The Castaways of the Flag (5 page)

           
When one
remembered that the banks of Pearl Bay had been no more than skimmed, that
coral was to be found on many parts of the coast, that nutmegs and vanilla could
be produced in large quantities, and that there were many other treasures in
New Switzerland, one had to acknowledge that the colony was destined for a
height of prosperity which set it in the foremost of the over-sea dominions of
Great Britain.

           
In accordance
with M. Zermatt's instructions part of the sum realised from the sale of these
articles was to be spent upon things required to complete the stock at Rock
Castle and the farms in the Promised Land. The rest, about three-quarters of
the whole sum, and the ten thousand pounds coming from Colonel Montrose's
estate, were deposited in the Bank of England, upon which M. Zermatt would be
able to draw in the future as he might require, thanks to the communication
which would soon be established with the capital.

           
Restitution
was made of the various jewels and monies belonging to the families of those
who had been lost with the
Landlord,
who had been traced after enquiry.

           
Finally, a
month after the arrival of Fritz Zermatt and Jenny Montrose in London, their
marriage was celebrated there by the chaplain of the corvette. The
Unicorn
had
brought them as an engaged couple, and would take them back to New Switzerland
a married couple.

           
All these
events excited a considerable interest throughout Great Britain in the family
which had been abandoned for a dozen years on an unknown island in the Indian
Ocean, and in Jenny's adventures and her stay on Burning Rock. The story which
had been written by Jean Zermatt appeared in the English and foreign
newspapers, and under the title of "The Swiss Family Robinson," it
was destined to a fame equal to that won already by the immortal work of Daniel
Defoe.

           
The
consequence of all this was that the Admiralty decided to take possession of
New Switzerland. Moreover, this new possession had some very considerable
advantages to offer. The island occupied an important position in the east of
the Indian Ocean, near the entrance to the Sunda seas, on the road to the Far
East. Seven hundred and fifty miles at most separated it from the western coast
of Australia. The sixth part of the world, discovered by the Dutch in 1605,
visited by Abel Tasman in 1644 and by Captain Cook in 1774, was destined to
become one of England's principal dominions. Thus the Admiralty could but
congratulate itself on its acquisition of an island so near that continent.

           
And thus the
despatch of the
Unicorn
to its waters was decided upon. The corvette
would set out again in a few months under the command of Lieutenant
Littlestone, promoted captain on this occasion. Fritz and Jenny Zermatt were to
sail in her with Frank, and also a few colonists, pending the time when other
emigrants, in larger numbers, would sail in other ships to the same
destination.

           
It was
arranged that the corvette should put in at the Cape to pick up James and Susan
and Dolly Wolston.

           
The lengthy
stay of the
Unicorn
at Portsmouth was due to the fact that repairs of
some magnitude had become absolutely necessary after her voyage from Sydney to
Europe.

           
Fritz and
Frank did not spend the whole of this time in London or in England. They and
Jenny regarded it as a duty to visit Switzerland, so as to be able to take to
M. and Mme. Zermatt some news of their native land.

           
So they went
first to France, and spent a week in Paris. The Empire had just ended at this
date, as also had the long wars with Great Britain.

           
Fritz and
Frank arrived in Switzerland, the country which they had almost forgotten, so
young had they been when they left it, and from Geneva they went to the canton
of Appenzel.

           
Of their
family none remained except a few distant relatives of whom M. and Mme. Zermatt
knew little. But the arrival of the two young men caused a great sensation in
the Swiss Republic. Everybody knew the story of the survivors of the wreck of
the
Landlord,
and knew the island now on which they had found refuge.
Thus, although their fellow-countrymen were little inclined to run the risks
involved in emigration, several declared their intention of joining those
colonists to whom New Switzerland promised a cordial welcome.

           
It was not
without a pang that Fritz and Frank left the land of their origin. Even if they
might hope to visit it again in the future, that was a hope which M. and Mme.
Zermatt, advancing now in years, would hardly realise.

           
Crossing
France, Fritz and Jenny and Frank returned to England.

           
Preparations
for the sailing of the
Unicorn
were drawing to a close, and the corvette
would be ready to set sail in the last few days of June.

           
Both Fritz
and Frank were received with nattering attention by the Lords of the Admiralty.
England was grateful to Jean Zermatt for having of his own free will offered
Captain Littlestone immediate possession of his island.

           
As has been
explained, when the corvette left New Switzerland, the greatest portion of the
island was still unexplored, save the district of the Promised Land, the
littoral on the north, and part of the littoral on the east as far as Unicorn
Bay. Captain Littlestone was therefore to complete its survey both on the west
and south and also in the interior. In a few months more, several ships would
be fitted out to take emigrants and the materials required in colonisation and
to put the island in a proper state of defence. Then regular communication
would he established between Great Britain and those distant waters of the
Indian Ocean.

           
On the 27th
of June the
Unicorn
was ready to weigh anchor, and only waited for Fritz
and Jenny and Frank. On the 28th the three arrived at Portsmouth, whither the
stores purchased on behalf of the Zermatt family had been sent in advance.

           
They were
warmly welcomed aboard the corvette by Captain Littlestone, whom they had had
one or two opportunities of meeting in London. How happy they were in the
thought of seeing James and Susan Wolston again at Cape Town, and also the
charming little Dolly, whom Frank had kept constantly supplied with news, and
good news too, of everybody.

           
In the
morning of the 29th of June, the
Unicorn
left Portsmouth with a fair
wind, flying at the peak the English flag which was to be planted upon the
shores of New Switzerland.

           
A CABIN was
reserved for Fritz and his wife in the
Unicorn,
and an adjoining one for
Frank, and they took their meals at Captain Littlestone's table.

           
Nothing of
special note happened during the voyage. There were all the usual incidents,
changeable seas, uncertain winds, calms, and a few violent outbreaks of heavy
weather through which the corvette came without much damage. In the South
Atlantic they passed a few vessels which would report tidings of the
Unicorn
in Europe. In the present interval of peace after the long period of great
wars, the high seas were safe.

           
But the
Unicorn,
which had had a fairly easy time while crossing the Atlantic, met with
shocking weather when south of Africa. A violent storm burst on her during the
night of the 19th of August, and the gale drove her out to sea again. The
hurricane grew more and more violent, and they had to run before it, as it was
impossible to lie to. Captain Littlestone, splendidly supported by his officers
and crew, displayed great skill. The mizzen mast had to be cut away, and a leak
was sprung aft which was only smothered with difficulty. At last, when the wind
fell, Captain Littlestone was able to resume his course and hurried to the
harbour at Cape Town for repairs.

           
On the
morning of the 10th of September the top of the Table, the mountain which gives
its name to the bay, was sighted.

           
Directly the
Unicorn
had found her moorings, James Wolston, with his wife and Dolly, came out in
a boat.

           
What a
welcome they gave Fritz and Jenny and Frank, and how happy they all were!

           
For the last
ten months they had perforce been without news. Although there was no
particular ground for imagining that anything untoward had befallen the people
at Rock Castle, this absence could not but seem very long.

           
James
Wolston's affairs had all been wound up satisfactorily.

           
But they
found themselves confronted by the impossibility of putting to sea at once. The
damage done to the
Unicorn
was serious enough to necessitate a prolonged
stay in Cape Town harbour. It would take two or three months to make repairs,
after her cargo had been taken out of the corvette. She could not possibly sail
for New Switzerland before the end of October.

           
But the
passengers on the
Unicorn
had an unexpected opportunity of shortening
their stay at the Cape.

           
There
happened to be in the harbour a vessel, due to sail in a fortnight. She was the
Flag,
an English three-masted vessel of five hundred tons, captain Harry
Gould, bound for Batavia, in the Sunday Islands. To put in at New Switzerland
would take her very little out of her course, and the passengers for the island
were prepared to pay a good price for their passage.

           
Their
proposal was accepted by Captain Gould, and the
Unicorn's
passengers
transferred their baggage to the
Flag.

           
The
three-master's preparations were finished in the afternoon of the 20th of
September. That evening they said good-bye, not without regret, to Captain
Littlestone, promising to look out for the arrival of the
Unicorn
at the
mouth of Deliverance Bay towards the end of November.

           
Next morning
the
Flag
sailed, with a favouring wind from the south-west, and before
the evening of that first day the high summits of the Cape, left forty miles
behind, disappeared below the horizon.

           
Harry Gould
was a fine sailor, with cool courage equal to his resolution. He was now in the
prime of life, at forty-two, and had shown his quality both as mate and
captain. His owners had every confidence in him.

           
To this
confidence, Robert Borupt, the second officer on the
Flag,
was not
entitled. He was a man of the same age as Harry Gould, jealous, vindictive, and
of uncontrolled passions. He never believed that he received the due meed of
his merits. Disappointed in his hope of being given the command of the
Flag,
he nursed at the bottom of his heart a secret hatred of his captain. But
his temper had not escaped the vigilance of the boatswain, John Block, a
fearless, reliable man devoted heart and soul to his chief.

           
The crew of
the
Flag,
mustering some score of men, was not of the first-class, as
Captain
Gould
very well knew. The boatswain noticed with disapproval the
indulgence too often shown by Robert Borupt to some of the sailors, when fault
should have been found with them for neglect of duty. He thought that all this
was suspicious, and he watched the second officer, fully determined to give
Captain Gould warning, if needful.

           
Nothing of
note happened between the 22nd of August and the 9th of September. The
condition of the sea and the direction of the wind were alike favourable to the
ship's progress, though the breeze was a shade too light. If the three-master
were able to maintain the same rate of progress she would reach New Switzerland
waters about the middle of October, within the time anticipated.