The roof done, all hands turned their attention to raising the sides of the shanty. This was a much easier job, consisting in nailing rough pieces of planking at intervals across the corner-posts from end to end, both inside the building and without, and then filling up the interstices, or intervening hollows, with the basaltic debris that was scattered around--just as rubble is thrown in between skeleton brickwork by what are termed "jerry-builders" to form party-walls of modern tenements. The side walls were then carried up to within a foot or so of the eaves of the roof, the sail-covering of which after being allowed to lap over was now tucked in at the top, thus closing up the chinks and making all snug.
The front of the shanty was afterwards finished off in the same way, although more planking was employed as greater nicety of detail was necessary in order to arrange for the doorway and windows, for which latter the remains of the cabin sky-light Frank thought of bringing ashore supplied the material; but it took a couple of days to complete the building to the satisfaction of Ben and Mr Meldrum, notwithstanding which drawback the whole party took possession of it the night after the wreckage had been landed, the recovered timber enabling the carpenter and his crew to proceed with the work--all declaring that the house was perfect and ever so much better than the discarded tent, in spite of many things being still wanting.
In the interior, of course, a flooring had been dispensed with, from the simple fact of their having no wood to spare for such a luxury; but otherwise it was made to look very comfortable.
Through the aid of canvas curtains suspended from the roof, it was divided, as Mr Meldrum had originally planned, into three tolerably commodious apartments, the cosiest and most sheltered of which, at the extreme end of the building, was apportioned to the ladies some sailcloth being spread on the bare ground to render it warmer; while the middle and larger room was reserved as a store and place of general assembly for eating and carrying on such avocations as were required when the weather was too rough for out-of-door work.
The third apartment, at the beach end of the building, was devoted to the dormitory accommodation of the men folk, who slept on the bare rock below in their blankets--Mr Meldrum, with the American and the officers of the ship swinging above the crew in hammocks.
They had a tight fit of it altogether, some one-and-twenty sleeping in a space of not more than twenty feet by eight, according to the dimensions of the floor; but Captain Dinks' cot was hung for the present in the general compartment, on account of his wounded condition and the necessity of his having free air and ventilation, lest there should be a return of his feverish symptoms, which a confined atmosphere might have brought about.
When all these arrangements were completed, and the stores neatly ranged round the central division, which Ben Boltrope had further adorned with a rough deal table and some settles placed in the centre, the place presented quite a homelike appearance to the castaways. The children, indeed, declared that it was like the cuddy of the poor old _Nancy Bell_--that is, when things went well with the vessel. This resemblance was especially apparent on the second night after taking possession of the new house, when it was "declared open" in state, on which occasion it was lit up by no less than two of the ship's lanterns as a sort of house warming in honour of the event. Snowball was also allowed by Mr Meldrum to spread the festal board with as luxurious a feast as their scanty supplies permitted, a bottle of wine being subsequently produced for the ladies and grog served out to the men.
"I guess, mister," said Mr Lathrope, who took quite as much pride as Mr Meldrum in the building--indeed had an equal share in planning its construction, although he did not work quite so hard in carrying out the details--"I'd a sight rayther have this air shanty than a brown stone front in Philadelphy--yes, sir!"
"Well, we've got a roof over our heads at all events!" replied Mr Meldrum, "and I confess I was anxious about that point. We've had exceptionally fine weather for the time of year here, however, and there's no knowing how soon it will turn off; so, now that our house is finished, the next thing to be considered is the state of our provisions."
"Ah!" said the American, "I kalkerlate that's coming to hum."
"The food question is a vital necessity in most cases, and especially now in ours,"--continued the other--"taking into account the many mouths we have to feed."
"But the Lord filleth the hungry, we're told," said Mrs
Major Negus, who had developed, since landing on the island, what had evidently been a strong religious trait previously dormant in her character, if quoting Scripture texts were any proof of this disposition.
"Ah ma'rm," responded Mr Lathrope, "don't you believe it, unless the hungry work for it."
"And much you've done to earn your food!" said the lady tartly.
"Wa-al, ma'rm, if it warn't for me, as Mr Meldrum here will tell you, I've no doubt yer wouldn't have a chimbley, nor nary fire to sot by inside haar!"
"A fine smoky chimney it is too!" retorted Mrs Major Negus. "It is quite suffocating, I declare."
"That's better nor bein' friz," said the American, with some little heat. He was rather annoyed at having his special contrivance sneered at, for it was only after repeated attempts and failures that the building party had at last managed to rig up a fireplace against the back wall of the shanty--running up through the roof of the "general"
room a chimney-shaft of loosely piled stones, enclosed within a framework of planks to which was nailed on the sea-elephant's skin in order to prevent the wood from catching fire. This served the purpose of warming the whole of the interior, as the other apartments opened into this room, which indeed also provided the only means of communication with the outside of the hut, the principal and solitary door of the establishment being here.
"I'd sooner be smoked any time fur chice, myself, than friz!" said Mr Lathrope again, as if to provoke his opponent.
"No wonder," retorted the lady, eager to have the last word, "when you're at it all day long, smoking your brains out with that vile tobacco!"
"What were you going to say about the provisions, papa?" interposed Kate at this juncture, in order to give a turn to the conversation, which seemed to be getting a trifle too personal between Mr Lathrope and "the Major."
"Well, my dear," said her father, glad of the interruption, "I was about to call a council of war. What we have can't last us very long, at our present rate of consumption. We shall have to eke it out, as far as it is practicable, by the native products of the island."
"That's snow and pumice-stone, as fur as I ken see," put in Mr Lathrope; "and I guess I must be durned peckish fore I tackle those!"
"You forget the seals and the penguins," said Mr Meldrum.
"Waal, mister," rejoined the American, "we've only seed one seal, as I reckon. That was that air 'Sea Olly-fant,' as the Norwegee called it, and the animile's meat warn't 'zackly what this child ken stomach! As for them penguins, I guess they're kinder fishy."
"My dear sir, we can't be squeamish," said the other. "Perhaps we'll be only too glad to get anything we can presently! Besides the seals and birds, however, there's something else I shall have to look after to- morrow. It is what I should have thought of before, only we were so busy about the house--some vegetable food to eat with our salt beef. We must use some antiscorbutic; and we haven't a tin of our preserved stock left, I think."
"And whar'll you find vegetables haar, mister?"
"Why, there's one specially distinctive of the island and I daresay we'll not have to hunt far for it. From the accounts I've read it ought to grow quite close to the seashore."
"And what's that, mister?" asked the American.
"Kerguelen cabbage," promptly answered Mr Meldrum.
"Snakes and alligators, mister! Do you expect to find sich kitchen stuff haar?"
"I do," replied the other; "and intend to search for it to-morrow morning, as soon as I turn out!"
"It was lucky we have poor puss, papa," said Florry just then. "We would have had all our things eaten up by the mice only for her."
"Dear me!" ejaculated Mrs Major Negus, drawing her skirts closer to her in alarm, "you don't say so? Mice! gracious goodness that I ever should have come to such a place. Of all the things I hate, those nasty creatures are the worst."
"Ah! ma'rm," put in Mr Lathrope, seeing his chance of revenge for the lady's comments on his chimney; "if all Mister Meldrum kalkerlates comes true about the shortness of our provisions, I guess you'll be glad to eat 'em bye and bye! I've seed the Chinee immigrants gobble 'em up in Californy often enough!"
"Disgusting!" ejaculated Mrs Major Negus, raising her nose in the air with an expression of intense scorn. "I for one, sir, will never descend to adopt Chinese fashions and live on rats and mice, whatever you may have learnt to do in your travels."
"Pray, do not alarm yourself," interposed Mr Meldrum, laughing. "Can't you see that Mr Lathrope is only joking! I do not dread our being reduced to such a sad extremity as he pictures! Are you sure about the mice, Florry?"
"Oh yes, papa," answered that young lady. "Pussy killed four not long ago, and brought them purring, one after another, to Kate and me--as if to show us what she had done! Besides, I'm sure I heard them squeaking behind the boxes last night."
Florry's statement was true enough, for on hunting amongst the stores it was found that the corners of the bags containing the small supply of biscuits they had left had been nibbled through and their contents scattered on the ground; in addition to which there were other evidences of the presence of the little depredators. The mice must have been originally introduced into the island by some whaling ship; and, they had evidently multiplied considerably since then, for they were now very numerous and puss would have all her work cut out for her in keeping them down.
In spite of the mouse diversion, Mr Meldrum did not forget what he had said about the "Kerguelen cabbage."
Instituting a search next day, it was not long before he came across the plant in a little hollow, close to the fresh-water tarn adjoining their hut and just peeping out from a thin covering of half-melted snow that lay on the ground.
This peculiar vegetable production, which was first noticed by Captain Cook a century ago and is indigenous to the island, is termed by botanists the _Pringlea antiscorbutica_, and belongs to the order of plants classed as the _Cruciferae_, which embraces the common cabbage of every household garden, the radish, and the horse-radish--to the latter of which the Kerguelen cabbage is the most closely allied, on account of its hot pungent taste when eaten raw as well as from its habit and mode of growth.
Mr Meldrum could not have failed to discover and recognise it at first sight from the description he already had, for the leaves of the plant grew thick about the root and put forth an upright stem, some two to three feet high, from which proceeded shoots, like broccoli sprouts on an enlarged scale, the outer petal-like leaves of which were six to eight inches long, and of a dark olive-green hue and fleshy nature, rounded and ciliated at the margin; while the inner leaves were of a paler green that approximated to yellow in the centre, where they were crumpled together, exactly like as in the "heart" of the well-known cabbage, to which the vegetable bore a very close likeness on being first seen.
"Begorrah, it's a cabbage, all the worruld over!" exclaimed the first mate, who had accompanied Mr Meldrum in his quest. "Sure you'd hardly know the hid ov the baste, if it was cut off, from one grown in Connemara!"
"Not quite so strong a resemblance, perhaps," replied Mr Meldrum, smiling. "Still, there's likeness enough to recognise its membership to the general cabbage family; but, we have yet to try how it tastes!"
"Aye, aye, sorr," said Mr McCarthy. "The proof of the pudden's in the aiting, sure!"
However, the Kerguelen cabbage stood this test well enough.
It was tried that very day at dinner; and, although tasting slightly acrid and hot flavoured when raw, on being cooked in the same water in the copper in which some salt pork had been boiled, it seemed not very much dissimilar to the native home-grown article commonly known as "greens."
"I guess, mister, it air downright prime, an' no mistake," said Mr Lathrope, passing opinion on its qualities; "and more'n that, it fills a feller up fine!"