The Castaways of the Flag by Jules Verne Read Free Book Online Page A

thought he could see vague outlines of a coast
through a rift in the fog. So he seized the halyards and scrambled to the
masthead where, sitting astride the yard, he kept his eyes fixed steadily in
the direction where he had seen it.
     
                Close upon
ten minutes passed before he caught another glimpse to the northward. He slid
to the foot of the mast.
     
                "You saw the
coast?" Fritz asked sharply. "Yes, over there; under the rim of that
thick cloud which hides the horizon now."
     
                "Are you
sure you were not mistaken, Mr. Frank?" John Block said.
     
                "No, bos'un,
no, I was not mistaken! The cloud has spread over the place again now, but the
land is behind it. I saw it; I swear I saw it!"
     
                Jenny had
just risen and grasped her husband's arm.
     
                "We must
believe what Frank says," she declared. "His sight is wonderfully
keen. He could not make a mistake."
     
                "I
haven't made a mistake," Frank said. "You must all believe me, as
Jenny does. I saw a cliff distinctly. It was visible for nearly a minute
through a break in the clouds. I couldn't tell whether it ran to the east or
the west; but, island or continent, the land is there!"
     
                How could
they be sceptical about what Frank declared so positively?
     
                To what land
the coast belonged they might learn when the boat had reached it. Anyhow, her
passengers, five men, namely Fritz and Frank and James, Captain Gould and the
boatswain John Block, and three women, Jenny, Dolly, and Susan, together with
the child, would most certainly disembark upon its coast, whatever it might be.
     
                If it offered
no resources, if it were uninhabitable, or if the presence of natives made it
dangerous, the boat would put to sea again, after revictualing as well as
possible.
     
                Captain Gould
was immediately informed and, in spite of his weakness and pain, he insisted on
being carried to the stern of the boat.
     
                Fritz began
to make some comments about the signalled land.
     
                "What is
of the most concern to us at the present moment, is its distance from here.
Given the height from which it was observed, and also the foggy state of the
atmosphere, the distance cannot be more than twelve or fifteen miles."
     
                Captain Gould
made a sign of assent, and the boatswain nodded.
     
                "So with
a good breeze blowing towards the northward," Fritz went on, "two
hours should be enough to take us to it."
     
                "Unfortunately,"
said Frank, "the breeze is very uncertain, and seems to be inclined to go
back. If it doesn't drop altogether I am afraid it may be against us."
     
                "What
about the oars?" Fritz rejoined. "Can't we take to the oars, my
brother and James, and I, while you take the tiller, bos'un? We could row for
several hours."
     
                "Take to
the oars!" Gould commanded, in an almost inaudible voice.
     
                It was a pity
that the captain was not in a fit state to steer, for, with four of them to
row, the crew might have made a better job of it.
     
                Besides,
although Fritz and Frank and James were in the full vigour of youth, and the
boatswain was a sturdy fellow still, and all were thoroughly hardened to
physical exercise, yet they were terribly weakened now by privation and
fatigue. A week had passed since they had been cast adrift from the Flag. They
had economised their provisions, yet only enough remained to last them for
twenty-four hours. On three or four occasions they had caught a few fish by
trailing lines behind the boat. A little stove, a little kettle, and a saucepan
were all the utensils they possessed, besides their pocket knives. And