Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen

Godfrey was hit.Will the elusive opportunity that slipped by him come back?Can he hope that, no!The steamer passed within sight of Fina Island, so indifferent that she did not even try to identify it, as evidently all other ships do when they venture into this deserted part of the Pacific.Why does the latter stop here more than the former, since there is no safe haven on this island. Godfrey passed a dismal night.Every moment he would wake up as if he had heard some gunshot in the open sea, and he wondered if the ship had at last seen the fire still burning in the coastal area, if it was trying to signal its presence with a gunshot ?

Godfrey listened... it was all an illusion in his overexcited mind.When the day came again, he couldn't help wondering if the steamer that appeared was just a dream that started at three o'clock yesterday afternoon! But impossible!It is quite certain that it was a steamer that came within sight of Fina Island, probably not more than two miles away, and it is equally certain that it did not stop there! Godfrey said nothing to Tatlet about this disappointment.What's the use of saying it?What's more, this superficial soul never thought about the problem, and he didn't even think about the possible opportunity to leave the island after 24 hours.He does not imagine that serious accidents are possible in the future.San Francisco was fading in his memory.He had no fiancée waiting, no Uncle Will he wanted to see again.If, at this point on the earth, he could give a dance class, his wish would be fulfilled—even if he had only one student!

Well, the Professor would be mistaken if he did not think of any immediate danger to his safety on this island free of beasts and aborigines.That was the day his optimism was sorely tested. About four o'clock in the afternoon, Godfrey saw Tattley, as was his custom, go out to gather oysters and mussels on the shore behind the Cape, galloping back to Will Tree.His thinning hair stood up at the temples.He had the look of a runaway who is too frightened to turn his head. "What's the matter?" cried Godfrey, not without worry, as he went to meet his companion. "There...there!..." Tutley replied, pointing to the sea, through the big trees of Will Tree, and to the north, a narrow stretch of sea could be seen.

"But what's that?" Godfrey asked, his first move was to run for the border of the giant sequoias. "A boat!" "A boat?" "Yes! . . . some savages! . . . a whole fleet of savages! . . . some cannibals, probably! . . . " Godfrey has already looked in the direction pointed... It was not at all a flotilla of small boats that the dazed Tatley had spoken of, but he was only mistaken in the number. There was indeed a boat gliding quietly on the sea at this moment, heading half a mile off shore, in order to round the Cape. "Why are these cannibals?" Godfrey turned to the professor.

"Because, on those islands where the Robinsons are," replied Tatley, "sooner or later there will be some cannibals coming!" "Wouldn't it be a boat from a merchant ship?" "From a merchant ship?..." "Yes . . . from a steamer that passed within sight of our island yesterday afternoon?" "And you didn't tell me anything?" cried Tatley, throwing his arms into the air in despair. "What's the use," replied Godfrey, "because I thought the ship must have gone away! But this little boat might be the steamer! We'll see! . . . "

Godfrey hurried back to the Weir tree, fetched the telescope from there, and came back to stand on the edge of the tree. From there he could watch the ship with all his attention, and from there he could certainly see the pennants fluttering in the breeze on the headland. The telescope fell from Godfrey's eye. "Savages! . . . Yes! . . . These are savages!" he cried. Tattlee felt his legs being whipped and his whole body trembled with terror. What Godfrey had just seen was indeed a ship of barbarians, heading for the island.The boat was built like a Polynesian canoe, with fairly large bamboo sails; a balancer protruding out on the port side counteracted the wind's heeling and kept the boat balanced.

Godfrey brilliantly judged the shape of the boat: it was a Malayan boat—which seemed to indicate that Fina Island could not be too far from Malayan waters.But the people who boarded this canoe were by no means Malays!They were blacks, half naked, and there were twelve of them. Therefore, it is very dangerous to be seen by them.Godfrey now regretted raising the signal flag, not being seen by the ship at all, but certainly by the natives on board the Malayan ship.It is too late to tear it down now. Indeed, the situation is very sad.Although it can be seen that these barbarians left the nearby island because they wanted to come to this island, they may think that this island is uninhabited, just like the real situation on the island before the "Dream" crashed.However, the signal flag is there, indicating that there are people on this coast!If they disembarked, how to avoid them then?

Godfrey couldn't make up his mind.In any case, it is of the utmost importance to scout out whether these natives have landed on the island, and then consider it. Holding the glass up to his eyes, he followed the Malayan boat; he saw it round the head of the headland, then around the headland, then down the sea-shore, and, at last, by the mouth of the river. At the bank, the river, two miles upriver, passed Weir Tree. If these aboriginals imagine going up the river because of this, they will be able to reach the group of giant sequoias in a short while, and they will not be able to stop them.

Godfrey and Tatley hurried back to their lodgings.The most important thing is to take some measures so that the shelter will not be discovered and time to prepare resistance.This is what Godfrey alone conceived.As for the professor, his considerations were quite the opposite. "Ah! there is such a thing!" thought he, "it's the number of days! It's fate! There's no escape! Not a single canoe comes near your island, and there aren't some cannibals It is impossible to be a Robinson Crusoe by being there on this or that day! We have only been here three months, and they are already here! Ah! It is obvious that neither Mr. Defoe nor Mr. Weiss will Things get bigger! Be Robinson Crusoe, if that's the case!"

Honestly Tartley, Robinson didn't become, he did, and you don't speak so well when you compare your situation with that of the English and Swiss novelists' heroes. Upon his return to Will Tree, Godfrey took the following precautions.The furnaces burning in the hollows of the giant cedars were extinguished, and the ashes in the furnaces were scattered so as not to leave any trace; The entrances of the coops were blocked with thorns, so that the coops were covered as much as possible; other animals, agouti, euns, goats, were driven out to the pastures, but they could not be kept in a in the barn; all implements and implements were brought into the house, and no trace could be left outside which might show that anyone was there or passed by.Then, after Godfrey and Tutley went back into the Will Tree, the door was tightly shut.The door, made of giant sequoia bark, mingled with the bark of the trunk, might have been able to hide from the eyes of natives who weren't looking very closely.The two windows were also closed, and the rain capes on the windows were closed.Then, after everything in the residence was closed, it was in darkness.

Such a long night!Godfrey and Tatley listened for the slightest sound outside.The snapping of a dead branch, or the sound of a gust of wind, would make them tremble.They thought they heard walking under the trees.They felt as if someone was walking around the Will Tree.Godfrey then climbed to one of the windows, raised the visor of the rain cap a little, and watched anxiously in the dark. Haven't seen anything yet. But Godfrey soon heard footsteps on the ground.This time, it was impossible for his ears to deceive him.He was still watching, but he only saw one of the goats come to seek shelter under a tree. Still, if any of the natives were to discover their lodgings hidden within the sequoia, Godfrey had made up his mind: he would drag Tartley with him into the narrow passage within the sequoia, and he would hide until the highest branches, where he will be able to resist better.With his rifle and revolver, and with the abundance of ammunition, perhaps he could outwit this dozen unarmed savages.If the latter, armed with a bow and arrow, attacks from below, it is impossible to have an advantage against the condescending rifle.If, on the contrary, they had forced their way through the door of the dwelling, and tried to climb the higher branches inside, they would have had difficulty reaching it, for they had to pass through a narrow entrance, which was easily defended by the besieged. Besides, Godfrey said nothing to Tatley about this possibility.The poor man was terrified by the arrival of the Malayan boat.The thought that he might have to hide high in a tree, like an eagle's nest, did not calm him a little.If it had to be done at the last moment, Godfrey would hold him back and not give him time to think. The night was spent in the intertwining of fear and hope.No direct attack occurred.Those savages have not yet advanced to the sequoias.Perhaps they would wait until daylight before venturing across the island. "Maybe they'll do that," said Godfrey, "because our signal flags show them that the island is inhabited! But they're only a dozen of them, and precautions have to be taken! How could they think they were just with two dead What about the people on board? No! They only venture during the day...unless they settle down..." "Unless they re-embark at dawn," replied Tatley. "Get on the boat again? Then why did they come to Fina Island to spend the night?" "I don't know!..." The professor replied, in his horror, he could not explain that these natives came just out of the need to eat human flesh. "Anyway," continued Godfrey, "if the savages don't come to Will Tree tomorrow morning, we'll look for them." "us?……" "Yes! We! . . . It would be most imprudent to separate! Who knows if we shall hide in the woods in the middle, and hide there for a few days . . . until the Malayan boat sails away! No! We will Stay together, Tatley!" "Hush!..." the professor said in a trembling voice, "I seem to hear outside..." Godfrey climbed up the window again, and then came down. "No!" he said, "nothing suspicious yet! It's our cattle going back into the woods." "Driven, possible!" cried Tattley. "On the contrary, they looked very peaceful," Godfrey replied. "I think they just came to find a place to hide from the morning dew." "Ah!" murmured Tattley, in such a pitiful tone that Godfrey would have laughed had it not been for the seriousness of the situation, "that would never have happened to us at the Coedrup Mansion on Montgomery Street. !" "The sun is about to rise," said Godfrey at this moment, "and if the natives haven't shown up yet, we'll leave Weir Tree and we'll go look for the northern part of the island—you know how to use a rifle, Tutley ?” "Use! ... yes! ..." "And shoot in a certain direction?" "I don't know! . . . I've never tried, and you can be sure, Godfrey, that my bullet won't . . . " "Perhaps the sound of the guns alone is enough to frighten those savages!" An hour later, it was bright enough to look beyond the sequoias. Godfrey now successively but cautiously raised the windshields on the two windows again.Through the south-facing window, he saw that everything was as usual.The domestic animals walked up and down under the trees calmly, without showing any panic.After the inspection, Godfrey carefully closed the window.Through the window opening facing north, you can always see the seaside area.It was even visible, about 2 miles away, of the head of the Cape; but not of the mouth of the river, where the savages disembarked the next day. Godfrey didn't use the telescope to look at it first, in order to be able to observe the surrounding area of ​​Will Tree in the direction of Fina Island. Everything is very calm. Now Godfrey took up his glass, and scanned the navigation along the coast, as far as the tip of the Cape Headland.Perhaps, as Tatley said, though this is inexplicable, the savages re-boarded after a night on land without even attempting to see if the island was inhabited.