Works of Jules Verne/The Mysterious Island/The Abandoned/Chapter 17
CHAPTER XVII
THE BOATSWAIN'S MATE OF THE "BRITANNIA"
These last words justified the colonists' presentiment. There had been some mournful past, perhaps expiated in the sight of men, but from which his conscience had not yet absolved him. At any rate the guilty man felt remorse, he repented, and his new friends would have cordially pressed the hand which they sought; but he did not feel himself worthy to extend it to honest men! However, after the scene with the jaguar, he did not return to the forest, and from that day did not go beyond the enclosure.
What was the mystery of his life? Would the stranger one day speak of it? Time alone could show. It was agreed that his secret should never be asked him, and that they would live with him as if they suspected nothing.
For some days their life continued as before. Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett worked together, sometimes chemists, sometimes experimentalists. The reporter never left the engineer except to hunt with Herbert, for it would not have been prudent to allow the lad to ramble alone in the forests; and it was very necessary to be on their guard. As to Neb and Pencroft, one day at the stables and poultry-yard, another at the corral, without reckoning work in Granite House, they were never in want of employment.
The stranger worked alone, and he had resumed his usual life, never appearing at meals, sleeping under the trees in the plateau, never mingling with his companions. It really seemed as if the society of those who had saved him was insupportable to him!
"But then," observed Pencroft, "why did he entreat help? Why did he throw that paper into the sea?"
"He will tell us why," invariably replied Cyrus Harding.
"When?"
"Perhaps sooner than you think, Pencroft."
And, indeed, the day of confession was near. On the 10th of December, a week after his return to Granite House, the stranger approached Harding and said in a calm voice and humble tone. "Sir, I have a request to make you."
"Speak," answered the engineer; "but first let me ask you a question."
At these words the stranger reddened, and would have withdrawn. Cyrus Harding understood what was passing in the mind of the guilty man, who doubtless feared that the engineer would interrogate him on his past life.
Harding held him back. "Comrade," said he, "we are not only your companions but your friends. I wish you to believe that, and now I will listen to you."
The stranger pressed his hand over his eyes. He was seized with a sort of trembling, and remained a few moments without being able to articulate a word. "Sir," said he at last, "I have come to beg you to grant me a favor."
"What is it?"
"You have, four or five miles from here, a corral for your domesticated animals. These animals need to be taken care of. Will you allow me to live there with them?"
Cyrus Harding gazed at the unfortunate man for a moment with deep commiseration; then, "My friend," said he, "the corral has only stables hardly fit for animals."
"It will be good enough for me, sir."
"My friend," answered Harding, we will not constrain you in anything. You wish to live at the corral, so be it. You will be always welcome at Granite House. But since you wish to live at the corral we will make the necessary arrangements for your being comfortable there."
"Never mind that, I shall do very well."
"My friend," answered Harding, who always intentionally made use of this cordial appellation, "you must let us judge what it will be best to do in this respect."
"Thank you, sir," replied the stranger as he withdrew.
The engineer then made known to his companions the proposal which had been made to him, and it was agreed that they should build a wooden house at the corral, which they would make as comfortable as possible.
That very day the colonists repaired to the corral with the necessary tools, and a week had not passed before the house was ready to receive its tenant. It was built about twenty feet from the sheds, and from there it was easy to overlook the flock of sheep, which then numbered more than eighty. Some furniture, a bed, table, bench, cupboard, and chest, were manufactured, and a gun, ammunition, and tools were carried to the corral.
The stranger, however, had seen nothing of his new dwelling, and he had allowed the settlers to work there without him, whilst he occupied himself on the plateau, wishing doubtless, to put the finishing stroke to his work. Indeed, thanks to him, all the ground was dug up and ready to be sowed when the time came.
It was on the 20th of December that all the arrangements at the corral were completed. The engineer told the stranger that his dwelling was ready to receive him, and the latter replied that he would sleep there that very evening.
On this evening the colonists were gathered in the dining-room of Granite House. It was then eight o'clock, the hour at which their companion was to leave them. Not wishing to trouble him by their presence, and thus impose on him the necessity of saying farewells which might perhaps be painful to him, they had left him alone, and ascended to Granite House.
Now, they had been talking in the room for a few minutes, when a light knock was heard at the door. Almost immediately the stranger entered, and without any preamble, "Gentlemen," said he, "before I leave you, it is right that you should know my history. I will tell it you."
These simple words profoundly impressed Cyrus Harding and his companions.
The engineer rose. "We ask you nothing, my friend," said he; "it is your right to be silent."
"It is my duty to speak."
"Sit down, then."
"No, I will stand."
"We are ready to hear you," replied Harding.
The stranger remained standing in a corner of the room, a little in the shade. He was bareheaded, his arms folded across his chest, and it was in this posture that in a hoarse voice, speaking like someone who obliges himself to speak, he gave the following recital, which his auditors did not once interrupt:
"On the 20th of December, 1854, the steam-yacht, Duncan, belonging to a Scotch nobleman, Lord Glenarvan, anchored off Cape Bermouilli, on the west coast of Australia. On board this yacht were Lord Glenarvan and his wife, an English major, a French geographer, a young girl and a young boy. These two last were the children of Captain Grant, whose ship the Britannia had been lost, crew and cargo, a year before.
"This is the reason the yacht at this time lay off the coast of Australia. Six months before, a bottle, enclosing a document, had been found in the Irish Sea by the Duncan. This document stated in substance that there still existed three survivors from the wreck of the Britannia, that these survivors were Captain Grant and two of his men, and that they had found refuge on some land, of which the document gave the latitude, but of which the longitude, effaced by the sea, was no longer legible.
"This latitude was 37° 11' south; therefore, the longitude being unknown, if they followed the thirty-seventh parallel over continents and seas, they would be certain to reach the spot inhabited by Captain Grant and his two companions.
"It was Lord Glenarvan's intention to traverse Australia as he had already traversed America, and he disembarked. A few miles from the coast was established a farm, belonging to an Irishman, who offered hospitality to the travelers. Lord Glenarvan made known to the Irishman the cause which had brought him to these parts, and asked if he knew whether the Britannia, had been lost on the west coast of Australia. The Irishman had never heard of this wreck; but, to the great surprise of the bystanders, one of his servants came forward and said, 'My lord, praise and thank God! If Captain Grant is still living, he is living on the Australian shores.'
"'Who are you?' asked Lord Glenarvan.
"'A Scotchman like yourself, my lord,' replied the man; 'I am one of Captain Grant's crew—one of the castaways of the Britannia.
"This man was called Ayrton. He was, in fact, the boatswain's mate of the Britannia, as his papers showed. 'Only,' added he, 'it was not on the west coast, but on the east coast of Australia that the vessel was lost; and if Captain Grant is still living, as his document indicates, he is a prisoner among the natives, and it is on the other coast that he must be looked for.'
"This man spoke in a frank voice and with a confident look; his words could not be doubted. Lord Glenarvan, therefore, believed in the fidelity of this man, and, by his advice, resolved to cross Australia, following the thirty-seventh parallel. Lord Glenarvan, his wife, the two children, the major, the Frenchman, Captain Mangles, and a few sailors composed the little band under the command of Ayrton, whilst the Duncan, under charge of the mate, proceeded to Melbourne, there to await Lord Glenarvan's instructions.
"It is time to say that Ayrton was a traitor. He was, indeed, the boatswain's mate of the Britannia; but, after some dispute with his captain, he had endeavored to incite the crew to mutiny and seize the ship, and Captain Grant had landed him, on the 8th of April, 1852, on the west coast of Australia, and then sailed, leaving him there, as was only just.
"Therefore this wretched man knew nothing of the wreck of the Britannia; he had just heard of it from Glenarvan's account. Since his abandonment, he had become, under the name of Ben Joyce, the leader of some escaped convicts; and if he boldly maintained that the wreck had taken place on the east coast, and led Lord Glenarvan to proceed in that direction, it was that he hoped to separate him from his ship, seize the Duncan, and make the yacht a pirate in the Pacific."
Here the stranger stopped for a moment. His voice trembled, but he continued, "The expedition set out and proceeded across Australia. It was inevitably unfortunate, since Ayrton, or Ben Joyce, as he may be called, guided it, sometimes preceded, sometimes followed by his band of convicts, who had been told what they had to do.
"Meanwhile the Duncan had been sent to Melbourne for repairs. It was necessary, then, to get Lord Glenarvan to order her to leave Melbourne and go to the east coast of Australia, where it would be easy to seize her. After having led the expedition near enough to the coast, in the midst of vast forests with no resources, Ayrton obtained a letter, which he was charged to carry to the mate of the Duncan—a letter which ordered the yacht to repair immediately to the east coast, to Twofold Bay, that is to say a few days' journey from the place where the expedition had stopped. It was there that Ayrton had agreed to meet his accomplices, and two days after gaining possession of the letter, he arrived at Melbourne.
"So far the villain had succeeded in his wicked design. He would be able to take the Duncan into Twofold Bay, where it would be easy for the convicts to seize her, and her crew massacred, Ben Joyce would become master of the seas . . . But it pleased God to prevent the accomplishment of these terrible projects.
"Ayrton, arrived at Melbourne, delivered the letter to the mate, who read it and immediately set sail; but judge of Ayrton's rage and disappointment, when the next day he found that the mate was taking the vessel, not to the east coast of Australia, to Twofold Bay, but to the east coast of New Zealand. He wished to stop him, but was shown the letter! By a providential error of the French geographer, who had written the letter, the east coast of New Zealand was mention as the place of destination.
"All Ayrton's plans were frustrated! He became outrageous. They put him in irons. He was then taken to the coast of New Zealand, not knowing what would become of his accomplices, or what would become of Lord Glenarvan.
"The Duncan cruised about on this coast until the 3rd of March. On that day Ayrton heard the report of guns. The guns of the Duncan were being fired, and soon Lord Glenarvan and his companions came on board.
"This is what had happened.
"After a thousand hardships, a thousand dangers, Lord Glenarvan had accomplished his journey, and arrived on the east coast of Australia, at Twofold Bay. 'No Duncan!
"Lord Glenarvan could only arrive at one conclusion; that his honest yacht had fallen into the hands of Ben Joyce, and had become a pirate vessel! However, Lord Glenarvan would not give up. He embarked in a merchant vessel, sailed to the west coast of New Zealand, traversed it along the thirty-seventh parallel, without finding any trace of Captain Grant; but on the other side, to his great surprise, and by the will of Heaven, he found the Duncan, under command of the mate, who had been waiting for him for five weeks!
"This was on the 3rd of March, 1855. Lord Glenarvan was now on board the Duncan, but Ayrton was there also. He appeared before the nobleman, who wished to extract from him all that the villain knew about Captain Grant. Ayrton refused to speak. Lord Glenarvan then told him, that at the first port they put into, he would be delivered up to the English authorities. Ayrton remained mute.
"The Duncan continued her voyage along the thirty-seventh parallel. In the meanwhile, Lady Glenarvan undertook to vanquish the resistance of the ruffian. At last, her influence prevailed, and Ayrton, in exchange for what he could tell, proposed that Lord Glenarvan should leave him on some island in the Pacific, instead of giving him up to the English authorities. Lord Glenarvan, resolving to do anything to obtain information about Captain Grant, consented. Ayrton then related all his life, and it was certain that he knew nothing from the day on which Captain Grant had landed him on the Australian coast.
"Nevertheless, Lord Glenarvan kept the promise which he had given. The Duncan continued her voyage and arrived at Tabor Island. It was there that Ayrton was to be landed, and it was there also that, by a veritable miracle, they found Captain Grant and two men, exactly on the thirty-seventh parallel.
"The convict, then, went to take their place on this desert islet, and at the moment he left the yacht these words were pronounced by Lord Glenarvan: 'Here, Ayrton, you will be far from any land, and without any possible communication with your fellow-creatures. You cannot escape from this islet on which the Duncan leaves you. You will be alone, under the eye of a God who reads the depths of the heart; but you will be neither lost nor forgotten, as was Captain Grant. Unworthy as you are to be remembered by men, men will remember you. I know where you are, Ayrton, and I know where to find you. I will never forget it!'
"And the Duncan, making sail, soon disappeared. This was on the 18th of March, 1855.
"Ayrton was alone, but he had no want of either ammunition, weapons, tools, or seeds. At his, the convict's, disposal, was the house built by honest Captain Grant. He had only to live and expiate in solitude the crimes which he had committed.
"Gentlemen, he repented, he was ashamed of his crimes and was very miserable! He said to himself, that if men came some day to take him from that islet, he must be worthy to return amongst them! How he suffered, that wretched man! How he labored to recover himself by work! How he prayed to be reformed by prayer! For two years, three years, this went on; but Ayrton, humbled by solitude, always looking for some ship to appear on the horizon, asking himself if the time of expiation would soon be complete, suffered as none other ever suffered! Oh! how dreadful was this solitude, to a heart tormented by remorse! But doubtless Heaven had not sufficiently punished this unhappy man, for he felt that he was gradually becoming a savage! He felt that brutishness was gradually gaining on him!
"He could not say if it was after two or three years of solitude; but at last he became the miserable creature you found! I have no need to tell you, gentlemen, that Ayrton, Ben Joyce, and I, are the same."
Cyrus Harding and his companions rose at the end of this account. It is impossible to say how much they were moved! What despair lay revealed before them!
"Ayrton," said Harding, rising, "you have been a great criminal, but Heaven must think that you have expiated your crimes! That is proved by your being brought again among your fellow-creatures. Ayrton you are forgiven! And now you will be our companion?"
Ayrton drew back.
"Here is my hand!" said the engineer.
Ayrton grasped the hand which Harding extended to him, and great tears fell from his eyes.
"Will you live with us?" asked Cyrus Harding.
"Captain Harding, leave me some time longer," replied Ayrton, "leave me alone in the hut in the corral!"
"As you like, Ayrton," answer Cyrus Harding. Ayrton was going to withdraw, when the engineer addressed one more question to him. "One word more, my friend. Since you intended to live alone, why did you throw into the sea the document which put us on your track?"
"A document?" repeated Ayrton, who did not appear to know what he meant.
"Yes, the document which we found enclosed in a bottle, giving us the exact position of Tabor Island!"
Ayrton passed his hand over his brow, then after thought, "I never threw any document into the sea!" he answered.
"Never," exclaimed Pencroft.
"Never!" And Ayrton, bowed and departed.