Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen
If it comes, endure it. This is a philosophical principle. Although it cannot promote the resolution of major events, it is undoubtedly extremely practical.Godfrey therefore resolved to obey this principle in all his future actions.Since he was obliged to live on the island, it was wisest to live as well as he could until the opportunity came to leave the island.
They didn't delay any longer, and were busy tidying up the inside of the Will Tree.Clear questions, lack of comfort, overwhelmed all other concerns, straw beds were constantly renewed.It is true that the utensils were simple shells; yet no pots or plates could be so clean in an American pantry.Once again Professor Tutley should be commended for doing admirable dishes.With the help of his knife, Godfrey succeeded in setting up a table in the center of the room, with a broad, flat bark and four feet driven into the ground.Some thick tree stumps are used as wooden benches.Guests are no longer forced to eat on their laps when the weather does not allow them to eat al fresco.
There's also the issue of clothing, not without being terribly worrisome.They thus save as much as possible.At this temperature and this latitude, there is no harm in being half naked.But after all shorts, tops, wool shirts will wear out.How to replace it?Will they wear the skins of these eunuchs and goats, and use them as clothes after eating their bodies?There is no doubt that this will have to be done in the future.In Hope, Godfrey often lets wash the few clothes they have.It was Tatley still, turned into a washerman, who had been entrusted with the task, and besides, he had done it to everyone's satisfaction.
Godfrey took more care of the supplies and tidying up.In addition, he was the supplier of the pantry.Gathering edible root grass and manzanilla fruit took him several hours a day; likewise, fences were made of rushes, either in the running water of that river, or in places where there was no water after the tide had ebbed. Fishing in caves also takes time.Undoubtedly primitive in these ways, however, every now and then a handsome crustacean or a few delicious fish turn up on the Will Tree table, not to mention some molluscs that can be caught with no trouble by hand animal.
But we will admit it--and it will be admitted that, of all kitchen utensils, the chief thing--pots, the absence of pots in pig iron or cast iron, is especially noticeable.Godfrey could only conceive of a replacement for the plain, all-purpose metal kettle.There were no soup pots, no meat or fish cooked, just roast meat and fish, and the first course never saw broth.Sometimes Tartle complained bitterly about it; but there was no way to satisfy the poor man!
Besides, Godfrey had other things to worry about.While inspecting the other trees in the group, he found another giant sequoia, which was tall and had a rather wide hollow in its lower part, which had been eroded by time.
It was there that he built a chicken coop, in which the fowls soon took up residence.The rooster and the hens lived well there, and there the eggs hatched in the hay, and the chicks began to flock.Lock them up every night to keep them safe from predation birds that spy from the treetops for these easy prey and can destroy entire broods.
As for the agouti, the wethers, and the goats, until then it seemed unnecessary to find a boar's nest or a stable for them.Wait for the bad weather season to come and reconsider.Before that, they bred on this lush pasture on the grassland, where there was an extremely rich donkey-eating grass and a large amount of edible root grass that these pig representatives valued most.After arriving on this island, several goats had given birth, but kept almost all their milk so that they could feed the young lambs.
It all goes to show that Will Tree and the surrounding area are pretty buzzing right now.Those well-fed domestic animals come here to find shelter from the scorching sun during the hot weather during the day.Never worry about them getting lost in the distance, and don't have to be afraid of wild animals, because Fina Island doesn't seem to have a single dangerous animal.
As it goes, the status quo is mostly reassuring, but the future is always worrisome, until an unexpected event occurs that may significantly change their situation.
That was July 29th.
That morning Godfrey wandered that part of the beach that adjoins the large bay he named Dream Bay.He prowled the sand to see if molluscs were as abundant here as they were along the coast to the north.Maybe he still hoped that some flotsam would reappear here, and he was deeply surprised that not even a small thing from the boat washed ashore on the shore.
On that day, however, he had gone all the way to the northernmost point, beyond which was a sandy beach, when his attention was drawn to an oddly shaped rock outcropping on a recently discovered Wash up algae and seaweed from high places.
Some hunch made him quicken his pace.What was his amazement, and what was his delight, when he recognized what he thought to be a rock to be a box half buried in the sand.
Is this a package from the "Dream"?Has it been in this place since the shipwreck?Could it be more likely that all this is left over from another, more recent catastrophe?Hard to say.Regardless of where it came from or what it contains, this case should be a big hit.
Godfrey inspected the box from the outside, but saw no trace of any address.Not a name, not even one of those big initials cut from sheet metal that adorn the American box.Is it possible to find some piece of paper in the box, showing the owner's name, nationality, province?At any rate, the box was tightly shut, and it was to be hoped that the contents of the box would not have rotted during the time it had been in the sea.It was, indeed, made of very strong wood, covered with thick leather, bound with copper at all the corners, and fastened on all sides with wide elastic bands.
However eager Godfrey was to examine the contents of this chest, he had no desire to break it, but to unlatch it and open it, as far as transporting it from the depths of the Bay of Dreams to Will tree, because the box is too heavy, can't do it, don't even think about it.
"Okay," thought Godfrey, "we'll get it more or less empty."
Go back to the group of giant sequoias to pick up tools, about 4 miles away.This takes considerable time and can be tiring.However, there is time.As for fatigue, this is not the time to think about it.
What is locked in this box? ... Godfrey wished to at least try to open this chest before returning to the Will Tree.
He started by removing the rubber straps, and, having undone the rubber straps, he very carefully removed the leather sheath that was covered with locks.However, how to open the lock by force?
It was the hardest job, and he didn't have any crowbars with which to pry it.He tried to avoid the danger of breaking his knife while doing the job.He therefore sought out a heavy pebble with which he tried to throw the lockhead out of the way.
The sand was strewn with hard flints of various shapes that could be used as hammers.
Godfrey chose one the size of a fist, and he slammed it on the copper.
To his great surprise, the bolt embedded in the crosshead of the lock came out immediately.
Perhaps the cross head of the lock broke under the impact, or the lock was not locked.
Godfrey's heart was beating violently as he was about to lift the lid of the box.
The chest was finally opened, and, in fact, if it had to be broken, Godfrey was not without difficulty in doing so.
The box was a safe, literally.The inside of the box is lined with zinc foil, so that seawater cannot penetrate inside.Therefore, no matter how precious the objects in the box are, they can be kept in good condition.
And what kind of objects are these!Godfrey couldn't help letting out an exclamation of joy as he took them out!To be sure, this chest may have belonged to some very practical traveler, who intends to venture into a country where he will be forced to rely only on what he has brought with him.
Clothing first: shirts, towels, sheets; then clothes: peacoats, woolen and cotton stockings, stout trousers and raw velvet trousers, knitted vests, stout blouses; then Two pairs of sturdy boots, some pig hunting shoes, some felt hats.
The second part is the kitchen and grooming utensils: pot one so need a great pot! —soup pot, coffee pot, tea pot, some spoons, fork and knife, a small mirror, brushes for various purposes.Finally, and not to be underestimated, three army kettles filled with about 15 rum and a few pounds of tea and coffee.
The third section is for tools: drills, augers, jigsaw blades, sets of nails and points, shovels and shovels, picks, axes, hatchets, and so on.
The fourth part is the weapons: two hunting knives in leather sheaths, a short gun and two piston guns, three six-shot revolvers, twelve pounds of powder, thousands of percussion caps and a large number of aluminum and bullets —all these weapons seem to be of English manufacture; and finally a small medicine-pouch, a telescope, a compass, a clock.
Also in there were several volumes in English, stacks of 25 blank paper, pencils, quills, and ink, a calendar, a New York-published Bible, and a cookbook.
Seriously, it all makes for an invaluable list of properties in a situation like this.
So Godfrey could not contain his joy.Nothing could be more complete than a dowry ordered for the use of shipwrecks in distress.
This should be thanks to God, and God has also received thanks from a grateful heart.
Godfrey happily spread all his treasures on the beach.Every item was inspected, but there was not a single piece of paper inside the box to indicate where the box had come from, or what ship the box had been on.
Besides, no other remnants of a recent shipwreck washed up by the sea were seen in the surrounding area.Not on the rocks, not under the sand.The chest must have been adrift for some time or another, and brought to this spot by the high tide.Indeed, the volume of the box relative to the weight of the box can ensure that it has a sufficient buoyancy.
The two guests of Fina Island are thus guaranteed for a period of time a wide range of material needs: tools, weapons, instruments, utensils, clothes, and a single stroke of luck changes everything for them.
The problem was that Godfrey couldn't imagine moving all these items back to Will Tree.It takes a few back and forth to move them; but it's best to move them quickly in case the weather turns bad.
So Godfrey put most of these different items back in the box.A rifle, a revolver, a certain quantity of dynamite and buckshot, a hunting knife, binoculars, pots, these things he carried with him.
Then he carefully closed the trunk again, buckled it, and Godfrey was on his way again from the seashore.
what!What a reception he was received by Tadlay an hour later!The professor rejoiced as he heard his students enumerate their new treasures to him!The pot, and the pot in particular, excited him so much that he danced in steps with striking motions and ended with a triumphant step in six-eighths.
It was only noon.So Godfrey wanted to go back to Dream Bay as soon as he had lunch.He was eager to hide everything inside the Will tree.
Tatley raised no objections and declared he was ready to go.He didn't even have to watch over the burning stove anymore.With gunpowder, fire is everywhere.But the professor wanted them to simmer the vegetable broth as they walked away.
Presently, a quarter of an agouti was placed in a pot of warm water, with a dozen roots of aphids, which substituted for vegetables, and a large pinch of the kind they found in the hollows of the rocks. Salt.
"It'll cover itself with foam!" cried Tatley, looking very pleased with his masterpiece.
So the two walked briskly and took the nearest slope and set off towards Dream Bay.
The chest remained where it was, and Godfrey opened it cautiously.To Tutley's admiring cheers, he proceeded to sort the various items.
This first round trip, carried by Godfrey and his companions like mules, was able to carry back to Weir Tree the arms, munitions, and part of the clothing.
So they sat at the dinner table recovering from their fatigue, where the agouti soup was steaming, which they both said was wonderful.As for the meat, according to the professor, it is hard to imagine anything that tastes better!Oh!This is the miracle produced by lack of food and clothing!
The next day, the 30th, Godfrey and Tutley set out at dawn, making another three round trips to get out and bring back the contents of the boxes.Before evening, tools, weapons, instruments, utensils, everything was moved to Will Tree, sorted and stored properly.
Finally, on August 1st, even the suitcase was dragged along the beach to the residence without difficulty and used as a wardrobe.
The volatile Tatley now sees the future as rosy.It is not surprising, therefore, that he came to his pupils that day with his pocket violin in his hand, and said very seriously, as if they were in the drawing-room of the Coedrup House:
"So, my dear Godfrey, isn't it time to resume our dancing lessons?"
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