CHAPTER VIII

IN THE JAVA SEA

The 'Alert,' with studding-sails and all square canvas set, soon passed the brig, and throughout the following day only a few reefs, and those at considerable distances, were seen. The weather remained beautifully fine, but the wind fell so light that the smaller vessel, drawing much less water, soon forged ahead and disappeared. They were now drawing well away from the dangerous strait, and, with a clear course, shaped directly for Batavia.

Every day Jack Clewlin felt increasing pleasure from his exchange of ships; and the wider scope for acquiring knowledge of his profession also added to that feeling. Beside that, Readyman had by no means dropped his voluntary advice and tutorship, and many an evening dog-watch was still usefully passed.

'I wish you would borrow the hand lead-line from Mr. Statten,' he once observed. 'I could show you how to use it.'

Jack immediately obtained the line, and another lesson began.

'Of course,' the quarter-master continued, 'you already know that on board ship everything is measured in feet and fathoms, and that a fathom is six feet, or two yards in length. Every vessel carries one hand and one deep-sea lead-line. The shorter and lighter one is only used in shallow water. Now then, lad, listen to me. At two fathoms, you see, there is a bit of leather; at three fathoms the mark is the same, but the leather tag is split; at five fathoms the mark is white rag; at seven fathoms there is a red one; at ten fathoms it is a piece of leather with a hole in it; at fifteen fathoms it is a blue rag; at seventeen, it is the same as at seven, and at twenty fathoms there is a bit of cord with two knots in it.'

'How is the hand line used?' Jack inquired.

'You stand in the main chains, grip the line about six feet from the sinker, swing it over your head, and let it fly as far for'a'd as possible. The deep-sea lead is too heavy for that, so it is carried to the forecastle-head, while the line is passed outside of everything to windward, and, when fastened to the sinker, is thrown overboard.'

'I never thought there was so much to learn about ships.'

'Much!' Readyman exclaimed, 'why, sonny, you don't know anything yet. What about the cutting and the fitting of rigging, masting and dismasting, stowage of cargoes, and a hundred other matters? It will need your four years' apprenticeship to know but a little; and as an officer you must be a good navigator. Ay, Master Jack, and talking like that reminds me that you should learn sail-making. It comes in very handy to use a palm.'

He produced a small band of leather, in the centre of which the head of a strong sewing thimble appeared, with some canvas and twine. 'There you are,' he said. 'Put the palm on your right hand, and push the needle through the cloth. You could not do that with your fingers.'

Jack set to work forming correct stitches, and soon made good progress, and in that way many pleasant hours were passed. Neither of the friends forgot their Bible-classes, while, now that everyone had settled down in their places, Captain Thorne himself read prayers each Sunday in the cabin.

One morning, shortly before reaching Batavia, the watch on deck witnessed a most remarkable and interesting spectacle. At four o'clock Mr. Statten and the starboard watch relieved the deck. Even at that early hour it was almost broad daylight, its exquisite softness and purity being noticeably striking. Save a number of small puff-like clouds ranged along the western horizon nothing was visible. Just after five o'clock, however, the lookout reported an island slowly rising off the starboard bow.

Mr. Statten expressed considerable surprise, and immediately ran forward.

By that time the object had become much more distinct, and seemed to be thickly covered with trees from its triangular summit down to the water's edge. But the most perplexing fact was, that although the barque was not moving faster than three knots an hour, the island approached at four times that rate.

'I cannot understand how it can be so near,' the mate said. 'There is nothing marked on the chart within forty miles of us.'

'And five minutes ago, sir, there wasn't the least trace of it,' a sailor replied.

'Run aft and call the captain, Jack,' Mr. Statten said.

'Island!' the old man sang out from his room. 'You and the mate must be asleep and dreaming.'

'It is quite distinct, and about twelve miles off, sir,' Jack replied.

The skipper was astonished on perceiving the island, while, to the still greater surprise of all spectators, it suddenly vanished as mysteriously as it had appeared.

'A mirage!' the captain laughingly exclaimed. 'At anyrate, it was the most remarkable I've ever seen. All others were inverted on the clouds, but that one looked perfectly natural. At first I believed my reckoning, or the chronometer, was wrong. The longer one lives the more one learns.'

Without further incident the 'Alert' arrived at Batavia. There the brig, which had forged far ahead in the light winds, was already discharging her cargo in the roadstead.

The rescued German crew was immediately sent ashore, and some of them went to hospital to have their spear wounds dressed.

The 'Alert' immediately prepared to discharge her coals, and during several weeks Jack Clewlin experienced the most arduous toil of his life. From early morning till darkness set in he took his place at the winch, by which the cargo was raised from the hold, or used a shovel down below as stoutly as anyone on board.

'I like it,' he said to his old friend. 'It doesn't need rocking to put me to sleep at night.'

Captain Thorne and the mates kept watchful eyes on him, but when the work was done, and he was not allowed to visit the capital with any of the men, the disappointed lad became thoroughly disheartened and suspicious. Was the skipper punishing him for having left the barque without permission when she touched at the island in Torres Strait? He failed to perceive any other cause for such apparent neglect, and would have preferred a summary 'drum-head' court-martial to thus remaining neglected by those whom he had always endeavoured to serve faithfully. One morning he was called aft.

'Put up a shirt, collars, and a tooth-brush,' the skipper said.

'Am I to put on my best gear, sir,' Jack inquired.

'Why, of course,' the captain said. 'You're going ashore.'

In 'spick-and-span' trim Jack presently stood beside the gangway; but, truth to say, his brass-buttoned uniform was fast becoming too small for its owner, who had now been nearly twelve months at sea, and was fast filling out in breadth of shoulder and length of limb.

The captain's 'clew-to-earing' glance, as sailors say, proved satisfactory, and tumbling over the side with his small bundle Jack presently found himself passing along a narrow canal, beloved of the Dutch who govern the island.

In the early part of the sixteenth century the Portuguese discovered the country, and some seventy years later it was occupied by the Dutch, after considerable opposition. Later on they were driven out by the French, who, in their turn, surrendered to the English, and the latter finally exchanged the possession with the Hollanders for other islands in those seas.

The Island of Java is six hundred miles long, by from twenty to forty-five miles wide, and is considered the 'Paradise of the East.' Batavia, the capital, was built by the Dutch not far from Sunda Strait, which lies between it and the opposite coast of Sumatra.

The climate generally is healthy, if somewhat oppressive for Europeans; but the elevated country of the interior enjoys a cool temperature, and there most of the officials reside. The soil is extraordinarily fertile, and all the fruits and commercial exports indigenous to the Far East are freely raised. The natives are highly intelligent, friendly, and gentle-mannered, but they were not permitted to acquire the Dutch language, and were compelled to sell their produce at fixed rates to their masters. Competition with outsiders was rigorously prohibited. Strangers might procure passports when visiting the country, yet their presence was not sought, nor by any means desired.

Captain Thorne and his young companion presently reached the principal hotel, and there Jack was temporarily left to study the manners and customs of the people.

The houses were not lofty, but that was owing to the fear of sudden collapse, since the whole of Java is peculiarly subject to violent volcanic disturbances. Many Europeans appeared about the town, and their strange and decidedly 'airy' attire during the first part of each day much astonished young Jack. The gentlemen strolled about in straw hats, pyjamas, and grass slippers, while the ladies appeared, even in the streets, without stockings, and wearing only a light kind of blouse, with a light dress of native material and simple design.

'I am glad they are all foreigners,' Jack mused. 'I cannot recognise an English face among the crowd.'

At noon the customary 'rice-table' was announced, and beside Captain Thorne Jack took his place. Each of the guests was supplied with a large soup-plate containing a quantity of cooked rice. From dishes handed round by servants, portions of fish, fowl, meat, and several kinds of vegetables, were selected and placed on the rice. Over all curry, chutney, and other condiments were poured, the combination being then well mixed and consumed.

To the watchful and imitative youngster such a meal seemed more than sufficient; but when a second course of roast meat, vegetables, and quantities of delicious fruit were washed down by excellent coffee, he concluded that Dutch men and women were blessed with enormous appetites. He was not greatly surprised to find that all of them soon retired to enjoy a nap; but Captain Thorne hastened off to visit his agent.

Jack strolled out to see something of the capital, which stood on low ground, and he found a barrack filled with European troops. The soldiers greeted him cheerily, but not being able to speak their language all efforts to make themselves understood failed. The natives were all of a light-brown complexion, and although small and slight of build their movements were graceful.

At five o'clock that evening Captain Thorne returned to the hotel, and Jack could scarcely believe that the stylishly-dressed people beginning to appear were those whom he had seen in such careless, if comfortable, attire earlier in the day. But such was the fact. All of them were decked out in the latest home fashion, and having finished their coffee they all drove out to enjoy the cool evening breeze, or leave cards on friends.

At nine o'clock dinner was served. At its conclusion Jack believed that his short spell of 'liberty' had ended.

'Fetch your gear, Clewlin,' the old man said. 'Bear a hand.'

On returning to the vestibule he found a Java car and three ponies standing before the door.

'Come here, boy,' the skipper exclaimed, and then, turning toward a friend, added, 'This is the lad I spoke of, Sergeant. Do you see any resemblance?'

The gentleman thus addressed took Jack's hand, and by the strong light from the hotel peered in his face.

'Yes, very considerable,' he replied. 'I am glad to make your acquaintance, Jack,' he continued. 'Of course, you do not know me. Well, my son, years ago I sailed in a barque as her supercargo, and your father was her first mate. I only escaped drowning by the merest accident. I left her the voyage before she was lost in the China Sea.'

'Was that the "Isabella," sir?' Jack inquired.

'Yes,' replied Mr. Sergeant, who was the barque's agent. 'Did your father tell you about it?'

'No, sir; but there is a man on the "Alert" whom he saved at that time.'

'Indeed! What is his name?'

'Readyman. He told me all about the wreck.'

'And that is why you two have always been such friends,' Captain Thorne laughed. 'He is a good and steady man.'

'Well, Jack,' Mr. Sergeant continued, 'I am taking the captain and you for a drive up-country. If you don't enjoy it, do not put the blame on me. All aboard!'

They were soon seated in the car. Mr. Sergeant took the reins, and away at top speed went the ponies, each apparently bent on having 'a good time,' as their master said, and thoroughly enjoying the beautiful cool breeze. That drive was long remembered by the youngest of the party. The night and the breeze were delightful. Numberless stars twinkled brilliantly, the outlook was wonderfully clear, and the lights of Batavia soon disappeared.

For a while the flat and dusty road proved somewhat monotonous. Gradually, however, they began to ascend to higher levels, and the flat and unhealthy neighbourhood of Batavia loomed dimly far below them, till wholly obscured in the night gloom. The country soon became more thickly timbered, and trees lined the well-kept road for considerable distances. Myriads of fire-flies flitted about the foliage, and with the accurate knowledge of the highway possessed by the driver, rapid progress was made. Here and there Mr. Sergeant pointed out the residences of certain wealthy Dutch planters, and he also supplied the strangely-sounding names of villages passed through.

Shortly after two o'clock next morning he pulled up before a house owned by a cheery-faced but exceedingly rotund little Dutchman, and by him the party was most kindly welcomed.

They had evidently been expected. Light refreshment was served, and almost asleep Jack Clewlin finally tumbled into a home-like bed, and remembered no more of his first night drive in Java.

Shortly after six o'clock he was aroused. In the bathroom, which was really a screened-off portion of an open scullery, he found a small basin of water and a large wooden spoon awaiting his convenience. Such a primitive arrangement provoked a laugh, but the 'sprinkle' was nevertheless enjoyed, and he speedily joined his friends. He felt prodigiously hungry, but presently discovered that nothing like a solid English breakfast was forthcoming, and that only a cup of coffee with some fruit was served. As a matter of fact, the European residents never partook of any real meal before the usual twelve o'clock 'rice-table.'

With their host the gentlemen visited his sugarcane and coffee plantations, and there found numbers of native men and women engaged in light work.

The ponies being again ready for the road Mr. Sergeant took leave of his Dutch friend, and during the drive he thoughtfully supplied both Captain Thorne and young Jack with biscuits and lemonade. 'You are not accustomed to our meal hours,' he said.

Just before noon they again halted at a neat little inn kept by a native, and there the 'rice-table' was again discussed. The ponies were there exchanged for others, and during the afternoon much ground was covered.

Ever since leaving Batavia they had been gradually ascending and getting deeper into the real country. Immense peaks began to rise round them, and pointing in a certain direction Mr. Sergeant explained that not very far distant the finest botanical garden in the world was situated.

'It is at a place called Buitenzorg,' he said, 'and the governor-general resides there. The Dutchmen almost worship the spot, and I really do not blame them. Although it is only eight hundred feet above sea level, the climate is cool and healthy. Botanists from all parts of the world visit the gardens, where you may see candles, and even bread, growing in profusion.'

'And perhaps clothes?' Captain Thorne laughingly added.

'Yes; in the same sense that yours grew on sheep,' Mr. Sergeant replied. 'The _tappa_ cloth of the Pacific islanders is made from the inner bark and fine fibres of certain palms, so I may truly say that clothes grow there also. There is a famous avenue of trees there, and thousands of blossoms growing on the trunks instead of on the branches of different trees. I greatly wish we could have gone there this trip. At anyrate, Jack, I shall endeavour to show you something quite as interesting, and assuredly far more ancient.'

That afternoon they reached a certain spot from which a magnificent view was obtainable, and the ponies were brought to a stand. Some thirty miles away, in a southerly direction, the placid and sparkling Java Sea lay spread out below them, small blue clouds here and there dotting the horizon and denoting islands, while toward the south-east mountains rose twelve and thirteen thousand feet. From two of them Jack perceived faint traces of smoke rising.

'Volcanoes, sir!' he cried.

'Yes,' Mr. Sergeant replied, 'and there are many of them throughout the island. I know of four which stand round an immense desert of sand, itself the bottom of an extinct crater, and others near Soerabaya are always active. Eighty years ago one named Papandajan suddenly became active, one side of it was blown out, and four thousand people were instantly destroyed. Thirty years later the island of Sombava, three hundred miles off, was almost obliterated by an earthquake, and only after a violent volcanic eruption did the fearful disturbance cease, and many thousands of natives lost their lives then; the shock was severely felt for one thousand miles round, and vast quantities of lava dust fell on this island. Indeed, although everything looks peaceful now, no one knows when a similar outburst may happen.'

As a matter of fact, scarcely twenty years later the Sunda Strait was entirely altered by earthquake, and a volcanic eruption destroyed the island of Krakatoa. Java itself was also severely smitten, and some thirty thousand people killed; while even in England, thousands of miles away, the magnificent sunsets visible about that time were accounted for by the impalpable lava dust held in suspension and slowly spreading all over the world.

Jack listened to the story, and that night saw flames issuing from the two craters, and immediately determined to send his father a long account of his most interesting adventures, and also described how kind Captain Thorne and Mr. Sergeant had been.

After several days of most interesting experiences the party arrived at the end of their outward journey, and at a village of some size found suitable accommodation.

Next morning they again set out for a short drive, and presently reached a plain of considerable extent, where, almost in its centre, Jack Clewlin beheld a most wonderful spectacle.

Before him, and in terrace after terrace of pinnacles, spires, and domes, there rose to a height of about one hundred and fifty feet a most extraordinary combination of temples, shrines, and bas-reliefs of the life and manners of people long dead and forgotten, but who, in their eagerness to perpetuate their religion, had executed this marvellous work in honour of their heathen deity, Buddha.

'What do you think of it, captain?' Mr. Sergeant inquired.

'Think!' the old man exclaimed; 'why, it is simply astonishing. I have heard of it, but thought it was quite a small affair. It must be four or five miles round.'

'It is three miles in circumference. I have spent weeks at a time in examining its marvellous wonders, one of the most magnificent creations in the world. It covers nine acres; the great central dome which you see rising over all is fifty feet in diameter. There are no less than four hundred and forty-one images of Buddha, nearly all of them being seated within separate shrines of beautiful stone lattice work, and over fifteen hundred bas-relief pictures representing the life and manners of that distant period.'

'When was it done?' the captain inquired.

'The actual date is not known,' Mr. Sergeant replied; 'but from the most reliable sources it appears to have been executed somewhere about the eighth or ninth century of the Christian era.'

'More than a thousand years ago,' the skipper said. 'It is indeed a wonderful piece of work, and must have employed vast numbers of people.'

'And yet not many visitors come to see it,' Mr. Sergeant added. 'Of course, that is wholly owing to the Dutch dislike of having strangers roaming about, and writing of what they have seen or heard.'