ELECTRIFYING THE SAVAGES.

"What a sight! They are going to attack us, sure!"

It was Mont who spoke, as at six o'clock in the morning he ascended to the platform.

The morning mist had lifted, and he could see the land distinctly.

The savages were very busy, and more numerous than they had been the night before.

As well as he could calculate, he counted six or seven hundred of them.

They were tall, handsome men, with an erect bearing, their features well chiseled.

In their ears they wore rings of bone.

Their arms were bows and arrows, spears, and shields made of the skins of fish stretched over a wooden frame or the back of the turtle.

A chief rowed in a canoe toward the _Searcher_, keeping at a safe distance.

He was adorned with a fantastic headdress of feathers and leaves, and seemed to be the king of the country.

Having nothing better to do, Mont got a fishing line from the negro who usually attended upon him, and amused himself with catching some of the fish that swam round the ship.

No one made any preparation to repel an attack of the Papouans, which alarmed Mont very much.

He had, however, so much confidence in the sagacity of Captain Vindex that he believed he would not be caught asleep.

For two hours he continued his sport with tolerable success, and was so wrapped up in it that he forgot the natives for the time.

While he was engaged in pulling up a good bite, an arrow whizzed past him.

Mont dropped his fish, and very nearly his line.

"Bother the brutes!" he exclaimed; "can't they let a fellow fish in peace? Why doesn't the captain make a start and get away from them?"

He was as eager now to leave the land as he had been the day before to reach it.

It was clear that the Papouans were puzzled.

They had seen European ships before, but what could they make of a long cylinder of iron, without masts, almost flush with the surface of the water, and no chimney like a steamer?

But they gained confidence as they saw no attempt made to drive them away.

They had seen some of their number killed by the air-guns, yet they had heard no noise.

All at once a flotilla consisting of a score of canoes, full of savages, put off from the sh.o.r.e, and approached the ship.

Mont at once sought refuge in the interior of the ship, and ran to apprise the captain of the formidable state affairs were a.s.suming.

Clearly no orders had been given to repel boarders.

Knocking at the captain's door, he was told to enter.

Captain Vindex was reading.

"Do I disturb you?" asked Mont politely.

"A little," replied the captain; "but I suppose you have good reason for seeking me?"

"Rather," answered our hero. "We are surrounded by savages, and in a few minutes we shall have them on board."

"Ah," said the captain, "they have got their canoes, I suppose?"

"Heaps of them."

"Then we must do something."

"Shut up the shop," said Mont.

"That is easily done," replied the captain, touching a bell, and adding: "In half a minute the trapdoor will be closed. You need not be afraid that they will break in."

"No, but to-morrow we shall want air, and you must open the door again for your pumps to work."

"Yes; our ship is like a great whale, and cannot live without air."

"In a moment the Papouans will be on the top of us, and I don't suppose they will go away in a hurry," replied Mont.

"You suppose they will take possession of the outside and keep it?"

"Exactly."

"Well, then," answered the captain calmly, "I don't see why they shouldn't. Why should I kill the poor creatures if I can help it? I know many savages in the civilized world whom I would cut off with more pleasure. Leave them to me. If it is necessary I will make a terrible example of them."

"You have no cannon."

"I shall not fire a shot, and I shall not wound them in any way, and yet they will fall like leaves in autumn. Go to your friends, and rest perfectly easy," said the captain.

This was a dismissal, and, wondering much, Mont went away.

As he sought his cabin he heard the fierce cries of the savages, who swarmed on the back of the iron ship like flies in summer.

The night pa.s.sed without any incident. Plenty of oxygen still pa.s.sed through the ship, but it was time to renew the air, which was becoming impure.

Breakfast was served in the morning, as usual.

Eleven o'clock came, and the captain showed no signs of moving.