CHAPTER VIII

Construction of a Bridge

When my wife and I awaked the next morning, we resumed the question of our change of abode. I observed to her that it was a matter of difficulty, and that we might have reason to repent such a step. “My own opinion is,” said I, “that we had better remain here, where Providence seems to have conducted us; the place is favourable to our personal safety, and is near the vessel, from which we may continue to enrich ourselves: we are on all sides protected by the rocks; it is an asylum inaccessible but by sea, or by the passage of the river, which is not easily accomplished. Let us then have patience yet a little longer at least, till we have got all that can be removed, or that would be useful to us, from the ship.”

My wife replied, that the intense heat of the sands was insupportable; that by remaining, we lost all hope of procuring fruits of any kind, and must live on oysters, or on wild birds.

“As for the safety you boast of,” pursued she, “the rocks did not prevent our receiving a visit from the jackals; nor is it improbable that tigers or other animals might follow their example. Lastly, as to the treasures we might continue to draw from the vessel, I renounce them with all my heart. We are already in possession of provisions and other useful things: and, to say the truth, my heart is always filled with distressing apprehensions, when you and Fritz are exposed to the danger of that perfidious element the sea.”

“We will then think seriously of the matter; but let us have a well-digested scheme of operation before we leave this spot for your favourite wood. First, we must contrive a store-house among the rocks for our provisions and other things, and to which, in case of invasion in the wood, we can retreat and defend ourselves. This agreed, the next thing is to throw a bridge across the river, if we are to pass it with all our family and baggage.”

“A bridge!” exclaimed my wife: “can you possibly think of such a thing? If we stay while you build a bridge, we may consider ourselves as fixed for life. Why should we not cross the river as we did before? The ass and the cow will carry all we possess upon their backs.”

“But do you recollect, that to keep what they carry dry, they must not perform their journey as they did from the vessel? For this reason, then, if for no other, we must contrive a bridge. We shall want also some sacks and baskets to contain our different matters; you may therefore set about making these, and I will undertake the bridge, which, the more I consider, the more I find to be of indispensable necessity.”

Thus, then, we decided the important question of removing to a new abode; after which we fixed upon a plan of labour for the day, and then awaked the boys. Their delight on hearing of our project may easily be conceived, but they expressed their fear that it would be a long while before a bridge could be built.

We now began to look about for breakfast. My wife undertook to milk the cow, and afterwards gave some of the milk to each of the children: with a part of what remained she made a sort of sop with biscuits, and the rest she put into one of the flasks, to accompany us in our expedition. During this time, I was preparing the boat for another journey to the vessel, to bring away a sufficient quantity of planks and timbers for the bridge. After breakfast we set out; and now I took with me Ernest as well as Fritz, that we might accomplish our object in a shorter time.

We rowed stoutly till we reached the current, which soon drew us on beyond the bay; but scarcely had we passed a little islet, lying to one side of us, than we perceived a prodigious quantity of sea-gulls and other birds. I had a curiosity to discover what could be the reason of such an assemblage of these creatures. I steered for the spot; but finding that the boat made but little way, I hoisted my sail.

I approached near enough to step upon the land, and after bringing the boat to an anchor with a heavy stone, we stole softly up to the birds. We soon perceived that the object which attracted them was in reality an enormous fish, which had been thrown there by the sea. So eagerly were they occupied with the feast, that not one of them attempted to fly off. We observed with astonishment the extreme voracity of this plumed group: each bird was so intent upon its prey that we might have killed great numbers of them with our sticks alone. Fritz did not cease to express his wonder at the monstrous size of the animal, and asked me by what means it could have got there?

“I believe,” answered I, “you were yourself the means; there is every appearance that it is the very shark you wounded yesterday. See, here are the two balls which you discharged at its head.”

“Yes, yes, it is the very same,” said my young hero, skipping about for joy: “I well remember I had two balls in my gun, and here they are, lodged in its head.”

Ernest drew out the iron ramrod from his gun, and by striking with it to right and left among the birds, soon dispersed them. Fritz and I then advanced and cut several long strips of the skin from the head of the shark, with which we were proceeding to our boat, when I observed, lying on the ground, some planks and timbers which had recently been cast by the sea on this little island. On measuring the longest, we perceived they would answer our purpose; and with the assistance of the crow and a lever which we had brought with us, found means to get them into the boat, and thus spare ourselves the trouble of proceeding to the vessel. With great exertion of our strength, we contrived to bind the timbers together, with the planks upon them, in the manner of a raft, and tied them to the end of the boat; so that, through this adventure, we were ready to return in four hours from the time of departure, and might boast of having done a good day’s work.

We were once more landed safely on our shore, but no one of our family appeared. We called to them as loud as we could, which was answered by the same sounds in return, and in a few minutes my wife appeared between her two little boys returning from the river, a rising piece of ground having concealed her from our sight: each carried a handkerchief in hand, which appeared filled with some new prize: and little Francis had a small fishing-net formed like a bag and strung upon a stick, which he carried on his shoulder. No sooner did they hear our voices, than they flew to meet us, surprised at our quick return. Jack reached us before the rest; and his first act was to open the handkerchief he held, and pour out a large number of lobsters at our feet: their mother and little Francis produced each as many more, forming all together a prodigious heap, and all alive; so that we were sure of excellent dinners for some days at least.

After we had given an account of our voyage, my wife set about dressing some of the lobsters, and in the meantime Fritz and I employed ourselves in untying the raft of timbers and planks, and in moving them from the boat. I then imitated the example of the Laplanders, in harnessing their reindeer for drawing their sledges. Instead of traces, halters, etc., I put a piece of rope, with a running knot at the end, round the neck of the ass, and passed the other end between its legs, to which I tied the piece of wood which I wished to be removed. The cow was harnessed in the same manner, and we were thus enabled to carry our materials, piece by piece, to the spot which had been chosen at the river as the most eligible for our bridge. It was a place where the shore on each side was steep, and of equal height; there was even on our side an old trunk of a tree lying on the ground, which I foresaw would have its use.

“Now then, boys,” said I, “the first thing is to see if our timbers are long enough to reach to the other side: by my eye, I should think they are; but if I had a surveyor’s plane, we might be quite sure, instead of working at a venture.”

“But my mother has some balls of packthread, with which she measured the height of the giant tree,” interrupted Ernest, “and nothing would be more easy than to tie a stone to the end of one of them, and throw it to the other side of the river; then we could draw it to the very brink, and thus obtain the exact length that would be required for our timbers.”

“Your idea is excellent,” cried I; “run quickly and fetch the packthread.” He returned without loss of time; the stone was tied to its end, and thrown across as we had planned; we drew it gently back to the river edge, marking the place where the bridge was to rest: we next measured the string, and found that the distance from one side to the other was eighteen feet. It appeared to me, that to give a sufficient solidity to the timbers, I must allow three feet of extra length at each end for fixing them, making therefore in all twenty-four; and I was fortunate enough to find that many of those we had brought did not fall short of this length. There now remained the difficulty of carrying one end across the stream; but we determined to discuss this part of the subject while we ate our dinner, which had been waiting for us more than an hour.

We hurried through our meal, each being deeply interested in the work we were about to undertake, and thinking only of the part which might be assigned him towards the execution of the Nonsuch; for this, for mutual encouragement, was the name we gave our bridge, even before it was in existence.

Having consulted as to the means of laying our timbers across the river, the first thing I did was to attach one of them to the trunk of the tree, of which I have already spoken, by a strong cord, long enough to turn freely round the trunk; I then fastened a second cord to the other end of the timber, and tying a stone to its extremity, flung it to the opposite bank. I next passed the river as I had done before, furnished with a pulley, which I secured to a tree: I passed my second cord through the pulley, and recrossing the river with this cord in my hand, I contrived to harness the ass and cow to the end of the cord. I next drove the animals from the bank of the river: they resisted at first, but I made them go by force of drawing. I first fixed one end of the beam firmly to the trunk of the tree, and then they drew along the other end, so as gradually to advance over the river: presently, to my great joy, I saw it touch the other side, and at length become fixed and firm by its own weight. In a moment Fritz and Jack leaped upon the timber, and, in spite of my paternal fears, crossed the stream with a joyful step upon this narrow but effective bridge.

The first timber being thus laid, the difficulty was considerably diminished; a second and a third were fixed in succession, and with the greatest ease. Fritz and I, standing on opposite sides of the river, placed them at such distances from each other as was necessary to form a broad and handsome bridge: what now remained to be done was to lay some short planks across them quite close to each other, which we executed so expeditiously, that our construction was completed in a much shorter time than I should have imagined possible. Our labour, however, had occasioned us so much fatigue, that we found ourselves unable for that day to enter upon new exertions; and the evening beginning to set in, we returned to our home, where we partook heartily of an excellent supper, and went to bed.