The Mysterious Island (35 page)

"Some one," cried the sailor. "But who?"

"Who but the hunter who fired the bullet?" replied the reporter.

"Well, if there is any one up there," replied Pencroft, who began to
lose patience, "I will give them a hail, and they must answer."

And in a stentorian voice the sailor gave a prolonged "Halloo!" which
was echoed again and again from the cliff and rocks.

The settlers listened and they thought they heard a sort of chuckling
laugh, of which they could not guess the origin. But no voice replied to
Pencroft, who in vain repeated his vigorous shouts.

There was something indeed in this to astonish the most apathetic
of men, and the settlers were not men of that description. In their
situation every incident had its importance, and, certainly, during the
seven months which they had spent on the island, they had not before met
with anything of so surprising a character.

Be that as it may, forgetting their fatigue in the singularity of the
event, they remained below Granite House, not knowing what to think,
not knowing what to do, questioning each other without any hope of
a satisfactory reply, every one starting some supposition each more
unlikely than the last. Neb bewailed himself, much disappointed at not
being able to get into his kitchen, for the provisions which they
had had on their expedition were exhausted, and they had no means of
renewing them.

"My friends," at last said Cyrus Harding, "there is only one thing to be
done at present; wait for day, and then act according to circumstances.
But let us go to the Chimneys. There we shall be under shelter, and if
we cannot eat, we can at least sleep."

"But who is it that has played us this cool trick?" again asked
Pencroft, unable to make up his mind to retire from the spot.

Whoever it was, the only thing practicable was to do as the engineer
proposed, to go to the Chimneys and there wait for day. In the meanwhile
Top was ordered to mount guard below the windows of Granite House, and
when Top received an order he obeyed it without any questioning. The
brave dog therefore remained at the foot of the cliff while his master
with his companions sought a refuge among the rocks.

To say that the settlers, notwithstanding their fatigue, slept well on
the sandy floor of the Chimneys would not be true. It was not only that
they were extremely anxious to find out the cause of what had happened,
whether it was the result of an accident which would be discovered at
the return of day, or whether on the contrary it was the work of a human
being; but they also had very uncomfortable beds. That could not be
helped, however, for in some way or other at that moment their dwelling
was occupied, and they could not possibly enter it.

Now Granite House was more than their dwelling, it was their warehouse.
There were all the stores belonging to the colony, weapons, instruments,
tools, ammunition, provisions, etc. To think that all that might be
pillaged and that the settlers would have all their work to do over
again, fresh weapons and tools to make, was a serious matter. Their
uneasiness led one or other of them also to go out every few minutes to
see if Top was keeping good watch. Cyrus Harding alone waited with his
habitual patience, although his strong mind was exasperated at being
confronted with such an inexplicable fact, and he was provoked at
himself for allowing a feeling to which he could not give a name, to
gain an influence over him. Gideon Spilett shared his feelings in this
respect, and the two conversed together in whispers of the inexplicable
circumstance which baffled even their intelligence and experience.

"It is a joke," said Pencroft; "it is a trick some one has played us.
Well, I don't like such jokes, and the joker had better look out for
himself, if he falls into my hands, I can tell him."

As soon as the first gleam of light appeared in the east, the colonists,
suitably armed, repaired to the beach under Granite House. The rising
sun now shone on the cliff and they could see the windows, the shutters
of which were closed, through the curtains of foliage.

All here was in order; but a cry escaped the colonists when they saw
that the door, which they had closed on their departure, was now wide
open.

Some one had entered Granite House—there could be no more doubt about
that.

The upper ladder, which generally hung from the door to the landing,
was in its place, but the lower ladder was drawn up and raised to
the threshold. It was evident that the intruders had wished to guard
themselves against a surprise.

Pencroft hailed again.

No reply.

"The beggars," exclaimed the sailor. "There they are sleeping quietly
as if they were in their own house. Hallo there, you pirates, brigands,
robbers, sons of John Bull!"

When Pencroft, being a Yankee, treated any one to the epithet of "son of
John Bull," he considered he had reached the last limits of insult.

The sun had now completely risen, and the whole facade of Granite House
became illuminated by its rays; but in the interior as well as on the
exterior all was quiet and calm.

The settlers asked if Granite House was inhabited or not, and yet the
position of the ladder was sufficient to show that it was; it was also
certain that the inhabitants, whoever they might be, had not been able
to escape. But how were they to be got at?

Herbert then thought of fastening a cord to an arrow, and shooting the
arrow so that it should pass between the first rounds of the ladder
which hung from the threshold. By means of the cord they would then
be able to draw down the ladder to the ground, and so re-establish the
communication between the beach and Granite House. There was evidently
nothing else to be done, and, with a little skill, this method might
succeed. Very fortunately bows and arrows had been left at the Chimneys,
where they also found a quantity of light hibiscus cord. Pencroft
fastened this to a well-feathered arrow. Then Herbert fixing it to his
bow, took a careful aim for the lower part of the ladder.

Cyrus Harding, Gideon Spilett, Pencroft, and Neb drew back, so as to see
if anything appeared at the windows. The reporter lifted his gun to his
shoulder and covered the door.

The bow was bent, the arrow flew, taking the cord with it, and passed
between the two last rounds.

The operation had succeeded.

Herbert immediately seized the end of the cord, but, at that moment when
he gave it a pull to bring down the ladder, an arm, thrust suddenly out
between the wall and the door, grasped it and dragged it inside Granite
House.

"The rascals!" shouted the sailor. "If a ball can do anything for you,
you shall not have long to wait for it.

"But who was it?" asked Neb.

"Who was it? Didn't you see?"

"No."

"It was a monkey, a sapajou, an orangoutang, a baboon, a gorilla, a
sagoin. Our dwelling has been invaded by monkeys, who climbed up the
ladder during our absence."

And, at this moment, as if to bear witness to the truth of the sailor's
words, two or three quadrumana showed themselves at the windows,
from which they had pushed back the shutters, and saluted the real
proprietors of the place with a thousand hideous grimaces.

"I knew that it was only a joke," cried Pencroft; "but one of the jokers
shall pay the penalty for the rest."

So saying, the sailor, raising his piece, took a rapid aim at one of the
monkeys and fired. All disappeared, except one who fell mortally wounded
on the beach. This monkey, which was of a large size, evidently belonged
to the first order of the quadrumana. Whether this was a chimpanzee, an
orangoutang, or a gorilla, he took rank among the anthropoid apes, who
are so called from their resemblance to the human race. However, Herbert
declared it to be an orangoutang.

"What a magnificent beast!" cried Neb.

"Magnificent, if you like," replied Pencroft; "but still I do not see
how we are to get into our house."

"Herbert is a good marksman," said the reporter, "and his bow is here.
He can try again."

"Why, these apes are so cunning," returned Pencroft; "they won't show
themselves again at the windows and so we can't kill them; and when I
think of the mischief they may do in the rooms and storehouse—"

"Have patience," replied Harding; "these creatures cannot keep us long
at bay."

"I shall not be sure of that till I see them down here," replied the
sailor. "And now, captain, do you know how many dozens of these fellows
are up there?"

It was difficult to reply to Pencroft, and as for the young boy making
another attempt, that was not easy; for the lower part of the ladder
had been drawn again into the door, and when another pull was given, the
line broke and the ladder remained firm. The case was really perplexing.
Pencroft stormed. There was a comic side to the situation, but he did
not think it funny at all. It was certain that the settlers would end by
reinstating themselves in their domicile and driving out the intruders,
but when and how? this is what they were not able to say.

Two hours passed, during which the apes took care not to show
themselves, but they were still there, and three or four times a nose or
a paw was poked out at the door or windows, and was immediately saluted
by a gun-shot.

"Let us hide ourselves," at last said the engineer. "Perhaps the apes
will think we have gone quite away and will show themselves again. Let
Spilett and Herbert conceal themselves behind those rocks and fire on
all that may appear."

The engineer's orders were obeyed, and while the reporter and the lad,
the best marksmen in the colony, posted themselves in a good position,
but out of the monkeys' sight, Neb, Pencroft, and Cyrus climbed the
plateau and entered the forest in order to kill some game, for it was
now time for breakfast and they had no provisions remaining.

In half an hour the hunters returned with a few rock pigeons, which they
roasted as well as they could. Not an ape had appeared. Gideon Spilett
and Herbert went to take their share of the breakfast, leaving Top to
watch under the windows. They then, having eaten, returned to their
post.

Two hours later, their situation was in no degree improved. The
quadrumana gave no sign of existence, and it might have been supposed
that they had disappeared; but what seemed more probable was that,
terrified by the death of one of their companions, and frightened by the
noise of the firearms, they had retreated to the back part of the house
or probably even into the store-room. And when they thought of
the valuables which this storeroom contained, the patience so much
recommended by the engineer, fast changed into great irritation, and
there certainly was room for it.

"Decidedly it is too bad," said the reporter; "and the worst of it is,
there is no way of putting an end to it."

"But we must drive these vagabonds out somehow," cried the sailor.
"We could soon get the better of them, even if there are twenty of the
rascals; but for that, we must meet them hand to hand. Come now, is
there no way of getting at them?"

"Let us try to enter Granite House by the old opening at the lake,"
replied the engineer.

"Oh!" shouted the sailor, "and I never thought of that."

This was in reality the only way by which to penetrate into Granite
House so as to fight with and drive out the intruders. The opening was,
it is true, closed up with a wall of cemented stones, which it would be
necessary to sacrifice, but that could easily be rebuilt. Fortunately,
Cyrus Harding had not as yet effected his project of hiding this opening
by raising the waters of the lake, for the operation would then have
taken some time.

It was already past twelve o'clock, when the colonists, well armed and
provided with picks and spades, left the Chimneys, passed beneath the
windows of Granite House, after telling Top to remain at his post, and
began to ascend the left bank of the Mercy, so as to reach Prospect
Heights.

But they had not made fifty steps in this direction, when they heard the
dog barking furiously.

And all rushed down the bank again.

Arrived at the turning, they saw that the situation had changed.

In fact, the apes, seized with a sudden panic, from some unknown cause,
were trying to escape. Two or three ran and clambered from one window
to another with the agility of acrobats. They were not even trying to
replace the ladder, by which it would have been easy to descend; perhaps
in their terror they had forgotten this way of escape. The colonists,
now being able to take aim without difficulty, fired. Some, wounded or
killed, fell back into the rooms, uttering piercing cries. The rest,
throwing themselves out, were dashed to pieces in their fall, and in a
few minutes, so far as they knew, there was not a living quadrumana in
Granite House.

At this moment the ladder was seen to slip over the threshold, then
unroll and fall to the ground.

"Hullo!" cried the sailor, "this is queer!"

"Very strange!" murmured the engineer, leaping first up the ladder.

"Take care, captain!" cried Pencroft, "perhaps there are still some of
these rascals.

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

All his companions followed him, and in a minute they had arrived at the
threshold. They searched everywhere. There was no one in the rooms nor
in the storehouse, which had been respected by the band of quadrumana.

"Well now, and the ladder," cried the sailor; "who can the gentleman
have been who sent us that down?"

But at that moment a cry was heard, and a great orang, who had hidden
himself in the passage, rushed into the room, pursued by Neb.

"Ah, the robber!" cried Pencroft.

And hatchet in hand, he was about to cleave the head of the animal, when
Cyrus Harding seized his arm, saying,—