Chapter 4 Settle down on a deserted island-2

Black Michael made up his mind that not a single thread of the Claytons' belongings should be left on board.Whether this was out of sympathy for them or for his own benefit, it is hard to say.No doubt any civilized port in the world would have searched if the belongings of a missing British official had been found on board a suspicious ship. He therefore carried out his intentions very vigorously, insisting that Clayton's revolver be returned to him from the sailor's possession. They also loaded the little boats with bacon, biscuits, a bit of potatoes, beans, matches, cooking utensils, a box of tools, and the old sails that Blake Michael had promised them.

As if he himself dreaded what Clayton feared, Blake Michael accompanied them ashore, and waited until the small boats, filled with fresh water in their storage tanks, made their way to the "Fauval" moored in the harbour. He was the last to leave them when Da" pushed past. The small boats moved slowly across the calm waters of the harbour, and Clayton and his wife stood silently watching the "farewell," a sense of dread and awe of the imminent disaster. Despair rose in the hearts of the two of them again. Behind them, on a not too high mountain ridge, several other pairs of eyes were also looking around among the rocks.They were close-set, malevolent eyes, gleaming under heavy brows.

When "Fovalda" sailed into the narrow channel of the harbor and disappeared behind a huge reef, Mrs. Alice could no longer control her emotions, and she opened her arms and put them around Clayton's neck, sobbing painfully . She had bravely faced the dangers posed by that rebellion, and had contemplated, with heroic fortitude, the dire circumstances ahead.But now, once the fear of complete isolation from the world really came to her head, her overloaded nerves collapsed, and the resulting reaction followed. He didn't try to hold back her tears.It is best to let the long-repressed feelings in her heart burst out naturally.It was a long time before the girl—in fact, she was not much older than a child—finally got herself under control.

"Oh, John!" she cried after a while. "It's terrible. What shall we do? What shall we do?" "There's only one thing for us to do, Alice," he said, as calmly as if he were sitting in the comfort of his sitting-room at home. "That's work. As long as you work, you will be saved. We can't let ourselves indulge in wild thoughts, because if we go on like that, we can only go crazy. "We've got to get to work and be patient. I'm sure we'll be saved, soon. Even if Fowalda crashes, or if Blake Michael doesn't keep his word."

"But, John, if it were just you and me," she sobbed, "I'm sure we'd make it through. But..." "Yes, my dear," he replied softly, "I've been thinking about it too. But we must face this fact, as we must face any difficulty that will arise. No matter how dire the circumstances We must deal with it bravely and with confidence. "Thousands of years ago, maybe in this primeval forest, the problems our ancestors encountered in the chaos of ancient times, we all have to face now. We will experience the victory they have gone through today the road.

"What they were able to do in the past, can't we do today? No, we can do better.Aren't we armed with the profound knowledge created by millions of years of human beings?We do not have the self-defense that science gives us. Means of self-defense and subsistence?And at that time, they were completely ignorant of all this.Alice, what they accomplished with tools and weapons made of stone and bone back then, we will definitely be able to accomplish! " "Oh, John, I wish I was a man who could be as calm as you. But I can only be a woman, and I can only feel the world with my heart instead of my head, and all I see is really It is too terrible, too unimaginable, it is impossible to express it in words.

"I just hope you're right, John. I'm going to do my best to be a brave primitive woman, a competent companion to a primitive man." Clayton's first idea was to build a hut to sleep at night, in case of being harmed by wild animals looking for food. He opened the box with the rifle and ammunition so that the two of them could be armed at any time if they were attacked while they were at work.Then, together they search for a place to spend their first night. There was a little level land a hundred yards from the beach, with no trees growing on it, and it was at last that they decided to build a permanent house there.But right now, they all thought, it's best to build a small platform on the tree first to prevent the larger beasts from harassing them.It should be noted that it is now in their territory.

Clayton chose four trees that would create an eight-foot-square rectangular deck.He cut long thick branches from other trees, made a frame about ten feet above the ground, and fastened the branches firmly to the tree with ropes.This rope was given to him by Blake Myjouer from the cargo hold of the Fwalda. On top of this frame Clayton had densely draped thinner branches, topped with a layer of fat leaves from the elephant ear tree--there were plenty of them around.On top of the leaves lay the large sail, which had been folded in several layers. Six feet further up, he built another platform similar to the bunk below, only lighter, to serve as a "roof."The remaining pieces of tarpaulin are hung around, which can be regarded as "walls".

When he was done, he had a cozy little nest.He put their blankets and some lighter luggage on it. It was almost dusk, and he took advantage of the afterglow of the setting sun to build a rough ladder.With it, Alice can climb up to her new abode. All day long, in the woods around them, bright-feathered birds flitted excitedly and squeaky monkeys hopped about.They watched with great interest and fascination how little by little these two new arrivals and their wonderful nest were built. Although Clayton and his wife looked around warily, no larger animals were ever seen.Only twice, seeing their neighbors—

A few little monkeys ran down the nearby hills screaming and screaming.From time to time they looked back fearfully over their thin shoulders, making it plain that something terrible was lurking there from which they had escaped. At dusk, Clayton finished his ladder.A large basin of water was drawn from a nearby stream, and the two climbed into this relatively complete "castle in the sky". Because of the heat, Clayton pulled up the tarp around it and put it on the roof.They sit on blankets like Turks.Alice stared wide-eyed, looking at the gradually darkening forest, and suddenly stretched out a hand, tightly grasping Clayton's arm.

"John," she said softly, "look, what's that? Is it a man?" Clayton turned his face and looked along her fingers with a pair of eyes. On the hills against the vast sea of ​​trees, a huge upright figure appeared dimly. For a while, it stood there as if listening to something, then slowly turned around and disappeared into the shadow of Lin Mang. "What is it, John?" "I can't tell, Alice," he said with a heavy heart. "It's too dark to see at this distance. Maybe it's just a shadow cast by the rising moon." "No, John. If not a human being, a very large, humanlike queer fellow. Oh, I'm afraid." He held her in his arms and whispered into her ear soft words of love that gave her courage. After a while, he put down the tarpaulin and tied it firmly to the tree.In this way, except for a small opening facing the beach, they closed themselves tightly. Now, the little "castle in the air" was pitch black, and they lay down on the blankets, hoping to sleep and temporarily forget the deep pain. Clayton lay facing the front opening with a rifle and two revolvers at hand. As soon as they closed their eyes, a leopard roared frighteningly in the jungle behind them.It was getting closer and closer, until it was clearly heard that the behemoth went straight to the bottom of the "castle in the air".The leopard sniffed with its nose and scratched with its paws the big tree supporting their "pavilion". After struggling for more than an hour, it slowly walked towards the opposite side of the beach.Under the bright moonlight, Clayton could see clearly that it was a big and beautiful leopard.It was the biggest one he had ever seen in his life. Long nights, but they just hit a few tons.Because since nightfall, the howling of jackals, tigers and leopards in the dense forest has been echoing in the air with the mystery of the animal world, making their already over-stretched nerves even more tense and restless.The ear-piercing roar and the sound of the beast's huge body moving quietly under their "pavilion" woke them up countless times.