Chapter 19 Not Alone Our lives went on like this happily and busily.
Ten years passed in much the same way as we watched our sons grow and change into men.
We continued to take care of our land.
We cleared the swamp and made a lake of it.
We set swans there to rule the water.
Our rabbits took over Shark Island and our farm thrived.
Fritz was now twenty-four, strong and muscular and active.
Ernest was two years younger and mild and calm.
He liked to study and read.
Jack, at twenty, was fast and flexible like Fritz.
Franz was seventeen and was witty and funny.
They were all good men and kind to their mother and loved each other.
We still hoped that one day we would return to the company of other people.
During our time in New Switzerland, the boys continued to have adventures and they often went off on their own to explore.
One time Fritz went off in his kayak and returned late that night with a heavy sack.
I found many things in my travels, father, he said.
I even came upon a bed of giant oysters in shallow water.
I dived for them and pried them open to find these pearls.
We all gathered to look at his treasure.
I told him, they are beauties.
They have no value for us here, but someday they may.
Then Fritz took me aside.
Father, he said excitedly, something else incredible has happened.
I also found an albatross, and it had a rag wrapped around his leg.
When I caught it and unwrapped the rag, there were English words written on it.
It said, save a poor English woman from this smoking rock.
What did you do?
I asked, amazed.
I took a rag of my own and wrote, do not worry, help is near.
I tied this around the bird's leg and set it off.
But now I wonder if it will ever find her.
It could be that the note was quite old, I answered.
Don't tell the boys yet, as it may upset them.
The rider could be long dead already.
Fritz said he felt that the rider was alive and that the smoke might be from a volcano.
He wanted to find her, and so, after much discussion, I decided he could go.
First, I explained, we will set off together, and then I will let you go on your own.
Soon after we set off with the boys, leaving behind only my wife and Franz, to see if I could set Fritz off on his own to find his fellow traveler.
I allowed Fritz to put his kayak on board the boat, and we set sail.
We traveled until we came to the Pearl Bay, which Fritz had named after his precious find and where he had found the note.
We set up on the beach with a camp and a fire.
The younger boys went exploring on the coast.
Soon Fritz and I heard shots coming from the shore.
We both ran to see what was happening.
Jack had been attacked, and he had fired at a wild boar that had knocked him down and hurt him.
We tended to him, and soon he was asleep by the fire, healing.
The next morning, Fritz headed off to look about, and the boys and I found Jack's boar dead.
It was a giant with great tusks, which could easily have killed him.
All at once, a loud roar came from the jungle.
Out from the trees came the biggest lion I have ever seen.
It prowled back and forth, pacing and watching us, growling.
We were too frightened to move and had no weapons with us.
As it grew more and more fierce, it suddenly ran forward at us.
As it was in mid-air, a shot rang out.
The lion fell to the ground and Fritz came out of the shadow.
He had saved us all from the beast.
As we all gathered around the lion, a lioness suddenly came out of the jungle.
After seeing her mate dead, she sprang at us too and Fritz had to shoot her as well.
We were all sad to see the lioness killed, but Fritz had saved us from sure death.
I saw that he was now truly a man.
With this trial behind us, we loaded once more onto our boat.
After a time, Fritz got ready to go on his own in the little kayak to have his adventure.
As Fritz got ready to set out, I told the boys that he was simply looking for new finds.
We named the spot Farewell Point as we watched him go.
We set off again in our boat, and Fritz went his own way, a man in search of his destiny.
Only I knew his true purpose.
When we returned to our home, my wife was worried to see Fritz gone.
I told her that he would return shortly and that he was simply exploring.
Secretly, I had no idea when he would come back.
We waited and worked, but after five days I couldn't help worrying, too.
I decided we should all go out in the boat to see if we could find him.
We sailed back toward the place where we had parted ways with Fritz when he set off in his kayak.
As we came to Shark Island, we passed over a great whale that nearly took our poor boat down as it surfaced beneath us.
We settled ourselves again and sailed on until we suddenly saw a dark figure in a kayak pass us by.
He stood up and watched us and then steered his boat behind a rock.
All at once I thought this person must have taken Porfritz.
I raised our white flag and called out to the figure, but he was too far to hear my cries.
Jack took up the call because his voice was far louder than my own.
Look, he shouted.
Come over here or we're going to come get you.
With that, the kayak turned and started heading toward us.
Suddenly, Ernest stood up and yelled, Hello, Fritz, he said loudly.
It's you, Fritz answered with relief.
When I saw you, I didn't think you were my family.
I thought you were the pirates or natives, so I hid.
We described our adventure with the whale and he told us he had found another island where we could dock.
Follow me, he said.
With that, he turned around and headed out in his kayak.
I let the boy steer and turned to tell my wife the truth about Fritz's mission.
I told her about the note and that he might have found someone.
She was filled with joy, but I could tell she was also worried, and so was I, about what we would find around the bend in the shore.
As we landed on the shore of the island, Fritz disappeared ahead of us.
All of us were left to wonder where he was.
Suddenly, he came out, holding a young woman by the hand.
