CHAPTER LIX

The Limekiln—Fritz’s Story

Fritz, seated in his cajack, served as pilot to assist us in penetrating safely through the rocks and shoals into the bay, where at last we all arrived in safety. Everything was found just as we had left it—the table and benches yet standing, our fireplace undestroyed, and, what was more, the air was purified; and, the oysters, having all been dried up by the sun, had lost their unpleasant odour. The dead bodies of the lions and the wild boar were but heaps of whitened bones, the birds of prey having completely stripped them of every particle of flesh.

We wished to go direct to Felsenheim immediately; but an unexpected discovery detained us a longer time than we intended. I had noticed among the stones which strewed the shore, a sort of rock which it appeared to me could be easily converted into lime. It was a discovery too precious to be neglected, and I resolved to establish a limekiln without delay on the beach. It did not take us long to make one to suit our purpose; but the calcination of the stones occupied us much longer, and we were obliged to sit up a great part of the night. During this time we made some barrels of pieces of pine bark, circled with strong withs of willow; a round piece of bark served for the bottom, and another for the cover. To enliven our labour, and to abridge the length of the evening, I persuaded Fritz to give us a more complete account than he had hitherto done of the manner in which he had found our new sister, and the details of his voyage. It was the best way in which to employ our remaining time, and the curiosity of my sons was so excited that they formed a circle about Fritz, who thus commenced his narration.

“You all remember,” said he to his brothers, “the manner in which I left you, after having given my father a letter which contained an account of my intended excursion. The sea was calm; but I had scarcely passed the Bay of Pearls, when suddenly a violent wind arose, gradually increasing to a perfect hurricane; the rising waves, the rain, the thunder and lightning, all confounded in horrible confusion. My little bark was not strong enough to resist the tremendous sea, and all that I could do was to abandon myself to the current.

“After several hours the wind fell and the air calmed, and my canoe again found its equilibrium upon the surface of the waters. I was far from all the places that we were acquainted with; the tempest had thrown me on a coast entirely new to my eyes; the conformation of the rocks, the gigantic cliffs which seemed to lose themselves in the clouds, the vegetation, the animals I perceived on the coast, the birds which flew about me, all announced a new world. My first care was to look carefully around and see whether some light smoke did not rise behind the rocks; for, as you know, the Smoking Rock was my only thought. I could perceive nothing as yet; but full of hope, I rowed along the coast. Night came on, and I passed it in the cajack, after having made a miserable supper on pemmican.

“The next morning I continued my journey, and the farther I advanced, the more the coast appeared to change its aspect. I encountered, from time to time, majestic rivers, which flowed silently on and mingled with the sea. The mouth of one of them resembled an immense bay, and I decided to ascend it some little distance; its banks were covered with large trees, willows, and vines, so thickly woven together, that they resembled a huge mat, covered with birds, monkeys, and even squirrels.

“Toward the middle of the day the heat became so unsupportable, that it was impossible to resist the desire of seeking some shade under the trees. After being slightly refreshed, I pursued my route, and sailed on a long time without being able to land; the rivers and shores were both defended by guards I had little desire to come in contact with, for I recognized elephants, lions, panthers—in one word, a complete reunion of all the ferocious animals of creation. After travelling several leagues farther, the appearance of the coast suddenly changed, and, as if the ferocious animals had had their district marked out to them, I ceased to perceive any. The shore appeared peaceable, but desolate; the breeze which murmured among the vines, and the song of some inoffensive birds were the only noises which broke the calm stillness, and I felt reassured, and resolved to land and procure a repast. I accordingly fastened my cajack as strongly as possible, and jumped lightly to the shore; and being hungry, I lighted my fire, and began to prepare a juicy dinner from a fat goose which I had shot while landing, and a dozen of oysters.

“I rose long before daylight next morning and resumed my voyage. The country through which I now sailed was of an aspect entirely different from any I had ever yet seen. There were beautiful green plains, dotted over with clumps of towering palms; little lakes surrounded with osiers, upon the borders of which sported herds of elephants; thick tufts of cactus of all sorts, loaded with flowers and fruits, which the enormous rhinoceros seemed to devour without paying any attention to the thorns; beautiful clumps of the mimosa, the high tops of which the towering giraffe devoured with as much facility as a goat would a small shrub.

“On I sailed, and, once more seduced by the picturesque appearance of a river which lost itself in a tranquil bay, I resolved to ascend it. The water slipped gently under the prow of my little cajack—nothing appeared to indicate any danger; there were no serpents on the bank, no horrid beasts in the forests, and I floated tranquilly on, enjoying the fresh breeze and the cool shade of the overhanging trees, when suddenly there appeared before me a long throat, armed with rows of strong sharp teeth; it was distended to its full capacity as if it would take in at one mouthful myself, the cajack, and the oars. I instantly comprehended the extent of my danger, and, seizing one of the oars, I drove it with all my strength direct into the yawning mouth of the monster, who disappeared in an instant, leaving a long trace of blood behind him, showing that the wound I had made was of some importance. I did not remain long on this river; two other monsters of the same nature as the first rose up to the surface of the water. They were alligators, the most terrible kind among these animals, but whose tremendous voracity is happily balanced by a natural laziness, which retains them always near the spot where they were born. I had escaped from one danger only to fall into another. At a little distance from the River of Alligators, while coasting along a little wood, I observed that the trees were loaded with the rarest and most beautiful of birds, among which were lyras, paroquets, humming-birds, and birds of paradise—in one word, a complete assemblage of all that array of beautiful plumage which decorates the forests of the New World, and I could not resist the desire of attacking them. I landed, attached my cajack to the bank and walked up to the wood, holding my eagle unhooded in my hand. I cast him off, and he returned with a superb paroquet, whose flame-coloured feathers sparkled in the sun’s rays. While I was occupied in examining him, I heard behind me a light rustling on the sand, which I thought was merely caused by a little land-turtle, or some such animal, and I turned carelessly round. It was well I did so; for not twelve paces from me there was a splendid royal tiger with open mouth, crouched down as if about to spring upon me. I stood as if struck with stupor; a mist came over my eyes, and scarcely could I raise my gun, so much had horror paralysed my strength, when suddenly my brave eagle, comprehending my danger, flew boldly at the advancing tiger, and began to pick at his eyes. This timely succour saved me; for it enabled me to collect my senses, and levelling my gun, I discharged its contents into the right flank of my enemy, and then two pistol-balls lodged in the throat completed my victory. The tiger lay dead; but alas! my victory had cost me dear, for my poor eagle fell at the same time with his conquered enemy, who had seized him in his claws and had torn him in pieces. I picked him up, weeping bitterly over my loss, and carried him to the cajack, hoping some day to have him stuffed and placed in our museum.

“I quitted the shore with a sorrowing mind, and again I prayed to my heavenly Father that He would give me strength to continue my voyage. I doubled a little cape, and, suddenly, from the summit of the grey rocks which bordered the coast, I perceived a light cloud of smoke rising in the air. I turned my canoe in the direction of the long-sought-for signal. The irregularities of the rocks along the coast were the only difficulties I had to encounter, and it appeared to me that I should never get through them. At last I landed, and, with infinite difficulty, scrambled up the rocks until I arrived at a platform on which I perceived a human creature. At the noise which I made in approaching, the individual, who was arranging the fire, rose, perceived me, uttered a cry of surprise and joy, then, joining his hands, stood still, as if waiting for me to speak. Notwithstanding the midshipman’s dress she wore, her exclamation, and the delicate contour of her features, convinced me that I was in the presence of a female. I stopped about ten paces from her, and calling to my memory all I knew of English, I said in a subdued tone, ‘I am the liberator whom God has sent you. I have received the message of the albatross.’ I must have pronounced these words very badly, as Emily did not at first comprehend them; I repeated them, however, and after a few moments we understood each other well enough to make a mutual interchange of our feelings. Gestures, looks, accents all filled up the blank that words had left vacant. I spoke to my new sister about the castle of Felsenheim, Falcon’s Nest, our shipwreck, and ten years’ sojourn on the coast, where we lived in almost European luxury; on her part, she recounted to me the history of her childhood, her shipwreck, and existence on the Island of the Smoking Rock, making a fine story for my papa to write out in the long winter evenings. Emily graciously invited me to supper, after which we passed the remainder of the night, I in my cajack, she in the branches of a tree, where she always slept from the fear of wild beasts. The next morning we again met. Emily had already prepared breakfast, which consisted of fruit and broiled fish. The repast being over, the sea looked so calm that I thought we had better start; so, after packing up all her curiosities, and putting them on board the cajack, we took our seats and set off. We sailed on a long time; but an accident happened to my little barque, and I was obliged to put in at the little island which you have called ‘Good Rencounter,’ in memory of our meeting; it was there I left my new-found sister, who, doubtful of her reception in a strange family, begged me to go on and ask permission of my father to bring her among them. I consented; and my canoe having been repaired, I took the well-known route home: it was then that I encountered you, and from fear that you were pirates, I disguised myself, and played you such a trick.”

“Oh! I am so sorry it is done,” cried Jack, as Fritz finished his story; “but you must now tell us the history of our sister.”

Fritz was about to commence a new narration, of greater interest than the former, but I stopped him, and advised him to take a little rest before he talked any more.