第9章
"Now, lads," said Jack, after we had laid it on the stone which contained our little all, "I propose that we should go to the tail of the island, where the ship struck, which is only a quarter of a mile off, and see if anything else has been thrown ashore.I don't expect anything, but it is well to see.When we get back here it will be time to have our supper and prepare our beds.""Agreed!" cried Peterkin and I together, as, indeed, we would have agreed to any proposal that Jack made; for, besides his being older and much stronger and taller than either of us, he was a very clever fellow, and I think would have induced people much older than himself to choose him for their leader, especially if they required to be led on a bold enterprise.
Now, as we hastened along the white beach, which shone so brightly in the rays of the setting sun that our eyes were quite dazzled by its glare, it suddenly came into Peterkin's head that we had nothing to eat except the wild berries which grew in profusion at our feet.
"What shall we do, Jack?" said he, with a rueful look; "perhaps they may be poisonous!""No fear," replied Jack, confidently; "I have observed that a few of them are not unlike some of the berries that grow wild on our own native hills.Besides, I saw one or two strange birds eating them just a few minutes ago, and what won't kill the birds won't kill us.But look up there, Peterkin," continued Jack, pointing to the branched head of a cocoa-nut palm."There are nuts for us in all stages.""So there are!" cried Peterkin, who being of a very unobservant nature had been too much taken up with other things to notice anything so high above his head as the fruit of a palm tree.But, whatever faults my young comrade had, he could not be blamed for want of activity or animal spirits.Indeed, the nuts had scarcely been pointed out to him when he bounded up the tall stem of the tree like a squirrel, and, in a few minutes, returned with three nuts, each as large as a man's fist.
"You had better keep them till we return," raid Jack."Let us finish our work before eating.""So be it, captain, go ahead," cried Peterkin, thrusting the nuts into his trousers pocket."In fact I don't want to eat just now, but I would give a good deal for a drink.Oh that I could find a spring! but I don't see the smallest sign of one hereabouts.Isay, Jack, how does it happen that you seem to be up to everything?
You have told us the names of half-a-dozen trees already, and yet you say that you were never in the South Seas before.""I'm not up to EVERYTHING, Peterkin, as you'll find out ere long,"replied Jack, with a smile; "but I have been a great reader of books of travel and adventure all my life, and that has put me up to a good many things that you are, perhaps, not acquainted with.""Oh, Jack, that's all humbug.If you begin to lay everything to the credit of books, I'll quite lose my opinion of you," cried Peterkin, with a look of contempt."I've seen a lot o' fellows that were ALWAYS poring over books, and when they came to try to DOanything, they were no better than baboons!""You are quite right," retorted Jack; "and I have seen a lot of fellows who never looked into books at all, who knew nothing about anything except the things they had actually seen, and very little they knew even about these.Indeed, some were so ignorant that they did not know that cocoa-nuts grew on cocoa-nut trees!"I could not refrain from laughing at this rebuke, for there was much truth in it, as to Peterkin's ignorance.
"Humph! maybe you're right," answered Peterkin; "but I would not give TUPPENCE for a man of books, if he had nothing else in him.""Neither would I," said Jack; "but that's no reason why you should run books down, or think less of me for having read them.Suppose, now, Peterkin, that you wanted to build a ship, and I were to give you a long and particular account of the way to do it, would not that be very useful?""No doubt of it," said Peterkin, laughing.
"And suppose I were to write the account in a letter instead of telling you in words, would that be less useful?""Well - no, perhaps not."
"Well, suppose I were to print it, and send it to you in the form of a book, would it not be as good and useful as ever?""Oh, bother! Jack, you're a philosopher, and that's worse than anything!" cried Peterkin, with a look of pretended horror.
"Very well, Peterkin, we shall see," returned Jack, halting under the shade of a cocoa-nut tree."You said you were thirsty just a minute ago; now, jump up that tree and bring down a nut, - not a ripe one, bring a green, unripe one."Peterkin looked surprised, but, seeing that Jack was in earnest, he obeyed.
"Now, cut a hole in it with your penknife, and clap it to your mouth, old fellow," said Jack.