Part 22

There, the bed measured a width of eighty feet, which was difficult to cross, but Pencroff had taken it upon himself to overcome this difficulty, and he was now called upon to do so.

It must be admitted, the colonists were exhausted.

The stage had been long, and the incident of the balloon had done nothing to rest their legs and arms. They were therefore eager to be back at Granite House for supper and sleep, and if the bridge had been built, in a quarter of an hour they would have been home.

The night was very dark. Pencroff then prepared to keep his promise, by making a sort of raft that would allow them to effect the crossing of the Mercy. He and Nab, armed with axes, chose two trees near the bank, from which they meant to make a kind of raft, and they began to attack them at the base.

Cyrus Smith and Gideon Spilett, seated on the shore, waited until the moment came to help their companions, while Harbert went back and forth, without straying too far.

Suddenly, the young boy, who had gone up the river, returned precipitately, and, pointing to the Mercy upstream:

"What is that drifting there?" he cried.

Pencroff interrupted his work, and he caught sight of a moving object that appeared confusedly in the shadow.

"A boat!" said he.

All drew near and saw, to their extreme surprise, a craft following the current of the water.

"Oh! boat ahoy!" shouted the sailor from a remnant of professional habit, without thinking that it might have been better to keep silent.

No answer. The craft kept drifting, and it was no more than about ten paces off, when the sailor cried:

"Why, it's our pirogue! She's broken her mooring and followed the current! One must admit she arrives opportunely!

"Our pirogue?..." murmured the engineer.

Pencroff was right. It was indeed the boat, whose mooring had broken, no doubt, and which was returning all alone from the sources of the Mercy! It was therefore important to seize it in passing before it was carried away by the rapid current of the river, beyond its mouth, and this is what Nab and Pencroff did adroitly by means of a long pole.

The boat came alongside the bank. The engineer, embarking in it first, took the mooring and assured himself by touch that this mooring had indeed been worn by its rubbing against rocks.

"There," the reporter said to him in a low voice, "there is what one might call a circumstance...

"Strange!" replied Cyrus Smith.

Strange or not, it was fortunate! Harbert, the reporter, Nab and Pencroff embarked in their turn. They did not doubt that the mooring had worn through; but the most astonishing thing in the affair was truly that the pirogue had arrived just at the moment when the colonists were there to seize it in passing, for, a quarter of an hour later, it would have been lost at sea.

If one had been in the time of genies, this incident would have given the right to think that the island was haunted by a supernatural being who put his power at the service of the castaways! In a few strokes of the oar, the colonists arrived at the mouth of the Mercy. The boat was hauled up on the strand near the Chimneys, and all directed themselves toward the ladder of Granite House.

But, at that moment, Top barked angrily, and Nab, who was feeling for the first rung, uttered a cry... there was no longer any ladder.

CHAPTER VI

Cyrus Smith had stopped, without saying a word. His companions searched in the darkness, as well on the walls of the cliff, in case the wind had displaced the ladder, as close to the ground, in case it had come loose... but the ladder had absolutely disappeared. As for recognizing whether a gust had raised it to the first landing, midway up the wall, that was impossible in this deep night.

"If this is a joke," cried Pencroff, "it is a bad one! To arrive home, and no longer find a staircase to go up to one's room, that is not the sort of thing to make tired men laugh!

Nab, for his part, was lost in exclamations!

"There hasn't been any wind, though!" observed Harbert.

"I am beginning to find that strange things are happening on Lincoln Island!" said Pencroff.

"Strange?" replied Gideon Spilett, "but no, Pencroff, nothing is more natural. Someone has come during our absence, taken possession of the dwelling, and withdrawn the ladder!

"Someone!" cried the sailor. "And who, then?...

"Why, the hunter with the lead pellet, of course," answered the reporter. "What else would he be for, if not to explain our mishap?

"Well, if there's someone up there," replied Pencroff, swearing, for impatience was beginning to get the better of him, "I'm going to hail him, and he'll have to answer."

And in a voice of thunder, the sailor made himself heard with a prolonged "ahoy!" which the echoes repeated forcefully.

The colonists lent an ear, and they thought they heard, at the height of Granite House, a sort of snickering whose origin they could not make out.

But no voice answered Pencroff's voice, who uselessly began again his vigorous call.

There was, truly, enough there to stupefy the most indifferent men in the world, and the colonists could not be those indifferent ones. In the situation in which they found themselves, every incident had its gravity, and certainly, in the seven months they had inhabited the island, none had presented itself with a character so surprising.

Be that as it may, forgetting their fatigue and dominated by the strangeness of the event, they were at the foot of Granite House, not knowing what to think, not knowing what to do, questioning one another without being able to answer, multiplying hypotheses all more inadmissible than the others. Nab lamented, very disappointed at not being able to get back into his kitchen, all the more because the travel provisions were exhausted and he had no means of renewing them at that moment.

"My friends," said Cyrus Smith then, "we have but one thing to do, wait for daylight, and act then according to circumstances. But to wait, let us go to the Chimneys. There, we shall be sheltered, and, if we cannot sup, at least we shall be able to sleep.

"But who is the intruder who played us this trick?" asked Pencroff once more, incapable of reconciling himself to the adventure.

Whoever the "intruder" might be, the only thing to do was, as the engineer had said, to regain the Chimneys and await the day there. However, orders were given to Top to remain beneath the windows of Granite House, and when Top received an order, Top executed it without remark. The brave dog therefore remained at the foot of the wall, while his master and companions took refuge in the rocks. To say that the colonists, despite their weariness, slept well on the sand of the Chimneys, would be to alter the truth. Not only could they but be very anxious to ascertain the importance of this new incident, whether it was the result of a chance whose natural causes would appear to them by day, or, on the contrary, whether it was the work of a human being, but moreover they were very poorly bedded. Be that as it may, in one way or another, their dwelling was occupied at that moment, and they could not re-enter it.

Now, Granite House was more than their dwelling, it was their storehouse. There was all the material of the colony, weapons, instruments, tools, ammunition, food reserves, etc. That all this should be pillaged, and the colonists would have to begin their fitting-out anew, to remake weapons and tools. A grave matter! Accordingly, yielding to uneasiness, one or another would go out, at every instant, to see if Top kept good watch. Alone, Cyrus Smith waited with his habitual patience, although his tenacious reason exasperated itself at feeling face to face with a fact absolutely inexplicable, and he was indignant on thinking that around him, above him perhaps, there was exercised an influence to which he could give no name. Gideon Spilett entirely shared his opinion in this regard, and the two of them spoke several times, but in a low voice, of the inexplicable circumstances which put their perspicacity and their experience to fault. There was, to be sure, a mystery on this island, and how to penetrate it? Harbert, for his part, knew not what to imagine and would have liked to question Cyrus Smith.

As for Nab, he had ended by telling himself that all this did not concern him, that it concerned his master, and, had he not feared to displease his companions, the brave negro would have slept that night just as conscientiously as if he had rested on his cot at Granite House! Finally, more than all the others, Pencroff was in a rage, and he was, in good faith, very angry.

"It's a prank," said he, "it's a prank that's been played on us! Well, I don't like pranks, I, and woe to the prankster, if he falls into my hands!"

As soon as the first gleams of day rose in the east, the colonists, suitably armed, made their way to the shore, at the edge of the reefs.

Granite House, struck directly by the rising sun, could not be long in lighting up with the lights of dawn, and indeed, before five o'clock, the windows, whose shutters were closed, appeared through their leafy curtains. On that side, all was in order, but a cry escaped the breasts of the colonists, when they caught sight of the door, which they had nevertheless closed before their departure, standing wide open. Someone had introduced himself into Granite House. There was no longer any room to doubt it.

The upper ladder, ordinarily stretched from the landing to the door, was in its place; but the lower ladder had been withdrawn and pulled up to the threshold. It was more than evident that the intruders had wished to put themselves beyond any surprise.

As for recognizing their species and their number, that was not yet possible, since none of them showed himself.

Pencroff hailed again.

No answer.

"The scoundrels!" cried the sailor. "Look at them sleeping quietly, as if they were at home! Ahoy! Pirates, bandits, corsairs, sons of John Bull!"

When Pencroff, in his capacity as American, had called someone a "son of John Bull," he had risen to the ultimate limits of insult.

At that moment, day broke completely, and the facade of Granite House was illuminated under the rays of the sun. But, within as without, all was mute and calm.

The colonists were asking themselves if Granite House was occupied or not, and yet, the position of the ladder demonstrated it sufficiently, and it was even certain that the occupants, whoever they might be, could not have fled! But how to reach them?

Harbert then had the idea of attaching a cord to an arrow, and of launching this arrow in such a way that it passed between the first rungs of the ladder, which hung down at the door threshold. One could then, by means of the cord, unroll the ladder to the ground and re-establish communication between the soil and Granite House.

There was evidently nothing else to do, and, with a little skill, the means must succeed.

Very fortunately, bows and arrows had been deposited in a corridor of the Chimneys, where were also found some twenty fathoms of a light hibiscus cord. Pencroff unrolled this cord, to the end of which he fixed a well-feathered arrow. Then, Harbert, after having placed the arrow on his bow, aimed with extreme care at the hanging end of the ladder.

Cyrus Smith, Gideon Spilett, Pencroff and Nab had withdrawn to the rear, so as to observe what would happen at the windows of Granite House. The reporter, carbine on shoulder, covered the door.

The bow sprang, the arrow whistled, dragging the cord, and passed between the two last rungs.

The operation had succeeded. Immediately, Harbert seized the end of the cord; but, at the moment when he gave a jerk to make the ladder fall, an arm, passing quickly between the wall and the door, seized it and drew it back inside Granite House.

"Triple scoundrel!" cried the sailor. "If a bullet can make you happy, you won't wait long!"

"But who is it, then?" asked Nab.

"Who? You didn't recognize?...

"No.

"Why, it's a monkey, a macaque, a sapajou, a guenon, an orang, a baboon, a gorilla, a sagouin! Our dwelling has been invaded by monkeys, who climbed up by the ladder during our absence!"

And, at that moment, as if to justify the sailor, three or four quadrumanes showed themselves at the windows, whose shutters they had pushed back, and saluted the true owners of the place with a thousand contortions and grimaces.

"I knew well it was only a prank!" cried Pencroff, "but here is one of the pranksters who will pay for the others!"

The sailor, shouldering his rifle, rapidly aimed at one of the monkeys, and fired. All disappeared, except one of them, who, mortally struck, was precipitated onto the strand.

This monkey, of tall stature, belonged to the first order of quadrumanes, one could not be mistaken. Whether it was a chimpanzee, an orang, a gorilla or a gibbon, it ranked among those anthropomorphs, so named because of their resemblance to individuals of the human race. Besides, Harbert declared that it was an orang-utan, and it is known that the young boy was knowledgeable in zoology.

"The magnificent beast!" cried Nab.

"Magnificent, as much as you like!" answered Pencroff, "but I don't yet see how we shall get back into our home!"

"Harbert is a good shot," said the reporter, "and his bow is there! Let him begin again...

"Bah! Those monkeys are cunning!" cried Pencroff, "and they won't put themselves at the windows again, and we shan't be able to kill them, and when I think of the damage they can do in the rooms, in the storehouse...

"Patience," replied Cyrus Smith. "These animals cannot hold us in check long!"

"I shan't be sure of it until they're on the ground," answered the sailor. "And first, do you know, Mr. Smith, how many dozens of those pranksters there are up there?"

It would have been difficult to answer Pencroff, and as for beginning again the attempt of the young boy, that was not easy, for the lower end of the ladder had been drawn back inside the door, and, when they hauled again on the cord, the cord broke and the ladder did not fall.

The case was truly embarrassing. Pencroff raged. The situation had a certain comic side, which he, for his part, found not at all funny.

It was evident that the colonists would end by re-entering their home and driving out the intruders, but when and how? That is what they could not have said. Two hours passed, during which the monkeys avoided showing themselves; but they were still there, and three or four times, a snout or a paw slipped through the door or windows, which were greeted with gunshots.

"Let us hide," said the engineer then. "Perhaps the monkeys will think us gone and show themselves again. But let Spilett and Harbert ambush behind the rocks, and fire on all that appears."

The engineer's orders were executed, and, while the reporter and the young boy, the two most skillful shots of the colony, posted themselves within good range, but out of sight of the monkeys, Nab, Pencroff and Cyrus Smith climbed the plateau and made for the forest to kill some game, for the hour of breakfast had come, and, in the way of food, there was nothing left. At the end of half an hour, the hunters returned with some rock pigeons, which were roasted as best they could. Not a monkey had reappeared.

Gideon Spilett and Harbert went to take their share of the breakfast, while Top kept watch under the windows. Then, after eating, they returned to their post. Two hours later, the situation had still in no way changed. The quadrumanes no longer gave any sign of existence, and it was to be believed that they had disappeared; but what seemed most probable was that, frightened by the death of one of them, terrified by the detonations of the weapons, they kept quiet at the back of the rooms of Granite House, or even in the storehouse. And when one thought of the riches that this storehouse contained, the patience, so recommended by the engineer, ended by degenerating into violent irritation, and, frankly, there was cause for it.

"Decidedly, this is too stupid," said the reporter at last, "and there is really no reason why this should go on!"

"Yet those rascals must be made to clear out!" cried Pencroff. "We should get the better of them, even if they were a score, but, for that, we must fight them hand to hand! Come now! Is there not a means of reaching them?"

"Yes," replied the engineer then, an idea having just crossed his mind.

"One?" said Pencroff. "Well, it's a good one, since there are no others! And what is it?"

"Let us try to go down again into Granite House by the old outflow of the lake," answered the engineer.

"Ah! A thousand and a thousand devils!" cried the sailor. "And I didn't think of that!"

It was, in fact, the only means of penetrating into Granite House, in order to fight the band there and expel it. The orifice of the outflow was, it is true, closed by a wall of cemented stones, which it would be necessary to sacrifice, but one would be quit for rebuilding it. Happily, Cyrus Smith had not yet carried out his project of concealing this orifice by submerging it under the waters of the lake, for then the operation would have demanded a certain time.

It was already past noon, when the colonists, well armed and provided with picks and mattocks, left the Chimneys, passed under the windows of Granite House, after having ordered Top to remain at his post, and disposed themselves to go up the left bank of the Mercy, in order to gain the plateau of Grand View.

But they had not gone fifty paces in that direction, when they heard the furious barking of the dog. It was like a desperate call.

They stopped.

"Let us run!" said Pencroff.

And all to descend the bank at full speed.

Arrived at the turn, they saw that the situation had changed. Indeed, the monkeys, seized with a sudden fright, provoked by some unknown cause, sought to flee. Two or three ran and jumped from one window to another with the agility of clowns. They did not even seek to replace the ladder, by which it would have been easy for them to descend, and, in their terror, perhaps they had forgotten that means of clearing out. Soon, five or six were in position to be shot, and the colonists, aiming at their ease, fired. Some, wounded or killed, fell back inside the rooms, uttering shrill cries. The others, precipitated outside, broke in their fall, and, a few instants later, one could suppose that there was no longer a living quadrumane in Granite House.

"Hurrah!" cried Pencroff, "hurrah! Hurrah!"

"Not so many hurrahs!" said Gideon Spilett.

"Why? They are all killed," answered the sailor.

"Granted, but that does not give us the means of getting back into our home.

"Let us go to the outflow!" replied Pencroff.

"Doubtless," said the engineer. "However, it would have been preferable..."

At that moment, and as a reply made to the observation of Cyrus Smith, the ladder was seen to slide on the threshold of the door, then unroll and fall back to the ground.

"Ah! A thousand pipes! That is too much!" cried the sailor, looking at Cyrus Smith.

"Too much!" murmured the engineer, who dashed first onto the ladder.

"Take care, Mr. Cyrus!" cried Pencroff, "if there are still some of those sagouins..."

"We shall see," replied the engineer without stopping.

All his companions followed him, and, in a minute, they had arrived at the threshold of the door.

They searched everywhere. Nobody in the rooms, nor in the storehouse, which had been respected by the band of quadrumanes.

"Halloa, and the ladder?" cried the sailor. "Who then is the gentleman who sent it back to us?"

But, at that moment, a cry was heard, and a large monkey, who had taken refuge in the corridor, precipitated himself into the room, pursued by Nab.

"Ah! The bandit!" cried Pencroff.

And hatchet in hand, he was about to split the animal's head, when Cyrus Smith stopped him and said to him:

"Spare him, Pencroff.

"That I should show mercy to this blackamoor?"

"Yes! It is he who threw us the ladder!"

And the engineer said that in so singular a voice, that it would have been difficult to know if he spoke seriously or not.

Nevertheless, they threw themselves on the monkey, who, after defending himself valiantly, was overthrown and bound.

"Ouf!" cried Pencroff. "And what shall we do with him now?"

"A servant!" answered Harbert.

And in speaking thus, the young boy was not altogether joking, for he knew the use one can make of this intelligent race of quadrumanes.

The colonists then approached the monkey and considered him attentively. He belonged indeed to that species of anthropomorphs whose facial angle is not sensibly inferior to that of the Australians and the Hottentots. It was an orang, and who, as such, had neither the ferocity of the baboon, nor the thoughtlessness of the macaque, nor the dirtiness of the sagouin, nor the impatiences of the magot, nor the bad instincts of the cynocephalus. It is to this family of anthropomorphs that so many traits are referred which indicate in these animals a quasi-human intelligence. Employed in houses, they can serve at table, clean the rooms, tend the clothes, polish the shoes, handle adroitly the knife, the spoon and the fork, and even drink wine... just as well as the best domestics without feathers on two feet. It is known that Buffon possessed one of these monkeys, who served him long as a faithful and zealous servant.

The one who was then bound in the hall of Granite House was a great devil, six feet tall, body admirably proportioned, broad chest, head of medium size, facial angle reaching sixty-five degrees, rounded skull, prominent nose, skin covered with a polished, soft and shining hair, — in short an accomplished type of the anthropomorphs. His eyes, a little smaller than human eyes, shone with an intelligent liveliness; his white teeth resplended under his mustache, and he wore a small curled beard of hazel color.

"A fine fellow!" said Pencroff. "If only one knew his language, one could speak to him!"

"So," said Nab, "it is serious, my master? We are going to take him as a servant?"

"Yes, Nab," answered the engineer smiling. "But do not be jealous!"

"And I hope he will make an excellent servant," added Harbert. "He seems young, his education will be easy, and we shall not be obliged, to subdue him, to employ force, nor to tear out his canines, as is done in like circumstance! He can but attach himself to masters who will be good to him."

"And one will be so," answered Pencroff, who had forgotten all his rancor against "the pranksters."

Then, approaching the orang:

"Well, my boy," he asked him, "how goes it?"

The orang answered with a little grunt that did not denote too bad a humor.

"We wish then to form part of the colony?" asked the sailor. "We are going then into the service of Mr. Cyrus Smith?"

New approving grunt from the monkey.

"And we shall content ourselves with our food for all wages?"

Third affirmative grunt.

"His conversation is a little monotonous," observed Gideon Spilett.

"Bah!" replied Pencroff, "the best domestics are those who speak least. And then, no wages! — do you hear, my boy? To begin, we shan't give you wages, but we'll double them later, if we are pleased with you!"

Thus it was that the colony increased by a new member, who was to render it more than one service.

As for the name by which he should be called, the sailor asked that, in memory of another monkey he had known, he should be called Jupiter, and Jup by abbreviation.

And that is how, without further ado, master Jup was installed at Granite House.

CHAPTER VII

“Stories of the world, in your language.”