The Coral Island by Robert Michael Ballantyne (top rated books of all time .txt) 📕

another. Then I remembered all at once that I had long wanted some

leather or tough substance to make shoes of, and this old

grandmother seemed so tough that I just made up my mind to stick

her, and you see I’ve done it!”

“That you certainly have, Peterkin,” said Jack, as he was examining

the transfixed animal.

We now considered how we were to carry our game home, for, although

the distance was short, the hog was very heavy. At length we hit

on the plan of tying its four feet together, and passing the spear

handle between them. Jack took one end on his shoulder, I took the

other on mine, and Peterkin carried the small pig.

Thus we returned in triumph to our bower, laden, as Peterkin

remarked, with the glorious spoils of a noble hunt. As he

afterwards spoke in similarly glowing terms in reference to the

supper that followed, there is every reason to believe that we

retired that night to our leafy beds in a high state of

satisfaction.

CHAPTER XV.

Boat-building extraordinary - Peterkin tries his hand at cookery

and fails most signally - The boat finished - Curious conversation

with the cat, and other matters.

FOR many days after this Jack applied himself with unremitting

assiduity to the construction of our boat, which at length began to

look somewhat like one. But those only who have had the thing to

do can entertain a right idea of the difficulty involved in such an

undertaking, with no other implements than an axe, a bit of hoop-iron, a sail-needle, and a broken penknife. But Jack did it. He

was of, that disposition which WILL not be conquered. When he

believed himself to be acting rightly, he overcame all obstacles.

I have seen Jack, when doubtful whether what he was about to do

were right or wrong, as timid and vacillating as a little girl, -

and I honour him for it!

As this boat was a curiosity in its way, a few words here relative

to the manner of its construction may not be amiss.

I have already mentioned the chestnut tree with its wonderful

buttresses or planks. This tree, then, furnished us with the chief

part of our material. First of all Jack sought out a limb of a

tree of such a form and size as, while it should form the keel a

bend at either end should form the stem and stern posts. Such a

piece, however, was not easy to obtain, but at last he procured it,

by rooting up a small tree which had a branch growing at the proper

angle about ten feet up its stem, with two strong roots growing in

such a form as enabled him to make a flat-sterned boat. This

placed, he procured three branching roots of suitable size, which

he fitted to the keel at equal distances, thus forming three strong

ribs. Now, the squaring and shaping of these, and the cutting of

the grooves in the keel, was an easy enough matter, as it was all

work for the axe, in the use of which Jack was become wonderfully

expert; but it was quite a different affair when he came to nailing

the ribs to the keel, for we had no instrument capable of boring a

large hole, and no nails to fasten them with. We were, indeed,

much perplexed here; but Jack at length devised an instrument that

served very well. He took the remainder of our hoop-iron and beat

it into the form of a pipe or cylinder, about as thick as a man’s

finger. This he did by means of our axe and the old rusty axe we

had found at the house of the poor man at the other side of the

island. This, when made red hot, bored slowly though the timbers;

and, the better to retain the heat, Jack shut up one end of it and

filled it with sand. True, the work was very slowly done, but it

mattered not - we had little else to do. Two holes were bored in

each timber, about an inch and a half apart, and also down into the

keel, but not quite through. Into these were placed stout pegs

made of a tree called iron-wood; and, when they were hammered well

home, the timbers were as firmly fixed as if they had been nailed

with iron. The gunwales, which were very stout, were fixed in a

similar manner. But, besides the wooden nails, they were firmly

lashed to the stem and stern posts and ribs by means of a species

of cordage which we had contrived to make out of the fibrous husk

of the cocoa nut. This husk was very tough, and when a number of

the threads were joined together they formed excellent cordage. At

first we tied the different lengths together, but this was such a

clumsy and awkward complication of knots, that we contrived, by

careful interlacing of the ends together before twisting, to make

good cordage of any size or length we chose. Of course it cost us

much time and infinite labour, but Jack kept up our spirits when we

grew weary, and so all that we required was at last constructed.

Planks were now cut off the chestnut trees of about an inch thick.

These were dressed with the axe, - but clumsily, for an axe is ill

adapted for such work. Five of these planks on each side were

sufficient, and we formed the boat in a very rounded, barrel-like

shape, in order to have as little twisting of the planks as

possible; for, although we could easily bend them, we could not

easily twist them. Having no nails to rivet the planks with, we

threw aside the ordinary fashion of boat building and adopted one

of our own. The planks were therefore placed on each other’s

edges, and sewed together with the tough cordage already mentioned.

They were also thus sewed to the stem, the stern, and the keel.

Each stitch or tie was six inches apart, and was formed thus:

Three holes were bored in the upper plank and three in the lower, -

the holes being above each other, that is, in a vertical line.

Through these holes the cord was passed, and, when tied, formed a

powerful stitch of three ply. Besides this, we placed between the

edges of the planks, layers of cocoa-nut fibre, which, as it

swelled when wetted, would, we hoped, make our little vessel water-tight. But in order further to secure this end, we collected a

large quantity of pitch from the bread-fruit tree, with which, when

boiled in our old iron pot, we payed the whole of the inside of the

boat, and, while it was yet hot, placed large pieces of cocoa-nut

cloth on it, and then gave it another coat above that. Thus the

interior was covered with a tough water-tight material; while the

exterior, being uncovered, and so exposed to the swelling action of

the water, was we hoped, likely to keep the boat quite dry. I may

add that our hopes were not disappointed.

While Jack was thus engaged, Peterkin and I sometimes assisted him,

but, as our assistance was not much required, we more frequently

went a-hunting on the extensive mud-flats at the entrance of the

long valley which lay nearest to our bower. Here we found large

flocks of ducks of various kinds, some of them bearing so much

resemblance to the wild ducks of our own country that I think they

must have been the same. On these occasions we took the bow and

the sling, with both of which we were often successful, though I

must confess I was the least so. Our suppers were thus pleasantly

varied, and sometimes we had such a profusion spread out before us

that we frequently knew not with which of the dainties to begin.

I must also add, that the poor old cat which we had brought home

had always a liberal share of our good things, and so well was it

looked after, especially by Peterkin, that it recovered much of its

former strength, and seemed to improve in sight as well as hearing.

The large flat stone, or rock of coral, which stood just in front

of the entrance to our bower, was our table. On this rock we had

spread out the few articles we possessed the day we were

shipwrecked; and on the same rock, during many a day afterwards, we

spread out the bountiful supply with which we had been blessed on

our Coral Island. Sometimes we sat down at this table to a feast

consisting of hot rolls, - as Peterkin called the newly baked bread

fruit, - a roast pig, roast duck, boiled and roasted yams, cocoa

nuts, taro, and sweet potatoes; which we followed up with a dessert

of plums, apples, and plantains, - the last being a large-sized and

delightful fruit, which grew on a large shrub or tree not more than

twelve feet high, with light-green leaves of enormous length and

breadth. These luxurious feasts were usually washed down with

cocoa-nut lemonade.

Occasionally Peterkin tried to devise some new dish, - “a

conglomerate,” as he used to say; but these generally turned out

such atrocious compounds that he was ultimately induced to give up

his attempts in extreme disgust. Not forgetting, however, to point

out to Jack that his failure was a direct contradiction to the

proverb which he, Jack, was constantly thrusting down his throat,

namely, that “where there’s a will there’s a way.” For he had a

great will to become a cook, but could by no means find a way to

accomplish that end.

One day, while Peterkin and I were seated beside our table on which

dinner was spread, Jack came up from the beach, and, flinging down

his axe, exclaimed, -

“There, lads, the boat’s finished at last! so we’ve nothing to do

now but shape two pair of oars, and then we may put to sea as soon

as we like.”

This piece of news threw us into a state of great joy; for although

we were aware that the boat had been gradually getting near its

completion, it had taken so long that we did not expect it to be

quite ready for at least two or three weeks. But Jack had wrought

hard and said nothing, in order to surprise us.

“My dear fellow,” cried Peterkin, “you’re a perfect trump. But why

did you not tell us it was so nearly ready? won’t we have a jolly

sail to-morrow? eh?”

“Don’t talk so much, Peterkin,” said Jack; “and, pray, hand me a

bit of that pig.”

“Certainly, my dear,” cried Peterkin, seizing the axe; “what part

will you have? a leg, or a wing, or a piece of the breast; which?”

“A hind leg, if you please,” answered Jack; “and, pray, be so good

as to include the tail.”

“With all my heart,” said Peterkin, exchanging the axe for his

hoop-iron knife, with which he cut off the desired portion. “I’m

only too glad, my dear boy, to see that your appetite is so

wholesale; and there’s no chance whatever of its dwindling down

into re-tail again, at least in so far as this pig is concerned.

Ralph, lad, why don’t you laugh? - eh?” he added turning suddenly

to me with a severe look of inquiry.

“Laugh?” said I; “what at, Peterkin? why should I laugh?”

Both Jack and Peterkin answered this inquiry by themselves laughing

so immoderately that I was induced to believe I had missed noticing

some good joke, so I begged that it might be explained to me; but

as this only