The Floating Island (42 page)

But the ship laden with all the
marvels of Europe had not yet arrived. Here was a wealth of things with which
they would willingly have dispensed. What need had they of these quasi-regal
magnificences? They mutually gave each other their love
—
what more could they give?

But the families and the friends
and the people of Floating Island desired that this ceremony should be
surrounded with extraordinary brilliancy. And so glasses were obstinately
levelled at the eastern horizon. Jem Tankerdon and Nat Coverley even offered a
handsome prize to whoever first sighted this steamer, whose propeller could
never propel fast enough for the public impatience.

Meanwhile the programme of the
festivities was carefully elaborated. It comprised games, receptions, the
double ceremony at the Protestant temple and the Catholic cathedral, the gala
evening at the town hall, the festival in the park. Calistus Munbar had an eye
for everything, he was everywhere, he was indefatigable, it might even be said
he was ruining his health. What would you have? His temperament drove him
ahead, and you could no more stop him than you could stop an express train.

The cantata was ready. Yvernès,
the poet, and Sebastien Zorn, the musician, proved worthy of each other. This
cantata would be sung by the choral masses of an orpheonic society founded
expressly for the purpose. The effect would be very grand when it was heard in
the square of the observatory, electrically lighted, at the fall of night. Then
would come the appearance of the young couple before the officer of the civil
power, and the religious marriage would be celebrated at midnight amid the
fairy surroundings of Milliard City.

At last the expected ship was
signalled in the offing. It was one of the look-outs at Starboard Harbour who
won the prize, which was worth a respectable number of dollars.

It was nine o’clock in the
morning of the 19th of February when the steamer came into harbour, and the
landing at once began.

Useless to give in detail the
names of the articles, jewels, dresses, objects of art, which composed this
nuptial cargo. Suffice it to know that they were on view in the vast saloons of
the Coverley mansion, and the show was an unprecedented success. The whole
population of Milliard City wanted to inspect these marvels. That numbers of
people extraordinarily rich might obtain such magnificent products at a price
may be true; but we must also take into account the taste and artistic feeling
which had presided at their selection, and that could not be sufficiently
admired. If any one is anxious to see a list of the said articles, he will find
them in the
Starboard Chronicle
and
New Herald
of the 21st and
22nd of February. If they are not satisfied at that, it is because absolute
satisfaction does not exist in this world.

“Fichtre!”  said Yvernès, when he
came away from the saloons in Fifteenth Avenue in company with his three
comrades.

“Fichtre!” said Pinchinat, “appears
to me to be the correct expression. It intimates that you would like to marry
Miss Coverley without her dowry
—
for
herself alone.”

As to the two young people, the
truth is that they took but little notice of this stock of masterpieces of art
and fashion.

After the steamer’s arrival,
Floating Island resumed its westerly course so as to reach the New Hebrides. If
one of the islands was sighted before the 27th, Captain Sarol would be landed
with his companions, and Floating Island would begin its return journey.

The Malay captain was very
familiar with these regions of the Western Pacific, and this made the task of
navigating an easy one. By request of Commodore Simcoe who had secured his
services, he remained on duty at the observatory tower. As soon as the first
heights appeared nothing would be easier than to approach the island of
Erromango, one of the most easterly of the group
—
which
would enable them to avoid the numerous reefs of the New Hebrides.

Was it chance, or was it that
Captain Sarol, desirous of being present at the marriage festivities, took the
Island along so slowly that the first islands were not signalled until the
morning of the 27th of February
—
the
very day fixed for the wedding.

It mattered little, however. The
marriage of Walter Tankerdon and Di Coverley would be none the less happy for
having been celebrated in view of the New Hebrides, and it gave so much
pleasure to these brave Malays
—
and
they made no secret of it
—
who
would be free to take part in the festivities on Floating Island.

Several islets were first sighted
and passed according to the very precise indications of Captain Sarol, and
Floating Island then steered for Erromango, leaving to the south the heights of
Tanna.

In these regions Sebastien Zorn,
Frascolin, Pinchinat, and Yvernès were not far
—
three
hundred miles at the outside
—
from
the French possessions in this part of the Pacific, the Loyalty Islands and New
Caledonia, that penitentiary situated at the antipodes of France.

Erromango is much wooded in the
interior, undulated with many hills, at the foot of which extend wide
cultivable plateaux. Commodore Simcoe stopped within a mile of Cook Bay, on the
eastern coast. It was not prudent to approach nearer, as the coral reefs ran
half a mile out to sea at the water level. The Governor’s intention was not to
remain stationary off this island, nor to stay at any other island in the
Archipelago. After the festivities the Malays would land, and Floating Island
would steer towards the Equator, on the way to Madeleine Bay.

It was one o’clock in the
afternoon when Floating Island remained stationary.

By order of the authorities every
one had a holiday, even the sailors and militiamen, with the exception of the
customs officers on duty along the coast.

Needless to say the weather was
magnificent, and the sea-breeze refreshing. According to the usual expression, “The
sun shone on them.”

“Positively,” said Pinchinat, “this
haughty disc appears to be at the orders of the shareholders! They will ask
him, as Joshua did, to make the day longer, and he will obey them! O power of
gold!”

We need not enlarge on the
different items of the sensational programme that had been drawn up by the
superintendent. At three o’clock all the inhabitants, those of the country as
well as those of the town and the forts, flocked into the park along the banks
of the Serpentine. The notables mixed familiarly with the populace. The sports
were carried on with an enthusiasm which might perhaps be accounted for by the
value of the prizes. Dances were organized in the open air. The most brilliant
was given in one of the large halls of the casino, in which the young people
danced with much grace and animation. Yvernès and Pinchinat took part in these
dances, and yielded to none in their duties as partners to the prettiest of the
Milliardites. Never had his Highness been so amiable, never had he shown so
much wit, never had he such a success. All the Tankerdons and Coverleys were
there, and the graceful sisters of the bride seemed to be very happy at her
happiness. Miss Coverley walked about on Walter’s arm, in which there was
nothing strange considering that they were citizens by birth of free America.
They were applauded, they were offered flowers, compliments were bestowed on
them, which they received with perfect affability.

And during the hours that
followed refreshments were served in profusion, so that nothing should
interfere with the people’s good humour.

When night came, the park was
resplendent with the electric fires that the aluminium moons poured down in
torrents. The sun had wisely disappeared below the horizon. Would he not have
been humiliated by these artificial effluences which made the night as bright
as the day!

The cantata was sung between nine
and ten o’clock, with such success as neither poet nor musician had ever hoped
for. Perhaps, at this moment, the violoncellist felt inclined to withdraw his
unjust prejudices against the Pearl of the Pacific.

Eleven o’clock struck, and a long
procession advanced towards the town hall. Walter Tankerdon and Miss Coverley
were walking in the midst of their relatives. The whole population accompanied
them along First Avenue.

Governor Cyrus Bikerstaff was
waiting in the grand saloon of the town hall. The finest of all the marriages
it had been given him to celebrate during his administrative career, was about
to be accomplished.

Suddenly shouts were heard
towards the outer quarter of the Larboard section.

The procession stopped in the
middle of the avenue.

Almost immediately with these
shouts, which increased, detonations were heard.

A moment afterwards some customs
officers
—
many
of them wounded
—
ran
into the square opposite the town hall.

Anxiety was at its height.
Through the crowd ran that unreasoning fear which precedes an unknown danger.

Cyrus Bikerstaff appeared on the
steps of the town hall, followed by Commodore Simcoe, Colonel Stewart, and the
notables, who had just joined them.

To the questions put to them, the
customs officers replied that Floating Island had just been invaded by a band
of New Hebrideans
—
three
or four thousand of them
—
and
that Captain Sarol was at their head.

SUCH was the outbreak of the
abominable conspiracy prepared by Captain Sarol with the concurrence of the
Malays rescued with him by Floating Island, the New Hebrideans embarked at
Samoa, and the natives of Erromango and the neighbouring islands. What would it
end in? No one could say, considering the conditions under which this sudden
and terrible attack was made.

The New Hebridean group comprises
at least a hundred and fifty islands, which, under the protection of England,
forms a geographical dependency of Australia. Nevertheless, here, as at the
Solomon Islands, situated in the north-west of the same regions, this question
of protectorate is an apple of discord between France and the United Kingdom.
And again, the United States do not look favourably on the establishment of
European colonies in an ocean of which they dream of claiming the exclusive enjoyment.

The population of the New
Hebrides is composed of negroes and Malays of Kanaka origin. But the character
of these natives, their temperament, their instincts, differ according as they
belong to the northern or southern islands
—
which
permits of the archipelago being divided into two groups.

In the northern group at Santo
Island at Saint Philip Bay, the natives are of a higher type, their colour not
so dark and their hair not so woolly. The men, short and strong, gentle and
peaceful, rarely attack the business establishments or European ships. The same
may be said regarding Vaté or Sandwich Island, in which most of the villages
are flourishing, among others, Port Vila, the capital of the archipelago
—
which also bears
the name of Franceville
—
where
our colonists avail themselves of the riches of an admirable soil, luxuriant
pasturages, fields adapted for cultivation, land suitable for plantation of
coffee, bananas, cocoanuts, and the lucrative industry of coprah-making. In
this group the customs of the natives have completely changed since the arrival
of the Europeans. Their moral and intellectual level has been raised. Thanks to
the efforts of the missionaries, the scenes of cannibalism, so frequent
formerly, have ceased to exist. Unfortunately the Kanaka race is disappearing,
and it is only too evident that it will finish by becoming extinct, to the
detriment of this northern group, in which it has been transformed by the
contact of European civilization.

But these regrets would be
misplaced with regard to the southern islands of the archipelago. And it was
not without reason that Captain Sarol had chosen this group for his criminal
attempt on Floating Island. On these islands the natives remain veritable
Papuans, and may be relegated to the lowest scale of humanity, at Tanna as at
Erromango. Concerning this last, an old sandal-wood dealer remarked to Doctor
Hayers, “If this island could speak, it would tell things that would make the
hair stand on your head.”

In fact, the race of these
Kanakas of inferior origin has not been improved by Polynesian blood, as in the
northern islands. At Erromango, of ten thousand five hundred inhabitants, the
English missionaries, five of whom have been massacred since 1839, have
converted only half. The other half remains Pagan. Besides, converted or not,
they all still represent those savage natives, who deserve their evil
reputation, although they are of shorter stature and less robust constitution
than those of Santo Island and Sandwich Island. And hence the serious dangers
against which it is necessary to warn tourists venturing into the southerly
group.

We may mention a few examples.
Fifty years ago the brig
Aurore
was piratically attacked, and there were
severe repressive measures in consequence on the part of France. In 1869 the
missionary Gordon was killed by tomahawks. In 1875 the crew of an English ship
was treacherously attacked and massacred, and then eaten by cannibals. In 1894,
in the neighbouring Louisiade Archipelago, at Rossel Island, a French merchant
and his workmen, and the captain of a Chinese ship and his crew, perished under
the blows of cannibals. Finally the English cruiser
Royalist
was forced
to undertake a campaign to punish these savage people for having massacred a
great number of Europeans. And as Pinchinat was being told this story, he, who
had recently escaped from the terrible molars of the Fijians, forbore to shrug
his shoulders.