Water
there was none, unless it were to be obtained by digging; fortunately
the young cocoa-nuts prevented the absolute necessity for it. On his
return, Krantz passed the men in their respective stations. Each was
awake, and raised himself on his elbow to ascertain if it were an
assailant; but perceiving Krantz, they again dropped down. Krantz
passed the raft--the water was now quite smooth, for the wind had
shifted off shore, and the spars which composed the raft hardly
jostled each other. He stepped upon it, and, as the moon was bright in
the heavens, he took the precaution of collecting all the arms which
had been left, and throwing them as far as he could into the sea. He
then walked to the tent, where he found Philip still sleeping soundly,
and in a few minutes he was reposing by his side. And Philip's dreams
were of Amine; he thought that he saw the hated Schriften rise again
from the waters, and, climbing up to the raft, seat himself by her
side. He thought that he again heard his unearthly chuckle and his
scornful laugh, as his unwelcome words fell upon her distracted ears. He thought that she fled into the sea to avoid Schriften, and that the
waters appeared to reject her--she floated on the surface. The storm
rose, and once more he beheld her in the sea-shell skimming over the
waves. Again, she was in a furious surf on the beach, and her shell
sank, and she was buried in the waves; and then he saw her walking on
shore without fear and without harm, for the water which spared
no one, appeared to spare her. Philip tried to join her, but was
prevented by some unknown power, and Amine waved her hand and said,
"We shall meet again, Philip; yes, once more on this earth shall we
meet again." The sun was high in the heavens and scorching in his heat, when Krantz
first opened his eyes, and awakened Philip. The axe again procured for
them their morning's meal. Philip, was silent; he was ruminating upon
his dreams, which had afforded him consolation. "We shall meet again!" thought he. "Yes, once more at least we shall meet again. Providence! I thank thee." Krantz then stepped out to ascertain the condition of the men. He
found them faint, and so exhausted, that they could not possibly
survive much longer, yet still watching over their darling treasure. It was melancholy to witness such perversion of intellect, and Krantz
thought of a plan which might save their lives. He proposed to them
each separately, that they should bury their money so deep, that it
was not to be recovered without time: this would prevent any one from
attacking the treasure of the other, without its being perceived
and the attempt frustrated, and would enable them to obtain their
necessary food and refreshment without danger of being robbed. To this plan they acceded. Krantz brought out of the tent the only
shovel in their possession, and they, one by one, buried their dollars
many feet deep in the yielding sand. When they had all secured their
wealth, he brought them one of the axes, and the cocoa-nut trees
fell, and they were restored to new life and vigour. Having satiated
themselves, they then lay down upon the several spots under which they
had buried their dollars, and were soon enjoying that repose which
they all so much needed. Philip and Krantz had now many serious consultations as to the means
which should be taken for quitting the island, and going in search
of Amine; for although Krantz thought the latter part of Philip's
proposal useless, he did not venture to say so. To quit this island
was necessary; and provided they gained one of those which were
inhabited, it was all that they could expect. As for Amine, he
considered that she was dead before this, either having been washed
off the raft, or that her body was lying on it exposed to the
decomposing heat of a torrid sun. To cheer Philip, he expressed himself otherwise; and whenever they
talked about leaving the island, it was not to save their own lives,
but invariably to search after Philip's lost wife. The plan which they
proposed and acted upon was, to construct a light raft, the centre to
be composed of three water-casks, sawed in half, in a row behind each
other, firmly fixed by cross pieces to two long spars on each side. This, under sail, would move quickly through the water, and be
manageable so as to enable them to steer a course. The outside spars
had been selected and hauled on shore, and the work was already in
progress; but they were left alone in their work, for the seamen
appeared to have no idea at present of quitting the island. Restored
by food and repose, they were not content with the money which they
had--they were anxious for more. A portion of each party's wealth had
been dug up, and they now gambled all day with pebbles, which they
had collected on the beach, and with which they had invented a game. Another evil had crept among them: they had cut steps in the largest
cocoa-nut trees, and with the activity of seamen had mounted them,
and by tapping the top of the trees, and fixing empty cocoa-nuts
underneath, had obtained the liquor, which in its first fermentation
is termed toddy, and is afterwards distilled into arrack. But as
toddy, it is quite sufficient to intoxicate; and every day the scenes
of violence and intoxication, accompanied with oaths and execrations,
became more and more dreadful. The losers tore their hair, and rushed
like madmen upon those who had gained their dollars; but Krantz had
fortunately thrown their weapons into the sea, and those he had saved,
as well as the ammunition, he had secreted. Blows and bloodshed, therefore, were continual, but loss of life there
was none, as the contending parties were separated by the others, who
were anxious that the play should not be interrupted. Such had been
the state of affairs for now nearly a fortnight, while the work of the
raft had slowly proceeded. Some of the men had lost their all, and
had, by the general consent of those who had won their wealth, been
banished to a certain distance that they might not pilfer from them. These walked gloomily round the island, or on the beach, seeking
some instrument by which they might avenge themselves, and obtain
repossession of their money. Krantz and Philip had proposed to these
men to join them, and leave the island, but they had sullenly refused. The axe was now never parted with by Krantz. He cut down what
cocoa-nut trees they required for subsistence, and prevented the men
from notching more trees, to procure the means of inebriation. On the
sixteenth day, all the money had passed into the hands of three men
who had been more fortunate than the rest. The losers were now by
far the more numerous party, and the consequence was, that the next
morning these three men were found lying strangled on the beach; the
money had been redivided, and the gambling had recommenced with more
vigour than ever. "How can this end?"