The Wonder Island Boys: The Tribesmen

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The boys looked at each other in amazement. During all of the previous
visits there had never been the slightest sound within the cavern.

"Possibly," said Harry, "it may be running water."

"It doesn't sound like water to me. I will--" but Harry did not have an
opportunity to say anything more, as a terrific roar, like a cannon
shot, rang out, and the boys were simply petrified.

"What do you think that was?" whispered George. They drew close
together, and spoke in whispers.

"This will never do," declared Harry. "If there is anything in this
place we might as well know it now as later. Will you join me in the
hunt?"

And the boys responded with one assent. "Let us go to the second
chamber. Come on, boys." And they bravely stalked down the corridor.

When the chamber was reached a hollow laugh greeted them, followed by
two hearty laughs. The Professor and John had entered the opening at the
sea end, and hurriedly made their way to the second chamber, where they
awaited the coming of the boys.

The boys were intensely relieved, and the Professor was so happy to see
the determined and resolute spirit they manifested, that he complimented
them highly.

John was no less profuse in his commendations. "I want to say, that men
can be brave when they know what they have to fight, and who their
enemies are; but it takes the stoutest heart to go forth and defend
yourself, or assume the offensive against an unseen and an unknown
enemy."

CHAPTER XVII

THE WONDERFUL PORTABLE FORT

On the return of the party to their home that evening the events of the
day were discussed to the exclusion of everything else, and now was the
opportunity for the boys to learn something about the other cave, of
which John had given a meager account.

"Would you object to telling us what the wonderful things were which you
saw in the cave at the western part of the island?" was Tom's inquiry.

"Not in the least. The ship on which we sailed from San Francisco
contained the charts of several caves, one of which was that of the cave
I referred to. I saw the treasure there with my own eyes, and I can
direct you to it, because, notwithstanding the stress of my
surroundings, I took the bearings, on the following day, and it will not
be difficult to locate it."

"Did you remember the circumstances of the visit to the place where we
were being pursued by the savages?"

John looked at the Professor, and then at the boys. "I do not remember
such an occurrence," he answered.

"But I would like to ask the Professor a question," exclaimed George.
"What was it that made you give us that quick advice to leave the mouth
of the cave when we wanted it as a hiding place?"

"I saw from the carefully hidden, but trodden, path, that some one must
have used it as a place of refuge, and concluded that as it was so near
the village it might have been some of the clans of the tribe, either as
a place of concealment from their enemies, in case of attack, or by some
of the so-called religious communities which many of the tribes have."

"In what way did you discover that this cave had been charted?"

"First by the peculiarity, that it had two entrances, on opposite sides
of a hill, and secondly, by the singular internal arrangement, which
stated that within the corridors and the chambers constituted a cross,
and the treasures were to be found at the extremities of the cross
limbs, within the two large chambers."

"Then you knew of the existence of this island, before you sailed?"

"No; the chart merely described the characteristics of the caverns, but
stated they were located on islands in the South Seas."

"Do you think our cave here is one of them?"

"I do not think so, as I do not recall any description which would fit
this cave, except the two entrances, and that is not uncommon."

"The chart stated that there was another cave fifteen leagues to the
southeast of that cave, which also contained treasure, and that was the
principal reason why I traveled in that direction, and thus found myself
in the savage-inhabited part of the island."

"Fifteen leagues? How far would that be?"

"Forty-five miles."

Nothing more was needed as a stimulus for the boys. They had truly been
thrown on an island of wonder.

"Why is it," asked Ralph, "that so much of the treasure of the world was
hidden in these out-of-the-way places by the pirates?"

"I imagine," replied John, "that they didn't have much confidence in the
rest of the world. The manner in which they got most of the money was by
acts of piracy on the high seas, and it was necessary to hide the
proceeds of the robberies as fast as acquired, because if they should be
captured, its possession would at once seal their doom. These hidden
treasures are distributed over every part of the world. As to the other
part of your question, the vast hoards of gold and silver so
distributed, formed a very small part of the wealth of the old world. It
is not known how vast a sum Pizarro took from the Inca in Peru, but it
is estimated variously at from twelve to twenty tons."

The boys opened their eyes in astonishment.

"How much would that be worth in money?"

"Counting it at the present value of gold, every pennyweight would be
worth a dollar."

"Let me see; twenty pennyweights in an ounce, and twelve ounces in a
pound; that would be two hundred and forty dollars in a pound."

"That is right."

"And then twenty tons would be 40,000 pounds. And multiplying that by
240 would make $9,600,000. My, what a lot of money!"

"Cortez, at about the same time, conquered Mexico, and secured a much
greater amount. All over the western hemisphere, from northern Mexico
down to Peru, untold millions of gold and silver were looted by the
Spanish and Portuguese navigators, and taken to Europe, and it is
estimated that as much more was disposed of in these hidden recesses,
and those who deposited them were swept off the seas, and all knowledge
of the caches were lost."

"During what times was most of this money deposited?"

"The pirates which infested the coasts of Spanish America and the West
Indies, flourished in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Originally the French and English during the wars against Spain used the
expedition against her ships, as acts of war, but later on, after peace
was established in Europe, the buccaneers continued in their
depredations, and it was made unlawful by all the great nations."

From that day there was no cessation on the part of the entire working
force to prepare the necessary ammunition required for a campaign
against the savages. It should be stated that by this time Chief had
learned many things, and John took particular pains to teach him daily,
until he could pronounce many words very distinctly, and understood the
meaning of them.

It was surprising to see how quickly his mind grasped the association of
a verb with some name, and the simplest and most common verbs of action
were taught. In this way it became apparent that all should be cautious
about talking of the proposed expedition in his presence. Nevertheless
all were anxious to enlist him in the enterprise.

He never inquired about the gun barrels, and curiously enough seemed to
take no interest in any of the weapons but the spears and arrows. He was
a fine archer. This was demonstrated on several occasions, the only
difficulty being that the bows which the boys had were too small.

Chief selected his own branches, for the bows, and showed the boys how
to hold the arrows, and the distance he could propel them was marvelous.
They were not by any manner of means a match, by comparison, with the
guns, but they would be dangerous missiles if attacked in the open, and
of this fact the boys had learned several lessons.

The wagon, which was constructed before the first trip across the
island, had been through some tough places, and the wheels and axles
were in bad condition. These needed replacing, and that was a task which
would occupy some time.

One day, at the evening meal, the boys asked about Chief. He had not
been noticed by anyone since noon.

He was usually at work with Harry, who was asked concerning him.

"The last I saw of him was right after lunch, and he was going in the
direction of the clay bank. As he was in the habit of going there quite
frequently I paid no attention to him."

"Did he have anything with him, that you noticed?"

"Nothing but the bolo and the bow and arrows that he always took."

"Possibly he is on some mission," replied the Professor. "It does not
seem likely that he has determined to desert us; but it may be he has
grown tired of this existence. It is a curious phase of these matters,
however, which, I believe, will apply in his case, that when he goes
back he will find his old life a very disquieting one to him, and I
predict he will be here again within a month."

"By that time we will be on our way toward his section, and I hope we
shall have the opportunity of meeting him," responded John.

What required more attention than any part of the equipment, aside from
the ammunition, was the structure of the wagon. This had to be a fort
for them, and so arranged that it could be put up to meet an attack from
any quarter.

But this, unfortunately, left the yaks exposed to the assaults of the
spears and arrows, and John suggested a novel addition to the wagon
equipment.

"My idea is this: As we are all pretty strong, excepting the Professor,
to stand the march on foot, I would convert our wagon into a vehicle
which would carry the fort with us, and this fort, whenever we camped,
could be set up so that the yaks would be inside, and thus protected as
well as ourselves.

"To effect this the more readily, my plan would be to make three
sections of boards, in the form of a fence, each section to be six feet
high and ten feet long. These should be either folded together in the
middle lengthwise, so they could be nested together and swung below the
axles between the wheels, and set up to form a square at one side of the
wagon.

"One side of the wagon body could be made to be let down, so as to form
a protection below the body of the wagon. Within that enclosure the yaks
could be stationed, if we should be attacked, and for the purpose of
defense, four of us would be within the enclosure and two in the wagon
to protect it from that side.

[Illustration: _Fig. 33. The Portable Fort._]

"The sketch which I have made shows these features, in which you will
see (Fig. 33), the side boards (A) hinged along the middle line, as at
B. These would be held at the outer corners by posts C. In the sketch
the side board of the wagon body has been let down, so access can be
had to the wagon."

The plan, so ingeniously contrived, pleased the fancy of the boys.

"I imagine," said Harry, "this will be the first time people ever
carried their fort with them. It will be fun to meet the savages with
that kind of an outfit."

"You must not think, however," continued John, "that this is all we
shall need. We must take in the wagon sufficient food for the yaks to
withstand a siege, so that with our own provisions, guns and ammunition,
we shall have a pretty good load."

"How heavy will the three sections of fence weigh?"

"I estimate that, as we shall want the boards made of good wood, the
weight will be thirty pounds per cubic foot, and as all the boards will
take fourteen cubic feet of lumber, the total weight, including the
posts, can be brought within 450 pounds, and I do not think our other
material will weigh much over 500 more."

"That would not be a hard load," observed the Professor, "as we have
often hauled a ton, but it would be well to make a new set of wheels,
and we can then take with us an extra wheel for the front and rear."

"I think we should take tools along also," said Tom, "because we can
always make our own repairs, in that event."

"I am glad you referred to that. It is certainly a suggestion in the
right direction. Are there any more observations from any of the other
army engineers?"

"I may be wrong," answered Harry, "but it seems to me that one of the
folding fences should be put on each side of the wagon body, and the
third under the wagon."

"What is your reason for that?" asked Tom.

"Because we may want to put up the fort in a big hurry some time, and by
having them at the three places, and have it understood who are to take
out each section, it would be the work of a few moments only to set it
up, because each set of workers could handle his section without
interference from the others."

"That is really a stroke of genius. Certainly, that is the sensible
way," responded John.

"It is simply another illustration," added the Professor, "how men,
looking at things from different standpoints, will see the defects in
each other's work. That is the story of every great invention."

These conferences were of the greatest value to the boys. It pointed out
how men, through force of circumstances, were compelled to devise things
for their need.

George had been an intent listener during these discussions. "It does
seem that the old statement, 'that necessity is the mother of
invention,' is true."

The Professor turned to him smilingly, as he replied: "That may be so in
very many eases, it is true, but I imagine that in the vast majority of
instances the necessity was in the mind of the inventor to get some
money. The thought of that requirement was a more vivid thing to him
than the real need of the article as an economic necessity."

"Do you really think that is the case?"

"If my memory is not at fault, the people of England howled with
derision when the first locomotive was built; the men who put out the
first sewing machine had their stores broken into and the machines
smashed; and the telephone when first installed was considered simply as
a plaything and curiosity, and not as a useful improvement. It has been
the history of every age and of most of the great inventions. After the
inventions were completed, and their value shown, the merchant and the
manufacturer created the demand, and then the articles became a
necessity, and not before. For this reason I think the proverb should be
amended to say that 'the necessity of the inventor is the mother of
invention.'"

Before starting on the trip the matter of clothing had to be attended
to. A quantity of ramie had been cut, and put in water, for the purpose
of rotting the woody fiber, and this was taken out of the water as fast
as it was ready, and cleaned and combed, and at times worked up into
threads, which were placed in the loom, and a coarse cloth thus woven.

This was, necessarily, a slow process, and consumed considerable time.
This, together with the making of the percussion caps, was the tedious
part of all the preparations. Every energy was put forth to get the
different things required. Harry and Tom had made up the fort, and John
suggested the idea of having a drill exercise in setting it up, so that
the work could be performed without interference.

During the day, when the posts and the fastenings were all ready, the
wagon was brought out and the yaks yoked up. The elements of the fort
were attached to the wagon, in the manner that they were to be
transported. As there were three sections of the fort, one on each side
of the wagon body and one below the axles, it was provided that the six
should form three divisions; the Professor and Ralph, John and Tom, and
Harry and George the couples for setting up the fort.

As Harry and George were the most familiar with the animals, and knew
better than the others how to handle them, it was made a part of their
duty, when the signal was given, to unyoke and turn the yaks to the
proper place at the side of the wagon.

While this was being done, the Professor and Ralph were to detach the
section on the side of the wagon where the fort was to be set up, and
carry it out at right angles and at the forward end of the wagon. At the
same time John and Tom would take the section on the opposite side of
the wagon and carry it around to form the end of the fort.

This would then give Harry and George the opportunity to take the part
below the wagon and erect it at the rear angle of the wagon, while Tom
and Ralph were getting the posts for the outer ends of the fort.

When all was ready, the signal was given, and the various divisions
sprang to their allotted work. They marveled at the celerity with which
the fort was put up.

"I see a serious defect in the arrangement at one point," said Tom.

"What is that?" was the question from all.

"You see we have the fort ready, but it is adapted for one side of the
wagon only. It may be most important to have it arranged so that either
side of the wagon can be used for the fort."

"A fine suggestion," answered John. "That change can be made by having
both sides of the body so they can be let down."

George also had a good suggestion to make. "According to the
calculations we have fourteen cubic feet of material, and it is light
wood, at that. Why couldn't the fort be utilized as a raft, so as to
save the cutting of green timber, which is so heavy?"

"Well," said the Professor, smiling, "we are developing this at an
immense rate. The new idea is the starting point for an invention to so
arrange the sections as to make them act as floats. Here is a great
opportunity for the genius."

Tom and Harry conferred on this subject for some time, and after
luncheon, announced the plan: "It is fortunate that the axles of our
wheels project. It will be an easy matter to take the sections from the
sides of the body and attach one edge of each section to the projecting
ends of the axles, and then the two posts can be used as braces to run
up from the outer edges on the sections to the upper edges of the body.
The third section can be left under the axles where it now is."

John was delighted at the simple solution of this problem.

"I really believe," said Tom, "that we can adjust the sections in that
way while the wagon is moving, as it can be attached without any
difficulty."

It is wonderful how one improvement marks the advance stride for the
next. Invention is really nothing but a step by step movement; a little
addition here, another accretion there, and so on, so that invention has
been shown to be, not a matter of quantity, but of quality. The mere
bending of a wire, if it produces a new and useful result, is just as
much entitled to the dignity of an invention, as a room full of
intricate mechanism.

CHAPTER XVIII

TRAILING A WARRING PARTY OF NATIVES

"Professor, won't you tell us what the difference is between weight and
gravity? We have been discussing that matter this afternoon."

"Gravity is a force by virtue of which all bodies tend to approach each
other constantly; and weight is the measure of the effect of gravity
acting upon a body. The two are often confounded."

"Now, the next thing we want to know is, does gravity act in all
directions?"

"Yes; and the attraction of one body for another is in proportion to its
mass--that is to say, if two bodies, one weighing one and the other two
pounds, should be hung near each other, the heavy object would pull the
lighter one twice the distance it would itself move."

"Do you mean to say that everything on earth attracts everything else? I
thought it was only the earth that had the power to attract."

"The earth is no different from any other object in that particular, but
on account of its immense size everything goes toward it and its motion
toward the small object is not noticed."

"Is there any way that such a statement could be proved?"

"I suggest one plan: select two walls, close together, or two tall
trees, and run a wire across, as I show in the sketch (Fig. 32). From
that cross wire, A, suspend three objects by cords, B, C, D. The cord B
is exactly midway between the two walls, and the other cords C, D, and
so attached that the objects at their lower ends hang close to the
walls. It will be found that the cords C, D are farther apart at their
lower ends than at the upper ends, and that the cord B is exactly plumb,
as it is affected equally by the attraction of the opposite walls."

[Illustration: _Fig. 34. Gravitational pull._]

The new raft attachment was completed, and Harry made the suggestion
that it ought to be put to a practical test, and that a good place to do
this would be below the cataract, where it was wide and deep enough to
float.

The drill was affected for attaching the sections, as shown in the
drawing (Fig. 35), in which A represents the section under the axles,
and B, C the two side sections, attached at their inner edges to the
ends of the axles, and with the posts D serving as braces.

The yaks seemed to know their business instinctively, and moved down
into the water slowly, and the improvised raft not only prevented the
body from sinking into the water very low, but it had a wonderful
steadying effect, because the side sections served as wings to prevent
lateral swaying.

[Illustration: _Fig. 35. Using the Fort as a Raft._]

The crossing and the return were made without accident, and the sections
returned and fixed in place, and the wagon was now completed for the
journey.

A considerable quantity of the barley flour was ground, and both honey
and cane sugar taken in the vessels which had been recovered from the
cave. The ammunition was stored in four boxes at convenient places
within the body, and the little metal stove, with the cooking utensils,
located near the rear end, where they could be conveniently taken out
and returned.

The three sleeping mattresses were stored in the bottom of the body,
near the forward end, and as the sides of the body were three feet high,
it can be understood that there was an abundance of room for them, and
for the other things which were carried along for their convenience and
comfort.

Everything was bustle and rush. Angel was as busy as the rest. It was
his joy to carry things to the wagon, at George's behest, and when the
hour for starting came, and the house was about to be locked, he rushed
into the room, before George could close it, and mount to the rafters.

George followed his movements without a word. He was back in an instant
with the little mirror which George had given him some weeks before. It
was the only time he had taken it down or brought it within sight of
those around him.

With this treasure in his hand he scrambled to the wagon, and found a
secure place in the top bows of the wagon, and then hung on the rear bow
and waited for the start. He loved these jaunts in the wagon, and they
had been frequently made during the past four weeks, but he had never
taken the mirror. How did he know that they were going for a journey?

With a good-by to their herd, the jolly party of boys began the trail
through the forests, this time not for the love of adventure, or to
learn what they had about them, but to relieve their fellows and to be
of service to the benighted people who were their neighbors.

As in former times, the Professor cautioned them against haste during
the initial portion of the journey, and until they became accustomed to
the rough part of the work. Much of the time during the first few days
could be devoted to hunting, so as to get a good supply of food, which,
later on, might be of great service to them.

The course decided on was to go directly west, and after entering the
forest to move southwardly until the South River was reached, and thus
pass the falls. Ralph and George had never been in that section of the
island, and all were desirous of again visiting the spot where so many
of their experiences had taken place, and in a region that gave them the
most startling surprises and mysteries, some of which were not yet
unraveled.

Shortly after the noonday hour the roaring of the falling water was
distinctly heard, and the boys hurried forward to see it, followed by
the wagon.

"Here is the place we found the lifeboat--the one we have at
Cataract--right across the river, near that tree. A little farther up
we'll show you where we put our boat--that is the one we started out
with to explore the river, and the one which disappeared."

While passing up toward the falls, John stopped suddenly at a mass of
the driftwood, and called to Tom, who was nearest, "Pull that log over;
I want to see what this is."

Tom obeyed at once, and while he held up the log indicated, John, after
considerable exertion, drew forth a smaller log, which had evidently
been cut off with some dull tool, and when Harry came to the rescue the
entire log was extricated, and all saw a piece of rope attached, and the
indication at two places where evidently it had been in scraping contact
with some other timbers.

"Did you see the rope?" asked the Professor, "before the log attracted
you?"

"No; the end of the log could not have been broken off in that manner,
and when it was drawn out the rope followed."

"It is the same kind of rope we found on our boat at the beach. The
boat, as you remember, was left by us a little above this place."

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