Chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen

Godfrey immediately lifted the poor wretch, who still groveled before him.He looked at him face to face. The man was at most 35 years old, and only wore a rag around his waist.From the outline of his face and the configuration of his head, he was recognizable as a typical black African.It was impossible to confuse him with those degenerate wretches of the Polynesian islands, with their sunken skulls and long arms, grotesquely resembling monkeys. Now, because of events like a Sultan or an Abyssinian Negro falling into the hands of a native of one of the Pacific Islands, it is impossible to know whether the Negro ever spoke English or two or three that Godfrey could understand. One of the European languages.However, it was soon ascertained that the poor man could only speak a national language which was absolutely incomprehensible,--probably the language of the natives, among whom he had no doubt joined at an early age.

For, Godfrey had immediately questioned him in English: there was no answer.Then, with some difficulty, he gestured to make him understand that he wanted to know his name. After several fruitless attempts, the Negro, who on the whole had a rather intelligent, even honest face, answered his question with the only word: "Carefinodu." "Carefinotou!" cried Tatley, "you hear the name? . . . And I suggest calling him 'Wednesday,' because today is Wednesday, as it always is on the Robinsons' island." Did it! Is he allowed to call himself Karefinodu?"

"If it's his name, the man's name," Godfrey replied, "why doesn't he keep it?" And, just then, he felt a hand pressed to his chest, and at the same time, the whole expression of the Negro seemed to ask what his name was. "Godfrey!" he replied. The Negro tried to repeat the name; but although Godfrey repeated it to him several times, he could not make it clear.So he turned to the professor, as if asking for his name. "Tatley," answered the latter in a melodious tone. "Tatley." Carrefinodu repeated. It must have been a set of syllables that suited the characteristics of the vocal cords of his voice, for he pronounced them so clearly.

The Professor was obviously greatly flattered by this.In fact, he had reason to feel that way. At this time, Godfrey wanted to use the intelligence of the black man to try to make him understand that he wanted to know the name of the island.So he pointed his hand to him all over the woods, the meadows, the hills, then the coast surrounding it all, then the horizon of the sea, and he questioned him with his eyes. Karefinodu didn't understand what was going on for a while, and imitated Godfrey's movements, scanning the entire space with his eyes while turning his body. "Alnaika," he said at last.

"Arnika?" Godfrey went on, tapping his foot on the ground to emphasize his question. "Alnaika!" repeated the Negro. That amounts to saying nothing to Godfrey, neither the geographical name the island should have, nor its location in the Pacific.His memory could never recall the name: it was perhaps a local name that the mapmakers might not have known. At the same time, Karefinodu looked at the two white men in turn, not without fear, as if he wanted to mentally distinguish their different characteristics.His smiling mouth showed the most beautiful white teeth, but Tuttlee watched with a certain reservation.

"If these teeth," said he, "had never bit human flesh, I would have my pocket violin burst in my hand!" "Anyway, Tartley," replied Godfrey, "our new companion doesn't look like the poor wretch he was when he was about to be roasted and eaten! That's all that matters!" What more particularly attracted Carefinotou's attention were the weapons carried by Godfrey and Tadelai—the rifles they held in their hands and the revolvers in their belts. Godfrey easily sensed this curious emotion.Apparently the savage had never seen a firearm.Did he think in his heart that this was a kind of iron pipe that had given him thunder?Believe it or not.

Godfrey, not without reason, wanted him to have a high opinion of the abilities of the white man. He loaded his rifle, and motioned to Carrefinotou to look at a flying mountain on the grassland fifty paces away. Quail, he took aim and shot, and the bird fell. At the sound of the gunshot, the Negro jumped so startlingly that Tatley could not help admiring it from a dance point of view.Controlling his fear, he watched the bird with the broken wing struggling on the prairie, and he ran over, running towards the bird as swiftly as a hound, and then, jumping up and down, half-happy, half-terrified , and bring the bird back to its owner.

Tatley also wanted to show Karefinodu that the great gods also endowed him with terrifying power.So, seeing a kingfisher perched peacefully on an old tree-trunk by the river, he aimed his gun. "No!" said Godfrey immediately. "Don't shoot, Tatley!" "why?" "Think about it! If, by bad luck, you miss the bird, we'll lose our prestige in the Negro's heart!" "Why did I miss it?" Tatley replied, not without bitterness. "Didn't I take out the cannibals the first time I handled a rifle at a distance of 100 paces in that battle?" Did one of the attackers hit the chest?"

"You hit him, that's obvious," said Godfrey, "for he's down, but believe me, Tartley, don't try to get away with it twice for the common good!" The Professor was a little discouraged, but resigned; he shouldered his rifle again, and - bravely - the two of them, followed by Carrefinotou, turned back to the Weir Tree. There, the new visitor to Fina Island was truly amazed to see the underside of the giant sequoia so perfectly arranged.At first, I had to use it in front of him while pointing out to him what those tools, those instruments, and those utensils were for.Carrefinoto must have come from or had lived among those savages who were the most backward in human development, for he did not even know iron.He didn't understand that the pot wouldn't catch fire when it was on hot coals; he tried to take it down, much to the displeasure of Tartley, who was in charge of watching the different stages of the cooking process.He too was stupefied before a mirror shown to him: he turned it around and back again to see if he himself was behind it.

"Hey, it's almost a monkey, the Negro!" cried the Professor, curling his lips contemptuously. "No, Tartley," replied Godfrey, "it's more than a monkey, for he looks behind the mirror,—which proves a deduction from him that no animal can do that!" "Forget it, I hope so too, let's just assume it's not a monkey," Tatley said, shaking his head, with an air of persuasion, "but we'll see if such a guy can do anything Useful to us!" "I'm sure of that," Godfrey replied. In any case, Carrefinotou did not appear embarrassed by the dishes that were served to him.He sniffed them first, he tasted them reluctantly, and, after all, his lunch, agouti soup, the partridge that Godfrey had shot, a leg of lamb, with Karma and Yan Fu, barely able to quell his intense hunger.

"I see the poor wretch has a great appetite!" said Godfrey. "Yes," replied Tatley, "and with that fellow, you'd better watch out for those cannibal instincts!" "Come on, Tatley! We have a way to make him stop eating human flesh, if he ever has the desire!" "I'm not sure," replied the professor, "especially after having tasted human flesh! . . . " While the two were talking in this way, Karefinodu listened to them very attentively, his eyes shining with the brilliance of wisdom.It could be seen that he wanted to understand what was said in his presence, so he spoke too.Talked on and on, but it was just a string of meaningless onomatopoeia, yelling interjections, in which, as in most Polynesian vernaculars, the overwhelming "ah" and "woo" . In short, at any rate, this providentially rescued negro was a new companion; and we considered it a faithful servant, a true slave, of the two guests who were sent to Will Tree's guests by the most unexpected chance.He was strong, dexterous, and industrious; therefore, no work discouraged him.He showed a real talent for imitating the behavior of others, and it was in this way that Godfrey educated him, tended the livestock, gathered roots and fruit, and cut up the eunuch or agouti for the day. He made a cider from the juice of the wild manzanilla fruit, which he carried out carefully after seeing how it was done. Whatever Tatley might think, Godfrey had never distrusted the savage, and it seemed he would never regret it.If he had any concerns, it was the possible return of the cannibals who now knew what was going on at Fina Island. From the first day, a bunk was reserved for Carefinotu inside the Will tree, but often, at least when it was not raining, he preferred to sleep outside, in a hollow in a tree, as if He wanted to do a better job of guarding the residence. In the two weeks since his arrival on the island, Carrefinotou accompanied Godfrey on several hunting trips.He was always amazed to see game so struck and dropped at such a distance, but then he rushed off merrily in the dog's place, and no obstacle, hedge, bramble, or river could stop him.Gradually, Godfrey thus became very seriously attached to the black man.There is only one area in which Carrefinotu appears to have made no progress: the use of English.Try as he might, he couldn't pronounce the most common words that Godfrey, and especially Professor Tackett, were trying to make him learn, obsessed with the task. The hours passed, and yet, despite the fortuitous luck of the day and the absence of any danger imminently threatening them, Godfrey was left to wonder how he would ever get off the island for good, and how he might finally achieve his return. To the motherland!There wasn't a day when he didn't think about his Uncle Will and his fiancée!He could not help but feel a secret dread at the approach of bad weather, which would place an even more insurmountable barrier between him and his friends and his family! On September 27, a situation emerged.Though it added work to Godfrey and his two companions, at least it secured them a plentiful supply of food. Godfrey and Carrefinodu were busy collecting molluscs at the front end of Dream Bay. At this moment, they caught a glimpse of countless small islands being slowly pushed towards the coast by the rising tide under the blowing of the wind.It was like a kind of floating archipelago, and above the archipelago, there were a few of those wide-winged seabirds that you sometimes called sea eagles were walking or flying around. What objects are these, sailing together, heaving in the waves? Godfrey didn't know how to understand, when Carefinodu fell on his belly, then, tucking his head between his shoulders, folded his arms and legs under his body, and began to imitate a kind of slow crawling on the ground. when the animal moves. Godfrey watched him, understanding this strange gymnastics bit by bit.Then, suddenly: "Turtle!" he cried. Carefinodu was not mistaken, and there, on a square mile of water, countless turtles were swimming.100% away from the coastal area, most of them were submerged in the water, and because the eagles lost their support, they flew up in the air, drawing large spiral shapes one by one.However, with great luck, 100 of these amphibians were soon stranded on the shore. Godfrey and the Negro sprinted across the sand to stop the sea-prey, each at least three or four feet in diameter.However, the only way to keep these turtles from returning to the sea is to turn them on their backs.It was, therefore, this laborious task that Godfrey and Carefinoto were busy with the utmost weariness. The next few days were spent picking up all the spoils.Turtle meat, fresh or stored, is excellent and can be preserved in both forms.Considering winter, Godfrey asked to marinate most of the turtle meat so that it could be used for daily needs.For a while, however, certain turtle soups were on the table, and Tattley wasn't the only one enjoying the delicacy. Apart from this incident, the monotony of life remained unchanged.Every day, the same hours are devoted to the same work.Wouldn't this life have been more bleak when winter forced Godfrey and his companions to shut up in the Will Tree?Godfrey thought about this with some apprehension, but what to do? For the time being, he continued to explore Fina Island, and when he had no more urgent work to occupy his time, he devoted all his time to hunting.Often it was Carrefinotou who accompanied him, while Tatley remained at the residence.He was certainly not a hunter, although the first shot from his rifle was first rate! However, it was on one such excursion that an unexpected incident occurred that could seriously jeopardize the safety of Will Tree's guests in the future. Godfrey and the Negro went hunting in the great central forest at the foot of the hills that make up the main ridge of Fina Island.From morning they had only seen two or three antelope running through those tall jolins, but at such a distance there was no chance of shooting them down. However, since Godfrey has no desire to hunt for small game at all, and does not strive to destroy for the sake of destruction, he allows nothing to be found.If he regretted it, it was neither for the antelope meat nor for the hides of these ruminants which he intended to put to good use. It was 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and his partner and he made lunch with firewood.After lunch as before, he was no more lucky.So the two were going back to the Weir Tree for supper, when, just as they were passing the edge of the forest, Carrefinodu jumped up and, running to Godfrey, grabbed him by the shoulders and carried him away, The strength is so great that the latter cannot resist. Twenty steps away, Godfrey stopped, gasping for breath, and turned to Carrefinotou, asking him with his eyes. Stunned, the Negro stretched out his hand and pointed at a motionless animal within fifty paces. It was a grizzly bear, with its paws hugging the trunk of a tree, nodding its huge head from top to bottom, as if it was about to pounce on the two hunters immediately. Immediately, without even having time to think about it, Godfrey loaded his rifle and fired without Karefinotu being able to stop him. Was that foot-moving animal hit?possible.Was it killed?Can't be sure; but its claws let go, and it rolled at the foot of the tree. Without hesitation, a direct fight with such a fearsome animal would have the most deadly consequences.Grizzly attacks have been known to put even professional hunters in the most dire dangers in the California forests. So the Negro grabbed Godfrey's arm to pull him quickly back into the Will Tree.Knowing he had to be cautious, Godfrey let him do it.

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