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I had been so tired on the night of the wreck, that scarcely was one meal over than I was asleep again, and only woke up to see a fresh repast prepared for us. As soon as I was somewhat recovered, I hurried out, with Tarbox and Potto Jumbo, to the shore to see what had become of the wreck.
At last, indeed, Mr Thudicumb proposed that he and Tarbox and Roger Trew, with Potto Jumbo, should devote themselves to building the vessel, while the rest of us either went fishing, or assisted Mr Sedgwick and Mr Hooker in collecting objects of natural history, or in manufacturing sago, or in making other articles which would be required for the voyage or present use.
We had just returned on board one forenoon, when, on scrambling up on the deck, we found our friends in a state of great agitation. "See dere!" exclaimed Potto Jumbo, who was the first person we met. "What do you say to dat?"
The boat meantime was slowly drifting in, in spite of the efforts of two men on board to hold her; one indeed appeared to have been hurt, and able to exert but little strength. Who they were we could not then see, but I hoped that my old friend Dick Tarbox had escaped. "Is the boatswain one of them?" I asked of Potto Jumbo. "Yes, massa, yes," answered Potto; "and t'other Mr Thudicumb.
Diving, I knew, would have been of no use, for the creature might have followed me far lower than I could have sunk. Still I swam on. I heard another shout, and as I rose to the top of a wave I saw just astern of the ship a black head and face it was Potto Jumbo. Above his head he waved a long knife. He intended it as a signal that he was coming to my assistance.
"If we had a dozen more fellows with us, we would quickly sally out and put them to flight!" exclaimed Mr Thudicumb. "But as we are only nine in all, not counting de ladies and Merlin, and dem fellows fight like wild beasts, we hab hard job to drive dem back," said Potto Jumbo. "Still we fight while we got drop blood in de veins. Merlin fight wid teeth dough; you see dat!
Men can more easily escape from shipwreck, and if cast on a desert island are better able to rough it, than females; but what hope would there be of two young girls escaping with their lives, should we be cast on shore? I had not forgotten either the remarks Potto Jumbo had made about the Lascars. I could not help fancying that they all had a more than usually sulky manner.
I was nearest my friend, and seizing hold of me he hauled me in over the quarter, while Potto sprang to the side, and was dragged in by the other men. Merlin waited till he saw us both on board, and not till then did he push for the boat, with his snout lifted up as if asking for assistance.
It instantly uncoiled its powerful tail and attempted to seize its enemy. It seemed as if it could have crushed him with one blow against the tree, but he gave a spring and just escaped it. At the same instant Potto Jumbo sprang in and struck the tail, which instantly flew back and again encircled the tree.
We assisted in cutting it, but we could not make much progress; and Potto Jumbo devoted a couple of days to that work, so that we have now enough. We find great difficulty, however, in beating off the hull in a large mortar. We had seen Tanda do it, when not a grain was driven out; but when we attempted it, we sent them flying out in all directions.
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