The Mysterious Island (23 page)

Two difficulties remained; firstly, the possibility of lighting this
excavation in the midst of solid rock; secondly, the necessity of
rendering the means of access more easy. It was useless to think of
lighting it from above, because of the enormous thickness of the granite
which composed the ceiling; but perhaps the outer wall next the sea
might be pierced. Cyrus Harding, during the descent, had roughly
calculated its obliqueness, and consequently the length of the passage,
and was therefore led to believe that the outer wall could not be very
thick. If light was thus obtained, so would a means of access, for
it would be as easy to pierce a door as windows, and to establish an
exterior ladder.

Harding made known his ideas to his companions.

"Then, captain, let us set to work!" replied Pencroft. "I have my
pickaxe, and I shall soon make my way through this wall. Where shall I
strike?"

"Here," replied the engineer, showing the sturdy sailor a considerable
recess in the side, which would much diminish the thickness.

Pencroft attacked the granite, and for half an hour, by the light of the
torches, he made the splinters fly around him. Neb relieved him, then
Spilett took Neb's place.

This work had lasted two hours, and they began to fear that at this spot
the wall would not yield to the pickaxe, when at a last blow given by
Gideon Spilett, the instrument, passing through the rock, fell outside.

"Hurrah! hurrah!" cried Pencroft.

The wall only measured there three feet in thickness.

Harding applied his eye to the aperture, which overlooked the ground
from a height of eighty feet. Before him was extended the sea-coast, the
islet, and beyond the open sea.

Floods of light entered by this hole, inundating the splendid cavern and
producing a magic effect! On its left side it did not measure more than
thirty feet in height and breadth, but on the right it was enormous, and
its vaulted roof rose to a height of more than eighty feet.

In some places granite pillars, irregularly disposed, supported the
vaulted roof, as those in the nave of a cathedral, here forming lateral
piers, there elliptical arches, adorned with pointed moldings, losing
themselves in dark bays, amid the fantastic arches of which glimpses
could be caught in the shade, covered with a profusion of projections
formed like so many pendants. This cavern was a picturesque mixture of
all the styles of Byzantine, Roman, or Gothic architecture ever produced
by the hand of man. And yet this was only the work of nature. She alone
had hollowed this fairy Aihambra in a mass of granite.

The settlers were overwhelmed with admiration. Where they had only
expected to find a narrow cavity, they had found a sort of marvelous
palace, and Neb had taken off his hat, as if he had been transported
into a temple!

Cries of admiration issued from every mouth. Hurrahs resounded, and the
echo was repeated again and again till it died away in the dark naves.

"Ah, my friends!" exclaimed Cyrus Harding, "when we have lighted the
interior of this place, and have arranged our rooms and storehouses in
the left part, we shall still have this splendid cavern, which we will
make our study and our museum!"

"And we will call it?—" asked Herbert.

"Granite House," replied Harding; a name which his companions again
saluted with a cheer.

The torches were now almost consumed, and as they were obliged to return
by the passage to reach the summit of the plateau, it was decided to put
off the work necessary for the arrangement of their new dwelling till
the next day.

Before departing, Cyrus Harding leaned once more over the dark well,
which descended perpendicularly to the level of the sea. He listened
attentively. No noise was heard, not even that of the water, which the
undulations of the surge must sometimes agitate in its depths. A flaming
branch was again thrown in. The sides of the well were lighted up for an
instant, but as at the first time, nothing suspicious was seen.

If some marine monster had been surprised unawares by the retreat of the
water, he would by this time have regained the sea by the subterranean
passage, before the new opening had been offered to him.

Meanwhile, the engineer was standing motionless, his eyes fixed on the
gulf, without uttering a word.

The sailor approached him, and touching his arm, "Captain!" said he.

"What do you want, my friend?" asked the engineer, as if he had returned
from the land of dreams.

"The torches will soon go out."

"Forward!" replied Cyrus Harding.

The little band left the cavern and began to ascend through the dark
passage. Top closed the rear, still growling every now and then. The
ascent was painful enough. The settlers rested a few minutes in the
upper grotto, which made a sort of landing-place halfway up the long
granite staircase. Then they began to climb again.

Soon fresher air was felt. The drops of water, dried by evaporation, no
longer sparkled on the walls. The flaring torches began to grow dim. The
one which Neb carried went out, and if they did not wish to find their
way in the dark, they must hasten.

This was done, and a little before four o'clock, at the moment when the
sailor's torch went out in its turn, Cyrus Harding and his companions
passed out of the passage.

The next day, the 22nd of May, the arrangement of their new dwelling
was commenced. In fact, the settlers longed to exchange the insufficient
shelter of the Chimneys for this large and healthy retreat, in the midst
of solid rock, and sheltered from the water both of the sea and sky.
Their former dwelling was not, however, to be entirely abandoned, for
the engineer intended to make a manufactory of it for important works.
Cyrus Harding's first care was to find out the position of the front of
Granite House from the outside. He went to the beach, and as the
pickaxe when it escaped from the hands of the reporter must have fallen
perpendicularly to the foot of the cliff, the finding it would be
sufficient to show the place where the hole had been pierced in the
granite.

The pickaxe was easily found, and the hole could be seen in a
perpendicular line above the spot where it was stuck in the sand. Some
rock pigeons were already flying in and out of the narrow opening; they
evidently thought that Granite House had been discovered on purpose for
them. It was the engineer's intention to divide the right portion of the
cavern into several rooms, preceded by an entrance passage, and to light
it by means of five windows and a door, pierced in the front. Pencroft
was much pleased with the five windows, but he could not understand the
use of the door, since the passage offered a natural staircase, through
which it would always be easy to enter Granite House.

"My friend," replied Harding, "if it is easy for us to reach our
dwelling by this passage, it will be equally easy for others besides
us. I mean, on the contrary, to block up that opening, to seal it
hermetically, and, if it is necessary, to completely hide the entrance
by making a dam, and thus causing the water of the lake to rise."

"And how shall we get in?" asked the sailor.

"By an outside ladder," replied Cyrus Harding, "a rope ladder, which,
once drawn up, will render access to our dwelling impossible."

"But why so many precautions?" asked Pencroft. "As yet we have seen no
dangerous animals. As to our island being inhabited by natives, I don't
believe it!"

"Are you quite sure of that, Pencroft?" asked the engineer, looking at
the sailor.

"Of course we shall not be quite sure, till we have explored it in every
direction," replied Pencroft.

"Yes," said Harding, "for we know only a small portion of it as yet. But
at any rate, if we have no enemies in the interior, they may come from
the exterior, for parts of the Pacific are very dangerous. We must be
provided against every contingency."

Cyrus Harding spoke wisely; and without making any further objection,
Pencroft prepared to execute his orders.

The front of Granite House was then to be lighted by five windows and a
door, besides a large bay window and some smaller oval ones, which would
admit plenty of light to enter into the marvelous nave which was to be
their chief room. This facade, situated at a height of eighty feet above
the ground, was exposed to the east, and the rising sun saluted it with
its first rays. It was found to be just at that part of the cliff which
was between the projection at the mouth of the Mercy and a perpendicular
line traced above the heap of rocks which formed the Chimneys. Thus
the winds from the northeast would only strike it obliquely, for it was
protected by the projection. Besides, until the window-frames were made,
the engineer meant to close the openings with thick shutters, which
would prevent either wind or rain from entering, and which could be
concealed in need.

The first work was to make the openings. This would have taken too long
with the pickaxe alone, and it is known that Harding was an ingenious
man. He had still a quantity of nitro-glycerine at his disposal, and he
employed it usefully. By means of this explosive substance the rock was
broken open at the very places chosen by the engineer. Then, with the
pickaxe and spade, the windows and doors were properly shaped, the
jagged edges were smoothed off, and a few days after the beginning of
the work, Granite House was abundantly lighted by the rising sun,
whose rays penetrated into its most secret recesses. Following the
plan proposed by Cyrus Harding, the space was to be divided into five
compartments looking out on the sea; to the right, an entry with a
door, which would meet the ladder; then a kitchen, thirty feet long; a
dining-room, measuring forty feet; a sleeping-room, of equal size; and
lastly, a "Visitor's room," petitioned for by Pencroft, and which was
next to the great hall. These rooms, or rather this suite of rooms,
would not occupy all the depth of the cave. There would be also a
corridor and a storehouse, in which their tools, provisions, and stores
would be kept. All the productions of the island, the flora as well as
the fauna, were to be there in the best possible state of preservation,
and completely sheltered from the damp. There was no want of space, so
that each object could be methodically arranged. Besides, the colonists
had still at their disposal the little grotto above the great cavern,
which was like the garret of the new dwelling.

This plan settled, it had only to be put into execution. The miners
became brickmakers again, then the bricks were brought to the foot of
Granite House. Till then, Harding and his companions had only entered
the cavern by the long passage. This mode of communication obliged them
first to climb Prospect Heights, making a detour by the river's bank,
and then to descend two hundred feet through the passage, having to
climb as far when they wished to return to the plateau. This was a great
loss of time, and was also very fatiguing. Cyrus Harding, therefore,
resolved to proceed without any further delay to the fabrication of
a strong rope ladder, which, once raised, would render Granite House
completely inaccessible.

This ladder was manufactured with extreme care, and its uprights, formed
of the twisted fibers of a species of cane, had the strength of a thick
cable. As to the rounds, they were made of a sort of red cedar, with
light, strong branches; and this apparatus was wrought by the masterly
hand of Pencroft.

Other ropes were made with vegetable fibers, and a sort of crane with a
tackle was fixed at the door. In this way bricks could easily be
raised into Granite House. The transport of the materials being thus
simplified, the arrangement of the interior could begin immediately.
There was no want of lime, and some thousands of bricks were there
ready to be used. The framework of the partitions was soon raised, very
roughly at first, and in a short time, the cave was divided into rooms
and storehouses, according to the plan agreed upon.

These different works progressed rapidly under the direction of the
engineer, who himself handled the hammer and the trowel. No labor came
amiss to Cyrus Harding, who thus set an example to his intelligent and
zealous companions. They worked with confidence, even gaily, Pencroft
always having some joke to crack, sometimes carpenter, sometimes
rope-maker, sometimes mason, while he communicated his good humor to
all the members of their little world. His faith in the engineer
was complete; nothing could disturb it. He believed him capable of
undertaking anything and succeeding in everything. The question of boots
and clothes—assuredly a serious question,—that of light during the
winter months, utilizing the fertile parts of the island, transforming
the wild flora into cultivated flora, it all appeared easy to him; Cyrus
Harding helping, everything would be done in time. He dreamed of canals
facilitating the transport of the riches of the ground; workings
of quarries and mines; machines for every industrial manufacture;
railroads; yes, railroads! of which a network would certainly one day
cover Lincoln Island.

The engineer let Pencroft talk. He did not put down the aspirations of
this brave heart. He knew how communicable confidence is; he even smiled
to hear him speak, and said nothing of the uneasiness for the future
which he felt. In fact, in that part of the Pacific, out of the course
of vessels, it was to be feared that no help would ever come to them. It
was on themselves, on themselves alone, that the settlers must depend,
for the distance of Lincoln Island from all other land was such, that
to hazard themselves in a boat, of a necessarily inferior construction,
would be a serious and perilous thing.

"But," as the sailor said, "they quite took the wind out of the sails of
the Robinsons, for whom everything was done by a miracle."