VIII
THE NOISES IN THE VALLEY
NOW, SO SOON as we had gotten the boat into safety, the which we did
with a most feverish haste, the bo'sun gave his attention to Job; for
the boy had not yet recovered from the blowwhich the loom of the oar
had dealt him beneath the chin when the monster snatched at it. For
awhile, his attentions produced no effect; but presently, having
bathed the lad's face with water from thesea, and rubbed rum into his
chest over the heart, the youth began to show signs of life, andsoon
opened his eyes, whereupon the bo'sun gave him a stiff jorum of the
rum, after which he asked him how he seemed in himself. To this Job
replied in a weak voice that he was dizzy and his head and neck ached
badly; on hearing which, the bo'sun bade him keep lying until he had
come more to himself. And so we left him in quietness under a little
shade of canvas and reeds; for theair was warm and the sand dry, and
he was notlike to come to any harmthere.
At a little distance, underthe directing of the bo'sun, we made to
prepare dinner, for we were now very hungry, it seeming a great while
since we had broken ourfast. To this end, the bo'sun sent two of the
men across the island to gather some of the dry seaweed; for we
intended to cook some of the salt meat, this being the first cooked
meal since ending the meat which we had boiled before leaving the ship
in the creek.
In the meanwhile, and until the return of the men with the fuel, the
bo'sun kept us busied in various ways. Two he sent to cut a bundle of
the reeds, and another couple to bring the meatand the iron boiler,
the latter being one that we had taken from the old brig.
Presently, the men returned with the dried seaweed, and very curious
stuff it seemed, some of it being in chunks near as thick as a man's
body; but exceeding brittle by reason of its dryness. And so in a
little, we had a very good fire going, which we fed with the seaweed
and pieces of the reeds, though we found the latter to be but
indifferent fuel, having too much sap, and being troublesome to break
into convenientsize.
Now when the fire had grown red and hot, the bo'sun half filled the
boiler with sea water, in which he placed the meat; and the pan,
having a stout lid, he didnot scruple to place it in the very heart of
the fire,so that soon we had the contents boiling merrily.
Having gotten the dinnerunder way, the bo'sun set about preparing our
camp for the night, which we did by making a rough framework withthe
reeds, over which wespread the boat's sails and the cover, pegging the
canvas down with tough splinters of the reed. When this was completed,
we set-to and carried there all our stores, after which the bo'sun
took us over to the other side of the island to gather fuel for the
night, which we did, each man bearing a great double armful.
Now by the time that we had brought over, each of us, two loads of the
fuel, we found the meat to be cooked, and so, without more to-do, set
ourselves down and made a very good meal off it and some biscuits,
after which we had eachof us a sound tot of the rum. Having made an
end of eating and drinking, the bo'sun went over to where Job lay, to
inquire how he felt, and found him lying very quiet, though his
breathing had a heavy touch about it. However, we could conceive of
nothing by which he might be bettered, and so left him, being more
hopeful that Nature would bring him to health than any skill of which
we were possessed.
By this time it was late afternoon, so that the bo'sun declared we
might please ourselves until sunset, deeming that we had earned a very
good right to rest; but that from sunset till the dawn we should, he
told us, have each of us to take turn and turn about to watch; for
though we were no longer upon the water, none might say whether we
were out of danger or not, as witness the happening of the morning;
though, certainly, he apprehended no danger from the devil-fish so
long as we kept well away from the water's edge.
And so from now until dark most of the men slept; but the bo'sun spent
much of that time in overhauling the boat, to see how it might chance
to have suffered during the storm, and also whether the struggles of
the devil-fish had strained it in any way. And, indeed, it was
speedily evident that the boat would need some attention; forthe plank
in her bottom next but one to the keel, upon the starboard side, had
been burst inwards; this having been done, itwould seem, by some rock
in the beach hiddenjust beneath the water's edge, the devil-fish
having, no doubt, ground the boat down upon it. Happily, the damage
was not great; though it would most certainly have to be carefully
repaired beforethe boat would be again seaworthy. For the rest, there
seemed to be no other part needing attention.
Now I had not felt any call to sleep, and so had followed the bo'sun
to the boat, giving him a hand to remove the bottom-boards, and
finally to slue her bottoma little upwards, so that he might examine
the leak more closely. When he had made an end with the boat, he went
over to the stores, and looked closely into their condition, and also
to see how they were lasting. And, after that, he sounded all the
water-breakers; having done which, he remarked that it would be well
for us if we coulddiscover any fresh water upon the island.
By this time it was getting on towards evening, and the bo'sun went
across to look at Job, finding him much ashe had been when we visited
him after dinner. At that, the bo'sun asked me to bring across one of
the longer of the bottom-boards, which I did, and we made use of it as
a stretcher to carry the lad into the tent. Andafterwards, we carried
all the loose woodwork of the boat into the tent, emptying the lockers
of their contents, which included some oakum, a small boat's hatchet,
a coil of one-and-a-half-inch hemp line, a good saw, an empty,
colza-oil tin, a bag of copper nails, some bolts and washers, two
fishing-lines, three spare tholes, a three-pronged grain without the
shaft, two balls of spun yarn, three hanks of roping-twine, apiece of
canvas with fourroping-needles stuck in it, the boat's lamp, a spare
plug, and a roll of light duck for making boat's sails.
And so, presently, the dark came down upon the island, at which the
bo'sun waked the men, and bade them throw more fuel on to the fire,
which had burned downto a mound of glowing embers much shrouded in
ash. After that, one of them part filled the boiler with fresh water,
and soon we were occupied most pleasantlyupon a supper of cold, boiled
salt-meat, hard biscuits, and rum mixed with hot water. During supper,
the bo'sun made clear to the men regarding the watches, arranging how
they should follow, so that I found I was set down to take my turn
from midnight until one of theclock. Then, he explainedto them about
the burst plank in the bottom of the boat, and how that itwould have
to be put right before we could hope to leave the island, and that
after that night we should have to go most strictly with the victuals;
for there seemed to be nothing upon the island, that we had up till
then discovered, fit to satisfy our bellies. More than this, if we
could find no fresh water, he should have to distil some to make up
for that which we had drunk, and this must be done before leaving the
island.
Now by the time that thebo'sun had made an end of explaining these
matters, we had ceased from eating, and soon after this we made each
one of us a comfortable place in the sand within the tent, and lay
down tosleep. For a while, I found myself very wakeful, which may have
been because of the warmth of the night, and, indeed, at last I got up
and went out of the tent, conceiving that I might the better find
sleep in the open air. And so it proved; for, having lain down at the
side of the tent, a little way from the fire, I fell soon into a deep
slumber, which at first was dreamless. Presently,however, I came upon
a very strange and unsettling dream; for I dreamed that I had beenleft
alone on the island, and was sitting very desolate upon the edge of
the brown-scummed pit. Then I was aware suddenly that it was verydark
and very silent, and I began to shiver; for it seemed to me that
something which repulsed my whole being had come quietly behind me. At
that I triedmightily to turn and lookinto the shadows amongthe great
fungi that stood all about me; but I had no power to turn. And the
thing was coming nearer, though never a sound came to me, and I gave
out a scream, or tried to; but my voice made no stir in the rounding
quiet; and then something wet and cold touched my face, and slithered
down and covered my mouth, and paused there for a vile, breathless
moment. It passed onward and fell to my throat--and stayedthere. . .
Some one stumbled and felt over my feet, and at that, I was suddenly
awake. It was the man on watch making a walk round the back of the
tent, and he had not known of my presence till he fell over my boots.
He was somewhat shaken and startled, as might be supposed; but
steadied himself on learning that it was no wild creature crouched
there in the shadow; andall the time, as I answered his inquiries, I
was full of a strange, horrid feeling that something had left me atthe
moment of my awakening. There was a slight, hateful odour in my
nostrils that was not altogether unfamiliar, and then, suddenly, I was
aware that my face was damp and that therewas a curious sense of
tingling at my throat. I put up my hand and felt my face, and the hand
when I brought it away was slippery with slime, and at that, I put up
my other hand, and touchedmy throat, and there it was the same, only,
in addition, there was a slight swelled place a little to one side of
the wind-pipe, the sort of place that the bite of a mosquito will
make; but I had no thought to blame any mosquito.
Now the stumbling of the man over me, my awakening, and the discovery
that my face and throat were be-slimed, were but the happenings of
some few,short instants; and then Iwas upon my feet, and following him
round to the fire; for I had a senseof chilliness and a great desire
not to be alone. Now, having come to thefire, I took some of the water
that had been left in the boiler, and washed my face and neck, after
which I felt more my own man. ThenI asked the man to look at my
throat, so that he might give me some ideaof what manner of place the
swelling seemed, and he, lighting a piece of the dry seaweed to act as
a torch, made examination of my neck; but could see little, save a
number of small ring-like marks, red inwardly, and white at the edges,
and one of them was bleeding slightly. After that, I asked him whether
he had seen anything moving round the tent; but he had seen nothing
during all the time that he had been on watch; though it was true that
he had heard odd noises;but nothing very near at hand. Of the places
on my throat he seemed to think but little, suggesting that I had been
bitten by some sortof sand-fly; but at that, I shook my head, and told
him of my dream, and after that, he was as anxious to keep near me as
I to him. And so the night passed onward, until my turn came to watch.
For a little while, the man whom I had relieved sat beside me; having,
I conceived, the kindly intent of keeping me company; but so soon as I
perceived this, Ientreated him to go and get his sleep, assuring him
that I had no longer any feelings of fear--such as had been mine upon
awakening and discovering the state of my face and throat--; and, upon
this, he consented to leave me, and so, in a little, I sat alone
beside the fire.
For a certain space, I kept very quiet, listening; but no sound came
to me out of the surrounding darkness, and so, as though it were a
fresh thing, it was borne in upon me how that we were in a very
abominable place oflonesomeness and desolation. And I grew very
solemn.
Thus as I sat, the fire, which had not been replenished for a while,
dwindled steadily until itgave but a dullish glow around. And then, in
the direction of the valley, I heard suddenly the sound of a dull
thud, the noise coming to me through the stillness with a very
startling clearness. At that, I perceived that I was not doing my duty
to the rest, nor to myself, by sitting and allowing the fire to cease
from flaming; and immediately reproaching myself, I seized and cast a
mass ofthe dry weed upon the fire, so that a great blazeshot up into
the night, and afterwards I glancedquickly to right and to left,
holding my cut-and-thrust very readily, and most thankful to the
Almighty that I had brought no harm to any by reason of my
carelessness, which I incline me to believe wasthat strange inertia
which is bred by fear. And then, even as I looked about me, there came
to me across the silence of the beach a fresh noise, a continual soft
slithering to and fro in the bottom of the valley, as though a
multitude of creatures moved stealthily. At this, I threw yet more
fuel upon the fire, and after that I fixed my gaze in the direction of
the valley: thus in the following instant it seemed to me that I saw a
certain thing, as it might be a shadow, move on the outer borders of
the firelight. Now the man who had kept watch before me had left his
spear stuck upright in the sand convenient to my grasp, and, seeing
something moving, I seized the weapon and hurled it with all my
strength in its direction; but there came no answering cry to tell
that I had struck anything living, and immediately afterwards there
fell once more a great silence upon the island, being broken only by a
far splash out upon the weed.
It may be conceived withtruth that the above happenings had put a very
considerable strain upon my nerves, so that Ilooked to and fro
continually, with ever and anon a quick glance behind me; for it
seemedto me that I might expectsome demoniac creature to rush upon me
at any moment. Yet, for the space of many minutes, there came to me
neither any sight nor sound of living creature; so that I knew not
what to think, being near to doubting if I had heard aught beyond the
common.
And then, even as I madehalt upon the threshold of doubt, I was
assured that I had not been mistaken; for, abruptly, I was aware that
all the valley was full of a rustling, scampering sortof noise,
through which there came to me occasional soft thuds, and anon the
former slithering sounds. And at that, thinking a host of evil things
to be upon us,I cried out to the bo'sun and the men to awake.
Immediately upon my shout, the bo'sun rushed out from the tent, the
men following, and every one with his weapon, save the man who had
left his spear in the sand, and that lay now somewhere beyondthe light
of the fire. Thenthe bo'sun shouted, to know what thing had caused me
to cry out; butI replied nothing, only held up my hand for quietness,
yet when this was granted, the noises in the valley had ceased; so
that the bo'sun turnedto me, being in need of some explanation; but I
begged him to hark a little longer, which he did, and, the sounds
re-commencing almost immediately, he heard sufficient to know that I
had not waked them all without due cause. And then, as we stood each
one of us staring into thedarkness where lay the valley, I seemed to
see again some shadowy thing upon the boundary of the firelight; and,
in the same instant, one of the men cried out and cast his spear into
the darkness. But the bo'sun turned upon him with a very great anger;
for in throwing his weapon, the man had left himself without, and thus
brought danger to the whole; yet, as will be remembered, I had
donelikewise but a little since.
Presently, there coming again a quietness within the valley, and none
knowing what might be toward, the bo'sun caught up a mass of the dry
weed, and, lighting it at the fire, ran with it towards that portion
of the beach which lay between us and the valley. Here he cast it upon
the sand, singing out to some of the men to bring more of the weed, so
that we might have a fire there, and thus be able to see if anything
made to come at us out of the deepnessof the hollow.
Presently, we had a very good fire, and by the light of this the two
spears were discovered, both of them stuck in thesand, and no more
than a yard one from the other, which seemed to me a very strange
thing.
Now, for a while after the lighting of the second fire, there came no
further sounds from the direction of the valley; nothing indeed
tobreak the quietness of the island, save the occasional lonely
splashes that sounded from time to time out in the vastness of the
weed-continent. Then, about an hour after I had waked the bo'sun, one
of the men who had been tending the fires came up to him to say that
we had come to the end of our supply of weed-fuel. At that, the bo'sun
looked very blank, the which did the rest of us, as well we might; yet
there was no help for it, until one of the men bethought him of the
remainder of the bundle of reeds which we had cut, and which, burning
but poorly, we had discarded for the weed. This was discovered at the
back ofthe tent, and with it we fed the fire that burned between us
and the valley; but the other we suffered to die out, for the reeds
were not sufficient to support even the one until the dawn.
At last, and whilst it was still dark, we came to theend of our fuel,
and as the fire died down, so did the noises in the valley recommence.
And there we stood in the growing dark, each one keeping a very ready
weapon, and a more ready glance. And at times the island would be
mightily quiet, and then again the sounds ofthings crawling in the
valley. Yet, I think the silences tried us the more.
And so at last came the dawn. [ tobe continued....]
