Adrift in Pacific and Other Great Adventures – 17 Titles in One Volume (Illustrated Edition). Jules VerneЧитать онлайн книгу.
impossible; but by taking advantage of the tide, a raft could be got up the river without much trouble.
In its upper course, as Briant had discovered, the stream contained no obstacle in the way of falls, rapids, or bars. An expedition to reconnoitre its lower course from the swamp to the mouth was made in the yawl; and Briant and Moko assured themselves that the river was navigable in that part as well. There was thus an unbroken line of communication between the bay and French Den.
The days that followed were employed in arranging the camp at the side of the river. The lower branches of two beeches were united by long spars with the branches of a third, and were used to hold up the yacht's spare mainsail, which fell down on each side to the ground. Into this tent, which was firmly stayed and strutted, they transported the bedding and furniture, the weapons and ammunition, and the bales of provisions. As the raft was to be built of the timbers of the yacht, they had to wait till they had demolished the wreck before they began to build it.
There was nothing to complain of in the weather, which continued dry. When there was a wind, it came from the land, and the work went on uninterruptedly.
By the 15th of April there only remained on the schooner such things as were too heavy to move until she had broken up—among them the pigs of lead used for ballast, the water-tanks in the hold, the windlass, and the galley, which were too heavy to be taken away without apparatus. The spars and rigging, shrouds, and stays of iron, chains, anchors, ropes, hawsers, lines, yarns, and such things, of which there was a great quantity on the yacht, were gradually removed to the ground near the tent.
Busy as they were with this work, the wants of each day were not neglected. Donagan, Webb, and Wilcox devoted a few hours to shooting the rock pigeons and the birds frequenting the marsh. The youngsters went searching for mollusks when the tide left the reef bare. It was pleasant to see Jenkins, Iverson, Dole, and Costar hunting about in the pools like a lot of ducklings, and sometimes getting their legs wet so as to be scolded by the severe Gordon, and excused by the gentler Briant. Jack also went out with the youngsters, but he never joined in their shouts of laughter.
Things went on satisfactorily and methodically, thanks to Gordon, whose sound common sense was seldom at fault. Evidently Donagan gave in to him when he would not give into Briant or any one else. And harmony reigned in the little world.
But there was need of despatch. The second fortnight of April was less fine. The mean temperature sensibly fell, and many times during the early morning the thermometer fell below freezing. The winter was coming, and with it would appear its retinue of hail and snow, and storm.
The young and the old began to clothe themselves more warmly, to put on the thick jerseys and jackets. To find them was easy enough, for they were down all in Gordon's note-book, arranged in qualities and sizes. The youngest boys were Briant's especial care. He saw that they had not cold feet, and that they did not dawdle
in the cold air when they were out for a swim; at the least cold in their heads he made them sleep near the fire, which he kept in night and day; and often he kept Dole and Costar in the tent, while Moko gave them gruel and physic from the schooner's medicine-chest.
When the schooner had been emptied of all it contained, the hull, which had broken apart in many places, was attacked. The sheets of copper sheathing were taken off very carefully. Then the pincers and crowbars, and hammers were brought into play to rip off the planks which the nails and trenails fastened to the frame. This was a troublesome task for inexperienced hands and not very vigorous arms. And the breaking up went on very slowly until on the 25th of April a storm came to help.
During the night, although they were already in the cold season, a thunderstorm occurred. The lightning played across the sky, and the rolling of the thunder lasted from midnight to sunrise, to the great terror of the little ones. It did not rain fortunately, but twice or thrice it was necessary to support the tent against the fury of the wind. Owing to its being fixed to the trees it remained undamaged; not so the yacht, which lay directly exposed to the gusts from the offing and the full force of the waves.
The breaking up was complete. The planks were torn off, the frame broken up, the keel smashed, and the whole thing reduced to wreckage. And there was nothing to complain of in the way it was done, for the waves as they retired carried off but a small portion of the wreck which for the most part was kept back by the reef. The ironwork was easily picked up out of the sand, and all the boys set to work during the next day or so to collect it. The beams, planks, water-tanks, and other things which had not been swept away, lay scattered on the beach, and all that had to be done was to transport them to the right bank of the stream a few yards from the tent.
It was a heavy job, but in time it was done, though not without a good deal of fatigue. It was curious to see the boys all hanging on to a heavy piece of wood, hauling it along and encouraging each other with many a shout. The heavier timbers were rolled on bits of round wood and levered along by spars. The most difficult things to move were the windlass, the galley stove, and the iron tanks, which were of considerable weight. If the boys had only had some practical man to guide them t If Briant had had his father, Garnett his, the engineer and the captain would have saved them from many mistakes they committed, and would again commit. Baxter, who was very intelligent in mechanical matters, displayed much cleverness and seal; it was on his advice, with the agreement of Moko, that tackles were fixed to piles driven into the sand, and thereby tenfold strength given to the boys, so as to enable them to finish their task.
In short, on the evening of the 28th, all that remained of the schooner had been taken to the place of embarkation ; and without doubt, the worst of the enterprise was over, for the river was to take the material up to French Den.
" To-morrow," said Gordon, " we will begin to build the raft."
" Yes," said Baxter; " and to save any trouble in launching it, I propose to build it in the river."
" That will not be easy," said Donagan.
" Never mind," answered Gordon, " we will try. If it gives us more trouble to get together, it will not trouble us to get it afloat."
There could be no doubt this was the best way; and next morning they began the framework of the raft, which was to be sufficiently large to receive a heavy and crowded cargo.
The beams from the schooner, the keel broken in two pieces, the foremast, what remained of the mainmast broken three feet above the deck, the rails, and the mid-ship beam, the bowsprit, the fore-yard, the
main-boom and the gaff, had been taken to a part of the river beach which the water only covered at high tide. The boys waited till the tide rose, and then the wood was brought out into the stream. There the largest pieces were placed side by side, and bound together, with the others placed crossways.
In this way a solid framework was obtained, measuring about thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide. All day long the boys worked hard at the raft, and by nightfall the framework was complete. Briant then took care to moor it to the trees on the bank, so that the rising tide could not carry it up stream, or the ebb take it out to sea. Then every one, thoroughly tired out after such a hard day, sat down to supper with a formidable appetite, and slept soundly till the morning.
At dawn they again set to work. A platform had now to be built on the framework. The deck planks and streaks of the schooner's hull now came into use. Nails driven in with heavy hammer-strokes, and ropes passed over and under, fastened everything firmly together.
Working at the hardest, this took three days, although there was not an hour to lose. A little ice had already appeared on the surface of the pools among the reefs and along the edge of the stream. The shelter of the tent became insufficient in spite of the fire. Sleeping close to each other, covered with the thickest wraps, Gordon and his companions found it difficult to put up with the cold. Hence the necessity of pushing on with the work for taking up their quarters in the cave, where they hoped to defy the winter, which in these latitudes is very severe.
The deck had been fixed on as firmly as possible, so that it should not be displaced on the voyage; for that meant the swallowing up of the cargo in the bed of the stream; and to save such a disaster it was better to delay the departure for a day.
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