I'd give anything to have eyes as sharp as those Polynesians. I looked across the sea, and the loppy waves in the foreground, and could just make out with the naked eye that the row-boat had something that looked like a red handkerchief tied to her bare mast, and a white signal flapping in the wind below it; but not a living soul could I distinguish in her without [pg 28] my binocular. So I put up my glasses and looked again. Sure enough, there they were, two miserable2 objects, clinging as it seemed half-dead to the mast, and making most piteous signs with their hands to attract our attention. As soon as they saw that we had really sighted them, and were altering our course to pick them up, their joy and delight knew no bounds, as we judged. They flung up their arms ecstatically into the air, and then sank back, exhausted3, as I guessed, on to the thwarts4 where they had long ceased sitting or rowing.
They were wearied out, I imagined, with long buffeting6 against that angry and immeasurable sea, and must soon have succumbed7 to fatigue8 if we hadn't caught sight of them.
We put on all steam, as in duty bound, and made towards them hastily. By and by, my brother Jim, who had been off watch, came up from below and joined me on deck to see what was going forward. At the same moment Nassaline cried out once more, "Him no two man! [pg 29] Him two boy! Two English boy! Him hungry like a dying!" And as he spoke9, he held his own skinny bare arm up to his mouth dramatically, and took a good bite at it, as if to indicate in dumb show that the crew of the boat were now almost ready to eat one another.
Jim looked through the glasses, and handed them over to me in turn. "By George, Julian," he said, "Nassaline's right. It's a couple of boys, and to judge by the look of them, they're not far off starving!"
I seized the glasses and fixed10 them upon the boat. We were getting nearer now, and could make out the features of its occupants quite distinctly. A more pitiable sight never met my eyes. Her whole crew consisted of two white-faced lads, apparently11 about twelve or thirteen years old, dressed in loose blue cotton shirts and European trousers, but horribly pinched with hunger and thirst, and evidently so weak as to be almost incapable12 of clinging to the bare mast whence they were trying to signal us.
[pg 30] Now, you land-loving folk can hardly realize, I dare say, what such an incident means at sea; but to Jim and me, who had sailed the lonely Pacific together for five years at a stretch, that pathetic sight was full both of horror and unspeakable mystery. For anybody, even grown men long used to the ocean, to be navigating13 that awful expanse of water alone in an empty boat is little short of ghastly. Just think what it means! A stormy sheet that stretches from the north pole to the south without one streak14 of continuous land to break it; a stormy sheet on which the winds and waves may buffet5 you about in almost any direction for five thousand miles, with only the stray chance of some remote oceanic isle15 to drift upon, or some coral reef to swallow you up with its gigantic breakers. But a couple of boys!—mere children almost!—alone, and starving, on that immense desert of almost untraveled water! On the Atlantic itself your chance of being picked up from open boats by a passing vessel16 is slight enough, [pg 31] heaven knows! but on the Pacific, where ships are few and routes are far apart, your only alternative to starvation or foundering17 is to find yourself cast on the tender mercies of the cannibal Kanaka. No wonder I looked at Jim, and Jim looked at me, and each of us saw unaccustomed tears standing18 half ashamed in the eyes of the other.
"Stop her!" I cried. "Lower the gig, Tom Blake! Jim, we must go ourselves and fetch these poor fellows."
At the sound of my bell the engineer pulled up the Albatross short and sharp, with admirable precision, and we lowered our boat to go out and meet them. As we drew nearer and nearer with each stroke of our oars19, I could see still more plainly to what a terrible pitch of destitution20 and distress21 these poor lads had been subjected during their awful journey. Their cheeks were sunken, and their eyes seemed to stand back far in the hollow sockets22. Their pallid23 white hands hardly clung to the [pg 32] mast by convulsive efforts with hooked fingers. They had used up their last reserve of strength in their wild efforts to attract our attention.
I thanked heaven it was Nassaline who kept watch at the mast-head when they first hove in sight. No European eye could ever have discovered the meaning of that faint black speck24 upon the horizon. If it hadn't been for the sharp vision of our keen Polynesian friend, these two helpless children might have drifted on in their frail25 craft for ever, till they wasted away with hunger and thirst under the broiling26 eye of the hot Pacific noontide.
We pulled alongside, and lifted them into the gig. As we reached them, both boys fell back faint with fatigue and with the sudden joy of their unexpected deliverance. "Quick, quick, Jim! your flask27!" I cried, for we had brought out a little weak brandy and water on purpose. "Pour it slowly down their throats—not too fast at first—just a drop at a time, for fear of choking them."
[pg 33] Jim held the youngest boy's head on his lap, and opened those parched28 lips of his that looked as dry as a piece of battered29 old shoe-leather. The tongue lolled out between the open teeth like a thirsty dog's at midsummer, and was hard and rough as a rasp with long weary watching. We judged the lad at sight to be twelve years old or thereabouts. Jim put the flask to his lips, and let a few drops trickle30 slowly down his burnt throat. At touch of the soft liquid the boy's lips closed over the mouth of the flask with a wild movement of delight, and he sucked in eagerly, as you may see a child in arms suck at the mouthpiece of its empty feeding-bottle. "That's well," I said. "He's all right, at any rate. As long as he has strength enough to pull at the flask like that, we shall bring him round in the end somehow."
We took away the flask as soon as we thought he'd had as much as was good for him at the time, and let his head fall back once more upon Jim's kindly31 shoulder. Now that the first wild [pg 34] flush of delight at their rescue was fairly over, a reaction had set in; their nerves and muscles gave way simultaneously32, and the poor lad fell back, half-fainting, half-sleeping, just where Jim with his fatherly solicitude33 chose to lay him.
Tom Blake and I turned to the elder lad. His was a harder and more desperate case. Perhaps he had tried more eagerly to save his helpless brother; perhaps the sense of responsibility for another's life had weighed heavier upon him at his age—for he looked fourteen; but at any rate he was well-nigh dead with exposure and exhaustion34. The first few drops we poured down his throat he was clearly quite unable to swallow. They gurgled back insensibly. Tom Blake took out his handkerchief, and tearing off a strip, soaked it in brandy and water in the cup end of the flask; then he gently moistened the inside of the poor lad's mouth and throat with it, till at last a faint swallowing motion was set up in the gullet. At that, we poured down some five drops cautiously. [pg 35] To our delight and relief they were slowly gulped35 down, and the poor white mouth stood agape like a young bird's in mute appeal for more water—more water.
We gave him as much as we dared in his existing state, and then turned to the boat for some clue to the mystery.
She was an English-built row-boat, smart and taut36, fit for facing rough seas, and carrying a short, stout37 mast amidships. On her stern we found her name in somewhat rudely-painted letters, Messenger of Peace: Makilolo in Tanaki. Clearly she had been designed for mission service among the islands, and the last words which followed her title must be meant to designate her port, or the mission station. But what that place was I hadn't a notion.
"Where's Tanaki, Tom Blake?" I asked, turning round, for Tom had been navigating the South Seas any time this twenty years, and knew almost every nook and corner of the wide Pacific, from Yokohama to Valparaiso.
[pg 36] Tom shifted his quid from one cheek to the other and answered, after a pause, "Dunno, sir, I'm sure. Never heerd tell of Tanaki in all my born days; an' yet I sorter fancied, too, I knowed the islands."
"There are no signs of blood or fighting in the boat," I said, examining it close. "They can't have escaped from a massacre38, anyhow." For I remembered at once to what perils39 the missionaries40 are often exposed in these remote islands—how good Bishop41 Patteson had been murdered at Santa Cruz, and how the natives had broken the heads of Mason and Wood at Erromanga not so many months back, in cold blood, out of pure lust42 of slaughter43.
"But they must have run away in an awful hurry," Tom Blake added, overhauling44 the locker45 of the boat, "for, see, she ain't found; there ain't no signs of food or anything to hold it nowheres, sir; and this ere little can must 'a' been the o'ny thing they had with 'em for water."
He was quite right. The boat had clearly [pg 37] put to sea unprovisioned. It deepened our horror at the poor lads' plight46 to think of this further aggravation47 of their incredible sufferings. For days they must have tossed in hunger and thirst on the great deep. But we could only wait to have the mystery cleared up when the lads were well enough to explain to us what had happened. Meanwhile we could but look and wonder in silence; and indeed we had quite enough to do for the present in endeavoring to restore them to a state of consciousness.
"Any marks on their clothes?" my brother Jim suggested, with practical good sense, looking up from his charge as we rowed back toward the Albatross, with the Messenger of Peace in tow behind us. "That might help us to guess who they are, and where they hail from."
I looked close at the belt of the lads' blue shirts. On the elder's I read in a woman's handwriting, "Martin Luther Macglashin, 6, '87." The younger boy's bore in the same hand the corresponding inscription48, "John Knox Macglashin, [pg 38] 6, '86." It somehow deepened the tragedy of the situation to come upon those simple domestic reminiscences at such a moment.
"Sons of a Scotch49 missionary50, apparently," I said, as I read them out. "If only we could find where their father was at work, we might manage to get some clue to this mystery."
"We can look him up," Jim answered, "when we get to Fiji."
We rowed back in silence the rest of the way to the Albatross, lifted the poor boys tenderly on board, and laid them down to rest on our own bunks52 in the cabin. Serang-Palo, our Malay cook, made haste at the galleys53 to dress them a little arrowroot with condensed milk; and before half an hour the younger boy was sitting up in Jim's arms with his eyes and mouth wide open, craving54 eagerly for the nice warm mess we were obliged to dole55 out to his enfeebled stomach in sparing spoonfuls, and with a trifle of color already returning to his pale [pg 39] cheeks. He was too ill to speak yet—his brother indeed lay even now insensible on the bunk51 in the corner—but as soon as he had finished the small pittance56 of arrowroot which alone we thought it prudent57 to let him swallow at present, he mustered58 up just strength enough to gasp59 out a few words of solemn importance in a very hollow voice. We bent60 over him to listen. They were broken words we caught, half rambling61 as in delirium62, but we heard them distinctly—
"Steer63 for Makilolo ... Island of Tanaki ... Wednesday the tenth ... Natives will murder them ... My mother—my father—Calvin—and Miriam."
Then it was evident he could not say another word. He sank back on the pillow breathless and exhausted. The color faded from his cheek once more as he fell into his place. I poured another spoonful of brandy down his parched throat. In three minutes more he was sleeping peacefully, with long even breath, like one who [pg 40] hadn't slept for nights before on the tossing ocean.
I looked at Jim and bit my lips hard. "This is indeed a fix," I cried, utterly64 nonplussed65. "Where on earth, I should like to know, is this island of Tanaki!"
"Don't know," said Jim. "But wherever it is, we've got to get there."
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1
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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thwarts
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| 阻挠( thwart的第三人称单数 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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5
buffet
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| n.自助餐；饮食柜台；餐台 | |
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6
buffeting
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| 振动 | |
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7
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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10
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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11
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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12
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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13
navigating
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| v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃 | |
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14
streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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15
isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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foundering
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| v.创始人( founder的现在分词 ) | |
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18
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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destitution
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| n.穷困，缺乏，贫穷 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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sockets
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| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
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pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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25
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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26
broiling
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| adj.酷热的，炽热的，似烧的v.（用火）烤（焙、炙等）( broil的现在分词 )；使卷入争吵；使混乱；被烤（或炙） | |
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27
flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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trickle
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| vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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35
gulped
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| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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36
taut
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| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
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38
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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39
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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40
missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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41
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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42
lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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43
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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44
overhauling
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| n.大修；拆修；卸修；翻修v.彻底检查( overhaul的现在分词 )；大修；赶上；超越 | |
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45
locker
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| n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人 | |
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46
plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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47
aggravation
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| n.烦恼，恼火 | |
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48
inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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49
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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50
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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51
bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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52
bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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53
galleys
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| n.平底大船，战舰( galley的名词复数 )；（船上或航空器上的）厨房 | |
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54
craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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55
dole
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| n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给 | |
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56
pittance
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| n.微薄的薪水，少量 | |
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57
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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58
mustered
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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59
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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60
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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61
rambling
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| adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的 | |
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62
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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63
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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64
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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nonplussed
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| adj.不知所措的，陷于窘境的v.使迷惑( nonplus的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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