The Wonder Island Boys: Adventures on Strange Islands Part 31

"I have suggested to the Chief that we shall return, and have invited him to accompany us, and I am gratified to say that he has accepted. We shall, therefore, be ready to return within a few days," said the Professor.

"Have you said anything to him about the contemplated visit to Hutoton?"

asked John.

"No; but I shall do so at once."

"Oh! that will give us an opportunity to take the paralytic back with us," suggested Harry.

"Yes; that will be the reason for our stopping there."

"Wouldn't it be a good idea to sail to the north, and investigate in that direction, on our way home?" remarked George.

"That has occurred to me."

The Chief gave careful instructions to his son, Calmo, in view of his proposed trip, and informed the Professor that he was anxious to accompany them at the earliest opportunity.

Two days thereafter, the entire party boarded the s.h.i.+p, and the course was set for the northern part of the island. There the Chief had the first opportunity to see the dreadful place where the criminals of his community had been sent.

There was no resentment on the part of the convicts. On the other hand, there was the most effusive welcome extended, and when the Chief saw the happiness and prosperity there, which he could not help but contrast with his own people, he was amazed.

The unfortunate patient was carefully taken to the s.h.i.+p, and during his removal did not in the least indicate by any sign that he knew what was going on about him.

John took many stores from the s.h.i.+p, and particularly garments, and articles of food for the people. All partic.i.p.ated in the division, and the old man was delighted when he saw the gifts, the more so when John told him that they would soon be visited and other stores provided.

When the rolling motion of the boat was felt by the stricken man, he showed the first symptoms of consciousness. Sometimes he would look about him, and try to grasp something. On several occasions the Professor saw him open his eyes with a sort of questioning look.

But we cannot dwell too long on the result of the patient's progress, at this time. John felt, as did the Professor, that from that man they would be able to learn something, if he could ever regain his faculties.

The boys gathered that much from the conversation, so that, for the present, he must be left to the tender care of the Professor, until later events are recorded.

From Hutoton the s.h.i.+p sailed directly north, it being understood that if no land was sighted before evening it would be useless to go farther in that direction. The _Pioneer_ was a good sailer, and could easily, with a fair wind, make ten miles an hour, so they would have fully seven hours' run to test out their theory of land in that direction.

Before five o'clock John, who was constantly on the watch, came to the Professor and remarked that he believed the haze to the north indicated the presence of land. This was soon communicated to the boys, and there was no more idleness from that time on.

John's theory was correct. Slowly certain fixed objects appeared and some outlines that looked like mountains, and the boys could not repress their anxiety at the antic.i.p.ated sh.o.r.e.

"Then we were right, after all," said Harry.

John smiled, as he replied: "I do not know; the calculations have not yet been made."

"I would like to know how our position can be found out from an examination of the sun," remarked George.

"That will require a long answer to explain fully but I shall try to answer it in a simple manner. The sailor takes an observation of the sun in two directions, namely, north and south, and east and west. You know, of course, that the sun moves north in the summer and south in the winter, and that the extreme southern point is in midwinter, Dec. 20: that in the spring, or March 20, it is directly above the equator, and in midsummer, or, on June 20, it is as far north as it can go."

"You mean," said George, "that it would be north of the equator."

"As we have the same calendar over the entire world, it is true everywhere. The difference is, of course, that summer and winter, and spring and autumn are reversed, north and south of the equator. All estimates as to locations are made by measuring angles."

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 15. Getting Angle from Position of the Sun._]

"Then it must be something like surveying?"

"Yes; the same principles are applied. Here is a sketch, which shows the earth A, and B is the equatorial line. C is the position of the sun on September 20, or on June 20."

"Why are they in the same position on both days?"

"Yes; the sun crosses the equator September 20, on its way south, and then it again recrosses the equator coming north six months afterwards.

On either of those days, if a person should stand at D, and look at the sun, there would be a line E, which projects out from the earth to the sun, and that is called the equatorial line."

"It is exactly at right angles to F, which pa.s.ses through the poles. Now the drawing shows two other positions, namely G and H. These represent the extreme points of the travel of the sun north and south, or the positions that the sun occupy on Dec. 20, and June 20 of each year."

"I see," said Harry. "The points G and H are just 23 degrees north and south of the equator."

"That is correct, and there is another thing which can be learned from their positions."

"I know what it is."

"What?"

"It gives another line, or angle."

"So now we have two angles, this, and the equatorial line. Then, we know the exact distance of the sun from the earth, and this gives the first measurement, and with the angle formed by the line I, taken in connection with the line E, it is easy to determine just where, or how far the sun is to the north or to the south, and if you did not, for instance, know the time of the year, a man could by such a measurement, tell, by the angle thus formed, the exact date."

"I understand that now," remarked George. "The sailor, in getting the angle, simply measures that, and if he knows where the sun is on that day he will then have two angles, one that he knows beforehand, and the other that he finds out by looking at the sun."

"That is correct. The Nautical Chart gives all that information, so that it saves a large amount of work in making the calculations."

"That gives the way to determine positions north and south. But how about east and west?"

"In the same manner exactly so far as the angle measurements are concerned, but in this case, instead of taking the time, in days or in months, as in reckoning north and south, we must take time in minutes, and to do that the entire globe is laid off in minutes and degrees, which the nautical tables give, and the mariner knows when he obtains a certain angle just how far east or west he is located by the chart."

"But if he has no chart?"

"Then he must figure out the position for himself, which he can do if he has what is called Greenwich, or standard time, and has, also the correct time of the day where his s.h.i.+p is."

Land was beyond; there was no question of that. It rose out of the water higher than the island they had just left, which the boys had named _Venture_ Island.

The Chief knew nothing of the land before them. He had told John that years before he learned that there was a land where there were many bad people, who killed and ate each other, but he did not know the exact direction.

The vessel was sailed along the coast, and the field gla.s.ses were used to scan the land. It had the appearance of the other islands which they now knew. Vegetation was magnificent, and growing everywhere, but there was not the sign of a habitation anywhere.

After an hour's sail they rounded a point, and beyond was the first cove, or indentation along the coast. To that John directed the course of the vessel, and they ran in very close, since he knew from the abrupt sloping beach that it must be a deep bay.

The men could scarcely man the boat quickly enough. A dozen of them, together with John, Muro and Uraso, took the first boat, while a second boat was filled with the warriors who also were accompanied by some of the natives of Venture island.

The Professor and the others remained on board, while the party made the preliminary examinations of the immediate neighborhood. John formed two parties, one under command of Muro, and the other of Uraso. The boys were with Uraso, while he was with Muro. The object was to find out as quickly as possible what they would have to meet, and the result would enable them to determine the future plans.

"It is understood, now," remarked John, "that the two exploring parties shall take the two courses outlined, Muro and his men, to go directly east, while Uraso will take a course to the northeast, and proceed in that direction for three hours, and then the two parties are to turn toward each other, and mutually report. This will give us an opportunity to find out something, unless the island is a very large one, and requires subsequent exploration to ascertain whether it is inhabited."