Philosopher Jack by Robert Michael Ballantyne (thriller books to read .TXT) 📕

laid hold of them, and bent their backs till the strong wood cracked again. Gradually the raft neared the opening. As it did so the ground-swell began to act on it. By degrees the towering billows--which seemed to rise out of a calm sea and rush to their destruction like walls of liquid glass--caught it, dragged it on a little, and then let it slip. At last one great wave began to curl in hissing foam underneath, caught the raft fairly, carried it forward on its boiling crest, and launched it with lightning speed into the opening. The space was too narrow! One of the projecting spars touched the reef. Instantly the fastenings were rent like pack-thread, and the raft was hurled forward in disconnected fragments. One of these turned completely over with several men on it. Another portion passed through the opening and swung round inside. The steering oar was wrenched from Jack's hands, and struck the captain into the water. As if by instinct, Jack sprang to the "bower," caught Polly in his arms, and leaped into the sea. At the same moment Wilkins ran to the rescue of his friend Ben. These two were on the part that had swung round to the calm side of the reef, and Watty waded to it with Ben on his back. The captain and all the rest were washed in a cataract of foam and wreckage through the opening into the lagoon, and pitched by curling eddies on the shore. In a few minutes they all stood in safety, panting, but uninjured, on the white sands of the coral reef.


CHAPTER FOUR.


THE CORAL ISLAND--PROCEEDINGS THEREIN.

The island on which the raft with its occupants had been cast was of small size, not more than six miles in extent, and lay low in the water. Nevertheless it was covered with luxuriant vegetation, among which were several groves of cocoa-nut palms, the long feathery branches of which waved gracefully in a gentle breeze, as if beckoning an invitation to the castaways on the reef to cross the lagoon and find shelter there. But crossing the lagoon was not an easy matter.

"Shure it's a mile wide if it's a futt," said one of the men as they stood in a group on the reef, dripping and gazing at the isle.

"No, Simon O'Rook," said Bob Corkey, in that flat contradictions way to which some men are prone; "no, it's only half a mile if it's an inch."

"You're wrong, both of you," said Baldwin Burr, "it ain't more than quarter of a mile. Quite an easy swim for any of us."

"Except my Polly," observed the captain quietly.

"Ay, and those who are too weak to swim," said Watty Wilkins, with a glance at his friend Ben, who had lain down on the sand and listened with a calm untroubled look to the conversation.

"You don't seem at all anxious," whispered Polly to Ben.

"No, Polly, I'm not. I have lately been taught how to trust in God by your example."

"By mine!" exclaimed the child in extreme surprise.

Before Ben could reply the captain turned and called to Polly.

"Come here, my duckey; Edwin Jack offers to swim over the lagoon to the island with you on his back. Will you trust yourself to him?"

"Yes, father," answered the child promptly.

"But maybe there are sharks," suggested O'Rook.

There was a momentary silence. In the excitement of the occasion every one had forgotten sharks. What was to be done? The raft was utterly destroyed. Only a few of the logs which had formed it lay on the reef; the rest were floating on the lagoon at various distances, none nearer than fifty yards.

"There's nothing for it, then, but to reconstruct our raft," said the captain, throwing off his coat and shoes; "so these logs must be secured."

He had only taken two steps towards the water when Philosopher Jack grasped his arm.

"Stop, sir, it is your duty to look after Polly. Now lads, those who can swim come along!"

Another instant and he was in the sea, regardless of sharks, and striking out for the floating wreckage, closely followed by O'Rook, Corkey, Burr, and Watty Wilkins. Strange to say, eight other men of the crew could not swim, although they had managed somehow to scramble on the reef. Whether it was that the sharks were not there at the time, or that the number and energy of the swimmers frightened them, we cannot tell, but each man reached a log or plank in safety, and began pushing it towards the reef. It was when they drew near to this that the trial of their courage was most severe. The excitement and gush of daring with which they had plunged in was by that time expended, and the slow motion of the logs gave them time for reflection. O'Rook's lively fancy troubled him much.

"If the baists would only attack a man in front," he muttered, "it's little I'd mind 'em, but to come up behind, sneakin' like--hooroo!"

At that moment a branch of coral, which projected rather far from the bottom, touched O'Rook's toe and drew from him an uncontrollable yell of alarm. Baldwin Burr, who swam close behind, was humorously inclined as well as cool. He pushed the plank he was guiding close to his comrade's back, dipped the end of it, and thrust it down on O'Rook's legs.

The effect was even more powerful than he had hoped for.

"A shark!--a sha-a-a-rk!" howled O'Rook, and dived under the broken main-yard, which he was piloting ashore. Coming up on the other side, he tried to clamber on it, but it rolled round and dropped him. He went down with a gurgling cry. Again he rose, grasped the spar with his left arm, glared wildly round, and clenched his right hand as if ready to hit on the nose any creature--fish, flesh, or fowl--that should assail him.

"Take it easy, messmate," said Burr in a quiet tone; "sorry I touched you. Hope it didn't hurt much."

"Och! it was you, was it? Sure, I thought it was a shark; well, well, it's plaised I am to be let off so aisy."

With this philosophic reflection O'Rook landed with his piece of timber. Enough of material was soon collected to form a raft sufficiently large to ferry half of the party across the lagoon, and in two trips the whole were landed in safety on the island.

"You don't mean to tell me, Jack," said Baldwin Burr, "that this island was made by coral insects?"

"Yes, I do!" said Jack.

"From the top to the bottom?" asked Burr.

"From the bottom to the top," said Edwin.

Baldwin asked this question of the philosopher during a pause in their labours. They were, at the time, engaged in constructing a new bower for Polly among the flowering shrubs under the cocoa-nut palms. Polly herself was aiding them, and the rest of the party were scattered among the bushes, variously employed in breaking down branches, tearing up long grass, and otherwise clearing ground for an encampment.

"How could insects make an island?" asked Polly, sitting down on a bank to rest.

"Don't you know, Poll?" said Edwin; "why, I thought your father taught you about almost everything."

"Oh no," replied Polly, with an innocent smile, "not everything yet, you know, but I daresay he will in the course of time. Tell me about the insects."

"Well, let me see, how shall I begin?" said Jack, leaning against the bank, and crossing his arms on his breast. "The coral insects, Polly, are very small, some of them not larger than a pin's head. They are great builders. There is lime in sea-water. The insects, which are called corallines, have the power of attracting this lime to them; drawing it away from the water, so to speak, and fixing it round their own bodies, which is called secreting the lime. Thus they form shells, or houses, to themselves, which they fix at the bottom of the sea. Having laid the basements of their houses close together, they proceed to add upper storeys, and thus they add storey to storey, until they reach the surface of the sea. They work in such innumerable millions that, in course of time, they form reefs and islands, as you see."

"But I _don't_ see!" said Polly, looking round; "at least, I don't see corallines working."

"Ah, good," said Baldwin, with a nod of approval to the child, as if to say, "You have him there!"

"True," returned the philosopher, "because the corallines can only work under water. The moment they reach the surface they die; but those that remain continue their labours on the sides of the reef or island, and thus widen it. Then the waves break off masses of coral, and cast them, with drifting sea-weed and other things, up on the reef, which makes it higher; then sea-birds come to rest on it. The winds carry seeds of various plants to it, which take root, grow up, die; and thus thicken the soil by slow degrees, till at last, after a long, long time, the island becomes a pretty large and fertile one like this."

"Wonderful!" exclaimed Polly; "what a clever insect!"

"Clever indeed," returned Edwin; "especially when we consider that it has got no brains."

"No brains!" echoed Baldwin.

"No, it has little more than a stomach."

"Oh! come now," remonstrated Baldwin; "we can't believe that, can we, Miss Polly? Even a house-builder must think, much more an island-builder; and no fellow can think with his stomach, you know."

"Nevertheless, it is as I tell you," continued Jack, "and these little creatures manage to create hundreds of islands in the Southern Seas, by their perseverance, energy, and united action. Quite an example to man--eh, Baldwin?"

"Ha! just so--a long pull, and a strong pull, and a pull all together. I think we'd better act on the principles of these corry-lines, else Miss Polly's bower won't be ready afore dark."

So saying, the seaman and our philosopher resumed their work with such united energy--aided by Polly herself--that a very comfortable habitation of boughs and large leaves was finished before the day closed. It resembled a large beehive, was overshadowed by dense foliage of a tropical kind, and carpeted with a species of fern.

Polly was profuse in her thanks, and when it was finished, called to her father to come and admire it. The stout mariner at once obeyed the summons. He quitted the pile of firewood on which he had been labouring, and with a violently red face and perspiring brow, appeared on the scene, bearing a mighty axe on his shoulder.

"Splendid!" he exclaimed, with beaming admiration. "It's fit for the queen of the coral isles."

"For whom it is intended!" said Philosopher Jack, quickly.

Polly laughed, for she understood the compliment, but suddenly became grave, as she remembered Ben Trench, and said, "No, no; it must be used as a shelter for Ben."

"That's kind of you, Polly," said Watty coming up with a huge bundle of grass and foliage for bedding at the moment; "but Ben has got friends to remember him as well as you. Bob Corkey and I have made him a