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Chapter 7- Auditing Information
Technology-Based Processes
Instructor’s Manual
2 | P a g e
CHATPER 7: AUDITING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY-BASED PROCESS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:..........................................................................................................................................3
REAL WORLD: AURAFIN BRAND .............................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION TO AUDITING IT PROCESSES (STUDY OBJECTIVE 1) ........................................................4
TYPES OF AUDITS AND AUDITORS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 2) .......................................................................4
INFORMATION RISK AND IT-ENHANCED INTERNAL CONTROL(STUDY OBJECTIVE 3) ..........................6
AUTHORITATIVE LITERATURE USED IN AUDITING (STUDY OBJECTIVE 4) ...............................................6
MANAGEMENT ASSERTIONS AND AUDIT OBJECTIVES(STUDY OBJECTIVE 5)..............................................8
PHASES OF AN IT AUDIT (STUDY OBJECTIVE 6)...................................................................................................9
USE OF COMPUTERS IN AUDITS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 7) .........................................................................11
TESTS OF CONTROLS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 8) ..............................................................................................11
GENERAL CONTROLS ........................................................................................................................................11
APPLICATION CONTROLS..................................................................................................................................13
TESTS OF TRANSACTIONS AND TESTS OF BALANCES (STUDY OBJECTIVE 9) ...................................14
AUDIT COMPLETION/REPORTING (STUDY OBJECTIVE 10)..........................................................................15
OTHER AUDIT CONSIDERATIONS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 11 ) ......................................................................15
DIFFERENT ITENVIRONMENTS..........................................................................................................................15
CHANGES IN A CLIENT’S IT ENVIRONMENT ..................................................................................................17
SAMPLING VERSUS POPULATION TESTING......................................................................................................17
ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED TO AUDITING (STUDY OBJECTIVE 12) ..........................................................18
CHAPTER SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................19
3 | P a g e
CHAPTER 7: AUDITING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY-BASED PROCESS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. An introduction to auditing IT processes
2. The various types of audits and auditors
3. Information risk and IT-enhanced internal control
4. Authoritative literature used in auditing
5. Management assertions used in the auditing process and the related audit objectives
6. The phases of an IT audit
7. The use of computers in audits
8. Tests of controls
9. Tests of transactions and tests of balances
10. Audit completion/reporting
11. Other audit considerations
12. Ethical issues related to auditing
REAL WORLD: AURAFIN BRAND
• The Aurafin brand is renowned in the jewelry industry as the fashion leader in fine gold.
• Owned by Richline Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., the brand is sold by retail
giants like JCPenney, Macy’s, and many online outlets.
• Aurafin has overcome significant challenges in maintaining its customer relationships. Several years
ago, Aurafin began experiencing such severe problems with transaction fulfillment and delivery that
its customers were taking notice.
• JCPenney had implemented a supplier scorecard system, a type of vendor audit whereby companies,
which do business with JCPenney were evaluated on the basis of the quality of service provided. This
system brought to light some significant violations in Aurafin’s business processes, including
weaknesses in controls and inadequate computer systems.
Aurafin took quick action, undergoing a thorough IT audit which identified the specific causes of its process
failures. Aurafin acted swiftly upon the recommendations made by its auditors and implemented a more
reliable technology platform that empowered it to apply a variety of new audit and control techniques and to
get its systems in sync with its business goals. Aurafin credits the audit processes to its newfound success,
including its subsequent recognition as JCPenney’s “Vendor of the Year.” This chapter focuses on various
aspects of an IT audit, as well as the accountant’s techniques for evaluating information-technology processes,
and their importance in business processes.
4 | P a g e
INTRODUCTION TO AUDITING IT PROCESSES (STUDY OBJECTIVE 1)
Nearly all business organizations rely on computerized systems to assist in the accounting function.
Technological advances have transformed the business world by providing new ways for companies to do
business and maintain records. This boom in technological developments has increased the amount of
information that is readily available. Business managers, investors, creditors, and government agencies often
have a tremendous amount of data to use when making important business decisions. However, it is often a
challenge to verify the accuracy and completeness of the information.
Accountants have an important role in the business world because they are called upon to improve the quality
of information provided to decision makers. Accounting services that improve the quality of information are
called assurance services. Many types of services performed by accountants are considered assurance
services because they lend credibility to the underlying financial information. An audit is the most common
type of assurance service
TYPES OF AUDITS AND AUDITORS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 2)
The main purpose of the audit is to assure users of financial information about the accuracy and completeness
of the information. To carry out an audit, accountants collect and evaluate proof of procedures, transactions,
and/or account balances and compare the information with established criteria. The three primary types of
audits include:
• compliance audits,
• operational audits, and
• financial statement audits
Compliance audits determine whether the company has complied with regulations and policies established by
contractual agreements, governmental agencies, company management, or other high authority.
Operational audits assess operating policies and procedures for efficiency and effectiveness
Financial statement audits determine whether the company has prepared and presented its financial
statements fairly, and in accordance with established financial accounting criteria.
• financial statement audits are performed by certified public accountants who have extensive
knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the United States and/or
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
5 | P a g e
There are different types of audit specialization that exist in business practice today, including:
• An internal auditor is an employee of the company that he or she audits. Most large companies have
a staff of internal auditors who perform compliance, operational, and financial audit functions at the
request of management. Some internal auditors achieve special certification as certified internal
auditors (CIAs).
• IT auditors specialize in information systems assurance, control, and security, and they may work for
CPA firms, government agencies, or with the internal audit group for any type of business
organization. Some IT auditors achieve special certification as certified information systems auditors
(CISAs).
• Government auditors conduct audits of government agencies or income tax returns.
• CPA firms represent the interests of the public by performing independent audits of many types of
business organizations.
Only CPA firms can conduct financial statement audits of companies whose stock is sold in public markets
such as the New York Stock Exchange. An important requirement for CPA firms is that they must be neutral
with regard to the company being audited. The neutrality requirement allows CPA firms to provide an
unbiased opinion on the information it audits, and it is the foundation of an external audit performed by CPAs.
An external audit is performed by independent auditors who are objective and neutral with respect to the
company and information being audited. To keep their neutrality, CPA firms and their individual CPAs are
generally prohibited from having financial and managerial connections with client companies and from having
personal ties to those working for client companies. A CPA’s objectivity could be impaired by having these
types of relationships with a client company or with anyone having the ability to influence the client’s
decisions and financial reporting activities.
• Performing financial statement audits is a main service of CPA firms.
• Because many audited companies use sophisticated IT systems to prepare financial statements, it is
important for auditors to enhance the quality of their services in auditing those systems.
• IT auditing is a part of the financial statement audit that evaluates a company’s computerized
accounting information systems.
• An auditor must gain a sufficient understanding of the characteristics of a company’s IT system.
• Use of computers may significantly change the way a company processes and communicates
information, and it may affect the underlying internal controls. Therefore, the IT environment plays a
key role in how auditors conduct their work in the following areas:
o Consideration of risk
o Audit procedures used to obtain knowledge of the accounting and internal control systems
o Design and performance of audit tests
6 | P a g e
INFORMATION RISK AND IT-ENHANCED INTERNAL CONTROL
(STUDY OBJECTIVE 3)
Information risk is the chance that information used by decision makers may be inaccurate. Following are
some causes of information risk:
• the remoteness of information
• the volume and complexity of the underlying data
• the motive of the preparer
The most common way for decision makers to reduce information risk is to rely upon information that has
been audited by an independent party. Various risks are created by the existence of IT-based business
processes. For example, because the details of transactions are often entered directly into the computer
system, there may be no paper documentation maintained to support the transactions. This is often referred
to as the loss of audit trail visibility because there is a lack of physical evidence to visibly view.
Advantages of using IT-based systems:
• Internal controls can actually be enhanced if care is exercised in implementing these systems
• Computer controls can compensate for the lack of manual controls
• If programs are tested properly the risk of human error is virtually eliminated
• Provide higher quality information to management
AUTHORITATIVE LITERATURE USED IN AUDITING
(STUDY OBJECTIVE 4)
Generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) are broad guidelines for an auditor’s professional
responsibilities. These ten standards are divided into three categories that include general qualifications and
conduct of an auditor (general standards), guidelines for performing the audit (standards of fieldwork), and
requirements for the written report communicating the results of the audit (standards of reporting).
7 | P a g e
General Standards StandardsofFieldwork Standards ofReporting
1. The audit is to be performed by
a person or persons having
adequate technicaltraining
and proficiency as anauditor.
2. Independence in mental attitude
is to be maintained in all matters
related to the audit engagement.
3. Due professional care is to be
exercised in all phases of the
audit process.
1. The audit is to be adequately planned
and supervised.
2. An understanding of internalcontrol
is to be obtained as part of the
planning process for the purpose of
determining the nature, timing, and
extent of tests to beperformed.
3. Evidence is to be obtained through
inspection, inquiries, observation, and
confirmations in order to provide a
reasonable basis for forming an
overall opinion on the audit.
1. The written report must state whether
the financial statements are presented in
accordance with the establishedcriteria.
2. The written report identifies any
circumstances in which established
principles have not been consistently
applied in the current period in relation
to the priorperiod.
3. The financial statements are assumed
to contain adequate informative disclo-
sures unless otherwise indicated in the
written report.
4. The written report expresses an opinion
on the fairness of the financial
statements as a whole, or an assertion
to the effect that an opinion cannot be
expressed (and the reasons therefor).
The report also describes the character
of the auditor’s work and the degree of
responsibilityassumedbytheauditor.
8 | P a g e
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) was organized in 2003 for the purpose of establishing
auditing standards for public companies in the United States
• The PCAOB was established by the Sarbanes–Oxley Act, which was created in response to several major
corporate accounting scandals, including those affecting Enron, WorldCom, and others
• Prior to the PCAOB, standard-setting was the responsibility of the Auditing Standards Board (ASB) of the
American Institute of CPAs (AICPA)
• The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) was established by the International
Federation of Accountants (IFAC) to set International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) that contribute to the uniform
application of auditing practices on a worldwide basis.
ISAs are similar to SASs; however, ISAs tend to extend SASs because of their usefulness in audits of multinational
companies. Although auditors have a primary responsibility to comply with standards issued within their own countries,
ISAs are useful in expanding those requirements in order to meet different needs in other countries where the audited
information may also be used. The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) established the Internal Auditing Standards Board
(IASB) to issue standards that pertain to attributes of internal audit activities, performance criteria, and implementation
guidance. The Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) issues Information Systems Auditing
Standards (ISASs) that provide guidelines for conducting the IT audit. These standards address audit issues unique to a
company’s information systems environment, including control and security issues.
MANAGEMENT ASSERTIONS AND AUDIT OBJECTIVES (STUDY OBJECTIVE 5)
Management assertions are claims regarding the condition of the business organization in terms of its operations,
financial results, and compliance with laws and regulations.
The role of the auditors is to analyze the underlying facts to decide whether information provided by management is
fairly presented. Auditors design audit tests to analyze information in order to determine whether management’s
assertions are valid. To accomplish this, audit tests are created to address general audit objectives. Each audit objective
relates to one of management’s assertions.
The following diagram illustrates management assertions and the corresponding audit objective:
9 | P a g e
Auditors must think about how the features of a company’s IT systems influence management’s assertions and the
general audit objectives. These matters have a big impact on the choice of audit methodologies used.
PHASES OF AN IT AUDIT (STUDY OBJECTIVE 6)
There are four primary phases of the audit:
• planning,
• tests of controls,
• substantive tests, and
• audit completion/reporting
Through each phase of an audit, evidence is accumulated as a basis for supporting the conclusions reached by the
auditors. Audit evidence is proof of the fairness of financial information. The techniques used for gathering evidence
include the following:
• Physically examining or inspecting assets or supporting documentation
• Obtaining written confirmation from an independent source
• Reperforming tasks or recalculating information
• Observing the underlying activities
• Making inquiries of company personnel
• Analyzing financial relationships and making comparisons to determine reasonableness
10 | P a g e
During the planning phase of an audit, the auditor must gain a thorough under- standing of the company’s business and
financial reporting systems. In doing so, auditors review and assess the risks and controls related to the business,
establish materiality guidelines, and develop relevant tests addressing the assertions and objectives
• tasks of assessing materiality and audit risk are very subjective and are therefore typically performed by
experienced auditors
• Determining materiality, auditors estimate the monetary amounts that are large enough to make a difference in
decision making
• Materiality estimates are then assigned to account balances so that auditors can decide how much evidence is
needed
• Below materiality limits are often considered insignificant
• Some accounts with immaterial balances may still be audited, though, especially if they are considered areas of
high risk
• Risk- refers to the likelihood that errors or fraud may occur
• Risk can be inherit or it may be caused by weak internal controls
A big part of the audit planning process is the gathering of evidence about the company’s internal controls
• Auditors typically gain an understanding of internal controls by interviewing key members of management and
the IT staff
• They observe policies and procedures and review IT user manuals and system flowcharts
• They often prepare narratives or memos to summarize the results of their findings
• Company personnel generally complete a questionnaire about the company’s accounting systems, including its
IT implementation and operations, the types of hardware and software used, and control of computer resources
• The understanding of internal controls provides the basis for designing appropriate audit tests to be used in the
remaining phases of the audit
In recognition of the fact that accounting records and files often exist in both paper and electronic form, auditing
standards address the importance of understanding both the automated and manual procedures that make up an
organization’s internal controls. In addition, many large and medium-size businesses are capturing an abundance of
data. The availability of Big Data sets in auditing may complicate an auditor’s judgment. Yet auditors must always
consider how misstatements may occur, including the following:
• How data is captured and used
• How standard journal entries are initiated, recorded, and processed
• How nonstandard journal entries and adjusting entries are initiated, recorded, and processed
IT auditors may be called upon to consider the effects of computer processing on the audit or to assist in testing those
automated procedures.
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USE OF COMPUTERS IN AUDITS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 7)
If the use of IT systems does not have a great impact on the conduct of the audit, since the auditor can perform audit
testing in the same manner as would be done for a manual system the practice is referred to as auditing around the
computer because it does not require evaluation of computer controls.
• Auditing around the computer merely uses and tests output of the computer system in the same manner as the
audit would be conducted if the information had been generated manually
• Because this approach does not consider the effectiveness of computer controls, auditing around the computer
has limited usefulness.
Auditing through the computer involves directly testing the internal controls within the IT system, whereas auditing
around the computer does not
• sometimes referred to as “the white box approach,” because it requires auditors to understand the computer
system logic
• This approach requires auditors to evaluate IT controls and processing so that they can determine whether the
information generated from the system is reliable
• Auditing through the computer is necessary under the following conditions:
o The auditor wants to test computer controls as a basis for evaluating risk and reducing the amount of
substantive audit testing required.
o The author is required to report on internal controls in connection with a financial statement audit of a
public company.
o Supporting documents are available only in electronic form.
Auditors can use their own computer systems and audit software to help conduct the audit. This approach is known as
auditing with the computer.
• A variety of computer-assisted audit techniques (CAATs) are available for auditing with the computer
• CAATs are useful audit tools because they make it possible for auditors to use computers to test more evidence
in less time.
TESTS OF CONTROLS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 8)
The tests of controls involve audit procedures designed to evaluate both general controls and application controls.
During audit planning, auditors must learn about the types of controls that exist within their client’s IT environment.
Then they may test those controls to determine whether they are reliable as a means of reducing risk. Tests of controls
are sometimes referred to as “compliance tests,” because they are designed to determine whether the controls are
functioning in compliance with management’s intentions.
GENERAL CONTROLS
General controls MUST be tested before application controls. General controls are the automated controls that affect all
computer applications. The reliability of application controls is considered only after general controls are deemed
reliable.
12 | P a g e
The effectiveness of general controls is the foundation for the IT control environment. If general controls are not
functioning as designed, auditors will not devote attention to the testing of application controls; rather, they will
reevaluate the audit approach with reduced reliance on controls.
There are two broad categories of general controls that relate to IT systems:
• IT administration and the related operating systems development and maintenance processes
• Security controls and related access issues
IT Administration
Related audit tests include review for the existence and communication of company policies regarding the following
important aspects of administrative control:
• Personal accountability and segregation of incompatible responsibilities
• Job descriptions and clear lines of authority
• Computer security and virus protection
• IT systems documentation
Security Controls
Auditors are concerned about whether a company’s computer system has controls in place to prevent unauthorized
access to or destruction of information within the accounting information systems. Unauthorized access may occur
internally when employees retrieve information that they should not have, or externally when unauthorized users (or
hackers) outside the company retrieve information that they should not have. Access risks tend to escalate as companies
embrace newer technologies and allow sensitive data to be shared via smart devices, Web and mobile applications, and
social networks. Destruction of information may occur as a result of natural disasters, accidents, and other environ-
mental conditions. Controls that protect the company from these risks include:
• various access controls,
• physical controls,
• environmental controls, and
• business continuity policies
In order to test internal access controls, auditors should determine that the company has properly segregated IT duties
or compensated for a lack of segregation by improving supervisory reviews. The company’s authority table should be
tested to find out whether access to programs and data files is limited to authorized employees. Auditors should
perform authenticity tests for valid use of the company’s computer system, according to the authority tables.
In order to test external access controls, auditors may perform the following procedures:
• Authenticity tests
• Penetration tests
13 | P a g e
• Vulnerability assessments
• Review access logs to identify unauthorized users or failed access attempts
Physical controls include:
• locks,
• security guards,
• alarms,
• cameras, and
• card keys.
Physical controls not only limit access to the company’s computers, but also are important for preventing damage to
computer resources. In addition to assessing physical controls, auditors should evaluate the IT environment to
determine that proper temperature control is maintained, fireproofing systems are installed, and an emergency power
supply is in place.
APPLICATION CONTROLS
Application controls are computerized controls over application programs. Since any company may use many different
computer programs in its day-to- day business, there may be many different types of application controls to con- sider in
an audit.
Input Controls
Auditors perform tests to verify the correctness of information input to soft- ware programs. Auditors are concerned
about whether errors are being pre- vented and detected during the input stage of data processing. Auditors observe
controls that the company has in place and perform the comparisons on a limited basis to determine their effectiveness.
These tests can be performed manually or by electronic methods.
Processing Controls
IT audit procedures typically include a combination of data accuracy tests, whereby the data processed by computer
applications are reviewed for correct dollar amounts or other numerical values. For example, limit tests, described
previously as an input control, can also be an effective processing control. Run-to-run totals involve the recalculation of
amounts from one process to the next to determine whether data have been lost or altered during the process.
Balancing tests involve a comparison of different items that are expected to have the same values, such as comparing
two batches or comparing actual data against a predetermined control total. Mathematical accuracy tests verify
whether system calculations are correct. Completeness tests and redundancy tests, introduced earlier, check for
inclusion of the correct data.
Benford’s Law, also known as the first-digit law, was named for a physicist, Frank Benford, who discovered a specific,
but nonuniform pattern in the frequency of digits occur- ring as the first number in a list of numbers
14 | P a g e
The test data method is an audit and control technique often used to test the processing accuracy of software
applications. Test data are fictitious information developed by auditors and entered in the company’s application
system. Test data are processed under the company’s normal operating conditions. The results of the test are compared
with predicted results to deter- mine whether the application is functioning properly
A slight variation of the test data method involves the auditor testing fictitious data, using a copy of the company’s
application. The test data may be processed through the application on a different (nonclient) computer. Under these
conditions, an auditor can also use another test data method, program tracing, whereby bits of actual data are followed
through the application in order to verify the accuracy of its processing. Program mapping, on the other hand, counts
the number of times each program statement is executed, so it can identify whether program code has been bypassed.
An integrated test facility (ITF) may be used to test application controls without disrupting the client’s operations.
Parallel simulation- is an audit technique that processes company data through a controlled program designed to
resemble the company’s application
Embedded audit module- involves placing special audit testing programs within the company’s operating system
Output Controls
Regardless of whether the results are printed or retained electronically, auditors may perform the following procedures
to test application outputs:
• Reasonableness tests compare the reports and other results with test data or other criteria.
• Audit trail tests trace transactions through the application to ensure that the reporting is a correct reflection of
the processing and inputs.
• Rounding errors tests determine whether significant errors exist due to the way amounts are rounded and
summarized.
Reconciliation- a detailed report assessing the correctness of an account balance or transaction record that is consistent
with supporting documentation and the company’s policies and procedures.
At the conclusion of the controls testing phase of the audit, an auditor must determine the overall reliability of the
client’s internal controls. Auditors strive to rely on internal controls as a way to reduce the amount of evidence needed
in the remaining phases of the audit. They can be reasonably sure that information is accurate when it comes from a
system that is proven to have strong controls. Therefore, once the general and application controls are tested and found
to be effective, the amount of additional evidence needed in the next phase of the audit can be minimized
TESTS OF TRANSACTIONS AND TESTS OF BALANCES (STUDY OBJECTIVE 9)
Audit tests of the accuracy of monetary amounts of transactions and account balances are known as substantive testing
• Substantive tests verify whether information is correct, whereas control tests determine whether the
information is managed under a system that promotes correctness
• Some level of substantive testing is required regardless of the results of control testing.
15 | P a g e
• If weak internal controls exist or if important controls are missing, extensive substantive testing will be required.
• If controls are found to be effective, the amount of substantive testing required is significantly lower, because
there is less chance of error in the underlying records
Most auditors use generalized audit software (GAS) or data analysis soft- ware (DAS) to perform audit tests on
electronic data files taken from commonly used database systems. These computerized auditing tools make it possible
for auditors to be much more efficient in performing routine audit tests such as the following:
• Mathematical and statistical calculations
• Data queries
• Identification of missing items in a sequence
• Stratification and comparison of data items
• Selection of items of interest from the data files
• Summarization of testing results into a useful format for decision making
GAS and DAS are evolving to handle larger and more diverse data sets, which allow auditors to use more types of
unstructured data evidence and to perform more creative analytical procedures and predictive analyses.
AUDIT COMPLETION/REPORTING (STUDY OBJECTIVE 10)
After the tests of controls and substantive audit tests have been completed, auditors evaluate all the evidence that has
been accumulated and draw conclusions based on this evidence. This phase is the audit completion/reporting phase.
The completion phase includes many tasks that are needed to wrap up the audit. For many types of audits, the most
important task is obtaining a letter of representations from company management. The letter of representations is
often considered the most significant single piece of audit evidence, because it is a signed acknowledgment of
management’s responsibility for the reported information. In this letter, management must declare that it has provided
complete and accurate information to its auditors during all phases of the audit.
Four types of reports that are issued:
1. Unqualified opinion, which states that the auditors believe the financial statements are fairly and consistently
presented in accordance with GAAP or IFRS
2. Qualified opinion, which identifies certain exceptions to an unqualified opinion
3. Adverse opinion, which notes that there are material misstatements presented
4. Disclaimer of opinion, which states that the auditors are unable to reach a conclusion.
OTHER AUDIT CONSIDERATIONS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 11 )
DIFFERENT ITENVIRONMENTS
Most companies use microcomputers or personal computers (PCs) in their accounting processes. General controls
covering PCs are often less advanced than those covering the mainframe and client–server systems. Following are some
audit techniques used to test controls specifically in the use of PCs:
Exploring the Variety of Random
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Captain Gould and his companions were first conscious of a
feeling of utter discouragement as they beheld the wild desolation of
this carpet of sand, with points of rock jutting out here and there.
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sides of the rocks, and of every tint from faded yellow to brilliant
red. In some places, too, there was a kind of sticky mildew caused
by the damp. At the edge of the cliff there was not a blade of grass;
on its granite wall there was not a single one of those stone-crops or
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Was it to be deduced that soil was lacking on the plateau above
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“It certainly isn’t what you might call a gay place,” the boatswain
murmured in Fritz’s ear.
“Perhaps we should have had better luck if we had come ashore
on the west or east.”
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against any savages here.”
For it was obvious that not even a savage could have existed on
this barren shore.
Jenny, Frank, Dolly, James, and Susan sat in the boat, surveying
the whole coast, so different from the verdant shores of the
Promised Land. Even Burning Rock, gloomy of aspect as it was, had
had its natural products to offer to Jenny Montrose, the fresh water
of its stream and the game in its woods and plains. Here was
nothing but stones and sand, a bank of shells on the left, and long
trails of sea-weeds left high and dry by the tide. Verily, a land of
desolation!
The animal kingdom was represented by a few sea-birds, gulls,
black-divers, sea-mews, and swallows, which uttered deafening cries
at finding their solitude disturbed by the presence of man. Higher
up, great frigate-birds, halcyons and albatrosses sailed on powerful
wings.
“Well,” said the boatswain at last, “even if this shore is not so
good as yours in New Switzerland, that’s no reason for not landing
on it.”
“Then let us land,” Fritz answered. “I hope we shall find
somewhere to shelter at the foot of the cliff.”
“Yes, let us land,” said Jenny.
“Dear wife,” said Fritz, “I advise you to remain here in the boat,
with Mrs. Wolston and Dolly, while we make our trip. There is no
sign of danger, and you have nothing to be afraid of.”
“Besides,” the boatswain added, “we most likely shan’t go out of
sight.”
Fritz jumped on to the sand, followed by the others, while Dolly
called out cheerfully: “Try to bring us back something for dinner,
Frank! We are relying upon you.”
“We must rely upon you rather, Dolly,” Frank replied. “Put out
some lines at the foot of those rocks.”
“We had better not land,” Mrs. Wolston agreed. “We will do our
best while you are away.”
“The great thing,” Fritz remarked, “is to keep what little biscuit we
have left, in case we are obliged to put to sea again.”
“Now, Mrs. Fritz,” John Block said, “get the stove going. We are
not the kind of people to be satisfied with lichen soup or boiled
pebbles, and we promise to bring you something solid and
substantial.”
The weather was fairly fine. Through the clouds in the east a few
sun-rays filtered.
Fritz, Frank, James, and the boatswain trudged together along the
edge of the shore, over sand still wet from the last high tide.
Ten feet or so higher the sea-weeds lay in zig-zag lines.
Some were of kinds which contain nutritive substances, and John
Block exclaimed:
“Why, people eat that—when they haven’t got anything else! In
my country, in Irish sea-ports, a sort of jam is made of that!”
After walking three or four hundred yards in this direction, Fritz
and his companions came to the foot of the bastion to the west.
Formed of enormous rocks with slippery surfaces, and almost
perpendicular, it plunged straight down into the clear and limpid
water which the slight surf scarcely disturbed. Its foundations could
be seen seven or eight fathoms below.
To climb along this bastion was quite impossible for it rose
perpendicularly. It would be necessary to scale the cliff in order to
find out if the upper plateau displayed a less arid surface. Moreover,
if they had to abandon the idea of climbing this bastion it meant that
they could only get round it by means of the boat. The matter of
present urgency, however, was to look for some cavity in the cliff
wherein they could take shelter.
So all went up to the top of the beach, along the base of the
bastion.
When they reached the corner of the cliff, they came upon thick
layers of sea-weeds, absolutely dry. As the last water-marks of the
high tide were visible more than two hundred yards lower down, this
meant—the steep pitch of the shore being taken into account—that
these plants had been thrown up so far, not by the sea, but by the
winds from the south, which are very violent in these waters.
“If we were obliged to spend the winter here,” Fritz remarked,
“these sea-weeds would supply us with fuel for a long time, if we
could not find any wood.”
“Fuel that burns fast,” the boatswain added. “Before we came to
the end of heaps like that, of course——. But we have still got
something to boil the pot with to-day. Now we must find something
to put in it!”
“Let’s look about,” Frank answered.
The cliff was formed by irregular strata. It was easy to recognise
the crystalline nature of these rocks, where feldspar and gneiss were
mixed, an enormous mass of granite, of plutonic origin and extreme
hardness.
This formation recalled in no respect to Fritz and Frank the walls
of their own island from Deliverance Bay to False Hope Point, where
limestone only was found, easily broken by pick or hammer. It was
thus that the grotto of Rock Castle had been fashioned. Out of solid
granite, any such work would have been impossible.
Fortunately there was no need to make any such attempt. A
hundred yards from the bastion, behind the piles of sea-wrack, they
found a number of openings in the rock. They resembled the cells of
a gigantic hive, and possibly gave access to the inside of the rock.
There were indeed several cavities at the foot of this cliff.
While some provided only small recesses, others were deep and
also dark, owing to the heaps of sea-weed in front of them. But it
was quite likely that in the opposite part, which was less exposed to
the winds from the sea, some cavern opened into which they might
carry the stores from the boat.
Trying to keep as near as possible to where the boat was moored,
Fritz and his companions walked towards the eastern bastion. They
hoped to find this more practicable than the other, because of its
elongated outline in its lower portion, and thought that they might
be able to get round it. Although it stood up sheer in its upper
portion, it sloped towards the middle and ended in a point by the
sea.
Their anticipations were not disappointed. In the corner formed
by the bastion was a cave quite easy of access. Sheltered from the
easterly, northerly, and southerly winds, its position exposed it only
to the winds from the west, less frequent in these regions.
The four men went inside this cave, which was light enough for
them to see all over it. It was some twelve feet high, twenty feet
wide, and fifty or sixty feet deep, and contained several unequal
recesses forming, as it were, so many rooms set round a common
hall. It had a carpet of fine sand, free from any trace of damp.
Entrance to it was through a mouth which could be easily closed.
“As I am a boatswain,” John Block declared, “we couldn’t have
found anything better!”
“I agree,” Fritz replied. “But what worries me is that this beach is
absolute desert, and I am afraid the upper plateau may be so too.”
“Let us begin by taking possession of the cave, and we will attend
to the rest presently.”
“Oh!” said Frank. “That is not much like our house at Rock Castle,
and I don’t even see a stream of fresh water to take the place of our
Jackal River!”
“Patience! Patience!” the boatswain answered. “We shall find
some spring all right by and by among the rocks, or else a stream
coming down from the top of the cliff.”
“Anyhow,” Fritz declared, “we must not think of settling on this
coast. If we do not succeed in getting round the base of those
bastions on foot we must take the boat and reconnoitre beyond
them. If it is a small island we have come ashore upon, we will only
stay long enough to set Captain Gould up again. A fortnight will be
enough, I imagine.”
“Well, we have the house, at all events,” John Block remarked. “As
for the garden, who is to say that it isn’t quite close by—on the
other side of this point, perhaps?”
They left the cave and walked down across the beach, so as to
get round the bastion.
From the cave to the first rocks washed by the sea at the half-ebb
was about two hundred yards. On this side there were none of the
heaps of sea-weeds found on the left-hand side of the beach. This
promontory was formed of heavy masses of rocks which seemed to
have been broken off from the top of the cliff. At the cave it would
have been impossible to cross it, but nearer the sea it was low
enough to get across.
The boatswain’s attention was soon caught by a sound of running
water.
A hundred feet from the cave, a stream murmured among the
rocks, escaping in little liquid threads.
The stones were scattered here, which enabled them to reach the
bed of a little stream fed by a cascade that came leaping down to
lose itself in the sea.
“There it is! There it is! Good fresh water!” John Block exclaimed,
after a draught taken up in his hands.
“Fresh and sweet!” Frank declared when he had moistened his lips
with it.
“And why shouldn’t there be vegetation on the top of the cliff,”
John Block enquired, “although that is only a stream?”
“A stream now,” Fritz said, “and a stream which may even dry up
during the very hot weather, but no doubt a torrent in the rainy
season.”
“Well, if it will only flow for a few days longer,” the boatswain
remarked philosophically, “we won’t ask anything more of it.”
Fritz and his companions now had a cave in which to establish
their quarters, and a stream which would enable them to refill the
boat’s casks with fresh water. The chief remaining question was
whether they could provide themselves with food.
Things did not look too promising. After crossing the little river the
explorers had a fresh and deep disappointment.
Beyond the promontory a creek was cut into the coast, in width
about half a mile, fringed with a rim of sand, and enclosed behind by
the cliff. At the far end rose a perpendicular bluff, whose foot was
washed by the sea.
This shore presented the same arid appearance as the other.
Here, too, the vegetable growths were confined to patches of lichen
and layers of sea-weeds thrown up by the tide. Was it, then, on a
mere islet, a rocky, lonely, uninhabitable island in the Pacific Ocean,
that the boat had come ashore? There seemed every reason to fear
so.
It appeared useless to carry the exploration as far as the bluff
which enclosed the creek. They were about to go back to the boat
when James stretched out his hand towards the shore and said:
“What is that I see down there on the sand? Look—those moving
specks. They look like rats.”
From the distance it did, indeed, look as if a number of rats were
on march together towards the sea.
“Rats?” said Frank enquiringly. “The rat is game, when he belongs
to the ondatra genus. Do you remember the hundreds we killed,
Fritz, when we made that trip after the boa constrictor?”
“I should think I do, Frank,” Fritz answered; “and I remember, too,
that we did not make much of a feast off their flesh, which reeked
too much of the marsh.”
“Right!” said the boatswain. “Properly cooked, one can eat those
beggars. But there’s no occasion to argue about it. Those black
specks over there aren’t rats.”
“What do you think they are, Block?” Fritz asked.
“Turtles.”
“I hope you are right.”
The boatswain’s good eyesight might have been trusted. There
actually was a crowd of turtles crawling over the sand.
So while Fritz and James remained on watch on the promontory,
John Block and Frank slid down the other side of the rocks, in order
to cut off the band of chelones.
These tortoises were small, measuring only twelve or fifteen
inches, and long in the tail. They belonged to a species whose
principal food consists of insects. There were fifty of them, on
march, not towards the sea, but towards the mouth of the stream,
where a quantity of sticky laminariæ, left by the ebb tide, were
soaking.
On this side the ground was studded with little swellings, like
bubbles in the sand, the meaning of which Frank recognised at once.
“There are turtles’ eggs under those!” he exclaimed.
“Well, dig up the eggs, Mr. Frank,” John Block replied. “I’ll belay
the fowls! That’s certainly ever so much better than my boiled
pebbles, and if little Miss Dolly isn’t satisfied——”
“The eggs will be warmly welcomed, Block, you may be sure,”
Frank declared.
“And the turtles, too; they are excellent beasts—excellent for
making soup, I mean!”
A moment later the boatswain and Frank had turned a score of
them over on to their backs. They were quite helpless in that
position. Laden with half a dozen of them, and twice as many eggs,
they went back towards the boat.
Captain Gould listened eagerly to John Block’s story. Since he had
been spared the shaking of the boat his wound had been paining
him less, the fever was beginning to go down, and a week’s rest
would certainly put him on his feet again. Wounds in the head,
unless they are exceptionally serious, generally heal easily and soon.
The bullet had only grazed the surface of the skull, after tearing
away part of the cheek; but it had been within an ace of going
through the temple. A speedy improvement could now be looked for
in the condition of the wounded man, thanks to the rest and care
which he could now obtain.
It was with much satisfaction Captain Gould learned that turtles
abounded in this bay, which was named Turtle Bay in their honour. It
meant the guarantee of a wholesome and plentiful food, even for a
considerable time. It might even be possible to preserve some of it
in salt and load the boat with it when the time came to put to sea
again.
For of course they would have later to seek a more hospitable
shore to the northward, if the table-land at the top of the cliff proved
to be as unfertile as that of Turtle Bay, if it had no woods or grass-
lands, if, in short, the land on which the passengers of the Flag had
come ashore proved to be nothing more than a mere heap of rocks.
“Well, Dolly, and you, too, Jenny,” said Frank when he got back,
“are you satisfied? How has the fishing gone while we have been
away?”
“Pretty well,” Jenny answered, pointing to several fish lying on the
poop.
“And we’ve got something better than that to offer you,” added
Dolly, merrily.
“What’s that, then?” Fritz asked.
“Mussels,” the girl answered. “There are heaps of them at the foot
of the promontory. Look at those boiling in the saucepan now!”
“Congratulations!” said Frank. “And you owe us congratulations,
too, Jenny, for we have not come back empty-handed. Here are
some eggs——”
“Hens’ eggs?” Bob exclaimed eagerly.
“No; turtles’,” Frank replied.
“Turtles’ eggs?” Jenny repeated. “Did you find turtles?”
“A regiment of them,” the boatswain told her; “and there are lots
more; there are enough to last us all the time we shall be at anchor
in the bay.”
“Before we leave this bay,” Captain Gould put in, “I think we
ought to reconnoitre along the coast, or climb to the top of the cliff.”
“We’ll try it, captain,” John Block answered. “But don’t let’s be in a
greater hurry than we need be, since it is possible to exist here
without touching what we have left of the biscuit.”
“That’s what I think, Block.”
“What we want, captain,” Frank went on, “is that you should have
a rest to allow your wound to heal, and you to get back your
strength. A week or two is nothing to spend here. When you are on
your feet again you will have a look at things for yourself, and you
will decide what is best to be done.”
During the morning they proceeded to unload the boat of all that
it contained, the bag of biscuit, the casks, the fuel, the utensils, and
the clothing, and everything was carried within the cave. The little
stove was set up in the corner of the bastion, and was first
employed in making the turtle soup.
As for Captain Gould, he was carried to the cave by Fritz and the
boatswain; a comfortable bed was waiting ready for him, made of
dry sea-weed by Jenny and Dolly, and there he was able to enjoy
several hours’ sleep.
CHAPTER VI
TIME OF TRIAL
It would have been difficult to find better quarters than those
provided by this cave. The various recesses hollowed out inside it
made capital separate rooms.
It was a trifling disadvantage, that these recesses, which were of
varying depth, were rather dark during the day, and that the cave
itself was never very light. For, except in bad weather, it would only
be occupied at night. At earliest dawn Captain Gould would be
carried outside, to drink in the salt, invigorating air and bask in the
sunshine.
Inside the cave Jenny arranged to occupy one of the recesses
with her husband. A larger one, sufficient to accommodate all three
of them, was taken possession of by James Wolston and his wife
and little Bob. Frank contented himself with a corner in the large
hall, where he shared the company of the skipper and the
boatswain.
The remainder of the day was given up entirely to rest. The boat’s
passengers had to recuperate after the many emotions of this last
week and the awful trial they had endured so bravely.
Wisdom dictated their resolution to spend a fortnight in this bay,
where material existence seemed to be secured for some time to
come. Even if the Captain’s condition had not required that they
should do so, John Block would not have advised an immediate
departure.
In the evening, after a second meal of turtle soup, and turtle flesh
and eggs, Frank led them in prayer, and all went into the cave.
Captain Gould, thanks to the ministrations of Jenny and Dolly, was
no longer shaking with fever. His wound now closing, gave him less
pain. He was progressing rapidly towards complete recovery.
To keep a watch during the night was needless. There was
nothing to fear on this lonely shore, neither savages nor wild beasts.
It was unlikely that these gloomy and depressing wastes had ever
been visited by man before. The stillness was only broken by the
harsh and melancholy cry of the sea-birds as they came home to
their crannies in the cliff. The breeze died gradually away, and not a
breath of air stirred till the rising of the sun.
The men were out at daybreak. First of all John Block went down
the beach along the promontory and made for the boat. It was still
floating but would soon be left high and dry by the ebb tide. Being
fastened by hawsers on both sides, it had not bumped against the
rocks, even when the tide was at its highest, and as long as the
wind continued to blow from the east it could come to no harm. In
the event of the wind veering to the south they would see if it was
necessary to look for other moorings. Meantime the weather seemed
to be definitely set fair, and this was the fine season.
When he got back the boatswain sought out Fritz and spoke to
him about this.
“It’s worth giving a little thought to,” he said. “Our boat comes
before everything else. A snug cave is fine. But one doesn’t go to
sea in a cave, and when the time comes for us to leave—if it ever
does come—it’s important that we shouldn’t be prevented from
doing so.”
“Of course, Block,” Fritz answered. “We will take every possible
care to prevent the boat coming to harm. Do you think perhaps
there is a better mooring for her on the other side of the
promontory?”
“We’ll see, sir, and since everything is all right on this side I will go
round to the other and hunt turtles. Will you come with me?”
“No, Block. Go alone. I am going back to the captain. This last
good night’s rest must have reduced the fever. When he wakes he
will want to discuss the situation. I must be there to tell him all that
has happened.”
“Quite right, Mr. Fritz; and mind you tell him that there is nothing
to be uneasy about at present.”
The boatswain went to the far end of the promontory, and sprang
from rock to rock across the creek towards the place where he and
Frank had come upon the turtles the day before.
Fritz returned to the cave, up to which Frank and James were
busy bringing armfuls of sea-weed. Mrs. Wolston was dressing little
Bob. Jenny and Dolly were still with the captain. In the corner of the
promontory the fire crackled under the stove, and the kettle began
to boil, white steam escaping from its spout.
When Fritz had finished his conversation with the captain, he and
Jenny went down to the beach. They walked a little way and then
turned back under the lofty cliff which enclosed them like a prison
wall.
Fritz spoke in tones of deep emotion.
“Dear wife, I must talk to you of what is in my heart. I can see
you with me in the canoe after I had found you upon Burning Rock.
And then our meeting with the pinnace, and our return to Rock
Castle with all the others! Two happy years slipped by with nothing
to mar their quiet happiness! You were the joy and charm of our
circle. We were so accustomed to life under those conditions that it
seemed as if there were no world outside our island. And if it had
not been for the thought of your father, beloved, perhaps we should
not have sailed on the Unicorn—perhaps we should never have left
New Switzerland.”
“Why do you talk now of this, Fritz, dear?” said Jenny, greatly
moved.
“I want to tell you how heavy my heart has been since ill fortune
has set in upon us. Yes! I am full of remorse at having brought you
to share it with me!”
“You must not fear ill fortune,” Jenny answered. “A man of your
courage, your energy, will not give way to despair, Fritz.”
“Let me finish, Jenny! One day the Unicorn arrived, over there, off
New Switzerland. She went away again, and took us to Europe.
From that moment misfortune has never ceased to strike you.
Colonel Montrose died before he could see his child——”
“Poor father!” said Jenny, her eyes wet. “Yes, that happiness was
withheld from him—of clasping me in his arms, and rewarding my
rescuer by placing my hand in his. But God willed otherwise, and we
must submit.”
“Well, Jenny dear,” Fritz went on, “at all events there you were,
back in England; you had seen your own land again; you might have
remained there with your own people and found quiet happiness.”
“Happiness! Without you, Fritz?”
“And then, Jenny, you would not have incurred fresh dangers,
after all those which you had escaped so miraculously. Yet you
consented to follow me back to our island again.”
“Do you forget that I am your wife, Fritz? Could I have hesitated
to leave Europe, to rejoin all those whom I love, your family, which
is mine henceforward?”
“But Jenny, Jenny, that does not make it less true that I drew you
into fresh danger—and danger that I cannot think of without panic.
Our present situation is desperate. Oh! those mutineers who caused
it all, who cast us adrift! And you, shipwrecked once in the Dorcas,
now cast again upon an unknown island even less habitable than
Burning Rock!”
“But I am not alone; I have you, and Frank, and our friends,
brave and determined men. Fritz, I shrink from no dangers present
or to come! I know that you will do everything possible for our
safety.”
“Everything, my darling,” Fritz exclaimed, “but though the thought
that you are there must double my courage, yet it also grieves me
so much that I want to throw myself at your knees and beg for your
forgiveness! It is my fault that——”
“Fritz,” she answered, clinging to him, “no one could possibly have
foreseen the things which have happened—the mutiny, and our
being cast adrift at sea. Far better forget the ill fortune and
contemplate only the good! We might have been murdered by the
crew of the Flag, or doomed to the tortures of hunger and thirst in
the boat. We might have perished in some storm. But instead we
have reached a land which is not quite without resources, which at
least gives us shelter. If we do not know what land it is we must try
to find out, and we will leave it if we find that we must.”
“To go—whither, my poor Jenny?”
“Somewhere else, as our dear boatswain would say; to go
wherever God wills that we shall!”
“My dear wife!” Fritz exclaimed. “You have given me back my
courage! Yes! We will fight on; we will not give way to despair. We
will think of the precious lives that are confided to our care. We will
save them! We will save them—with the help of God!”
“On whom we never call in vain!” said Frank, who had overheard
the last words spoken by his brother. “Let us keep our trust in Him,
and He will not forsake us!”
Under Jenny’s encouragement Fritz recovered all his energy. His
companions were as ready as he was to spend themselves in
superhuman efforts.
About ten o’clock, as the weather was fine, Captain Gould was
able to come and stretch himself in the sun at the far end of the
promontory. The boatswain returned from his trip round the creek as
far as the foot of the bluff to the east. Beyond that it was impossible
to go. Even at low tide it would have been useless to attempt to get
round the foot of this huge rock, about which the surf beat violently.
John Block had been joined by James in the creek, and both
brought back turtles and eggs. These chelones swarmed upon the
shore. In anticipation of an early departure it would be possible to
lay in a large stock of their flesh, which would secure a supply of
food for the passengers.
After luncheon the men talked while Jenny, Polly, and Susan
busied themselves washing the spare linen in the fresh water of the
stream. It would dry quickly in the sun, for the day was hot.
Afterwards, all the clothes were to be mended, so that everybody
might be ready to go aboard the boat again directly it should be
decided to make a start.
They had important questions to answer. What was the
geographical position of this land? Was it possible to ascertain it
without instruments, within a few degrees, taking the position of the
sun at noon as a basis for calculation? Such an observation could not
be absolutely accurate. But to-day it seemed to confirm the opinion,
already advanced by Captain Gould, that this land must lie between
the fortieth and thirtieth parallels. What meridian crossed it from
north to south there were no means of ascertaining, although the
Flag must have been somewhere in the western waters of the Pacific
Ocean.
Then the idea of reaching the upper plateau came up again.
Pending the recovery of the captain, was it not necessary to find out
whether the boat had come ashore on a continent, an island, or a
mere islet? As the cliff was seven or eight hundred feet high it was
quite possible that some other land might be visible a few miles out
at sea. So Fritz and Frank and the boatswain made up their minds to
climb to the top of the cliff.
Several days passed without bringing any change in the situation.
Every one realised the necessity of escaping from it somehow or
other, and all were seriously afraid that it might become worse. The
weather remained fine. The heat was great, but there was no
thunder.
On several occasions John Block and Fritz and Frank had walked
round the bay from the western bastion as far as the bluff. In vain
had they looked for a gorge or less precipitous slope by which they
might gain the plateau above. The wall rose sheer.
Meantime the captain approached complete recovery. His wound
was healed, though it was still bandaged. The attacks of fever had
become more and more rare, and had now ceased. His strength was
coming back slowly, but he could now walk unsupported. He was
always talking to Fritz and the boatswain of the chances of another
voyage in the boat northward. On the morning of the 25th, he was
able to go as far as the foot of the bluff, and agreed that it was
impossible to walk round the base of it.
Fritz, who had accompanied him, with Frank and John Block,
offered to dive into the sea and so get to the shore beyond. But
although he was an excellent swimmer, there was such a current
running at the foot of the bluff that the captain was obliged to order
the young man not to put this dangerous idea into execution. Once
borne away by the current, who could say if Fritz could have got
back to the shore?
“No,” said Captain Gould, “it would be rash, and there is no good
in running into danger. We will go in the boat to reconnoitre that
part of the coast, and if we go a few cables’ length out, we shall be
able to get a more extended view of it. Unfortunately I am very
much afraid that it will be found to be as barren everywhere as it is
here.”
“You mean that we are on some islet?” Frank remarked.
“There is reason to suppose so,” the captain replied.
“Very well,” said Fritz, “but does it follow that this islet is an
isolated point? Why should it not be part of some group of islands
lying to the north, east, or west?”
“What group, my dear Fritz?” the captain retorted. “If, as
everything goes to show, we are in Australian or New Zealand
waters here, there is no group of islands in this part of the Pacific.”
“Because the charts don’t show any, does it follow that there
aren’t any?” Fritz remarked. “The position of New Switzerland was
not known and yet——”
“Quite true,” Harry Gould replied; “that was because it lies outside
the track of shipping. Very seldom, practically never, do ships cross
that bit of the Indian Ocean where it is situated, whereas to the
south of Australia the seas are very busy, and no island, or group of
any size, could possibly have escaped the notice of navigators.”
“There is still the possibility that we are somewhere near
Australia,” Frank went on.
“A distinct possibility,” the captain answered, “and I should not be
surprised if we are at its south-west extremity, somewhere near
Cape Leeuwin. In that case we should have to fear the ferocious
Australian natives.”
“And so,” the boatswain remarked, “it is better to be on an islet,
where at any rate one is sure not to run up against cannibals.”
“And that is what we should probably know if we could get to the
top of the cliff,” Frank added.
“Yes,” said Fritz; “but there isn’t a single place where we can do
it.”
“Not even by climbing up the promontory?” Captain Gould asked.
“It is practicable, although very difficult, as far as half way,” Fritz
answered, “but the upper walls are absolutely perpendicular. We
should have to use ladders, and even then success isn’t certain. If
there were some chimney which we could get up with ropes, it
might perhaps be possible to reach the top, but there isn’t one
anywhere.”
“Then we will take the boat and reconnoitre the coast,” said
Captain Gould.
“When you are completely recovered, captain, and not before,”
replied Fritz firmly. “It will be several days yet before——”
“I am getting better, Fritz,” the captain declared; “how could it be
otherwise, with all the attention I have? Mrs. Wolston and your wife
and Dolly would have cured me merely by looking at me. We will put
to sea in forty-eight hours at latest.”
“Westward or eastward?” Fritz asked.
“According to the wind,” the captain replied.
“And I have an idea that this trip will be a lucky one,” the
boatswain put in.
Fritz, Frank, and John Block had already done all but the
impossible in their attempts to scale the promontory. They had got
about two hundred feet up, although the gradient was very steep, by
slipping from one rock to the next in the very middle of a torrent of
landslides, with the agility of chamois or ibex; but a third of the way
up they had come to a stop: It had been a highly dangerous
attempt, and the boatswain had come within an ace of breaking
some of his bones.
But from that point all their attempts to continue the ascent were
in vain. The promontory ended here in a vertical section with a
smooth surface. There was not a foothold anywhere, not the tiniest
projection on which the boat’s ropes might have been caught. And
they were still six or seven hundred feet from the top of the cliff.
When they returned to the cave Captain Gould explained the
decision which had been reached. Two days hence, on the 27th of
October, the boat was to leave her moorings to go along the coast.
Had a trip of several days’ duration been involved, everybody would
have gone in the boat. But as only a general reconnaissance was
contemplated, he thought it would be better that only he should go
with Fritz and the boatswain. They three would be enough to handle
the boat, and they would not go farther away to the north than they
must. If they found that the coast-line bounded nothing more than
an islet they could make the circuit of it and be back within twenty-
four hours.
Short as their absence might be, the idea of it excited great
uneasiness. The rest of the party would not be able to see their
companions go without much anxiety. How could they tell what
might happen? Suppose they were attacked by savages—suppose
they could not get back soon—suppose they did not come back at
all?
Jenny used these arguments with characteristic energy. She
insisted that the many anxieties they endured already should not be
added to by others arising from an absence which might be
prolonged. Fritz sympathised with her arguments, Captain Gould
accepted them, and ultimately it was agreed that they should all
take part in the projected exploration.
As soon as this decision had been arrived at, to the general
satisfaction, John Block got busy putting the boat in order. Not that it
required any repairs, for it had come to little harm since it had been
cast adrift, but it was well to overhaul it and fit it up in anticipation
of a possible extension of the voyage to some adjoining land. So the
boatswain worked his hardest to make it more comfortable,
enclosing the fore-deck so that the women might have shelter from
squalls and breaking waves.
There was nothing more to do but wait, and meanwhile lay in
provisions for a voyage which might perhaps be longer than was
intended. Besides, if it were necessary to leave Turtle Bay finally,
ordinary prudence suggested that they should do so without delay,
that they should take advantage of the fine season just beginning in
these southern regions.
They could not but quail before the idea of a winter here. True,
the cave offered them a sure shelter against the storms from the
south, which are appalling in the Pacific. The cold, too, could no
doubt be faced, for there would be no lack of fuel, thanks to the
enormous collection of sea-weed at the foot of the cliff.
But suppose the turtles failed? Would they be reduced to fish as
sole diet! And the boat—where could they put that in safety, out of
reach of the waves which must break right up to the back of the
beach in the winter? Would they be able to haul it up above the
highest tide-marks? Harry Gould and Fritz and the rest had only their
own arms to rely on, not a tool, not a lever, not a lifting-jack, and
the boat was heavy enough to resist their united efforts.
At this time of year there was happily nothing but passing storms
to fear. The fortnight that they had spent ashore had enabled them
all to pick up their moral and physical strength as well as to recover
confidence.
Their preparations were completed in the morning of the 26th.
Fritz observed with some uneasiness that clouds were beginning to
gather in the south. They were still a long way off, but were
assuming a lurid hue. The breeze was almost imperceptible, yet the
heavy mass of cloud was rising in a solid body. If this thunderstorm
burst it would burst full upon Turtle Bay.
Hitherto the rocks at the far end of the promontory had protected
the boat from the easterly winds. From the other side, too, the
westerly winds could not have touched it, and firmly held as it was
by hawsers, it might have escaped too severe a buffeting. But if a
furious sea swept in from the open main, it would be unprotected
and might be smashed to pieces.
It was useless to think of trying to find some other mooring on
the other side of the bluff or of the bastion, for, even in calm
weather, the sea broke there with violence.
“What’s to be done?” Fritz asked the boatswain, and the
boatswain had no answer.
One hope remained—that the storm might blow itself out before it
fell upon the coast. But as they listened they could hear a distant
rumbling, although the wind was very faint. The sea was roaring out
there in the distance, and already intermittent flaws were sweeping
over its surface, giving it a livid tint.
Captain Gould gazed at the horizon.
“We are in for a bad spell,” Fritz said to him.
“I am afraid we are,” the captain acknowledged; “as bad a spell as
our worst fears could have imagined!”
“Captain,” the boatswain broke in, “this isn’t a time to sit and
twiddle one’s thumbs. We’ve got to use a little elbow grease, as
sailormen say.”
“Let us try to pull the boat up to the top of the beach,” said Fritz,
calling James and his brother.
“We will try,” Captain Gould replied. “The tide is coming up and
will help us. Meanwhile let us begin by lightening the boat as much
as we can.”
All buckled to. The sails were laid upon the sand, the mast
unstepped, the rudder unshipped, and the seats and spars were
taken out and carried within the cave.
By the time the tide was slack the boat had been hauled about
twenty yards higher up. But that was not enough; she would have to
be pulled up twice as far again to be out of reach of the waves.
Having no other tools, the boatswain pushed planks under the
keel, and all combined to pull and push. But their efforts were
useless: the heavy boat was fixed in the sand and did not gain an
inch beyond the last high-water mark.
When evening came the wind threatened a hurricane. From the
piled clouds in the zenith flash after flash of lightning broke, followed
by terrific peals of thunder, which the cliff reechoed in appalling
reverberations.
Although the boat had been left high and dry by the ebb tide, the
waves, momentarily becoming stronger, would soon lift it up from
the stern.
And now the rain fell in big drops, so heavily charged with
electricity that they seemed to explode as they struck the sand on
the shore.
“You can’t stay outside any longer, Jenny, dear,” said Fritz. “Do go
back into the cave, I beg you! You, too, Dolly, and you too, Mrs.
Wolston.”
Jenny did not want to leave her husband. But Captain Gould
spoke authoritatively.
“Go inside, Mrs. Fritz,” he said.
“You too, captain,” she replied; “you must not expose yourself to a
wetting yet.”
“I have nothing to fear now,” Harry Gould answered.
“Jenny, I tell you again, go back, there’s no time to lose!” Fritz
exclaimed.
And Jenny, Dolly, and Susan took refuge in the cave just as the
rain, in which hail was mingled, began to rattle down like grape-
shot.
Captain Gould and the boatswain, Fritz, Frank, and James
remained near the boat, though it was with the utmost difficulty that
they stood up against the squalls which swept the shore. The waves
were breaking in the bay already and throwing their spray right over
it.
The danger was acute. Would it be possible to sustain the boat
against the shocks which were rolling it from one side to the other?
If it were broken up, how would Captain Gould and his companions
be able to get away from this coast before the winter?
All five stood by, and when the sea came farther up and lifted the
boat, they hung on to its sides trying to steady it.
Soon the storm was at its height. From twenty places at once
tremendous flashes of lightning burst. When they struck the bastions
they tore off fragments which could be heard crashing upon the
heaps of sea-weed.
An enormous wave, twenty-five or thirty feet high at least, was
lifted up by the hurricane and dashed upon the shore like a huge
waterspout.
Caught in its grip Captain Gould and his companions were swept
right up to the heaps of sea-weed, and it was only by a miracle that
the enormous wave did not carry them back with it as it drew again
to the sea!
The disaster feared so much had befallen them!
The boat, torn from its bed, swept up to the top of the beach and
then carried down again to the rocks at the end of the promontory,
was smashed, and its fragments, after floating for a moment in the
creaming foam of the backwater, disappeared from view round the
bend of the bluff!
CHAPTER VII
THE COMING OF THE ALBATROSS
The situation seemed worse than ever. While they were in the
boat, exposed to all the perils of the sea, Captain Gould and his
passengers at least had a chance of being picked up by some ship,
or of reaching land. They had not fallen in with a ship. And although
they had reached land, it was practically uninhabitable, yet it
seemed they must give up all hope of ever leaving it.
“Still,” said John Block to Fritz, “if we had run into a storm like
that out at sea, our boat would have gone to the bottom and taken
us with it!”
Fritz made no reply. He hurried through a deluge of rain and hail
to take shelter with Jenny and Dolly and Susan, who were intensely
anxious. Owing to its position in the corner of the promontory, the
inside of the cave had not been flooded.
Towards midnight, when the rain had stopped, the boatswain
piled a heap of sea-weed near the mouth of the cave. A bright fire
soon blazed, drying their drenched clothes.
Until the fury of the storm abated the whole sky was incessantly
ablaze. The pealing thunder diminished as the clouds were driven
rapidly towards the north. But as long as distant lightning continued
to light up the bay, the wind blew with great force, lifting billows
which plunged and broke wildly on the shore.
At dawn the men came out of the cave. Tattered clouds were
passing over the cliff. Some, hanging lower, skimmed the surface.
During the night the lightning had struck it in several places. Huge
fragments of rock lay at its base. But there was no sign of a new
cleft or crevice into which it might be possible to squeeze, and so to
reach the plateau above.
Captain Gould, Fritz, and John Block took stock of what was left of
the boat. It comprised the mast, the foresail and the jib, the rigging,
the hawsers, the rudder, the oars, the anchor and its cable, the
wooden seats, and the casks of fresh water. Some use could no
doubt be made of most of these things, damaged as they were.
“Fortune has tried us cruelly!” Fritz said. “If only we had not these
poor women with us—three women and a child! What fate awaits
them here on this shore, which we cannot even leave now!”
Even Frank, with all his faith, kept silence this time. What could
he say?
But John Block was wondering whether the storm had not
brought yet another disaster upon the shipwrecked company, for so
they might well be described. Was there not good reason to fear
that the turtles might have been destroyed by the breakers, and
their eggs smashed as the sand was washed away? It would be an
irreparable loss if this food supply failed.
The boatswain made a sign to Frank to come to him, and said a
few words in an undertone. Then both crossed the promontory and
went down to the creek, intending to go over it as far as the bluff.
While Captain Gould, Fritz, and James went towards the western
bastion, Jenny and Dolly and Susan resumed their usual occupations
—what might be called their household duties. Little Bob played on
the sand in sublime indifference, waiting for his mother to prepare
some soaked biscuit for him. Susan was overcome by grief and
anxiety as she thought of the distress and want which her child
might not have the strength to endure.
After putting everything in order inside the cave, Jenny and Dolly
came out and joined Mrs. Wolston. Then very sadly they talked of
their present situation, which had been so sorely aggravated since
the day before. Dolly and Susan were more overcome than the
courageous Jenny.
“What will become of us?” Susan asked.
“Don’t let us lose heart,” Jenny answered, “and above all don’t let
us discourage our men.”
“But we can never get away now,” Dolly said. “And when the rainy
season comes——”
“I tell you, Dolly, as I told Susan,” Jenny answered, “that no good
is done by giving up courage.”
“How can I keep any hope at all?” Mrs. Wolston exclaimed.
“You must! It’s your duty to!” Jenny said. “Think of your husband;
you will increase his misery a thousandfold if you let him see you
cry.”
“You are strong, Jenny,” Dolly said; “you have fought misfortune
before. But we——”
“You?” Jenny replied. “Do you forget that Captain Gould and Fritz
and Frank and James and John Block will do everything that is
possible to save us all?”
“What can they do?” Susan demanded.
“I don’t know, Susan, but they will succeed provided we don’t
hamper them by giving way ourselves to despair!”
“My child! My child!” murmured the poor woman, choked by sobs.
Seeing his mother crying, Bob stood in wonder, with his eyes wide
open.
Jenny drew him to her and took him on her knees.
“Mummy was anxious, darling! She called you, and you didn’t
answer, and then—you were playing on the sand, weren’t you?”
“Yes,” said Bob; “with the boat that Block made for me. But I
wanted him to make a little white sail for it, so that it could sail.
There are holes full of water in the sand where I can put it. Aunty
Dolly promised to make me a sail.”
“Yes, Bob dear; you shall have it to-day,” Dolly promised.
“Two sails,” the child answered; “two sails like the boat that
brought us here.”
“Of course,” Jenny answered. “Aunty Dolly will make you a lovely
sail, and I will make you one, too.”
“Thank you, thank you, Jenny,” Bob answered, clapping his hands.
“But where is our big boat? I can’t see it anywhere!”
“It has gone away—fishing,” Jenny answered. “It will come back
soon, with lots of beautiful fish! Besides, you have got your own; the
one that good John Block made for you.”
“Yes; but I am going to tell him to make me another, one in which
I can sail—with papa and mama, and aunty Dolly and Jenny, and
everybody!”
Poor little fellow! He voiced so exactly what was wanted—the
replacement of the boat—and how was that to be done?
“Run away again and play, darling,” Jenny said to him; “and don’t
go far away.”
“No; over there; quite close, Jenny!”
And he kissed his mother and went bounding away as children of
his age will.
“Susan dear, and you, too, Dolly dear,” said Jenny, “God will see
that that little child is saved! And Bob’s rescue means our own! I do
beg of you, no more weakness, no more crying! Have faith in
Providence as I have, as I have always had!”
So Jenny spoke out of her brave heart. Come what might, she
would never despair. If the rainy season set in before the
shipwrecked people could leave this coast—and how could they
leave it unless some ship took them off?—arrangements would be
made to spend a winter there. The cave would give secure
protection from the heavy weather. The heaps of sea-weed would
give fuel to protect them from the cold. Fishing, hunting perhaps,
would suffice to provide them with their daily bread.
It was of the first importance to know whether John Block’s fears
about the turtles were well founded. Happily they were not. After
being away for an hour, the boatswain and Frank came back with
their accustomed load of turtles, which had taken refuge under the
heap of kelp. But they had not a single egg.
“Never mind, they will lay, good old things,” said John Block
cheerily.
It was impossible not to smile at the boatswain’s little joke. In the
course of their walk to the bastion, Captain Gould, Fritz, and James
had seen again the impossibility of getting round it in any other way
than by sea. Currents ran there, with tremendous force and in both
directions. Even in calm weather the violent surf would have
prevented any boat from getting close in, and the strongest
swimmer might have been carried out to sea or dashed upon the
rocks.
So the necessity of getting to the top of the cliff by some other
means became more imperative than ever.
“How are we to do it?” said Fritz one day, gazing irritably at the
inaccessible crest.
“You can’t get out of a prison when its walls are a thousand feet
high,” was James’s answer.
“Unless you tunnel through them,” Fritz replied.
“Tunnel through that mass of granite—which is probably thicker
than it is high?” said James.
“Anyhow, we can’t remain in this prison!” exclaimed Fritz, in a
burst of impotent but uncontrollable anger.
“Be patient, and have confidence,” said Frank again.
“Patience I can have,” Fritz retorted, “but confidence—that is
another thing.”
And indeed on what might confidence be placed? Rescue could
only come from a ship passing beyond the bay. And if one came,
would it see their signals, the lighting of a huge fire on the beach or
on the end of the promontory?
A fortnight had passed since the boat came to land. Several more
weeks passed without bringing any change in the situation. As to the
food supplies, they were reduced to turtles and their eggs, and to
crustaceans, crabs and lobsters, some of which John Block was
generally able to catch. It was he who usually occupied himself with
the fishing, assisted by Frank. Lines with bent nails for hooks taken
from the boat’s planks, had rendered possible the capture of various
kinds of fish: dorado twelve to fifteen inches long, of a beautiful
reddish colour and excellent eating, and bass, or salt-water perch.
Once even, a large sturgeon was caught with a slip-knot which
landed it on the sand.
The dog-fish, plentiful in these waters, were poor eating. But
there was obtained from them a grease used to make coarse
candles, for which wicks were fashioned out of dry sea-weed.
Disturbing as the prospect of wintering here might be, thought had
to be given to it, and precautions taken against the long and dark
days of the rainy season.
The salmon, which used to go up Jackal River in New Switzerland
in such numbers at certain times of the year, were not forthcoming
here. But one day a school of herrings stranded at the mouth of the
little stream. Several hundreds of them were taken, and, smoked
over a fire of dry sea-weed, made an important reserve of food.
“Isn’t there a saying that herrings bring their own butter?” John
Block enquired. “Well, if so, here are some already cooked, and what
I want to know is what we shall do with all these good things!”
Several times during these six weeks attempts had been made to
climb to the top of the cliff. As all these attempts were fruitless, Fritz
determined to go round the bluff to the east. But he was careful to
say nothing of his intention to anyone except John Block. So, on the
morning of the 7th of December, the two men went to the creek,
under the pretence of collecting turtles at its eastern point.
There, at the foot of the enormous mass of rock, the sea was
breaking savagely, and to get round it Fritz must risk his life.
The boatswain vainly did his best to induce him to desist from the
idea, and, failing, had no choice but to help him.
After undressing, Fritz fastened a long line around his loins—one
of the boat’s yard-ropes—gave the other end to John Block, and
jumped into the sea.
The risk was twofold—of being caught by the surf and thrown
against the base of the bluff, and of being carried away by the
current if the line should break.
Twice did Fritz try without success to get free of the waves. It was
only at the third attempt that he succeeded in reaching and
maintaining a position in which he could look beyond the bluff, and
then John Block was obliged to pull him in again to the point—not
without a good deal of trouble.
“Well,” the boatswain enquired, “what is there beyond?”
“Nothing but rocks and more rocks!” Fritz answered as soon as he
had recovered his wind. “I only saw a succession of creeks and
capes. The cliff goes right on to the northward.”
“I’m not surprised,” John Block replied. When the result of this
attempt was made known—one can imagine Jenny’s emotions when
she heard of it—it seemed as if the last hope had vanished. This
island, from which Captain Gould and his boat’s company could not
escape, was apparently nothing better than an uninhabited and
uninhabitable rock!
And this unhappy situation was complicated by so many bitter
regrets! But for the mutiny, the passengers on the Flag would have
reached the fertile domain of the Promised Land a couple of months
ago. Think of the anguish of all those who were expecting them and
watched in vain for their coming!
Truly these relations and friends of theirs were more to be pitied
than Captain Gould and his company. At any rate, the forlorn
company knew that their dear ones were safe in New Switzerland.
Thus the future loomed heavy with anxiety, and the present was
hard.
A new reason for alarm would have been added if all had known
what only Captain Gould and the boatswain knew—that the number
of turtles was decreasing perceptibly, in consequence of their daily
consumption!
“But perhaps,” John Block suggested, “it is because the creatures
know of some passage underground through which they can get to
the creeks to the east and west; it is a pity we can’t follow them.”
“Anyhow, Block,” Captain Gould replied, “don’t say a word to our
friends.”
“Keep your mind easy, captain. I told you because one can tell
you everything.”
“And ought to tell me everything, Block!”
Thereafter the boatswain was obliged to fish more assiduously, for
the sea would never withhold what the land would soon deny. Of
course, if they lived exclusively on fish and mollusks and
crustaceans, the general health would suffer. And if illness broke out,
that would be the last straw.
The last week of December came. The weather was still fine,
except for a few thunderstorms, not so violent as the first one. The
heat, sometimes excessive, would have been almost intolerable but
for the great shadow thrown over the shore by the cliff, which
sheltered it from the sun as it traced its daily arc above the northern
horizon.
At this season numbers of birds thronged these waters—not only
sea-gulls and divers, sea-mew and frigate-birds, which were the
usual dwellers on the shore. From time to time flocks of cranes and
herons passed, reminding Fritz of his excellent sport round Swan
Lake and about the farms in the Promised Land. On the top of the
bluff, too, cormorants appeared, like Jenny’s bird, now in the poultry-
run at Rock Castle, and albatrosses like the one she had sent with
her message from the Burning Rock.
These birds kept out of range. When they settled on the
promontory it was useless to attempt to get near them, and they
flew at full speed above the inaccessible crest of the cliff.
One day all the others were called to the beach by a shout from
the boatswain.
“Look there! Look there!” he continued to cry, pointing to the
edge of the upper plateau.
“What is it?” Fritz demanded.
“Can’t you see that row of black specks?” John Block returned.
“They are penguins,” Frank replied.
“Yes, they are penguins,” Captain Gould declared; “they look no
bigger than crows, but that is because they are perched so high up.”
“Well,” said Fritz, “if those birds have been able to get up on to
the plateau, it means that on the other side of the cliff the ascent is
practicable.”
That seemed certain, for penguins are clumsy, heavy birds, with
rudimentary stumps instead of wings. They could not have flown up
to the crest. So if the ascent could not be made on the south, it
could be on the north. But from lack of a boat in which to go along
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  • 5. Chapter 7- Auditing Information Technology-Based Processes Instructor’s Manual
  • 6. 2 | P a g e CHATPER 7: AUDITING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY-BASED PROCESS LEARNING OBJECTIVES:..........................................................................................................................................3 REAL WORLD: AURAFIN BRAND .............................................................................................................................3 INTRODUCTION TO AUDITING IT PROCESSES (STUDY OBJECTIVE 1) ........................................................4 TYPES OF AUDITS AND AUDITORS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 2) .......................................................................4 INFORMATION RISK AND IT-ENHANCED INTERNAL CONTROL(STUDY OBJECTIVE 3) ..........................6 AUTHORITATIVE LITERATURE USED IN AUDITING (STUDY OBJECTIVE 4) ...............................................6 MANAGEMENT ASSERTIONS AND AUDIT OBJECTIVES(STUDY OBJECTIVE 5)..............................................8 PHASES OF AN IT AUDIT (STUDY OBJECTIVE 6)...................................................................................................9 USE OF COMPUTERS IN AUDITS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 7) .........................................................................11 TESTS OF CONTROLS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 8) ..............................................................................................11 GENERAL CONTROLS ........................................................................................................................................11 APPLICATION CONTROLS..................................................................................................................................13 TESTS OF TRANSACTIONS AND TESTS OF BALANCES (STUDY OBJECTIVE 9) ...................................14 AUDIT COMPLETION/REPORTING (STUDY OBJECTIVE 10)..........................................................................15 OTHER AUDIT CONSIDERATIONS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 11 ) ......................................................................15 DIFFERENT ITENVIRONMENTS..........................................................................................................................15 CHANGES IN A CLIENT’S IT ENVIRONMENT ..................................................................................................17 SAMPLING VERSUS POPULATION TESTING......................................................................................................17 ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED TO AUDITING (STUDY OBJECTIVE 12) ..........................................................18 CHAPTER SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................19
  • 7. 3 | P a g e CHAPTER 7: AUDITING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY-BASED PROCESS LEARNING OBJECTIVES: 1. An introduction to auditing IT processes 2. The various types of audits and auditors 3. Information risk and IT-enhanced internal control 4. Authoritative literature used in auditing 5. Management assertions used in the auditing process and the related audit objectives 6. The phases of an IT audit 7. The use of computers in audits 8. Tests of controls 9. Tests of transactions and tests of balances 10. Audit completion/reporting 11. Other audit considerations 12. Ethical issues related to auditing REAL WORLD: AURAFIN BRAND • The Aurafin brand is renowned in the jewelry industry as the fashion leader in fine gold. • Owned by Richline Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., the brand is sold by retail giants like JCPenney, Macy’s, and many online outlets. • Aurafin has overcome significant challenges in maintaining its customer relationships. Several years ago, Aurafin began experiencing such severe problems with transaction fulfillment and delivery that its customers were taking notice. • JCPenney had implemented a supplier scorecard system, a type of vendor audit whereby companies, which do business with JCPenney were evaluated on the basis of the quality of service provided. This system brought to light some significant violations in Aurafin’s business processes, including weaknesses in controls and inadequate computer systems. Aurafin took quick action, undergoing a thorough IT audit which identified the specific causes of its process failures. Aurafin acted swiftly upon the recommendations made by its auditors and implemented a more reliable technology platform that empowered it to apply a variety of new audit and control techniques and to get its systems in sync with its business goals. Aurafin credits the audit processes to its newfound success, including its subsequent recognition as JCPenney’s “Vendor of the Year.” This chapter focuses on various aspects of an IT audit, as well as the accountant’s techniques for evaluating information-technology processes, and their importance in business processes.
  • 8. 4 | P a g e INTRODUCTION TO AUDITING IT PROCESSES (STUDY OBJECTIVE 1) Nearly all business organizations rely on computerized systems to assist in the accounting function. Technological advances have transformed the business world by providing new ways for companies to do business and maintain records. This boom in technological developments has increased the amount of information that is readily available. Business managers, investors, creditors, and government agencies often have a tremendous amount of data to use when making important business decisions. However, it is often a challenge to verify the accuracy and completeness of the information. Accountants have an important role in the business world because they are called upon to improve the quality of information provided to decision makers. Accounting services that improve the quality of information are called assurance services. Many types of services performed by accountants are considered assurance services because they lend credibility to the underlying financial information. An audit is the most common type of assurance service TYPES OF AUDITS AND AUDITORS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 2) The main purpose of the audit is to assure users of financial information about the accuracy and completeness of the information. To carry out an audit, accountants collect and evaluate proof of procedures, transactions, and/or account balances and compare the information with established criteria. The three primary types of audits include: • compliance audits, • operational audits, and • financial statement audits Compliance audits determine whether the company has complied with regulations and policies established by contractual agreements, governmental agencies, company management, or other high authority. Operational audits assess operating policies and procedures for efficiency and effectiveness Financial statement audits determine whether the company has prepared and presented its financial statements fairly, and in accordance with established financial accounting criteria. • financial statement audits are performed by certified public accountants who have extensive knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the United States and/or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
  • 9. 5 | P a g e There are different types of audit specialization that exist in business practice today, including: • An internal auditor is an employee of the company that he or she audits. Most large companies have a staff of internal auditors who perform compliance, operational, and financial audit functions at the request of management. Some internal auditors achieve special certification as certified internal auditors (CIAs). • IT auditors specialize in information systems assurance, control, and security, and they may work for CPA firms, government agencies, or with the internal audit group for any type of business organization. Some IT auditors achieve special certification as certified information systems auditors (CISAs). • Government auditors conduct audits of government agencies or income tax returns. • CPA firms represent the interests of the public by performing independent audits of many types of business organizations. Only CPA firms can conduct financial statement audits of companies whose stock is sold in public markets such as the New York Stock Exchange. An important requirement for CPA firms is that they must be neutral with regard to the company being audited. The neutrality requirement allows CPA firms to provide an unbiased opinion on the information it audits, and it is the foundation of an external audit performed by CPAs. An external audit is performed by independent auditors who are objective and neutral with respect to the company and information being audited. To keep their neutrality, CPA firms and their individual CPAs are generally prohibited from having financial and managerial connections with client companies and from having personal ties to those working for client companies. A CPA’s objectivity could be impaired by having these types of relationships with a client company or with anyone having the ability to influence the client’s decisions and financial reporting activities. • Performing financial statement audits is a main service of CPA firms. • Because many audited companies use sophisticated IT systems to prepare financial statements, it is important for auditors to enhance the quality of their services in auditing those systems. • IT auditing is a part of the financial statement audit that evaluates a company’s computerized accounting information systems. • An auditor must gain a sufficient understanding of the characteristics of a company’s IT system. • Use of computers may significantly change the way a company processes and communicates information, and it may affect the underlying internal controls. Therefore, the IT environment plays a key role in how auditors conduct their work in the following areas: o Consideration of risk o Audit procedures used to obtain knowledge of the accounting and internal control systems o Design and performance of audit tests
  • 10. 6 | P a g e INFORMATION RISK AND IT-ENHANCED INTERNAL CONTROL (STUDY OBJECTIVE 3) Information risk is the chance that information used by decision makers may be inaccurate. Following are some causes of information risk: • the remoteness of information • the volume and complexity of the underlying data • the motive of the preparer The most common way for decision makers to reduce information risk is to rely upon information that has been audited by an independent party. Various risks are created by the existence of IT-based business processes. For example, because the details of transactions are often entered directly into the computer system, there may be no paper documentation maintained to support the transactions. This is often referred to as the loss of audit trail visibility because there is a lack of physical evidence to visibly view. Advantages of using IT-based systems: • Internal controls can actually be enhanced if care is exercised in implementing these systems • Computer controls can compensate for the lack of manual controls • If programs are tested properly the risk of human error is virtually eliminated • Provide higher quality information to management AUTHORITATIVE LITERATURE USED IN AUDITING (STUDY OBJECTIVE 4) Generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) are broad guidelines for an auditor’s professional responsibilities. These ten standards are divided into three categories that include general qualifications and conduct of an auditor (general standards), guidelines for performing the audit (standards of fieldwork), and requirements for the written report communicating the results of the audit (standards of reporting).
  • 11. 7 | P a g e General Standards StandardsofFieldwork Standards ofReporting 1. The audit is to be performed by a person or persons having adequate technicaltraining and proficiency as anauditor. 2. Independence in mental attitude is to be maintained in all matters related to the audit engagement. 3. Due professional care is to be exercised in all phases of the audit process. 1. The audit is to be adequately planned and supervised. 2. An understanding of internalcontrol is to be obtained as part of the planning process for the purpose of determining the nature, timing, and extent of tests to beperformed. 3. Evidence is to be obtained through inspection, inquiries, observation, and confirmations in order to provide a reasonable basis for forming an overall opinion on the audit. 1. The written report must state whether the financial statements are presented in accordance with the establishedcriteria. 2. The written report identifies any circumstances in which established principles have not been consistently applied in the current period in relation to the priorperiod. 3. The financial statements are assumed to contain adequate informative disclo- sures unless otherwise indicated in the written report. 4. The written report expresses an opinion on the fairness of the financial statements as a whole, or an assertion to the effect that an opinion cannot be expressed (and the reasons therefor). The report also describes the character of the auditor’s work and the degree of responsibilityassumedbytheauditor.
  • 12. 8 | P a g e The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) was organized in 2003 for the purpose of establishing auditing standards for public companies in the United States • The PCAOB was established by the Sarbanes–Oxley Act, which was created in response to several major corporate accounting scandals, including those affecting Enron, WorldCom, and others • Prior to the PCAOB, standard-setting was the responsibility of the Auditing Standards Board (ASB) of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) • The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) was established by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) to set International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) that contribute to the uniform application of auditing practices on a worldwide basis. ISAs are similar to SASs; however, ISAs tend to extend SASs because of their usefulness in audits of multinational companies. Although auditors have a primary responsibility to comply with standards issued within their own countries, ISAs are useful in expanding those requirements in order to meet different needs in other countries where the audited information may also be used. The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) established the Internal Auditing Standards Board (IASB) to issue standards that pertain to attributes of internal audit activities, performance criteria, and implementation guidance. The Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) issues Information Systems Auditing Standards (ISASs) that provide guidelines for conducting the IT audit. These standards address audit issues unique to a company’s information systems environment, including control and security issues. MANAGEMENT ASSERTIONS AND AUDIT OBJECTIVES (STUDY OBJECTIVE 5) Management assertions are claims regarding the condition of the business organization in terms of its operations, financial results, and compliance with laws and regulations. The role of the auditors is to analyze the underlying facts to decide whether information provided by management is fairly presented. Auditors design audit tests to analyze information in order to determine whether management’s assertions are valid. To accomplish this, audit tests are created to address general audit objectives. Each audit objective relates to one of management’s assertions. The following diagram illustrates management assertions and the corresponding audit objective:
  • 13. 9 | P a g e Auditors must think about how the features of a company’s IT systems influence management’s assertions and the general audit objectives. These matters have a big impact on the choice of audit methodologies used. PHASES OF AN IT AUDIT (STUDY OBJECTIVE 6) There are four primary phases of the audit: • planning, • tests of controls, • substantive tests, and • audit completion/reporting Through each phase of an audit, evidence is accumulated as a basis for supporting the conclusions reached by the auditors. Audit evidence is proof of the fairness of financial information. The techniques used for gathering evidence include the following: • Physically examining or inspecting assets or supporting documentation • Obtaining written confirmation from an independent source • Reperforming tasks or recalculating information • Observing the underlying activities • Making inquiries of company personnel • Analyzing financial relationships and making comparisons to determine reasonableness
  • 14. 10 | P a g e During the planning phase of an audit, the auditor must gain a thorough under- standing of the company’s business and financial reporting systems. In doing so, auditors review and assess the risks and controls related to the business, establish materiality guidelines, and develop relevant tests addressing the assertions and objectives • tasks of assessing materiality and audit risk are very subjective and are therefore typically performed by experienced auditors • Determining materiality, auditors estimate the monetary amounts that are large enough to make a difference in decision making • Materiality estimates are then assigned to account balances so that auditors can decide how much evidence is needed • Below materiality limits are often considered insignificant • Some accounts with immaterial balances may still be audited, though, especially if they are considered areas of high risk • Risk- refers to the likelihood that errors or fraud may occur • Risk can be inherit or it may be caused by weak internal controls A big part of the audit planning process is the gathering of evidence about the company’s internal controls • Auditors typically gain an understanding of internal controls by interviewing key members of management and the IT staff • They observe policies and procedures and review IT user manuals and system flowcharts • They often prepare narratives or memos to summarize the results of their findings • Company personnel generally complete a questionnaire about the company’s accounting systems, including its IT implementation and operations, the types of hardware and software used, and control of computer resources • The understanding of internal controls provides the basis for designing appropriate audit tests to be used in the remaining phases of the audit In recognition of the fact that accounting records and files often exist in both paper and electronic form, auditing standards address the importance of understanding both the automated and manual procedures that make up an organization’s internal controls. In addition, many large and medium-size businesses are capturing an abundance of data. The availability of Big Data sets in auditing may complicate an auditor’s judgment. Yet auditors must always consider how misstatements may occur, including the following: • How data is captured and used • How standard journal entries are initiated, recorded, and processed • How nonstandard journal entries and adjusting entries are initiated, recorded, and processed IT auditors may be called upon to consider the effects of computer processing on the audit or to assist in testing those automated procedures.
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  • 16. 11 | P a g e USE OF COMPUTERS IN AUDITS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 7) If the use of IT systems does not have a great impact on the conduct of the audit, since the auditor can perform audit testing in the same manner as would be done for a manual system the practice is referred to as auditing around the computer because it does not require evaluation of computer controls. • Auditing around the computer merely uses and tests output of the computer system in the same manner as the audit would be conducted if the information had been generated manually • Because this approach does not consider the effectiveness of computer controls, auditing around the computer has limited usefulness. Auditing through the computer involves directly testing the internal controls within the IT system, whereas auditing around the computer does not • sometimes referred to as “the white box approach,” because it requires auditors to understand the computer system logic • This approach requires auditors to evaluate IT controls and processing so that they can determine whether the information generated from the system is reliable • Auditing through the computer is necessary under the following conditions: o The auditor wants to test computer controls as a basis for evaluating risk and reducing the amount of substantive audit testing required. o The author is required to report on internal controls in connection with a financial statement audit of a public company. o Supporting documents are available only in electronic form. Auditors can use their own computer systems and audit software to help conduct the audit. This approach is known as auditing with the computer. • A variety of computer-assisted audit techniques (CAATs) are available for auditing with the computer • CAATs are useful audit tools because they make it possible for auditors to use computers to test more evidence in less time. TESTS OF CONTROLS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 8) The tests of controls involve audit procedures designed to evaluate both general controls and application controls. During audit planning, auditors must learn about the types of controls that exist within their client’s IT environment. Then they may test those controls to determine whether they are reliable as a means of reducing risk. Tests of controls are sometimes referred to as “compliance tests,” because they are designed to determine whether the controls are functioning in compliance with management’s intentions. GENERAL CONTROLS General controls MUST be tested before application controls. General controls are the automated controls that affect all computer applications. The reliability of application controls is considered only after general controls are deemed reliable.
  • 17. 12 | P a g e The effectiveness of general controls is the foundation for the IT control environment. If general controls are not functioning as designed, auditors will not devote attention to the testing of application controls; rather, they will reevaluate the audit approach with reduced reliance on controls. There are two broad categories of general controls that relate to IT systems: • IT administration and the related operating systems development and maintenance processes • Security controls and related access issues IT Administration Related audit tests include review for the existence and communication of company policies regarding the following important aspects of administrative control: • Personal accountability and segregation of incompatible responsibilities • Job descriptions and clear lines of authority • Computer security and virus protection • IT systems documentation Security Controls Auditors are concerned about whether a company’s computer system has controls in place to prevent unauthorized access to or destruction of information within the accounting information systems. Unauthorized access may occur internally when employees retrieve information that they should not have, or externally when unauthorized users (or hackers) outside the company retrieve information that they should not have. Access risks tend to escalate as companies embrace newer technologies and allow sensitive data to be shared via smart devices, Web and mobile applications, and social networks. Destruction of information may occur as a result of natural disasters, accidents, and other environ- mental conditions. Controls that protect the company from these risks include: • various access controls, • physical controls, • environmental controls, and • business continuity policies In order to test internal access controls, auditors should determine that the company has properly segregated IT duties or compensated for a lack of segregation by improving supervisory reviews. The company’s authority table should be tested to find out whether access to programs and data files is limited to authorized employees. Auditors should perform authenticity tests for valid use of the company’s computer system, according to the authority tables. In order to test external access controls, auditors may perform the following procedures: • Authenticity tests • Penetration tests
  • 18. 13 | P a g e • Vulnerability assessments • Review access logs to identify unauthorized users or failed access attempts Physical controls include: • locks, • security guards, • alarms, • cameras, and • card keys. Physical controls not only limit access to the company’s computers, but also are important for preventing damage to computer resources. In addition to assessing physical controls, auditors should evaluate the IT environment to determine that proper temperature control is maintained, fireproofing systems are installed, and an emergency power supply is in place. APPLICATION CONTROLS Application controls are computerized controls over application programs. Since any company may use many different computer programs in its day-to- day business, there may be many different types of application controls to con- sider in an audit. Input Controls Auditors perform tests to verify the correctness of information input to soft- ware programs. Auditors are concerned about whether errors are being pre- vented and detected during the input stage of data processing. Auditors observe controls that the company has in place and perform the comparisons on a limited basis to determine their effectiveness. These tests can be performed manually or by electronic methods. Processing Controls IT audit procedures typically include a combination of data accuracy tests, whereby the data processed by computer applications are reviewed for correct dollar amounts or other numerical values. For example, limit tests, described previously as an input control, can also be an effective processing control. Run-to-run totals involve the recalculation of amounts from one process to the next to determine whether data have been lost or altered during the process. Balancing tests involve a comparison of different items that are expected to have the same values, such as comparing two batches or comparing actual data against a predetermined control total. Mathematical accuracy tests verify whether system calculations are correct. Completeness tests and redundancy tests, introduced earlier, check for inclusion of the correct data. Benford’s Law, also known as the first-digit law, was named for a physicist, Frank Benford, who discovered a specific, but nonuniform pattern in the frequency of digits occur- ring as the first number in a list of numbers
  • 19. 14 | P a g e The test data method is an audit and control technique often used to test the processing accuracy of software applications. Test data are fictitious information developed by auditors and entered in the company’s application system. Test data are processed under the company’s normal operating conditions. The results of the test are compared with predicted results to deter- mine whether the application is functioning properly A slight variation of the test data method involves the auditor testing fictitious data, using a copy of the company’s application. The test data may be processed through the application on a different (nonclient) computer. Under these conditions, an auditor can also use another test data method, program tracing, whereby bits of actual data are followed through the application in order to verify the accuracy of its processing. Program mapping, on the other hand, counts the number of times each program statement is executed, so it can identify whether program code has been bypassed. An integrated test facility (ITF) may be used to test application controls without disrupting the client’s operations. Parallel simulation- is an audit technique that processes company data through a controlled program designed to resemble the company’s application Embedded audit module- involves placing special audit testing programs within the company’s operating system Output Controls Regardless of whether the results are printed or retained electronically, auditors may perform the following procedures to test application outputs: • Reasonableness tests compare the reports and other results with test data or other criteria. • Audit trail tests trace transactions through the application to ensure that the reporting is a correct reflection of the processing and inputs. • Rounding errors tests determine whether significant errors exist due to the way amounts are rounded and summarized. Reconciliation- a detailed report assessing the correctness of an account balance or transaction record that is consistent with supporting documentation and the company’s policies and procedures. At the conclusion of the controls testing phase of the audit, an auditor must determine the overall reliability of the client’s internal controls. Auditors strive to rely on internal controls as a way to reduce the amount of evidence needed in the remaining phases of the audit. They can be reasonably sure that information is accurate when it comes from a system that is proven to have strong controls. Therefore, once the general and application controls are tested and found to be effective, the amount of additional evidence needed in the next phase of the audit can be minimized TESTS OF TRANSACTIONS AND TESTS OF BALANCES (STUDY OBJECTIVE 9) Audit tests of the accuracy of monetary amounts of transactions and account balances are known as substantive testing • Substantive tests verify whether information is correct, whereas control tests determine whether the information is managed under a system that promotes correctness • Some level of substantive testing is required regardless of the results of control testing.
  • 20. 15 | P a g e • If weak internal controls exist or if important controls are missing, extensive substantive testing will be required. • If controls are found to be effective, the amount of substantive testing required is significantly lower, because there is less chance of error in the underlying records Most auditors use generalized audit software (GAS) or data analysis soft- ware (DAS) to perform audit tests on electronic data files taken from commonly used database systems. These computerized auditing tools make it possible for auditors to be much more efficient in performing routine audit tests such as the following: • Mathematical and statistical calculations • Data queries • Identification of missing items in a sequence • Stratification and comparison of data items • Selection of items of interest from the data files • Summarization of testing results into a useful format for decision making GAS and DAS are evolving to handle larger and more diverse data sets, which allow auditors to use more types of unstructured data evidence and to perform more creative analytical procedures and predictive analyses. AUDIT COMPLETION/REPORTING (STUDY OBJECTIVE 10) After the tests of controls and substantive audit tests have been completed, auditors evaluate all the evidence that has been accumulated and draw conclusions based on this evidence. This phase is the audit completion/reporting phase. The completion phase includes many tasks that are needed to wrap up the audit. For many types of audits, the most important task is obtaining a letter of representations from company management. The letter of representations is often considered the most significant single piece of audit evidence, because it is a signed acknowledgment of management’s responsibility for the reported information. In this letter, management must declare that it has provided complete and accurate information to its auditors during all phases of the audit. Four types of reports that are issued: 1. Unqualified opinion, which states that the auditors believe the financial statements are fairly and consistently presented in accordance with GAAP or IFRS 2. Qualified opinion, which identifies certain exceptions to an unqualified opinion 3. Adverse opinion, which notes that there are material misstatements presented 4. Disclaimer of opinion, which states that the auditors are unable to reach a conclusion. OTHER AUDIT CONSIDERATIONS (STUDY OBJECTIVE 11 ) DIFFERENT ITENVIRONMENTS Most companies use microcomputers or personal computers (PCs) in their accounting processes. General controls covering PCs are often less advanced than those covering the mainframe and client–server systems. Following are some audit techniques used to test controls specifically in the use of PCs:
  • 21. Exploring the Variety of Random Documents with Different Content
  • 22. Captain Gould and his companions were first conscious of a feeling of utter discouragement as they beheld the wild desolation of this carpet of sand, with points of rock jutting out here and there. Not a tree, not a bush, not a trace of vegetation! Here were the melancholy and horror of the desert. The only verdure was that of scanty lichens, those rudimentary productions of nature, rootless, stalkless, leafless, flowerless, looking like scabby patches on the sides of the rocks, and of every tint from faded yellow to brilliant red. In some places, too, there was a kind of sticky mildew caused by the damp. At the edge of the cliff there was not a blade of grass; on its granite wall there was not a single one of those stone-crops or rock plants which need so very little soil. Was it to be deduced that soil was lacking on the plateau above as well? Had the boat found nothing better than one of those desert islands undeserving of a name? “It certainly isn’t what you might call a gay place,” the boatswain murmured in Fritz’s ear. “Perhaps we should have had better luck if we had come ashore on the west or east.” “Perhaps,” Block assented; “but at any rate we shall not run up against any savages here.” For it was obvious that not even a savage could have existed on this barren shore. Jenny, Frank, Dolly, James, and Susan sat in the boat, surveying the whole coast, so different from the verdant shores of the Promised Land. Even Burning Rock, gloomy of aspect as it was, had had its natural products to offer to Jenny Montrose, the fresh water of its stream and the game in its woods and plains. Here was nothing but stones and sand, a bank of shells on the left, and long trails of sea-weeds left high and dry by the tide. Verily, a land of desolation! The animal kingdom was represented by a few sea-birds, gulls, black-divers, sea-mews, and swallows, which uttered deafening cries at finding their solitude disturbed by the presence of man. Higher
  • 23. up, great frigate-birds, halcyons and albatrosses sailed on powerful wings. “Well,” said the boatswain at last, “even if this shore is not so good as yours in New Switzerland, that’s no reason for not landing on it.” “Then let us land,” Fritz answered. “I hope we shall find somewhere to shelter at the foot of the cliff.” “Yes, let us land,” said Jenny. “Dear wife,” said Fritz, “I advise you to remain here in the boat, with Mrs. Wolston and Dolly, while we make our trip. There is no sign of danger, and you have nothing to be afraid of.” “Besides,” the boatswain added, “we most likely shan’t go out of sight.” Fritz jumped on to the sand, followed by the others, while Dolly called out cheerfully: “Try to bring us back something for dinner, Frank! We are relying upon you.” “We must rely upon you rather, Dolly,” Frank replied. “Put out some lines at the foot of those rocks.” “We had better not land,” Mrs. Wolston agreed. “We will do our best while you are away.” “The great thing,” Fritz remarked, “is to keep what little biscuit we have left, in case we are obliged to put to sea again.” “Now, Mrs. Fritz,” John Block said, “get the stove going. We are not the kind of people to be satisfied with lichen soup or boiled pebbles, and we promise to bring you something solid and substantial.” The weather was fairly fine. Through the clouds in the east a few sun-rays filtered. Fritz, Frank, James, and the boatswain trudged together along the edge of the shore, over sand still wet from the last high tide. Ten feet or so higher the sea-weeds lay in zig-zag lines. Some were of kinds which contain nutritive substances, and John Block exclaimed:
  • 24. “Why, people eat that—when they haven’t got anything else! In my country, in Irish sea-ports, a sort of jam is made of that!” After walking three or four hundred yards in this direction, Fritz and his companions came to the foot of the bastion to the west. Formed of enormous rocks with slippery surfaces, and almost perpendicular, it plunged straight down into the clear and limpid water which the slight surf scarcely disturbed. Its foundations could be seen seven or eight fathoms below. To climb along this bastion was quite impossible for it rose perpendicularly. It would be necessary to scale the cliff in order to find out if the upper plateau displayed a less arid surface. Moreover, if they had to abandon the idea of climbing this bastion it meant that they could only get round it by means of the boat. The matter of present urgency, however, was to look for some cavity in the cliff wherein they could take shelter. So all went up to the top of the beach, along the base of the bastion. When they reached the corner of the cliff, they came upon thick layers of sea-weeds, absolutely dry. As the last water-marks of the high tide were visible more than two hundred yards lower down, this meant—the steep pitch of the shore being taken into account—that these plants had been thrown up so far, not by the sea, but by the winds from the south, which are very violent in these waters. “If we were obliged to spend the winter here,” Fritz remarked, “these sea-weeds would supply us with fuel for a long time, if we could not find any wood.” “Fuel that burns fast,” the boatswain added. “Before we came to the end of heaps like that, of course——. But we have still got something to boil the pot with to-day. Now we must find something to put in it!” “Let’s look about,” Frank answered. The cliff was formed by irregular strata. It was easy to recognise the crystalline nature of these rocks, where feldspar and gneiss were mixed, an enormous mass of granite, of plutonic origin and extreme hardness.
  • 25. This formation recalled in no respect to Fritz and Frank the walls of their own island from Deliverance Bay to False Hope Point, where limestone only was found, easily broken by pick or hammer. It was thus that the grotto of Rock Castle had been fashioned. Out of solid granite, any such work would have been impossible. Fortunately there was no need to make any such attempt. A hundred yards from the bastion, behind the piles of sea-wrack, they found a number of openings in the rock. They resembled the cells of a gigantic hive, and possibly gave access to the inside of the rock. There were indeed several cavities at the foot of this cliff. While some provided only small recesses, others were deep and also dark, owing to the heaps of sea-weed in front of them. But it was quite likely that in the opposite part, which was less exposed to the winds from the sea, some cavern opened into which they might carry the stores from the boat. Trying to keep as near as possible to where the boat was moored, Fritz and his companions walked towards the eastern bastion. They hoped to find this more practicable than the other, because of its elongated outline in its lower portion, and thought that they might be able to get round it. Although it stood up sheer in its upper portion, it sloped towards the middle and ended in a point by the sea. Their anticipations were not disappointed. In the corner formed by the bastion was a cave quite easy of access. Sheltered from the easterly, northerly, and southerly winds, its position exposed it only to the winds from the west, less frequent in these regions. The four men went inside this cave, which was light enough for them to see all over it. It was some twelve feet high, twenty feet wide, and fifty or sixty feet deep, and contained several unequal recesses forming, as it were, so many rooms set round a common hall. It had a carpet of fine sand, free from any trace of damp. Entrance to it was through a mouth which could be easily closed. “As I am a boatswain,” John Block declared, “we couldn’t have found anything better!”
  • 26. “I agree,” Fritz replied. “But what worries me is that this beach is absolute desert, and I am afraid the upper plateau may be so too.” “Let us begin by taking possession of the cave, and we will attend to the rest presently.” “Oh!” said Frank. “That is not much like our house at Rock Castle, and I don’t even see a stream of fresh water to take the place of our Jackal River!” “Patience! Patience!” the boatswain answered. “We shall find some spring all right by and by among the rocks, or else a stream coming down from the top of the cliff.” “Anyhow,” Fritz declared, “we must not think of settling on this coast. If we do not succeed in getting round the base of those bastions on foot we must take the boat and reconnoitre beyond them. If it is a small island we have come ashore upon, we will only stay long enough to set Captain Gould up again. A fortnight will be enough, I imagine.” “Well, we have the house, at all events,” John Block remarked. “As for the garden, who is to say that it isn’t quite close by—on the other side of this point, perhaps?” They left the cave and walked down across the beach, so as to get round the bastion. From the cave to the first rocks washed by the sea at the half-ebb was about two hundred yards. On this side there were none of the heaps of sea-weeds found on the left-hand side of the beach. This promontory was formed of heavy masses of rocks which seemed to have been broken off from the top of the cliff. At the cave it would have been impossible to cross it, but nearer the sea it was low enough to get across. The boatswain’s attention was soon caught by a sound of running water. A hundred feet from the cave, a stream murmured among the rocks, escaping in little liquid threads. The stones were scattered here, which enabled them to reach the bed of a little stream fed by a cascade that came leaping down to lose itself in the sea.
  • 27. “There it is! There it is! Good fresh water!” John Block exclaimed, after a draught taken up in his hands. “Fresh and sweet!” Frank declared when he had moistened his lips with it. “And why shouldn’t there be vegetation on the top of the cliff,” John Block enquired, “although that is only a stream?” “A stream now,” Fritz said, “and a stream which may even dry up during the very hot weather, but no doubt a torrent in the rainy season.” “Well, if it will only flow for a few days longer,” the boatswain remarked philosophically, “we won’t ask anything more of it.” Fritz and his companions now had a cave in which to establish their quarters, and a stream which would enable them to refill the boat’s casks with fresh water. The chief remaining question was whether they could provide themselves with food. Things did not look too promising. After crossing the little river the explorers had a fresh and deep disappointment. Beyond the promontory a creek was cut into the coast, in width about half a mile, fringed with a rim of sand, and enclosed behind by the cliff. At the far end rose a perpendicular bluff, whose foot was washed by the sea. This shore presented the same arid appearance as the other. Here, too, the vegetable growths were confined to patches of lichen and layers of sea-weeds thrown up by the tide. Was it, then, on a mere islet, a rocky, lonely, uninhabitable island in the Pacific Ocean, that the boat had come ashore? There seemed every reason to fear so. It appeared useless to carry the exploration as far as the bluff which enclosed the creek. They were about to go back to the boat when James stretched out his hand towards the shore and said: “What is that I see down there on the sand? Look—those moving specks. They look like rats.” From the distance it did, indeed, look as if a number of rats were on march together towards the sea.
  • 28. “Rats?” said Frank enquiringly. “The rat is game, when he belongs to the ondatra genus. Do you remember the hundreds we killed, Fritz, when we made that trip after the boa constrictor?” “I should think I do, Frank,” Fritz answered; “and I remember, too, that we did not make much of a feast off their flesh, which reeked too much of the marsh.” “Right!” said the boatswain. “Properly cooked, one can eat those beggars. But there’s no occasion to argue about it. Those black specks over there aren’t rats.” “What do you think they are, Block?” Fritz asked. “Turtles.” “I hope you are right.” The boatswain’s good eyesight might have been trusted. There actually was a crowd of turtles crawling over the sand. So while Fritz and James remained on watch on the promontory, John Block and Frank slid down the other side of the rocks, in order to cut off the band of chelones. These tortoises were small, measuring only twelve or fifteen inches, and long in the tail. They belonged to a species whose principal food consists of insects. There were fifty of them, on march, not towards the sea, but towards the mouth of the stream, where a quantity of sticky laminariæ, left by the ebb tide, were soaking. On this side the ground was studded with little swellings, like bubbles in the sand, the meaning of which Frank recognised at once. “There are turtles’ eggs under those!” he exclaimed. “Well, dig up the eggs, Mr. Frank,” John Block replied. “I’ll belay the fowls! That’s certainly ever so much better than my boiled pebbles, and if little Miss Dolly isn’t satisfied——” “The eggs will be warmly welcomed, Block, you may be sure,” Frank declared. “And the turtles, too; they are excellent beasts—excellent for making soup, I mean!”
  • 29. A moment later the boatswain and Frank had turned a score of them over on to their backs. They were quite helpless in that position. Laden with half a dozen of them, and twice as many eggs, they went back towards the boat. Captain Gould listened eagerly to John Block’s story. Since he had been spared the shaking of the boat his wound had been paining him less, the fever was beginning to go down, and a week’s rest would certainly put him on his feet again. Wounds in the head, unless they are exceptionally serious, generally heal easily and soon. The bullet had only grazed the surface of the skull, after tearing away part of the cheek; but it had been within an ace of going through the temple. A speedy improvement could now be looked for in the condition of the wounded man, thanks to the rest and care which he could now obtain. It was with much satisfaction Captain Gould learned that turtles abounded in this bay, which was named Turtle Bay in their honour. It meant the guarantee of a wholesome and plentiful food, even for a considerable time. It might even be possible to preserve some of it in salt and load the boat with it when the time came to put to sea again. For of course they would have later to seek a more hospitable shore to the northward, if the table-land at the top of the cliff proved to be as unfertile as that of Turtle Bay, if it had no woods or grass- lands, if, in short, the land on which the passengers of the Flag had come ashore proved to be nothing more than a mere heap of rocks. “Well, Dolly, and you, too, Jenny,” said Frank when he got back, “are you satisfied? How has the fishing gone while we have been away?” “Pretty well,” Jenny answered, pointing to several fish lying on the poop. “And we’ve got something better than that to offer you,” added Dolly, merrily. “What’s that, then?” Fritz asked. “Mussels,” the girl answered. “There are heaps of them at the foot of the promontory. Look at those boiling in the saucepan now!”
  • 30. “Congratulations!” said Frank. “And you owe us congratulations, too, Jenny, for we have not come back empty-handed. Here are some eggs——” “Hens’ eggs?” Bob exclaimed eagerly. “No; turtles’,” Frank replied. “Turtles’ eggs?” Jenny repeated. “Did you find turtles?” “A regiment of them,” the boatswain told her; “and there are lots more; there are enough to last us all the time we shall be at anchor in the bay.” “Before we leave this bay,” Captain Gould put in, “I think we ought to reconnoitre along the coast, or climb to the top of the cliff.” “We’ll try it, captain,” John Block answered. “But don’t let’s be in a greater hurry than we need be, since it is possible to exist here without touching what we have left of the biscuit.” “That’s what I think, Block.” “What we want, captain,” Frank went on, “is that you should have a rest to allow your wound to heal, and you to get back your strength. A week or two is nothing to spend here. When you are on your feet again you will have a look at things for yourself, and you will decide what is best to be done.” During the morning they proceeded to unload the boat of all that it contained, the bag of biscuit, the casks, the fuel, the utensils, and the clothing, and everything was carried within the cave. The little stove was set up in the corner of the bastion, and was first employed in making the turtle soup. As for Captain Gould, he was carried to the cave by Fritz and the boatswain; a comfortable bed was waiting ready for him, made of dry sea-weed by Jenny and Dolly, and there he was able to enjoy several hours’ sleep.
  • 31. CHAPTER VI TIME OF TRIAL It would have been difficult to find better quarters than those provided by this cave. The various recesses hollowed out inside it made capital separate rooms. It was a trifling disadvantage, that these recesses, which were of varying depth, were rather dark during the day, and that the cave itself was never very light. For, except in bad weather, it would only be occupied at night. At earliest dawn Captain Gould would be carried outside, to drink in the salt, invigorating air and bask in the sunshine. Inside the cave Jenny arranged to occupy one of the recesses with her husband. A larger one, sufficient to accommodate all three of them, was taken possession of by James Wolston and his wife and little Bob. Frank contented himself with a corner in the large hall, where he shared the company of the skipper and the boatswain. The remainder of the day was given up entirely to rest. The boat’s passengers had to recuperate after the many emotions of this last week and the awful trial they had endured so bravely. Wisdom dictated their resolution to spend a fortnight in this bay, where material existence seemed to be secured for some time to come. Even if the Captain’s condition had not required that they should do so, John Block would not have advised an immediate departure. In the evening, after a second meal of turtle soup, and turtle flesh and eggs, Frank led them in prayer, and all went into the cave. Captain Gould, thanks to the ministrations of Jenny and Dolly, was no longer shaking with fever. His wound now closing, gave him less pain. He was progressing rapidly towards complete recovery.
  • 32. To keep a watch during the night was needless. There was nothing to fear on this lonely shore, neither savages nor wild beasts. It was unlikely that these gloomy and depressing wastes had ever been visited by man before. The stillness was only broken by the harsh and melancholy cry of the sea-birds as they came home to their crannies in the cliff. The breeze died gradually away, and not a breath of air stirred till the rising of the sun. The men were out at daybreak. First of all John Block went down the beach along the promontory and made for the boat. It was still floating but would soon be left high and dry by the ebb tide. Being fastened by hawsers on both sides, it had not bumped against the rocks, even when the tide was at its highest, and as long as the wind continued to blow from the east it could come to no harm. In the event of the wind veering to the south they would see if it was necessary to look for other moorings. Meantime the weather seemed to be definitely set fair, and this was the fine season. When he got back the boatswain sought out Fritz and spoke to him about this. “It’s worth giving a little thought to,” he said. “Our boat comes before everything else. A snug cave is fine. But one doesn’t go to sea in a cave, and when the time comes for us to leave—if it ever does come—it’s important that we shouldn’t be prevented from doing so.” “Of course, Block,” Fritz answered. “We will take every possible care to prevent the boat coming to harm. Do you think perhaps there is a better mooring for her on the other side of the promontory?” “We’ll see, sir, and since everything is all right on this side I will go round to the other and hunt turtles. Will you come with me?” “No, Block. Go alone. I am going back to the captain. This last good night’s rest must have reduced the fever. When he wakes he will want to discuss the situation. I must be there to tell him all that has happened.” “Quite right, Mr. Fritz; and mind you tell him that there is nothing to be uneasy about at present.”
  • 33. The boatswain went to the far end of the promontory, and sprang from rock to rock across the creek towards the place where he and Frank had come upon the turtles the day before. Fritz returned to the cave, up to which Frank and James were busy bringing armfuls of sea-weed. Mrs. Wolston was dressing little Bob. Jenny and Dolly were still with the captain. In the corner of the promontory the fire crackled under the stove, and the kettle began to boil, white steam escaping from its spout. When Fritz had finished his conversation with the captain, he and Jenny went down to the beach. They walked a little way and then turned back under the lofty cliff which enclosed them like a prison wall. Fritz spoke in tones of deep emotion. “Dear wife, I must talk to you of what is in my heart. I can see you with me in the canoe after I had found you upon Burning Rock. And then our meeting with the pinnace, and our return to Rock Castle with all the others! Two happy years slipped by with nothing to mar their quiet happiness! You were the joy and charm of our circle. We were so accustomed to life under those conditions that it seemed as if there were no world outside our island. And if it had not been for the thought of your father, beloved, perhaps we should not have sailed on the Unicorn—perhaps we should never have left New Switzerland.” “Why do you talk now of this, Fritz, dear?” said Jenny, greatly moved. “I want to tell you how heavy my heart has been since ill fortune has set in upon us. Yes! I am full of remorse at having brought you to share it with me!” “You must not fear ill fortune,” Jenny answered. “A man of your courage, your energy, will not give way to despair, Fritz.” “Let me finish, Jenny! One day the Unicorn arrived, over there, off New Switzerland. She went away again, and took us to Europe. From that moment misfortune has never ceased to strike you. Colonel Montrose died before he could see his child——”
  • 34. “Poor father!” said Jenny, her eyes wet. “Yes, that happiness was withheld from him—of clasping me in his arms, and rewarding my rescuer by placing my hand in his. But God willed otherwise, and we must submit.” “Well, Jenny dear,” Fritz went on, “at all events there you were, back in England; you had seen your own land again; you might have remained there with your own people and found quiet happiness.” “Happiness! Without you, Fritz?” “And then, Jenny, you would not have incurred fresh dangers, after all those which you had escaped so miraculously. Yet you consented to follow me back to our island again.” “Do you forget that I am your wife, Fritz? Could I have hesitated to leave Europe, to rejoin all those whom I love, your family, which is mine henceforward?” “But Jenny, Jenny, that does not make it less true that I drew you into fresh danger—and danger that I cannot think of without panic. Our present situation is desperate. Oh! those mutineers who caused it all, who cast us adrift! And you, shipwrecked once in the Dorcas, now cast again upon an unknown island even less habitable than Burning Rock!” “But I am not alone; I have you, and Frank, and our friends, brave and determined men. Fritz, I shrink from no dangers present or to come! I know that you will do everything possible for our safety.” “Everything, my darling,” Fritz exclaimed, “but though the thought that you are there must double my courage, yet it also grieves me so much that I want to throw myself at your knees and beg for your forgiveness! It is my fault that——” “Fritz,” she answered, clinging to him, “no one could possibly have foreseen the things which have happened—the mutiny, and our being cast adrift at sea. Far better forget the ill fortune and contemplate only the good! We might have been murdered by the crew of the Flag, or doomed to the tortures of hunger and thirst in the boat. We might have perished in some storm. But instead we have reached a land which is not quite without resources, which at
  • 35. least gives us shelter. If we do not know what land it is we must try to find out, and we will leave it if we find that we must.” “To go—whither, my poor Jenny?” “Somewhere else, as our dear boatswain would say; to go wherever God wills that we shall!” “My dear wife!” Fritz exclaimed. “You have given me back my courage! Yes! We will fight on; we will not give way to despair. We will think of the precious lives that are confided to our care. We will save them! We will save them—with the help of God!” “On whom we never call in vain!” said Frank, who had overheard the last words spoken by his brother. “Let us keep our trust in Him, and He will not forsake us!” Under Jenny’s encouragement Fritz recovered all his energy. His companions were as ready as he was to spend themselves in superhuman efforts. About ten o’clock, as the weather was fine, Captain Gould was able to come and stretch himself in the sun at the far end of the promontory. The boatswain returned from his trip round the creek as far as the foot of the bluff to the east. Beyond that it was impossible to go. Even at low tide it would have been useless to attempt to get round the foot of this huge rock, about which the surf beat violently. John Block had been joined by James in the creek, and both brought back turtles and eggs. These chelones swarmed upon the shore. In anticipation of an early departure it would be possible to lay in a large stock of their flesh, which would secure a supply of food for the passengers. After luncheon the men talked while Jenny, Polly, and Susan busied themselves washing the spare linen in the fresh water of the stream. It would dry quickly in the sun, for the day was hot. Afterwards, all the clothes were to be mended, so that everybody might be ready to go aboard the boat again directly it should be decided to make a start. They had important questions to answer. What was the geographical position of this land? Was it possible to ascertain it without instruments, within a few degrees, taking the position of the
  • 36. sun at noon as a basis for calculation? Such an observation could not be absolutely accurate. But to-day it seemed to confirm the opinion, already advanced by Captain Gould, that this land must lie between the fortieth and thirtieth parallels. What meridian crossed it from north to south there were no means of ascertaining, although the Flag must have been somewhere in the western waters of the Pacific Ocean. Then the idea of reaching the upper plateau came up again. Pending the recovery of the captain, was it not necessary to find out whether the boat had come ashore on a continent, an island, or a mere islet? As the cliff was seven or eight hundred feet high it was quite possible that some other land might be visible a few miles out at sea. So Fritz and Frank and the boatswain made up their minds to climb to the top of the cliff. Several days passed without bringing any change in the situation. Every one realised the necessity of escaping from it somehow or other, and all were seriously afraid that it might become worse. The weather remained fine. The heat was great, but there was no thunder. On several occasions John Block and Fritz and Frank had walked round the bay from the western bastion as far as the bluff. In vain had they looked for a gorge or less precipitous slope by which they might gain the plateau above. The wall rose sheer. Meantime the captain approached complete recovery. His wound was healed, though it was still bandaged. The attacks of fever had become more and more rare, and had now ceased. His strength was coming back slowly, but he could now walk unsupported. He was always talking to Fritz and the boatswain of the chances of another voyage in the boat northward. On the morning of the 25th, he was able to go as far as the foot of the bluff, and agreed that it was impossible to walk round the base of it. Fritz, who had accompanied him, with Frank and John Block, offered to dive into the sea and so get to the shore beyond. But although he was an excellent swimmer, there was such a current running at the foot of the bluff that the captain was obliged to order
  • 37. the young man not to put this dangerous idea into execution. Once borne away by the current, who could say if Fritz could have got back to the shore? “No,” said Captain Gould, “it would be rash, and there is no good in running into danger. We will go in the boat to reconnoitre that part of the coast, and if we go a few cables’ length out, we shall be able to get a more extended view of it. Unfortunately I am very much afraid that it will be found to be as barren everywhere as it is here.” “You mean that we are on some islet?” Frank remarked. “There is reason to suppose so,” the captain replied. “Very well,” said Fritz, “but does it follow that this islet is an isolated point? Why should it not be part of some group of islands lying to the north, east, or west?” “What group, my dear Fritz?” the captain retorted. “If, as everything goes to show, we are in Australian or New Zealand waters here, there is no group of islands in this part of the Pacific.” “Because the charts don’t show any, does it follow that there aren’t any?” Fritz remarked. “The position of New Switzerland was not known and yet——” “Quite true,” Harry Gould replied; “that was because it lies outside the track of shipping. Very seldom, practically never, do ships cross that bit of the Indian Ocean where it is situated, whereas to the south of Australia the seas are very busy, and no island, or group of any size, could possibly have escaped the notice of navigators.” “There is still the possibility that we are somewhere near Australia,” Frank went on. “A distinct possibility,” the captain answered, “and I should not be surprised if we are at its south-west extremity, somewhere near Cape Leeuwin. In that case we should have to fear the ferocious Australian natives.” “And so,” the boatswain remarked, “it is better to be on an islet, where at any rate one is sure not to run up against cannibals.” “And that is what we should probably know if we could get to the top of the cliff,” Frank added.
  • 38. “Yes,” said Fritz; “but there isn’t a single place where we can do it.” “Not even by climbing up the promontory?” Captain Gould asked. “It is practicable, although very difficult, as far as half way,” Fritz answered, “but the upper walls are absolutely perpendicular. We should have to use ladders, and even then success isn’t certain. If there were some chimney which we could get up with ropes, it might perhaps be possible to reach the top, but there isn’t one anywhere.” “Then we will take the boat and reconnoitre the coast,” said Captain Gould. “When you are completely recovered, captain, and not before,” replied Fritz firmly. “It will be several days yet before——” “I am getting better, Fritz,” the captain declared; “how could it be otherwise, with all the attention I have? Mrs. Wolston and your wife and Dolly would have cured me merely by looking at me. We will put to sea in forty-eight hours at latest.” “Westward or eastward?” Fritz asked. “According to the wind,” the captain replied. “And I have an idea that this trip will be a lucky one,” the boatswain put in. Fritz, Frank, and John Block had already done all but the impossible in their attempts to scale the promontory. They had got about two hundred feet up, although the gradient was very steep, by slipping from one rock to the next in the very middle of a torrent of landslides, with the agility of chamois or ibex; but a third of the way up they had come to a stop: It had been a highly dangerous attempt, and the boatswain had come within an ace of breaking some of his bones. But from that point all their attempts to continue the ascent were in vain. The promontory ended here in a vertical section with a smooth surface. There was not a foothold anywhere, not the tiniest projection on which the boat’s ropes might have been caught. And they were still six or seven hundred feet from the top of the cliff.
  • 39. When they returned to the cave Captain Gould explained the decision which had been reached. Two days hence, on the 27th of October, the boat was to leave her moorings to go along the coast. Had a trip of several days’ duration been involved, everybody would have gone in the boat. But as only a general reconnaissance was contemplated, he thought it would be better that only he should go with Fritz and the boatswain. They three would be enough to handle the boat, and they would not go farther away to the north than they must. If they found that the coast-line bounded nothing more than an islet they could make the circuit of it and be back within twenty- four hours. Short as their absence might be, the idea of it excited great uneasiness. The rest of the party would not be able to see their companions go without much anxiety. How could they tell what might happen? Suppose they were attacked by savages—suppose they could not get back soon—suppose they did not come back at all? Jenny used these arguments with characteristic energy. She insisted that the many anxieties they endured already should not be added to by others arising from an absence which might be prolonged. Fritz sympathised with her arguments, Captain Gould accepted them, and ultimately it was agreed that they should all take part in the projected exploration. As soon as this decision had been arrived at, to the general satisfaction, John Block got busy putting the boat in order. Not that it required any repairs, for it had come to little harm since it had been cast adrift, but it was well to overhaul it and fit it up in anticipation of a possible extension of the voyage to some adjoining land. So the boatswain worked his hardest to make it more comfortable, enclosing the fore-deck so that the women might have shelter from squalls and breaking waves. There was nothing more to do but wait, and meanwhile lay in provisions for a voyage which might perhaps be longer than was intended. Besides, if it were necessary to leave Turtle Bay finally, ordinary prudence suggested that they should do so without delay,
  • 40. that they should take advantage of the fine season just beginning in these southern regions. They could not but quail before the idea of a winter here. True, the cave offered them a sure shelter against the storms from the south, which are appalling in the Pacific. The cold, too, could no doubt be faced, for there would be no lack of fuel, thanks to the enormous collection of sea-weed at the foot of the cliff. But suppose the turtles failed? Would they be reduced to fish as sole diet! And the boat—where could they put that in safety, out of reach of the waves which must break right up to the back of the beach in the winter? Would they be able to haul it up above the highest tide-marks? Harry Gould and Fritz and the rest had only their own arms to rely on, not a tool, not a lever, not a lifting-jack, and the boat was heavy enough to resist their united efforts. At this time of year there was happily nothing but passing storms to fear. The fortnight that they had spent ashore had enabled them all to pick up their moral and physical strength as well as to recover confidence. Their preparations were completed in the morning of the 26th. Fritz observed with some uneasiness that clouds were beginning to gather in the south. They were still a long way off, but were assuming a lurid hue. The breeze was almost imperceptible, yet the heavy mass of cloud was rising in a solid body. If this thunderstorm burst it would burst full upon Turtle Bay. Hitherto the rocks at the far end of the promontory had protected the boat from the easterly winds. From the other side, too, the westerly winds could not have touched it, and firmly held as it was by hawsers, it might have escaped too severe a buffeting. But if a furious sea swept in from the open main, it would be unprotected and might be smashed to pieces. It was useless to think of trying to find some other mooring on the other side of the bluff or of the bastion, for, even in calm weather, the sea broke there with violence. “What’s to be done?” Fritz asked the boatswain, and the boatswain had no answer.
  • 41. One hope remained—that the storm might blow itself out before it fell upon the coast. But as they listened they could hear a distant rumbling, although the wind was very faint. The sea was roaring out there in the distance, and already intermittent flaws were sweeping over its surface, giving it a livid tint. Captain Gould gazed at the horizon. “We are in for a bad spell,” Fritz said to him. “I am afraid we are,” the captain acknowledged; “as bad a spell as our worst fears could have imagined!” “Captain,” the boatswain broke in, “this isn’t a time to sit and twiddle one’s thumbs. We’ve got to use a little elbow grease, as sailormen say.” “Let us try to pull the boat up to the top of the beach,” said Fritz, calling James and his brother. “We will try,” Captain Gould replied. “The tide is coming up and will help us. Meanwhile let us begin by lightening the boat as much as we can.” All buckled to. The sails were laid upon the sand, the mast unstepped, the rudder unshipped, and the seats and spars were taken out and carried within the cave. By the time the tide was slack the boat had been hauled about twenty yards higher up. But that was not enough; she would have to be pulled up twice as far again to be out of reach of the waves. Having no other tools, the boatswain pushed planks under the keel, and all combined to pull and push. But their efforts were useless: the heavy boat was fixed in the sand and did not gain an inch beyond the last high-water mark. When evening came the wind threatened a hurricane. From the piled clouds in the zenith flash after flash of lightning broke, followed by terrific peals of thunder, which the cliff reechoed in appalling reverberations. Although the boat had been left high and dry by the ebb tide, the waves, momentarily becoming stronger, would soon lift it up from the stern.
  • 42. And now the rain fell in big drops, so heavily charged with electricity that they seemed to explode as they struck the sand on the shore. “You can’t stay outside any longer, Jenny, dear,” said Fritz. “Do go back into the cave, I beg you! You, too, Dolly, and you too, Mrs. Wolston.” Jenny did not want to leave her husband. But Captain Gould spoke authoritatively. “Go inside, Mrs. Fritz,” he said. “You too, captain,” she replied; “you must not expose yourself to a wetting yet.” “I have nothing to fear now,” Harry Gould answered. “Jenny, I tell you again, go back, there’s no time to lose!” Fritz exclaimed. And Jenny, Dolly, and Susan took refuge in the cave just as the rain, in which hail was mingled, began to rattle down like grape- shot. Captain Gould and the boatswain, Fritz, Frank, and James remained near the boat, though it was with the utmost difficulty that they stood up against the squalls which swept the shore. The waves were breaking in the bay already and throwing their spray right over it. The danger was acute. Would it be possible to sustain the boat against the shocks which were rolling it from one side to the other? If it were broken up, how would Captain Gould and his companions be able to get away from this coast before the winter? All five stood by, and when the sea came farther up and lifted the boat, they hung on to its sides trying to steady it. Soon the storm was at its height. From twenty places at once tremendous flashes of lightning burst. When they struck the bastions they tore off fragments which could be heard crashing upon the heaps of sea-weed. An enormous wave, twenty-five or thirty feet high at least, was lifted up by the hurricane and dashed upon the shore like a huge waterspout.
  • 43. Caught in its grip Captain Gould and his companions were swept right up to the heaps of sea-weed, and it was only by a miracle that the enormous wave did not carry them back with it as it drew again to the sea! The disaster feared so much had befallen them! The boat, torn from its bed, swept up to the top of the beach and then carried down again to the rocks at the end of the promontory, was smashed, and its fragments, after floating for a moment in the creaming foam of the backwater, disappeared from view round the bend of the bluff!
  • 44. CHAPTER VII THE COMING OF THE ALBATROSS The situation seemed worse than ever. While they were in the boat, exposed to all the perils of the sea, Captain Gould and his passengers at least had a chance of being picked up by some ship, or of reaching land. They had not fallen in with a ship. And although they had reached land, it was practically uninhabitable, yet it seemed they must give up all hope of ever leaving it. “Still,” said John Block to Fritz, “if we had run into a storm like that out at sea, our boat would have gone to the bottom and taken us with it!” Fritz made no reply. He hurried through a deluge of rain and hail to take shelter with Jenny and Dolly and Susan, who were intensely anxious. Owing to its position in the corner of the promontory, the inside of the cave had not been flooded. Towards midnight, when the rain had stopped, the boatswain piled a heap of sea-weed near the mouth of the cave. A bright fire soon blazed, drying their drenched clothes. Until the fury of the storm abated the whole sky was incessantly ablaze. The pealing thunder diminished as the clouds were driven rapidly towards the north. But as long as distant lightning continued to light up the bay, the wind blew with great force, lifting billows which plunged and broke wildly on the shore. At dawn the men came out of the cave. Tattered clouds were passing over the cliff. Some, hanging lower, skimmed the surface. During the night the lightning had struck it in several places. Huge fragments of rock lay at its base. But there was no sign of a new cleft or crevice into which it might be possible to squeeze, and so to reach the plateau above.
  • 45. Captain Gould, Fritz, and John Block took stock of what was left of the boat. It comprised the mast, the foresail and the jib, the rigging, the hawsers, the rudder, the oars, the anchor and its cable, the wooden seats, and the casks of fresh water. Some use could no doubt be made of most of these things, damaged as they were. “Fortune has tried us cruelly!” Fritz said. “If only we had not these poor women with us—three women and a child! What fate awaits them here on this shore, which we cannot even leave now!” Even Frank, with all his faith, kept silence this time. What could he say? But John Block was wondering whether the storm had not brought yet another disaster upon the shipwrecked company, for so they might well be described. Was there not good reason to fear that the turtles might have been destroyed by the breakers, and their eggs smashed as the sand was washed away? It would be an irreparable loss if this food supply failed. The boatswain made a sign to Frank to come to him, and said a few words in an undertone. Then both crossed the promontory and went down to the creek, intending to go over it as far as the bluff. While Captain Gould, Fritz, and James went towards the western bastion, Jenny and Dolly and Susan resumed their usual occupations —what might be called their household duties. Little Bob played on the sand in sublime indifference, waiting for his mother to prepare some soaked biscuit for him. Susan was overcome by grief and anxiety as she thought of the distress and want which her child might not have the strength to endure. After putting everything in order inside the cave, Jenny and Dolly came out and joined Mrs. Wolston. Then very sadly they talked of their present situation, which had been so sorely aggravated since the day before. Dolly and Susan were more overcome than the courageous Jenny. “What will become of us?” Susan asked. “Don’t let us lose heart,” Jenny answered, “and above all don’t let us discourage our men.”
  • 46. “But we can never get away now,” Dolly said. “And when the rainy season comes——” “I tell you, Dolly, as I told Susan,” Jenny answered, “that no good is done by giving up courage.” “How can I keep any hope at all?” Mrs. Wolston exclaimed. “You must! It’s your duty to!” Jenny said. “Think of your husband; you will increase his misery a thousandfold if you let him see you cry.” “You are strong, Jenny,” Dolly said; “you have fought misfortune before. But we——” “You?” Jenny replied. “Do you forget that Captain Gould and Fritz and Frank and James and John Block will do everything that is possible to save us all?” “What can they do?” Susan demanded. “I don’t know, Susan, but they will succeed provided we don’t hamper them by giving way ourselves to despair!” “My child! My child!” murmured the poor woman, choked by sobs. Seeing his mother crying, Bob stood in wonder, with his eyes wide open. Jenny drew him to her and took him on her knees. “Mummy was anxious, darling! She called you, and you didn’t answer, and then—you were playing on the sand, weren’t you?” “Yes,” said Bob; “with the boat that Block made for me. But I wanted him to make a little white sail for it, so that it could sail. There are holes full of water in the sand where I can put it. Aunty Dolly promised to make me a sail.” “Yes, Bob dear; you shall have it to-day,” Dolly promised. “Two sails,” the child answered; “two sails like the boat that brought us here.” “Of course,” Jenny answered. “Aunty Dolly will make you a lovely sail, and I will make you one, too.” “Thank you, thank you, Jenny,” Bob answered, clapping his hands. “But where is our big boat? I can’t see it anywhere!”
  • 47. “It has gone away—fishing,” Jenny answered. “It will come back soon, with lots of beautiful fish! Besides, you have got your own; the one that good John Block made for you.” “Yes; but I am going to tell him to make me another, one in which I can sail—with papa and mama, and aunty Dolly and Jenny, and everybody!” Poor little fellow! He voiced so exactly what was wanted—the replacement of the boat—and how was that to be done? “Run away again and play, darling,” Jenny said to him; “and don’t go far away.” “No; over there; quite close, Jenny!” And he kissed his mother and went bounding away as children of his age will. “Susan dear, and you, too, Dolly dear,” said Jenny, “God will see that that little child is saved! And Bob’s rescue means our own! I do beg of you, no more weakness, no more crying! Have faith in Providence as I have, as I have always had!” So Jenny spoke out of her brave heart. Come what might, she would never despair. If the rainy season set in before the shipwrecked people could leave this coast—and how could they leave it unless some ship took them off?—arrangements would be made to spend a winter there. The cave would give secure protection from the heavy weather. The heaps of sea-weed would give fuel to protect them from the cold. Fishing, hunting perhaps, would suffice to provide them with their daily bread. It was of the first importance to know whether John Block’s fears about the turtles were well founded. Happily they were not. After being away for an hour, the boatswain and Frank came back with their accustomed load of turtles, which had taken refuge under the heap of kelp. But they had not a single egg. “Never mind, they will lay, good old things,” said John Block cheerily. It was impossible not to smile at the boatswain’s little joke. In the course of their walk to the bastion, Captain Gould, Fritz, and James had seen again the impossibility of getting round it in any other way
  • 48. than by sea. Currents ran there, with tremendous force and in both directions. Even in calm weather the violent surf would have prevented any boat from getting close in, and the strongest swimmer might have been carried out to sea or dashed upon the rocks. So the necessity of getting to the top of the cliff by some other means became more imperative than ever. “How are we to do it?” said Fritz one day, gazing irritably at the inaccessible crest. “You can’t get out of a prison when its walls are a thousand feet high,” was James’s answer. “Unless you tunnel through them,” Fritz replied. “Tunnel through that mass of granite—which is probably thicker than it is high?” said James. “Anyhow, we can’t remain in this prison!” exclaimed Fritz, in a burst of impotent but uncontrollable anger. “Be patient, and have confidence,” said Frank again. “Patience I can have,” Fritz retorted, “but confidence—that is another thing.” And indeed on what might confidence be placed? Rescue could only come from a ship passing beyond the bay. And if one came, would it see their signals, the lighting of a huge fire on the beach or on the end of the promontory? A fortnight had passed since the boat came to land. Several more weeks passed without bringing any change in the situation. As to the food supplies, they were reduced to turtles and their eggs, and to crustaceans, crabs and lobsters, some of which John Block was generally able to catch. It was he who usually occupied himself with the fishing, assisted by Frank. Lines with bent nails for hooks taken from the boat’s planks, had rendered possible the capture of various kinds of fish: dorado twelve to fifteen inches long, of a beautiful reddish colour and excellent eating, and bass, or salt-water perch. Once even, a large sturgeon was caught with a slip-knot which landed it on the sand.
  • 49. The dog-fish, plentiful in these waters, were poor eating. But there was obtained from them a grease used to make coarse candles, for which wicks were fashioned out of dry sea-weed. Disturbing as the prospect of wintering here might be, thought had to be given to it, and precautions taken against the long and dark days of the rainy season. The salmon, which used to go up Jackal River in New Switzerland in such numbers at certain times of the year, were not forthcoming here. But one day a school of herrings stranded at the mouth of the little stream. Several hundreds of them were taken, and, smoked over a fire of dry sea-weed, made an important reserve of food. “Isn’t there a saying that herrings bring their own butter?” John Block enquired. “Well, if so, here are some already cooked, and what I want to know is what we shall do with all these good things!” Several times during these six weeks attempts had been made to climb to the top of the cliff. As all these attempts were fruitless, Fritz determined to go round the bluff to the east. But he was careful to say nothing of his intention to anyone except John Block. So, on the morning of the 7th of December, the two men went to the creek, under the pretence of collecting turtles at its eastern point. There, at the foot of the enormous mass of rock, the sea was breaking savagely, and to get round it Fritz must risk his life. The boatswain vainly did his best to induce him to desist from the idea, and, failing, had no choice but to help him. After undressing, Fritz fastened a long line around his loins—one of the boat’s yard-ropes—gave the other end to John Block, and jumped into the sea. The risk was twofold—of being caught by the surf and thrown against the base of the bluff, and of being carried away by the current if the line should break. Twice did Fritz try without success to get free of the waves. It was only at the third attempt that he succeeded in reaching and maintaining a position in which he could look beyond the bluff, and then John Block was obliged to pull him in again to the point—not without a good deal of trouble.
  • 50. “Well,” the boatswain enquired, “what is there beyond?” “Nothing but rocks and more rocks!” Fritz answered as soon as he had recovered his wind. “I only saw a succession of creeks and capes. The cliff goes right on to the northward.” “I’m not surprised,” John Block replied. When the result of this attempt was made known—one can imagine Jenny’s emotions when she heard of it—it seemed as if the last hope had vanished. This island, from which Captain Gould and his boat’s company could not escape, was apparently nothing better than an uninhabited and uninhabitable rock! And this unhappy situation was complicated by so many bitter regrets! But for the mutiny, the passengers on the Flag would have reached the fertile domain of the Promised Land a couple of months ago. Think of the anguish of all those who were expecting them and watched in vain for their coming! Truly these relations and friends of theirs were more to be pitied than Captain Gould and his company. At any rate, the forlorn company knew that their dear ones were safe in New Switzerland. Thus the future loomed heavy with anxiety, and the present was hard. A new reason for alarm would have been added if all had known what only Captain Gould and the boatswain knew—that the number of turtles was decreasing perceptibly, in consequence of their daily consumption! “But perhaps,” John Block suggested, “it is because the creatures know of some passage underground through which they can get to the creeks to the east and west; it is a pity we can’t follow them.” “Anyhow, Block,” Captain Gould replied, “don’t say a word to our friends.” “Keep your mind easy, captain. I told you because one can tell you everything.” “And ought to tell me everything, Block!” Thereafter the boatswain was obliged to fish more assiduously, for the sea would never withhold what the land would soon deny. Of course, if they lived exclusively on fish and mollusks and
  • 51. crustaceans, the general health would suffer. And if illness broke out, that would be the last straw. The last week of December came. The weather was still fine, except for a few thunderstorms, not so violent as the first one. The heat, sometimes excessive, would have been almost intolerable but for the great shadow thrown over the shore by the cliff, which sheltered it from the sun as it traced its daily arc above the northern horizon. At this season numbers of birds thronged these waters—not only sea-gulls and divers, sea-mew and frigate-birds, which were the usual dwellers on the shore. From time to time flocks of cranes and herons passed, reminding Fritz of his excellent sport round Swan Lake and about the farms in the Promised Land. On the top of the bluff, too, cormorants appeared, like Jenny’s bird, now in the poultry- run at Rock Castle, and albatrosses like the one she had sent with her message from the Burning Rock. These birds kept out of range. When they settled on the promontory it was useless to attempt to get near them, and they flew at full speed above the inaccessible crest of the cliff. One day all the others were called to the beach by a shout from the boatswain. “Look there! Look there!” he continued to cry, pointing to the edge of the upper plateau. “What is it?” Fritz demanded. “Can’t you see that row of black specks?” John Block returned. “They are penguins,” Frank replied. “Yes, they are penguins,” Captain Gould declared; “they look no bigger than crows, but that is because they are perched so high up.” “Well,” said Fritz, “if those birds have been able to get up on to the plateau, it means that on the other side of the cliff the ascent is practicable.” That seemed certain, for penguins are clumsy, heavy birds, with rudimentary stumps instead of wings. They could not have flown up to the crest. So if the ascent could not be made on the south, it could be on the north. But from lack of a boat in which to go along
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