The Boats of the Glen Carrig (7 page)

And presently the dawn was upon us.

It was as we were all discussing the matter of the devil face that had
peered up at me out of the water, that Job, the ordinary seaman,
discovered the island in the light of the growing dawn, and, seeing it,
sprang to his feet, with so loud a cry that we were like for the moment
to have thought he had seen a second demon. Yet when we made discovery of
that which he had already perceived, we checked our blame at his sudden
shout; for the sight of land, after so much desolation, made us very warm
in our hearts.

Now at first the island seemed but a very small matter; for we did not
know at that time that we viewed it from its end; yet despite this, we
took to our oars and rowed with all haste towards it, and so, coming
nearer, were able to see that it had a greater size than we had imagined.
Presently, having cleared the end of it, and keeping to that side which
was further from the great mass of the weed-continent, we opened out a
bay that curved inward to a sandy beach, most seductive to our tired
eyes. Here, for the space of a minute, we paused to survey the prospect,
and I saw that the island was of a very strange shape, having a great
hump of black rock at either end, and dipping down into a steep valley
between them. In this valley there seemed to be a deal of a strange
vegetation that had the appearance of mighty toadstools; and down nearer
the beach there was a thick grove of a kind of very tall reed, and these
we discovered afterwards to be exceeding tough and light, having
something of the qualities of the bamboo.

Regarding the beach, it might have been most reasonably supposed that it
would be very thick with the driftweed; but this was not so, at least,
not at that time; though a projecting horn of the black rock which ran
out into the sea from the upper end of the island, was thick with it.

And now, the bo'sun having assured himself that there was no appearance
of any danger, we bent to our oars, and presently had the boat aground
upon the beach, and here, finding it convenient, we made our breakfast.
During this meal, the bo'sun discussed with us the most proper thing to
do, and it was decided to push the boat off from the shore, leaving Job
in her, whilst the remainder of us made some exploration of the island.

And so, having made an end of eating, we proceeded as we had
determined, leaving Job in the boat, ready to scull ashore for us if we
were pursued by any savage creature, while the rest of us made our way
towards the nearer hump, from which, as it stood some hundred feet
above the sea, we hoped to get a very good idea of the remainder of the
island. First, however, the bo'sun handed out to us the two cutlasses
and the cut-and-thrust (the other two cutlasses being in Josh's boat),
and, taking one himself, he passed me the cut-and-thrust, and gave the
other cutlass to the biggest of the men. Then he bade the others keep
their sheath knives handy, and was proceeding to lead the way, when one
of them called out to us to wait a moment, and, with that, ran quickly
to the clump of reeds. Here, he took one with both his hands and bent
upon it; but it would not break, so that he had to notch it about with
his knife, and thus, in a little, he had it clear. After this, he cut
off the upper part, which was too thin and lissome for his purpose, and
then thrust the handle of his knife into the end of the portion which
he had retained, and in this wise he had a most serviceable lance or
spear. For the reeds were very strong, and hollow after the fashion of
bamboo, and when he had bound some yarn about the end into which he had
thrust his knife, so as to prevent it splitting, it was a fit enough
weapon for any man.

Now the bo'sun, perceiving the happiness of the fellow's idea, bade the
rest make to themselves similar weapons, and whilst they were busy thus,
he commended the man very warmly. And so, in a little, being now most
comfortably armed, we made inland towards the nearer black hill, in very
good spirits. Presently, we were come to the rock which formed the hill,
and found that it came up out of the sand with great abruptness, so that
we could not climb it on the seaward side. At that, the bo'sun led us
round a space towards that side where lay the valley, and here there was
under-foot neither sand nor rock; but ground of strange and spongy
texture, and then suddenly, rounding a jutting spur of the rock, we came
upon the first of the vegetation—an incredible mushroom; nay, I should
say toadstool; for it had no healthy look about it, and gave out a heavy,
mouldy odor. And now we perceived that the valley was filled with them,
all, that is, save a great circular patch where nothing appeared to be
growing; though we were not yet at a sufficient height to ascertain the
reason of this.

Presently, we came to a place where the rock was split by a great fissure
running up to the top, and showing many ledges and convenient shelves
upon which we might obtain hold and footing. And so we set-to about
climbing, helping one another so far as we had ability, until, in about
the space of some ten minutes, we reached the top, and from thence had a
very fine view. We perceived now that there was a beach upon that side of
the island which was opposed to the weed; though, unlike that upon which
we had landed, it was greatly choked with weed which had drifted ashore.
After that, I gave notice to see what space of water lay between the
island and the edge of the great weed-continent, and guessed it to be no
more than maybe some ninety yards, at which I fell to wishing that it had
been greater, for I was grown much in awe of the weed and the strange
things which I conceived it to contain.

Abruptly, the bo'sun clapped me upon the shoulder, and pointed to some
object that lay out in the weed at a distance of not much less than the
half of a mile from where we stood. Now, at first, I could not conceive
what manner of thing it was at which I stared, until the bo'sun,
remarking my bewilderment, informed me that it was a vessel all covered
in, no doubt as a protection against the devil-fish and other strange
creatures in the weed. And now I began to trace the hull of her amid all
that hideous growth; but of her masts, I could discern nothing; and I
doubted not but that they had been carried away by some storm ere she was
caught by the weed; and then the thought came to me of the end of those
who had built up that protection against the horrors which the weed-world
held hidden amid its slime.

Presently, I turned my gaze once more upon the island, which was very
plain to see from where we stood. I conceived, now that I could see so
much of it, that its length would be near to half a mile, though its
breadth was something under four hundred yards; thus it was very long in
proportion to its width. In the middle part it had less breadth than at
the ends, being perhaps three hundred yards at its narrowest, and a
hundred yards wider at its broadest.

Upon both sides of the island, as I have made already a mention, there
was a beach, though this extended no great distance along the shore, the
remainder being composed of the black rock of which the hills were
formed. And now, having a closer regard to the beach upon the weed-side
of the island, I discovered amid the wrack that had been cast ashore, a
portion of the lower mast and topmast of some great ship, with rigging
attached; but the yards were all gone. This find, I pointed out to the
bo'sun, remarking that it might prove of use for firing; but he smiled at
me, telling me that the dried weed would make a very abundant fire, and
this without going to the labor of cutting the mast into suitable logs.

And now, he, in turn, called my attention to the place where the huge
fungi had come to a stop in their growing, and I saw that in the center
of the valley there was a great circular opening in the earth, like to
the mouth of a prodigious pit, and it appeared to be filled to within a
few feet of the mouth with water, over which spread a brown and horrid
scum. Now, as may be supposed, I stared with some intentness at this; for
it had the look of having been made with labor, being very symmetrical,
yet I could not conceive but that I was deluded by the distance, and that
it would have a rougher appearance when viewed from a nearer standpoint.

From contemplating this, I looked down upon the little bay in which our
boat floated. Job was sitting in the stern, sculling gently with the
steering oar and watching us. At that, I waved my hand to him in
friendly fashion, and he waved back, and then, even as I looked, I saw
something in the water under the boat—something dark colored that was
all of a-move. The boat appeared to be floating over it as over a mass
of sunk weed, and then I saw that, whatever it was, it was rising to the
surface. At this a sudden horror came over me, and I clutched the bo'sun
by the arm, and pointed, crying out that there was something under the
boat. Now the bo'sun, so soon as he saw the thing, ran forward to the
brow of the hill and, placing his hands to his mouth after the fashion
of a trumpet, sang out to the boy to bring the boat to the shore and
make fast the painter to a large piece of rock. At the bo'sun's hail,
the lad called out "I, I," and, standing up, gave a sweep with his oar
that brought the boat's head round towards the beach. Fortunately for
him he was no more than some thirty yards from the shore at this time,
else he had never come to it in this life; for the next moment the
moving brown mass beneath the boat shot out a great tentacle and the oar
was torn out of Job's hands with such power as to throw him right over
on to the starboard gunnel of the boat. The oar itself was drawn down
out of sight, and for the minute the boat was left untouched. Now the
bo'sun cried out to the boy to take another oar, and get ashore while
still he had chance, and at that we all called out various things, one
advising one thing, and another recommending some other; yet our advice
was vain, for the boy moved not, at which some cried out that he was
stunned. I looked now to where the brown thing had been, for the boat
had moved a few fathoms from the spot, having got some way upon her
before the oar was snatched, and thus I discovered that the monster had
disappeared, having, I conceived, sunk again into the depths from which
it had risen; yet it might re-appear at any moment, and in that case the
boy would be taken before our eyes.

At this juncture, the bo'sun called to us to follow him, and led the way
to the great fissure up which we had climbed, and so, in a minute, we
were, each of us, scrambling down with what haste we could make towards
the valley. And all the while as I dropped from ledge to ledge, I was
full of torment to know whether the monster had returned.

The bo'sun was the first man to reach the bottom of the cleft, and he set
off immediately round the base of the rock to the beach, the rest of us
following him as we made safe our footing in the valley. I was the third
man down; but, being light and fleet of foot, I passed the second man and
caught up with the bo'sun just as he came upon the sand. Here, I found
that the boat was within some five fathoms of the beach, and I could see
Job still lying insensible; but of the monster there was no sign.

And so matters were, the boat nearly a dozen yards from the shore, and
Job lying insensible in her; with, somewhere near under her keel (for all
that we knew) a great monster, and we helpless upon the beach.

Now I could not imagine how to save the lad, and indeed I fear he had
been left to destruction—for I had deemed it madness to try to reach the
boat by swimming—but for the extraordinary bravery of the bo'sun, who,
without hesitating, dashed into the water and swam boldly out to the
boat, which, by the grace of God, he reached without mishap, and climbed
in over the bows. Immediately, he took the painter and hove it to us,
bidding us tail on to it and bring the boat to shore without delay, and
by this method of gaining the beach he showed wisdom; for in this wise he
escaped attracting the attention of the monster by unneedful stirring of
the water, as he would surely have done had he made use of an oar.

Yet, despite his care, we had not finished with the creature; for, just
as the boat grounded, I saw the lost steering oar shoot up half its
length out of the sea, and immediately there was a mighty splather in the
water astern, and the next instant the air seemed full of huge, whirling
arms. At that, the bo'sun gave one look behind, and, seeing the thing
upon him, snatched the boy into his arms, and sprang over the bows on to
the sand. Now, at sight of the devil-fish, we had all made for the back
of the beach at a run, none troubling even to retain the painter, and
because of this, we were like to have lost the boat; for the great
cuttlefish had its arms all splayed about it, seeming to have a mind to
drag it down into the deep water from whence it had risen, and it had
possibly succeeded, but that the bo'sun brought us all to our senses;
for, having laid Job out of harm's way, he was the first to seize the
painter, which lay trailed upon the sand, and, at that, we got back our
courage and ran to assist him.

Now there happened to be convenient a great spike of rock, the same,
indeed, to which the bo'sun had bidden Job tie the boat, and to this we
ran the painter, taking a couple of turns about it and two half-hitches,
and now, unless the rope carried away, we had no reason to fear the loss
of the boat; though there seemed to us to be a danger of the creature's
crushing it. Because of this, and because of a feeling of natural anger
against the thing, the bo'sun took up from the sand one of the spears
which had been cast down when we hauled the boat ashore. With this, he
went down so far as seemed safe, and prodded the creature in one of its
tentacles—the weapon entering easily, at which I was surprised, for I
had understood that these monsters were near to invulnerable in all parts
save their eyes. At receiving this stab, the great fish appeared to feel
no hurt for it showed no signs of pain, and, at that, the bo'sun was
further emboldened to go nearer, so that he might deliver a more deadly
wound; yet scarce had he taken two steps before the hideous thing was
upon him, and, but for an agility wonderful in so great a man, he had
been destroyed. Yet, spite of so narrow an escape from death, he was not
the less determined to wound or destroy the creature, and, to this end,
he dispatched some of us to the grove of reeds to get half a dozen of the
strongest, and when we returned with these, he bade two of the men lash
their spears securely to them, and by this means they had now spears of a
length of between thirty and forty feet. With these, it was possible to
attack the devilfish without coming within reach of its tentacles. And
now being ready, he took one of the spears, telling the biggest of the
men to take the other. Then he directed him to aim for the right eye of
the huge fish whilst he would attack the left.