a slate color,

short beak, very developed frontal plate, and wings edged with white. It

was a “coot,” the size of a large partridge, belonging to the group of

macrodactyls which form the transition between the order of wading birds

and that of palmipeds. Sorry game, in truth, and its flavor is far from

pleasant. But Top was not so particular in these things as his masters,

and it was agreed that the coot should be for his supper.

The settlers were now following the eastern bank of the lake, and they

would not be long in reaching the part which they already knew.

The engineer was much surprised at not seeing any indication of the

discharge of water. The reporter and the sailor talked with him, and he

could not conceal his astonishment.

At this moment Top, who had been very quiet till then, gave signs of

agitation. The intelligent animal went backwards and forwards on the

shore, stopped suddenly, and looked at the water, one paw raised, as if

he was pointing at some invisible game; then he barked furiously, and

was suddenly silent.

Neither Cyrus Harding nor his companions had at first paid any attention

to Top’s behavior; but the dog’s barking soon became so frequent that

the engineer noticed it.

“What is there, Top?” he asked.

The dog bounded towards his master, seeming to be very uneasy, and then

rushed again towards the bank. Then, all at once, he plunged into the

lake.

“Here, Top!” cried Cyrus Harding, who did not like his dog to venture

into the treacherous water.

“What’s happening down there?” asked Pencroft, examining the surface of

the lake.

“Top smells some amphibious creature,” replied Herbert.

“An alligator, perhaps,” said the reporter.

“I do not think so,” replied Harding. “Alligators are only met with in

regions less elevated in latitude.”

Meanwhile Top had returned at his master’s call, and had regained the

shore: but he could not stay quiet; he plunged in among the tall grass,

and guided by instinct, he appeared to follow some invisible being which

was slipping along under the surface of the water. However the water

was calm; not a ripple disturbed its surface. Several times the settlers

stopped on the bank, and observed it attentively. Nothing appeared.

There was some mystery there.

The engineer was puzzled.

“Let us pursue this exploration to the end,” said he.

Half an hour after they had all arrived at the southeast angle of the

lake, on Prospect Heights. At this point the examination of the banks of

the lake was considered finished, and yet the engineer had not been able

to discover how and where the waters were discharged. “There is no doubt

this overflow exists,” he repeated, “and since it is not visible it must

go through the granite cliff at the west!”

“But what importance do you attach to knowing that, my dear Cyrus?”

asked Gideon Spilett.

“Considerable importance,” replied the engineer; “for if it flows

through the cliff there is probably some cavity, which it would be easy

to render habitable after turning away the water.”

“But is it not possible, captain, that the water flows away at the

bottom of the lake,” said Herbert, “and that it reaches the sea by some

subterranean passage?”

“That might be,” replied the engineer, “and should it be so we shall be

obliged to build our house ourselves, since nature has not done it for

us.”

The colonists were about to begin to traverse the plateau to return to

the Chimneys, when Top gave new signs of agitation. He barked with fury,

and before his master could restrain him, he had plunged a second time

into the lake.

All ran towards the bank. The dog was already more than twenty feet off,

and Cyrus was calling him back, when an enormous head emerged from the

water, which did not appear to be deep in that place.

Herbert recognized directly the species of amphibian to which the

tapering head, with large eyes, and adorned with long silky mustaches,

belonged.

“A lamantin!” he cried.

It was not a lamantin, but one of that species of the order of

cetaceans, which bear the name of the “dugong,” for its nostrils were

open at the upper part of its snout. The enormous animal rushed on the

dog, who tried to escape by returning towards the shore. His master

could do nothing to save him, and before Gideon Spilett or Herbert

thought of bending their bows, Top, seized by the dugong, had

disappeared beneath the water.

Neb, his iron-tipped spear in his hand, wished to go to Top’s help, and

attack the dangerous animal in its own element.

“No, Neb,” said the engineer, restraining his courageous servant.

Meanwhile, a struggle was going on beneath the water, an inexplicable

struggle, for in his situation Top could not possibly resist; and

judging by the bubbling of the surface it must be also a terrible

struggle, and could not but terminate in the death of the dog! But

suddenly, in the middle of a foaming circle, Top reappeared. Thrown in

the air by some unknown power, he rose ten feet above the surface of the

lake, fell again into the midst of the agitated waters, and then soon

gained the shore, without any severe wounds, miraculously saved.

Cyrus Harding and his companions could not understand it. What was not

less inexplicable was that the struggle still appeared to be going on.

Doubtless, the dugong, attacked by some powerful animal, after having

released the dog, was fighting on its own account. But it did not last

long. The water became red with blood, and the body of the dugong,

emerging from the sheet of scarlet which spread around, soon stranded on

a little beach at the south angle of the lake. The colonists ran towards

it. The dugong was dead. It was an enormous animal, fifteen or sixteen

feet long, and must have weighed from three to four thousand pounds. At

its neck was a wound, which appeared to have been produced by a sharp

blade.

What could the amphibious creature have been, who, by this terrible

blow had destroyed the formidable dugong? No one could tell, and much

interested in this incident, Harding and his companions returned to the

Chimneys.