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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/71590-h.zip b/71590-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 45f31ac..0000000 --- a/71590-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..10fbd40 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #71590 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71590) diff --git a/old/71590-0.txt b/old/71590-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b99ea89..0000000 --- a/old/71590-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7233 +0,0 @@ - -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The hermit hunter of the wilds - -This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online -at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, -you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located -before using this eBook. - - -Title: The hermit hunter of the wilds - -Author: Gordon Stables - -Release Date: September 7, 2023 [eBook #71590] - -Language: English - -Credits: Chuck Greif, Al Haines and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERMIT HUNTER OF THE WILDS -*** - - - - - - BY DR. GORDON STABLES, R.N. - - _Crown 8vo._ _Cloth elegant._ _Illustrated._ - - - In the Great White Land - - A Tale of the Antarctic. 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “Full of life and go, and just the kind that is beloved of - boys.”--_Court Circular._ - - - =In Quest of the Giant Sloth.= 3_s._ 6_d._ - -“The heroes are brave, their doings are bold, and the story is anything - but dull.”--_Athenæum._ - - - Kidnapped by Cannibals - - A Story of the Southern Seas. 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “Full of exciting adventure, and told with spirit.”--_Globe._ - - - The Naval Cadet - - A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea. 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “An interesting traveller’s tale with plenty of fun and incident in - it.”--_Spectator._ - - - =To Greenland and the Pole.= 3_s._ - - “His Arctic explorers have the verisimilitude of life.”--_Truth._ - - - =Westward with Columbus.= 3_s._ - -“We must place _Westward with Columbus_ among those books that all boys - ought to read.”--_Spectator._ - - - =’Twixt School and College.= 3_s._ - - “One of the best of a prolific writer’s books for boys, being full of - practical instructions as to keeping pets, and inculcates, in a way - which a little recalls Miss Edgeworth’s ‘Frank’, the virtue of - self-reliance.”--_Athenæum._ - - - =The Hermit Hunter of the Wilds.= 2_s._ 6_d._ - -“Pirates and pumas, mutiny and merriment, a castaway and a cat, furnish - the materials for a tale that will gladden the heart of many a bright - boy.”--_Methodist Recorder._ - - - In Far Bolivia - - A Story of a Strange Wild Land. 2_s._ - - “An exciting and altogether admirable story.”--_Sheffield Telegraph._ - - - LONDON: BLACKIE & SON, LIMITED. - - - - - The Hermit Hunter - of the Wilds - - BY - - GORDON STABLES, C.M. M.D. R.N. - - Author of “‘Twixt School and College” “To Greenland and the Pole” - “The Naval Cadet” “Westward with Columbus” &c. - - _WITH FOUR PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS_ - - BLACKIE AND SON LIMITED - - LONDON GLASGOW AND BOMBAY - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -CHAP. Page - -I. By the Firelight, 9 - -II. “It was on just such a night as this, sister,” 17 - -III. “The fearfulness of our situation can hardly be -realized,” 28 - -IV. Among the Woods of Craigielea, 42 - -V. “The whole world is full of changes,” 53 - -VI. “Run, run!” cried Tom; “the man must not die -yet!” 65 - -VII. “Here hangs his brother’s scalp,” 78 - -VIII. “Never before had Tom experienced such a feeling -of awful danger,” 89 - -IX. “The whole sea of mist turned to clouds of -mingled gold and crimson,” 101 - -X. “In the forests strange shrieks and sounds were -heard,” 111 - -XI. “The trees went down before it like hay before -the mower’s scythe,” 121 - -XII. “A shower of poisoned darts fell pattering on -the stockade,” 132 - -XIII. The dying Ayah tells of Bernard, 142 - -XIV. “Filled with gold doubloons-- Sirr, are ye listening?” 153 - -XV. “Next instant the ship was struck and staved,” 163 - -XVI. “A vast green and flowery valley surrounded by -romantic hills,” 174 - -XVII. Strange Life on the beautiful Island, 185 - -XVIII. “He was convinced now he had seen a spectre -and nothing else,” 197 - -XIX. “Under the grave you dug are gold and precious -stones,” 205 - -XX. “O, Bernard, it is your father’s ship!” 214 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - -“TOM CROUCHED LOWER AND LOWER” _Frontis._ 100 - -TOM INTRODUCES HIS CAT 84 - -“BEHOLD YOUR CHIEF!” SHE CRIED 145 - -GIANT TORTOISE RIDING 216 - - - - -THE HERMIT HUNTER OF THE WILDS. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -BY THE FIRELIGHT. - - -Tommy Talisker was probably one of the most unassuming boys that ever -lived. At all events everybody said so. And this is equivalent to -stating that the boy’s general behaviour gave him a character for -modesty. - -He was the youngest of a family of five; the eldest being his only -sister, and she, like her mother, made a good deal of Tommy, and thought -a good deal about him too in certain ways. - -“I don’t think,” said Tommy’s father to Tommy’s mother one evening as -they all sat round the parlour hearth; “I don’t think we’ll ever be able -to make much of Tommy.” - -Perhaps Tommy’s father was at present merely speaking for speaking’s -sake; for there had been general silence for a short time previously, -broken only by the sound of mother’s knitting-wires, the crackle of -uncle’s newspaper as he turned it, and the howthering of the wind round -the old farmhouse. - -Tommy’s mother looked at Tommy, and heaved a little bit of a sigh, for -she was very much given to taking everything for granted that her -husband said. - -But Tommy’s sister, who always sat in the left-hand corner of the -fireside, with Tommy squatting on a footstool right in front of her, -drew the lad’s head closer to her knee, and smoothed his white brow and -his yellow hair. - -Tommy took no notice of anything or anybody, but continued to gaze into -the fire. That fire was well worth looking at, though I am not at all -sure that Tommy saw it. It was a fire that made one drowsily contented -and happy to sit by,--a comfort-giving, companionable sort of a fire. -Built on the low hearth, with huge logs of wood sawn from the trunk of a -poplar-tree that had succumbed to a summer squall, logs sawn from the -roots of a sturdy old pine-tree that had weathered many and many a gale, -and logs sawn from the withered limbs of a singularly gnarled and -ancient pippin-tree that had grown and flourished in the orchard ever -since this farmer’s father was a boy. There were huge lumps of coals -there also, and a wall round the whole of dark-brown peats, hard enough -to have cut and chiselled the hull of a toy yacht from. - -It is not to be wondered at that Tommy took no notice of the somewhat -commonplace talk that went on around him; he was listening to a -conversation that was being carried on in the fire between the blazing -wood and the coals and the peat. - -“You have no idea, my friends,” said the poplar log, after emitting a -hissing jet of steam by way of drawing attention and commanding -silence--“you have no idea what a stately and beautiful tree I was when -in my prime. I and my fellows, who were all alive and well when I heard -from them last, were the tallest and most gracefully-waving trees in the -country-side. Poets and artists, and clever people generally, used to -say we gave quite a character to the landscape. We knew we were very -beautiful, because the broad winding river went through the meadow where -we stood, and all day long we could see our faces therein. O, we were -very beautiful! I do assure you. The seasons thought so, and every one -of them did something for us. Spring came first, as soon as she had -fastened the downy buds on the waving willows; placed wee crimson-topped -anemones on the hazel boughs--five to each nodding catkin; scattered the -burgeons over the hawthorn hedges; tasselled the larches with vermilion -and green; adorned the rocks with lichen and moss; brought early daisies -to the meadow-lands, the gold of the celandine to the banks of the -streamlets, and the silver of a thousand white starry buttercups to -float on the ponds; breathed through the woods and awakened the birds to -light, love, and song; led the bee to the crocus, the butterfly to the -primrose; awakened even the drowsy dormouse and the shivering hedgehog -from their long winter’s slumber, to peep hungrily from their holes and -wearily wonder where food could be found. Then Spring came to us. Spring -came and kissed us, and we responded with green-yellow leaves to her -balmy caress. Ah, the sun’s rays looked not half so golden anywhere -else, as seen through our glancing quivering foliage. We raised our -heads so high in air, that the larks seemed to sing to us alone, and the -very clouds told us their secrets. - -“But Summer came next and changed our leaves to a darker, sturdier -green. And she brought us birds. The rooks themselves used to rest and -sway on our topmost branches, lower down the black-bibbed sparrows -built; in our hollows the starlings laid their eggs of pearl, while even -the blackbird had her nest among the ivy that draped our shapely stems. - -“We were things of beauty even when winds of Autumn blew; and Winter -himself must clothe our leafless limbs with its silvery hoar-frost, till -every branch and twiglet looked like radiant coral against the deep blue -of the cloudless sky.” - -“Hush! hush!” cried the pine-tree root. “Dost thou well, O poplar-tree -log, to boast thus of thy beauty and stateliness? _I_ lived on the -mountain brow not far off. _I_ marked your rise and fall. Out upon your -beauty! Where was your strength? To me thou wert but as a sapling, or a -willow withe bending in the summer air. But my strength was as the -strength of nations. On the hill yonder I flourished for hundreds of -years; my foot was on the rocks, my dark head swept the clouds, my brown -stem was a landmark for sailors far at sea. In the plains below I saw -the seasons come and go. Houses were built, and in time became ruins; -children were born, grew up, grew old and died, but I changed not. The -wild birds of the air, of the rock, and the eyrie were my friends--the -eagle, the osprey, the hawk, and curlew. The deer and the roe bounded -swiftly past me, the timid coney and the hare found shelter near me. I -have battled with a thousand gales; thunders rolled and lightnings -flashed around me, and left me unscathed. I stood there as heroes stand -when the battle rages fiercest, and my weird black fingers seemed to -direct the hurricane wind. I was the spirit of the storm. - -“And I too had beauty, an arboreal beauty that few trees can lay claim -to; whether in autumn with the crimson heather all around me, in summer -with the last red rays of sunset lingering in my foliage, or in winter -itself--my branches silhouetted against the green of a frosty sky. But -I fell at last. We all must fall, and age had weakened my roots. But I -fell as giants fall, amidst the roar of the elements and chaos of -strife. The skies wept over my bier, rain clouds were my pall, and the -wild winds shrieked my dirge.” - -There was silence in the fire for some little time after the pine log -had finished speaking, and Tommy thought the conversation had ceased; -but presently a voice, soft and musical as summer winds in the -linden-tree, came from the gnarled pippin log: - -“O men of pride and war!” said the voice, “I envy neither of you. Mine -was a life of peace and true beauty; and had I my days to live over -again, I would not have them otherwise. My home was in the orchard, and -the seasons were good to me too, and all things loved me. In spring-time -no bride was ever arrayed as I was; the very rustics that passed along -the roads used to stop their horses to gaze at me in open-mouthed -admiration. Then all the bees loved me, and all the birds sang to me, -and the westling winds made dreamy music in my foliage. Lovers sat on -the seat beneath my spreading branches, when the gloaming star was in -the east, and told their tales of love heedless that I heard them. In -summer merry children played near me and swung from my boughs, and in -autumn and even winter many a family showered blessings on the good old -pippin-tree. ‘Peace, my friends, hath its victories not less renowned -than war.’” - -“O dear me!” sighed a smouldering peat, “how humble I should feel in -such company. I really have nothing to say and nothing to tell, for my -life, if life it could be called, was spent on a lonesome moor; true, -the heath bloomed beautiful there in autumn, but the wintry winds that -swept across the shelterless plain had a dreary song to sing. The will -o’ the wisp was a friend of mine, and an aged white-haired witch, that -at the dead hours of moonlight nights used to come groaning past me, -culling strange herbs, and using incantations that I shudder to hear. -There were many strange creatures besides the witch that came to the -moor where I dwelt; and even fairies danced there at times. But for the -most part the strange creatures I saw took the form of creeping or -flying things; fairies changed themselves into beautiful moths and wild -bees, but brownies and spunkies to crawling toads and tritons. But -heigho! I fear a poor peat has few opportunities of doing good in the -world.” - -“Say not so!” exclaimed a blazing lump of coal; “even a humble peat is -not to be despised. How often have you not brought joy and gladness to -the poor man’s fireside, caused the porridge-pot to boil and the bairns -to laugh with glee, banished the cold of winter, and infused comfort -and warmth into the limbs of the aged. But you are modest, and modesty -is ever the companion of genuine merit.” - -“And you, sir,” said the peat to the coal, “you are very, _very_ great -and very, _very_ old--are you not?” - -“I am very, very old, and I am no doubt very, very powerful. Yet my -powers are gifts of the great Creator, and it is mine to distribute them -to toiling and deserving man. Ages and ages ago before this ancient pine -log was thought of or dreamt of, before mankind even dwelt on these -islands, when its woods were the home of the wildest of beasts, when -gigantic woolly elephants with curling tusks roamed free in its forests, -and its marshes and lakes swarmed with loathsome saurians, I dwelt on -earth’s surface. But changes came with time, and for thousands of years -I was dead and buried in the earth’s black depths. The ingenuity of man -has resuscitated me, and now I have gladly become his servant and slave. -I warm the castle, the palace, and the humble cot. I give light as well -as heat; I am swifter than the eagle in my flight. I am more powerful -than the wind; I drag man’s chariots across the land, I waft his ships -to every clime and every sea. I move the mightiest machinery; I am -gentle in peace and dreadful in war. - -“Nay more, the great wizard Science has but to lift his wand, and lo! I -yield up products more wonderful than any yet on earth. Gorgeous were -the colours that adorned the flowers of the land in ages long gone by, -delicate and delightful were their perfumes; but these perfumes and -these colours I have carefully stored, and give them now to man.” - -What more Tommy would have overheard, as he sat there at his sister’s -knee, it is impossible to say, for the boy had fallen asleep. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -“IT WAS ON JUST SUCH A NIGHT AS THIS, SISTER.” - - -“No,” repeated Tommy’s father as he proceeded to refill his pipe; “we -mustn’t expect to make much of Tommy.” - -“Tommy may be president of America yet,” said Uncle Robert, looking -quietly up from his paper. “Stranger things have happened, brother; much -stranger.” - -“Pigs might fly,” said Tommy’s father, somewhat unfeelingly. “Stranger -things have happened, brother; much stranger.” - -Tommy’s brothers laughed aloud. - -Tommy’s mother smiled faintly. - -But the boy slept on, all unconscious that he was being made the butt of -a joke. - -Tommy was not an over-strong lad to look at. About eleven or twelve -years old, perhaps. He had fair silky hair, regular features, and great -wondering blue eyes that appeared to look very far away sometimes. For -Tommy was a dreamy, thinking boy. To tell the truth, he lived as much in -a world of his own as if he were in the moon, and the man of the moon -away on a long holiday. He seemed to possess very little in common with -his brothers. Their tastes, at all events, were infinitely different -from his; in fact they were lads of the usual style or “run” which you -find reared on such farms as those of Laird Talisker’s--called laird -because he owned all the land he tilled. Dugald, Dick, and John were -quite _en rapport_ with all their surroundings. They loved horses and -dogs and riding and shooting, and they had to take to farming whether -they liked it or not. Dugald was the eldest; he was verging on -seventeen, and had long left school. Indeed he was his father’s right -hand, both in the office and in the fields. His father and he were -seldom seen apart, at church or market, mill or smithy; and as time -rolled on and age should compel Mr. Talisker to take things easy, Dugald -would naturally step into his father’s shoes. - -Dick was sixteen, and Jack or John about fourteen; and neither had as -yet left the parish school, which was situated about a mile and a half -beyond the hill. All boys in Scotland receive tolerably advanced -education if their parents can possibly manage to keep them at their -studies, and these two lads were already deeply read in the classics and -higher branches of mathematics. - -What were they going to be? Well, Dick said he should be a clergyman and -nothing else, and Jack had made up his mind to be a cow-boy. He had read -somewhere all about cow-boys in the south-western states of America, and -the life, he thought, would suit him entirely. How glorious it must feel -to go galloping over a ranche, armed with a powerful whip; to bestride a -noble horse, with a broad hat on one’s head and revolvers at one’s hip! -Then, of course, every other week, if not oftener, there would be wild -adventures with Comanche red-skins, or Indians of some other equally -warlike tribe; while now and then this jolly life would be enlivened by -hunting horse-stealers across the boundless prairie, and perhaps even -lynching them if they happened to catch the thieves, and there was a -tree handy. - -Jack’s classical education might not be of much service to him in the -wild West, either in fighting bears or scalping Indians; though it would -be easily carried. He determined, however, not to neglect the practical -part of the business; and so whenever opportunity favoured him he used -to mount the biggest horse in the stable and go swinging across the -fields and the moors, leaping fences and ditches, and in every way -behaving precisely as he imagined a cow-boy would. - -Several times Jack had narrowly escaped having his neck broken in -teaching Glancer--that was the big horse’s name--to buck-jump. Glancer -was by no means a bad-tempered beast; but when it came to slipping a -rough pebble under the saddle, then he buck-jumped to some purpose, and -Jack had the worst of it. - -Mrs. Talisker herself was a somewhat delicate, gentle English lady, whom -the laird had wooed and won among the woodlands of “bonnie Berkshire.” -Her daughter Alicia, who was but a year older than Dugald, took very -much after the mother, and was in consequence, perhaps, the worthy -laird’s darling and favourite. - -One thing must be said in favour of this honest farmer-laird: his whole -life and soul were bound up in his family, and his constant care was to -do well by them and bring them up to the best advantage. But he did not -think it right to thwart his boys’ intentions with regard to the choice -of a profession. There was admittedly a deal of difference between a -clergyman of the good old Scottish Church and a cow-boy. However, as -Jack had elected to be a cow-boy, a cow-boy he should be--if he did not -break his neck before his father managed to ship him off to the wild -West. - -But as to Tommy, why the laird hardly cared to trouble. Tommy was Uncle -Robert’s boy. Uncle Robert, an old bachelor, who had spent his younger -days at sea, had constituted himself Tommy’s tutor, and had taught the -boy all he knew as yet. Uncle Robert ruled the lad by love alone, or -love and common sense combined. He did not attempt to put a new -disposition into him, but he did try to make the very best of that which -he possessed. In this he showed his great wisdom. In fact, in training -Tommy he followed the same tactics precisely as those that successful -bird and beast-trainers make such good use of. And what I am going to -say is well worth remembering by all boys who wish to teach tricks to -pets, and make them appear to be supernaturally wise. Do not try to -inculcate anything, in the shape of either motion or sound, which the -creature does not evince an inclination or aptitude to learn. Take a -white rat for example, and after it is thoroughly tame and used to -running about anywhere, loving you, and having therefore no fear, begin -your lessons by placing the cage on the table with the door open. It -will run out and presently show its one wondrous peculiarity of -appropriation. In very wantonness it will pick up article after article -and run into its house with it--coins, thimbles, apples, cards, &c. Now, -I hinge its education in a great measure on this, and in a few months I -can teach it to tell fortunes with cards, and spell words even. A rat -has two other strange motions; one is standing like a bear, another is -climbing poles. By educating it from each of these stand-points you can -make the creature either a soldier or a sailor, or even both, and teach -it tricks and actions the glory of which will be reflected on you, the -teacher. - -Tommy was exceedingly fond of Uncle Robert, to begin with, and never -tired listening of an evening to his wonderful stories of travel and -adventure. - -Uncle lived in a little cottage not very far from the farm; and if he -was not at the laird’s fireside of a winter evening he would generally -be found at his own, and Tommy would not be far away. They used to sit -without any light except that reflected from the fire. Stories told -thus, Tommy thought, were ever so much nicer, especially if they were -tales of mystery and adventure. For there were the long shadows -flickering and dancing on the wall, the darkness of the room behind -them, and the fitful gleams in the fire itself, in which the lad -sometimes thought he could actually see the scenery and figures his -uncle was describing; and all combined to produce effects that were -really and truly dramatic. - -Well, if by day Dugald was his father’s constant companion, Tommy was -his uncle’s; and the one hardly ever went anywhere without the other. - -School hours were from nine till one o’clock; and uncle was a strict -teacher, though by no means a hard task-master. Then the two of them had -all the rest of the long day to read books, to wander about and study -the great book of nature itself, to fish, or do whatsoever they pleased. -It must be said here that Uncle Robert was almost quite as much a boy at -heart as his little nephew. He was a good old-fashioned sailor, this -uncle of Tommy, and a man who never could grow old; because he loved -nature so, and nature never grows old: it is the same yesterday, to-day, -and for ever. - -Uncle Robert was quite as good-natured as the big horse Glancer. But -Glancer drew the line at pebbles under his saddle. The best-tempered -horse in the world will draw the line at something or other. And uncle -was the same. If anyone wanted to annoy him they had only to mention -Tommy in a disparaging sort of way; then, like Glancer, Uncle Robert -buck-jumped at once. - -So, on that particular evening--a wild and stormy one it was in the -latter end of April--when Tommy’s father talked about the improbability -of pigs flying, and Tommy’s brothers had all laughed, Uncle Robert had -felt a little nettled. - -“Ah, you may laugh, lads,” he said, putting his paper down on his knee -and thrusting his spectacles up over his bald brow--“you may laugh, -lads, and you may talk, brother, but I tell you that there is more in -that boy than any of you are aware of; and mark my words, he is not -going to remain a child all his life. Boys will be men, and Tommy will -be Tom some day.” - -Mrs. Talisker looked fondly over at her brother, and she really felt -grateful to him for taking her boy’s part. - -Whoo--oo--oo! howled the wind round the chimney, and doors and windows -rattled as if rough hands were trying their fastenings. Every now and -then the snow and the fine hail were driven against the panes, with a -sound like that produced by the spray of an angry sea against frozen -canvas. - -At this very time, away down in the midlands of England, spring winds -were softly blowing and the buds appearing on the trees; but on the west -coast of Scotland, where the farm of Craigielea was situated, winter -still held all the land, the moors, the lakes, and woods, firm in his -icy grasp. - -To-night the moon had sunk early in a purple-blue haze--a new moon it -was, and looked through the mist like a Turkish scimitar wet with blood. -The stars had been bright for a short time afterwards. But the wind rose -roaring from the east, driving great dark clouds before it, that soon -swallowed everything else up. Then it was night in earnest. - -Whoo--oo--oo! What a mournful sound it was, to be sure! You might have -imagined that wild wolves were howling round the house, and stranger -voices still rising high over the din of the raging storm. - -Whoo--oo--oo! - -“What a fearful night!” said Mrs. Talisker. - -“Ay, sister,” said Uncle Robert; “it is blowing half a gale outside -to-night, I’ll warrant, and may be more.” - -By “outside” he did not mean out of doors simply. It is a sailor’s -expression, and refers to the sea away beyond the harbour-mouth. - -“It was on just such a night as this, sister, though not on such a cold -sea as that which is sweeping over our beach to-night, that the -_Southern Hope_ was lost on the shores of Ecuador. Heigho-ho! My dear -friend Captain Herbert has never been the same man since. - -“And do you know, my dear, it happened exactly six years ago this very -night.” - -“How very strange!” said Tommy’s mother. - -“Strange, my dear? Not a bit of it. What is strange, and how should it -be strange--eh?” - -“Oh, I meant, brother, that you should think of it. I believe that was -what I meant.” - -“You’re not very sure. But let me tell you this, that there never does -pass a single 25th of February that I do not think of that fearful -shipwreck. Ay, girl, and pray too. I’ve been praying as I sat -here--praying with my eyes on the newspaper, when you all thought I was -reading it. You look at me, sister; and Tommy has woke up, and he is -looking at me too. Well, you little know how often old sailors like me -pray, and what strange things we do pray for, and how our prayers are -often heard. You see, sister, those who go down to the sea in ships, and -see the wonders of the Lord in the mighty deep, get a kind of used to -thinking more than shore-folks do. In many a dark black middle watch, we -are alone with the ocean, one might say, and that is like being in the -presence of the great Maker of all. Verily, sister, I think the waves on -such nights seem to talk to us, and tell us things that the ear of -landsman never listened to. No one could long lead the life of a sailor -and not be a believer. Do you mind, sister, that New Testament story of -our Saviour being at sea one night with some of his disciples, when a -great storm arose, and the craft was about to founder? How he was asleep -in the stern-sheets, how in an agony of terror they awoke him, how his -words ‘Peace, be still’ fell like oil on the troubled waters, and how -they all marvelled, saying, ‘What manner of man is this, that even the -wind and sea obey him?’ - -“Well, sister, I never knew nor felt the full meaning of those words -until I became a sailor. But sometimes on dreamy midnights, when -darkness and danger were all around us, I have in my thoughts accused -the ocean of remorselessness, the winds of cruelty; and, as I did so, -seemed to hear that answer come to me up from the black vastness, ‘We -obey Him.’ The winds sang it as they went shrieking through the rigging, -the waves sang it as they went toiling past: ‘We obey Him,’ ‘We obey -Him.’ Then have I turned my thoughts heavenward and been comforted, -knowing in whose good hands we all were. - -“A sailor’s prayer, sister, on a night like this, while he sits -comfortably by the fireside, is for those in danger far at sea or on -some surf-tormented lee shore. But on this particular evening, on this -25th of February, I always add a prayer for my good old shipmate, -Captain Herbert--and may heaven give him peace.” - -“Captain Herbert is still at sea, brother?” - -“Ay, sister, and will be, if spared, for many a year. He seems unable to -rest on shore, although he is rich enough to retire. You see, he never -had but the one boy, Bernard; and, foolish as it may appear, he -cherishes the notion that he still lives, and that some day he will meet -him again. - -“And never a strange sailor does he meet in any part of the world, or -any port of the world, but he questions concerning all his life and -adventures. More than once has my friend been thus led astray, and has -sailed to distant shores where he had heard some English lad was held -prisoner by Indians or savages. But all in vain. - -“It was a sad story, you say, sister? Indeed, lass, it was. Shall I -repeat it? - -“Well, stir the fire, Tommy, and make it blaze and crackle. How the -storm roars, to be sure.” - -Whoo--oo--oo! Whoo--oo--oo! howled the wind again; but the fire only -burned the brighter, and the fireside looked the cheerier for the sound. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -“THE FEARFULNESS OF OUR SITUATION CAN HARDLY BE REALIZED.” - - -Uncle Robert sat for some little time with his eyes fixed on those -burning logs before he commenced to speak, the firelight flickering on -his face. But bygone scenes were being recalled, and events long past -were being re-enacted in his memory as he sat thus. - -He spoke at length; quietly at first, dreamily almost, as if unconscious -of the presence of anyone near him, apparently addressing himself to no -one, unless it were to the faces in the fire:-- - - * * * * * - -Six years!--six years ago, and only six, and yet it seems like a -lifetime, because I, who have been a rover and a wanderer since my -boyhood, have come to settle down on this peaceful farm. Yet I have -been happy, quietly happy, in my sister’s family, and with the -companionship of her dear children; but the afternoon of a sailor’s -existence must ever be a somewhat restless one. Like the sea over which -he has sailed so long, it is seldom he can be perfectly still. In spite -of himself he feels a longing at times to revisit scenes of former days, -and the lovely lands and sunny climes that time has hallowed and -softened till they resemble more the phantasies of some beautiful dream -than anything real and earthly. - -A vision like this rises up before me even now, as I sit here. The -wintry winds are howling round the house, but I hear them not, nor noise -of hail or softer snow driving against the window panes. I am far away -from Scotland, I am in a land whose rocky shores are laved by the blue -rolling waves of the Pacific, I am in Ecuador. Ecuador! land of the -equator; land of equal day and night; land that the swift-setting sun -leaves to be plunged into darkness Cimmerian, or bathed in moonlight -more tranquil and lovely than poets elsewhere can ever dream of; land of -mighty mountains, whose snow-capped summits are lost in the blue vault -of heaven or buried in clouds of rolling mist; land of ever-blazing -volcanic fires, wreathing smoke, and muttering thunders; land of vast -plains and prairies; land of swamps that seem boundless; land of forests -whose depths are dark by daylight--forests that bathe the valleys, the -cañons, the glens with a foliage that is green, violet, and purple by -turns, darkling as they climb the hills half-way to their rugged crests; -land of waterfalls and foaming torrents, over which in the sunlight -rainbows play against the moss-grown rocks or beetling cliffs beyond; -land of mighty rivers, now sweeping through dreamy woods, now roaring -green over the lava rocks, now broadening out into peaceful lakes or -inland seas, with shores of silvery sand; land of tribal savages, wild -and warlike or peaceful and uncouth; land of the Amazons; land of the -fern, the moss, and the wild-flower; land of giant butterflies, with -wings of bronzy silken velvet, or wings of colours more radiant than the -humming-bird itself, or wings of transparent gauze that quiver and -shimmer in the sunlight like plates of mica; land of strange birds; land -of the vampire or blood-sucking bat, the tarantula, the centiped, and -many a creeping horror besides; land, too, of the condor, the puma, the -jaguar, the peccary, the tapir, the sloth, and agouti; land of romance, -and a history going back, back, back into the remotest regions of the -past;--truly a strange and wondrous land! I seem to see it all, -everything, among those blazing logs to-night. - -I lived in Ecuador for many, many months. I roughed it with the Indians, -the Zaparos, the Napos, and Jivaros; I wandered over forest-land and -plain and by the banks of the streams; I hunted in the jungle and on -the prairies, and after escaping many a danger I returned to the -sea-coast, laden with skins and curios and a wealth of specimens that -would have made the eyes of a naturalist sparkle with very joy. - -During all my long wanderings my servants had been faithful; and -although our lives had oftentimes been in danger from wild beasts and -wilder men, here we were once more at Guayaquil safe and sound. - -I was lucky enough to find a small Spanish vessel to take me and my -treasures to Callao; and here, at this somewhat loud-smelling seaport, -my good star was once more in the ascendant; and though I had arrived -three weeks before my promised time, the _Southern Hope_ was lying -waiting for me. - -My welcome on board was a very joyful and gratifying one. Captain -Herbert himself met me in the gangway, and behind him was little -Bernard. The boy was not content with shaking hands. He must jump -joyfully into my arms and up and on to my shoulder; and thus he rode me -aft to where good little Mrs. Herbert sat in her deck-chair nursing -baby, with Lala, her sable ayah, standing near. - -“Now, don’t rise,” I cried. “I won’t permit it. How well you look, Mrs. -Herbert! The roses have quite returned to your once wan cheeks.” - -“A nice compliment, Mr. Robert Sinclair,” she replied, smiling. “And you -too are looking well.” - -“Have I got roses on my cheeks?” I said. - -“Yes,” she said; “peony roses.” - -“And how is baby?” - -“O, look at her; isn’t she charming?” - -I gave baby a finger, which she at once proceeded to eat with as much -relish as if she had been a young cannibal. And so our reunion was -complete. At dinner that day we were all exceedingly happy and full of -mirth and fun. We had so much to tell each other, too; for during my -sojourn in Ecuador the _Southern Hope_ had been on a long cruise among -the Pacific islands, where everything had seemed so strange and -delightfully foreign to both Captain and Mrs. Herbert, that, they told -me, it was like being in another world. - -The steward--I have good reason for mentioning this--was most assiduous -in his attentions at table that day. He was a short, broad-shouldered, -strong-jawed, half-caste Spaniard, exceedingly clever, as Mrs. Herbert -assured me, but possessed of those dark shifty eyes that seem unable to -trust anyone, or to inspire trust in others. - -When dessert was put on the table--a dessert of such fruits as princes -in England could not procure--Mrs. Herbert motioned to him that he might -now retire. He only smiled and shrugged his shoulders in reply, and -presently he was entirely forgotten. - -So our conversation rattled on. I told my adventures much to the delight -of every one, but especially to that of our young mate and little -Bernard, although the child was barely seven years of age. - -“And those mysterious boxes, Mr. Sinclair,” said Mrs. Herbert, “when -will you open those?” - -“O, not before we get to San Francisco; when, you know, I must leave you -all, and make my way home overland.” - -From this reply, it will be understood that I was but a passenger on the -_Southern Hope_. I was travelling, indeed, for pleasure and health -combined, but had been altogether nearly a year and a half in this -hitherto happy ship; which had been baby’s birthplace, for little Oceana -was born on the ocean wave. Hence her name, which we always pronounced -’Theena. - -“No, my dear Mrs. Herbert,” I continued, “those boxes contain greater -treasures than ever were brought from the diamond mines of Golconda; -treasures more beautiful, and rarer far than all the gold in rich Peru.” - -“Well, Robert,” said the captain laughing heartily, “they are heavy -enough for anything; and by St. George and merry England, my friend, you -do well to keep such treasures in your own cabin.” - -I was at that moment engaged fashioning some marvellous toy for Bernard -from a piece of orange peel, but happening to look up I found the evil, -sinister eyes of Roderigo the steward fixed on me with a look I did not -half like. - -I took occasion that same evening to ask Mrs. Herbert some particulars -of this man’s history; for he had not been in the ship when I left it. -She had little to tell me. James, the old steward, had run away or -mysteriously disappeared somehow or other at Callao, and the very next -day this Roderigo had applied for the situation. Captain Herbert had -waited for his steward for a whole week; but as there were no signs of -his coming, and no trace of him on shore, it was concluded he had gone -to Lima. So, as he seemed eminently fitted for the duties of the post, -the half-caste Spaniard was installed in his place. He proved to be all -they could desire, Mr. Herbert continued, although he certainly was not -handsome; but he was very fond of Bernard, and doated on baby ’Theena. I -asked no more, but I felt far from content or easy in my mind. - -We left Callao at last, and proceeded on our voyage to San Francisco. -The _Southern Hope_ was a good sea vessel; so our voyage was favourable, -though the winds were light until we reached the equator, which we -crossed in baffling winds, about 85° west longitude. We soon got -enveloped in dense wet fogs, and for days it was all but a dead calm. A -breeze sprang up at last, however, and we kept on our course, and by and -by the sky cleared and we saw the sun. - -None too soon; for not ten miles to the east of us loomed the rocky -cliffs of Northern Ecuador. They could be none other, yet why were we -here? - -Captain Herbert could not understand it for a time. He was as good a -sailor as ever stood down the English Channel or crossed the far-famed -Bay of Biscay. He was not left long in doubt, however. - -There was villainy on board. Treachery had been at work, and the compass -had been tampered with. - -It was about two bells in the afternoon watch when he made the -discovery. I heard him walking rapidly up and down the deck first, as -some sailors do when deep in thought. Then he came below. - -“Are your pistols all ready?” he said to me. - -“Yes,” I answered; “but I sincerely hope there will be no need of them.” - -Then he told me what he had discovered, and that he felt sure mutiny was -intended. - -He broke the news as gently as possible to his wife, and gave orders -that she should keep to the cabin with the ayah and the children. - -Then he and I went on deck together. - -As I passed the steward’s pantry I tried the door. It was locked, and I -could see through the jalousies that no one was inside. - -My doubts of the half-caste had become certainties. - -“Call all hands, and let the men lay aft, mate!” - -This was Herbert’s stern command. - -“Ay, ay, sir,” came the cheerful reply. - -The _Southern Hope_ was but a moderate-sized ship, and our men, all -told, were but nineteen hands. - -The mate’s sonorous voice and the sound of his signalling boot on the -deck could easily be heard all over the ship. - -Captain Herbert and I waited uneasily and impatiently by the binnacle. -His face was very pale, but firm and set, and I knew he would fight to -the death, if fighting there was going to be. - -Alas! we were not left long in doubt as to the exact position of -affairs. Out of all the crew--which were mostly a mixed class of -foreigners--only five lay aft. - -“Where are the others?” shouted the captain. - -Groaning and yelling came from below forward as a reply. - -“The men have mutinied,” said the mate. - -The words had scarcely left his lips ere, headed by Roderigo himself, -the mutineers rushed on deck. - -“You wanted us to lay aft,” cried Roderigo. “Here we are. What do you -want, Mr. Herbert, for I am captain now?” - -Before the captain could reply, either by word of mouth or ring of -pistol-shot, the mate had felled the steward with a capstan-bar. It was -a blow that might have killed a puma; but, though bleeding like an ox, -the half-caste drew his knife as he lay on deck, and next moment had -sprung on the first officer as a jaguar springs on a deer. - -The fight now became general; but in a very few minutes the mutineers -were triumphant. Our mate was slain; while, whether dead or alive, the -other poor fellows who had so nobly stuck by us were heaved into the -sea. - -A worse fate was probably intended for Captain Herbert and myself; but -meanwhile, our hands were tied, and we were led to the after-cabin and -there locked up. No one came near us all that afternoon, nor was there -any sound that could give us even an inkling as to the fate of poor Mrs. -Herbert, the children, and the ayah. Had they been murdered or even -molested, we surely should have heard shrieks or appeals for mercy. - -I did my best to keep up my companion’s heart, but there were moments -when I thought he would lose his very reason in the depth of his -despair. - -About an hour afterwards it was quite dark, and we could tell from the -singing and roystering forward that the mutineers had broken into the -spirit-room and were having a debauch. It had come on to blow too, and -the motion of the vessel was uneasy and jerking. Evidently she was being -badly steered, and an effort was also being made to shorten sail. - -The storm increased till it blew all but a gale. Some sails had been -rent in ribbons, and the noise of the flapping was like that of rifle -platoon firing. - -I was standing close by the cabin door, my ear anxiously drinking in -every sound, when suddenly I was thrown violently on the deck, and by -the dreadful grating and bumping noises under us we could tell that the -vessel had struck heavily on a rock. Almost at the same moment there was -the noise of falling spars and crashing wreck. Then a lull, succeeded by -the sound of rushing footsteps overhead and cries of “Lower away the -boats!” - -The fearfulness of our situation after this can hardly be realized. -Nothing was now to be heard except the roar of the winds and the -thumping of the great seas against the vessel’s sides. Hopeless as we -were, we longed for her to break up. Had she parted in two we felt that -we could have rejoiced. Death by drowning would not seem so terrible, I -thought, could we but see the stars above us or even feel the wind in -our faces; but to die shut up thus in the darkness like rats in a hole -was too dreadful to think of--it was maddening! - -In the midst of our despair, and just as we were beginning to think the -end could not be far off, we heard a voice outside in the fore-cabin. - -“Husband! husband!” it cried in pitiful tones; “where are you?” - -“Here! here!” we both shouted in a breath. - -Next minute a light shone glimmering through the keyhole, and we knew -Mrs. Herbert had lit the lamp. - -Then an axe was vigorously applied to our prison door, and in a short -time we were free. - -Mrs. Herbert had fainted in her husband’s arms. - -She slowly recovered consciousness, and then could tell us all she knew. - -The mutineers had rifled the ship; they had broken open my cabin and -boxes, expecting to find treasure, and as soon as the vessel struck had -lowered the boats and left the ship. - -But where was Bernard? - -And where was the ayah? - -Alas! neither could be found. And from that day to this their fate is a -mystery. - -The storm was little more, after all, than a series of tropical squalls. -The vessel did not break up just then, and when daylight broke the sea -all around us was as calm and blue as baby ’Theena’s eyes. - -In the course of the day we managed to rig a raft and thereby reach the -shore. - -It was a wild and desolate beach on which we landed, and glad we were to -find even the huts of Indians in which to shelter. - -There we lived for three long weeks, making many trips in the canoes of -the Indians to the ship, and bringing on shore as many of the -necessaries of life as we could find. - -But alas! the loss of Bernard and the terror of that terrible night had -done their work on poor Mrs. Herbert. She gradually sunk and died. - -We buried her near the beach on that strange wild shore, and raised a -monument over the grave, roughly built in the form of a cross, from -green lava rocks. - -Our adventures after that may be briefly told. - -The ship did not break up for many weeks, and where the carrion is there -cometh the “hoody crow.” The first coasting vessel that found out the -wreck plundered it, and sailed away leaving us to perish for aught they -cared. But with the captain of the next we managed to come to terms, and -the promise of a handsome reward secured us a passage to Callao, and -there we found a Christian ship and in due time arrived in England. - - * * * * * - -“And what about Bernard?” said Tommy with eager eyes. - -“The mystery about Bernard still remains, dear boy. He may be living -somewhere yet in the interior of Ecuador, or he may have been taken away -by some passing ship, or--and this is my own opinion--he is dead.” - -“And the baby ’Theena is living, isn’t she?” said Alicia. - -“She was, dear, when last I heard of her, and the father too is well. -Heigh-ho! I wonder if he knows I am thinking about him to-night, and -telling his strange story and my own?” - -Whoo--oo--oo! roared the storm. The wind-wolves still shrieked around -the house. But suddenly Laird Talisker lifts a finger as if to command -silence. - -All listen intensely. - -“That is something over and above the ‘howthering’ of the gale,” he -says. “Hark!” - -Rising unmistakably above the din of the storm-wind could now be heard -the barking of dogs, as if in anger. - -“Someone is coming undoubtedly,” says Uncle Robert. - -Then the door opens and old Mawsie the housekeeper enters, looking so -scared that the borders of the very cap or white linen mutch she wore -seem to stand straight out as if starched. - -“What _can_ be the matter, Mawsie?” asks the laird. - -“O, sir!” gasps old Mawsie, “on this awfu’ nicht--through the snaw and -the howtherin’ wind-storm--a carriage and pair drives up to the door, -and a gentleman wi’ a bonnie wee lady alichts--” - -What more Mawsie would have said may never be known, for at that moment -straight into the room walk the arrivals themselves, and in his -eagerness to get towards them Uncle Robert knocks over his chair, and -the long stool on which the boys are sitting goes down with it, boys and -all. - -“By all that is curious!” cries Uncle Robert, giving a hand to each. -“However did you come here? Talk of angels and lo! they appear.” - -He shakes Captain Herbert by the hand as if he had determined to -dislocate his elbow, and he fairly hugs little ’Theena in his arms. - -“And this is baby,” he cries to Tommy’s mother, “and here is good old -Captain Herbert himself. Why, this is the most joyful 25th of February I -ever do remember.” - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -AMONG THE WOODS OF CRAIGIELEA. - - -With the arrival of Captain Herbert and little ’Theena a fresh gleam of -sunshine appeared to have fallen athwart our young hero’s pathway in -life. - -As he sat in his corner that evening thoughtfully gazing on her sweet -face, while her father and his uncle kept talking together as old -friends and old sailors will, Tommy thought he had never seen anything -on earth so lovely before, and albeit he was about half afraid of her he -made up his mind to fall in love with her as early as possible. He -really was not quite certain yet, however, that he might not be -dreaming. Had he fallen asleep again, he wondered, after Uncle Robert -had finished his story? and was ’Theena but a vision? She looked so -ethereal and so like a fairy child that he could not help giving his own -arm a sly pinch to find out whether he really was awake or not. He did -feel that pinch, so it must be all right. - -Next he wondered if his two big brothers would appropriate ’Theena -almost exclusively to themselves while she stayed here. He determined to -circumvent them, however. He had a hut and a home in the wild woods not -far from the romantic ruin of Craigie Castle, and he felt sure that -’Theena would be delighted with this hermitage of his. She did not look -very strong, but she would soon be rosier. He would wander through the -woods and wilds and cull posies of wild-flowers, and by the sea-shore -and gather shells for her--shells as prettily pink as those delicate -ears of hers. What a pity, he thought, that it was still winter! But -never mind, spring would come, and he knew where nearly all the -song-birds dwelt and built. And O! by the way, ’Theena’s eyes were as -blue as the eggs of the accentor or hedge-sparrow. Even deeper, they -were more like the blue of the pretty wee germander speedwell that -before two months were past would be peeping up through the grass by the -hedge-foot. Then further on there would be the wild blue hyacinth and -the blue-bells of Scotlands (the hare-bell of English waysides), and the -bugloss and milk-wort and succory--all of them more or less like -’Theena’s eyes--and a score of others besides, he could find and fashion -into garlands. - -’Theena smiled so sweetly when she bade him good-night, and was upon the -whole so self-possessed and lady-like, that the boy felt infinitely -beneath her in every way. But that did not matter; he would improve day -by day, he felt certain enough on this point. So he went off to bed, and -dreamed that he and ’Theena were up in a balloon together, sailing -through the blue sky, and that down beneath them was spread out just -such a romantic land as that of Ecuador, which his uncle had described. -It was more like a scene of enchantment than anything else. But lo! even -as he gazed in rapture from the car of the balloon, it entered a region -of rolling clouds and snow mists; it became darker and darker, the gloom -was only lit up by the hurtling fires of terrible volcanoes, while all -around the thunders pealed and lightnings flashed. Then the balloon -seemed to collapse, and after a period of falling, falling, falling that -felt interminable, suddenly the sun shone once more around them--’Theena -was still by his side--and they found themselves in a kind of earthly -arboreal and floral paradise. Near them stood a tall and handsome young -man, dressed, however, like a savage, and armed with bow and arrow. - -He advanced, smiling, to the spot where they stood, and extending a hand -to each: - -“Dear sister and brother,” he said, “do you not know me? Behold I am the -long-lost Bernard!” - -Then Tommy awoke and found it was daylight, and that the robin was -singing on his windowsill expectant of crumbs. - - * * * * * - -Spring came all at one glad bound to the fields and woods of Craigielea -this year. - -Three weeks had passed away since the night Tommy had dreamt that -strange dream. Captain Herbert had gone south. He would sail round the -world before he returned to Craigielea to take his “little lass,” as he -called ’Theena, away with him again. Meanwhile he knew she would be well -cared for, and grow bigger and stronger. - -Tommy’s brothers had made no attempt, or very little of an attempt, to -win ’Theena over. True, Jack had mounted her once or twice on Glancer; -but Glancer, knowing the responsibility of such a charge, could not be -induced to break even into a decent trot. So Jack got tired of ’Theena, -and told her she might never expect to make a cow-boy. - -And Dick could not get the girl to race, or play cricket or hockey, -though he tried hard; and she was not even good at climbing trees nor -riding on fences, and was positively afraid of Towsie, the white, -shorthorn bull, because he had red eyes and tore up the ground with a -fore-foot, while he bellowed like distant thunder. - -“It’s no good, Jack,” said Dick; “we couldn’t make anything of ’Theena -if we tried ever so long.” - -“I don’t think so, Dick,” was Jack’s reply. “Besides, what is the use of -girls anyhow?” - -“Not much. I really want to know what they are put into the world for at -all.” - -“Well,” said Jack, “we’ll give her up, won’t we? Little Cinderella can -have her for a plaything, can’t he?” - -“Yes, Jack, she’ll just suit little Cinderella.” This was the name his -brothers always called Tommy by, because he always sat by his sister’s -knee close to the fire, and looked at it for hours. - -“Dick,” said Jack, “there’s nothing like boys, is there?” - -“Nothing much.” - -“And there’s nobody like you and me. Hurrah! come and give me a leg up -to mount Glancer, and just see me clear that farther fence. Besides, -I’ve got a new way of making Glancer buck-jump. Hurrah, Dick! Cow-boys -for ever!” - -As the two went tearing along towards the paddock where Glancer was -browsing, they met Tommy and ’Theena on their way to the woods. Tommy -had a fishing-basket on his back, ’Theena carried the rod. Tommy had a -bow and arrows besides, and ’Theena carried a real Arab spear. - -“Hullo, Cinderella!” shouted Dick. - -“Hurrah, Cinder!” cried Jack. “Why, where ever are you off to with all -that gear?” - -“We’re going to the hermitage,” said Tommy proudly. “I’m the Hermit -Hunter of the Wilds.” - -“Ha, ha, ha!” from both the bigger boys. - -“And,” continued Tommy, “we’re going to play at wild man in the woods; -and we’re going to gather flowers, and find birds’-nests, and fish in -the Craigieburn, and perhaps go for a sail on the sea.” - -“Ha, ha, ha! Well, don’t you dare to fall in anywhere and drown your -little self,” said Jack; “else you will catch it. Good-bye, Cinder. Take -care of baby. Good-bye, Eenie-’Theenie.” - -And away went Dick and Jack whooping. - -“I don’t love your brothers much,” said ’Theena, almost crying. “What -makes them call you Cinder?” - -“I don’t know, I’m sure, ’Theena; but I don’t mind it if you don’t.” - -“I shall call you Tom.” - -“Thank you; but really I don’t mind, you know, and if you would -prefer--” - -“No, no, no. I don’t like Cinderella. You’re not a girl.” - -“O, no. I’m a boy, and Uncle Robert says I shall soon be a man. Wouldn’t -you like to be a boy, ’Theena?” - -“Yes, dearly.” - -“It would be so nice if you were. We could have even better fun than we -have now, and you would be able to get up trees, and shoot, and do -everything I do.” - -Talking thus they reached the great pine-wood, and entered among the -trees. In this silent forest-land there was not a morsel of undergrowth, -only the withered needles that had fallen from the pines and larches and -formed a thick soft carpet. And the great tree-stems went towering -skywards, brown for the pines, gray for the larches, till they ended far -above in a canopy of darkest green that would hardly admit a ray of -sunshine without breaking it all up into little patches of gold and -silver. - -’Theena felt somewhat afraid now, and crept closer to Tom, who took her -hand, and thus they wandered on and on. And very small the two of them -looked among those giant timber trees. - -“You’re not _very_ much afraid, are you?” said Tom. “You needn’t be, you -know, for I’m the Hermit Hunter of the Wilds, and could protect you -against anything; and Connie here would protect us both.” - -Connie was the long-haired collie dog, who followed his master -everywhere like his shadow. - -“You could shoot straight with your bow and arrow, couldn’t you, Tom, if -any wild beast came upon us?” - -“O, very straight.” - -They were following a tiny beaten path that led them through the -pine-wood. But it also led them up and up, and sometimes it was so steep -that they had to scramble on their hands and knees. - -By and by the pines gave place to silver-stemmed birch-trees, with -shimmering, shivering leaves that reflected the sunshine in all -directions. The perfume from these trees was delightful in the extreme. - -They reached a clearing at last, where the heather grew green all round, -and where there were lichen-clad stones to sit upon. Here one or two -large and lovely lizards were basking, and a splendid green speckled -snake went gliding away at their approach. Tom, being a Highland lad, -was not afraid of either snakes or lizards. Neither was ’Theena; for -though she was only seven years old she had been in strange countries -with her papa, and had seen far bigger snakes and lizards too than any -we have in Scotland. - -Having rested for a short time, they resumed their upward journey, and -soon came to a little table-land about an acre in extent, and near it, -in the shelter of a tall gray rock, with drooping birch-trees, and -broom, and whins, lo! the hermitage and woodland home of the Hermit -Hunter. - -What a business the making of this hut had been, nobody ever knew except -Tommy himself, Uncle Robert, and the collie dog Connie. - -But now that it was made, it looked a very complete dwelling indeed, -just such as a Crusoe would have delighted to live in. - -’Theena was overjoyed. - -“O!” she cried, “I would love to stay here always; a table and cupboard, -and real seats, and real plates and things, and a window, and books and -all! I can’t read much, can you?” - -“Yes,” said Tom. “Uncle taught me. He teaches me always up here in -summer, and he shall teach you too.” - -After ’Theena had admired everything sufficiently long, they commenced -to climb again, and soon rose out of the greenery of the woods entirely, -high up the hill into the very sky itself; and, wonderful to say, here -was a noble castle, though now but little more than a ruin. - -“My ancestors,” said Tommy proudly, “once dwelt here, and they were -great soldiers and warriors. Dick and Jack don’t care anything about -ancestors; but I do, Theena. And do you know what I am going to do?” - -“No,” said ’Theena. - -“After I grow a big man, I mean.” - -“Yes, after you grow a big man.” - -“Well, I’m going to make lots of money first, you know. For I shall be a -sailor, and sail away to strange countries where the gold lies in heaps -in the woods and wilds, watched over by terrible dragons.” - -“Yes, Tom, I suppose there would be dragons.” - -“Well, I shall kill the dragons, and bring away, O, ever so much gold! -Then I will sail home in my ship, and I shall furnish this castle all -splendid and new again, with beautiful furniture and pictures, and all -sorts of nice things. O, but stop, there is something I am going to do -before then.” - -“Yes, Tom, something to do before then.” - -“I’m going to find your brother Bernard.” - -“O, that would be nice!” - -“Yes, very. And I’ll bring him home, and we’ll all live happy here in -this splendid castle; your father and my father, and mother, and uncle, -and Bernard, and Alicia, and Connie and all.” - -“Will your brothers be here too?” - -“N--no, I think it better not, perhaps. Of course Dugald would be at the -farm, and we could see him sometimes, but Dick and Jack better go away -and preach and be a cow-boy.” - -“And then,” said ’Theena, “they would never call you Cinder any more. -But how very nice it will all be. And O, Tom, look at the waves!” - -From the window of the room in which they stood the view was grand and -imposing. Hills and rocks and woods on one side, the lovely glen on the -other, and down yonder, stretching away and away to the illimitable -horizon, the blue Atlantic dotted here and there with white sails, with -one or two steamers in the far offing, ploughing their way northwards, -and leaving their trailing wreaths of smoke and long white wakes. - -And up from the woods beneath them came a chorus of bird songs. The -mellow fluting of the blackbird, the sweat clear notes of the mavis, and -bold bright lilt of chaffinch. Nearer still the linnet perched on the -whin-bush, and high, high in air, dimly seen against a white fleecy -cloud, but easily heard, was the laverock itself. - -And the bright pure sunshine was over everything; glittering on the -rippling sea, sparkling on the mountain-tops where the snow still lay, -patching the woods with light and shadow, heightening the green of moss -and heather, changing the streams into threadlets of silver, spreading -out the petals of half-open flowers, the gowans on the lea, goldilocks -by the meadow’s brink, awakening the bees, and causing ten thousand, -thousand rainbow-coloured insects to join in the song of gladness that -rose everywhere on this lovely spring morning, from nature to nature’s -God. - -Tom and his companion stood long enough at the window to drink in the -essence of the glorious scene, but no longer. The day was young, and -they were young. There was a moping owl up in the ivy yonder; they would -leave the ruined castle to him, while they should go forth and mingle -with, and become part and parcel of, all the light and loveliness that -made up the day. - -“Come, ’Theena, we mustn’t keep the fish waiting. Come, Connie; and you -must not go and bathe and splash to-day in the stream where we are -fishing. ’Theena, I want to get a basket full to the top with such trout -that will make Dick and Jack want to kick themselves with jealousy.” - -And off they went, and no one saw either of them again till the sun was -going down behind the sea, and changing the waves into billows of blood. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -“THE WHOLE WORLD IS FULL OF CHANGES.” - - -“Well,” said Uncle Robert one morning some time after this, “if anybody -twenty years ago had prophesied that I should become a schoolmaster in -my declining years, I should have laughed at him. But come, there is no -help for it, and by good luck I’ve got two of the dearest and best -little pupils that ever any teacher could desire.” - -Perhaps, though, no boy or girl either was ever taught on so delightful -a system before. For, every morning after breakfast--well rolled in -fear-nothing plaids if it happened to be raining--Uncle Robert, with Tom -and ’Theena, took their way towards the pine-wood and the hermitage. If -Dick and Jack happened to be about when they started, they were sure to -give them a hail. - -“Good-bye, Eenie-’Theenie,” Dick would cry. - -“Fare thee well, Old Cinder,” Jack would shout. - -And Uncle Robert would pretend to growl like an old sea-lion, and shake -his stick at the pair of them as they scampered off, looking nearly all -legs, like the figures on the old Manx pennies. - -Young as Tommy was, he had a very complete knowledge of geography, and -even a smattering of navigation; for he had declared his intention of -becoming a sailor, and nothing else. But this knowledge of his was not -such as you learn in books alone; but from books, and maps, and charts, -and the big globe itself. Tommy actually knew and felt he was _in_ the -world, and not inside the cover of a book. And if you asked him where -any country was he pointed in the direction of it at once, taking his -bearings as it were by the sun or stars, and the time of day or night -it happened to be at the time the question was put. - -Their school was the hermitage in the woods, and here they laboured away -most earnestly all the forenoon. Then they laid aside their books, and -while uncle and ’Theena went outside to squat on the green-sward, -Tom--we shall not call him Tommy any more--got ready the luncheon. A -very simple repast it was--cheese and cake, and creamy milk. - -Then uncle would light his pipe and perhaps tell a story, and after this -they started off in pursuit of pleasure. - -Were there not fish in the rivers, and shells by the sea-shore, and -wondrous creatures of fur and feather in the woods and on the hills, -beautiful insects everywhere, and wild-flowers everywhere? - -So passed one summer quickly away; and another summer and another winter -after that, and now Tom was thirteen and ’Theena was nine and over. Tom -was a man, at least he thought he was; and now, dearly though he loved -his old home, an almost irresistible longing took possession of him to -go to sea--to sail away and see the world and all that is in it. - -For Tom was already a sailor. One might hardly think this possible, -until told that for a year and more hardly a fine day dawned that did -not see Uncle Robert and him, and as often as not little ’Theena also, -afloat in uncle’s little yacht-boat. This saucy wee craft had been a -man-o’-war’s cutter, sold as unfit for further service. But Uncle Robert -had bought her, and had her brought round to the bay of Craigie, and -there turned bottom upwards in old Dem Harrison’s boat-shed. And between -the pair of them, aided by Tom and ’Theena, who did the looking-on, they -soon made the hull seaworthy. - -No flimsy work either. Wherever a plank was in the slightest degree -decayed, it was taken out and a light, hard new one put in; the very -best of copper nails being used, and nothing else. Then she was painted -inside and out. This done, she was “whomeld,” as old Dem called it--that -is, turned right side up; and so they proceeded to put a raised deck -upon her, and step a nice raking mast with fore-and-aft mainsail and -topsail and jibs to match. Fine big jibs they were too; honest spreads -of canvas, having no resemblance to either a baby’s blanket or a biscuit -sack. The wee yacht had an excellent rudder also, and a false keel that -could be raised or lowered at pleasure, or to suit circumstances. - -You must understand that the _Oceana_, as she was called, after ’Theena, -had the most darling little saloon it is possible to imagine. To be -sure, Uncle Robert looked a bit crowded in it; but when Tom and ’Theena -were there by themselves, with only uncle’s legs dangling down the -companion as he sat steering, the place seemed just made for them. There -was a couch at each side, supported by lockers, and prettily upholstered -in crimson. There was a lamp in gimbals to burn at night, a natty little -locker containing all sorts of dishes and all kinds of dainties, and -brackets in the corners with pockets for flowers, and sconces for -coloured candles; besides a rack for arms and fishing-gear; while the -white paint, the gilding, and the mirrors completed the picture and made -the place double the size it really was. - -Just imagine if you can how delicious it was to go sailing away over the -summer seas in a fairy-like yacht such as the _Oceana_--the blue above -and the blue below, white-winged gulls tacking and half-tacking in the -air around. Perhaps a shoal of porpoises in the offing, and great -jelly-fishes floating everywhere in the water like animated parasols. - -They were entirely independent of the land when once fairly afloat; for -the _Oceana_ was well provisioned, and had over and above all her other -stores a tiny library of the most readable books of adventure and -poetry. - -No, it was little wonder that Tom became a sailor under so pleasant a -captain as Uncle Robert, and on board so fairy-like a yacht. - -But neither on shore was Tom’s nautical studies neglected; for in a room -of uncle’s cottage was situated a huge toy ship, which he had built and -rigged himself, and which he and his pupils often dismantled and rigged -up again. Full rigged she was, with every spar, bolt, and stay in its -proper place--a very model of perfection. - -But the most curious thing I have to relate is that ’Theena learned -every branch of the seafarer’s craft quite as readily as, and even more -quickly than, Tom himself. Born and brought up at sea, she appeared to -take to everything intuitively. - -Taking it all in all, both Uncle Robert and his pupils enjoyed -themselves very much, indeed, both on shore and afloat; but whether most -on shore or most afloat, it would have been difficult to say. - -“My dear children,” said uncle one day at the hermitage, just as they -had finished luncheon and were preparing for a long ramble--“my dear -children, I shall miss you very much when you go away. I expect I’ll -begin to get old very quickly after that.” - -“Dear unky,” said Tom, “you are never going to grow old. Don’t you -believe it.” - -“And we are never going to grow any older either, unky,” said ’Theena. - -Uncle Robert laughed. - -“Well,” he said, “I should have no objections to make a bargain of that -sort with old Father Time if we could fall in with him. But, my dears, -changes will come, you know. The whole world is full of changes, and -the whole universe too for that matter. And you, Tom, will be going away -to sea, and ’Theena will have to go to school. I might make a sailor of -her, but, bother me if I could teach her the piano and dancing and the -like of that, unless it were a hornpipe such as the sailors dance on a -Saturday night. Yes, my dears, changes must and will come.” - -Black Tom came up at this moment and began rubbing his great head -against the boy’s arm as he lay on the grass. Black Tom was a cat, and a -very wonderful specimen he was; elephantic in size as far as the term -could be applied to any grimalkin, with an enormous broad and -honest-looking face of his own. He was probably not more than two years -of age at this time; but Tom--the boy Tom--had saved his life when he -was little more than full-grown. It was quite a little adventure for the -young Hermit Hunter of the Wilds. As far as could be known, the cat had -attempted the abduction of a young or puppy-fox, but the mother coming -home in time a furious battle had ensued. The hermit came up at the very -moment the fox had scored victory, and was proceeding to break the cat -up, as some day the dogs might break her up. But a well-directed arrow -from Tom’s cross-bow sent her yelping to her den, and then the boy -picked up the half-dead cat and carried him to the hermitage. He -recovered after a few weeks of careful nursing; and since then, wherever -the boy went the cat followed, all through the woods and over the hills, -and even out to sea in the _Oceana_ yacht. Boy and cat were inseparable, -and throughout the length and breadth of the parish they were known to -everybody as “the two Toms.” When at peace, Tom the cat was very -contented-looking, though no great beauty, his shoulder and head having -been terribly scarred in that encounter with the fox; but he could be -very fierce when he pleased. He tolerated Connie the collie dog, and -even slept in his arms; but if any strange dog came into the hut Tom -mounted his back and rode him out, whacking him all the way. - - * * * * * - -Changes must and will come. Yes, and changes came to all about -Craigielea before very long. First and foremost Dick went away to -Oxford. He had a cousin there who would look after him while at college, -and, as Uncle Robert phrased it, put him up to the ropes. - -Then an American farmer called at Craigielea and stayed for a week, -telling very wonderful stories indeed about life and adventures in the -sunny south of the United States, to all of which Jack listened with -open-mouthed earnestness. And when this farmer went away he left poor -Mrs. Talisker in tears, for her dear boy Jack went away with him. - -Dear boy Jack did not himself take on much about the matter, however. -Indeed, though he did manage to screw a tear or two out when saying -good-bye to his mother and Alicia, there certainly were no tears in his -eyes as he parted with Tom. - -“Ta, ta, Old Cinder!” he said, shaking his brother’s hand. “Take care of -yourself, my Cinder; and if ever you are out our way drop round and see -us, and I’ll let you ride a buck-jumper that will toss you half-way to -the moon. Ta, ta! Be good.” - -The old farm was a deal quieter after Dick and Jack had gone. There was -far less whooping, or barking of dogs, or cracking of whips. Uncle -Robert said the place was not the same at all. - -Then came another change. For Captain Herbert walked into the house one -forenoon as quietly and coolly as if he had not been from home for over -a week. This caused the greatest change of all, for Tom had to get ready -for sea at once. His uncle took him straight away to Glasgow to get his -outfit; and when the boy was rigged out in his pilot suit, with gilt -buttons and cap with badge and band, very natty and neat he looked. -’Theena was very proud of him now; but at the same time she was very -sad, for those brass buttons and that blue pilot-jacket meant separation -for many and many a long day. - -When Tom awoke one morning and looked out of his window he could see a -beautiful black painted barque lying at anchor in the bay, with tall -tapering spars shining white in the sunlight, as if they had been formed -of satin-wood. Then Tom knew that his time had come. - -He was not very elated about it at first. It was so sudden; and I do -trust the reader will not think him any the less brave when I confess -that he sat down beside the window and indulged in the luxury of a good -cry. For remember that the boy was not very old yet. No; and I have -known many much older boys than he shed tears at the prospect of leaving -home. - -He was to sail on the very next morning; and that day he and ’Theena -went to take one last look at the hermitage and the old castle, and the -woods and wilds generally. And Tom the cat followed them and kept close -by his master all the way. - -“Poor fellow!” said the boy, stooping down to caress his favourite; “he -seems to know we are to be parted.” - -“Purr-rrn!” said Tom the cat. That was all he could say, but there was -more in it than either the boy or ’Theena understood just then. - -“Mind,” said Tom to ’Theena, as they stood together at the window of the -old castle overlooking the woods and the sea, “I am going to come back -rich and bring your brother with me.” - -“I don’t care so much for my brother as for you,” said ’Theena candidly. -“You know you are my brother now.” - -“Yes,” answered Tom abstractedly. - -Then hand in hand they went down the hill and through the woods and -forest, and so back home again. - -Tom’s mother came to see him to bed this last sad night, and sat long -with him in the moonlight giving him good advice--the best of which was -that he was to read the little Bible she gave him every night, and never -to forget to pray. - -The bustle of starting saved everybody next day from making much display -of grief, and everybody was thankful accordingly. Only poor little -’Theena was half frantic, and could hardly tear herself away from the -only brother she had ever known or loved--that is, as far as she could -remember. - -But the parting was all over at last; and when the sun sank slowly -behind the waves that night the _Caledonia_ was far away on the western -waters, ploughing her way southward, with the coast of Ireland a long -distance on the weather-bow. - -Tom was to be apprentice, and, as he was the only one on board, he -messed in the saloon along with Captain Herbert and the first and second -mate. - -The boy had knocked about too long in his uncle’s little yacht to feel -the effects of the ship’s motion in the shape of sea-sickness, so he sat -down to supper that evening in very good spirits and with a healthy -appetite. - -They were just about to commence that meal, when in at the saloon door, -with tail erect and something like a smile on his broad face, walked Tom -the black cat. - -“Purr-rrn!” he said well-pleasedly as he jumped on his master’s knee and -rubbed his head against the boy’s chest. - -Tom was too much surprised to speak, but the captain and mates laughed -heartily. - -“A stowaway!” said the former. - -“Yes,” said Tom. “I have no idea how he got on board.” - -“Well, never mind. I’ll wager a shilling he will bring us good luck.” - -Black Tom was henceforth installed as ship’s cat; and the men were all -most kind to him, for every sailor of them knew that though black cats -will bring good luck to a ship, nevertheless if ill treated or lost -overboard, the luck is sure to turn. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -“RUN, RUN!” CRIED TOM; “THE MAN MUST NOT DIE YET!” - - -It is not often that the lines of young sailor-lads fall in such -pleasant places as did those of Tom Talisker on first going to sea. To -begin with, he had no extra rough work to do, as is too often the case -with apprentices, and even midshipmen, on first going afloat--scrubbing -and scraping all day long, their hands in a bucket of tar one minute, -and in a bucket of “slush” the next. - -“Make a man of my lad,” had been about the last words of Uncle Robert to -his friend Captain Herbert; and that honest old tar had proceeded to do -so forthwith, not on the old plan of first breaking a boy’s heart, and -then making a bully of him if he survived it. No, the captain put Tom -into the second mate’s watch, with a request that he should do the best -he could for the lad; and as Holborn himself, as this officer was -called, was an excellent sailor, and a kindly-hearted though somewhat -rough and uncouth individual, he set about putting Tom up to the ropes -without loss of time. - -Captain Herbert himself superintended the lad’s book-studies, so on the -whole he was well off; and it is no wonder, therefore, that before he -had been to sea for three years he was able to reef, steer, and do his -duty both on deck and below almost as well as Holborn could. - -But all this time the _Caledonia_ had never once been back to England. - -For Captain Herbert was quite a wandering Jew of a sailor, and the -reasons for this are not far to seek. First and foremost, he had never -yet given up hopes that he would one day find his lost son, and he -certainly left no stone unturned to bring about so wished-for an event. -Secondly, he was his own master, the barque he sailed being his own -property. And thirdly, it paid him to keep going from country to -country, as long as there was no real necessity for docking the ship. -Not that he valued riches for his own sake, but for the sake of ’Theena -and the son he ne’er again might look upon. - -If Tom had felt a man before leaving England, he now almost looked one. -Indeed, in size and strength he was a man quite; for whatever some may -say, the ocean certainly never stunts a youth’s growth. - -He was a good sailor, too, taking the adjective “good” in every sense of -the word. Neither his mother’s advice, the second mate’s care, nor -Captain Herbert’s kindness had been thrown away on the boy; and on many -a dark and stormy night he proved that he was just as good as brave. - -Another year of voyaging here and there across the face of the great -waters passed away. The _Caledonia_ was lying at San Francisco, and the -captain intimated to the officers his intention of bearing up for home. -They would double the Horn for the last time; then hurrah for merry -England! - -There was rejoicing fore and aft at the glad news; for if there is one -word in our language that can convey a thrill of happiness to a sailor’s -heart, that word is “home.” And every seaman on board a ship carries -about with him all over the world affections and ties with the dear ones -he has left behind that nothing but death itself can sever. - -“In nine months’ time, my lad,” said Captain Herbert cheerily to Tom, -who was walking the deck with his constant companion the cat at his -heels. “In nine months’ time I hope we’ll be sailing up the Clyde. We -shall touch at Ecuador and at Callao, then steer away south.” - -It was not the first time since they had sailed from England that the -_Caledonia_ had touched at Ecuador, so Tom was not surprised at what the -captain now told him; for the grave of his wife was there on that rugged -shore, and it was there, too, he had lost his boy. - -“I’m getting old, Tom,” he added. “I cannot do now what I could have -done ten years ago, and I fear I may never be on this coast again.” - -Tom could hardly repress a sigh as he looked at him. He certainly was -getting old, and very white in hair and beard; but probably it was his -never-ending sorrow that had aged him quite as much as his years. - -The _Caledonia_ lay for many days near the spot where the _Southern -Hope_ was lost. Captain Herbert seemed to find a difficulty in tearing -himself away this time. But when at last the wind began to blow high off -the land, sail was set and away southwards once more went the good ship. - -The captain was inexpressibly sorrowful as the vessel left the land, and -Tom felt he could have given all he possessed in the world to dispel the -clouds that hung so heavily over his dear old friend’s heart. - -But Tom was too young to let sorrow depress him long, and that night -after he had retired--for it would not be his watch on deck till the -morning--he lay awake for hours thinking of home. How would every one be -on his return, and how would they look?--his dear mother and quiet -kindly father, his sister, his brother, and little ’Theena? But she -would not be so very little now; and he supposed she would have -forgotten him to a great extent, albeit she had written many a dear -affectionate child-letter, every one of which Tom had kept under lock -and key in his ditty-box. His mother’s letters were there also, and a -score of other odds and ends that no one knows the real value of except -a sailor. He did not fall asleep until he heard the middle watch called, -and Holborn came down below, and with him Tom the cat; for this strange -animal evinced quite an affection for the second mate, and frequently -kept watch with him even on stormy nights. - -But he jumped now into Tom’s bunk with a little fond cry, nestled down -in his arms, and the two Toms were soon fast asleep. - -The _Caledonia_ had cargo to leave at Callao and some to take on board; -so the seamen and officers were busy for a time, almost night and day, -as the captain was anxious now that no time should be lost. - -At last, however, the vessel was loaded up, and nothing remained to be -done except to bid some friends good-bye, and make purchase of a few -curios to take to the old folks at home. - -Tom and Captain Herbert were on shore, and had dined at one of the best -hotels. Leaving his friend for a time Tom went out for a stroll and to -enjoy the evening breeze, for the day had been very hot and sultry. - -He stayed out longer than he had intended, and was making the best of -his way back, when, in a side street through which he was passing by -way of taking a short cut, he came suddenly upon a wildly-excited group -of men and women, who had rushed pell-mell and fighting from the door of -an inn. - -Suddenly there was the short, sharp ring of a revolver, then a shrill -scream, and next moment the crowd dispersed, running in all directions. - -Tom hastened up to where by the dim light of a hanging lamp he could see -a man supporting himself on his elbow, groaning and in agony. - -“Are you much hurt?” asked Tom, bending over him. - -“I’m--dying--O! I’m dying,” was the man’s reply. - -In the arms of the landlord of the inn and a single watchman he was -borne inside and laid on the floor of a badly-lighted room, and soon a -medical man entered. The wounded man, a dark evil-countenanced -foreigner, lay so still and white one might have taken him for dead. - -“His hours are numbered,” said the surgeon at last. “Send for a priest.” - -The doomed wretch opened his eyes now. - -“Yes, yes,” he gasped, “a priest. I have that on my mind I dare not die -with. Boy,” he continued, looking bewilderingly at Tom, “did I see you -with Herbert?” - -“Captain Herbert,” replied Tom, “commands my ship.” - -“Kneel down beside me then,” continued the man. “Heaven sent you. I may -yet be forgiven. Boy, have you heard him speak of the _Southern Hope_ -and of his steward Roderigo?” - -“Yes, yes, a thousand times. Are you that villain?” - -“I am that villain.” - -The man had fainted again. - -“Quick, quick,” cried Tom, addressing the landlord. “Bring brandy. Run, -run. He must not die yet.” - -“Who is to pay me for it?” answered the surly fellow. “I’ve had enough -trouble for one night.” - -Tom thrust money into his hand, and some poisonously-smelling spirit was -soon produced. - -After a little had trickled over the throat of the dying man he once -more looked up. - -“Speak slowly now,” said Tom, quietly supporting Roderigo with one arm. -“Tell me more about the _Southern Hope_ and the boy Bernard. O, tell me -about him, and Captain Herbert will forgive you for anything, -everything.” - -“Yes, yes. The _Southern Hope_. We mutinied--we expected treasure--gold -and precious stones--we found but insects, beetles, and stuffed birds. -We were wild and wanted revenge. I would have fired the ship--but my -comrades would not hear of it. The best revenge, they said, would -be--was to--but where am I? Who are you?” - -“Here, drink a little more. Now, tell me of the boy Bernard. You -remember. Yes, you do, I see it in your eye. Speak, if you hope for -forgiveness.” - -“Yes, I will confess all. But why comes not the priest? The boy Bernard -we took away--” - -“Does he live, tell me that?” - -“He lives.” - -“Heaven be praised!” exclaimed Tom. “O that Captain Herbert were but -here himself! Tell me now, Roderigo, as you hope to be forgiven, where -is the son of Captain Herbert? Where did you take him?” - -“I--I know not--where he was taken--far into the interior.” The dying -man was sinking fast. “I saw a trader lately--Bernard was with the -Jivaros” (pronounced Heevaros). “He was well. Pray for me--I am dying.” - -What could Tom do but kneel down there beside the poor wretch and pray -for his forgiveness through the merits of our Saviour. It was the first -prayer he had ever presented before the throne of grace otherwise than -in the privacy of his own cabin or in his own thoughts, and he was -surprised at his own earnestness. - -“I am forgiven--I feel I am.” - -These were the last words of the dying Roderigo. Just one last low -sobbing sigh and all was over. Tom wept a little now as he stretched the -unhappy man’s arms by his side, and closed his eyelids. Then he quietly -took his leave. - -Captain Herbert’s joy at the news Tom brought him hardly knew any -bounds. There was no going on board for either of them that night; and -they sat till far into the small hours of the morning, talking of the -past and laying schemes for the future. Or rather considering one -particular scheme, which was of Tom’s proposing, and ultimately acceded -to by Captain Herbert. - -It was, in short, a plan of rescuing the boy, or rather young man, -Bernard, from the tribe of warlike Indians in which he was a prisoner. - -“Fain would I go with you,” said the captain, “for I fear the danger -will be great; but I am feeble and far from well. I should but hinder -you and clog your every movement.” - -“Captain Herbert,” said Tom, “I am young if you are getting old. I am -healthy and strong and I am not afraid of anything. I shall go as a -hunter--go as my dear uncle went, see all he saw, do all and perhaps -more than he did, and return, I doubt not, in company with your son -Bernard.” - -“May Heaven be with you then,” said the captain. - -“I am not superstitious, dear sir,” continued Tom; “but the strange -dream I had has never ceased to haunt me, and if I am instrumental in -bringing back poor Bernard to his father and sister I shall be happy as -long as I live.” - -So it was agreed between them that all preparations should be at once -made for Tom’s expedition into the wilds of the strange land where -Bernard was supposed to live, and in a few days after the burial of -Roderigo, whom the captain had easily identified as his old steward, the -_Caledonia’s_ head was once more turned back towards the shores of -Ecuador. - - * * * * * - -What a sad and eventful history is that of this lovely land of Ecuador! -There is romance, too, in every page of it; but a romance, alas! that is -all throughout stained with blood. Not the blood spilled in battle and -with honour, not the blood of patriots and heroes, but blood spilled in -civil wars, in petty strife, and the blood of murder and massacre. - -If the purple mists of oblivion could be dispelled and we had a peep of -the far bygone past, we should first find this country peopled by a race -called Quitus; subjects of a king, but altogether lawless and -independent, for the simple reason that communications betwixt tribe and -tribe were few and far between, as in many cases were the tribes -themselves. If they kept touch with each other it was through -traditions, or through the more tangible instrumentality of knife or -spear or poisoned dart. - -Thus they may have lived and died for thousands of years, then we read -of the first invasion. For some peoples dwelling far to the south had -advanced further in civilization than the poor Quitus, with the -inevitable result--a desire for conquest, bloodshed, and rapine. - -They were called Karans, and made their warlike descent upon the coast -in armed boats or rafts. These Karans went to work in the usual way with -invaders of the past--they slew the men and old of both sexes, enslaving -the women and the girls and boys. Having once conquered the country they -kept it, just as we Britons would have done, only we use the more -refined expression “annexation.” - -These Karans had a fine time of it after this. The country was such a -wild and glorious one; no need to work or do anything, except hunt and -fish and enjoy life. They called their kings “Shyris,” though there -certainly was very little shyness about any of them. As these kings -waxed richer and richer they grew more and more independent, not to say -insolent, till their fame attracted the attention and inflamed the -ambition of a great Inca called Tupac Yupanqui. Then war began in -earnest, and lasted till the death of this King Tupac. There was a short -lull after that; but, the days of his mourning being over, the dead -monarch’s son Huayna-Kapak, a still more daring warrior than his father, -continued the terrible warfare, and at length in a great battle -conquered the Karans and slew their last Shyri. Well, the Karans were -conquered; but they did not know it, for they simply made the dear -king’s daughter their queen and continued to fight under her. - -Huayna-Kapak found he had all his work cut out, and that it would take -him an age to kill all these warlike Karans, who were here, there, and -everywhere at the same time. So for a time he was nonplussed. But lo! to -his tent one day came an emissary from the enemy. He had not come to sue -for peace; very far from it--only for a truce during the flood season, -and that the dead might be properly interred on both sides. - -Perhaps Kapak was a Scotchman, anyhow he was very canny. It would have -been easy enough for him to have deprived this emissary of his head, but -it would not have been diplomacy. Instead of taking his head or even his -scalp he treated him very kindly and asked him as many questions as -possible, the emissary in return telling him as many lies as he could -think of. But there was one thing on which this Karan was extremely -enthusiastic, namely, the beauty and accomplishments of the young queen. -She was more lovely and radiant than the most beautiful bird in the -forest, and she was as brave as a jaguar. Well, the canny Inca went to -bed and dreamt about all the Karan had told him, and he was not any -better when he came to breakfast next morning--he was in love. Why -should we fight against so charming a queen? It would be easier to -conquer the Karans by marrying her. So an interview was arranged and a -marriage next, and this bold but love-smitten Inca never went -back--another proof, I think, that he must have been of Scotch -descent--but dwelt in Quitu or Ecuador and ruled over his people for -forty years. - -After his death the kingdom became divided into two, for the king left -one part of it, namely Cusco, to Huascar, half-brother to Atchualpa, the -king’s son by his Shyri queen, the latter falling heir to Quitu proper. - -Huascar was a quarrelsome fellow, and finally he declared war on his -half-brother, but was defeated and thrown into prison. Poor Atchualpa -some time after this fell a victim to treachery, his retainers were -brutally massacred and he himself strangled. - -After this the government of Ecuador became pretty much of a muddle. A -chief called Rumiñagui made himself King of Quitu first, but the -Spaniards determined to put him down. He was beaten in battle after -battle, and on getting nearer to the capital this reckless and cruel -chief massacred the “virgins of the sun” and burned the city. He found -time to remove even all his gold and treasure, which he took with him to -the wilds, burying them in a mountain, which still bears his own name. -Some day a portion of this treasure, which I am told is still concealed -at the base of this mighty hill, may be discovered by some adventurous -boy who leaves this country with twopence-halfpenny in his pocket, and -who will, after killing wild beasts innumerable, return to England and -live happy ever after. - -The Spaniards now came into possession of the country, and after a deal -of additional wars and a great deal of massacre and bloodshed, Ecuador -became a republic. This happened about sixty years ago, and ever since -it has been as much a prey to rebellions and revolutions as to -earthquakes, being probably less happy and contented even now than when -it was governed by the easy going kings of the Shyri dynasty. The -greater portion of the country east of the Andes is clad in dense -forests, and inhabited by wild beasts and still wilder men. And it was -into this wilderness our hero Tom was now about to penetrate. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -“HERE HANGS HIS BROTHER’S SCALP.” - - -The scene is changed. - -And such a change! - -It is but little more than a fortnight since Tom was busily engaged -getting cargo on board the _Caledonia_ at the noisy and far from -romantic seaport of Callao. It is little over a week since he bade adieu -to Captain Herbert and his friends in the ship, and started from -Guayaquil on his daring journey into the wilds of this veritable land of -mountain and flood. It is little over a week, and yet it seems an age, -and here he is at Riobamba; a town of strange low houses, few of which -can boast more than a single apartment, but standing in their own -grounds nevertheless. A town which does not look very imposing from a -distance, and certainly does not improve on closer acquaintance; built -on a sandy plain, in sight of and surrounded by the highest giants of -the Andes. - -It is night, and Tom, tired of wandering through the streets, is -returning to the outskirts, where his little encampment is stationed. He -prefers the company of Indians even, to a sojourn for even a single -night in the inexpressibly filthy rooms of the city. - -It is quieter, too, here; the silence only broken occasionally by the -yelping of half-wild curs quarrelling over their carrion, or the cries -of the night-birds. The moon is shining very clearly, and the stars look -so near that the snow-capped mountains seem far above them. Yonder is -the far-famed Chimborazo; Altur is also in sight, with its precipitous -and rugged sides, and Carhuairazo, and mighty Tinguragua. - -It is seldom indeed that they can be seen so distinctly as they are -to-night; but when the moon rises slowly up into the deep-blue sky, -flooding all the scene with its dreamy light, the view on every side is -grand in the extreme. - -And those everlasting hills, the brilliant moon, and the silvery stars, -are to Tom’s mind but steps in a ladder that leads his thoughts to -heaven itself. He is so impressed with the solemnity of the whole scene, -that before he retires to his tent he must needs kneel down and pray. He -has much to pray for; he has not thoughtlessly entered upon the -undertaking which has hardly yet commenced. He knew all the dangers to -which he would be exposed; and although the very idea of being a lonely -wanderer through Ecuador wilds appealed to the romance of his character, -he would not willingly have risked his young life had not a greater -reward than pleasure only seemed to depend upon the success of his -expedition, namely, the realization of his dream, and the finding of -lost Bernard Herbert. So he prayed now for a blessing on his endeavours; -and for an unseen hand to support him in his journeyings, and to shield -him from the dangers in forest, in jungle, and plain. - -He rose refreshed in spirit, and soon reached his little toldo. His -people had built themselves a hut of branches and grass, to shield them -from the sun and rain by day and the dews at night. But three of them -were waiting to receive him at his toldo door. This toldo, I may here -mention, was a kind of gypsy tent of canvas. It had been Captain -Herbert’s last gift to him before they parted, and was made by the -sailors on board the _Caledonia_. - -It had not been difficult for Tom to secure servants for his expedition -into the interior. He had fifty volunteers at least, and from these he -chose five. Most of whom were real Indians, with a little Spanish blood -in them. Active, young, and strong fellows every one of them, though -certainly far from good-looking. Neither were they tall. Tom towered -above them like a giant, or as the great volcanic crater of Cotapaxi -towers above the neighbouring mountains. I believe each and all of his -servants were just a little proud of their young white master, and just -a little afraid as well. Tom, during the long years he had spent at sea, -had not only developed immense strength, but something of a quick and -imperious temper as well. Not that he was a bad-natured fellow by any -means, only he would have things done his own way; he would be obeyed, -and he had a pair of eyes that looked a man through and through while he -issued an order or asked a question. In brief, Tom was not to be trifled -with. - -As he now approached his toldo, three Indians who had been squatting in -the shade walked forth a few paces to meet him, bowed, and stood -silently leaning on their tall spears, waiting for their white chief to -speak. In their dark cotton ponchos and trowserets, if I may coin a -word, their heads dressed in tall feathers, and a bold, half-defiant -look on the face of each, they certainly looked picturesque enough. - -They were Indians of different tribes--a Canelo, a Napo, and a Thaparo; -but as Tom had them armed and dressed precisely alike, it would have -been difficult for a stranger to have seen much difference in them, by -moonlight at all events. - -“Well, men,” said Tom, stopping in front of them, “what is the news?” - -“De news is,” said Tootu, the Canelo, for he was usually spokesman, his -English being the best. “De news is dat de Tapir and de Wild Turkey hab -eet plenty and go to sleep like pigs, and dat de Debil hab come, señor.” - -Oko and Taoh both bowed, as if to confirm the information, startling -though it sounded. - -Tootu, Taoh, and Oko, signifying wind, fire, and water, were Tom’s -principal men at present. The Tapir and the Wild Turkey were savages of -a lower cast, and fit only to look after the horses and dogs, of which -there were five of the former and three of the latter. “De Debil” -himself was the guide _par excellence_, and for him they had been -waiting for two or three days. His name in Indian language was Samaro, -and Samaro we must call him in future, though it means much the same. - -“Light the lamp in my toldo, Tootu, and we will receive Samaro.” - -The lamp was lit, and Tom, somewhat tired of his rambling walk, threw -himself on a mat on the ground. On this mat was curled no less a -personage than Black Tom, the cat, who responded to Tom’s caress with -his usual fond purr--rrn. - -An attempt had been made to keep this strange puss on board, but all in -vain. He had watched his master’s every movement, and when one of the -sailors had attempted to catch him, with the intention of shutting him -up, Black Tom had made it very hot indeed for that particular sailor. He -had been glad enough to let him go. - -And now Samaro entered. - -Samaro was a very clever and very remarkable-looking Indian. Almost as -tall as Tom himself, though probably double his age, with straight dark -hair, and eyes of a piercing black, his face almost white, and -singularly handsome. His poncho was of some light-coloured fur, and -rather voluminous; while, as he stood with it thrown back over the arm -which held his high feather-adorned spear and shield as well, in his -girdle could be seen an ugly and business-like knife, and also a huge -revolver. On his head was a cap of feathers, and there were toucan’s -tails dangling to his girdle at one side, and something very dreadful to -behold at the other. This was nothing more nor less than the complete -skin of the head and face of an enemy killed in battle, filled out with -moss, but shrivelled to the size of a cocoa-nut, the features awfully -pinched and contorted, and the whole appearance of the horrible ornament -ugly enough to give one the nightmare. - -“Señor Samaro?” said Tom. - -“De Debil, señor, at your service.” - -“We will call you Samaro.” - -“Si, señor. Samaro will do.” - -“Well, Samaro, I like the looks of you; though I don’t admire that -ornament at your belt.” - -“I do not admire that ornament at _your_ side, señor.” - -“That,” said Tom laughing. “O, that is my pet cat; and he must be your -friend as well as mine.” - -“That is well. I will love him.” - -“Then we won’t quarrel.” - -“No, we cannot. I have a reason to respect you. I was guide to a good -white man before. It is many, many years ago. Ten years and ten moons, -señor.” - -“He was kind to you?” - -“Ah, yes, he was kind to me. I shall never forget him.” - -“His name?” - -“Robert--Señor Robert. I think his other name was Sinclair.” - -“Samaro!” cried Tom, springing up and clasping - -[Illustration: TOM INTRODUCES HIS CAT] - -the astonished Indian by the hand. “That was my Uncle Robert. How -pleased I am. Sit down. Here Tootu, Taoh, Oko--wind, fire, and -water,--where are you? Sit down on my mat, Samaro.” - -So loudly had Tom shouted, that Wind, Fire, and Water rushed into the -toldo like a first-class hurricane, almost upsetting each other in their -eagerness. - -“Bring coffee and food, and be smart about it.” - -“Samaro,” he continued, “this is delightful! How glad I am to have met -you. There, look, even my friend, the cat, is getting fond of you.” - -Samaro stroked Black Tom somewhat dubiously. Then he looked up. - -“Señor,” he said. - -“Yes, Samaro.” - -“This is not your private debil, is it?” - -“No, no. I assure you it is not. I do not keep a private debil. I -shouldn’t know what to do with one.” - -“Then, señor,” said Samaro in a low voice, and with one rapid glance -towards the toldo entrance, “we will _say_ so. We will tell the boys it -is your evil spirit.” - -“But why, Samaro?” - -“Why, señor, it may save your life many times during your stay in the -wilds.” - -Black Tom was meanwhile walking back and fore betwixt his master and -Samaro, with his tail very erect indeed, singing loudly, and evidently -doing his best to cement a friendship thus strangely begun. - -“Samaro, do you remember all my dear uncle’s adventures?” - -“Yes, and all he said. Is the dear señor alive?” - -“I trust so. Well, we will oftentimes talk of him. I think, Samaro, you -are a good man.” - -Samaro laughed aloud, but not disrespectfully. - -“I am clever,” he said; “but not good. He! he! O, no; goodness does not -pay. I am a thorough blackguard.” - -“Samaro, you astonish me! And I don’t believe you.” - -“But I have been told so. I have fought plenty, I have scalped my -enemies, I have revelled in bloodshed.” - -“But you never have betrayed a friend?” - -“No, no, no; sooner would Samaro die.” - -“And you speak the truth, do you not?” - -“Yes. Because one lie told requires five more to shore it up.” - -“Shore it up?” said Tom. “That is a sailor’s expression. Where did you -acquire it?” - -“From your good uncle. But I have much been to sea.” - -“You have been to Callao?” - -“I know every one there. I have been all over the world too.” - -“Do you know that my uncle’s ship was seized by mutineers, with one -Roderigo at their head?” - -“I know all the story.” - -“Samaro, do you know the reason why I am going all alone to the wilds--I -mean without a white companion?” - -“Like your uncle, you go to hunt.” - -“No, that is not my chief reason. Samaro, listen. The captain of that -unhappy ship had a son--a boy--who was stolen from his parents, and -carried into the interior--” - -“No, no,” interrupted Samaro. “He was carried no farther than here at -first. He was sold here at Riobamba as a slave, and by Indians taken -away across the terrible mountains. Roderigo is a foul fiend! See here,” -he continued, his dark eyes blazing with excitement. “Roderigo had a -brother, a fierce Spaniard, likewise a fiend; I killed him. Here hangs -his brother’s scalp, and I have sworn that Roderigo’s shall hang beside -it.” - -“Samaro, Roderigo is dead.” - -Samaro laughed, a grim and ghastly laugh. - -“I know the story. I too have a brother. It was my brother who slew -Roderigo. He has his scalp by this time. The grave could not hide his -foe long from my brother’s gaze.” - -“Samaro,” said Tom, “you almost make me shudder. Surely this villain -Roderigo has done you and your brother some irreparable injury?” - -Samaro’s face grew dark as night. - -“Had Roderigo a thousand lives,” he said, “he should yield them slowly -up one by one before he could atone for the injury he did to me and -mine. We will say no more now. Believe only this, he--this fiend -Roderigo--slew my mother, burned our huts, and stole my brother’s wife -and child.” - -“So terrible a subject,” said Tom, “is best allowed to rest. But richly -indeed did the wretch deserve his fate.” - -Samaro sat in silence sipping his coffee for some time after this. But -gradually the troubled look that had crept over his face left it, and -soon he was talking again cheerfully enough. - -“And so,” said Samaro, “I am henceforth to be your guide.” - -“You are to be my chief guide, my steward, my counsellor, and my head -man in every way.” - -Samaro smiled in a pleased way. - -“We will begin to get ready at once--to-morrow morning at sunrise,” he -said, “if it so please you, señor.” - -“That will do, Samaro. I long to be on the road. But one other question -I wish to ask you before you retire. Have you any guess as to where -Bernard Herbert is or what is his condition?” - -“Absolutely none as to his condition, but he was taken away by the -Jivaros.” - -“Just what the dying Roderigo told me.” - -“There was a lady, too,” continued Samaro, “a delicate young girl, sold -at the same time. She came from the far east in your uncle’s ship, and -had been nurse to Mr. Herbert’s child.” - -“Yes, yes; that was the ayah. Did they ill-treat her?” - -“No; they were afraid of her. They looked upon her as a being from -another world.” - -“Did she go with the boy?” - -“She did.” - -“Then we may find _both_?” - -“I fear neither.” - -“What?” - -“I give you no hope of finding either. But we _may_.” - -“Ah! yes, Samaro, we may. Good-night. I’ll sleep and dream on that -hope.” - -“Good-night.” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -“NEVER BEFORE HAD TOM EXPERIENCED SUCH A FEELING OF AWFUL DANGER.” - - -Samaro had been exceedingly well recommended to Tom as a perfect guide -for the wilds, but the very fact that he had been with his uncle would -in itself have been the best of testimony in the man’s favour. - -He proved himself most active and energetic from the first. - -And there was quite a deal to be seen to. All stores of every kind had -been brought from the ship and from Guayaquil, and shortly after sunrise -Samaro proceeded to muster his forces and take stock of everything. - -The stores were a medley; but the heaviest packages were those that -contained articles for barter with the Indians of the interior, and -these consisted chiefly of light cloth, thread, needles, pins, beads, -axes, knives, spear-heads, looking-glasses, an African tom-tom, and a -couple of German concertinas. Many of these things would be given away -as presents, and there was even a gun or two that might also change -hands. - -The stores for the use of Tom himself and his Indian followers consisted -for the most part of the tent, a grass hammock, a few blankets, with -plenty of rifles, revolvers, and ammunition. Fishing gear had not been -forgotten, nor useful tools of various sorts, to say nothing of -preserved meats and a few simple medicines. - -Such was the outfit of the Hermit Hunter of the Wilds. A hermit of the -old school might have been content with far less, but your modern -wanderers do not despise anything which science may suggest as likely to -add to their comfort. The horses were wiry, useful, willing beasts; -strong too, and as sure-footed as mules even. The dogs were probably -better than they looked. Mongrel greyhounds they were--not unlike a -breed we find in Australia under the name of kangaroo-hounds. - -The packages were carried by the horses in light, wicker baskets saddle -fashion, and all were covered with waterproof canvas. - -Tom had already enjoyed some of the delights of Ecuador travelling--if, -indeed, there was very much delight in it--and his adventures as far as -Riobamba would be worth relating were it not that those which followed -were far more thrilling. But there had been rivers to cross, over -tumble-down bridges, mountains to climb along tracks called roads which -sheep in England would disdain, deep forests to force through, and long -stretches of sandy plains to struggle over by paths that seemed -interminable. - -But although the rainy season was scarcely past the weather had been -comparatively fine; and the scenery, ever varying, according to the -altitude above the sea-level, was at times beautiful in the extreme, or -grand even to awesome sublimity. - -Tom was fond of nature in all her varied aspects, and all through his -journeyings he had the pleasant companionship of birds and flowers and -ferns, to say nothing of many a little forest friend in fur, that -hardly thought of running away, so unused were the creatures of the -wilds to the presence of man. - -The greater part of the population of Riobamba turned out to see Tom -start. - -In addition to the pack-horses he had brought two others to ride--one -for himself and the other for Samaro. This guide went on first, then Tom -and the others followed in Indian file. - -It was a delightful morning, with a breeze blowing from the distant -mountain slopes of Chimborazo; and the throng of Indians spear-armed and -clad in their gay-coloured ponchos, the huts and houses, the cattle, -horses, and strange-looking llamas, the greenery of the shrubs and -bushes, the jagged hills and blue sky above, flecked with many a fleecy -cloud, made up a scene that was both beautiful and picturesque. - -But all was soon left behind, and solitude reigned supreme. - -The pack-horses and men were lagging behind. Samaro was a long way -ahead, and when Tom pulled rein and looked about him, hearing nothing -but the rustling of the wind through the wild corn and dark-leaved aloe -bushes, he realized for the first time that he was really on his way to -the wilderness. - -All the year round the sun sets about six o’clock in the land of -Ecuador, and a full hour before that time Tom gave orders for the halt; -and not far from the banks of a river the tent or toldo was erected, and -supper prepared. It would have been easy to have pushed on a few miles -farther to the village of Penipe, but for the time-being at all events -Tom was independent of villages of any kind. Nor did he have a very high -opinion of the cooking and accommodation to be obtained therein. -Certainly in a town a greater amount of so-called civilization was to be -met with; but there the insects were more civilized too. That is how Tom -Talisker argued. Out in the open country, even in the bush, although -these plagues were to be met with in every shape and form--flying -beetles, gigantic mosquitoes, cockroaches, earwigs, scorpions, -centipeds, and winged bugs, to say nothing of a host of other -creepie-creepies,--they were wild; while, on the other hand, those that -dwelt in houses were tame, disgustingly so, and _au fait_ in all the -ways of the world. Besides, there was in the open the blessings -obtainable from fresh air. - -I have already said that hermit hunter though he was Tom did not despise -his comforts. On my honour now, I think he would have been a fool if he -had. What good would it have done himself or anybody else had he dressed -in sackcloth and ashes? He could have gotten plenty of both in Ecuador -had his fancy led him to adopt so sad a costume. But it did not. He -preferred alpaca and fine linen, and he actually carried an excellent -hunting watch. Every night, too, while in the wilderness he had his tent -erected, his hammock slung, and the whole of the latter neatly -surrounded by a mosquito curtain. If ever, dear reader, you go to the -wilds, I advise you to adopt the same plan. - -Well then, after Samaro had tucked his master in, as you might say, he -threw up one side of the tent, and lo! the sweet pure air of heaven -swept in. The creepies came too--some of them at all events. The -scorpions and centipeds had not a chance, and the flying “ferlies” could -only grind their mandibles outside the curtain. Mosquitoes are very -insinuating though, and if there had been a hole in the curtain big -enough to admit the end of a pencil some enterprising mosquito would -have found it out and forthwith started a limited liability company, -thousands would have joined, and before morning Tom’s face would have -been a sight to see in the looking-glass--that is, if seeing was any -longer a possibility. - -“Stay and talk with me to-night,” said Tom, after Samaro had tucked him -in. “Throw up the tent that I may see the stars. That’s right. Now -smoke.” - -“Is this going to be the order of our evenings?” said Samaro. - -It will be observed that this man talked excellent English, and well he -might: he had lived in every country under the sun. - -“Yes,” replied Tom, “if you don’t mind. You see, it is too soon to go to -sleep, and if I have the lamp lit we will have more flying things about -us than I care for.” - -To keep stray pumas, or a wandering and inquisitive jaguar--the American -tiger, at a respectable distance, a fire of wood was lit every evening, -and near this lay talking low, and sometimes singing strange uncouth -lilts of love and war, Tom’s five men. There was one drawback to their -pleasure--the snakes. But it was a very slight one; for as a rule snakes -do not bite unless you tread on their tails. They take good care you -never tread on their heads; they glide away quickly enough to save the -front portions of their anatomy. It is the after-part of the procession -that cannot be got away in time to save itself, and when the unhappy -man’s foot comes down the snake strikes at once, and there is but little -chance of life after that. - -Well, when one goes first to the wilderness, if he be a green hand, or -tender-foot as the Yankees call a novice, he keeps thinking about snakes -all day long, and they even follow him into his dreams, fevering body as -well as mind, and destroying all chance of perfect happiness. But a few -weeks in the wilds harden even a tender-foot, and he finds out as his -face gets browner that even snakes never bite except in self-defence, -and that if he observes ordinary caution he is as safe on the plains as -he would be in Hyde Park. - -“O,” said Samaro, “I shall be very much pleased.” - -“Well then, tell me a story, and sing me a song if you can. I want to -feel perfectly at home.” - -And Samaro not only this night but every night almost told Tom stories -of his wild life and adventures, and sang him songs, just as if he had -been a little boy at home in his own bed-room. And to tell the truth Tom -used very often to go to sleep before Samaro had done singing. - -Tom, the black cat, invariably retired to the hammock with his master. -By day he rode on the saddle sometimes, or he might disappear altogether -for half a day at a time. Black Tom was permitted to do precisely as he -pleased, and that is the secret of his affection for White Tom. - -Tom was never tired hearing Samaro tell all about Uncle Robert’s -adventures, and, to a great extent, he determined to do very much as his -uncle had done. - -“It will be such a surprise, you know,” he told Samaro, “to collect -precisely the same kind of curios, and skins of birds and beasts, and -butterflies, and beetles as Uncle Robert did. Why, when I go home and -show him all these, he will be as happy as the good little boys in the -fairy-books.” - -This was a happy thought, and Samaro entered into the scheme with great -spirit and joy. - -Between Riobamba, therefore, and Banyos they spent three whole weeks. -But bird skins and butterflies were almost the sole objects that Tom -collected in these regions. They had hardly yet come to lions and -tigers. He gathered, however, specimens of ore, which Samaro assured him -contained gold as well as other precious metals. - -Sometimes they met wandering bands of Indians. They were quiet and civil -as yet, but they were extremely curious to know what brought the white -hunter to these regions. They were satisfied each and all of them with -Samaro’s explanations. All Englishmen were mad, the guide told them, -except a very few, and these were fools. - -Seeing Tom pursuing bright-winged butterflies they naturally concluded -he belonged to the latter section. - -“It is well it should be thought so,” said Samaro. “Your fame and -reputation will go before you into the wilds.” - -“My reputation as a fool--eh?” said Tom laughing. - -“Yes, as a fool. Then if your friend Bernard does indeed live among the -Jivaros, you will be more likely to find and free him. They will not -suspect a fool.” - -They found the horses very handy at present; but by and by the country -would be far too wild to make any use of them. - -The dogs, however, were as yet of little service. However they -occasionally caught a cavy or agouti, and these, roasted whole in gypsy -fashion, formed occasionally a very appetizing supper. - -Fruit was everywhere abundant here, and eggs of various kinds of birds -added considerably to the contents of the larder. - -The rain, however, spoiled many a good day’s sport, and always after a -“spate” or downfall the streams became swollen. - -They would have to ford these at times with considerable risk; while at -other times they found bridges. But terrible bridges they were. It -really makes me shudder a little to think of them, although I am not -much given to shuddering as a general rule. The best of them were -suspension bridges, and the method adopted in their construction was -simplicity itself. Three or four chains were swung across the stream and -tied to the tree trunks, and on these pieces of wood were fastened with -withes, and lo! the bridge was complete, but fearfully unsafe. They were -very high above the water to prevent their being washed away during -floods, and as they were stretched over the narrowest gulleys, the water -beneath rushed onward with such rapidity, that the strongest swimmer -that ever lived would not have had the ghost of a chance for his life -had he fallen off the bridge. - -Imagine if you can horses having to cross such a bridge. But they often -had to. - -Tom had one adventure on a bridge that he is never likely to forget. He -was all alone too; that is, no human being was within reach. About four -miles down a stream he had found a ford in the morning, but on returning -about an hour before sunset he came to this fearful bridge and -determined to cross over. He tied his horse up first, then ventured on -himself, and went backwards and forwards several times to test its -strength. The bridge was not more than four feet wide, but felt firm -enough, and it was all right with Tom so long as he did not let his eyes -fall in the direction of the roaring, tumbling torrent far down beneath. -If he did so for a moment he felt as if the whole structure were gliding -from under him. - -But now for the horse. It was not difficult to get the wise creature on, -though he walked with excessive care and caution, feeling his way as it -were step by step, with his eyes fixed steadfastly on the bank beyond. - -Tom walked on before holding the bridle. The bridge bent as they neared -the centre till it assumed almost the shape of a hammock, and Tom began -to think it must break. He kept up his heart, however, and with gentle, -encouraging words urged his beast to follow. - -They had reached the middle when, without the slightest warning, a -squall came suddenly roaring down the gulley, and the bridge began to -sway and swing and creak and crack. Never in his lifetime before had Tom -experienced such a feeling of awful danger. The horse stood still now, -shaking with dread, and emitting a low, frightened kind of a whinny, -while the sweat poured over his hoofs. - -Tom crouched lower and lower to save himself from falling, but he still -kept hold of the bridle; for even in the extremity of his own danger, he -did not forget that the touch from man’s hand gives confidence to the -brute, even when seemingly paralysed with terror. - -The squall luckily did not last many minutes. Then it fell calm again, -and in a very short time he and his faithful horse were safely across. -But even then he dared scarcely look back and down into that frightful -chasm that seemed to have been yawning hungrily for his life. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -“THE WHOLE SEA OF MIST TURNED TO CLOUDS OF MINGLED GOLD AND CRIMSON.” - - -The crossing of streams, either by swinging bridges or through fords in -which the water roared and rushed with the rapidity of a mill-stream, -constituted a source of ever-recurring danger. The bridges at times were -of even simpler construction than that already described, especially if -the stream or chasm were narrow, for then two trees, or perhaps but one, -would have to do duty as a support for the cross-pieces of wood; and as -these latter were often so rotten that they snapped in two with the -weight of a man, it may easily be perceived that the comfort and feeling -of security while on them were but slight. - -As a rule the natives have but little faith in these frail and fearful -structures, and will go a long distance round to find a ford; unless -indeed they are intoxicated, which they too often are when a chance -occurs. But the bridges as a rule are left standing until they fall with -the weight of some unlucky wight. - -I have said that the horses were exceedingly sure-footed. So they needed -to be; for the tracks in this mountain-land sometimes went winding -alongside of frightful precipices, and the danger was quite as great in -coming down as in going up. - -But a horse occasionally got frightened, and lost for a time all his -presence of mind. - -One day Tom was riding on in front on just such a pathway as that I have -mentioned. It was nowhere more than five feet wide; the mountain rising -steep close on one side, the yawning gulf at the other, with bushes -clinging to its edges. Stones occasionally came tumbling down from above -with a hurtling noise; but when they rolled over the precipice they were -heard no more, for they had fallen into space, and the sudden silence -was awfully suggestive. Now and then came a sharp angle or curve in the -pathway; and here the danger was at its height, for you could no longer -see where the road led. You were riding right on to the cliff; and it -was impossible to divest the mind of the idea that next moment the horse -you bestrode would be pawing the air, as he and you were being hurled to -destruction. - -It was close to such an eeriesome and uncanny corner as this, and -immediately after he had passed it, that Tom found himself face to face -with a puma, coming along the narrow pathway with long, stealthy, -lynx-like steps. The beast was as much startled as anyone. He emitted -one low growl, then immediately turned to fly. - -Nothing but instant action could have saved Tom’s life now, for the -horse reared and swerved half over the cliff, as his rider threw himself -off against the hill and clung to some rhododendron bushes. He had not -quitted hold of the bridle, and slight though this support was it -probably saved his horse. The beast’s hind-legs and thighs had almost -disappeared. His nostrils were distended, and his eyes seemed to flash -dark fire, as for a moment he hung ’twixt life and death. The -shuddering, quivering groan the poor brute gave when he once more stood -safe on the path was evidence of his appreciation of the terrible danger -he had just escaped. - -It will be easily seen, therefore, that travelling in Ecuador is fraught -with many perils, and one may truly be said to take the road with his -life in his hand. As far as our hero was concerned, however, this spice -of danger certainly did not detract from the pleasures of the journey. -He was nevertheless most careful before setting out of a morning to see -that his horse and all the horses had been well fed and harnessed; for -this concerned the safety of the poor brutes as well as his own. So -simple an accident as the loosening of a belly-band has ere now in this -wild land resulted in horse and rider being precipitated over a -mountain-side, or swept from a ford into the rapids of some swollen -river. - -Dangers come when least looked for; nothing is certain when travelling -except the unexpected, and it is always prudent to be prepared. - -But I do not mean to hold my hero up as a paragon of prudence, or any -other virtue for that matter; and I have to confess that his love of -nature, and his search for the beautiful and the picturesque, often led -him into difficulties he might otherwise have steered clear of. - -“I say, Samaro,” he said one night to his major-domo, “I have a notion -to climb one of these lofty mountains. Up into the region of perpetual -snow. Do you understand?” - -“I understand, señor; but--” - -“Well, what?” - -“Your uncle would not have dared to do so.” - -“O, I shall dare more than my uncle ever dared. And whatever a man dares -he can do.” - -“Well, señor, I am ready. Will you start to-morrow?” - -“Yes. The hill is at hand, or mountain rather; and it does not seem -difficult to ascend. Looks quite near, indeed.” - -“Excuse me, señor,” said Samaro, “if I take the liberty of laughing. The -mountain certainly seems near, but so does the moon. The air is very -clear, señor.” - -“Well, all the better for us.” - -Tom was early astir next morning; but early though it was he found -Samaro busy enough. He was squatting under a bush, making for himself -what looked to Tom something like a pair of leather breeches with feet -attached. - -“Ah! I see,” said Tom. “You expect it will be cold up yonder, so you are -utilizing a puma’s skin.” - -“I have been there before,” said Samaro, “with--” - -“With whom?” - -“A mad Englishman.” - -“O! and now you will have to pilot a fool?” - -“Si, señor.” - -“Well, are you nearly ready, Mr. Guide?” - -“I am ready,” replied Samaro; “and,” he added, pointing upward at the -mighty Tinguragua, “the mountain is ready and waiting also.” - -The journey and ascent, for it was both combined, were now commenced. - -“There is no occasion to hurry,” said Tom; “we will take it easy.” - -Well, mountain climbing does always seem easy at first; but, anyhow, Tom -was now in grand form: his limbs were as hard and tough as hawsers, and -it would have taken a good deal to make his heart palpitate. On they -went, and soon leaving the river’s bank they penetrated into the depths -of the primeval forest, and following a little track made by some wild -animals in their nightly visits to the river, began to ascend. - -The company consisted of Tom and his guide, with Tootu, Taoh, and Oko -carrying ropes, axes, arms, provisions, and blankets. It was wonderful -how well these three honest fellows agreed. As a rule wind, fire, and -water do not pull well together when they meet, but in this case they -did. Tootu was usually spokesman; but whatever he said, the other two, -fire and water, were ready to chime in with, and swear to if need be. - -Onwards and upwards they journeyed now for hours, the pathway sometimes -so steep that they had to clamber on their hands and knees. - -Onwards and upwards, then onwards and _downwards_. This was the worst of -it. It was as trying to the nerves as the temper. It did seem a pity -that, after they had reached a certain elevation, they should be -confronted with a ravine into the very bottom of which the pathway led -them before taking them onwards and upwards again. It was like having to -do the ascent twice over. But there was no help for it. - -Tom was amply rewarded, however, by the beauty of the tropical forest. I -should search in vain through the tablets of my memory for words in -which to express the charm and singularity of those woodlands. On the -lower grounds, indeed, the vegetation was all a wild and lovely tangle, -representing on an enormous scale the struggle for existence that has -been going on here for ages. It was one great and continued fight for -the sunlight, in which to some extent and for a time the largest and -strongest trees gained the victory. But the smaller and weaker plants, -the splendidly-flowered creepers, the mosses, the orchids, and lesser -ferns were not to be denied. There was nowhere they would not go, no -height to which they would not aspire and climb. They draped the -tree-stems and branches with blossoms, it is true; but by and by that -very wealth of trailing, hanging, waving beauty proved the downfall of -the most lordly giants of the forest; and when winds swept through the -woods they came down with a crash, and in a few weeks had disappeared -off the face of the earth. For here a fallen trunk is seldom seen, in -such teeming myriads do busy-footed insects work on the ground and -beneath it. - -Out at last came the wanderers upon a higher region still, and now they -had to traverse for miles a kind of hilly plateau that looked altogether -like the work of some wonderful landscape gardener. It was a plateau -covered with innumerable little tree-clad, fern-clad, moss-clad, -flower-covered hills, with rocks in the shape of gray needles, silvery -boulders, square towers, domes, and minarets, peeping up through the -foliage everywhere. Round and among these wound many a little -footpath--the footpaths of wild beasts--but none, probably, more -dangerous than the timid agouti, the cavy, or peccary. Occasionally they -crossed small meandering streams that appeared here and there, popping -out from banks of foliage or gushing and trickling from the hill-sides, -and disappearing again soon in the same mysterious manner. - -Add to this “garden wide and wild” birds that flutter from bough to -bough, many silent but of rainbow radiance, others gray and brown and -hardly seen, but trilling forth such melody as can be heard from no -other feathered songsters on earth; add to it radiant butterflies and -moths in clouds; bees also, some of enormous size and dangerous wrathful -appearance; and snakes basking on the moss of rocks, gliding swiftly -through the little glades, or hanging asleep on the bushes. - -Close to a tiny stream of clear water Tom sat down; the weary carriers -threw down their burdens, and a welcome meal was made of biscuits and -fruit, and a long rest taken before resuming the ascent. - -The great mountain was there before them still, looking as big and far -steeper than when they started. - -The foliage changed now, and some parts of the mountain over which they -climbed were all ablaze with tree-rhododendrons, while the perfume of -wild heliotrope filled the air. Heaths, too, were abundant, many of -which put Tom in mind of those he had wandered among on the mountains of -the Cape of Good Hope. - -Climbing began in earnest soon after this; and no one spoke, but -clambered on and up in silent earnestness. Just about sunset they found -themselves once more on a vast plateau, on which grew only the scantiest -herbage. After crossing this they found a small cave in the -mountain-side, and here for the night the bivouac was made. - -While dinner was being prepared Tom climbed higher up still and sat -himself down on a rock; but the vastness and grandeur of the scene, and -its indescribable silence and solemnity, must be left to the reader’s -imagination. - -He must have been fully ten thousand feet above the sea-level; and yet -the snowy craters of Carhuairazo, just visible over the bluff bare brow -of the mountain, still towered high above him. - -Far below was an ocean of lesser hills, of woods and plains and smiling -valleys, with streams that looked like trickling rills or silver threads -among the green, and here and there a glassy lake. - -The sun went down in a blaze of glory, and he now hastened below to -enjoy repose and a well-earned dinner. - -About nine o’clock, though the stars had been very bright before this, a -storm-cloud passed over the mountain-side, with a roaring wind, heavy -rain, and thunder and lightning. After this Tom went out to have one -more look at the scene before turning in. Nothing was now visible -beneath but a dim chaos of clouds, nothing on the horizon either, -except, far away to the north, the giant cone of Cotopaxi. Its -snow-girt crater was lit up every now and then by the gleams of the -great fires within--gleams that darted in straight lines up through the -rolling clouds of smoke that hung pall-like over it. - -This is the loftiest and mightiest volcano in the world. Talk not of its -height in feet or yards--speak of it in miles; and fancy, if you can, a -burning mountain nearly five miles in height, the thunders of whose -workings can be heard, and have been heard, six hundred miles away! It -made Tom shiver to think of it. But O, the illimitable distance of the -stars that shone above, and to think of God who made them all! What a -mystery of mysteries! And the stars are voice-less, and these dread -volcanoes speak only to us in thunders that we cannot understand, till -we are fain to seek for refuge in the only refuge we have: our belief in -the goodness of the Father, and the religion revealed to us in the Book -of Books. - -Tom sighed, he knew not why, and crept inside to the shelter of the -cave, and wrapping himself in his blanket soon sank to sleep. But many -times ere morning he was startled by the roar of falling debris of -earth, rocks, and stone, loosened by the recent rain storm. - -Samaro roused his young master early to see the sunrise. But when he -went outside he stood for a few moments in silent wonder. Where had the -world all gone to? It had disappeared, most assuredly--most of it at all -events. Here was the mountain above and round him, but all the gorgeous -scenery he had gazed on last night was swallowed up in an ocean of white -mist or clouds. The word “ocean” is precisely the one to use. Beneath -and as far as the eye could gaze all was a vast white sea, only it was -bounded on the horizon by the jagged ridges and crater-cones of the -mountains, and these looked like rocks and cliffs overhanging this -ocean. - -It was a marvellous sight; but when presently the red sun showed over -the edge the scene was changed, and the whole sea of mist turned to -clouds of mingled gold and crimson. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -“IN THE FORESTS STRANGE SHRIEKS AND SOUNDS WERE HEARD.” - - -It was only that daring and indomitable spirit of adventure which every -true-born healthy Briton possesses that compelled Tom to climb any -further into cloud-land to-day. - -Tootu and his companions were left behind at the cave, our hero going up -alone with Samaro. He meant to reach the snow-line, and he did; and had -the satisfaction of walking a mile or two over a region of glaciers -unsurpassed anywhere else in the world. - -Apart from the pleasure he felt in having gained his desires, and -standing where no human foot had probably ever trodden before, there was -little comfort at this sublime altitude. A high cutting wind was -blowing, and the cold was intense and piercing. Poor Samaro looked blue -and benumbed; and albeit he had donned those wonderful nether garments -of his, he was a very pitiable spectacle indeed. - -At last he stopped, and pointing to a cloud that seemed fast -approaching-- - -“Has my young chief,” he said, “made his will? If we have to die, Samaro -would prefer to be where the birds sing.” - -So enchanted had Tom been with the desolalation and sublimity of the -scene everywhere beneath, above, and around him, that he took no heed of -anything else, and had hardly felt the cold. - -But his eyes now followed the direction of Samaro’s finger, and to his -surprise and alarm he noticed that the last shoulder of the mighty -mountain was already hidden with a darkling cloud. It was as if this -monarch of the Andes were himself feeling the effects of the bitter wind -and drawing his mantle close around him. - -“Come, sir, come; there is not a moment to lose.” - -Tom looked now towards the point from which they had entered the -plateau; it appeared very far away indeed. - -“We can run,” he said. - -“Nay, nay,” was the reply. “We will be exhausted soon enough. As well -lie down and die as run.” - -The guide going on in front at a moderately quick pace, with Tom in the -rear, they now began to retrace their steps. - -But soon the snow began to drive athwart the track in a blinding shower, -the wind and cold also increased till the former gained all the awful -strength of a blizzard. In less than five minutes their footprints in -the soft snow were entirely obliterated. But Samaro held on unheeding, -and now and then some hummock of ice dimly seen through the snow-cloud -proved to Tom that they were still in the right track. - -There was no talking now. Indeed had they shrieked even, their voices -would hardly have been heard in the howling of that awful storm. - -How long they had walked Tom never knew: it seemed hours and hours; but -he was drowsy, stupid, and all but benumbed. He was aroused at length -from his lethargy by the Indian violently shaking him, for he had almost -sunk down with the terrible fatigue. Samaro, standing there by his side -all clad in ice and snow, looked like the very spirit of the storm. - -Tom pulled himself together once more and followed his guide. - -At last, at long, long last they were descending. - -Tom could breathe more freely now at every step. The terrible tightness -across his chest had gone, and the fearful feeling of suffocation that -had half-garrotted him. - -Then the snow changed gradually to sleet, the sleet to rain, and the -rain to mountain-mist. In half an hour the sun was shining brightly, -though all around the terrible mountain-top the clouds still curled and -mixed. - -They were saved! Saved but by the merest chance; for Samaro now told Tom -that had the wind changed by so much as two points of the compass, as it -often does during these blizzards, they must both have sunk and -perished. - -“You were steering by the wind, then?” said Tom. - -“Entirely by the wind, señor.” - - * * * * * - -In another week’s time a change was made in the method of travelling, -for the party were now entering a region so terribly wild and trackless -that horses would no longer be of any service to them. So well and -faithfully, however, had these honest nags served them, that Tom -determined not to part entirely with them; and as Samaro thought it -would be possible to trust to the honesty of some of the people of the -last village through which they passed before entering the wilderness -proper, they were left there, and might or might not be awaiting them on -the return journey, if ever such a journey should be permitted them. - -Ten additional carriers had now to be hired, and, to his credit be it -said, Samaro made the very best bargains possible for his young master. - -Altogether, the crew all told, as we say at sea, of the little -expedition now consisted of seventeen souls, not including the three -dogs and Black Tom himself, who possibly had souls as well as the rest. -Here what the poet Tupper says on this subject:-- - - “It is not unwisdom to hold with the savage - That brutes (as we name them for dumbness) have souls, - For though, as with us, death’s fury may ravage - Their bodies--their spirits it never controls. - Dumb innocents, often too cruelly treated, - May well for their patience find future reward, - And the Great Judge in mercy and majesty seated - Claims _all_ His creation as bought by its Lord.” - -Black Tom and the dogs, it may be added, were very friendly; though at -the same time puss gave the dogs to understand that he was king of the -castle, being his master’s chief pet and favourite, and sleeping in his -arms every night. - -One evening puss brought home a fine specimen of cavy which he had -caught in the forest. He laid it dead at his master’s feet; and -receiving the praise that was his due, went immediately forth and -brought in another. His master offered those to Tootu; but Tootu said, -“No sah, I not eat de food wot de debil catch.” - -So the cavies were cooked for Tom himself, and his guide shared them, -washing the excellent food down with a cup of _yerba-maté_, which Samaro -assured his white chief came all the way from Patagonia. A most -delightful beverage it made; and it turned out that the guide had quite -a store of it. After drinking it a gentle feeling of comfort seems -instilled through every vein and nerve in the body, far more pleasant -than that produced by tea, but by no means approaching the stimulating -effects of wine or beer. - -Still acting on the advice of his clever guide and companion, Tom -continued to figure as an eccentric Englishman, and made no hurry across -country into the land of the Indians proper. They had seen but few of -these even yet, so the packages of gifts had not been broached. - -The life now led was quite of a gypsy character. Whenever Tom found a -more comfortable bivouac than usual, “Here shall we stay for a day or -two, Samaro,” he would say, and probably this day would be extended to a -week or even more. - -Tom fished as well as hunted. - -In many of the lesser streams the fish were truly marvellously tame. -Here hardly any science at all was required to catch them. A hook -“busked” with a little white hair or cotton at the end of a strong -line, and a short stout rod, was all that was required. Patience is one -of the angler’s virtues in this country, but in the wilds out there it -was not needed; for at times one might work two rods, leaving one line -in the water while taking the fish from the other, and even thus he -would have plenty of work to do. - -Strange to say the cat always accompanied his master on a fishing -expedition; but very seldom, indeed, when he went shooting. Cats, we all -know, are fond of fish; but there are exceptions, and this particular -puss could never be prevailed upon to eat fish raw or cooked. -Nevertheless he would play with those his master threw out on the bank, -and thus had no end of fun. - -Black Tom came to the tent one evening with a huge snake in his mouth. -He no doubt expected praise for this exploit also; but on being -admonished about the matter he evidently made a resolve not to repeat -the offence, at all events he never did. - -One evening, on returning after dark, Tom found Samaro with the cat on -his knee, and nearly all the men standing silently round him. He jumped -up laughing as his master approached, and puss sprang on Tom’s shoulder -with his usual fond cry of welcome. - -“What were you doing with pussy?” asked Tom that same night. - -“Hush, chief!” said Samaro. “I was keeping up their creed--the servants’ -creed.” - -“And that is--” - -“That the cat is a debil. I was stroking his back, and the ’lectricity -was crackling, and the sparks flying plentifully when you, señor, came -up. They think the chief is a great man to have a private debil.” - -Tom laughed, and the subject dropped. - -In the forests of Ecuador, by day as well as by night, there are all -kinds of strange shrieks and sounds to be heard; but returning about -sunset one evening towards his little camp, and just before leaving the -woods, Tom heard a plaintive scream that caused him at once to pause and -listen. Again and again it was repeated, and he hastened in the -direction from which it came. - -None too soon, for there on the top of a large spreading tree was his -favourite and pet, and not five yards away a gigantic puma preparing to -spring. - -Up came the rifle. He hardly took aim, but nevertheless one minute -afterwards the puma was stretched lifeless on the ground, and the cat -was singing a song of victory on his master’s shoulder. - -About a week after this, our hero had a very narrow escape from death by -drowning. His company were on the march, when they came to an extremely -rapid river that had to be crossed acrobatically. It was well for Tom -that he was a sailor, for the rope bridge is very common in these wilds. -This one looked rather insecure, for it stretched with each man till his -feet were almost touching the torrent beneath. Package after package had -been swung over in the loop attached to the rope, and man after man, in -somewhat the same way adopted in saving life by a line from a wrecked -ship to the shore. The dogs had been taken over, and then it came to -Tom’s own turn--the cat, as usual on such occasions, clinging to his -shoulder. When about half-way across there was an ominous crack; but -still the rope held, and it was not until he was nearly at bank that it -gave way suddenly and entirely, and the white chief was plunged into the -boiling whirling rapids. - -He struck out bravely though blindly. He could see nothing and hear -nothing save the roaring of the water in his ears. How long he struggled -he could not have told. It seemed like an age. He was giving up at last, -when all at once the surging sound of the rapids ceased, and he found -himself near the bank and in calm water. He caught at a tree-trunk that -was floating slowly down stream, and held on till rescued by the -Indians. - -But where was Black Tom? Gone undoubtedly. - -They did not travel much farther that day before the white chief called -a halt, although it still wanted three hours to sunset. - -The tent was erected, and the men soon built themselves shelters of palm -and plantain leaves. The camp fires were lit, and dinner cooked and -eaten. Then the men settled down for their long forenight’s chat and -smoke, and as usual Samaro threw himself down beside his chief. - -But his chief was very sad to-night. - -He cared not for the guide’s stories or conversation, nor would he -partake of the fragrant _yerba-maté_. - -All was silence and gloom for a time, but as it grew darker the forest -seemed to suddenly awake to life--though a weird wild life it was. The -low grumbling growl of the prowling jaguar, the strange medley of notes -produced by flying or crawling insects, the plaintive wailings of the -night-birds, and now and then these howlings and shriekings from the -darkest depths of the woods that make one’s spine feel like ice to -listen to, and cause the superstitious Indians themselves to place their -fingers in their ears and cease for a time to talk. - -“The señor is very sad to-night,” said Samaro. - -“Very sad, my friend. Very sad.” - -“And I too mourn the loss of your poor dark friend.” - -“He has been with me so long, Samaro.” - -“And he has come through so much, señor.” - -“And was always so loving and faithful, Samaro.” - -What Samaro was going to reply will never be known, for at that moment a -wild and frightened yell burst from the lungs of the Indian servants. -Something black had leapt over their heads. - -Tom made a spring for his rifle, which lay loaded near him, thinking a -jaguar had attacked the camp. But the mystery was speedily solved; for -here was Black Tom himself, none the worse for his adventure, as dry as -if he had never been half drowned, and in his mouth a plump little cavy. -Tom could talk after that. - -Samaro brewed an additional bowl of maté, and it was quite late that -night before either thought of retiring. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -“THE TREES WENT DOWN BEFORE IT LIKE HAY BEFORE THE MOWER’S SCYTHE.” - - -The road next day led over a very lofty range of mountains. I say “road” -for want of a better word; for, in the direction they took at the advice -of Samaro, there was not even a path. The forest that they had to -penetrate, half the distance towards the nearest ridge, was an almost -impassible jungle. They had to fight almost every yard of the way -against trees and creepers and rocks. There were pumas in this forest; -they sighted and startled jaguars even, and snakes seemed to be -everywhere, but they thought of nothing but how best to get onwards. - -When they reached the mountain top at last, and lay down to rest--fully -five thousand feet above the sea-level--every man in the company felt as -tired as if a long day’s work had been done. - -A cool breeze was blowing at this great altitude however, and having -partaken of a moderate luncheon, everybody felt once more as active as -Black Tom himself. - -The view spread out before them here was wide, wonderful, and -magnificent in the extreme. Probably in no country in the world is the -scenery more grand and thrilling than in this land of Ecuador. Tom felt -the influence of the situation in all its force, as he reclined on a -moss-covered bank and gazed enraptured on the panorama that was spread -out far below him--the wide and beautiful valley, the winding silvery -river with its whirling rapids and waterfalls that sparkled in the sun, -hills wooded to the top and forests everywhere, the distant sierras on -the horizon, and the sky itself bluer in its rifts to-day than ever he -had seen it, because there were ominous-looking rain clouds about. - -“I think,” he said to himself, “I could be perfectly happy here if I had -anyone to share my pleasure with me. Heigho!” he sighed. “Even the life -of a hermit hunter has its drawbacks.” - -Then his heart gave a big throb of joy-expectant, as he thought of the -probability of soon having as a companion poor lost Bernard, ’Theena’s -brother. ’Theena! Yes, dear little ’Theena. He wondered what she was -doing just then. But she would not be so little now. ’Theena at thirteen -would look and act differently from the ’Theena of nine years old, that -had to be forced weeping from his arms when he left his native shore, -long, long ago. Ay, indeed it seemed very long ago; for his young life -had been so crowded with strange incidents and events, that the past -appeared like an age. - -And his uncle and dear mother, what would they be doing just then? -Sitting by the fire perhaps, and talking of him; for though it was early -forenoon here, it would be evening in Scotland. He began to reckon the -time in his own mind. He was right, it would be about nine o’clock. His -father would be in the corner with that studious face, and that -everlasting long pipe of his; his mother and Alicia would be quietly -knitting; uncle would be reading his paper with ’Theena by his side; and -the great logs and the coal and peats would be merrily blazing on the -hearth as they used to be in the dear old days when Jack and Dick used -to tease and chaff him, and call him Cinderella. Then he remembered his -dream. - -“O,” he said, half aloud, “that dream will assuredly come true. I shall -find and free poor Bernard if he be in the land of Ecuador.” - -The very words suggested action, and he sprang to his feet. In five -minutes more the expedition was once again on the move. - -Were I to relate all Tom’s adventures during his memorable march into -the land of the Ecuador Indians, what a very large book I could make! -And what a very large price my readers would have to pay for it! It may -not be; I must hurry on with my narrative, my main object being to give -but the principle lines in the picture of the life a wanderer must lead -in this wild country. One way or another Tom and his party spent nearly -five months on the journey. It was a long time, but it passed away most -pleasantly and quickly; and Tom could say what few travellers in Ecuador -ever could--that he had the utmost faith in his servants, from Samaro, -his major-domo, down to Rooph, the Indian boy, who did little else -except shoot strange birds with his blow-gun, and whom no threats or -punishment either could induce to carry a package of any sort. Tom’s -servants all liked him too, and he felt confident they would fight for -him if ever there should be any necessity. Well, the life these Indians -now led under their white chief was a very enjoyable one, and as they -were engaged to bring Tom back to Riobamba, they would each have a -modest sum at their banker’s when they got there--if ever they did. - -There were times when it really did not seem at all likely any one of -the party should ever come up out of the wilderness again. - -Once, for example, they were encamped by the banks of a beautiful river -and close to the edge of the forest. It was a charming situation, and -they had lain here for over a week. On this particular night Tom thought -as he took his last look at the sky he had never noticed the stars -shining more brightly nor looking more near. There were the usual sounds -in the forest and all about, but otherwise the deep solitude was -unbroken; for not a breath of wind was there to move the long grass that -grew near the tent. It was unusually sultry and hot too. But for the -creepies Tom would have laid himself down as the men were lying, on a -bed of palm leaves, and slept sound till morning. He envied the poor -fellows their sweet repose. The creepies did not appear to trouble them. -Musquitoes might sing and buzz about their heads, drink their blood and -go, but the men slept on. Centipeds--and in the forest the green-backed -ones are quite as dangerous as snakes--might crawl over their hands, -and cockroaches in scores pass over their faces, but they would not heed -even if they felt them. Serpents even might take a short cut over their -bodies without awaking them, while the mournful cries of the night-birds -in the adjoining forest but lulled them to dreamless slumber. It was -very different with Tom though; he dared no more sleep in the open than -in a tiger’s den. - -“Señor, señor, awake!” It was Samaro’s voice, and he was swinging Tom’s -hammock to arouse him. - -“What is it, Samaro?” cried Tom, raising himself on his elbow. - -“We must strike camp at once, señor, or we will be swept away by the -flood. Listen!” - -There was little need to listen. That peal of thunder would have -awakened Rip Van Winkle himself. - -“Are the men astir?” - -“Si, señor. Hurry, señor. Hurry, there is not a moment to lose!” - -Tom was on his feet in an instant, and the men were soon busily engaged -making up the tent. He was a good general, and never during all his long -sojourn in the wilds did he retire for the night until he had seen -everything ready for a start. There was never any telling what might -occur. A sudden attack by hostile Indians, a flood, or a fire in the -forest might necessitate instant movement, and if they were not ready -for such a contingency, all would be loss and confusion. - -“Now, Samaro, whither away? Shall we cross back into the plains, for we -cannot get over the river?” - -“We must get to yonder hill,” was the reply. “Come.” - -The sky was black during the brief intervals in which the lightning did -not play. But this was incessant, so that everything around was almost -as bright as day, though the light was strangely confusing. - -They had to go through the forest. This was the most dangerous part of -the journey; for here the flashes played around every tree, while every -now and then some branch or even tree-trunk would fall crashing across -the track. - -Luckily for our adventurers, it was along a path made by tapirs that the -route lay, so it was broad and well beaten. These strange animals are -about four feet high and fully six feet long, and are exceedingly -numerous in the wilderness of the Andes, especially in the vicinity of a -not too rapid river. - -The rain now began to patter around them, the lightning became even more -vivid, and the terrible thunder-cannonade was increased tenfold. The -wind also began to rise; it came down with the storm from the north and -west. It was this direction of the clouds that had caused the -ever-watchful Samaro to expect a flood. Had the depression come up -stream the danger would not have been so urgent. - -They had still half a mile to go, as the crow flies; and as the pathway, -like that of all wild beasts, was very winding, it would be at least -half an hour before they could hope to reach a position of safety. - -Samaro was here, there, and everywhere, hurrying and encouraging all -hands, using a bamboo cane even to stimulate the flagging calves of a -few of the men. Suddenly there was a wild and frightened yell from -someone in front, a yell that was heard high over the hurtling of the -thunder. - -“Eemateena! Eemateena!” was the shout from the others. “The jaguar! the -jaguar!” and for a few moments every man seemed panic-stricken. They -even dropped their burdens, and hardly knowing what they were about -would have hurried wildly back towards the river, had not Samaro and -Tom, revolvers in hand, barred their progress. The terrible confusion -that had ensued was fatal to the poor fellow, who had been attacked by -the dreaded king of the wilderness. He might have been saved had Tom got -to the front in time. - -As it was, the beast dragged him at once into the depths of the forest. -A few more piercing shrieks were heard, then it was evident that all -was over. The jaguar, or tiger as he is generally called, must have been -coming towards the river, and thus met the unhappy man in his path; for -during a storm these animals will hardly ever go out of their way to -attack either man or beast. - -The storm ceased almost as suddenly as it had commenced, though the rain -now came down in rushing torrents, and just an occasional flash of -lightning shot athwart the inky gloom and served to reveal the pathway. - -As soon as they reached the high ground or knoll they were safe. Here -were a hundred pathways instead of one, and all led upwards. The top of -the little hill was beaten hard with the feet of the tapirs, and -probably peccaries, who for reasons best known to themselves must have -assembled here at times. It was only a wonder none of these creatures -were found here now; but their strange instincts had doubtless warned -them to seek for higher grounds before the floods came down. It rained -heavily for hours, then morning broke gray and uncertain over the hills, -and about the same time down came the river “bore.” - -Tom had never witnessed anything in life so appalling, and even Samaro -himself confessed that such a quick and rapid “spate” was unusual. The -roar of this immense wall of water could be heard for long minutes -before it dashed round the bend of the stream, and came tumbling onwards -carrying with it huge masses of rock and even soil that looked like -islands in the midst of the murky flood. The bore must have been fully -twenty feet in height, and the forest trees went down before it like hay -before the mower’s scythe. The noise at first was deafening; but it -gradually subsided, and before ten o’clock had entirely ceased. But at -this time the whole valley looked like an immense inland sea or lake -studded with little islands. One of these islands was the hill on which -Tom and his men stood, and on which they were for a time as completely -imprisoned and isolated as if the ground had been a rock in mid-ocean. - -There were three days rain, and all this time the river, instead of -going down, seemed gradually rising. - -It rose, and rose, and rose, as slowly but as surely as fate itself, -till the island was limited to little over the site of the tent. - -Then the rain ceased for a time. But the clouds were very dark away -towards the north, from which direction low muttering thunder was -occasionally heard. - -Was another storm brewing? If another bore came down the stream, though -not even half as big as the last, the fate of the little expedition -would be sealed, and its doom be swift indeed. All day long they watched -the rising clouds. When the sun set at last, forked lightning darted -here and there across the dark sky, with now and then streams of fire -rushing downwards from zenith to nadir. These last were followed by -tremendous peals of thunder, but still the rain kept off. No one thought -of lying down to rest, and for hours and hours no one spoke. - -All eyes were turned towards the north. They were like men waiting for -death. - -The clouds mounted higher and higher; they saw star after star and -constellation after constellation blotted out, or swallowed up as it -were in the gloom. Still they sat and silently watched. - -The suspense was terrible; every flash was now like a message from an -unseen world, every peal sounded like a knell of doom. - -Tom was praying. He was trying hard, too, to yield himself to the will -of heaven; but it seemed sad to die so young. - -Probably he had fallen into a kind of uneasy doze at last, for suddenly -he felt Samaro clutch at his arm. - -“It is coming! It is coming!” he cried. - -“The flood, Samaro? Is it coming at last?” - -“No, no, señor. I would not wake you for that. Better you should die -asleep. But look yonder! Look eastwards!” - -Tom did as he was told, and saw in the sky a long line of glittering -silver. - -The moon was rising! - -Up, up, up she sailed, the clouds changing from black to gauze and gold -before her, and by and by she found a little rift of blue to shine in, -and her radiance was reflected from the river beneath as if showers of -diamonds were falling on it from the sky. - -By next morning the flood had gone down considerably, but days must -elapse before they could once more resume their journey. - -What struck Tom now as remarkable was the deep impressive silence by -night. Except in the river there was no life about--no beasts or birds -of the forest, not even insect life itself. Never a whisper, never a -hum, except the little sad lilt the river sang as it went rippling past -the island shore. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -“A SHOWER OF POISONED DARTS FELL PATTERING ON THE STOCKADE.” - - -One day about three weeks after the adventure in the floods, as the -party were filing over the ridge of a hill, Samaro pointed away towards -the horizon with his outstretched arm. - -There was a joyful smile on his face. - -“At last, señor,” he said, “we come to human beings.” - -True; there was a village down there, for blue smoke was curling up over -the green of the palm-trees. - -Tom was rejoiced. What if Bernard himself were in that village! Perhaps -he would be one of the first to come to meet them. And what a strange -story it would be his to tell! - -Tom could not think of his captain’s son as a slave. No white man ever -remained long in a position of actual slavery among Indians; and -Bernard, if indeed he were alive, would doubtless be some great chief or -warrior. - -They were nearing the land of the Jivaro Indians. - -Two hours more of a toilsome march across ground which was partly marsh -and partly fallen forest brought them to hard open ground. They could -hear the beating of drums and shouting of the natives, and presently a -dusky crowd swarmed out to meet them. - -A halt was immediately ordered, for even among Indians etiquette must be -obeyed. - -Samaro advanced alone with Tom; who, by the way, much to the terror of -some of the juvenile portion of this wild community, had his feline pet -perched upon his shoulder. - -But their reception on the whole was a hearty one. The general notion -that appeared to prevail among these Indian villagers was that Tom and -all his party were starving, for they brought them food of all kinds; -and to refuse to taste at least would have been a grave offence. - -That evening a grand festival was held at one of the chiefs’ houses. -Tom was not quite sure, indeed, if the man was a chief, or held some -office akin to that of our mayors in this country. - -Every one in the village or town was armed in some form or another. Even -the boys moved about with their blow-guns; while spears and shields -formed the defensive weapons of their elders. Many of the latter had the -awful-looking scalp hanging at their waists, just as Samaro wore his. -This evidently entitled them to be looked upon as braves; for these -scalps had all been taken in battle. - -Tom spent a few days in this village, distributed a few presents, and -went on again, having left nothing but good-will behind him, and being -therefore assured of a welcome if ever he returned this way. - -On the evening of the day of their departure from this village of -Jivaros, and while resting by the camp fire in the solitude of the -forest, Tom questioned Samaro about the probability of their finding -Bernard among these tribes. - -Samaro’s first reply was a negative and solemn shake of the head. - -Then he became a little more explicit. He had feared he said to put -questions too directly, but at a feast one evening he had led round -deftly to the subject by asking an old warrior whether Tom was not the -second Englishman ever he had seen; Tom’s Uncle Robert, who had been -here, being reckoned the first. “Yes,” the brave had replied, “with the -exception of a child.” - -This child, he had told Samaro later on, had been the cause of a great -quarrel; for the Jivaros on the other bank of the river had borne him -off. The Canelo Indians had joined against these. But, meanwhile, the -boy had been sold to a tribe who had taken him northward and east, -perhaps to Napo or Zaparo-land, and he might be killed. The old warrior -knew no more, or would tell no more. - -This was far from encouraging intelligence to Tom, but he determined at -all hazards to pursue his wanderings and his investigations until at all -events he should discover the fate of Bernard Herbert. - -They visited many more villages and scattered hamlets of the Jivaros. -Each of these possess what is called a war-drum, which if beaten at one -village is heard at another, and soon echoes throughout the length and -breadth of the tribal land. This is a method of calling the warriors -together, and is as much resorted to as was the fiery cross in the brave -days of old in the Scottish Highlands. - - * * * * * - -About a month after his visit to the Jivaro Indians Tom found himself -with his men descending a ridge of hills towards a river, where Samaro -expected to find a village. He had been here before, and was somewhat -surprised now to find as they drew near no appearance of smoke, nor any -sound of life among the trees. True, many if not most of the tribes in -these regions are nomads; but so well situated was this town, on the -banks of the Aguarico, not far from its conjunction with the Napo, that -something very remarkable must have occurred to account for its apparent -desolation. - -They were not left long in doubt; for Samaro, who had entered the town -some distance in front of Tom, stopped short, then turning round -beckoned to his master to hurry. - -Here on its back lay a corpse. The neck had been fearfully gashed with a -spear, and one hand was almost severed through. The unfortunate man must -have been alive but a short time before, for decomposition, so rapid in -these hot regions, had not yet set in. - -They found the bodies of many more murdered Indians; indeed, almost -every house told its sad story of massacre, not even the children nor -old women having been spared. The huts had been all plundered, but -otherwise left intact. - -“Who has done these fearful deeds?” said Tom, addressing Samaro. - -“The Awheeshiries, without doubt,” was the reply. - -Some broken blow-guns and spears lay about, but otherwise there was -scarcely any evidence of a struggle. The attack must have been made at -the dead of night; and from the dreadful way the victims had been cut -and hacked about, the probability is that revenge had instigated the -attack quite as much as the hopes of plunder. - -Close to the village, at a bend of the river, they came upon several -boats drawn up on the beach. They had evidently been used very shortly -before this, as evidenced by the number of fresh banana skins lying here -and there. The hostile Indians must have come in these war-canoes -therefore; and it was certain they had not gone. Indeed, from the care -with which the paddles were secured, and the boats themselves shaded by -bushes from the sun, it appeared certain they meant to return. Where -were they now? In all probability they had gone farther inland, bent on -plundering other peaceful villages; and Tom shuddered as he thought of -the awful deeds that might be enacted in that lovely, still, forest land -before the sun now declining towards the west should again rise and -shine over the greenery of the woods. - -What must now be done? was the next question to be considered. Savages -on the war-path, their knives and hands still red with the fresh-drawn -blood of fellow-savages, are but little likely to brook the presence of -strangers in their midst. Tom knew he could not expect to gain anything -by fair means. He must be on the defensive; and there was no time to -lose. - -So he held a council of war. - -Tom proposed instant embarkation in the canoes, and a passage down the -river. But wiser and more wary Samaro vetoed such a plan. They knew the -dangers around them now, but to drop down an unknown river at night -would almost certainly expose them to worse, not the least of which -might be perils from rapids and cataracts. - -But a sand bank or spit ran out into the river some distance down, and -this could easily be fortified, and held against a whole cloud of -hostile Indians. To decide was to act with Tom. The packages and stores -were therefore immediately transferred to the boats, and landed on the -spit; and at the land-side thereof a long trench was dug, where a kind -of fort, formed of the bamboo fences dragged from the village, had been -formed. Behind this they would be safe against even poisoned darts, for -luckily there was no cover for the enemy anywhere very close at hand. - -The sun was almost set, and Tom was having one final run round the -village, to find out if there were not some poor wretch still alive that -he might render assistance to. He came upon a footpath that led him for -some distance directly away from the river, through the bush, to the -very gates of an Indian compound of far greater pretensions than any he -had yet seen. It must be a kind of palace, Tom thought. As he listened -before pushing open the door of the hut, he heard the unmistakable -moaning of someone in pain. He hesitated no longer, and next moment -stood in the inner compartment. Here on a kind of raised wicker couch -lay the insensible form of a woman, who, a glance told him, was -certainly no Indian belonging to this land of Ecuador. Her face, though -sadly racked by anguish, was very fair and finely chiselled. Her -hair--long, dark, and straight, though now dishevelled--and her dress -betokened her a kind of princess of the tribe. - -She raised herself on her elbow as Tom entered, and looked at him for a -moment wildly and wistfully. - -“O,” she exclaimed, “an Englishman! You are not my boy, Bernard?” - -“No, no,” cried Tom advancing excitedly. “I am not Bernard. I have come -to seek him. O, it is awful to find you thus! You were the ayah on board -the _Southern Hope_. Speak! tell me quickly where I can find Bernard.” - -“Find? Find my boy? Yes, I will tell you.” - -A spasm of pain passed over her pale face, and she fell back as if dead. - -A calabash of water stood near, and Tom moistened her lips and brow, and -presently she revived. - -“You are wounded,” Tom said. “I am selfish to ask you to talk now. I -will hurry away for help; but first let me bind your arm.” - -It had been frightfully gashed with a knife while she was trying to ward -off a blow aimed at her heart. - -Tom brought the edges together, and bound the arm up with leaves and -grass cloth. At that moment Samaro himself entered. - -“Quick, señor,” he said, “the Awheeshiries are returning. If they find -us here we will have but small mercy.” - -“Help me then to bear this lady to our camp, my good friend. Pray heaven -she may live, for she knows Bernard’s story.” - -Between them they carried the ayah princess out and away to the -fortified sand-spit. And none too soon. Hardly had they entered when -savages appeared from the bush, and a shower of poison darts fell -pattering upon the stockade. - -As there was no reply from the fort they came nearer and nearer, -brandishing spears and capering and howling like very demons. The reply -they sought came at length, however. Tom’s rifle rang out sharp and -clear in the evening air, and the foremost foeman fell never to rise -more. Consternation seized the Indians, and they fled indiscriminately -towards the bush; but before they could reach it Tom fired his revolver, -and some of them were wounded. It was from no spirit of cruelty he -opened fire on a retreating foe, but for the safety of his camp. He -wished to show these savages what kind of an enemy they had to deal -with, and the lesson was well merited. - -It fell dark now; but presently the moon rose, silvering the beautiful -river and casting a glamour over the now silent woods. - -Yes, the woods were silent; for the savages appeared to have fled. But -about midnight there were signs unmistakable that they were continuing -their unhallowed work in other places; for every now and then, borne -along on the light breeze, came sounds that made Tom’s heart thrill with -anger--the exultant shouts of victorious Indians mingling with mournful -cries of agony and fear. - -Then a great red gleam appeared in the north, and dense white clouds of -smoke rolled skyward. The savages had fired the forest. - -Nearer and nearer came that red glare as the night wore on, and soon -they could hear the crackling of the blazing wood; then the deserted -village took fire, and burned with terrible fierceness for a time. - -Constantly all night long after this, in the fitful light of the -conflagration, creatures could be seen leaping madly into the river, and -swimming towards the other bank for safety. These were the denizens of -the woods and wilds; but many must have perished in the merciless -flames. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE DYING AYAH TELLS OF BERNARD. - - -Daylight dawned at last, and heavy rain began to fall, and soon even -smoke itself had ceased to rise from the blackened woods and ruins of -the village. - -That the enemy still lay in ambush was evident, for now and then dusky -forms could be seen moving about among the dark tree-trunks. Towards -noon they came near enough to shoot darts at the fort from their -blow-guns, and Tom found it necessary to fire once more. - -The wounded ayah had remained insensible all night long, but at daybreak -revived and beckoned Tom to her side. - -“I am going,” she said. “I will be with my dear mistress soon, and if -Bernard is dead I will be with him. I am glad.” - -“But you do not think Bernard is dead?” - -“I fear--nay, I hope he is. He will be at peace.” - -Tom spoke not. He feared to say anything to confuse the dying woman. He -tried even to control his feelings as he listened to the ayah’s terrible -story of her slavery, and that of the poor boy, among the Indians. She -spoke with difficulty, pausing often, sometimes even fainting away -entirely. But Tom’s patience was rewarded at last. - -The mutineers of the good ship _Southern Hope_ had taken Bernard and the -ayah into the interior, as far as Riobamba, and there they were both -sold. The poor ayah would have been happy even then had they both been -bought by the same master, or even by the same tribe. But this was not -so; for, while Bernard was first taken to the Jivaro country, and sold -thence to one of the wildest tribes of the far interior, she had -remained all along with the Zaparo Indians. They had not been altogether -unkind to her, though the lord and master who had claimed her made her -drudge and toil at household duties, like the slaves that the wives of -the Indians there ever are. She had to prepare and cook his food with -her own hands, see to his arms and clothing, make and dye the very -material of which his garments were composed, and, while wandering from -place to place and sleeping in the woods, she had even at night to lie -down in the place most open to the attacks of the jaguar or puma, or -more likely to be traversed by some deadly snake. For all these toils -and acts of kindness her reward was nothing save the bite and the blow. -Finally she had fled, and after adventures innumerable she had found her -boy. Though it was many years since he had seen her, and he had grown up -into a tall skin-clad young savage, he knew his second mother, and -gladly ran away with her. Both had been captured by the Zaparos, and -brought to the very village from which the ayah had fled. Here she was -condemned to die, and her “injured” lord and master was to be the -executioner. - -As she lay in her grass hut on the night before her intended execution -she heard some movement near her, and next minute a tiny dagger was put -into her hands. Then she knew that her would-be deliverer was Bernard. -She could have cut the cords that bound her now, and once more sought -safety in flight, but she would not leave her boy. Dead or alive she -would be with him. - -The morning came, and she was led out to die. The Indians were there in -their thousands to see the grand spectacle of a foreign woman being -massacred by their chief. She was led to the stake; for death by torture -was her intended doom. Bernard was placed close to her that he might -witness her sufferings. - -And now her master approached with stern, set brow to begin the torture. - -Suddenly with her own hand her cords were severed, and with a yell like -that of a panther she sprang upon the chief, and cast him on the ground -stabbed to the heart. - -For a moment the tribe was silent, paralysed as it were, and the ayah -herself broke the spell. - -Advancing to where Bernard stood she cut the - -[Illustration: “‘BEHOLD YOUR CHIEF!’ SHE CRIED.”] - -thongs that bound his hands, placed the spear of the dead chief in his -hand, and waving her hands in the air above him: - -“Behold your chief!” she cried. “The White Chief of the Zaparo Indians, -sent by the Great Spirit to rule over them--and I am his mother!” - -Then wild exclamations rent the air, as the Indians crowded round their -new king and threw themselves on the ground before him. - -All had been peace for years after this in the camping ground of the -Zaparos. They became less nomadic in their tendencies, and built -themselves better villages by the river. And whenever they were insulted -by other tribes Bernard led them on the war-path; and they never failed -to gain the victory, and to return home rejoicing, laden with spoil and -many scalps. - -The Zaparos are very warlike when roused; but prefer hunting to fishing, -and are the most expert woodsmen probably in the world, and this is -saying a great deal. The spear and the blow-gun are their weapons _par -excellence_, and they are experts with either. - -Bernard made a noble young chief. He had all the wisdom of the white -race, combined with the cunning and training of the savages he had dwelt -so long amongst. He had no fear, either when hunting or fighting. From -hunting his party would return laden with skins and meat. He tackled -single-handed either the jaguar or puma, and many a sturdy tapir fell -beneath his spear. From a raid on the foe Bernard’s warriors came back -with joy and song, and for weeks thereafter the sound of the war-drum -was heard in all the villages by the river’s bank. - -But Bernard was not wholly a savage; and it had come to pass that he was -seized with an irresistible longing to see the ocean once more, and find -out if possible if his mother still lived. So he chose from among his -warriors fifty of the bravest and most trustworthy, and bidding the ayah -adieu, amidst the tears of his people he departed on his dangerous -journey. - -Then fell the curtain over his life-drama. The dying ayah knew no more. -He had never returned; but rumours reached the tribe that their white -chief had been captured far beyond the rocky Andes, and that all his -followers were killed by the hands of hostile Spaniards. - -The poor ayah! She held Tom’s hand as her life was ebbing away. But she -evidently was not afraid to die. The religion that had been instilled -into her mind on board the _Southern Hope_ had been all through her -weary life a guiding star to her, and let us hope that when daylight -streamed through the fence, and fell on her pale dead face, the soul had -gone to a land where there is no more sorrow. - -They buried her there deep down in the sand; and that same evening the -boats were loaded up, and in the hour of darkness, ’twixt sunset and -moonrise, they dropped silently down stream, and succeeded in eluding -their dangerous foes, who, no doubt, lay in wait near the sand-spit -ready to renew their attack whenever opportunity offered. - -As soon as the moon began to glimmer over the distant mountains they -paddled towards the shore, and hid under the thick foliage till morning. -Then after a hurried breakfast, principally of fruit, they once more -embarked and went gliding down the river. - -It was no part of Tom’s intention, however, to keep to the stream. It -would have led him on to the great Marañon, or even into the wilds of -Brazil. So the very next morning, being now safe from pursuit, they once -more took to the woods, and the long and toilsome march was commenced -towards the distant shores of the Pacific, and Guayaquil. - -All speed, however, was made on the backward journey. There was no more -dallying to collect beautiful butterflies, or to seek for more skins of -bird or beast. If Tom could but succeed in saving the splendid -collection he had already made he felt he should be more than happy. The -party still depended on their guns for their living, however, and killed -each day just sufficient food to carry them on. - -Their adventures were of the usual sort already described, and many a -hair-breadth escape both Tom and his companions had by flood and field. - -While nearing Guayaquil, however, the fatigues on this terribly-forced -march began to tell on Tom’s excellent constitution, and he fell sick. - -A few days’ rest became imperative now. - -“Just a few days, Samaro,” Tom said, “and I shall be well, and able to -go on again.” - -That night he was in a burning fever, and for three long weeks he -hovered betwixt life and death. - -But his youth claimed victory at last; and Samaro had been a most -faithful nurse. It would have been difficult to say which of the -two--Samaro or Black Tom--showed the greatest exuberance of delight when -the master became quiet and sensible once more. About the first food -that Tom ate was a tenderly-cooked cavy that this strange puss had -caught and brought in. Indeed, Samaro said that all through Tom’s -terrible illness hardly a day passed that the cat did not bring either a -cavy or dead bird in, and he invariably jumped into his master’s hammock -with the offering, laid it by his cheek, and then sat down to watch his -face. - -So now that Tom was apparently out of danger, both Samaro and the -faithful cat went about singing--each in his own way--from morning till -night. - -One day as Tom lay in his hammock, with the end of the tent thrown up to -let him breathe the fresh, pure mountain air, and feast his eyes on the -wild and beautiful scenery all around the camp, he heard strange voices, -and in another minute, lo! there stood before him a tall and somewhat -ungainly Quaker-looking Yankee. - -That he was a Yankee Tom could tell at a glance, and the first words he -spoke confirmed it. - -“My name’s Barnaby Blunt,” he said, throwing his rifle on the grass; -“and I’m mighty sorry to see a young Britisher in such a plight as you -are, sirr. But precious glad I’ll be if I can do you a service.” - -Tom smiled feebly, and thanked him; but he was far too languid to talk -much. - -That did not matter much, for this Yankee could talk for two, or even -for half a dozen at a push. And he had not squatted beside Tom’s hammock -much over ten minutes before his listener had his whole history, and -that of his wife and wife’s family. - -But Barnaby Blunt proved himself a true friend indeed, and to his -disinterested kindness Tom no doubt owed his life. - -“I’m only hunting about here,” he told Tom, “and it ain’t a deal o’ -matter where I goes; but out o’ this camp I don’t budge for a week, and -by that time I’ll have you taut and trim enough to come along. Trust -Barnaby Blunt to do the right thing for a stranger, and all the more if -that stranger be a Britisher.” - -Tom smiled, and feebly thanked him. - -“My wife’s a Britisher; but for all that ye won’t find a longer-headed -old gal about anywhere’s than ’Liza Ann. ’Liza Ann is my wife’s name, -and ’_Liza Ann_ is the name o’ my ship; and now you see what kind o’ -water you’re in.” “But,” he added, after a brief pause, “I’m not going -to bother you now. I’ll come again. My camp’s only just over here.” - -Barnaby did come again--that very evening, too. And he did not come -empty-handed either. Before he sat down on a package--which was the only -thing by way of a chair the tent contained--he began to empty his -pockets, and Tom could not help smiling at the magnitude and diversity -of their contents. Pots of jelly, parcels of Iceland moss, boxes of -marvellous tonic pills, bags of arrow-root, and bottles of wine. He -handed the things one by one to Samaro, and then he sat down. - -“Now, young fellow,” he said, “you haven’t got anything else in this -world to do or to think about but getting well. And as to that, why, -your worthy servant and myself will shore you up in a brace of shakes. -No, you mustn’t talk. You must listen, and I guess I’ll amuse you. See -here, you’ve been in the wilds for about a year, haven’t you?” - -Tom nodded. - -“That’s right,” continued the Yankee. “Nod your head for ‘Yes;’ shut -your eyes for ‘No.’ Give yourself no earthly trouble about anything, and -we’ll get on like a boundless prairie on fire. You’ve been out o’ the -world, I’ve been in it, and every night I’ll tell you or read you some -news.” - -Barnaby was as good as his word. He came regularly every forenoon and -every evening, and read or talked to Tom; and no woman could have been -more kind or more considerate. It is not wonderful then that, in less -than a fortnight, the patient was able to sit once more by the camp -fire, and could give information as well as receive it. He told Barnaby -all his adventures, and those of his uncle and Bernard as well. The -Yankee marvelled very much at all he heard. - -“Of course you have a collection of curios, haven’t you?” - -“Rather,” said Tom proudly. - -“Then I guess we can deal.” - -“I guess we can’t.” And Tom laughed. - -“Will you sell the cat? Why, there’s a small fortune in that animile.” - -But Tom refused to sell his favourite. - -“And now,” said the Yankee one evening, “I’m going to sea for three -months, and as you’ve nothing particular to do, why, come along. It’ll -set you up for life. What say?” - -“I accept your hospitality,” said Tom “and thank you very much.” - -“Don’t you dare thank me. By thunder, sir, if you thank me I’ll throw -you overboard. Barnaby Blunt wants no reward, not even a wordy one. But -you’ll come?” - -“Like a shot.” - -“Spoken like a man and a Britisher. Tip us your flipper. Now, -good-night; I’ll go and get ready for the march.” - -“Good-night, and may God himself reward you.” - -“Amen,” said Barnaby, and next minute he was out of sight. - -A week after this Tom was back in Guayaquil, and had bidden his faithful -servants a long farewell. - -The boy Rooph was disconsolate in the extreme, and shed tears -abundantly. - -To comfort him in some measure Tom gave him his photograph. - -“Ah,” said the lad, “you leave wid me, then, your soul! O, I shall ever -love it, and I shall weep when I look at it when you are far from poor -Rooph!” - -Samaro was affected also, though he shed no tears. - -“Perhaps,” he said somewhat sadly, “we shall meet again. I will live in -hope, señor.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -“FILLED WITH GOLD DOUBLOONS--SIRR, ARE YE LISTENING?” - - -The _’Liza Ann_ was about as strange-looking a craft as ever Tom had -clapped eyes upon. He was not well enough yet to be hypercritical; but -for all that he could not resist the temptation of making his boatman -pull right round and round her at some distance away, so that he might -see her from every point of the compass. - -She lay like a duck on the water, there was no doubts about that; in -fact she had about the same comparative breadth of beam that a duck -possesses, the same lowness of free-board, and the same depth or rather -absence of depth of hull. Her masts, two in all, were set in with a -pretty, though rather old-fashioned rake. She was brig-rigged, though, -considering her length, she might easily have been a barque. Her spars -were not of great height, and her yards were very long. There was no -mistake about it, she could take a good spread of canvas. Well, she was -painted dark green all over; picked out as to ports with a lighter -green, and her bulwarks inside were also light green. - -Tom smiled to himself as he sized her up. Barnaby Blunt saw that smile. -He was probably six hundred yards away at the time, and standing on the -quarter-deck of his own ship; but he had eyes like a hawk, and -“barnacles,” as he called the lorgnettes that hung in a patent leather -case by his side, to aid those eyes. - -“That Britisher is a-sizing of my ship up,” he said to Pebbles his mate. -“Britishers don’t know everything. I’ll talk to him.” - -The Yankee was politeness itself to his passenger. He had a seat all -ready for him on deck under a snow-white awning, a delightfully easy -deck chair, in which one might sleep as comfortably as in a hammock, or -dream without sleeping. - -The mate hastened to assist Tom on board, but the captain was before -him. - -“With all due deference to you, Mr. Pebbles,” he said, “I’m going to do -everything for our guest with my own hands. If my wife was on board I’d -turn him over to her. As she ain’t, I does the honours. Take my arm, -young man. You ain’t so strong as you think. You’re as shaky as an old -chimney-pot.” - -“Thank you,” said Tom; “you really are good.” - -“I’d do the same for a nigger, sirr, if he were as shaky as you; and if -my wife were on board, she’d do more. Now, sit down there; I’m not going -to pester you with any extra attentions. Whatever you needs you hollers -for.” - -“I don’t think,” said Tom, “I’ll have to holler for anything. This chair -is delightful, and the awning is a happy thought.” - -“We don’t sail before to-morrow morning, cause I’ve more stores to get -off. And now, as we don’t dine for an hour yet, suppose we have a drink. -What shall it be--wine, old rye, a cup o’ coffee, or a cock-tail?” - -“I’d prefer coffee, I think; but isn’t it rather hot?” - -“O, bless your innocence, we’ll have it iced! Ginger Brandy, where are -you?” - -A bullet-headed nigger boy, dressed in white calico, with face and -calves as black as pitch, rushed up. - -“Heeh I is, sah,” he said. - -“Mr. Talisker, here’s your slave. His name is Ginger Brandy. If he -irritates you, don’t hit him over the back with a capstan-bar, ’cause -you’ll break the bar. Don’t heave a cocoa-nut at his head, ’cause you’ll -damage the cocoa-nut. Just get up and toe his shins. Now, Ginger Brandy, -bring the ice, and the coffee, and the lemons, and my pipe, and a bundle -of smokes. Skedaddle!” - -Ginger skedaddled quickly, brought out a little table from the raised -poop, spread a white cloth, and in two minutes more had placed thereon -two cups of fragrant coffee, with lumps of clear ice floating in each. -And when Tom lit his cigar after drinking half of the coffee, Ginger -Brandy took his stand beside his chair with a huge fan, and our hero -felt as happy and comfortable as ever he had done in his life. - -The Yankee’s pipe stood on deck, an immense hubble-bubble; the smoke, -which passed through iced-water, being conducted to his lips by means of -a tube that seemed yards in length. Sitting there in his rocker, with -his long legs dangling over the bulwarks and his eyes half closed, -Barnaby Blunt looked the quintessence of enjoyment. - -“And what d’ye think o’ my little yacht, sirr,” he drawled at last. -“Mind ye, I twigged you sizing her up. I see’d your smile; yes, sirr, I -think I heard it.” - -“Well,” said Tom, “to tell you the truth, I never saw so strange a craft -before; and had I met her at sea, I shouldn’t have been able to say what -was her nationality.” - -“You do me honour. She’s my own idee. I’ve sailed in all kinds o’ craft, -and saved a little pile. ‘Barn,’ says my wife to me onct, ‘why don’t ye -build a boat o’ your own, and deal in notions?’ Well, sirr, the same -thing had been runnin’ thro’ my head for months, and I set to work and -planned out the _’Liza Ann_. She is the safest brig that sails. She’s -maybe not the fastest. Safety before speed, sirr. ‘I don’t mind waitin’ -a month or six weeks,’ says my wife to me; ‘I don’t mind that, Barn,’ -says she, ‘but always come home in your own ship, and not atop o’ the -hencoop.’ - -“Yes, sirr, and the _’Liza Ann_ won’t broach to either, and she can’t -be taken aback, and the sticks won’t blow out o’ her, and she’ll float -in shoal water if a punt can, and if she does ship green seas, sirr, why -they slide off again like rain off a garden roller. That’s what my -_’Liza Ann_ is, sirr.” - -Tom laughed at the Yankee’s enthusiasm. - -“All my own idee--all my own and ’Liza’s remember.” - -“Well, it must be a pleasant life--going anywhere and seeing anything.” - -“You bet it is; making a few dollars too. There is nothing I won’t trade -in. Now, those curios o’ yours--they did tempt me. I guess you’d better -sell. The white ants may eat them all if they lie long at Guayaquil.” - -“I’ve provided against that. They’re all preserved in tin cases; but as -they are for my uncle, I wouldn’t sell them for the world.” - -“What! you’re goin’ to pawn them then?” - -“No, no, no; I don’t mean _that_ uncle. I mean my uncle Robert; who, -like yourself, is a splendid fellow and a thorough sailor. And I’m sure -he’ll be delighted to make your acquaintance if ever he has the good -luck to meet you.” - -“Give us your hand, young man. That little speech is good enough for the -senate. I say, what a pity you ain’t a true-born American. I guess -you’re a sailor yourself out and out.” - -Tom was indeed a sailor out and out. When he went on deck next day he -found that the _’Liza Ann_, with all sail set and almost dead before the -wind, was ploughing and plunging southwards through the Gulf of -Guayaquil. The anchor had been weighed, and a start made in the -moonlight long before the sun or Tom either had dreamt of rising. - -“Young man, come in to breakfast,” said a voice behind him. “Ye can’t -live without eating, you know. Good-morning. I hope you slept--and your -cat? Droll idee a cat. Ha, ha! Well, come and tuck in a bit. Why, you’re -looking better already.” - -Talking thus, Captain Barnaby Blunt led the way into the poop, which was -flush with the upper deck in the grand old fashion. He pointed to two -chairs. - -“There’s a seat for you, sirr, and one for your friend. Droll idee, -truly. Ha, ha, ha! Looks as wise as a Christian, and I daresay is better -than many. Now, sirr, you see what’s on the table. Eat, drink, and be -merry; and during all this voyage I’m your servant, Brandy’s your slave, -and you’ve nothing to do but get well.” - -Before touching a knife or fork, however, this strange Yankee lifted his -right hand piously to his ear to ask a blessing. It was quite the length -of a short prayer, but evidently came right away from the speaker’s -heart. - -Tom liked him better after this. - -“Now fall to, sir. Ginger Brandy, keep that fan moving.” - -It was pretty evident that during this voyage Barnaby Blunt was going to -do most of the talking. Tom was rather pleased than otherwise that it -should be so. He was now in that delightful, half-dreamy stage of -convalescence that all must have experienced who have ever been -downright ill, and in which existence itself seems a pleasure, and -everything one looks at is seen through rose-coloured glasses. - -But had Tom been even in robust health, a voyage like that he was now -embarked in would have been pleasant in the extreme. - -The ship was everything that could be desired from bowsprit to binnacle. -She had every good quality except speed. But who could wish to speed -over an ocean like that which sparkled all around them in the sun’s -rays; a sun, mind, that did not feel a single degree too hot, albeit -they were almost on the equator. The wind too was favourable, and kept -so for over a week, and when it did at last die almost down, no one on -board appeared to regret it; even the ship herself seemed to think it -was the most natural thing in the world she should take it easy a bit. - -There were plenty of books on board, plenty of ice, Ginger Brandy with -his fan, and Barnaby Blunt with his ever cheery smile and his wealth of -droll conversation. - -“Say, young man,” said Barnaby to Tom one day as both reclined in their -chairs on deck, “don’t you wonder where you’re goin’ to?” - -“No,” said Tom with half-shut eyes. “It never occurred to me to ask. You -said I was to come with you, and I’ve come. By the way, where are we -going? To Tahiti, to Fife, New Zealand, or where?” - -“Ha, ha, ha! Well, that cat and you are a pair, I guess. Ha, ha, ha! How -’Liza, my wife, would enjoy you. But now, look here. I’m going to tell -you a story.” - -“I’m all attention.” - -“Well, don’t go to sleep. Once upon a time--” - -“That’s a nice beginning,” said Tom. - -“Once upon a time a ship filled with gold doubloons--Sirr, are you -listening?” - -“Yes, gold doubloons--” - -“Seems to me you nodded. But never mind. She sailed away from Calla--O. -It was all specie and nothing else she had on board. There must have -been pretty near five million dollars. Are you awake?” - -“I’m listening. I like to keep my eyes shut when anyone else is telling -a good story. Go on.” - -“Well, sirr, a certain bad lot who lived at Lima got wind of it, and -pursued this craft in a hired cruiser, with a hired -crew--assassins--overtook--ugly affair--spared -none--plank--sharks--Australia--back--island--mutiny--gold -hidden--terrible sufferings--death--nobody found--Galapagos Islands--” - -The above disjointed sentences are the skipper’s strange story as Tom -heard it--not as the Yankee told it; and at the word “islands” Tom -dropped to sleep altogether, and did not awake until Barnaby had -finished. - -“Very remarkable story indeed!” said Tom; “very remarkable! And of -course they hanged him?” - -“Hanged whom--eh?” - -“Why, didn’t you say that somebody--Why, I do believe I _was_ half -asleep.” - -“I guess you were, and so was the cat. But there, it don’t matter. I -mean to find that pile. If I don’t somebody else will, and then Barnaby -Blunt won’t have it--eh?” - -“Certainly not.” - -“And when Barnaby Blunt does find it and does get it on board, then -hurrah! for ’Frisco and my old woman ’Liza, and no more going to sea for -me on this side the grave. Only, altho’ I must confess you ain’t the -most inquisitive coon ever I came across, still I thought I’d tell you -the strange story, and let you know where I was bearing up for, and the -kind o’ notion Barnaby Blunt had in his long head.” - -“Well, I’m much obliged, Captain Blunt, for your confidence in me; and -all will, I hope, turn out well and for the best.” - -It may as well be confessed here at once that Tom’s notions even now as -to where the ship was going to were the most hazy imaginable. - -All went well in the _’Liza Ann_ for two more weeks. - -The men called her the lazy _’Liza_; but certainly they appeared to -enjoy the ship’s laziness very much. They were only ten all told, -including Ginger Brandy; but _dolce far niente_ was their motto, from -Pebbles the mate all the way down. - -The masts, as I have said, were not tall, and as there was patent -reefing tackle they never had far aloft to go; so their work was very -easy. But they kept the ship as clean as a new sovereign. They sang all -day long, and danced in the evening--verily a happy-go-lucky crew. - -Tom the cat was a favourite forward; indeed, this strange puss, being -thoroughly up to the ways of ships and sailors, seemed happier now than -ever he had been in his life. - -He used to sit in the weather-bow of a night till a flying-fish came on -board, then catch it and come aft with it to his master, and go back and -wait for another. The men averred that these fish flew at Tom’s eyes, -because they looked like a couple of ship’s lanterns in the dark. -Perhaps this was the true explanation. At all events, the fish did fly -on board, and were duly cooked for breakfast every morning; and if there -be anything nicer for breakfast than a broiled flying-fish, I have yet -to learn something new about the sea, and things in general. - -Years and years after this, Tom--our hero, not the cat--used to look -back to the days he spent on board of the lazy _’Liza_ as among the most -delightful--dreamily delightful--in all his experience of a seafarer’s -life. - -Ah! but they came to an end in a sadly unexpected way. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -“NEXT INSTANT THE SHIP WAS STRUCK AND STAVED.” - - -“If this breeze keeps,” said Captain Barnaby Blunt--“if this breeze -keeps up, we should sight Chatham to-morrow.” - -“Oh, indeed!” said Tom. - -“Yes. We are here now, I reckon,” continued Blunt, sticking a pin in the -chart that was spread out on the cabin table. - -Something called the worthy Yank on deck just then, and Tom closed his -book. - -“I say, Brandy, little boy.” - -“I’se a-listenin’, sah, propah.” - -“Do you know where the ship is going to, and what she is going to do? -Funny now, but I’ve never looked at the chart yet. I think I’ve eaten -the lotus leaf.” - -“‘Spects you has, sah. I don’t know nuffin neider, sah. I’m jes’ like -yourse’f, sah.” - -“Well, I’ve been so happy and so--so--half asleep all the time; but now -I’ll have a peep at the chart. Here we are--Guayaquil Gulf. Why, what a -zig-zag course the tub has taken. Oh! here we are--Galapagos! Whatever -are we going to do here? Ah! well, time will tell, and it’s nothing to -me much.” - -The day passed dreamily away, like all the other days; and night fell, -and with it the wind. Before turning in Tom went on deck. Such a night -of inky darkness and mysterious silence he could not remember ever -experiencing. The blackness brooded over the sea--it was almost -palpable, and the silence seemed to enter one’s very soul. Hardly a -sound in board, no sound at all out yonder in the beyond. The men’s -voices forward round the bow when they did speak sounded loud and -strange. Tom even felt relieved when a sail flapped or a bolt creaked to -some almost imperceptible roll of the ship. There was never a star in -the sky to-night, and a mist that was not a mist appeared to completely -envelop the ship. - -Pebbles came aft quietly to where he could dimly see Tom’s figure in a -ray of light streaming from the poop cabin. - -He took Tom’s hand. - -“Come with me,” he said, “and listen.” - -He led Tom forward through the darkness to the bows. - -“We’ve heard it again,” said one of the men in a half-suppressed -whisper. “Listen! Away out yonder. It is coming this way; but what is -it?” - -They leant over the bows, “peering,” “keening” into the mysterious -darkness. - -The sound was like some great living monster steering through the water, -breathing heavily with every stroke--sighing I had almost said--ceasing -sometimes, to be heard closer to the ship the next minute. - -Pebbles still held Tom’s hand, as if in his anxiety he had forgotten to -let it go; and Tom could feel that hand tremble. - -“Look! look! Oh--h!” - -The “Oh--h!” was a simultaneous cry of fear from the men. Tom felt like -one in a dream. For there in the sea, higher far than the bulwarks, -blacker even than the blackness of night, was a shape! - -Next instant the ship was struck and staved. Every timber of her shook -and shivered from stem to stern, and some loose belaying-pins leapt -clear of their holes and fell rattling on deck. - -All was shouting and confusion on board now. The captain rushed out of -his cabin, the mate ran aft; but no one could tell what had happened. - -“She has run on a snag rock?” cried the captain. - -“We cannot say, sir; but we saw--” - -The carpenter, lantern in hand, appeared from below. - -“She is making water at a tremendous rate, sir. Shouldn’t think she’d -float an hour.” - -Blunt went away with him to see for himself. When he came up again he -entered the cabin, where Tom was standing by the table looking white and -scared; for he was yet little more than an invalid. - -“Well,” said the captain, “this is about the suddentest thing, I guess, -I ever came across. It’s a sudden thing, sirr, and it’s a very solemn -thing too. Mister Talisker, it’s a good thing your clothes is on.” - -“Has it come to that?” said Tom. - -“Well, sirr, it hasn’t come to the hen-coop quite; but it’s come to -boats. Now, I always said the _’Liza Ann_ was the safest ship out; but I -didn’t reckon on snags in deep water. Pebbles!” - -“I’m here, sir.” - -“Well, tell the hands to lay aft here. I guess we’ll have time for -prayers.” - -“She’s going fast, sir.” - -“We’ll have time for prayers, I tell you.” - -“Very good, sir.” - -Tom had never known so cool a sailor as this. With the sound of the -water rushing into the sinking, reeling ship, he nevertheless found -time--nay, but made time, to kneel there and pray long and fervently for -protection to Him who rules on sea as well as on earth, and whose hand -and eye are everywhere, in the blackness of night as well as in the -sunshine. - -The men’s response of “Amen” was deep and solemn. Half a minute of dead -silence, then all rose from their knees. - -“Now, Pebbles!” roared Captain Blunt, “bustle about. Load up the dinghy -and the jolly-boat. Put in everything we’re likely to want--arms, -ammunition, water, food. Mr. Talisker, you’ll go in the dinghy with -Ginger Brandy and Smith.” - -“Ay, ay, sir.” - -“Well, see after your own affairs. Don’t forget lights, for keep -together we must.” - -There were no signs of weakness about Tom now. He appeared to have grown -suddenly strong and well. - -Smith was a sort of hobble-de-hoy sailor--a lad of seventeen, with -plenty of strength, but not much brains to command action. Ginger -Brandy, the other half of Tom’s crew, was far more useful; so he gave -the nigger charge of the white man. This was reversing the order of -nature some might think, but it worked very well indeed on the present -occasion. - -Tom showed good generalship. He first had a run below to see how fast -the water was gaining. It certainly was coming in at a very rapid rate. -But she would last an hour, Tom thought; so he at once set to work to -provision his boat. - -The dinghy was not over twelve feet long, but she was broad in beam and -with a good free-board. So Tom had her lowered, and swung a lantern over -the side where she was that its light might shine right into her. Then -under his directions the lads began to load up. - -“You’ll have her too deep, I reckon,” said Captain Blunt as he passed. - -“Thank you,” replied Tom, “but I do not think so; for you see if it -comes on to blow we can lighten her by pitching the least necessary -things overboard.” - -The jolly-boat was ready first, and lay waiting till Tom and his crew -embarked. Both boats had stepped their masts, ready for the least puff -of wind; and both had compasses and a ready-made chart each. - -“Good-bye!” cried pious Blunt. “Keep our light in sight; keep yours -hanging on your mast as we have ours. Fire a rifle if ye want -assistance. May the Lord be with you! Now, men, three farewell cheers -for the dear old _’Liza Ann_.” - -What sorrowful cheers they were, and how strangely they sounded in the -pitchy darkness! - -“Pull round the bows, lads, in close. I just want to put my hand on her -once more. Now give way.” - -These are the last words Tom heard the Yankee skipper speak, and -presently the jolly-boat was swallowed up in the blackness. All except -her twinkling light--and by this the dinghy was steered. - -Everything went well till morning. Then with the sun, that leapt up like -a ball of fire and changed the waters to a pool of crimson, came a -breeze of wind. Oars were taken in and a little sail set. Tom hoped it -would not increase, for he desired to save all her stores if possible. - -About noon that day the jolly-boat was distant nearly a league, about -two points on the weather-bow. She was signalling to the dinghy, and -presently she took in sail. Tom increased his, rightly judging that -Captain Blunt wished him to come closer. - -The dinghy leaned over now in a most uncomfortable way. Tom, still -determined if possible to save his precious cargo, made his men sit well -to the weather-side, and thus they managed to keep her lee-gunwale out -of the water as they tried to get closer to the jolly-boat. The latter -was seen to lower sail altogether, and Tom could not make out what the -matter was. He understood soon, however; for down the wind at that -moment he descried rolling along a dark wall of fog. In a few minutes -the jolly-boat was engulphed, and soon after the dinghy. - -All that day the fog lasted; but now and then Tom could hear the ring -of a rifle, and steered by that. Towards evening the wind had increased -in force, and he heard no more firing. The jolly-boat would doubtless -lie to, however,--so Tom thought; and by next day, when the fog cleared, -he should see the boat again. The fog did not clear next day, however, -nor for many days; and when the sun shone at last there was no sail in -sight! - -There was no help for it; they must make the nearest land, and doubtless -the other boat would do the same. - -And now ensued a painful and weary time. - -The wind had died down entirely. It seemed as though it would never blow -again. The sea all round was like molten glass, a long rolling swell -coming in from the north-west--a swell that was delusive in the extreme, -causing them to believe they were making progress to the south, although -the current was dead against them. The sun’s rays, beating straight down -from the heavens and reflected from the waters, were doubly fierce, and -there was no awning for protection. - -Two days passed like this; then poor Smith sickened and died. Tom had -given him the last drop of water that remained in the boat. So between -them Ginger Brandy and he gently lifted the body up and dropped it -astern, and the scene that followed was horrible to witness. Before -their eyes the corpse was torn in pieces by those tigers of the sea--the -hammer-headed sharks. There must have been at least a dozen at that -dreadful feast, yet next minute several were floating alongside, and -casting sidelong glances up at the rowers with their hungry, eager, and -awful eyes. - -On and on and on they rowed, resting often on their oars and gazing -round them in the vain hope of descrying a sail. - -A bird alighted in the water on the forenoon of next day. A strange -weird-looking gull, the like of which Tom had never seen before. It was -so tame that Brandy easily knocked it dead with his oar, and they sucked -its blood and devoured the flesh raw and warm. Horrid meal though this -appears to have been, it revived them better than anything else save -water could have done. Of food there was abundance in the boat; it was -water alone they craved for. That same evening it rained a little. They -caught the water in their jackets and eagerly drank it. - -Another long dark black starless night; but in the morning the clouds -were dissolved, and the sun shone more fiercely than ever. - -No rain, no mist even. - -They dipped biscuits in the sea and sucked them, but the thirst grew -more intense. - -Tom suffered worst; his agony was fearful. With eyes and brow that felt -bursting with pain, and swollen and parched tongue, he sat at the oar -and rowed feebly and mechanically. - -Birds came now in larger numbers, but none came near enough to be -caught. - -Surely they were nearing land! But nothing was in sight from where they -sat. Only the burning sky, only the heaving sea! - -A bright-eyed butterfly flew on board one day, and the negro boy shouted -for joy. But Tom heeded it not; he was past heeding anything. Pain was -gone though. He felt nothing. His very mind seemed to have fled. He -remembered looking down at his own hands holding the oars, and wondering -to whom they belonged. The birds screaming around the boat became -spirits with human voices and kept saying things to him, and -awful-looking black lizards swam in the water near. - -Then through the mist and haze that had gathered before his eyes he -could dimly see the negro lad approach nearer. The boy took someone’s -oars gently out of his hand, and laid someone down in the bottom of the -boat. But who was the someone, Tom wondered. It could not be himself, -for he felt nothing. - -Then all was a blank. - -When he opened his eyes again he was no longer in the boat. The boy was -pouring something down his throat. It revived him, and he sat up. - -He pointed to some immense lizards--the same he had seen in the sea. -They were lying together on some igneous rocks in the sunlight, as large -as young alligators but ten times more ugly--broad in head with -spreading legs, squalid, hideous, fearsome. - -Tom tried to speak as he pointed to them, but could only utter a series -of unintelligible vowel-sounds with the back of his throat. - -But poor little Brandy understood him. - -“Yes, sah, dey are dere all right. You not dream at all, sah. I see -dem.” - -Then the boy took a stick and forced them off the rock; though some of -them turned round as if to bite, and others caught the stick in their -hands in a way that curdles one’s blood to think of. - -Tom lay back now and slept again. - -It must have been near morning when he awoke, feeling almost well. - -He was quite covered with a piece of sail, and lay on a bed of soft dry -sea-weed. - -For a few moments he could remember nothing, and sadly wondered where he -was. But memory soon returned. The stars were shining brightly above. By -its light he could see the foam of the wavelets that sang dolefully on -the beach. He could see, too, the rocks and boulders near the water. As -he gazed on these, to his horror and surprise some of them moved away -inland slowly with a harsh and rattling noise. - -“Surely I am on an island of enchantment,” thought poor Tom, “or I -cannot be awake!” - -“Ginger Brandy!” he cried as well as he could. - -“I’se heah, sah. Tank de Lawd, marster, you hab got your voice once mo’, -sah!” - -“Brandy, I saw the rocks move slowly away. Was I dreaming?” - -“No, sah. Nevah feah, sah. Dem not rocks; dey are to’toises, as big as -elerphants. I ride on one to-day all ’long de beach. Dey are puffikly -ha’mless, sah. Don’t you be ’larmed. I’se fit ’nuff to look arter you. -Sleep, sah, sleep; de sun rise soon.” - -As the boy spoke a gush of bird-melody came from a neighbouring bush, so -entrancingly sweet but so wondrously strange, that Tom at once placed -his head again on his pillow of sea-weed to listen. - -Sleep the most refreshing ever he had enjoyed in his life succeeded; but -all through his slumbers rang the bird-song, mingling with his dreams -like chimes from elfin-land. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -“A VAST GREEN AND FLOWERY VALLEY SURROUNDED BY ROMANTIC HILLS.” - - -“You bettah now, sah?” - -“O yes, Brandy; I’ll soon be all right. But where are we?” - -“I don’t know nuffin’ ’t all. On’y dis is an island--I make shuah ob -dat.” - -“How long have I slept?” - -“Two day, sah. I gib you plenty watah all de time; and you suckee he -down all same’s modder’s milk, sah. You will lib now.” - -“And thanks to you. But who helped you up with the boat?” - -“He, he, he! You not believe, plaps. But Brandy neveh tell lie. I hab de -paintah ob de boat all ready, and presently one big elerphant-to’toise -come down. Plenty quick I hitch de bight ober dat varmint’s neck. Den I -cried ‘shoo!’ Den he pull and I push, and ’way we go cheerily. But la! -de elerphant-to’toise, he had strangle his little self. And I make soup -of some of him, fo’ true!” - -Hardly believing what Brandy said Tom got slowly up, and lo! there was -the dead tortoise right enough; and Tom had never seen such a monster[1] -before. Nor could he have seen one, for the creature belongs only to the -Galapagos Islands. - -“Why, Brandy,” he said, “it is bigger than a feather bed. I begin to -believe, my boy, we have landed on one of the enchanted islands I used -to read of long ago; and I can easily fancy a ship-wrecked mariner -making a boat of the shell of one of these beasts, and with a bamboo -for a mast and his jacket for a sail, crossing the ocean to the -mainland. And you strangled him?” - -“No, he strangle his little self, sah. I help jes’ a leetle wid de axe. -Den he bleed--O, he bleed mo’ dan one big bull, sah.” - -“And where is the blood, Brandy?” - -“De fly eatee he all up plenty quick, and de ants eatee all de fly -leave. Den I dink all de rest myself. But come, sah; de soup is all -ready.” - -On board the _’Liza Ann_ Ginger Brandy had gone about his duties in a -very quiet way, indeed. He had shown himself smart enough, but had -exhibited no extra talent of any kind. Now, lo and behold! all his -nature was changed. He was in the wilds; he was part and parcel of the -wilds, and his capabilities of making the best of everything appeared to -know neither bounds nor limits. During the time Tom had been lying -insensible, he had not only got the boat drawn up, but had built a hut -inside a broken-down rocky cone, which looked like a small volcanic -crater. It was cool and clean. The roof was formed of the sail, and -inside was a soft bed of sea-weed. The provisions and ammunition were -also carefully stored here; and as there appeared to be no destroying -angels in the shape of ants about, everything was safe enough. - -The soup was splendid. Tom felt a new man as soon as he had eaten a -shellful. They had no basins, only shells. But several pannikins or -billies were among the precious stores; so there seemed but little -likelihood that they would have to live on raw meat for many a day. - -After dinner Tom noticed that Ginger Brandy was carefully banking the -fire with turf and ashes. - -“Why not let it out, Brandy? You can light it again.” - -“No, sah; nebber no mo’.” - -“Why?” - -“‘Cause, sah, I let fall de packet of lucifire match. One box catchee -fi’. Den I jump on de packet to stamp he out, and all de rest go puff. -You bery angry, sah?” - -“No, my friend; it can’t be helped. Cheer up. I say, Brandy?” - -“Yes, sah.” - -“Isn’t it fun being a Crusoe? I used to be the Hermit Hunter of the -Wilds; now I’ve turned a Crusoe, and you’re my man Friday.” - -“Befo’ de Lawd, sah,” said Ginger Brandy looking tremendously serious -all at once, “I tink de sun or de soup hab affect you’ head!” - -Tom laughed. - -“Don’t you know what a Crusoe is?” - -“Sumfin’ to eat, plaps?” - -“No, Brandy; it’s nothing to eat or drink either. Come, I’ll tell you -the story.” - -And as far as he could remember it, Tom told Ginger Brandy all the -romance of Juan Fernandez, much to his delight. - -“Dat is fus’rate, sah. Aha! you and I play at Crusoes. Aha! dere is -nuffin’ like fun. Is dere, sah? But now look, marster. De sun go down, -all red like one big slice ob pomola. You not well yet, sah. S’pose you -go to bed?” - -And Tom did, and found himself so strong next morning that he was able -for a good long stroll. - -Ginger Brandy came with him and helped to carry his gun. - -What a mysterious looking place it was, and how black and dreary -everything a little way inland looked! Those fearsome lizards basking on -the dark burned rocks near the sea seemed the evil genii of the place. -Tom could not look at them without shuddering. - -But bigger and more powerful genii than they have been at work here and -all about in ages long since passed away. The genii of volcanic fire and -water. The soil was everywhere brown and scorched looking, extinct -craters like shafts of founderies stood here and there, and ugly dark -boulders lay scattered in the open as if they had been rained from -heaven. Among these, snakes of many kinds wriggled hither and thither, -or lay coiled up in huge old half-broken shells. The very bushes -appeared black and blighted, and at a little distance seemed to have no -leaves; while the birds that flew from bough to bough were dusky, and -even the moths and beetles were sad in colour. And yet high above, the -sky was blue, and the billows out yonder sparkled in his rays as if -diamonds were being scattered on them by angels’ hands. - -The shrubs and cacti that grew further from the sea had branches so -wildly erratic, and shapes so weird, that do what he would Tom could not -disabuse his mind of the notion that either he was really on an island -of enchantment, or that he was dreaming, and might awake at any moment -on board the _’Liza Ann_. - -The gun so far was useless; there was nothing to shoot except those huge -elephantic tortoises, and that would have been cruel. They were as deaf -as posts, but wondrous quick in seeing. At a little distance many of -them looked like flat or rounded rocks; and it was therefore rather -startling to one’s nerves on getting alongside an immense slab of -supposed rock to find it had a long neck and awful head, and that it -hissed louder than a python, and began to move away. - -Tom was not sorry when the walk was over, and he found himself once more -reclining on his sea-weed couch reading Shakespeare, while Ginger Brandy -busied himself not far off making tortoise stew, with a bit of bacon in -it to give it a flavour. The delicious steam went all round Tom’s heart -each time Brandy lifted the lid to peep inside. - -Tom and Ginger Brandy spent many days at the seaside, dragging the boat -down sometimes and going for a sail. In this way they cruised round a -considerable portion of the coast. They found no signs of life anywhere, -however, and though they landed at several places they found no -tortoises.[2] - -Inland they could see high hills, but all the coast-line was bordered -with black rocks, boulders, and scoriæ. The ugly lizards were -everywhere, and swam in the water as well as crawled on the beach. - -As regards fish, Tom found the island coast a mine of luxury. Wherever -the water was fairly shallow they found them in shoals, and could -capture them with their hands--at least Ginger Brandy could; and his -method of fishing was peculiar, to say the least of it. First he -divested himself of his clothes, then overboard he sprang like a frog. -Holding one hand under the water, he dropped a few crumbs of biscuit -from the other. The fish, by no means shy, sailed up at once, and Brandy -seized them one by one slowly but surely, and threw them into the boat. - -Tom was a fairly clever naturalist, but he could not name a tenth of the -many strange varieties of fish caught, nor even guess the natural -orders to which they belonged. Most were edible. - -Some were too gaudily coloured to be otherwise than suspicious. These -Brandy discarded. Others were horribly grotesque, with immense heads, -diabolical faces and horns. Brandy would have nothing to say to these -either. - -He held a frightfully ugly specimen up one day for Tom’s inspection. - -“Is he for dinner, Ginger Brandy?” - -“Gully, massy; no, sah. Plaps, sah, he one debil. He no aflaid ob de -fire nor de f’ying pan. Suppose I put he ober de fire, sah, his ugly -mouf grow bigger, his horns grow longer, his eyes grow fierce, den he -switch his tail, jump out ob de fire and gobble up bof you and me, and -fly away in de smoke.” - -“Brandy,” said Tom one morning after breakfast, “I’m strong enough now -to explore.” - -“To ’splore, sah?” - -“Yes, Brandy. To explore the island.” - -“Well I’se strong ’nuff to ’splore mos’ anyting, sah.” - -“All right, we’ll start. There is no fear of anyone breaking into the -house while we’re away, so you needn’t lock the door, Brandy.” - -It was a delightful day, with a strong breeze chafing the sea and -roaring through the stunted shrubs and thorny cacti. The sky too was -overcast with clouds; and it being the end of October some showers had -fallen, so that the air was wondrously cool considering that they were -right under the equator. - -Tom felt as easy-minded and happy to-day as ever he did in his life. - -There was something in the very air of this semi-enchanted isle of the -ocean, that seemed to engender happiness, and hope as well. Tom had not -begun to think yet if there was any chance of his ever getting away from -the island. - -“One of these days,” he said to Brandy, “you and I will sit down and do -a jolly big think. But there is no occasion to hurry. Is there, Brandy?” - -“O, I’se in no ’ticular hurry, sah! Not in de slightest. I lub dis -little island. ’Spose we lib heah always, I not care.” - -For miles and miles they scrambled onwards and upwards, wondering, like -the little girl in the fairy tale, where they would come to at last. -They took a straight course through the thorny jungle; but afterwards -found that though this was the nearest route, it certainly was not the -quickest. Poor Brandy’s feet were cut with cinders and rocks, and both -had their faces and clothes torn with the cruel briers, that were as -sharp and long as penknives. - -They found themselves on a hilltop at last, and looking down, to their -great astonishment, into a perfect paradise. - -What was it like? It is not easy to describe. Imagine if you can a vast -green and flowery valley, surrounded on all sides by romantic hills -covered half-way to the top with waving woods, their summits round, -fantastic, coned, or serrated; the valley itself containing every -description of beautiful scenery that can be conceived. Yonder are green -parks or fields, with cattle and donkeys quietly browsing in them, and -shrubby knolls and patches of trees in their midst; yonder a beautiful -lake or pond, with cattle wading therein or standing drowsily in its -shallows; yonder a racing streamlet, like a thread of silver, winding -through the plain till lost among the woods. - -Down towards this paradise the Crusoes now hurry, new wonders greeting -their sight at every turn. The forest itself is garlanded and festooned -with flowers, trailing, climbing, and hanging, and shedding beauty -everywhere. And when they leave the woods at last and come into the -open, there are more marvels yet in store for them. A herd of wild pigs -start squeaking and grunting away from a thicket of bananas, where they -have been feeding on the fruit. There are groves of oranges, of citrons, -and limes, and further on patches of wild potatoes, yams, and vegetables -innumerable. - -And to crown all the other wonders, lo! they come to a house or rather a -hut, and at a little distance off there are others. But no smoke is now -curling up from the compounds around. The fences are decayed and overrun -with creepers; snakes glide here and there through what had once been a -pretty garden, and the door of the principal hut has fallen from its -hinges. - -Nay, not fallen; it has been smashed in, and the two skeletons that lie -bleaching not far off--one that of a child--tell the tale of a tragedy -that was enacted in these wilds many years ago far more graphically than -any words could have done. - -“I not like de look ob tings at p’esent, sah,” said Brandy. - -“Nor I either, my friend. But it is pretty evident that this island has -at one time been a settlement, that there has been a foul deed done, and -that the murderers have fled. Never mind, Brandy, we shall remove from -the desolate triton-haunted sea-shore to this lovely valley, and build -ourselves a hut. As for these poor remains we will bury them. The -wretches who committed the crime doubtless landed from a ship, and the -story of their terrible iniquity may never, never be known.” - -The Crusoes returned to the hut by the sea that same evening, Brandy -carrying on his shoulder a tiny young pig, part of which he meant to -cook for supper. - -They got up shortly after sunrise next day, and were off to the wild -interior again as soon as breakfast had been discussed. Tom carried his -rifle, Brandy carried a spade. - -In a little orange grove they dug a shallow grave, and there laid the -skeletons side by side and covered them up. - -“We’ll come some other day, Brandy, and erect a cross here,” said Tom as -they walked away. - -He paused several times to look back at the spot he had chosen for a -last resting-place for the remains. It was peculiar, and the more he -thought of it the stranger it appeared. Three trees had been planted at -right angles to the wood that rose over a hill on the east side of the -valley. They were equidistant, and close to the centre one, almost -overshadowed by it indeed, was the grove of orange-trees and bananas in -which they had made the grave. No other trees were anywhere nearer than -the wood itself. - -They must have been planted there as a mark to something. But to what? - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -STRANGE LIFE ON THE BEAUTIFUL ISLAND. - - -Tom Talisker knew nothing for some time after this of the terrible -tragedy that had taken place on the island. The place had once been a -small penal settlement for political prisoners from Ecuador, the -governor himself a suspect; but the men had revolted and slain both him -and his family, and escaping on a raft or boat had gone no one knew -whither, though in all probability to the bottom of the sea. - -Such things as men landing from a passing ship, to rob and mayhap murder -a few inhabitants of a lonely island, have happened many times and oft, -and might happen again, Tom thought. He was determined, therefore, to be -prepared. So he built a little outlook, well screened with trees, on the -top of one of the highest hills, and here he or Brandy could go every -morning to reconnoitre, with the aid of the telescope they had brought -with them. They could from this vantage ground see passing ships, and if -possible signal to them by smoke or otherwise; but if men came on shore -who looked like cut-throats, it would be easy for them to hide in the -forest. - -The finding of the skeletons and their burial in the orange grove did -not tend to raise the spirits of our hero; but as to Ginger Brandy, -nothing on earth was calculated to depress that boy long. More than once -next day, while they were busily engaged building their new hut not far -from the ruins of the old settlement, though nearer to the orange grove, -Brandy told Tom he was glad they had been cast away here, and that for -his part he would be sorry if any ship found them and brought them away. - -The building of the new villa, as they called it, was a work of time as -well as art. First and foremost they had to transport all their stores -to a tent of bamboo and plaintain leaves which they erected near the old -settlement. This necessitated a great many journeys back and fore to the -coast; and when night came at last, and they could no longer work, both -were so tired that they fell sound asleep after supper, and did not -awake until well into the morning. - -Some cattle were browsing near, but they fled in wild alarm as soon as -they saw human beings. One immense red-eyed fierce-looking bull at first -showed fight, but finally retreated slowly towards the other end of the -plain, growling ominously as he did so, and giving Tom clearly to -understand that his presence here was an intrusion that he should one -day resent. This bull had evidently been monarch of all he surveyed -before Tom’s arrival, and now to be deposed was hard indeed to bear. - -But how labour lightens the mind. Both Tom and his dusky companion were -singing and laughing all day long as they worked away at the building of -the villa. - -It really was no child’s play, however, which they had taken in hand. -All the uprights and transverse beams, the couples, &c., had to be made -of trees cut down in the woods, and borne on the shoulders to the site -they had chosen. Here they had to be deprived of their bark, for Tom -knew better than leave any shelter in his house for venomous -creepie-creepies. While he would be engaged at this bark-stripping -Brandy would be busy cooking the one great meal of the day, namely, -supper, which they discussed together by the camp fire and under the -stars. - -It took them three whole weeks to complete the building of the house, -but when it was at last finished they had good cause indeed to be proud -of their handiwork. It was certainly of no great size, nor was it of -very showy pretentions. The couples that supported the grass roof came -right down to the ground, as they had no iron nails big enough to affix -it to the top of the plank walls. A couple of axes, a good saw, some -hammers and chisels, were all the tools they possessed, and the nails -had to be made of hard wood, the holes to receive them being bored by -means of a piece of red-hot iron. - -All their energies and all their ingenuity too was therefore taxed to -make a complete job of this rustic dwelling. - -“I tell you what it is, Brandy,” Tom said one day, “I thank my stars I -had such a clever uncle when a boy. Our hermitage in the woods was built -something in this fashion, and Uncle Robert taught me how to use not -only the woodman’s axe and the carpenter’s saw, but the plasterer’s -trowel as well.” - -“Yes, sah,” replied Brandy; “and you mus’ tellee me mo’ ’bout dat same -uncle after dinner, sah.” - -That after-dinner hour or two by the camp fire was the most delightful -of the whole twenty-four. Tom was the story-teller, and his powers of -invention were so great that he never once found himself short of -material for a good spicy tale of sea and land. All his adventures here -and there, in many lands and round the world, were related to his -companion with a hundred different verbal embellishments; and Brandy -made a most excellent listener. - -But Brandy himself had an accomplishment: he could sing. His voice was a -sweet contralto; and, strange as it may seem, he always sung in good -English, though we know he could not talk the language well. Tom taught -him a great many songs he had never known before. So, what with -story-telling and singing, the long dark evenings passed quickly enough -away, and once they laid their heads down on their grass pillows they -knew no more about the world until the sun rose once again. - -Brandy was always first up, and Tom’s breakfast was waiting for him by -the time he had come back from the lake, where he used to have his -morning swim, much to the consternation of the half-wild ducks that -floated there, and built their nests among the sedges. - -When the hut was built it was plastered inside and out with a blackish -clay, which finally grew as hard as cement. Then some rude seats were -made, and a rough table, while all around the house a garden was -trenched and inclosed with a plantation fence. All kinds of vegetables -were planted or sown in this garden, and flowers from the woods and the -valley planted in beds and borders, with climbing ones along the fence; -but not along the walls. Tom knew better than that, for during their -work in the woods he had come across some very awful-looking spiders, -and other ugly crawling things that he wished to keep at as safe a -distance as possible. - -If Brandy was enamoured of his wild and lonely life, so was Black Tom, -the cat. He was seldom at home from sunrise till sunset; but invariably -put in an appearance at dinner-time, and kept up the old sea custom of -sleeping in his master’s arms every night. Tom had come to love this -honest cat so much, that he even doubted whether he would not as soon -have lost Brandy himself as puss. If he happened to be half an hour late -of an evening his master would even put dinner back till he came. - -Black Tom one day proved himself a friend in need in a very remarkable -manner. - -All unconscious of danger Tom Talisker was coming singing to himself, -gun on shoulder, across the plain, when out from the woods rushed that -fiery-eyed bull. He was close on Tom before he knew what was about to -happen. His rifle was unloaded. Instinct caused him to run, and he did -his best while doing so to get a cartridge in. - -On rushes the maddened brute, with tail erect and awful horned head at -the charge. It seems as if nothing can save Tom. The cartridge will -neither go in nor come out from where it has stuck. But at that moment -something rushes past Tom which at first he can hardly see. It is his -feline friend, and he springs at once on the bull’s head with a yell of -anger and claws at his eyes. This is more than the bull has bargained -for. He pauses and tosses his head wildly in the air, but the cat keeps -firm hold. - -At last the cartridge goes home, and Tom advances now. But where to fire -is the difficulty. His aim must be a steady one, else he may kill his -little protector. - -Bang! at last, and the bull drops. Dead? Yes, dead; for the bullet has -entered behind and below the ear, torn through the carotid artery, and -lodged in the brain itself. - -The cat comes singing up now and rubs himself against his master’s knee, -and the two walk home together. - -The very next day another huge black bull was seen to quietly possess -himself of the dead monarch’s flock. Where he had come from Tom could -not even guess, but the probability is he had been condemned to a life -in the woods during his predecessor’s reign. - -“Do cats go to heaben w’en dey dies, sah?” asked Brandy one evening as -the three friends lounged near the camp fire. - -“What makes you speak so, Brandy?” - -“‘Cause, sah, I ’spects dat cat is one angel, sah. I ’spects some day he -talk.” - -“Well, I shouldn’t wonder a great deal. Indeed, I would not wonder at -anything that happened in this strange island.” - -It may be as well mentioned that never an evening did Tom lie down -without reading a portion of the Bible that his mother had given him, -and praying a simple but earnest little prayer for their own safety -during the silent watches of the night, and for those who were far, far -away in their homes beyond the sea. - -No work was ever done on Sunday, and no stories told except those of -Bible lands or the sweet old story of our salvation, which the negro boy -was never tired listening to. - -One evening, about three months after they had landed on the island, a -terrible storm swept over it. The lightning seemed to set the very woods -on fire, and to run along the ground in the awful rain. Next day the -inland lake was a little sea, and acres of the forest had been levelled -to the ground by the force of the gale. - -When Brandy went out in the morning to prepare breakfast, a sorrowful -lad was he; for the rain had completely drowned out the fire, and there -were no matches. - -He was not to be beaten, however; and so set to work to make fire in the -usual way adopted by savages--piercing a hole in a piece of soft plank -and twirling a pointed piece of very hard dry wood. It took him nearly -an hour, however, to accomplish the feat. - -Two months passed away, making five months in all since the foundering -of the _’Liza Ann_, but all that time they had never seen a passing -ship. True, they spent only a part of the day at the outlook; but the -view was so extensive that had a vessel been anywhere within a radius of -twenty miles or more they would have discried it. - -All the food, consisting chiefly of biscuits and tinned meats which they -had taken from the ship, had long since been finished; but this was a -small matter so long as their ammunition held out. Of this, however, Tom -was now unusually careful; and for ordinary purposes of hunting they -used bows and arrows, and soon became very accomplished marksmen indeed. - -They also paid frequent visits to the sea-shore, and, embarking in their -dinghy, caught fish. As to fruit and vegetables, these were abundant; -so that on the whole they wanted for nothing. - -Salt, by the way, was at first wanting, till Tom thought of the -old-fashioned plan of placing seawater in shallows or rocks. When it -evaporated it left a crust of saline matter, and this had to do duty as -a relish. - -And now with constant hard work in the forest their clothes began to get -somewhat ragged, and also their shoes; so Tom had to learn two new -trades, those of shoemaker--or rather cobbler--and tailor. As for Ginger -Brandy, he dispensed entirely with the use of shoes, and almost entirely -with clothes even. He told Tom that he was not afraid of the sun -spoiling _his_ complexion. - -“But, O marster,” he added, “_you_ is getting redder ebery day. Bymeby -you turn brown, den black, and den dere will be two niggah boys. Aha! -Your ole moder won’t know you, sah, when you goes home.” - -“Home, Brandy!” said Tom with a sigh. “Heigh-ho! I begin to think we -will never, never see home any more.” - -Yes, Tom had sighed. It was the first sigh for liberty; for albeit the -wild free life the two Crusoes led now was very enjoyable, there were -times when, do as he might, he could not prevent thoughts of home from -crowding into his mind. - -But he could not help thinking also how happy he was to have such a -faithful companion as Ginger Brandy. To be quite alone on such an island -as this at night and all the livelong day would, he thought, have driven -him out of his mind. - -The silence was irksome by day, although then there were the songs of -birds and the loud hum of insect life; but at night hardly a hush was to -be heard, except now and then a strange eerie cry in the forest that -only served to make the solitude feel more deep and awful. - -They were several miles inland, and yet every night the sound of the -waves breaking on the rocks fell distinctly on their ears, and all night -long till sunrise awakened once more the voices of the woods and glens. - -There grew a tree with a tall, slim, even stem not far from the hut, and -every Saturday afternoon Tom cut a notch thereon, and thus kept count of -time. One day he reckoned these up. There were thirty-eight in all! He -started. He could hardly believe it. But it was true nevertheless. They -had been over eight long months on the island! - -And the time had gone quickly enough by. Tom could not say he was -unhappy. There was something in the very air they breathed which had -seemed to brew contentment, and make the days fly quickly past. - -Birds and beasts too became very tame. Wild ducks even came in flocks to -the water’s edge to be fed, and the new bull was such a gentlemanly -fellow that he used to lead his cows towards the hut to be milked. The -mocking-birds would sit on the fence at sundown and sing low and sweetly -till darkness fell, and moon or stars shone out. - -But I have something still more wonderful to relate. Those elephantic -tortoises that came almost every day to look for their favourite food in -the valley--a species of sweet and esculent cactus--grew so tame at last -that they no longer drew in their necks or even hissed when Tom or -Brandy approached, which they never did without an armful of something -for them to eat. - -They had their regular beaten tracks to or from the high plateau where -the Crusoes lived. When upon these they turned neither to the right hand -nor to the left, but went steadily though slowly on to their journey’s -end. - -Well, Brandy and Tom soon fell upon a plan to take advantage of this. If -they wanted to go towards the beach they would turn a monster in that -direction on his beaten pathway, then mount his back and be hauled away. -If the monsters they squatted on felt disinclined to move, they had only -to strike two on the shell and off they waddled. - -This was glorious fun, and only had one drawback--the tortoises seldom -moved at a quicker pace than two miles an hour; but as time was no -object to either Tom or Brandy, it did not make much difference in the -long run. They were always good to their strange steeds and never -attempted to ride back to the valley, and it is to be hoped the -tortoises appreciated their goodness. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -“HE WAS CONVINCED NOW HE HAD SEEN A SPECTRE AND NOTHING ELSE.” - - -When a few months more had gone over their heads it is no wonder that -the time began to seem a little longer. - -Tom spent more time now alone by himself at the outlook station on the -hilltop. I really ought not to say “alone,” however, when so faithful a -companion as puss was with him. - -Brandy and he had built a sun shelter here, and as there was always a -little breeze blowing it was delightful enough to sit under cover and -read or write. He read his Shakespeare till he had it well nigh by -heart, and used to spend hours in reciting. Often of an evening too he -used to delight his dusky companion by reading nearly a whole play. This -was a pleasant way of spending the time. But he thought of another, and -one which Ginger Brandy became quite enamoured of. This was simply the -good old-fashioned game of draughts; and over this they spent many a -quiet and pleasant evening. It was very easy to make a board, and -anything did duty as men--slices of vegetables, for instance. - -Although it fell dark shortly after sunset in this island, it must not -be supposed they wanted light. No; for from the fat of the animals -killed for food they made excellent candles, the wicks being composed of -a kind of pith from rushes that grew plentifully near the water’s edge. - -In the mornings Brandy went hunting in the woods or over the hills with -his master, then he would go by himself to the hut to get dinner ready, -and prepare to have a delightful hour or two before retiring. But it -soon grew a habit with Tom to spend the afternoon with pussy at the -outlook. - -But, alas! he swept the horizon in vain for any signs of the coming -ship. - -One afternoon a sharp thunder-storm kept him longer at his station than -usual. But the sun went down, and darkness came on apace, before he had -recognized that it was so late. It would be impossible now to find his -way down through the woods until the moon should rise. Brandy would -certainly be anxious about him; but there was no help for it, wait he -must. - -Happily the moon was nearly a full one, when it did rise he would have -plenty of light. - -But waiting here was certainly lonesome. - -He began to think of home, and before many minutes he was in dreamland. -And the spirit of his dreams flew away with him far over the sea, far -over the wild mountain lands of Ecuador, across Colombia, and across the -wide Atlantic to the dear old farm of Craigielea; and he found himself, -as he thought, walking towards the house from the pine-wood, with little -laughing ’Theena by his side. ’Theena was not a whit bigger, nor did she -seem a day older, than when he had left her. Nor was his mother, father, -and uncle at all astonished to see him, but simply made room for him at -the fireside, as in the days of yore; and he sat as of old at his -sister’s feet, with her loving fingers entwined in his hair. - -How long he had slept he could not tell. He awoke with a start at last; -for the cat had sprung on his shoulder, and was growling low and -ominously. The moon was very high now, and suddenly escaping from a -cloud shone full on the figure of a man, or--was it a spectre? - -An unaccountable feeling of superstitious dread seized him, and he -trembled in every limb. The figure was tall, and as well as could be -made out dressed in skins, but with naked brown arms and feet. The face -was almost black, and a short dark beard curled round cheeks and chin. - -Next instant he or _it_ had glided silently behind a tree. - -Tom forced a laugh to relieve his mind. - -“I have been dreaming,” he said aloud. - -But surely there must have been something there, else why had the cat -growled? - -For the first time in his life, as far as he could remember, he -experienced something akin to genuine fear as he set out to walk -homewards through the woods. - -The clouds were very high to-night, which gave the moon the appearance -of being exceedingly far away. The whole sky, partially overcast with -these soft-looking feathery clouds, had little rifts of deep dark blue -between, and it was only when the moon escaped into one of these that -everything could be seen distinctly. - -But a hundred times at least during his journey through that wild forest -Tom started, as he thought he saw that strange skin-clad man lurking -among the bushes. - -What a relief it was to his feelings when he got clear at last of the -weird-looking trees, whose very shadows to-night seemed to enter his -soul! And, look, yonder was Brandy bounding joyfully to meet him. - -“O, sah, sah, I’se so glad you come. I tink you lost. I tink I nebber, -nebber see you no more. And de drefful man, sah! O, he scare poor Brandy -a’most to def, sah.” - -“The man, Brandy! What, you have seen him too? Then it was no -apparition.” - -“I dun know nuffin’, sah. I was bend down near de fire to makee he burn -up more bright, den I hear a footstep. I look up plenty quick, and -dere--O, it was drefful, sah, dat hairy man, all same’s one big baboon!” - -“Which way did he go?” - -“Round by de ruins, sah. Den I see him run to de forest, O, ebber so -fast! I tink he one ghost, sah. Den I tink plaps he hab murder you, and -I turn pale wid fear.” - -“Come along anyhow,” said Tom, “and give me some dinner. I am famishing, -and food will banish fear; though, Brandy, I think it would take a good -deal to make you turn pale.” - -Hardly anything else was thought about that night except the apparition; -and lest he should come again at midnight, Tom loaded his rifle and kept -it handy by his couch. - -Days wore by, and nothing more was seen of the hairy man, and Tom began -to think it must after all have been a baboon. Brandy and he went to the -woods together as usual; but after this somehow neither cared to stay -alone at the outlook station, and they were always at home by nightfall. - -One evening, however,--a clear and starlit one it was, with everything -easily seen at a considerable distance--Tom was taking a last look -round before turning in, when he saw that figure again crossing the -plain not a hundred yards away. - -He followed slowly. He seemed impelled to follow. The figure glided on -silently far in front, and finally disappeared in the orange grove where -the graves were. - -While following the strange figure Tom had experienced no fear; but -immediately it disappeared the same unaccountable feeling of -apprehension stole over him, and he retraced his steps to the hut, nor -would he have gazed behind him for all the world. - -He was convinced now in his own mind that he had seen a spectre and -nothing else. - -Curiosity led Brandy and him to visit the orange grove next day, -nevertheless. - -What they saw almost took their breath away for a moment. - -The grave had been opened, the skeletons taken up and thrown on one -side, and quite a quantity of earth excavated from the bed in which they -had lain. - -“No spectre has done this,” said Tom as soon as he had recovered the -power of speech. - -“Look, marster,” said Brandy; “it is de ebil man. He hab drefful claws.” - -The sides of the grave really did appear to have been clawed at, and -this only deepened the mystery. - -Tom touched nothing; he even obliterated the marks of their footsteps, -and left the skeletons as they were. - -“Was the creature who had done this deed a ghoul?” he could not help -thinking as he walked silently back to the hut with Ginger Brandy. - -“Brandy,” he said that afternoon, “let us have an early dinner -to-night.” - -“Sartinly, sah. But--” - -“But what, my friend?” - -“Dere am sumfing strange in your eye, sah. You is goin’ to de grabe -after dinner to watch?” - -“You have guessed aright, Brandy. I am going to the grave to watch. Be -this creature man or beast, fiend or ghoul, I shall get to the bottom of -the mystery to-night.” - -“Brandy go too?” - -“No, you must stop in the hut; and you must keep Black Tom in too. The -cat might spoil all.” - -“I stay at home den, marster. But I dreffully frightened.” - -“There is no occasion to be frightened, Brandy. Say your prayers, and -nothing will happen to you or to me.” - -“O, I pray, sah, fo’ true. I pray all de time you away; but I dreffully -aflaid all de same.” - -The moon would not rise to-night till past twelve, and there was little -likelihood of the creature visiting the orange grove before then. - -But soon after ten o’clock Tom, with revolver in belt, left the hut, and -betook himself across the plain to the little grove of trees where the -now unburied skeletons lay. - -The tree that overshadowed the place afforded ample room for -concealment, so he climbed well up and sat down to watch. - -Would the ghoul appear? - -How very long the time seemed! - -The silence was intense to-night, for not a breath of air was stirring -among the leaves. The moan of the restless sea was distinctly audible. -And at intervals strange voice-sounds came from the woods, and from the -lonesome far-off hills; sounds that perhaps birds or beasts emitted, and -which it was difficult to locate exactly, for at times they appeared to -come from the very sky itself. But they made Tom feel very eerie, and -more than once he repented of his rashness, and wished he had not -undertaken so lonely a vigil. - -At long last the moon rose red and rosy over the mountains, and soon its -light glimmered through the orange trees and fell in patches on and -around the grave. - -Tom placed his hand on his revolver, and sat on his perch as silent as -the leaves themselves. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -“UNDER THE GRAVE YOU DUG ARE GOLD AND PRECIOUS STONES.” - - -The creature, whatever it was, came at last, and so silently, too, that -Tom was startled. How his heart did beat! It was audible to himself, it -caused him even to shake, and he fancied he could even feel the branch -of the tree tremble under him. - -The figure stood for fully a minute gazing down into the grave; then a -sigh escaped it, and descending into the hollow the operation of digging -was commenced with vigour. Not with the hands or claws, however, but -with a huge white shell; and it was the marks of this on the sides of -the excavation that had so alarmed poor Brandy. - -The strength of the creature seemed enormous, and the grave got deeper -and deeper every minute. But in a short time the figure desisted, and -standing up wiped the perspiration from its brow. This was a very human -act, and went far to banish fear from Tom’s heart. Almost at the same -moment the creature turned its face up towards the moonlight, and Tom -was able to satisfy himself it was a man and nothing else. - -He made up his mind for instant action now, and just as this skin-clad -savage had commenced to dig again he sprang lightly from the tree and -stood before him, revolver in hand. - -An eldritch scream was the first result of this manœuvre of Tom’s, and -the wild man attempted to scramble from the grave. - -“Hold, my friend!--hold!” cried Tom. “I am armed. You see my pistol. Do -not force me to fire.” - -“Fire!--no, no, no!” was the reply in strangely broken and semi-guttural -English. “Fire me!--no, no! I surrend--I surrend--I prison--I prison--” - -“Yes, you are my prisoner. But you have nothing to fear; only come along -with me to my hut. Promise me you will not run away, and I and my black -servant will do everything we can for your comfort.” - -“You English? No, I fly not from Englishmen. I took -you--Spanish--Ecuador.” - -The strange being was smiling now. - -“O!” he continued, “I--happy.” - -It was soon evident to Tom that this wild man was, like himself, a -Briton, but must have been so long a recluse that he had forgotten his -own language. This became more apparent every minute. Tom’s voice and -talking seemed to recall words and phrases to him, though for weeks -after their meeting the man could not finish any long word. - -Great indeed was Brandy’s surprise and terror when Tom walked into the -hut in company with the very apparition they had both seen, and who had -clawed up the grave. - -“Come, Brandy, boy, don’t stand and stare. This is an Englishman. He was -only afraid of us because he thought we were Spanish. Get us supper -quick, and get something nice while you are about it.” - -Brandy took one more look at the wild man, then laughing heartily held -out his hand. This was cordially shaken, and thus friendly relations -between all three were speedily established. Nay, but between all four, -I should say; for Black Tom soon jumped on the stranger’s knee and gave -vent to his pleasure in a song. - -“But,” said Brandy, “I take you for de debil at fust, sah. But now I’se -mistaken. Aha! O, golly! dere is one big load tumble off dis chile’s -liber. Aha! I not turn pale wid fear no more.” - -And away bustled Brandy to get the supper ready. - -The wild man ate what was placed before him almost ravenously, though -with little regard to table etiquette. Indeed, Tom half thought at one -time he wanted to take the food into a corner quietly and devour it as a -tiger does his prey. - -He spoke scarcely a word all the time supper was being partaken of, but -he was evidently far from at ease. The wind had risen now and was -moaning drearily round the hut, and he started often and listened as if -he heard voices in it. When Brandy had cleared away he spoke at last. - -“I--go--now,” he said with some hesitation, “to the woods.” - -“No, no, no!” cried Tom. “My dear friend, you are safe here. Yonder on a -bed of grass you shall sleep. Nothing shall hurt you. To-morrow, or -rather to-day--for it is late--we will talk.” - -And the strange wild man extended a sleepy hand to Tom, smoothed the -cat--a touch of nature not lost on Tom--and went and threw himself on -his bed, and almost immediately went sound asleep. - -Before Brandy retired he advanced furtively and half fearfully to his -master, and pointing to the recumbent figure, “Marster,” he said, “he -safe--puffikly safe? And he not de debil--you is sure? Den I sleep. All -same, I pray some mo’.” - -Both Brandy and Tom slept late. When they awoke they found the wild -man’s couch deserted. But he had not fled; he was outside lying under a -bush playing with the cat; and when Tom proposed an adjournment to the -lake for the purpose of ablution and a swim, he joyfully assented. - -Tom was perfectly astonished at the wild man’s prowess in the water. He -had all the strength and agility of a seal. - -After breakfast Tom and he went off for a walk in the woods. They went -not anywhere near the orange grove to-day. They passed over the hill -where the outlook station was. - -“I see you often here,” said Tom’s companion. - -“I wish you had revealed yourself sooner.” - -“I was afraid. Say, will you come to my house?” - -Tom looked at him just once. Yes, he could trust him. There was -something almost benevolent in the man’s face, wild though he was and -had been. His eye was a dark and kindly one, and strangely enough Tom -thought that he had seen someone like him somewhere. He was not old, -this wild man--probably but little older than Tom; and he was remarkably -handsome--every movement of his lithe body was as graceful and easy as -those of the jaguar. - -“What shall I call you?” said Tom. - -“My name is Yanakova.” - -He led Tom through the woods and wilds for many miles, then into a close -dark bit of jungle near the top of a high hill. Here was a cave. It was -lined with skins and carpeted with skins--skins everywhere, indeed. - -From the doorway of this strange dwelling, where the bushes were tied -back with a piece of thong, they could see the ocean spread blue and -beautiful far beneath them, the sea-beach with the white line of -breaking waters, and all the greenery of hills and dells, ending in the -dark and burned border around the sea. - -Here the two new-made friends rested for nearly an hour, hardly -speaking, for the day was a drowsy one. - -“My good Yanakova,” said Tom at last, “will you tell me your story? It -must be a strange one.” - -“I’ll tell you my story,” said Yanakova with all the simplicity of a -little child. And he spoke as follows, though it would be impossible to -give the exact words, or even to describe the wild man’s method of -talking:-- - -“My story is a sad one. I will begin not at the beginning but the end of -it, when I met you. I took you for Spanish. Most of the Spanish I hate. -But I had one friend among them. He was governor of this island long, -long ago. We were convicts all, in number ten. The others had died or -been taken away. Then the government of Ecuador forgot us. Sometimes in -long intervals a ship would come, but not often. So the governor told -me. They came for tortoises, but the tortoises were nearly all killed; -then they came no more. But the convicts were bad; they rose one day and -killed my friend the governor and his children, I fought like a madman. -I loved the governor. But they left me for dead, and went away in a raft -from the island. I could not look at the settlement after that. I fled -to the woods, and lived as best I could.” - -“Had you been long on the island?” - -“If I can judge of time, only a year or two. But it seemed an age. O, I -feel very old!” - -“But, Yanakova, what had you done to deserve banishment here?” - -“I was an Indian chief. I came from the eastern wilds of Ecuador with -fifty warriors. They said I conspired against the government; and so -they sent me here. I do not now repent it. I have met you.” - -“But stay, Yanakova, this is not all your terribly eventful history. Go -farther back into the past--tell me of your childhood, your earlier -days, your parents.” - -“No, no, no!” cried Yanakova; “that is all a dream, and some part of it -is a fearful dream. I do not wish to dream that dream again.” - -“Then listen, Yanakova, and I will tell you a story--a brief one.” - -As Tom spoke he was sitting on a fallen tree at the entrance to the -cave, his wild companion lying at full length at his feet, leaning on -his elbows and gazing intently and intensely at Tom’s face as he -proceeded with his story. - -“There was a ship many years ago” he said, “that sailed away from -England to visit strange islands and countries on the Pacific shore; for -the captain was rich, owned his ship, and dearly loved a life on the -ocean wave. He had a wife and a little boy, and both went with him. Nay -more, on the sea a baby was born; and no one was happier than the kindly -captain then.” - -Tom paused. - -“Go on. Speak quick,” cried Yanakova. - -“It came to pass soon after, that thinking to make themselves rich, the -crew, under the command of an evil-minded half-caste, mutinied. They -killed the mate, and those of the men that had taken the captain’s part. -Then they ran the ship on the rocks and left the rest to perish.” - -“_All_ the rest?” - -“No, not all the rest. They took away the boy, and the boy’s nurse, and -sold them both for slaves--” - -Yanakova’s excitement was almost fearful to witness. He had raised -himself to his knees, and thus remained clutching Tom’s hands. - -“The boy’s name?” he gasped. - -“Bernard Herbert, and you are he!” - -“Then the Great Spirit has heard my prayer. I have found one who can -tell me of my parents. Does mother live?” - -“Alas, no. But your sister and father lives, I hope.” - -“My sister?” - -“Yes, the child ’Theena.” - -“Then tell me more, tell me all, and tell who you are.” - -So Tom had to repeat the story of his own life and adventures from the -very beginning, Bernard never once taking his eyes off his face while -he spoke. - -When he had finished, Tom took from a little pocket-book a bunch of -portraits, and handed them to his companion. He looked half afraid of -them at first. - -“O,” he cried, “is this right? I have seen such things at Quito. Are -these the souls of these peoples stolen away?”[3] - -“No, no,” replied Tom laughing. “Only sun pictures--only shadow -likenesses.” - -He handled them rapidly now; but put them all aside except one--his -mother’s. - -On this he gazed long and fondly, the tears meanwhile chasing each other -adown his sun-browned face. - -Tom was glad to see him weep. It was so human. He was no longer the -savage, no longer the wild man. He was Bernard Herbert, ’Theena’s -brother. - -Then Tom told him more about ’Theena, and about the dream he had in his -boyhood. - -“Part of this dream has come true,” said Tom; “and you see the Great -Spirit has also heard my prayer. The other part about going back to my -own country wealthy and restoring the old castle was but a child’s idle -folly. O, Bernard, if ever we can leave this island, and return to dear -old Craigielea and my parents, I shall be happy even if in rags.” - -“O, but stay, brother, stay. You shall be wealthy. In the orange grove -down yonder, under the grave you dug, are more gold and precious stones -than we could carry or even lift. I found the treasure; but I touch it -not unless you consent to share it.” - -“This, then,” said Tom laughing now, “is the secret of the grave we had -thought desecrated. Come, then, we shall bury the skeletons elsewhere; -and, if we are fortunate ever to get away from this lonely island, I -will share your treasure.” - -“Thank you, brother, thank you. How good the Great Spirit is to us at -last!” - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -“O, BERNARD, IT IS YOUR FATHER’S SHIP!.” - - -After the strange meeting with Bernard Herbert, his imprisonment on the -lonely island no longer felt irksome to Tom Talisker. - -Indeed, for a time at all events, he was in no hurry for “the ship” to -come. Had it arrived the first week even, I daresay Tom would have been -a little disappointed. O, it was bound to appear some day or other; all -three prisoners felt sure of that. For they were young and healthy, and -therefore they were happy and hopeful. Why should they not enjoy life as -thoroughly as possible, therefore? They did so anyhow. - -They hunted, they fished, they roamed through the woods and wild glens, -and studied nature in its every phase and form, and in fact really felt -part and parcel of the living joys and wonders all around them. - -“It is very well being a Crusoe, for a short time all by yourself,” Tom -said one day to Bernard; “but it is doubly delightful to have a -companion.” - -The very flowers seemed more beautiful now, the trees looked greener, -and the sky and sea a deeper blue. - -Strange to say, neither Tom nor Bernard thought twice of the buried -treasure. It was there waiting them when they wanted it. Far more in -gold alone than would purchase all the lands of Craigielea, and half the -parish besides. They did not even trouble themselves to wonder how it -had come there. A dying convict had told Bernard its whereabouts--a -convict that he had befriended--and doubtless it had been concealed long -years ago by the buccaneers who infested these seas in the good old -times. - -The huge tame tortoises were a source of endless amusement to the -Crusoes. They even managed to domesticate them. Two of these especially -were great pets and favourites. Both were old males--bulls Bernard -called them; and there is really no saying how long they might not have -crawled about the island--probably a hundred years if not two. Tortoises -are animals that take life wondrously easy. They never hurry, and most -assuredly never worry; and thus they manage to exist for a whole -century, and live happy ever afterwards. - -One would think that during such a long innings the Galapagos tortoise -would amass a vast deal of wisdom. Perhaps they do; but, if so, they -keep it to themselves. They seem to know that silence is golden, and -consequently stick to it. These two giants, Peter and John the Crusoes -called them, knew well enough what was good for them; and that is more -than some boys do. Their food was collected for them, and they stopped -eating at once when nature was satisfied; and they never touched -anything that was left, a second time. If stale food were offered to -them, they snorted and drew in their heads at once; but as soon as the -half-dry stuff was taken away, and some nice juicy morsels of cacti -placed about a yard off, out came the heads again. Not quickly; O, no, -they did not even hurry themselves in putting their heads out; though -they always managed to draw them in with a jerk - -[Illustration: GIANT TORTOISE RIDING] - -when offended. Black Tom was their particular aversion. I cannot -understand why, but as soon as he appeared, “Pshaw!” they would shout, -and in went their heads in a moment; and away Black Tom would fly, with -his tail on end and like a bottle brush. The cat could growl and hiss -pretty well himself; but not in the terribly startling way the tortoises -did. John was the better-natured of these two race-horses. That is the -reason they call him John. The other was a little crotchety so they -called him Peter. Peter did not like anyone to point a stick or even a -finger at him. If you did so, you offended him at once. “Pshaw!” he -would cry, and draw in his head, and one could not help feeling mean. -But you might have pointed a finger all day long at John, and he would -not have troubled himself. - -Is it possible, I wonder, for huge ungainly monsters like these to -possess affection? I myself believe it is; and that John grew really -fond of Tom. For sometimes after eating his dinner, instead of drawing -in his neck and going quickly to sleep as his brother Peter did, John -started looking or staring at Tom, if he happened to be lying reading -out of doors. It was a long, steady, stony stare, that lasted for -perhaps half an hour at a time. Bernard used to say that he saw a smile -on John’s face; but Tom would not admit that. However, there was no -mistake about the staring; for Tom used to shift his position, and the -head and neck followed him slowly round. But John never turned his body -round. That would have been far too much trouble. When Tom got tired of -being stared at like this he used to call for pussy. That was enough for -John. “Pshaw!” he would cry, and in would go the neck. - - * * * * * - -In about a month’s time Bernard Herbert, though still dressed in -garments made of skin, was as thoroughly civilized as could be wished, -and his English was now unexceptionably good. But though a handsome man, -he was a terribly red-brown one. The tanning his skin had received in -the wilds of the eastern lands of Ecuador would probably never leave it; -only there was surely nothing to be sorry for on this account. - -Tom had commenced to teach Bernard to read, and, partly because his -heart was in it, and partly because he really was very clever, he soon -made excellent progress. - -One forenoon when Brandy was away in the woods Tom had just sat down to -give Brother Bernard, as he called him, a lesson, when they heard a -distant shout, and looking up beheld the negro boy coming rushing wildly -over the plain. - -Tom ran for his rifle, then hastened to meet him, not knowing what might -be the matter. He hailed the lad when near enough; but Brandy had no -voice now, he could only point away seawards and make faces. - -“Is it a ship?” cried Tom. - -Brandy signalled assent, and back ran Tom, shouting wildly, madly, -exultantly-- - -“A ship! A ship!” - -And Bernard threw his goat-skin cap in the air and joined the chorus, -for Brandy had recovered his breath, and the very woods and welkin rang -with-- - -“A ship! A ship!” - -Then away they all hurried together to the look-out station. - -The vessel was standing steadily in towards the land, with all sail set. - -But Tom had only to look at her once before he exclaimed: - -“O, Bernard, it is the _Caledonia_! It is your father’s ship!” - -Bernard smiled faintly, then pressed both hands to his heart, as if in -sudden pain. Strong man though he was, the joyful and sudden news was -almost too much for him. - -He recovered in a moment though; then, as if by some sudden impulse, the -three joined hands and danced and capered there until they were fain to -desist from sheer exhaustion. They quieted down after this. They had -allayed their excitement, blown off their steam. But for the time being -surely no madder, dafter dance had ever been danced on a hilltop. -Brandy, with his black face and white rolling eyes, the wild red man in -his skins, and honest Tom Talisker in his rags-a comical trio! - -I think when the dance was over they were all a little ashamed of it; -but after all what else could they have done under the circumstances? - -“Well, sah,” said Ginger Brandy, “I’se ’llayed my feelings plenty -proper.” - -“And I’ve allayed mine,” said Tom. - -“I think,” said Bernard, “that dance has saved my reason.” - -“And now,” cried Tom, “look, yonder goes the anchor down. Let us run and -meet them.” - -Well, surely there is truth in the old saying that wonders will never -cease, for who should Tom meet near the shore coming panting up the -tortoise-path but Uncle Robert himself. - -“O, may the Lord be praised, my boy, we have found you.” - -And for one moment Tom in his rags was pressed to the old man’s heart, -and, will it be believed, he was sobbing like a child. - -Uncle Robert saw he could not speak, though he was trying hard to, so he -wisely forestalled his questions. - -“Your mother and father, sister and brothers are all well, and ’Theena -is here on board the _Caledonia_.” - -About the same time an earnest-eyed red man in goat skins had rushed up -to Captain Herbert on the beach. - -“Father,” he said. “Do not start, I am your boy, Bernard!” - -But wonders had not ceased even yet. For coming along the path, -clambering over lumps of scoriæ and kicking away cinders, was Barnaby -Blunt himself. - -“I tell you what it is, friends, this is about the prettiest bit of an -ending to a drama that ever I see’d in all my born days, and I reckon -nobody’ll care to contradict me. Here was Captain Barnaby Blunt -foundered at sea, and took to boats, separated from his dinghy and -finally picked up by a whaler, who landed him at Buenos Ayres. Here five -months afterwards was Captain Herbert, and my young friend’s Uncle -Robert, come out from England to look for their runaway boys, and here -we all meet again as unexpected as if we had dropped out of a balloon. -If it ain’t about the strangest and queerest thing that ever happened, -then may Barnaby Blunt never command a ship of his own again, nor meet -his dear old wife, ’Liza Ann. And here’s Brandy himself.” - -Then this queer old Quaker Yankee got serious all at once. - -“I say, men and boys,” he said, “don’t you think we’ve all got a deal to -be thankful for. Then let us just kneel down here among the cinders and -praise God’s holy name.” - -They did kneel down--just there, where they had been standing, and if -Barnaby Blunt’s prayer was brief it was heartfelt. - - * * * * * - -Reader, my story is all but ended, and I am not the one to keep the -curtain up a single minute longer than is necessary. - -Just as they were then, in their rags and skins, Captain Herbert -insisted on bundling them on board the _Caledonia_. “Bundling” is the -right word in the right place. - -When Tom Talisker saw advancing to meet him on the quarter-deck a -beautiful girl of some seventeen summers--we should always call it -summers when talking of a lady’s age--he felt inclined to hang fire, and -Bernard was half afraid too. - -But Tom soon screwed up his courage, took Brother Bernard by the hand, -and both advanced; and when she looked at them ’Theena first smiled and -then laughed right heartily, though the tears were rolling over her face -all the time. And everybody joined in the laugh, even the Crusoes -themselves. - - * * * * * - -The treasure was safely loaded and stowed, and let me say to his credit -that Barnaby Blunt was not a bit jealous of the young men’s luck. - -“‘Liza Ann and me has eno’, praised be His name,” said Barnaby, “and I -wish you long life and luck to spend your fortune, boys.” - -When boats at Guayaquil brought off Tom’s treasures of natural history, -and brought off at the same time his old friend Samaro to see Uncle -Robert, the latter was indeed a proud and happy man. And his parting -with his quondam guide was quite affecting. - -“My boy Tom may see you again, Samaro,” he said, “he is a rover born; -but I never shall till we meet up bye. Farewell!” - -“_A dios_, my good señor. _A dios._” - -These were Samaro’s last words as he went slowly over the side. - - * * * * * - -It was many months after this ere the good ship _Caledonia_ was towed up -the Clyde; but the long voyage had been a very happy one, almost idyllic -indeed, and ere it was all ended ’Theena had one evening under the -silvery stars promised Tom Talisker that she would take a longer voyage -with him--the voyage through life. - -They are living now at Craigielea; Tom’s parents still keep the fine old -farm, but Tom himself lives at Craigie Castle, and owns the shootings. -Black Tom, the cat, is also alive and very living like. Uncle Robert has -rooms at the castle too. The place would not be complete without Uncle -Robert. - -Bernard is still a bachelor and likely to be, but he has bought a fine -estate not far from Tom’s place. - -Between them they own a very beautiful yacht, with decks white as snow -and sails like sea-bird’s wings; but only their most intimate friends -know the reason why she is named the _Southern Hope_. - - - - -“English boys owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Henty.”--_Athenæum._ - -Blackie & Son’s - -Illustrated Story Books - -LARGE CROWN 8VO, CLOTH EXTRA, OLIVINE EDGES - - -G. A. HENTY - - =On the Irrawaddy=: A Story of the First Burmese War. _New Edition._ -3_s._ 6_d._ - -“Stanley Brooke’s pluck is even greater than his luck, and he is -precisely the boy to hearten with emulation the boys who read his -stirring story.”--_Saturday Review._ - ---=A March on London=: A Story of Wat Tyler’s insurrection. _New Edition._ -3_s._ 6_d._ - - “The story is set forth with a degree of cunning that may always be -looked for in the work that comes from this practised hand.”--_Daily -Telegraph._ - ---=Through the Sikh War=: A Tale of the Conquest of the Punjaub. _New -Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “On the whole we have never read a more vivid and faithful narrative of -military adventure in India.”--_Academy._ - ---=In Greek Waters=: A Story of the Grecian war of Independence. _New -Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “There are adventures of all kinds for the hero and his friends, whose -pluck and ingenuity in extricating themselves from awkward fixes are -always equal to the occasion.”--_Journal of Education._ - ---=Maori and Settler=: A Story of the New Zealand War. _New Edition._ -3_s._ 6_d._ - - “This is a first-rate book, brimful of adventure.”--_Schoolmaster._ - ---=St. Bartholomew’s Eve=: A Tale of the Huguenot Wars. _New Edition._ -3_s._ 6_d._ - - “A really good story.”--_Bookman._ - ---=Under Drake’s Flag=: A Tale of the Spanish Main. _New Edition._ 3_s._ -6_d._ - - “A stirring book of Drake’s time.”--_Daily Telegraph._ - ---=Orange and Green=: A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick. _New Edition._ -3_s._ 6_d._ - - “_Orange and Green_ is an extremely spirited story.”--_Saturday -Review._ - ---=A Final Reckoning=: A Tale of Bush Life in Australia. _New Edition._ -3_s._ 6_d._ - - “Mr. Henty has never published a more readable, a more carefully -constructed, or a better-written story than this.”--_Spectator._ - ---=By Right of Conquest=: or, With Cortez in Mexico. _New Edition._ 3_s._ -6_d._ - - “Mr. Henty’s skill has never been more convincingly displayed than in -this admirable and ingenious story.”--_Saturday Review._ - ---=With Cochrane the Dauntless=: A Tale of his Exploits. _New Edition._ -3_s._ 6_d._ - - “This tale we specially recommend, for the career of Lord Cochrane and -his many valiant fights in the cause of liberty deserve to be better -known than they are.”--_St. James’s Gazette._ - ---=A Jacobite Exile=: or, In the Service of Charles XII of Sweden. _New -Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “Full of life, adventure, movement, and admirably -illustrated.”--_Scotsman._ - ---=With Frederick the Great=: A Tale of the Seven Years’ War. _New -Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “It is a good deal to say, but this prolific and admirable writer has -never done better than this story.”--_British Weekly._ - ---=With Moore at Corunna=: A Tale of the Peninsular War. _New Edition._ -3_s._ 6_d._ - - “A very spirited story.”--_Spectator._ - ---=Facing Death=: or, The Hero of the Vaughan Pit. _New Edition._ 3_s._ -6_d._ - - “If any father, godfather, clergyman, or schoolmaster is on the lookout -for a good book to give as a present to a boy who is worth his salt, -this is the book we would recommend.”--_Standard._ - ---The Dragon and the Raven: or, The Days of King Alfred. _New Edition._ -3_s._ 6_d._ - - “A well-built superstructure of fiction on an interesting substratum of -fact.”--_Athenæum._ - ---One of the 28th: A Tale of Waterloo. _New Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “Contains one of the best descriptions of the various battles which -raged round Waterloo which it has ever been our fate to read.”--_Daily -Telegraph._ - ---Cat of Bubastes: A Story of Ancient Egypt. _New Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “Full of exciting adventures.”--_Saturday Review._ - ---With Clive in India: or, The Beginnings of an Empire. _New Edition._ -3_s._ 6_d._ - - “Those who know something about India will be the first to thank Mr. -Henty for giving them this instructive volume to place in the hands of -their children.”--_Academy._ - ---Condemned as a Nihilist: A Story of Escape from Siberia. _New -Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “His narrative is more interesting than many of the tales with which -the public is familiar of escape from Siberia.”--_National Observer._ - ---Under Wellington’s Command: A Tale of the Peninsular War. _New -Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “An admirable exposition of Mr. Henty’s masterly method of combining -instruction with amusement.”--_World._ - ---The Young Carthaginian: A Story of the Times of Hannibal. _New -Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “From first to last nothing stays the interest of the -narrative.”--_Saturday Review._ - ---By England’s Aid: or, The Freeing of the Netherlands (1585-1604). With -4 Maps. _New Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “Boys know and love Mr. Henty’s books of adventure, and will welcome -his tale of the freeing of the Netherlands.”--_Athenæum._ - ---=The Lion of the North=: A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus. _New Edition._ -3_s._ 6_d._ - - “A clever and instructive piece of history. As boys may be trusted to -read it conscientiously, they can hardly fail to be profited as well as -pleased.”--_Times._ - ---=The Lion of St. Mark=: A Tale of Venice. _New Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “Every boy should read _The Lion of St. Mark_.”--_Saturday Review._ - ---=Both Sides the Border=: A Tale of Hotspur and Glendower. _New Edition._ -3_s._ 6_d._ - - “Mr. Henty retains the reader’s interest throughout the story, which he -tells clearly and vigorously.”--_Daily Telegraph._ - ---=Captain Bayley’s Heir=: A Tale of the Gold Fields of California. _New -Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “Told with that vigour which is peculiar to Mr. Henty.”--_Academy._ - ---=By Pike and Dyke=: A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic. _New -Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “Told with a vividness and skill worthy of Mr. Henty at his -best.”--_Academy._ - ---=A Chapter of Adventures=: or, Through the Bombardment of Alexandria. -_New Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “Their chapter of adventures is so brisk and entertaining we could have -wished it longer than it is.”--_Saturday Review._ - ---=For the Temple=: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem. _New Edition._ 3_s._ -6_d._ - - “Many an ‘old boy’, as well as the younger ones, will delight in this -narrative of that awful page of history.”--_Church Times._ - ---=Through the Fray=: A Story of the Luddite Riots. _New Edition._ 3_s._ -6_d._ - - “This is one of the best of the many good books Mr. Henty has -produced.”--_Record._ - ---The Young Colonists: A Tale of the Zulu and Boer Wars. _New Edition._ -3_s._ 6_d._ - - “It is vigorously written.”--_Standard._ - ---In Freedom’s Cause: A Story of Wallace and Bruce. _New Edition._ 3_s._ -6_d._ - - “His tale is full of stirring action and will commend itself to -boys.”--_Athenæum._ - ---When London Burned: A Story of Restoration Times. 6_s._ - - “A handsome volume, and boys will rejoice to possess it....”--_Record._ - - ---The Treasure of the Incas: A Tale of Adventure in Peru. With a Map. -5_s._ - - “The interest never flags for one moment, and the story is told with -vigour.”--_World._ - ---With Roberts to Pretoria: A Tale of the South African War. With a Map. -6_s._ - - “In this story of the South African war Mr. Henty proves once more his -incontestable pre-eminence as a writer for boys.”--_Standard._ - ---Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden. 6_s._ - - “A historical romance of the best quality.”--_Academy._ - ---Through Russian Snows: or, Napoleon’s Retreat from Moscow. 5_s._ - - “Very graphically told.”--_St. James’s Gazette._ - ---The Tiger of Mysore: A Story of the War with Tippoo Saib. 6_s._ - - “A thrilling tale.”--_Athenæum._ - ---Wulf the Saxon: A Story of the Norman Conquest. 6_s._ - - “We may safely say that a boy may learn from it more genuine history -than he will from many a tedious tome.”--_Spectator._ - ---=With Kitchener in the Soudan=: A Tale of Atbara and Omdurman. With 3 -Maps. 6_s._ - - “Characterized by those familiar traits which endear Mr. Henty to -successive generations of schoolboys.”--_Pall Mall Gazette._ - ---=At the Point of the Bayonet=: A Tale of the Mahratta War. With 2 Maps. -6_s._ - - “A brisk, dashing narrative.”--_Bookman._ - ---=Through Three Campaigns=: A Story of Chitral, the Tirah, and Ashanti. -With 3 Maps. 6_s._ - - “Every true boy will enjoy this story of plucky -adventure.”--_Educational News._ - ---=St. George for England=: A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers. 5_s._ - - “A story of very great interest for boys.”--_Pall Mall Gazette._ - ---=With the British Legion=: A Story of the Carlist Wars. 6_s._ - - “It is a rattling story told with verve and spirit.”--_Pall Mall -Gazette._ - ---=True to the Old Flag=: A Tale of the American War of Independence. -6_s._ - - “Mr. Henty undoubtedly possesses the secret of writing eminently -successful historical tales.”--_Academy._ - ---=At Aboukir and Acre.= 5_s._ - - “For intrinsic interest and appropriateness, _At Aboukir and Acre_ -should rank high.”--_Spectator._ - ---=Redskin and Cow-Boy=: A Tale of the Western Plains. 6_s._ - - “A strong interest of open-air life and movement pervades the whole -book.”--_Scotsman._ - ---=With Buller in Natal=: or, A Born Leader. With a Map. 6_s._ - - “Just the sort of book to inspire an enterprising boy.”--_Army and Navy -Gazette._ - ---=By Conduct and Courage=: A Story of the Days of Nelson. 6_s._ - - “As it is the last it is good to be able to say that it shows no -falling off in the veteran’s vigour of style or in his happy choice of a -subject.”--_Globe._ - ---=With the Allies to Pekin=: A Story of the Relief of the Legations. With -a Map. 6_s._ - - “The author’s object being to interest and amuse, it must be admitted -that he has succeeded.”--_Guardian._ - ---=By Sheer Pluck=: A Tale of the Ashanti War. 5_s._ - - “Written with a simple directness, force, and purity of style worthy of -Defoe.”--_Christian Leader._ - ---=With Lee in Virginia=: A Story of the American Civil War. With 6 Maps. -6_s._ - - “The story is a capital one and full of variety.”--_Times._ - ---=To Herat and Cabul=: A Story of the First Afghan War. With Map. 5_s._ - - “We can heartily commend it to boys, old and young.”--_Spectator._ - ---=A Knight of the White Cross=: A Tale of the Siege of Rhodes. 6_s._ - - “Quite up to the level of Mr. Henty’s former historical -tales.”--_Saturday Review._ - ---=In the Heart of the Rockies=: A Story of Adventure in Colorado. 5_s._ - - “Mr. Henty is seen here at his best as an artist in lightning -fiction.”--_Academy._ - ---=The Bravest of the Brave=: or, With Peterborough in Spain. 5_s._ - - “Lads will read this book with pleasure and profit.”--_Daily -Telegraph._ - ---=A Roving Commission=: or, Through the Black Insurrection of Hayti. -6_s._ - - “May be confidently recommended to schoolboy readers.”--_Guardian._ - ---=For Name and Fame=: or, To Cabul with Roberts. 5_s._ - - “The book teems with spirited scenes and stirring adventures.”--_School -Guardian._ - ---=In the Reign of Terror=: The Adventures of a Westminster Boy. 5_s._ - - “May fairly be said to beat Mr. Henty’s record.”--_Saturday Review._ - ---=Beric the Briton=: A Story of the Roman Invasion of Britain. 6_s._ - - “One of the most spirited and well-imagined stories Mr. Henty has -written.”--_Saturday Review._ - ---=No Surrender!= A Tale of the Rising in La Vendée. 5_s._ - - “A vivid tale of manly struggle against oppression.”--_World._ - ---=The Dash for Khartoum=: A Tale of the Nile Expedition. 6_s._ - - “It is literally true that the narrative never flags a -moment.”--_Academy._ - ---=With Wolfe in Canada=: or, The Winning of a Continent. 6_s._ - - “A moving tale of military exploit and thrilling adventure.”--_Daily -News._ - ---=Out With Garibaldi=: A Story of the Liberation of Italy. 5_s._ - - “It is a stirring tale.”--_Graphic._ - ---=Held Fast for England=: A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar. 5_s._ - - “There is no cessation of exciting incident throughout the -story.”--_Athenæum._ - ---=Won by the Sword=: A Tale of the Thirty Years’ War. 6_s._ - - “As fascinating as ever came from Mr. Henty’s pen.”--_Westminster -Gazette._ - ---=In the Irish Brigade=: A Tale of War in Flanders and Spain. 6_s._ - - “A stirring book of military adventure.”--_Scotsman._ - ---=At Agincourt=: A Tale of the White Hoods of Paris. 6_s._ - - “Cannot fail to commend itself to boys of all ages.”--_Manchester -Courier._ - - - - -Blackie & Son’s - -Story Books for Boys - -LARGE CROWN 8VO, CLOTH EXTRA. ILLUSTRATED - - -Capt. F. S. BRERETON - - The Hero of Panama: A Tale of the Great Canal. Illustrated by W. -RAINEY, R.I. Olivine edges, 6_s._ - ---Under the Chinese Dragon: A Tale of Mongolia. Illustrated by CHARLES -M. SHELDON. Olivine edges, 5_s._ - ---Tom Stapleton, the Boy Scout: With a commendation by LIEUT.-GENERAL -SIR R. S. S. BADEN-POWELL, and illustrated with coloured frontispiece -and in black-and-white by GORDON BROWNE, R.I. 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “A rousing piece of story-telling.”--_Westminster Gazette._ - ---The Great Aeroplane: A Thrilling Tale of Adventure. 6_s._ - - “The story is a bracing one.”--_Outlook._ - ---Indian and Scout: A Tale of the Gold Rush to California, 5_s._ - - “A dashing narrative of the best quality.”--_British Weekly._ - ---A Hero of Sedan: A Tale of the Franco-Prussian War. 6_s._ - - “The exciting events of the book are developed in a manly spirit and -healthy tone.”--_Academy._ - ---John Bargreave’s Gold: A Tale of Adventure in the Caribbean. 5_s._ - - “The book is full of breathless happenings.”--_Daily Graphic._ - ---How Canada was Won: A tale of Wolfe and Quebec. 6_s._ - - “Will make the strongest appeal to the juvenile fancy.”--_Outlook._ - ---=Roughriders of the Pampas=: A Tale of Ranch Life in South America. -5_s._ - - “The interest is unflagging throughout the well-written -tale.”--_World._ - ---=With Wolseley to Kumasi=: A Story of the First Ashanti War. 6_s._ - - “Boys will want nothing better.”--_Daily Graphic._ - ---=Jones of the 64th=: A Tale of the Battles of Assaye and Laswaree. 5_s._ - - “The story is full of dash and spirit.”--_Birmingham Post._ - ---=Roger the Bold=: A Tale of the Conquest of Mexico. 6_s._ - - “The tale forms lively reading, the fighting being especially -good.”--_Athenæum._ - ---=With Roberts to Candahar=: A Tale of the Third Afghan War. 5_s._ - - “A very tried author, who improves with each book he writes, is Captain -F. S. Brereton.”--_Academy._ - ---=A Soldier of Japan=: A Tale the Russo-Japanese War. 5_s._ - - “The pages bristle with hairbreadth escapes and gallantry.”--_Graphic._ - - ---=Foes of the Red Cockade=: A Story of the French Revolution. 6_s._ - - “A stirring picture of a fearful time.”--_World._ - ---=With the Dyaks of Borneo=: A Tale of the Head Hunters. 6_s._ - - “Young readers must be hard to please if _With the Dyaks_ does not suit -them.”--_Spectator._ - ---=A Hero of Lucknow=: A Tale of the Indian Mutiny. 5_s._ - - “Full of action and picturesque adventure.”--_British Weekly._ - ---=A Knight of St. John=: A Tale of the Siege of Malta. _New Edition._ -3_s._ 6_d._ - - “Would enthral any boy reader.”--_World._ - ---=In the Grip of the Mullah=: A Tale of Somaliland. _New Edition._ 3_s._ -6_d._ - - “A more spirited tale could not be wished for.”--_British Weekly._ - ---=With Rifle and Bayonet=: A Story of the Boer War. _New Edition._ 3_s._ -6_d._ - ---=A Gallant Grenadier=: A Story of the Crimean War. _New Edition._ 3_s._ -6_d._ - ---=One of the Fighting Scouts.= _New Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - ---=The Dragon of Pekin.= _New Edition._ 3_s._ 6_d._ - ---=With Shield and Assegai.= 3_s._ 6_d._ - - -SIR HARRY JOHNSTON, G.C.M.G., K.C.B. - - =Pioneers in West Africa.= With 8 coloured illustrations by the author, -and maps and other illustrations in black-and-white. Demy 8vo, cloth -extra, 6_s._ - ---=Pioneers in Canada.= With 8 coloured illustrations by E. Wallcousins, -and maps and other illustrations in black-and-white. Demy 8vo, cloth -extra, 6_s._ - - These two volumes are the first of a series, the object of which is to -provide reading of “real adventures” of those pioneers who have helped -to lay the foundations of the British Empire. The story is truthfully -told in a picture of splendid colouring, and with great accuracy. - - - -ALEXANDER MACDONALD - - =Through the Heart of Tibet=: A Tale of a Secret Mission to Lhasa. 6_s._ - - “A rattling story.”--_British Weekly._ - ---=The White Trail=: A Story of the Early Days of Klondike. 6_s._ - - “Should satisfy any boy’s mental appetite.”--_Outlook._ - ---=The Pearl Seekers=: A Story of Adventure in the Southern Seas. 6_s._ - - “This is the kind of story a boy will want to read at a -sitting.”--_Schoolmaster._ - ---=The Invisible Island=: A Story of the Far North of Queensland. 5_s._ - - “A well-told story.”--_World._ - ---=The Quest of the Black Opals=: A Story of Adventure in the Heart of -Australia. 5_s._ - - “An admirable tale.”--_Westminster Gazette._ - ---=The Lost Explorers=: A Story of the Trackless Desert. 6_s._ - - “As vivid a narrative as any boy could wish to read.”--_Daily Graphic._ - - - - -HARRY COLLINGWOOD - - =A Middy of the King=: A Romance of the Old British Navy. Illustrated by -E. S. HODGSON. Olivine edges, 5_s._ - ---=The Adventures of Dick Maitland=: A Tale of Unknown Africa. Illustrated -by ALEC BALL. Olivine edges, 3_s._ 6_d._ - ---=A Middy of the Slave Squadron=: A West African Story. 5_s._ - - “An up-to-date sea story.”--_Truth._ - ---=Overdue=: or, The Strange Story of a Missing Ship. 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “A story of thrilling interest.”--_British Weekly._ - ---=The Cruise of the Thetis=: A Tale of the Cuban Insurrection. 5_s._ - - “A good, stirring book.”--_Times._ - - - -STAFF SURGEON T. T. JEANS, R.N. - - =On Foreign Service=: or, The Santa Cruz Revolution. Illustrated by W. -RAINEY, R.I. 6_s._ - - “It is a rousing good yarn.”--_Athenæum._ - ---=Ford of H.M.S. Vigilant=: A Tale of Adventure in the Chusan -Archipelago. 5_s._ - - “A distinctly good story.”--_Naval and Military Record._ - - ---STAFF SURGEON T. T. JEANS, R.N. - - Mr. Midshipman Glover, R.N.: A Tale of the Royal Navy of To-day. 5_s._ - - “Full of exciting adventures and gallant fighting.”--_Truth._ - - - -HERBERT STRANG - - The Adventures of Harry Rochester: A Story of the Days of Marlborough -and Eugene. 6_s._ - - “One of the best stories of a military and historical type we have seen -for many a day.”--_Athenæum._ - ---Boys of the Light Brigade: A Story of Spain and the Peninsular War. -6_s._ - - Professor Oman (Chichele Professor of Modern History at Oxford, and -author of _A History of the Peninsular War_) writes: “I can’t tell you -what a pleasure and rarity it is to the specialist to find a tale on the -history of his own period in which the details are all right ... accept -thanks from a historian for having got historical accuracy combined with -your fine romantic adventures.” - ---Brown of Moukden: A Story of the Russo-Japanese War. 5_s._ - - “The book will hold boy readers spellbound.”--_Church Times._ - ---Tom Burnaby: A Story of Uganda and the Great Congo Forest. 5_s._ - - “A delightful story of African adventure.”--_Spectator._ - ---Kobo: A Story of the Russo-Japanese War. 5_s._ - - “For vibrant actuality there is nothing to come up to Mr. Strang’s -_Kobo_.”--_Academy._ - - - -ROBERT M. MACDONALD - - The Rival Treasure Hunters: A Tale of the Debatable Frontier of British -Guiana. 6_s._ - - “A story which every schoolboy would probably describe as ‘simply -ripping’.”--_Daily Graphic._ - ---The Great White Chief: A Story of Adventure in Unknown New Guinea. -6_s._ - - “A rattling story told with spirit and vigour.”--_British Weekly._ - - - -DAVID KER - - =Under the Flag of France=: A Tale of Bertrand du Guesclin. 5_s._ - - “Full of vigour and movement.”--_British Weekly._ - ---=Among the Dark Mountains=: or, Cast away in Sumatra. 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “A glorious tale of adventure.”--_Educational News._ - - - -ERNEST GLANVILLE - - =The Diamond Seekers=: A Story of Adventure in South Africa. 6_s._ - - “We have seldom seen a better story for boys.”--_Guardian._ - ---=In Search of the Okapi=: A Story of Adventure in Central Africa. 6_s._ - - “An admirable story.”--_Daily Chronicle._ - - - -MEREDITH FLETCHER - - =Every Inch a Briton=: A School Story. 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “Mr. Meredith Fletcher has scored a success.”--_Manchester Guardian._ - ---=Jefferson Junior=: A School Story. 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “A comical yarn.”--_Yorkshire Daily Observer._ - - - -FREDERICK P. GIBBON - - =The Disputed V.C.= A Tale of the Indian Mutiny. 3_s._ - - “A good, stirring tale, well told.”--_Graphic._ - - - -G. MANVILLE FENN - - =The Boys at Menhardoc=: A Story of Cornish Nets and Mines. 3_s._ - - “The story is well worth reading.”--_British Weekly._ - ---=Bunyip Land=: Among the Blackfellows in New Guinea. 3_s._ - - “One of the best tales of adventure produced by any living -writer.”--_Daily Chronicle._ - ---In the King’s Name. 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “This is, we think, the best of all Mr. Fenn’s productions.”--_Daily -News._ - ---Dick o’ the Fens: A Romance of the Great East Swamp. 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “We conscientiously believe that boys will find it capital -reading.”--_Times._ - - - -Dr. GORDON STABLES, R.N. - - The Naval Cadet: A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea. 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “An interesting travellers’ tale, with plenty of fun and incident in -it.”--_Spectator._ - ---For Life and Liberty: A Tale of the Civil War in America. 3_s._ - - “The story is lively and spirited.”--_Times._ - ---To Greenland and the Pole: A story of the Arctic Regions. 3_s._ - - “One of the best books Dr. Stables has ever written.”--_Truth._ - - - -FRED SMITH - - The World of Animal Life. A Natural History for Little Folk. With eight -full-page coloured Illustrations and numerous black-and-white -Illustrations. Crown 4to, 11¼ inches by 9½ inches. Handsome cloth cover. -Gilt top, 5_s._ - - “An admirable volume.”--_Birmingham Gazette._ - - - -A. J. CHURCH - - Lords of the World: A Tale of the Fall of Carthage and Corinth. 3_s._ -6_d._ - - “As a boys’ book, Lords of the World deserves a hearty -welcome.”--_Spectator._ - - - -G. I. WHITHAM - - The Nameless Prince: A Tale of Plantagenet Days. Illustrated by CHARLES -M. SHELDON. 2_s._ 6_d._ - ---The Red Knight: A Tale of the Days of King Edward III. Illustrated. -2_s._ 6_d._ - - “It holds the imagination from beginning to end.”--_British Weekly._ - - - -ESCOTT LYNN - - =When Lion-Heart was King=: A Tale of Robin Hood and Merry Sherwood. -3_s._ 6_d._ - - “A lively tale.”--_Birmingham Post._ - - - -WILLIAM BECK - - =Hawkwood the Brave=: A Tale of Mediæval Italy. 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “A good story for boys.”--_Literary World._ - - - -DOROTHEA MOORE - - =God’s Bairn=: A Story of the Fen Country. 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “An excellent tale, most dainty in execution and fortunate in -subject.”--_Globe._ - ---=The Luck of Ledge Point=: A Tale of 1805. 2_s._ 6_d._ - - “We thoroughly recommend it as a giftbook.”--_Schoolmaster._ - - - -WALTER C. RHOADES - - =For the Sake of His Chum=: A School Story. 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “There is a breeziness about the book which is sure to commend -it.”--_Athenæum._ - ---=Two Scapegraces=: A School Story. 3_s._ 6_d._ - - “A school story of high merit.”--_Liverpool Mercury._ - - - -PAUL DANBY - - =The Red Army Book.= With many Illustrations in colour and in -black-and-white. 6_s._ - - “Every boy would glory in the keeping and reading of such a -prize.”--_Daily Telegraph._ - - - -J. CUTHBERT HADDEN - - =The Nelson Navy Book.= With many Illustrations in colour and in -black-and-white. 6_s._ - - “A stirring, heartening tale, bold and bracing as the sea -itself.”--_Standard._ - - - -PERCY F. WESTERMAN - - =The Quest of the Golden Hope=: A Seventeenth century Story of Adventure. -Illustrated by Frank Wiles. 2_s._ 6_d._ - - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -for Samoro now told=> for Samaro now told {pg 114} - -Barnably Blunt looked=> Barnaby Blunt looked {pg 156} - -see the the negro=> see the negro {pg 172} - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Some of these wonderful tortoises are so large that half a dozen -men can hardly lift them from the ground. - -[2] Owing to the raids made upon these strange animals by the American -whalers they had become very scarce, but this island not having been -visited for many years, they had recuperated their forces.--G. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online -at <a class="reference external" href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not located in the United States, -you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located -before using this eBook.</div> - - -<div class='container' id='pg-machine-header'> -<p><strong>Title: </strong>The hermit hunter of the wilds</p> -<div id='pg-header-authlist'> -<p><strong>Author: </strong>Gordon Stables</p> -</div> - -<p><strong>Release Date: </strong>September 7, 2023 [eBook #71590]</p> -<p><strong>Language: </strong>English</p> -<p><strong>Credits: </strong>Chuck Greif, Al Haines and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net</p> -</div> -<div id='pg-start-separator'> -<span>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERMIT HUNTER OF THE WILDS ***</span> -</div> -</section> -<hr class="full"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/cover.jpg"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="383" height="550" alt="[The -image of the book's cover is unavailable.]"></a> -</div> - -<p class="toc"><a href="#CONTENTS">CONTENTS</a><br> -<a href="#ILLUSTRATIONS">ILLUSTRATIONS</a><br> -<a href="#FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES</a><br> -<a href="#transcrib">TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page_2">{2}</a></span></p> - -<div class="bbox"> -<p class="c"><span class="smcap">By Dr.</span> GORDON STABLES, R.N.</p> - -<p class="c"> -<i>Crown 8vo.</i> <i>Cloth elegant.</i> <i>Illustrated.</i><br> -</p> - -<p class="cb">In the Great White Land</p> - -<p>A Tale of the Antarctic. 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“Full of life and go, and just the kind that is beloved of -boys.”—<i>Court Circular.</i></p> - -<p class="c"><b>In Quest of the Giant Sloth.</b> 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“The heroes are brave, their doings are bold, and the story is anything -but dull.”—<i>Athenæum.</i></p> - -<p>Kidnapped by Cannibals</p> - -<p>A Story of the Southern Seas. 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“Full of exciting adventure, and told with spirit.”—<i>Globe.</i></p> - -<p class="cb">The Naval Cadet</p> - -<p>A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea. 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“An interesting traveller’s tale with plenty of fun and incident in -it.”—<i>Spectator.</i></p> - -<p class="c"><b>To Greenland and the Pole.</b> 3<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“His Arctic explorers have the verisimilitude of life.”—<i>Truth.</i></p> - -<p class="c"><b>Westward with Columbus.</b> 3<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“We must place <i>Westward with Columbus</i> among those books that all boys -ought to read.”—<i>Spectator.</i></p> - -<p class="c"><b>’Twixt School and College.</b> 3<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“One of the best of a prolific writer’s books for boys, being full of -practical instructions as to keeping pets, and inculcates, in a way -which a little recalls Miss Edgeworth’s ‘Frank’, the virtue of -self-reliance.”—<i>Athenæum.</i></p> - -<p class="c"><b>The Hermit Hunter of the Wilds.</b> 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“Pirates and pumas, mutiny and merriment, a castaway and a cat, furnish -the materials for a tale that will gladden the heart of many a bright -boy.”—<i>Methodist Recorder.</i></p> - -<p class="cb">In Far Bolivia</p> - -<p>A Story of a Strange Wild Land. 2<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“An exciting and altogether admirable story.”—<i>Sheffield Telegraph.</i></p> - -<p class="c">————</p> - -<p class="c"><span class="smcap">London</span>: BLACKIE & SON, <span class="smcap">Limited</span>.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page_3">{3}</a></span></p> - -<h1> -The Hermit Hunter<br> -of the Wilds</h1> -<p class="c"> -BY<br> -<br> -GORDON STABLES, C.M. M.D. R.N.<br> -<br> -Author of “<span class="lftspc">’</span>Twixt School and College” “To Greenland and the Pole”<br> -“The Naval Cadet” “Westward with Columbus” &c.<br> -<br><br> -<i>WITH FOUR PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS</i><br> -<br><br> -BLACKIE AND SON LIMITED<br> -<br> -LONDON GLASGOW AND BOMBAY<br></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page_4">{4}</a></span>  </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page_5">{5}</a></span>  </p> - -<h2><a id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Chap.</span></td><td> </td> -<td class="rt">Page</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">I.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_I"> By the Firelight,</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_9">9</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_II"> “It was on just such a night as this, sister,”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_17">17</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_III"> “The fearfulness of our situation can hardly be realized,”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_28">28</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"> Among the Woods of Craigielea,</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_42">42</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_V"> “The whole world is full of changes,”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_53">53</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"> “Run, run!” cried Tom; “the man must not die yet!”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_65">65</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"> “Here hangs his brother’s scalp,”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_78">78</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"> “Never before had Tom experienced such a feeling of awful danger,”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_89">89</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX"> “The whole sea of mist turned to clouds of mingled gold and crimson,”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_101">101</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">X.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_X"> “In the forests strange shrieks and sounds were heard,”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_111">111</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI"> “The trees went down before it like hay before the mower’s scythe,”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_121">121</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">XII.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII"> “A shower of poisoned darts fell pattering on the stockade,”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_132">132</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">XIII.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"> The dying Ayah tells of Bernard,</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_142">142</a> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_6">{6}</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">XIV.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"> “Filled with gold doubloons— Sirr, are ye listening?”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_153">153</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">XV.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV"> “Next instant the ship was struck and staved,”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_163">163</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">XVI.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"> “A vast green and flowery valley surrounded by romantic hills,”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_174">174</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">XVII.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"> Strange Life on the beautiful Island,</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_185">185</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">XVIII.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"> “He was convinced now he had seen a spectre and nothing else,”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_197">197</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">XIX.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"> “Under the grave you dug are gold and precious stones,”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_205">205</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rtt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">XX.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX"> “O, Bernard, it is your father’s ship!”</a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_214">214</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page_7">{7}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a id="ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - -<table> -<tr><td>“<span class="smcap">Tom crouched lower and lower</span>” [Image -unavailable.]</td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_100"><i>Frontis.</i> 100</a></td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="#ill_001"><span class="smcap">Tom introduces His Cat</span></a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_84">84</a></td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="#ill_002"><span class="smcap">“Behold your chief!” she cried</span></a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_145">145</a></td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="#ill_003"><span class="smcap">Giant Tortoise Riding</span></a></td><td class="rt"><a href="#page_216">216</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page_8">{8}</a></span>  </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page_9">{9}</a></span>  </p> - -<p class="cb">THE HERMIT HUNTER OF THE WILDS.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.<br><br> -BY THE FIRELIGHT.</h2> - -<p class="nind"> -<span class="letra2"> -<img src="images/img-cap-t.png" -width="80" -height="82" -alt="T"></span>OMMY TALISKER was probably one of the most unassuming boys that ever -lived. At all events everybody said so. And this is equivalent to -stating that the boy’s general behaviour gave him a character for -modesty.</p> - -<p>He was the youngest of a family of five; the eldest being his only -sister, and she, like her mother, made a good deal of Tommy, and thought -a good deal about him too in certain ways.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think,” said Tommy’s father to Tommy’s mother one evening as -they all sat round the parlour hearth; “I don’t think we’ll ever be able -to make much of Tommy.”</p> - -<p>Perhaps Tommy’s father was at present merely speaking for speaking’s -sake; for there had been general silence for a short time previously, -broken only by the sound of mother’s knitting-wires, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_10">{10}</a></span> crackle of -uncle’s newspaper as he turned it, and the howthering of the wind round -the old farmhouse.</p> - -<p>Tommy’s mother looked at Tommy, and heaved a little bit of a sigh, for -she was very much given to taking everything for granted that her -husband said.</p> - -<p>But Tommy’s sister, who always sat in the left-hand corner of the -fireside, with Tommy squatting on a footstool right in front of her, -drew the lad’s head closer to her knee, and smoothed his white brow and -his yellow hair.</p> - -<p>Tommy took no notice of anything or anybody, but continued to gaze into -the fire. That fire was well worth looking at, though I am not at all -sure that Tommy saw it. It was a fire that made one drowsily contented -and happy to sit by,—a comfort-giving, companionable sort of a fire. -Built on the low hearth, with huge logs of wood sawn from the trunk of a -poplar-tree that had succumbed to a summer squall, logs sawn from the -roots of a sturdy old pine-tree that had weathered many and many a gale, -and logs sawn from the withered limbs of a singularly gnarled and -ancient pippin-tree that had grown and flourished in the orchard ever -since this farmer’s father was a boy. There were huge lumps of coals -there also, and a wall round the whole of dark-brown peats, hard enough -to have cut and chiselled the hull of a toy yacht from.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_11">{11}</a></span></p> - -<p>It is not to be wondered at that Tommy took no notice of the somewhat -commonplace talk that went on around him; he was listening to a -conversation that was being carried on in the fire between the blazing -wood and the coals and the peat.</p> - -<p>“You have no idea, my friends,” said the poplar log, after emitting a -hissing jet of steam by way of drawing attention and commanding -silence—“you have no idea what a stately and beautiful tree I was when -in my prime. I and my fellows, who were all alive and well when I heard -from them last, were the tallest and most gracefully-waving trees in the -country-side. Poets and artists, and clever people generally, used to -say we gave quite a character to the landscape. We knew we were very -beautiful, because the broad winding river went through the meadow where -we stood, and all day long we could see our faces therein. O, we were -very beautiful! I do assure you. The seasons thought so, and every one -of them did something for us. Spring came first, as soon as she had -fastened the downy buds on the waving willows; placed wee crimson-topped -anemones on the hazel boughs—five to each nodding catkin; scattered the -burgeons over the hawthorn hedges; tasselled the larches with vermilion -and green; adorned the rocks with lichen and moss; brought early daisies -to the meadow-lands, the gold of the celandine to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_12">{12}</a></span> banks of the -streamlets, and the silver of a thousand white starry buttercups to -float on the ponds; breathed through the woods and awakened the birds to -light, love, and song; led the bee to the crocus, the butterfly to the -primrose; awakened even the drowsy dormouse and the shivering hedgehog -from their long winter’s slumber, to peep hungrily from their holes and -wearily wonder where food could be found. Then Spring came to us. Spring -came and kissed us, and we responded with green-yellow leaves to her -balmy caress. Ah, the sun’s rays looked not half so golden anywhere -else, as seen through our glancing quivering foliage. We raised our -heads so high in air, that the larks seemed to sing to us alone, and the -very clouds told us their secrets.</p> - -<p>“But Summer came next and changed our leaves to a darker, sturdier -green. And she brought us birds. The rooks themselves used to rest and -sway on our topmost branches, lower down the black-bibbed sparrows -built; in our hollows the starlings laid their eggs of pearl, while even -the blackbird had her nest among the ivy that draped our shapely stems.</p> - -<p>“We were things of beauty even when winds of Autumn blew; and Winter -himself must clothe our leafless limbs with its silvery hoar-frost, till -every branch and twiglet looked like radiant coral against the deep blue -of the cloudless sky.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_13">{13}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Hush! hush!” cried the pine-tree root. “Dost thou well, O poplar-tree -log, to boast thus of thy beauty and stateliness? <i>I</i> lived on the -mountain brow not far off. <i>I</i> marked your rise and fall. Out upon your -beauty! Where was your strength? To me thou wert but as a sapling, or a -willow withe bending in the summer air. But my strength was as the -strength of nations. On the hill yonder I flourished for hundreds of -years; my foot was on the rocks, my dark head swept the clouds, my brown -stem was a landmark for sailors far at sea. In the plains below I saw -the seasons come and go. Houses were built, and in time became ruins; -children were born, grew up, grew old and died, but I changed not. The -wild birds of the air, of the rock, and the eyrie were my friends—the -eagle, the osprey, the hawk, and curlew. The deer and the roe bounded -swiftly past me, the timid coney and the hare found shelter near me. I -have battled with a thousand gales; thunders rolled and lightnings -flashed around me, and left me unscathed. I stood there as heroes stand -when the battle rages fiercest, and my weird black fingers seemed to -direct the hurricane wind. I was the spirit of the storm.</p> - -<p>“And I too had beauty, an arboreal beauty that few trees can lay claim -to; whether in autumn with the crimson heather all around me, in summer -with the last red rays of sunset lingering in my foliage, or in winter -itself—my branches sil<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_14">{14}</a></span>houetted against the green of a frosty sky. But -I fell at last. We all must fall, and age had weakened my roots. But I -fell as giants fall, amidst the roar of the elements and chaos of -strife. The skies wept over my bier, rain clouds were my pall, and the -wild winds shrieked my dirge.”</p> - -<p>There was silence in the fire for some little time after the pine log -had finished speaking, and Tommy thought the conversation had ceased; -but presently a voice, soft and musical as summer winds in the -linden-tree, came from the gnarled pippin log:</p> - -<p>“O men of pride and war!” said the voice, “I envy neither of you. Mine -was a life of peace and true beauty; and had I my days to live over -again, I would not have them otherwise. My home was in the orchard, and -the seasons were good to me too, and all things loved me. In spring-time -no bride was ever arrayed as I was; the very rustics that passed along -the roads used to stop their horses to gaze at me in open-mouthed -admiration. Then all the bees loved me, and all the birds sang to me, -and the westling winds made dreamy music in my foliage. Lovers sat on -the seat beneath my spreading branches, when the gloaming star was in -the east, and told their tales of love heedless that I heard them. In -summer merry children played near me and swung from my boughs, and in -autumn and even winter<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_15">{15}</a></span> many a family showered blessings on the good old -pippin-tree. ‘Peace, my friends, hath its victories not less renowned -than war.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>“O dear me!” sighed a smouldering peat, “how humble I should feel in -such company. I really have nothing to say and nothing to tell, for my -life, if life it could be called, was spent on a lonesome moor; true, -the heath bloomed beautiful there in autumn, but the wintry winds that -swept across the shelterless plain had a dreary song to sing. The will -o’ the wisp was a friend of mine, and an aged white-haired witch, that -at the dead hours of moonlight nights used to come groaning past me, -culling strange herbs, and using incantations that I shudder to hear. -There were many strange creatures besides the witch that came to the -moor where I dwelt; and even fairies danced there at times. But for the -most part the strange creatures I saw took the form of creeping or -flying things; fairies changed themselves into beautiful moths and wild -bees, but brownies and spunkies to crawling toads and tritons. But -heigho! I fear a poor peat has few opportunities of doing good in the -world.”</p> - -<p>“Say not so!” exclaimed a blazing lump of coal; “even a humble peat is -not to be despised. How often have you not brought joy and gladness to -the poor man’s fireside, caused the porridge-pot to boil and the bairns -to laugh with glee, banished the cold of winter, and infused comfort<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_16">{16}</a></span> -and warmth into the limbs of the aged. But you are modest, and modesty -is ever the companion of genuine merit.”</p> - -<p>“And you, sir,” said the peat to the coal, “you are very, <i>very</i> great -and very, <i>very</i> old—are you not?”</p> - -<p>“I am very, very old, and I am no doubt very, very powerful. Yet my -powers are gifts of the great Creator, and it is mine to distribute them -to toiling and deserving man. Ages and ages ago before this ancient pine -log was thought of or dreamt of, before mankind even dwelt on these -islands, when its woods were the home of the wildest of beasts, when -gigantic woolly elephants with curling tusks roamed free in its forests, -and its marshes and lakes swarmed with loathsome saurians, I dwelt on -earth’s surface. But changes came with time, and for thousands of years -I was dead and buried in the earth’s black depths. The ingenuity of man -has resuscitated me, and now I have gladly become his servant and slave. -I warm the castle, the palace, and the humble cot. I give light as well -as heat; I am swifter than the eagle in my flight. I am more powerful -than the wind; I drag man’s chariots across the land, I waft his ships -to every clime and every sea. I move the mightiest machinery; I am -gentle in peace and dreadful in war.</p> - -<p>“Nay more, the great wizard Science has but to lift his wand, and lo! I -yield up products more<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_17">{17}</a></span> wonderful than any yet on earth. Gorgeous were -the colours that adorned the flowers of the land in ages long gone by, -delicate and delightful were their perfumes; but these perfumes and -these colours I have carefully stored, and give them now to man.”</p> - -<p>What more Tommy would have overheard, as he sat there at his sister’s -knee, it is impossible to say, for the boy had fallen asleep.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.<br><br> -“IT WAS ON JUST SUCH A NIGHT AS THIS, SISTER.”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">“N</span>O,” repeated Tommy’s father as he proceeded to refill his pipe; “we -mustn’t expect to make much of Tommy.”</p> - -<p>“Tommy may be president of America yet,” said Uncle Robert, looking -quietly up from his paper. “Stranger things have happened, brother; much -stranger.”</p> - -<p>“Pigs might fly,” said Tommy’s father, somewhat unfeelingly. “Stranger -things have happened, brother; much stranger.”</p> - -<p>Tommy’s brothers laughed aloud.</p> - -<p>Tommy’s mother smiled faintly.</p> - -<p>But the boy slept on, all unconscious that he was being made the butt of -a joke.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_18">{18}</a></span></p> - -<p>Tommy was not an over-strong lad to look at. About eleven or twelve -years old, perhaps. He had fair silky hair, regular features, and great -wondering blue eyes that appeared to look very far away sometimes. For -Tommy was a dreamy, thinking boy. To tell the truth, he lived as much in -a world of his own as if he were in the moon, and the man of the moon -away on a long holiday. He seemed to possess very little in common with -his brothers. Their tastes, at all events, were infinitely different -from his; in fact they were lads of the usual style or “run” which you -find reared on such farms as those of Laird Talisker’s—called laird -because he owned all the land he tilled. Dugald, Dick, and John were -quite <i>en rapport</i> with all their surroundings. They loved horses and -dogs and riding and shooting, and they had to take to farming whether -they liked it or not. Dugald was the eldest; he was verging on -seventeen, and had long left school. Indeed he was his father’s right -hand, both in the office and in the fields. His father and he were -seldom seen apart, at church or market, mill or smithy; and as time -rolled on and age should compel Mr. Talisker to take things easy, Dugald -would naturally step into his father’s shoes.</p> - -<p>Dick was sixteen, and Jack or John about fourteen; and neither had as -yet left the parish school, which was situated about a mile and a half -beyond the hill. All boys in Scotland receive<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_19">{19}</a></span> tolerably advanced -education if their parents can possibly manage to keep them at their -studies, and these two lads were already deeply read in the classics and -higher branches of mathematics.</p> - -<p>What were they going to be? Well, Dick said he should be a clergyman and -nothing else, and Jack had made up his mind to be a cow-boy. He had read -somewhere all about cow-boys in the south-western states of America, and -the life, he thought, would suit him entirely. How glorious it must feel -to go galloping over a ranche, armed with a powerful whip; to bestride a -noble horse, with a broad hat on one’s head and revolvers at one’s hip! -Then, of course, every other week, if not oftener, there would be wild -adventures with Comanche red-skins, or Indians of some other equally -warlike tribe; while now and then this jolly life would be enlivened by -hunting horse-stealers across the boundless prairie, and perhaps even -lynching them if they happened to catch the thieves, and there was a -tree handy.</p> - -<p>Jack’s classical education might not be of much service to him in the -wild West, either in fighting bears or scalping Indians; though it would -be easily carried. He determined, however, not to neglect the practical -part of the business; and so whenever opportunity favoured him he used -to mount the biggest horse in the stable and go swinging across the -fields and the moors, leaping<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_20">{20}</a></span> fences and ditches, and in every way -behaving precisely as he imagined a cow-boy would.</p> - -<p>Several times Jack had narrowly escaped having his neck broken in -teaching Glancer—that was the big horse’s name—to buck-jump. Glancer -was by no means a bad-tempered beast; but when it came to slipping a -rough pebble under the saddle, then he buck-jumped to some purpose, and -Jack had the worst of it.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Talisker herself was a somewhat delicate, gentle English lady, whom -the laird had wooed and won among the woodlands of “bonnie Berkshire.” -Her daughter Alicia, who was but a year older than Dugald, took very -much after the mother, and was in consequence, perhaps, the worthy -laird’s darling and favourite.</p> - -<p>One thing must be said in favour of this honest farmer-laird: his whole -life and soul were bound up in his family, and his constant care was to -do well by them and bring them up to the best advantage. But he did not -think it right to thwart his boys’ intentions with regard to the choice -of a profession. There was admittedly a deal of difference between a -clergyman of the good old Scottish Church and a cow-boy. However, as -Jack had elected to be a cow-boy, a cow-boy he should be—if he did not -break his neck before his father managed to ship him off to the wild -West.</p> - -<p>But as to Tommy, why the laird hardly cared<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_21">{21}</a></span> to trouble. Tommy was Uncle -Robert’s boy. Uncle Robert, an old bachelor, who had spent his younger -days at sea, had constituted himself Tommy’s tutor, and had taught the -boy all he knew as yet. Uncle Robert ruled the lad by love alone, or -love and common sense combined. He did not attempt to put a new -disposition into him, but he did try to make the very best of that which -he possessed. In this he showed his great wisdom. In fact, in training -Tommy he followed the same tactics precisely as those that successful -bird and beast-trainers make such good use of. And what I am going to -say is well worth remembering by all boys who wish to teach tricks to -pets, and make them appear to be supernaturally wise. Do not try to -inculcate anything, in the shape of either motion or sound, which the -creature does not evince an inclination or aptitude to learn. Take a -white rat for example, and after it is thoroughly tame and used to -running about anywhere, loving you, and having therefore no fear, begin -your lessons by placing the cage on the table with the door open. It -will run out and presently show its one wondrous peculiarity of -appropriation. In very wantonness it will pick up article after article -and run into its house with it—coins, thimbles, apples, cards, &c. Now, -I hinge its education in a great measure on this, and in a few months I -can teach it to tell fortunes with cards, and spell words even. A rat<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_22">{22}</a></span> -has two other strange motions; one is standing like a bear, another is -climbing poles. By educating it from each of these stand-points you can -make the creature either a soldier or a sailor, or even both, and teach -it tricks and actions the glory of which will be reflected on you, the -teacher.</p> - -<p>Tommy was exceedingly fond of Uncle Robert, to begin with, and never -tired listening of an evening to his wonderful stories of travel and -adventure.</p> - -<p>Uncle lived in a little cottage not very far from the farm; and if he -was not at the laird’s fireside of a winter evening he would generally -be found at his own, and Tommy would not be far away. They used to sit -without any light except that reflected from the fire. Stories told -thus, Tommy thought, were ever so much nicer, especially if they were -tales of mystery and adventure. For there were the long shadows -flickering and dancing on the wall, the darkness of the room behind -them, and the fitful gleams in the fire itself, in which the lad -sometimes thought he could actually see the scenery and figures his -uncle was describing; and all combined to produce effects that were -really and truly dramatic.</p> - -<p>Well, if by day Dugald was his father’s constant companion, Tommy was -his uncle’s; and the one hardly ever went anywhere without the other.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_23">{23}</a></span></p> - -<p>School hours were from nine till one o’clock; and uncle was a strict -teacher, though by no means a hard task-master. Then the two of them had -all the rest of the long day to read books, to wander about and study -the great book of nature itself, to fish, or do whatsoever they pleased. -It must be said here that Uncle Robert was almost quite as much a boy at -heart as his little nephew. He was a good old-fashioned sailor, this -uncle of Tommy, and a man who never could grow old; because he loved -nature so, and nature never grows old: it is the same yesterday, to-day, -and for ever.</p> - -<p>Uncle Robert was quite as good-natured as the big horse Glancer. But -Glancer drew the line at pebbles under his saddle. The best-tempered -horse in the world will draw the line at something or other. And uncle -was the same. If anyone wanted to annoy him they had only to mention -Tommy in a disparaging sort of way; then, like Glancer, Uncle Robert -buck-jumped at once.</p> - -<p>So, on that particular evening—a wild and stormy one it was in the -latter end of April—when Tommy’s father talked about the improbability -of pigs flying, and Tommy’s brothers had all laughed, Uncle Robert had -felt a little nettled.</p> - -<p>“Ah, you may laugh, lads,” he said, putting his paper down on his knee -and thrusting his spectacles up over his bald brow—“you may laugh,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_24">{24}</a></span> -lads, and you may talk, brother, but I tell you that there is more in -that boy than any of you are aware of; and mark my words, he is not -going to remain a child all his life. Boys will be men, and Tommy will -be Tom some day.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Talisker looked fondly over at her brother, and she really felt -grateful to him for taking her boy’s part.</p> - -<p>Whoo—oo—oo! howled the wind round the chimney, and doors and windows -rattled as if rough hands were trying their fastenings. Every now and -then the snow and the fine hail were driven against the panes, with a -sound like that produced by the spray of an angry sea against frozen -canvas.</p> - -<p>At this very time, away down in the midlands of England, spring winds -were softly blowing and the buds appearing on the trees; but on the west -coast of Scotland, where the farm of Craigielea was situated, winter -still held all the land, the moors, the lakes, and woods, firm in his -icy grasp.</p> - -<p>To-night the moon had sunk early in a purple-blue haze—a new moon it -was, and looked through the mist like a Turkish scimitar wet with blood. -The stars had been bright for a short time afterwards. But the wind rose -roaring from the east, driving great dark clouds before it, that soon -swallowed everything else up. Then it was night in earnest.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_25">{25}</a></span></p> - -<p>Whoo—oo—oo! What a mournful sound it was, to be sure! You might have -imagined that wild wolves were howling round the house, and stranger -voices still rising high over the din of the raging storm.</p> - -<p>Whoo—oo—oo!</p> - -<p>“What a fearful night!” said Mrs. Talisker.</p> - -<p>“Ay, sister,” said Uncle Robert; “it is blowing half a gale outside -to-night, I’ll warrant, and may be more.”</p> - -<p>By “outside” he did not mean out of doors simply. It is a sailor’s -expression, and refers to the sea away beyond the harbour-mouth.</p> - -<p>“It was on just such a night as this, sister, though not on such a cold -sea as that which is sweeping over our beach to-night, that the -<i>Southern Hope</i> was lost on the shores of Ecuador. Heigho-ho! My dear -friend Captain Herbert has never been the same man since.</p> - -<p>“And do you know, my dear, it happened exactly six years ago this very -night.”</p> - -<p>“How very strange!” said Tommy’s mother.</p> - -<p>“Strange, my dear? Not a bit of it. What is strange, and how should it -be strange—eh?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I meant, brother, that you should think of it. I believe that was -what I meant.”</p> - -<p>“You’re not very sure. But let me tell you this, that there never does -pass a single 25th of February that I do not think of that fearful -shipwreck. Ay, girl, and pray too. I’ve been pray<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_26">{26}</a></span>ing as I sat -here—praying with my eyes on the newspaper, when you all thought I was -reading it. You look at me, sister; and Tommy has woke up, and he is -looking at me too. Well, you little know how often old sailors like me -pray, and what strange things we do pray for, and how our prayers are -often heard. You see, sister, those who go down to the sea in ships, and -see the wonders of the Lord in the mighty deep, get a kind of used to -thinking more than shore-folks do. In many a dark black middle watch, we -are alone with the ocean, one might say, and that is like being in the -presence of the great Maker of all. Verily, sister, I think the waves on -such nights seem to talk to us, and tell us things that the ear of -landsman never listened to. No one could long lead the life of a sailor -and not be a believer. Do you mind, sister, that New Testament story of -our Saviour being at sea one night with some of his disciples, when a -great storm arose, and the craft was about to founder? How he was asleep -in the stern-sheets, how in an agony of terror they awoke him, how his -words ‘Peace, be still’ fell like oil on the troubled waters, and how -they all marvelled, saying, ‘What manner of man is this, that even the -wind and sea obey him?’</p> - -<p>“Well, sister, I never knew nor felt the full meaning of those words -until I became a sailor. But sometimes on dreamy midnights, when -darkness and danger were all around us, I have in my<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_27">{27}</a></span> thoughts accused -the ocean of remorselessness, the winds of cruelty; and, as I did so, -seemed to hear that answer come to me up from the black vastness, ‘We -obey Him.’ The winds sang it as they went shrieking through the rigging, -the waves sang it as they went toiling past: ‘We obey Him,’ ‘We obey -Him.’ Then have I turned my thoughts heavenward and been comforted, -knowing in whose good hands we all were.</p> - -<p>“A sailor’s prayer, sister, on a night like this, while he sits -comfortably by the fireside, is for those in danger far at sea or on -some surf-tormented lee shore. But on this particular evening, on this -25th of February, I always add a prayer for my good old shipmate, -Captain Herbert—and may heaven give him peace.”</p> - -<p>“Captain Herbert is still at sea, brother?”</p> - -<p>“Ay, sister, and will be, if spared, for many a year. He seems unable to -rest on shore, although he is rich enough to retire. You see, he never -had but the one boy, Bernard; and, foolish as it may appear, he -cherishes the notion that he still lives, and that some day he will meet -him again.</p> - -<p>“And never a strange sailor does he meet in any part of the world, or -any port of the world, but he questions concerning all his life and -adventures. More than once has my friend been thus led astray, and has -sailed to distant shores where he had heard some English lad was held -prisoner by Indians or savages. But all in vain.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_28">{28}</a></span></p> - -<p>“It was a sad story, you say, sister? Indeed, lass, it was. Shall I -repeat it?</p> - -<p>“Well, stir the fire, Tommy, and make it blaze and crackle. How the -storm roars, to be sure.”</p> - -<p>Whoo—oo—oo! Whoo—oo—oo! howled the wind again; but the fire only -burned the brighter, and the fireside looked the cheerier for the sound.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.<br><br> -“THE FEARFULNESS OF OUR SITUATION CAN HARDLY BE REALIZED.”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">U</span>NCLE ROBERT sat for some little time with his eyes fixed on those -burning logs before he commenced to speak, the firelight flickering on -his face. But bygone scenes were being recalled, and events long past -were being re-enacted in his memory as he sat thus.</p> - -<p>He spoke at length; quietly at first, dreamily almost, as if unconscious -of the presence of anyone near him, apparently addressing himself to no -one, unless it were to the faces in the fire:—</p> - -<p>  </p> - -<p>Six years!—six years ago, and only six, and yet it seems like a -lifetime, because I, who have been a rover and a wanderer since my -boyhood, have come to settle down on this peaceful farm.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_29">{29}</a></span> Yet I have -been happy, quietly happy, in my sister’s family, and with the -companionship of her dear children; but the afternoon of a sailor’s -existence must ever be a somewhat restless one. Like the sea over which -he has sailed so long, it is seldom he can be perfectly still. In spite -of himself he feels a longing at times to revisit scenes of former days, -and the lovely lands and sunny climes that time has hallowed and -softened till they resemble more the phantasies of some beautiful dream -than anything real and earthly.</p> - -<p>A vision like this rises up before me even now, as I sit here. The -wintry winds are howling round the house, but I hear them not, nor noise -of hail or softer snow driving against the window panes. I am far away -from Scotland, I am in a land whose rocky shores are laved by the blue -rolling waves of the Pacific, I am in Ecuador. Ecuador! land of the -equator; land of equal day and night; land that the swift-setting sun -leaves to be plunged into darkness Cimmerian, or bathed in moonlight -more tranquil and lovely than poets elsewhere can ever dream of; land of -mighty mountains, whose snow-capped summits are lost in the blue vault -of heaven or buried in clouds of rolling mist; land of ever-blazing -volcanic fires, wreathing smoke, and muttering thunders; land of vast -plains and prairies; land of swamps that seem boundless; land of forests -whose depths are dark by daylight—forests that bathe the valleys,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_30">{30}</a></span> the -cañons, the glens with a foliage that is green, violet, and purple by -turns, darkling as they climb the hills half-way to their rugged crests; -land of waterfalls and foaming torrents, over which in the sunlight -rainbows play against the moss-grown rocks or beetling cliffs beyond; -land of mighty rivers, now sweeping through dreamy woods, now roaring -green over the lava rocks, now broadening out into peaceful lakes or -inland seas, with shores of silvery sand; land of tribal savages, wild -and warlike or peaceful and uncouth; land of the Amazons; land of the -fern, the moss, and the wild-flower; land of giant butterflies, with -wings of bronzy silken velvet, or wings of colours more radiant than the -humming-bird itself, or wings of transparent gauze that quiver and -shimmer in the sunlight like plates of mica; land of strange birds; land -of the vampire or blood-sucking bat, the tarantula, the centiped, and -many a creeping horror besides; land, too, of the condor, the puma, the -jaguar, the peccary, the tapir, the sloth, and agouti; land of romance, -and a history going back, back, back into the remotest regions of the -past;—truly a strange and wondrous land! I seem to see it all, -everything, among those blazing logs to-night.</p> - -<p>I lived in Ecuador for many, many months. I roughed it with the Indians, -the Zaparos, the Napos, and Jivaros; I wandered over forest-land and -plain and by the banks of the streams; I<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_31">{31}</a></span> hunted in the jungle and on -the prairies, and after escaping many a danger I returned to the -sea-coast, laden with skins and curios and a wealth of specimens that -would have made the eyes of a naturalist sparkle with very joy.</p> - -<p>During all my long wanderings my servants had been faithful; and -although our lives had oftentimes been in danger from wild beasts and -wilder men, here we were once more at Guayaquil safe and sound.</p> - -<p>I was lucky enough to find a small Spanish vessel to take me and my -treasures to Callao; and here, at this somewhat loud-smelling seaport, -my good star was once more in the ascendant; and though I had arrived -three weeks before my promised time, the <i>Southern Hope</i> was lying -waiting for me.</p> - -<p>My welcome on board was a very joyful and gratifying one. Captain -Herbert himself met me in the gangway, and behind him was little -Bernard. The boy was not content with shaking hands. He must jump -joyfully into my arms and up and on to my shoulder; and thus he rode me -aft to where good little Mrs. Herbert sat in her deck-chair nursing -baby, with Lala, her sable ayah, standing near.</p> - -<p>“Now, don’t rise,” I cried. “I won’t permit it. How well you look, Mrs. -Herbert! The roses have quite returned to your once wan cheeks.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_32">{32}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“A nice compliment, Mr. Robert Sinclair,” she replied, smiling. “And you -too are looking well.”</p> - -<p>“Have I got roses on my cheeks?” I said.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” she said; “peony roses.”</p> - -<p>“And how is baby?”</p> - -<p>“O, look at her; isn’t she charming?”</p> - -<p>I gave baby a finger, which she at once proceeded to eat with as much -relish as if she had been a young cannibal. And so our reunion was -complete. At dinner that day we were all exceedingly happy and full of -mirth and fun. We had so much to tell each other, too; for during my -sojourn in Ecuador the <i>Southern Hope</i> had been on a long cruise among -the Pacific islands, where everything had seemed so strange and -delightfully foreign to both Captain and Mrs. Herbert, that, they told -me, it was like being in another world.</p> - -<p>The steward—I have good reason for mentioning this—was most assiduous -in his attentions at table that day. He was a short, broad-shouldered, -strong-jawed, half-caste Spaniard, exceedingly clever, as Mrs. Herbert -assured me, but possessed of those dark shifty eyes that seem unable to -trust anyone, or to inspire trust in others.</p> - -<p>When dessert was put on the table—a dessert of such fruits as princes -in England could not procure—Mrs. Herbert motioned to him that he might -now retire. He only smiled and shrugged<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_33">{33}</a></span> his shoulders in reply, and -presently he was entirely forgotten.</p> - -<p>So our conversation rattled on. I told my adventures much to the delight -of every one, but especially to that of our young mate and little -Bernard, although the child was barely seven years of age.</p> - -<p>“And those mysterious boxes, Mr. Sinclair,” said Mrs. Herbert, “when -will you open those?”</p> - -<p>“O, not before we get to San Francisco; when, you know, I must leave you -all, and make my way home overland.”</p> - -<p>From this reply, it will be understood that I was but a passenger on the -<i>Southern Hope</i>. I was travelling, indeed, for pleasure and health -combined, but had been altogether nearly a year and a half in this -hitherto happy ship; which had been baby’s birthplace, for little Oceana -was born on the ocean wave. Hence her name, which we always pronounced -’Theena.</p> - -<p>“No, my dear Mrs. Herbert,” I continued, “those boxes contain greater -treasures than ever were brought from the diamond mines of Golconda; -treasures more beautiful, and rarer far than all the gold in rich Peru.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Robert,” said the captain laughing heartily, “they are heavy -enough for anything; and by St. George and merry England, my friend, you -do well to keep such treasures in your own cabin.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_34">{34}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>I was at that moment engaged fashioning some marvellous toy for Bernard -from a piece of orange peel, but happening to look up I found the evil, -sinister eyes of Roderigo the steward fixed on me with a look I did not -half like.</p> - -<p>I took occasion that same evening to ask Mrs. Herbert some particulars -of this man’s history; for he had not been in the ship when I left it. -She had little to tell me. James, the old steward, had run away or -mysteriously disappeared somehow or other at Callao, and the very next -day this Roderigo had applied for the situation. Captain Herbert had -waited for his steward for a whole week; but as there were no signs of -his coming, and no trace of him on shore, it was concluded he had gone -to Lima. So, as he seemed eminently fitted for the duties of the post, -the half-caste Spaniard was installed in his place. He proved to be all -they could desire, Mr. Herbert continued, although he certainly was not -handsome; but he was very fond of Bernard, and doated on baby ’Theena. I -asked no more, but I felt far from content or easy in my mind.</p> - -<p>We left Callao at last, and proceeded on our voyage to San Francisco. -The <i>Southern Hope</i> was a good sea vessel; so our voyage was favourable, -though the winds were light until we reached the equator, which we -crossed in baffling winds, about 85° west longitude. We soon got -enveloped in dense wet fogs, and for<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_35">{35}</a></span> days it was all but a dead calm. A -breeze sprang up at last, however, and we kept on our course, and by and -by the sky cleared and we saw the sun.</p> - -<p>None too soon; for not ten miles to the east of us loomed the rocky -cliffs of Northern Ecuador. They could be none other, yet why were we -here?</p> - -<p>Captain Herbert could not understand it for a time. He was as good a -sailor as ever stood down the English Channel or crossed the far-famed -Bay of Biscay. He was not left long in doubt, however.</p> - -<p>There was villainy on board. Treachery had been at work, and the compass -had been tampered with.</p> - -<p>It was about two bells in the afternoon watch when he made the -discovery. I heard him walking rapidly up and down the deck first, as -some sailors do when deep in thought. Then he came below.</p> - -<p>“Are your pistols all ready?” he said to me.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” I answered; “but I sincerely hope there will be no need of them.”</p> - -<p>Then he told me what he had discovered, and that he felt sure mutiny was -intended.</p> - -<p>He broke the news as gently as possible to his wife, and gave orders -that she should keep to the cabin with the ayah and the children.</p> - -<p>Then he and I went on deck together.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_36">{36}</a></span></p> - -<p>As I passed the steward’s pantry I tried the door. It was locked, and I -could see through the jalousies that no one was inside.</p> - -<p>My doubts of the half-caste had become certainties.</p> - -<p>“Call all hands, and let the men lay aft, mate!”</p> - -<p>This was Herbert’s stern command.</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir,” came the cheerful reply.</p> - -<p>The <i>Southern Hope</i> was but a moderate-sized ship, and our men, all -told, were but nineteen hands.</p> - -<p>The mate’s sonorous voice and the sound of his signalling boot on the -deck could easily be heard all over the ship.</p> - -<p>Captain Herbert and I waited uneasily and impatiently by the binnacle. -His face was very pale, but firm and set, and I knew he would fight to -the death, if fighting there was going to be.</p> - -<p>Alas! we were not left long in doubt as to the exact position of -affairs. Out of all the crew—which were mostly a mixed class of -foreigners—only five lay aft.</p> - -<p>“Where are the others?” shouted the captain.</p> - -<p>Groaning and yelling came from below forward as a reply.</p> - -<p>“The men have mutinied,” said the mate.</p> - -<p>The words had scarcely left his lips ere, headed by Roderigo himself, -the mutineers rushed on deck.</p> - -<p>“You wanted us to lay aft,” cried Roderigo.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_37">{37}</a></span> “Here we are. What do you -want, Mr. Herbert, for I am captain now?”</p> - -<p>Before the captain could reply, either by word of mouth or ring of -pistol-shot, the mate had felled the steward with a capstan-bar. It was -a blow that might have killed a puma; but, though bleeding like an ox, -the half-caste drew his knife as he lay on deck, and next moment had -sprung on the first officer as a jaguar springs on a deer.</p> - -<p>The fight now became general; but in a very few minutes the mutineers -were triumphant. Our mate was slain; while, whether dead or alive, the -other poor fellows who had so nobly stuck by us were heaved into the -sea.</p> - -<p>A worse fate was probably intended for Captain Herbert and myself; but -meanwhile, our hands were tied, and we were led to the after-cabin and -there locked up. No one came near us all that afternoon, nor was there -any sound that could give us even an inkling as to the fate of poor Mrs. -Herbert, the children, and the ayah. Had they been murdered or even -molested, we surely should have heard shrieks or appeals for mercy.</p> - -<p>I did my best to keep up my companion’s heart, but there were moments -when I thought he would lose his very reason in the depth of his -despair.</p> - -<p>About an hour afterwards it was quite dark,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_38">{38}</a></span> and we could tell from the -singing and roystering forward that the mutineers had broken into the -spirit-room and were having a debauch. It had come on to blow too, and -the motion of the vessel was uneasy and jerking. Evidently she was being -badly steered, and an effort was also being made to shorten sail.</p> - -<p>The storm increased till it blew all but a gale. Some sails had been -rent in ribbons, and the noise of the flapping was like that of rifle -platoon firing.</p> - -<p>I was standing close by the cabin door, my ear anxiously drinking in -every sound, when suddenly I was thrown violently on the deck, and by -the dreadful grating and bumping noises under us we could tell that the -vessel had struck heavily on a rock. Almost at the same moment there was -the noise of falling spars and crashing wreck. Then a lull, succeeded by -the sound of rushing footsteps overhead and cries of “Lower away the -boats!”</p> - -<p>The fearfulness of our situation after this can hardly be realized. -Nothing was now to be heard except the roar of the winds and the -thumping of the great seas against the vessel’s sides. Hopeless as we -were, we longed for her to break up. Had she parted in two we felt that -we could have rejoiced. Death by drowning would not seem so terrible, I -thought, could we but see the stars above us or even feel the wind in -our faces;<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_39">{39}</a></span> but to die shut up thus in the darkness like rats in a hole -was too dreadful to think of—it was maddening!</p> - -<p>In the midst of our despair, and just as we were beginning to think the -end could not be far off, we heard a voice outside in the fore-cabin.</p> - -<p>“Husband! husband!” it cried in pitiful tones; “where are you?”</p> - -<p>“Here! here!” we both shouted in a breath.</p> - -<p>Next minute a light shone glimmering through the keyhole, and we knew -Mrs. Herbert had lit the lamp.</p> - -<p>Then an axe was vigorously applied to our prison door, and in a short -time we were free.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Herbert had fainted in her husband’s arms.</p> - -<p>She slowly recovered consciousness, and then could tell us all she knew.</p> - -<p>The mutineers had rifled the ship; they had broken open my cabin and -boxes, expecting to find treasure, and as soon as the vessel struck had -lowered the boats and left the ship.</p> - -<p>But where was Bernard?</p> - -<p>And where was the ayah?</p> - -<p>Alas! neither could be found. And from that day to this their fate is a -mystery.</p> - -<p>The storm was little more, after all, than a series of tropical squalls. -The vessel did not break up just then, and when daylight broke the sea -all around us was as calm and blue as baby ’Theena’s eyes.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_40">{40}</a></span></p> - -<p>In the course of the day we managed to rig a raft and thereby reach the -shore.</p> - -<p>It was a wild and desolate beach on which we landed, and glad we were to -find even the huts of Indians in which to shelter.</p> - -<p>There we lived for three long weeks, making many trips in the canoes of -the Indians to the ship, and bringing on shore as many of the -necessaries of life as we could find.</p> - -<p>But alas! the loss of Bernard and the terror of that terrible night had -done their work on poor Mrs. Herbert. She gradually sunk and died.</p> - -<p>We buried her near the beach on that strange wild shore, and raised a -monument over the grave, roughly built in the form of a cross, from -green lava rocks.</p> - -<p>Our adventures after that may be briefly told.</p> - -<p>The ship did not break up for many weeks, and where the carrion is there -cometh the “hoody crow.” The first coasting vessel that found out the -wreck plundered it, and sailed away leaving us to perish for aught they -cared. But with the captain of the next we managed to come to terms, and -the promise of a handsome reward secured us a passage to Callao, and -there we found a Christian ship and in due time arrived in England.</p> - -<p>  </p> - -<p>“And what about Bernard?” said Tommy with eager eyes.</p> - -<p>“The mystery about Bernard still remains, dear<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_41">{41}</a></span> boy. He may be living -somewhere yet in the interior of Ecuador, or he may have been taken away -by some passing ship, or—and this is my own opinion—he is dead.”</p> - -<p>“And the baby ’Theena is living, isn’t she?” said Alicia.</p> - -<p>“She was, dear, when last I heard of her, and the father too is well. -Heigh-ho! I wonder if he knows I am thinking about him to-night, and -telling his strange story and my own?”</p> - -<p>Whoo—oo—oo! roared the storm. The wind-wolves still shrieked around -the house. But suddenly Laird Talisker lifts a finger as if to command -silence.</p> - -<p>All listen intensely.</p> - -<p>“That is something over and above the ‘howthering’ of the gale,” he -says. “Hark!”</p> - -<p>Rising unmistakably above the din of the storm-wind could now be heard -the barking of dogs, as if in anger.</p> - -<p>“Someone is coming undoubtedly,” says Uncle Robert.</p> - -<p>Then the door opens and old Mawsie the housekeeper enters, looking so -scared that the borders of the very cap or white linen mutch she wore -seem to stand straight out as if starched.</p> - -<p>“What <i>can</i> be the matter, Mawsie?” asks the laird.</p> - -<p>“O, sir!” gasps old Mawsie, “on this awfu’ nicht—through the snaw and -the howtherin<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_42">{42}</a></span>’ wind-storm—a carriage and pair drives up to the door, -and a gentleman wi’ a bonnie wee lady alichts—”</p> - -<p>What more Mawsie would have said may never be known, for at that moment -straight into the room walk the arrivals themselves, and in his -eagerness to get towards them Uncle Robert knocks over his chair, and -the long stool on which the boys are sitting goes down with it, boys and -all.</p> - -<p>“By all that is curious!” cries Uncle Robert, giving a hand to each. -“However did you come here? Talk of angels and lo! they appear.”</p> - -<p>He shakes Captain Herbert by the hand as if he had determined to -dislocate his elbow, and he fairly hugs little ’Theena in his arms.</p> - -<p>“And this is baby,” he cries to Tommy’s mother, “and here is good old -Captain Herbert himself. Why, this is the most joyful 25th of February I -ever do remember.”</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br><br> -AMONG THE WOODS OF CRAIGIELEA.</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">W</span>ITH the arrival of Captain Herbert and little ’Theena a fresh gleam of -sunshine appeared to have fallen athwart our young hero’s pathway in -life.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_43">{43}</a></span></p> - -<p>As he sat in his corner that evening thoughtfully gazing on her sweet -face, while her father and his uncle kept talking together as old -friends and old sailors will, Tommy thought he had never seen anything -on earth so lovely before, and albeit he was about half afraid of her he -made up his mind to fall in love with her as early as possible. He -really was not quite certain yet, however, that he might not be -dreaming. Had he fallen asleep again, he wondered, after Uncle Robert -had finished his story? and was ’Theena but a vision? She looked so -ethereal and so like a fairy child that he could not help giving his own -arm a sly pinch to find out whether he really was awake or not. He did -feel that pinch, so it must be all right.</p> - -<p>Next he wondered if his two big brothers would appropriate ’Theena -almost exclusively to themselves while she stayed here. He determined to -circumvent them, however. He had a hut and a home in the wild woods not -far from the romantic ruin of Craigie Castle, and he felt sure that -’Theena would be delighted with this hermitage of his. She did not look -very strong, but she would soon be rosier. He would wander through the -woods and wilds and cull posies of wild-flowers, and by the sea-shore -and gather shells for her—shells as prettily pink as those delicate -ears of hers. What a pity, he thought, that it was still winter! But -never mind, spring<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_44">{44}</a></span> would come, and he knew where nearly all the -song-birds dwelt and built. And O! by the way, ’Theena’s eyes were as -blue as the eggs of the accentor or hedge-sparrow. Even deeper, they -were more like the blue of the pretty wee germander speedwell that -before two months were past would be peeping up through the grass by the -hedge-foot. Then further on there would be the wild blue hyacinth and -the blue-bells of Scotlands (the hare-bell of English waysides), and the -bugloss and milk-wort and succory—all of them more or less like -’Theena’s eyes—and a score of others besides, he could find and fashion -into garlands.</p> - -<p>’Theena smiled so sweetly when she bade him good-night, and was upon the -whole so self-possessed and lady-like, that the boy felt infinitely -beneath her in every way. But that did not matter; he would improve day -by day, he felt certain enough on this point. So he went off to bed, and -dreamed that he and ’Theena were up in a balloon together, sailing -through the blue sky, and that down beneath them was spread out just -such a romantic land as that of Ecuador, which his uncle had described. -It was more like a scene of enchantment than anything else. But lo! even -as he gazed in rapture from the car of the balloon, it entered a region -of rolling clouds and snow mists; it became darker and darker, the gloom -was only lit up by the hurtling fires of terrible<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_45">{45}</a></span> volcanoes, while all -around the thunders pealed and lightnings flashed. Then the balloon -seemed to collapse, and after a period of falling, falling, falling that -felt interminable, suddenly the sun shone once more around them—’Theena -was still by his side—and they found themselves in a kind of earthly -arboreal and floral paradise. Near them stood a tall and handsome young -man, dressed, however, like a savage, and armed with bow and arrow.</p> - -<p>He advanced, smiling, to the spot where they stood, and extending a hand -to each:</p> - -<p>“Dear sister and brother,” he said, “do you not know me? Behold I am the -long-lost Bernard!”</p> - -<p>Then Tommy awoke and found it was daylight, and that the robin was -singing on his windowsill expectant of crumbs.</p> - -<p class="dtts">. . . . . . .</p> - -<p>Spring came all at one glad bound to the fields and woods of Craigielea -this year.</p> - -<p>Three weeks had passed away since the night Tommy had dreamt that -strange dream. Captain Herbert had gone south. He would sail round the -world before he returned to Craigielea to take his “little lass,” as he -called ’Theena, away with him again. Meanwhile he knew she would be well -cared for, and grow bigger and stronger.</p> - -<p>Tommy’s brothers had made no attempt, or very little of an attempt, to -win ’Theena over. True, Jack had mounted her once or twice on<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_46">{46}</a></span> Glancer; -but Glancer, knowing the responsibility of such a charge, could not be -induced to break even into a decent trot. So Jack got tired of ’Theena, -and told her she might never expect to make a cow-boy.</p> - -<p>And Dick could not get the girl to race, or play cricket or hockey, -though he tried hard; and she was not even good at climbing trees nor -riding on fences, and was positively afraid of Towsie, the white, -shorthorn bull, because he had red eyes and tore up the ground with a -fore-foot, while he bellowed like distant thunder.</p> - -<p>“It’s no good, Jack,” said Dick; “we couldn’t make anything of ’Theena -if we tried ever so long.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think so, Dick,” was Jack’s reply. “Besides, what is the use of -girls anyhow?”</p> - -<p>“Not much. I really want to know what they are put into the world for at -all.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Jack, “we’ll give her up, won’t we? Little Cinderella can -have her for a plaything, can’t he?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Jack, she’ll just suit little Cinderella.” This was the name his -brothers always called Tommy by, because he always sat by his sister’s -knee close to the fire, and looked at it for hours.</p> - -<p>“Dick,” said Jack, “there’s nothing like boys, is there?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing much.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_47">{47}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“And there’s nobody like you and me. Hurrah! come and give me a leg up -to mount Glancer, and just see me clear that farther fence. Besides, -I’ve got a new way of making Glancer buck-jump. Hurrah, Dick! Cow-boys -for ever!”</p> - -<p>As the two went tearing along towards the paddock where Glancer was -browsing, they met Tommy and ’Theena on their way to the woods. Tommy -had a fishing-basket on his back, ’Theena carried the rod. Tommy had a -bow and arrows besides, and ’Theena carried a real Arab spear.</p> - -<p>“Hullo, Cinderella!” shouted Dick.</p> - -<p>“Hurrah, Cinder!” cried Jack. “Why, where ever are you off to with all -that gear?”</p> - -<p>“We’re going to the hermitage,” said Tommy proudly. “I’m the Hermit -Hunter of the Wilds.”</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha, ha!” from both the bigger boys.</p> - -<p>“And,” continued Tommy, “we’re going to play at wild man in the woods; -and we’re going to gather flowers, and find birds’-nests, and fish in -the Craigieburn, and perhaps go for a sail on the sea.”</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha, ha! Well, don’t you dare to fall in anywhere and drown your -little self,” said Jack; “else you will catch it. Good-bye, Cinder. Take -care of baby. Good-bye, Eenie-’Theenie.”</p> - -<p>And away went Dick and Jack whooping.</p> - -<p>“I don’t love your brothers much,” said ’Theena, almost crying. “What -makes them call you Cinder?<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_48">{48}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, I’m sure, ’Theena; but I don’t mind it if you don’t.”</p> - -<p>“I shall call you Tom.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you; but really I don’t mind, you know, and if you would -prefer—”</p> - -<p>“No, no, no. I don’t like Cinderella. You’re not a girl.”</p> - -<p>“O, no. I’m a boy, and Uncle Robert says I shall soon be a man. Wouldn’t -you like to be a boy, ’Theena?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, dearly.”</p> - -<p>“It would be so nice if you were. We could have even better fun than we -have now, and you would be able to get up trees, and shoot, and do -everything I do.”</p> - -<p>Talking thus they reached the great pine-wood, and entered among the -trees. In this silent forest-land there was not a morsel of undergrowth, -only the withered needles that had fallen from the pines and larches and -formed a thick soft carpet. And the great tree-stems went towering -skywards, brown for the pines, gray for the larches, till they ended far -above in a canopy of darkest green that would hardly admit a ray of -sunshine without breaking it all up into little patches of gold and -silver.</p> - -<p>’Theena felt somewhat afraid now, and crept closer to Tom, who took her -hand, and thus they wandered on and on. And very small the two of them -looked among those giant timber trees.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_49">{49}</a></span></p> - -<p>“You’re not <i>very</i> much afraid, are you?” said Tom. “You needn’t be, you -know, for I’m the Hermit Hunter of the Wilds, and could protect you -against anything; and Connie here would protect us both.”</p> - -<p>Connie was the long-haired collie dog, who followed his master -everywhere like his shadow.</p> - -<p>“You could shoot straight with your bow and arrow, couldn’t you, Tom, if -any wild beast came upon us?”</p> - -<p>“O, very straight.”</p> - -<p>They were following a tiny beaten path that led them through the -pine-wood. But it also led them up and up, and sometimes it was so steep -that they had to scramble on their hands and knees.</p> - -<p>By and by the pines gave place to silver-stemmed birch-trees, with -shimmering, shivering leaves that reflected the sunshine in all -directions. The perfume from these trees was delightful in the extreme.</p> - -<p>They reached a clearing at last, where the heather grew green all round, -and where there were lichen-clad stones to sit upon. Here one or two -large and lovely lizards were basking, and a splendid green speckled -snake went gliding away at their approach. Tom, being a Highland lad, -was not afraid of either snakes or lizards. Neither was ’Theena; for -though she was only seven years old she had been in strange countries -with her<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_50">{50}</a></span> papa, and had seen far bigger snakes and lizards too than any -we have in Scotland.</p> - -<p>Having rested for a short time, they resumed their upward journey, and -soon came to a little table-land about an acre in extent, and near it, -in the shelter of a tall gray rock, with drooping birch-trees, and -broom, and whins, lo! the hermitage and woodland home of the Hermit -Hunter.</p> - -<p>What a business the making of this hut had been, nobody ever knew except -Tommy himself, Uncle Robert, and the collie dog Connie.</p> - -<p>But now that it was made, it looked a very complete dwelling indeed, -just such as a Crusoe would have delighted to live in.</p> - -<p>’Theena was overjoyed.</p> - -<p>“O!” she cried, “I would love to stay here always; a table and cupboard, -and real seats, and real plates and things, and a window, and books and -all! I can’t read much, can you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Tom. “Uncle taught me. He teaches me always up here in -summer, and he shall teach you too.”</p> - -<p>After ’Theena had admired everything sufficiently long, they commenced -to climb again, and soon rose out of the greenery of the woods entirely, -high up the hill into the very sky itself; and, wonderful to say, here -was a noble castle, though now but little more than a ruin.</p> - -<p>“My ancestors,” said Tommy proudly, “once dwelt here, and they were -great soldiers and<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_51">{51}</a></span> warriors. Dick and Jack don’t care anything about -ancestors; but I do, Theena. And do you know what I am going to do?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said ’Theena.</p> - -<p>“After I grow a big man, I mean.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, after you grow a big man.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’m going to make lots of money first, you know. For I shall be a -sailor, and sail away to strange countries where the gold lies in heaps -in the woods and wilds, watched over by terrible dragons.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Tom, I suppose there would be dragons.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I shall kill the dragons, and bring away, O, ever so much gold! -Then I will sail home in my ship, and I shall furnish this castle all -splendid and new again, with beautiful furniture and pictures, and all -sorts of nice things. O, but stop, there is something I am going to do -before then.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Tom, something to do before then.”</p> - -<p>“I’m going to find your brother Bernard.”</p> - -<p>“O, that would be nice!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, very. And I’ll bring him home, and we’ll all live happy here in -this splendid castle; your father and my father, and mother, and uncle, -and Bernard, and Alicia, and Connie and all.”</p> - -<p>“Will your brothers be here too?”</p> - -<p>“N—no, I think it better not, perhaps. Of course Dugald would be at the -farm, and we could see him sometimes, but Dick and Jack better go away -and preach and be a cow-boy.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_52">{52}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“And then,” said ’Theena, “they would never call you Cinder any more. -But how very nice it will all be. And O, Tom, look at the waves!”</p> - -<p>From the window of the room in which they stood the view was grand and -imposing. Hills and rocks and woods on one side, the lovely glen on the -other, and down yonder, stretching away and away to the illimitable -horizon, the blue Atlantic dotted here and there with white sails, with -one or two steamers in the far offing, ploughing their way northwards, -and leaving their trailing wreaths of smoke and long white wakes.</p> - -<p>And up from the woods beneath them came a chorus of bird songs. The -mellow fluting of the blackbird, the sweat clear notes of the mavis, and -bold bright lilt of chaffinch. Nearer still the linnet perched on the -whin-bush, and high, high in air, dimly seen against a white fleecy -cloud, but easily heard, was the laverock itself.</p> - -<p>And the bright pure sunshine was over everything; glittering on the -rippling sea, sparkling on the mountain-tops where the snow still lay, -patching the woods with light and shadow, heightening the green of moss -and heather, changing the streams into threadlets of silver, spreading -out the petals of half-open flowers, the gowans on the lea, goldilocks -by the meadow’s brink, awakening the bees, and causing ten thousand, -thousand rainbow-coloured insects to join in the song of<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_53">{53}</a></span> gladness that -rose everywhere on this lovely spring morning, from nature to nature’s -God.</p> - -<p>Tom and his companion stood long enough at the window to drink in the -essence of the glorious scene, but no longer. The day was young, and -they were young. There was a moping owl up in the ivy yonder; they would -leave the ruined castle to him, while they should go forth and mingle -with, and become part and parcel of, all the light and loveliness that -made up the day.</p> - -<p>“Come, ’Theena, we mustn’t keep the fish waiting. Come, Connie; and you -must not go and bathe and splash to-day in the stream where we are -fishing. ’Theena, I want to get a basket full to the top with such trout -that will make Dick and Jack want to kick themselves with jealousy.”</p> - -<p>And off they went, and no one saw either of them again till the sun was -going down behind the sea, and changing the waves into billows of blood.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.<br><br> -“THE WHOLE WORLD IS FULL OF CHANGES.”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">“W</span>ELL,” said Uncle Robert one morning some time after this, “if anybody -twenty years ago had prophesied that I should become a schoolmaster in -my declining years, I should have<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_54">{54}</a></span> laughed at him. But come, there is no -help for it, and by good luck I’ve got two of the dearest and best -little pupils that ever any teacher could desire.”</p> - -<p>Perhaps, though, no boy or girl either was ever taught on so delightful -a system before. For, every morning after breakfast—well rolled in -fear-nothing plaids if it happened to be raining—Uncle Robert, with Tom -and ’Theena, took their way towards the pine-wood and the hermitage. If -Dick and Jack happened to be about when they started, they were sure to -give them a hail.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, Eenie-’Theenie,” Dick would cry.</p> - -<p>“Fare thee well, Old Cinder,” Jack would shout.</p> - -<p>And Uncle Robert would pretend to growl like an old sea-lion, and shake -his stick at the pair of them as they scampered off, looking nearly all -legs, like the figures on the old Manx pennies.</p> - -<p>Young as Tommy was, he had a very complete knowledge of geography, and -even a smattering of navigation; for he had declared his intention of -becoming a sailor, and nothing else. But this knowledge of his was not -such as you learn in books alone; but from books, and maps, and charts, -and the big globe itself. Tommy actually knew and felt he was <i>in</i> the -world, and not inside the cover of a book. And if you asked him where -any country was he pointed in the direction of it at once, taking his -bearings as it were<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_55">{55}</a></span> by the sun or stars, and the time of day or night -it happened to be at the time the question was put.</p> - -<p>Their school was the hermitage in the woods, and here they laboured away -most earnestly all the forenoon. Then they laid aside their books, and -while uncle and ’Theena went outside to squat on the green-sward, -Tom—we shall not call him Tommy any more—got ready the luncheon. A -very simple repast it was—cheese and cake, and creamy milk.</p> - -<p>Then uncle would light his pipe and perhaps tell a story, and after this -they started off in pursuit of pleasure.</p> - -<p>Were there not fish in the rivers, and shells by the sea-shore, and -wondrous creatures of fur and feather in the woods and on the hills, -beautiful insects everywhere, and wild-flowers everywhere?</p> - -<p>So passed one summer quickly away; and another summer and another winter -after that, and now Tom was thirteen and ’Theena was nine and over. Tom -was a man, at least he thought he was; and now, dearly though he loved -his old home, an almost irresistible longing took possession of him to -go to sea—to sail away and see the world and all that is in it.</p> - -<p>For Tom was already a sailor. One might hardly think this possible, -until told that for a year and more hardly a fine day dawned that did -not see Uncle Robert and him, and as often<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_56">{56}</a></span> as not little ’Theena also, -afloat in uncle’s little yacht-boat. This saucy wee craft had been a -man-o’-war’s cutter, sold as unfit for further service. But Uncle Robert -had bought her, and had her brought round to the bay of Craigie, and -there turned bottom upwards in old Dem Harrison’s boat-shed. And between -the pair of them, aided by Tom and ’Theena, who did the looking-on, they -soon made the hull seaworthy.</p> - -<p>No flimsy work either. Wherever a plank was in the slightest degree -decayed, it was taken out and a light, hard new one put in; the very -best of copper nails being used, and nothing else. Then she was painted -inside and out. This done, she was “whomeld,” as old Dem called it—that -is, turned right side up; and so they proceeded to put a raised deck -upon her, and step a nice raking mast with fore-and-aft mainsail and -topsail and jibs to match. Fine big jibs they were too; honest spreads -of canvas, having no resemblance to either a baby’s blanket or a biscuit -sack. The wee yacht had an excellent rudder also, and a false keel that -could be raised or lowered at pleasure, or to suit circumstances.</p> - -<p>You must understand that the <i>Oceana</i>, as she was called, after ’Theena, -had the most darling little saloon it is possible to imagine. To be -sure, Uncle Robert looked a bit crowded in it; but when Tom and ’Theena -were there by themselves, with only uncle’s legs dangling down the<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_57">{57}</a></span> -companion as he sat steering, the place seemed just made for them. There -was a couch at each side, supported by lockers, and prettily upholstered -in crimson. There was a lamp in gimbals to burn at night, a natty little -locker containing all sorts of dishes and all kinds of dainties, and -brackets in the corners with pockets for flowers, and sconces for -coloured candles; besides a rack for arms and fishing-gear; while the -white paint, the gilding, and the mirrors completed the picture and made -the place double the size it really was.</p> - -<p>Just imagine if you can how delicious it was to go sailing away over the -summer seas in a fairy-like yacht such as the <i>Oceana</i>—the blue above -and the blue below, white-winged gulls tacking and half-tacking in the -air around. Perhaps a shoal of porpoises in the offing, and great -jelly-fishes floating everywhere in the water like animated parasols.</p> - -<p>They were entirely independent of the land when once fairly afloat; for -the <i>Oceana</i> was well provisioned, and had over and above all her other -stores a tiny library of the most readable books of adventure and -poetry.</p> - -<p>No, it was little wonder that Tom became a sailor under so pleasant a -captain as Uncle Robert, and on board so fairy-like a yacht.</p> - -<p>But neither on shore was Tom’s nautical studies neglected; for in a room -of uncle’s cottage was situated a huge toy ship, which he had built and<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_58">{58}</a></span> -rigged himself, and which he and his pupils often dismantled and rigged -up again. Full rigged she was, with every spar, bolt, and stay in its -proper place—a very model of perfection.</p> - -<p>But the most curious thing I have to relate is that ’Theena learned -every branch of the seafarer’s craft quite as readily as, and even more -quickly than, Tom himself. Born and brought up at sea, she appeared to -take to everything intuitively.</p> - -<p>Taking it all in all, both Uncle Robert and his pupils enjoyed -themselves very much, indeed, both on shore and afloat; but whether most -on shore or most afloat, it would have been difficult to say.</p> - -<p>“My dear children,” said uncle one day at the hermitage, just as they -had finished luncheon and were preparing for a long ramble—“my dear -children, I shall miss you very much when you go away. I expect I’ll -begin to get old very quickly after that.”</p> - -<p>“Dear unky,” said Tom, “you are never going to grow old. Don’t you -believe it.”</p> - -<p>“And we are never going to grow any older either, unky,” said ’Theena.</p> - -<p>Uncle Robert laughed.</p> - -<p>“Well,” he said, “I should have no objections to make a bargain of that -sort with old Father Time if we could fall in with him. But, my dears, -changes will come, you know. The whole<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_59">{59}</a></span> world is full of changes, and -the whole universe too for that matter. And you, Tom, will be going away -to sea, and ’Theena will have to go to school. I might make a sailor of -her, but, bother me if I could teach her the piano and dancing and the -like of that, unless it were a hornpipe such as the sailors dance on a -Saturday night. Yes, my dears, changes must and will come.”</p> - -<p>Black Tom came up at this moment and began rubbing his great head -against the boy’s arm as he lay on the grass. Black Tom was a cat, and a -very wonderful specimen he was; elephantic in size as far as the term -could be applied to any grimalkin, with an enormous broad and -honest-looking face of his own. He was probably not more than two years -of age at this time; but Tom—the boy Tom—had saved his life when he -was little more than full-grown. It was quite a little adventure for the -young Hermit Hunter of the Wilds. As far as could be known, the cat had -attempted the abduction of a young or puppy-fox, but the mother coming -home in time a furious battle had ensued. The hermit came up at the very -moment the fox had scored victory, and was proceeding to break the cat -up, as some day the dogs might break her up. But a well-directed arrow -from Tom’s cross-bow sent her yelping to her den, and then the boy -picked up the half-dead cat and carried him to the hermitage. He<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_60">{60}</a></span> -recovered after a few weeks of careful nursing; and since then, wherever -the boy went the cat followed, all through the woods and over the hills, -and even out to sea in the <i>Oceana</i> yacht. Boy and cat were inseparable, -and throughout the length and breadth of the parish they were known to -everybody as “the two Toms.” When at peace, Tom the cat was very -contented-looking, though no great beauty, his shoulder and head having -been terribly scarred in that encounter with the fox; but he could be -very fierce when he pleased. He tolerated Connie the collie dog, and -even slept in his arms; but if any strange dog came into the hut Tom -mounted his back and rode him out, whacking him all the way.</p> - -<p class="dtts">. . . . . . .</p> - -<p>Changes must and will come. Yes, and changes came to all about -Craigielea before very long. First and foremost Dick went away to -Oxford. He had a cousin there who would look after him while at college, -and, as Uncle Robert phrased it, put him up to the ropes.</p> - -<p>Then an American farmer called at Craigielea and stayed for a week, -telling very wonderful stories indeed about life and adventures in the -sunny south of the United States, to all of which Jack listened with -open-mouthed earnestness. And when this farmer went away he left poor -Mrs. Talisker in tears, for her dear boy Jack went away with him.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_61">{61}</a></span></p> - -<p>Dear boy Jack did not himself take on much about the matter, however. -Indeed, though he did manage to screw a tear or two out when saying -good-bye to his mother and Alicia, there certainly were no tears in his -eyes as he parted with Tom.</p> - -<p>“Ta, ta, Old Cinder!” he said, shaking his brother’s hand. “Take care of -yourself, my Cinder; and if ever you are out our way drop round and see -us, and I’ll let you ride a buck-jumper that will toss you half-way to -the moon. Ta, ta! Be good.”</p> - -<p>The old farm was a deal quieter after Dick and Jack had gone. There was -far less whooping, or barking of dogs, or cracking of whips. Uncle -Robert said the place was not the same at all.</p> - -<p>Then came another change. For Captain Herbert walked into the house one -forenoon as quietly and coolly as if he had not been from home for over -a week. This caused the greatest change of all, for Tom had to get ready -for sea at once. His uncle took him straight away to Glasgow to get his -outfit; and when the boy was rigged out in his pilot suit, with gilt -buttons and cap with badge and band, very natty and neat he looked. -’Theena was very proud of him now; but at the same time she was very -sad, for those brass buttons and that blue pilot-jacket meant separation -for many and many a long day.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_62">{62}</a></span></p> - -<p>When Tom awoke one morning and looked out of his window he could see a -beautiful black painted barque lying at anchor in the bay, with tall -tapering spars shining white in the sunlight, as if they had been formed -of satin-wood. Then Tom knew that his time had come.</p> - -<p>He was not very elated about it at first. It was so sudden; and I do -trust the reader will not think him any the less brave when I confess -that he sat down beside the window and indulged in the luxury of a good -cry. For remember that the boy was not very old yet. No; and I have -known many much older boys than he shed tears at the prospect of leaving -home.</p> - -<p>He was to sail on the very next morning; and that day he and ’Theena -went to take one last look at the hermitage and the old castle, and the -woods and wilds generally. And Tom the cat followed them and kept close -by his master all the way.</p> - -<p>“Poor fellow!” said the boy, stooping down to caress his favourite; “he -seems to know we are to be parted.”</p> - -<p>“Purr-rrn!” said Tom the cat. That was all he could say, but there was -more in it than either the boy or ’Theena understood just then.</p> - -<p>“Mind,” said Tom to ’Theena, as they stood together at the window of the -old castle overlooking the woods and the sea, “I am going to come back -rich and bring your brother with me.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_63">{63}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“I don’t care so much for my brother as for you,” said ’Theena candidly. -“You know you are my brother now.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered Tom abstractedly.</p> - -<p>Then hand in hand they went down the hill and through the woods and -forest, and so back home again.</p> - -<p>Tom’s mother came to see him to bed this last sad night, and sat long -with him in the moonlight giving him good advice—the best of which was -that he was to read the little Bible she gave him every night, and never -to forget to pray.</p> - -<p>The bustle of starting saved everybody next day from making much display -of grief, and everybody was thankful accordingly. Only poor little -’Theena was half frantic, and could hardly tear herself away from the -only brother she had ever known or loved—that is, as far as she could -remember.</p> - -<p>But the parting was all over at last; and when the sun sank slowly -behind the waves that night the <i>Caledonia</i> was far away on the western -waters, ploughing her way southward, with the coast of Ireland a long -distance on the weather-bow.</p> - -<p>Tom was to be apprentice, and, as he was the only one on board, he -messed in the saloon along with Captain Herbert and the first and second -mate.</p> - -<p>The boy had knocked about too long in his<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_64">{64}</a></span> uncle’s little yacht to feel -the effects of the ship’s motion in the shape of sea-sickness, so he sat -down to supper that evening in very good spirits and with a healthy -appetite.</p> - -<p>They were just about to commence that meal, when in at the saloon door, -with tail erect and something like a smile on his broad face, walked Tom -the black cat.</p> - -<p>“Purr-rrn!” he said well-pleasedly as he jumped on his master’s knee and -rubbed his head against the boy’s chest.</p> - -<p>Tom was too much surprised to speak, but the captain and mates laughed -heartily.</p> - -<p>“A stowaway!” said the former.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Tom. “I have no idea how he got on board.”</p> - -<p>“Well, never mind. I’ll wager a shilling he will bring us good luck.”</p> - -<p>Black Tom was henceforth installed as ship’s cat; and the men were all -most kind to him, for every sailor of them knew that though black cats -will bring good luck to a ship, nevertheless if ill treated or lost -overboard, the luck is sure to turn.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_65">{65}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br><br> -“RUN, RUN!” CRIED TOM; “THE MAN MUST NOT DIE YET!”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>T is not often that the lines of young sailor-lads fall in such -pleasant places as did those of Tom Talisker on first going to sea. To -begin with, he had no extra rough work to do, as is too often the case -with apprentices, and even midshipmen, on first going afloat—scrubbing -and scraping all day long, their hands in a bucket of tar one minute, -and in a bucket of “slush” the next.</p> - -<p>“Make a man of my lad,” had been about the last words of Uncle Robert to -his friend Captain Herbert; and that honest old tar had proceeded to do -so forthwith, not on the old plan of first breaking a boy’s heart, and -then making a bully of him if he survived it. No, the captain put Tom -into the second mate’s watch, with a request that he should do the best -he could for the lad; and as Holborn himself, as this officer was -called, was an excellent sailor, and a kindly-hearted though somewhat -rough and uncouth individual, he set about putting Tom up to the ropes -without loss of time.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page_66">{66}</a></span></p><p>Captain Herbert himself superintended the lad’s book-studies, so on the -whole he was well off; and it is no wonder, therefore, that before he -had been to sea for three years he was able to reef, steer, and do his -duty both on deck and below almost as well as Holborn could.</p> - -<p>But all this time the <i>Caledonia</i> had never once been back to England.</p> - -<p>For Captain Herbert was quite a wandering Jew of a sailor, and the -reasons for this are not far to seek. First and foremost, he had never -yet given up hopes that he would one day find his lost son, and he -certainly left no stone unturned to bring about so wished-for an event. -Secondly, he was his own master, the barque he sailed being his own -property. And thirdly, it paid him to keep going from country to -country, as long as there was no real necessity for docking the ship. -Not that he valued riches for his own sake, but for the sake of ’Theena -and the son he ne’er again might look upon.</p> - -<p>If Tom had felt a man before leaving England, he now almost looked one. -Indeed, in size and strength he was a man quite; for whatever some may -say, the ocean certainly never stunts a youth’s growth.</p> - -<p>He was a good sailor, too, taking the adjective “good” in every sense of -the word. Neither his mother’s advice, the second mate’s care, nor -Captain Herbert’s kindness had been thrown away on the boy; and on many -a dark and stormy<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_67">{67}</a></span> night he proved that he was just as good as brave.</p> - -<p>Another year of voyaging here and there across the face of the great -waters passed away. The <i>Caledonia</i> was lying at San Francisco, and the -captain intimated to the officers his intention of bearing up for home. -They would double the Horn for the last time; then hurrah for merry -England!</p> - -<p>There was rejoicing fore and aft at the glad news; for if there is one -word in our language that can convey a thrill of happiness to a sailor’s -heart, that word is “home.” And every seaman on board a ship carries -about with him all over the world affections and ties with the dear ones -he has left behind that nothing but death itself can sever.</p> - -<p>“In nine months’ time, my lad,” said Captain Herbert cheerily to Tom, -who was walking the deck with his constant companion the cat at his -heels. “In nine months’ time I hope we’ll be sailing up the Clyde. We -shall touch at Ecuador and at Callao, then steer away south.”</p> - -<p>It was not the first time since they had sailed from England that the -<i>Caledonia</i> had touched at Ecuador, so Tom was not surprised at what the -captain now told him; for the grave of his wife was there on that rugged -shore, and it was there, too, he had lost his boy.</p> - -<p>“I’m getting old, Tom,” he added. “I cannot<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_68">{68}</a></span> do now what I could have -done ten years ago, and I fear I may never be on this coast again.”</p> - -<p>Tom could hardly repress a sigh as he looked at him. He certainly was -getting old, and very white in hair and beard; but probably it was his -never-ending sorrow that had aged him quite as much as his years.</p> - -<p>The <i>Caledonia</i> lay for many days near the spot where the <i>Southern -Hope</i> was lost. Captain Herbert seemed to find a difficulty in tearing -himself away this time. But when at last the wind began to blow high off -the land, sail was set and away southwards once more went the good ship.</p> - -<p>The captain was inexpressibly sorrowful as the vessel left the land, and -Tom felt he could have given all he possessed in the world to dispel the -clouds that hung so heavily over his dear old friend’s heart.</p> - -<p>But Tom was too young to let sorrow depress him long, and that night -after he had retired—for it would not be his watch on deck till the -morning—he lay awake for hours thinking of home. How would every one be -on his return, and how would they look?—his dear mother and quiet -kindly father, his sister, his brother, and little ’Theena? But she -would not be so very little now; and he supposed she would have -forgotten him to a great extent, albeit she had written many a dear -affectionate child-letter,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_69">{69}</a></span> every one of which Tom had kept under lock -and key in his ditty-box. His mother’s letters were there also, and a -score of other odds and ends that no one knows the real value of except -a sailor. He did not fall asleep until he heard the middle watch called, -and Holborn came down below, and with him Tom the cat; for this strange -animal evinced quite an affection for the second mate, and frequently -kept watch with him even on stormy nights.</p> - -<p>But he jumped now into Tom’s bunk with a little fond cry, nestled down -in his arms, and the two Toms were soon fast asleep.</p> - -<p>The <i>Caledonia</i> had cargo to leave at Callao and some to take on board; -so the seamen and officers were busy for a time, almost night and day, -as the captain was anxious now that no time should be lost.</p> - -<p>At last, however, the vessel was loaded up, and nothing remained to be -done except to bid some friends good-bye, and make purchase of a few -curios to take to the old folks at home.</p> - -<p>Tom and Captain Herbert were on shore, and had dined at one of the best -hotels. Leaving his friend for a time Tom went out for a stroll and to -enjoy the evening breeze, for the day had been very hot and sultry.</p> - -<p>He stayed out longer than he had intended, and was making the best of -his way back, when, in a side street through which he was passing by<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_70">{70}</a></span> -way of taking a short cut, he came suddenly upon a wildly-excited group -of men and women, who had rushed pell-mell and fighting from the door of -an inn.</p> - -<p>Suddenly there was the short, sharp ring of a revolver, then a shrill -scream, and next moment the crowd dispersed, running in all directions.</p> - -<p>Tom hastened up to where by the dim light of a hanging lamp he could see -a man supporting himself on his elbow, groaning and in agony.</p> - -<p>“Are you much hurt?” asked Tom, bending over him.</p> - -<p>“I’m—dying—O! I’m dying,” was the man’s reply.</p> - -<p>In the arms of the landlord of the inn and a single watchman he was -borne inside and laid on the floor of a badly-lighted room, and soon a -medical man entered. The wounded man, a dark evil-countenanced -foreigner, lay so still and white one might have taken him for dead.</p> - -<p>“His hours are numbered,” said the surgeon at last. “Send for a priest.”</p> - -<p>The doomed wretch opened his eyes now.</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes,” he gasped, “a priest. I have that on my mind I dare not die -with. Boy,” he continued, looking bewilderingly at Tom, “did I see you -with Herbert?”</p> - -<p>“Captain Herbert,” replied Tom, “commands my ship.”</p> - -<p>“Kneel down beside me then,” continued the<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_71">{71}</a></span> man. “Heaven sent you. I may -yet be forgiven. Boy, have you heard him speak of the <i>Southern Hope</i> -and of his steward Roderigo?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes, a thousand times. Are you that villain?”</p> - -<p>“I am that villain.”</p> - -<p>The man had fainted again.</p> - -<p>“Quick, quick,” cried Tom, addressing the landlord. “Bring brandy. Run, -run. He must not die yet.”</p> - -<p>“Who is to pay me for it?” answered the surly fellow. “I’ve had enough -trouble for one night.”</p> - -<p>Tom thrust money into his hand, and some poisonously-smelling spirit was -soon produced.</p> - -<p>After a little had trickled over the throat of the dying man he once -more looked up.</p> - -<p>“Speak slowly now,” said Tom, quietly supporting Roderigo with one arm. -“Tell me more about the <i>Southern Hope</i> and the boy Bernard. O, tell me -about him, and Captain Herbert will forgive you for anything, -everything.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes. The <i>Southern Hope</i>. We mutinied—we expected treasure—gold -and precious stones—we found but insects, beetles, and stuffed birds. -We were wild and wanted revenge. I would have fired the ship—but my -comrades would not hear of it. The best revenge, they said, would -be—was to—but where am I? Who are you?”</p> - -<p>“Here, drink a little more. Now, tell me of the boy Bernard. You -remember. Yes, you do,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_72">{72}</a></span> I see it in your eye. Speak, if you hope for -forgiveness.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I will confess all. But why comes not the priest? The boy Bernard -we took away—”</p> - -<p>“Does he live, tell me that?”</p> - -<p>“He lives.”</p> - -<p>“Heaven be praised!” exclaimed Tom. “O that Captain Herbert were but -here himself! Tell me now, Roderigo, as you hope to be forgiven, where -is the son of Captain Herbert? Where did you take him?”</p> - -<p>“I—I know not—where he was taken—far into the interior.” The dying -man was sinking fast. “I saw a trader lately—Bernard was with the -Jivaros” (pronounced Heevaros). “He was well. Pray for me—I am dying.”</p> - -<p>What could Tom do but kneel down there beside the poor wretch and pray -for his forgiveness through the merits of our Saviour. It was the first -prayer he had ever presented before the throne of grace otherwise than -in the privacy of his own cabin or in his own thoughts, and he was -surprised at his own earnestness.</p> - -<p>“I am forgiven—I feel I am.”</p> - -<p>These were the last words of the dying Roderigo. Just one last low -sobbing sigh and all was over. Tom wept a little now as he stretched the -unhappy man’s arms by his side, and closed his eyelids. Then he quietly -took his leave.</p> - -<p>Captain Herbert’s joy at the news Tom brought<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_73">{73}</a></span> him hardly knew any -bounds. There was no going on board for either of them that night; and -they sat till far into the small hours of the morning, talking of the -past and laying schemes for the future. Or rather considering one -particular scheme, which was of Tom’s proposing, and ultimately acceded -to by Captain Herbert.</p> - -<p>It was, in short, a plan of rescuing the boy, or rather young man, -Bernard, from the tribe of warlike Indians in which he was a prisoner.</p> - -<p>“Fain would I go with you,” said the captain, “for I fear the danger -will be great; but I am feeble and far from well. I should but hinder -you and clog your every movement.”</p> - -<p>“Captain Herbert,” said Tom, “I am young if you are getting old. I am -healthy and strong and I am not afraid of anything. I shall go as a -hunter—go as my dear uncle went, see all he saw, do all and perhaps -more than he did, and return, I doubt not, in company with your son -Bernard.”</p> - -<p>“May Heaven be with you then,” said the captain.</p> - -<p>“I am not superstitious, dear sir,” continued Tom; “but the strange -dream I had has never ceased to haunt me, and if I am instrumental in -bringing back poor Bernard to his father and sister I shall be happy as -long as I live.”</p> - -<p>So it was agreed between them that all preparations should be at once -made for Tom’s expedition<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_74">{74}</a></span> into the wilds of the strange land where -Bernard was supposed to live, and in a few days after the burial of -Roderigo, whom the captain had easily identified as his old steward, the -<i>Caledonia’s</i> head was once more turned back towards the shores of -Ecuador.</p> - -<p class="dtts">. . . . . . .</p> - -<p>What a sad and eventful history is that of this lovely land of Ecuador! -There is romance, too, in every page of it; but a romance, alas! that is -all throughout stained with blood. Not the blood spilled in battle and -with honour, not the blood of patriots and heroes, but blood spilled in -civil wars, in petty strife, and the blood of murder and massacre.</p> - -<p>If the purple mists of oblivion could be dispelled and we had a peep of -the far bygone past, we should first find this country peopled by a race -called Quitus; subjects of a king, but altogether lawless and -independent, for the simple reason that communications betwixt tribe and -tribe were few and far between, as in many cases were the tribes -themselves. If they kept touch with each other it was through -traditions, or through the more tangible instrumentality of knife or -spear or poisoned dart.</p> - -<p>Thus they may have lived and died for thousands of years, then we read -of the first invasion. For some peoples dwelling far to the south had -advanced further in civilization than the poor Quitus, with<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_75">{75}</a></span> the -inevitable result—a desire for conquest, bloodshed, and rapine.</p> - -<p>They were called Karans, and made their warlike descent upon the coast -in armed boats or rafts. These Karans went to work in the usual way with -invaders of the past—they slew the men and old of both sexes, enslaving -the women and the girls and boys. Having once conquered the country they -kept it, just as we Britons would have done, only we use the more -refined expression “annexation.”</p> - -<p>These Karans had a fine time of it after this. The country was such a -wild and glorious one; no need to work or do anything, except hunt and -fish and enjoy life. They called their kings “Shyris,” though there -certainly was very little shyness about any of them. As these kings -waxed richer and richer they grew more and more independent, not to say -insolent, till their fame attracted the attention and inflamed the -ambition of a great Inca called Tupac Yupanqui. Then war began in -earnest, and lasted till the death of this King Tupac. There was a short -lull after that; but, the days of his mourning being over, the dead -monarch’s son Huayna-Kapak, a still more daring warrior than his father, -continued the terrible warfare, and at length in a great battle -conquered the Karans and slew their last Shyri. Well, the Karans were -conquered; but they did not know it, for they simply made the dear -kin<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_76">{76}</a></span>g’s daughter their queen and continued to fight under her.</p> - -<p>Huayna-Kapak found he had all his work cut out, and that it would take -him an age to kill all these warlike Karans, who were here, there, and -everywhere at the same time. So for a time he was nonplussed. But lo! to -his tent one day came an emissary from the enemy. He had not come to sue -for peace; very far from it—only for a truce during the flood season, -and that the dead might be properly interred on both sides.</p> - -<p>Perhaps Kapak was a Scotchman, anyhow he was very canny. It would have -been easy enough for him to have deprived this emissary of his head, but -it would not have been diplomacy. Instead of taking his head or even his -scalp he treated him very kindly and asked him as many questions as -possible, the emissary in return telling him as many lies as he could -think of. But there was one thing on which this Karan was extremely -enthusiastic, namely, the beauty and accomplishments of the young queen. -She was more lovely and radiant than the most beautiful bird in the -forest, and she was as brave as a jaguar. Well, the canny Inca went to -bed and dreamt about all the Karan had told him, and he was not any -better when he came to breakfast next morning—he was in love. Why -should we fight against so charming a queen? It would be easier to -conquer the Karans by marrying her. So an interview<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_77">{77}</a></span> was arranged and a -marriage next, and this bold but love-smitten Inca never went -back—another proof, I think, that he must have been of Scotch -descent—but dwelt in Quitu or Ecuador and ruled over his people for -forty years.</p> - -<p>After his death the kingdom became divided into two, for the king left -one part of it, namely Cusco, to Huascar, half-brother to Atchualpa, the -king’s son by his Shyri queen, the latter falling heir to Quitu proper.</p> - -<p>Huascar was a quarrelsome fellow, and finally he declared war on his -half-brother, but was defeated and thrown into prison. Poor Atchualpa -some time after this fell a victim to treachery, his retainers were -brutally massacred and he himself strangled.</p> - -<p>After this the government of Ecuador became pretty much of a muddle. A -chief called Rumiñagui made himself King of Quitu first, but the -Spaniards determined to put him down. He was beaten in battle after -battle, and on getting nearer to the capital this reckless and cruel -chief massacred the “virgins of the sun” and burned the city. He found -time to remove even all his gold and treasure, which he took with him to -the wilds, burying them in a mountain, which still bears his own name. -Some day a portion of this treasure, which I am told is still concealed -at the base of this mighty hill, may be discovered by some adventurous -boy who leaves this country<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_78">{78}</a></span> with twopence-halfpenny in his pocket, and -who will, after killing wild beasts innumerable, return to England and -live happy ever after.</p> - -<p>The Spaniards now came into possession of the country, and after a deal -of additional wars and a great deal of massacre and bloodshed, Ecuador -became a republic. This happened about sixty years ago, and ever since -it has been as much a prey to rebellions and revolutions as to -earthquakes, being probably less happy and contented even now than when -it was governed by the easy going kings of the Shyri dynasty. The -greater portion of the country east of the Andes is clad in dense -forests, and inhabited by wild beasts and still wilder men. And it was -into this wilderness our hero Tom was now about to penetrate.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br><br> -“HERE HANGS HIS BROTHER’S SCALP.”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE scene is changed.</p> - -<p>And such a change!</p> - -<p>It is but little more than a fortnight since Tom was busily engaged -getting cargo on board the <i>Caledonia</i> at the noisy and far from -romantic seaport of Callao. It is little over a week since he bade adieu -to Captain Herbert and his friends<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_79">{79}</a></span> in the ship, and started from -Guayaquil on his daring journey into the wilds of this veritable land of -mountain and flood. It is little over a week, and yet it seems an age, -and here he is at Riobamba; a town of strange low houses, few of which -can boast more than a single apartment, but standing in their own -grounds nevertheless. A town which does not look very imposing from a -distance, and certainly does not improve on closer acquaintance; built -on a sandy plain, in sight of and surrounded by the highest giants of -the Andes.</p> - -<p>It is night, and Tom, tired of wandering through the streets, is -returning to the outskirts, where his little encampment is stationed. He -prefers the company of Indians even, to a sojourn for even a single -night in the inexpressibly filthy rooms of the city.</p> - -<p>It is quieter, too, here; the silence only broken occasionally by the -yelping of half-wild curs quarrelling over their carrion, or the cries -of the night-birds. The moon is shining very clearly, and the stars look -so near that the snow-capped mountains seem far above them. Yonder is -the far-famed Chimborazo; Altur is also in sight, with its precipitous -and rugged sides, and Carhuairazo, and mighty Tinguragua.</p> - -<p>It is seldom indeed that they can be seen so distinctly as they are -to-night; but when the moon rises slowly up into the deep-blue sky,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_80">{80}</a></span> -flooding all the scene with its dreamy light, the view on every side is -grand in the extreme.</p> - -<p>And those everlasting hills, the brilliant moon, and the silvery stars, -are to Tom’s mind but steps in a ladder that leads his thoughts to -heaven itself. He is so impressed with the solemnity of the whole scene, -that before he retires to his tent he must needs kneel down and pray. He -has much to pray for; he has not thoughtlessly entered upon the -undertaking which has hardly yet commenced. He knew all the dangers to -which he would be exposed; and although the very idea of being a lonely -wanderer through Ecuador wilds appealed to the romance of his character, -he would not willingly have risked his young life had not a greater -reward than pleasure only seemed to depend upon the success of his -expedition, namely, the realization of his dream, and the finding of -lost Bernard Herbert. So he prayed now for a blessing on his endeavours; -and for an unseen hand to support him in his journeyings, and to shield -him from the dangers in forest, in jungle, and plain.</p> - -<p>He rose refreshed in spirit, and soon reached his little toldo. His -people had built themselves a hut of branches and grass, to shield them -from the sun and rain by day and the dews at night. But three of them -were waiting to receive him at his toldo door. This toldo, I may here -mention, was a kind of gypsy tent of canvas. It had been<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_81">{81}</a></span> Captain -Herbert’s last gift to him before they parted, and was made by the -sailors on board the <i>Caledonia</i>.</p> - -<p>It had not been difficult for Tom to secure servants for his expedition -into the interior. He had fifty volunteers at least, and from these he -chose five. Most of whom were real Indians, with a little Spanish blood -in them. Active, young, and strong fellows every one of them, though -certainly far from good-looking. Neither were they tall. Tom towered -above them like a giant, or as the great volcanic crater of Cotapaxi -towers above the neighbouring mountains. I believe each and all of his -servants were just a little proud of their young white master, and just -a little afraid as well. Tom, during the long years he had spent at sea, -had not only developed immense strength, but something of a quick and -imperious temper as well. Not that he was a bad-natured fellow by any -means, only he would have things done his own way; he would be obeyed, -and he had a pair of eyes that looked a man through and through while he -issued an order or asked a question. In brief, Tom was not to be trifled -with.</p> - -<p>As he now approached his toldo, three Indians who had been squatting in -the shade walked forth a few paces to meet him, bowed, and stood -silently leaning on their tall spears, waiting for their white chief to -speak. In their dark cotton ponchos and trowserets, if I may coin a -word,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_82">{82}</a></span> their heads dressed in tall feathers, and a bold, half-defiant -look on the face of each, they certainly looked picturesque enough.</p> - -<p>They were Indians of different tribes—a Canelo, a Napo, and a Thaparo; -but as Tom had them armed and dressed precisely alike, it would have -been difficult for a stranger to have seen much difference in them, by -moonlight at all events.</p> - -<p>“Well, men,” said Tom, stopping in front of them, “what is the news?”</p> - -<p>“De news is,” said Tootu, the Canelo, for he was usually spokesman, his -English being the best. “De news is dat de Tapir and de Wild Turkey hab -eet plenty and go to sleep like pigs, and dat de Debil hab come, señor.”</p> - -<p>Oko and Taoh both bowed, as if to confirm the information, startling -though it sounded.</p> - -<p>Tootu, Taoh, and Oko, signifying wind, fire, and water, were Tom’s -principal men at present. The Tapir and the Wild Turkey were savages of -a lower cast, and fit only to look after the horses and dogs, of which -there were five of the former and three of the latter. “De Debil” -himself was the guide <i>par excellence</i>, and for him they had been -waiting for two or three days. His name in Indian language was Samaro, -and Samaro we must call him in future, though it means much the same.</p> - -<p>“Light the lamp in my toldo, Tootu, and we will receive Samaro.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_83">{83}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>The lamp was lit, and Tom, somewhat tired of his rambling walk, threw -himself on a mat on the ground. On this mat was curled no less a -personage than Black Tom, the cat, who responded to Tom’s caress with -his usual fond purr—rrn.</p> - -<p>An attempt had been made to keep this strange puss on board, but all in -vain. He had watched his master’s every movement, and when one of the -sailors had attempted to catch him, with the intention of shutting him -up, Black Tom had made it very hot indeed for that particular sailor. He -had been glad enough to let him go.</p> - -<p>And now Samaro entered.</p> - -<p>Samaro was a very clever and very remarkable-looking Indian. Almost as -tall as Tom himself, though probably double his age, with straight dark -hair, and eyes of a piercing black, his face almost white, and -singularly handsome. His poncho was of some light-coloured fur, and -rather voluminous; while, as he stood with it thrown back over the arm -which held his high feather-adorned spear and shield as well, in his -girdle could be seen an ugly and business-like knife, and also a huge -revolver. On his head was a cap of feathers, and there were toucan’s -tails dangling to his girdle at one side, and something very dreadful to -behold at the other. This was nothing more nor less than the complete -skin of<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_84">{84}</a></span> the head and face of an enemy killed in battle, filled out with -moss, but shrivelled to the size of a cocoa-nut, the features awfully -pinched and contorted, and the whole appearance of the horrible ornament -ugly enough to give one the nightmare.</p> - -<p>“Señor Samaro?” said Tom.</p> - -<p>“De Debil, señor, at your service.”</p> - -<p>“We will call you Samaro.”</p> - -<p>“Si, señor. Samaro will do.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Samaro, I like the looks of you; though I don’t admire that -ornament at your belt.”</p> - -<p>“I do not admire that ornament at <i>your</i> side, señor.”</p> - -<p>“That,” said Tom laughing. “O, that is my pet cat; and he must be your -friend as well as mine.”</p> - -<p>“That is well. I will love him.”</p> - -<p>“Then we won’t quarrel.”</p> - -<p>“No, we cannot. I have a reason to respect you. I was guide to a good -white man before. It is many, many years ago. Ten years and ten moons, -señor.”</p> - -<p>“He was kind to you?”</p> - -<p>“Ah, yes, he was kind to me. I shall never forget him.”</p> - -<p>“His name?”</p> - -<p>“Robert—Señor Robert. I think his other name was Sinclair.”</p> - -<p>“Samaro!” cried Tom, springing up and clasping</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="ill_001"> -<a href="images/img-084.jpg"> -<img src="images/img-084.jpg" width="362" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable:TOM INTRODUCES HIS CAT]"></a> -<br> -<span class="caption">TOM INTRODUCES HIS CAT</span> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page_85">{85}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">the astonished Indian by the hand. “That was my Uncle Robert. How -pleased I am. Sit down. Here Tootu, Taoh, Oko—wind, fire, and -water,—where are you? Sit down on my mat, Samaro.”</p> - -<p>So loudly had Tom shouted, that Wind, Fire, and Water rushed into the -toldo like a first-class hurricane, almost upsetting each other in their -eagerness.</p> - -<p>“Bring coffee and food, and be smart about it.”</p> - -<p>“Samaro,” he continued, “this is delightful! How glad I am to have met -you. There, look, even my friend, the cat, is getting fond of you.”</p> - -<p>Samaro stroked Black Tom somewhat dubiously. Then he looked up.</p> - -<p>“Señor,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Samaro.”</p> - -<p>“This is not your private debil, is it?”</p> - -<p>“No, no. I assure you it is not. I do not keep a private debil. I -shouldn’t know what to do with one.”</p> - -<p>“Then, señor,” said Samaro in a low voice, and with one rapid glance -towards the toldo entrance, “we will <i>say</i> so. We will tell the boys it -is your evil spirit.”</p> - -<p>“But why, Samaro?”</p> - -<p>“Why, señor, it may save your life many times during your stay in the -wilds.”</p> - -<p>Black Tom was meanwhile walking back and<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_86">{86}</a></span> fore betwixt his master and -Samaro, with his tail very erect indeed, singing loudly, and evidently -doing his best to cement a friendship thus strangely begun.</p> - -<p>“Samaro, do you remember all my dear uncle’s adventures?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and all he said. Is the dear señor alive?”</p> - -<p>“I trust so. Well, we will oftentimes talk of him. I think, Samaro, you -are a good man.”</p> - -<p>Samaro laughed aloud, but not disrespectfully.</p> - -<p>“I am clever,” he said; “but not good. He! he! O, no; goodness does not -pay. I am a thorough blackguard.”</p> - -<p>“Samaro, you astonish me! And I don’t believe you.”</p> - -<p>“But I have been told so. I have fought plenty, I have scalped my -enemies, I have revelled in bloodshed.”</p> - -<p>“But you never have betrayed a friend?”</p> - -<p>“No, no, no; sooner would Samaro die.”</p> - -<p>“And you speak the truth, do you not?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Because one lie told requires five more to shore it up.”</p> - -<p>“Shore it up?” said Tom. “That is a sailor’s expression. Where did you -acquire it?”</p> - -<p>“From your good uncle. But I have much been to sea.”</p> - -<p>“You have been to Callao?<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_87">{87}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“I know every one there. I have been all over the world too.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know that my uncle’s ship was seized by mutineers, with one -Roderigo at their head?”</p> - -<p>“I know all the story.”</p> - -<p>“Samaro, do you know the reason why I am going all alone to the wilds—I -mean without a white companion?”</p> - -<p>“Like your uncle, you go to hunt.”</p> - -<p>“No, that is not my chief reason. Samaro, listen. The captain of that -unhappy ship had a son—a boy—who was stolen from his parents, and -carried into the interior—”</p> - -<p>“No, no,” interrupted Samaro. “He was carried no farther than here at -first. He was sold here at Riobamba as a slave, and by Indians taken -away across the terrible mountains. Roderigo is a foul fiend! See here,” -he continued, his dark eyes blazing with excitement. “Roderigo had a -brother, a fierce Spaniard, likewise a fiend; I killed him. Here hangs -his brother’s scalp, and I have sworn that Roderigo’s shall hang beside -it.”</p> - -<p>“Samaro, Roderigo is dead.”</p> - -<p>Samaro laughed, a grim and ghastly laugh.</p> - -<p>“I know the story. I too have a brother. It was my brother who slew -Roderigo. He has his scalp by this time. The grave could not hide his -foe long from my brother’s gaze.”</p> - -<p>“Samaro,” said Tom, “you almost make me<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_88">{88}</a></span> shudder. Surely this villain -Roderigo has done you and your brother some irreparable injury?”</p> - -<p>Samaro’s face grew dark as night.</p> - -<p>“Had Roderigo a thousand lives,” he said, “he should yield them slowly -up one by one before he could atone for the injury he did to me and -mine. We will say no more now. Believe only this, he—this fiend -Roderigo—slew my mother, burned our huts, and stole my brother’s wife -and child.”</p> - -<p>“So terrible a subject,” said Tom, “is best allowed to rest. But richly -indeed did the wretch deserve his fate.”</p> - -<p>Samaro sat in silence sipping his coffee for some time after this. But -gradually the troubled look that had crept over his face left it, and -soon he was talking again cheerfully enough.</p> - -<p>“And so,” said Samaro, “I am henceforth to be your guide.”</p> - -<p>“You are to be my chief guide, my steward, my counsellor, and my head -man in every way.”</p> - -<p>Samaro smiled in a pleased way.</p> - -<p>“We will begin to get ready at once—to-morrow morning at sunrise,” he -said, “if it so please you, señor.”</p> - -<p>“That will do, Samaro. I long to be on the road. But one other question -I wish to ask you before you retire. Have you any guess as to where -Bernard Herbert is or what is his condition?<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_89">{89}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Absolutely none as to his condition, but he was taken away by the -Jivaros.”</p> - -<p>“Just what the dying Roderigo told me.”</p> - -<p>“There was a lady, too,” continued Samaro, “a delicate young girl, sold -at the same time. She came from the far east in your uncle’s ship, and -had been nurse to Mr. Herbert’s child.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes; that was the ayah. Did they ill-treat her?”</p> - -<p>“No; they were afraid of her. They looked upon her as a being from -another world.”</p> - -<p>“Did she go with the boy?”</p> - -<p>“She did.”</p> - -<p>“Then we may find <i>both</i>?”</p> - -<p>“I fear neither.”</p> - -<p>“What?”</p> - -<p>“I give you no hope of finding either. But we <i>may</i>.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! yes, Samaro, we may. Good-night. I’ll sleep and dream on that -hope.”</p> - -<p>“Good-night.”</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br><br> -“NEVER BEFORE HAD TOM EXPERIENCED SUCH A FEELING OF AWFUL DANGER.”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">S</span>AMARO had been exceedingly well recommended to Tom as a perfect guide -for the wilds, but the very fact that he had been with<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_90">{90}</a></span> his uncle would -in itself have been the best of testimony in the man’s favour.</p> - -<p>He proved himself most active and energetic from the first.</p> - -<p>And there was quite a deal to be seen to. All stores of every kind had -been brought from the ship and from Guayaquil, and shortly after sunrise -Samaro proceeded to muster his forces and take stock of everything.</p> - -<p>The stores were a medley; but the heaviest packages were those that -contained articles for barter with the Indians of the interior, and -these consisted chiefly of light cloth, thread, needles, pins, beads, -axes, knives, spear-heads, looking-glasses, an African tom-tom, and a -couple of German concertinas. Many of these things would be given away -as presents, and there was even a gun or two that might also change -hands.</p> - -<p>The stores for the use of Tom himself and his Indian followers consisted -for the most part of the tent, a grass hammock, a few blankets, with -plenty of rifles, revolvers, and ammunition. Fishing gear had not been -forgotten, nor useful tools of various sorts, to say nothing of -preserved meats and a few simple medicines.</p> - -<p>Such was the outfit of the Hermit Hunter of the Wilds. A hermit of the -old school might have been content with far less, but your modern -wanderers do not despise anything which science may suggest as likely to -add to their comfort<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_91">{91}</a></span>. The horses were wiry, useful, willing beasts; -strong too, and as sure-footed as mules even. The dogs were probably -better than they looked. Mongrel greyhounds they were—not unlike a -breed we find in Australia under the name of kangaroo-hounds.</p> - -<p>The packages were carried by the horses in light, wicker baskets saddle -fashion, and all were covered with waterproof canvas.</p> - -<p>Tom had already enjoyed some of the delights of Ecuador travelling—if, -indeed, there was very much delight in it—and his adventures as far as -Riobamba would be worth relating were it not that those which followed -were far more thrilling. But there had been rivers to cross, over -tumble-down bridges, mountains to climb along tracks called roads which -sheep in England would disdain, deep forests to force through, and long -stretches of sandy plains to struggle over by paths that seemed -interminable.</p> - -<p>But although the rainy season was scarcely past the weather had been -comparatively fine; and the scenery, ever varying, according to the -altitude above the sea-level, was at times beautiful in the extreme, or -grand even to awesome sublimity.</p> - -<p>Tom was fond of nature in all her varied aspects, and all through his -journeyings he had the pleasant companionship of birds and flowers and -ferns, to say nothing of many a little forest friend<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_92">{92}</a></span> in fur, that -hardly thought of running away, so unused were the creatures of the -wilds to the presence of man.</p> - -<p>The greater part of the population of Riobamba turned out to see Tom -start.</p> - -<p>In addition to the pack-horses he had brought two others to ride—one -for himself and the other for Samaro. This guide went on first, then Tom -and the others followed in Indian file.</p> - -<p>It was a delightful morning, with a breeze blowing from the distant -mountain slopes of Chimborazo; and the throng of Indians spear-armed and -clad in their gay-coloured ponchos, the huts and houses, the cattle, -horses, and strange-looking llamas, the greenery of the shrubs and -bushes, the jagged hills and blue sky above, flecked with many a fleecy -cloud, made up a scene that was both beautiful and picturesque.</p> - -<p>But all was soon left behind, and solitude reigned supreme.</p> - -<p>The pack-horses and men were lagging behind. Samaro was a long way -ahead, and when Tom pulled rein and looked about him, hearing nothing -but the rustling of the wind through the wild corn and dark-leaved aloe -bushes, he realized for the first time that he was really on his way to -the wilderness.</p> - -<p>All the year round the sun sets about six o’clock in the land of -Ecuador, and a full hour before that time Tom gave orders for the halt;<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_93">{93}</a></span> -and not far from the banks of a river the tent or toldo was erected, and -supper prepared. It would have been easy to have pushed on a few miles -farther to the village of Penipe, but for the time-being at all events -Tom was independent of villages of any kind. Nor did he have a very high -opinion of the cooking and accommodation to be obtained therein. -Certainly in a town a greater amount of so-called civilization was to be -met with; but there the insects were more civilized too. That is how Tom -Talisker argued. Out in the open country, even in the bush, although -these plagues were to be met with in every shape and form—flying -beetles, gigantic mosquitoes, cockroaches, earwigs, scorpions, -centipeds, and winged bugs, to say nothing of a host of other -creepie-creepies,—they were wild; while, on the other hand, those that -dwelt in houses were tame, disgustingly so, and <i>au fait</i> in all the -ways of the world. Besides, there was in the open the blessings -obtainable from fresh air.</p> - -<p>I have already said that hermit hunter though he was Tom did not despise -his comforts. On my honour now, I think he would have been a fool if he -had. What good would it have done himself or anybody else had he dressed -in sackcloth and ashes? He could have gotten plenty of both in Ecuador -had his fancy led him to adopt so sad a costume. But it did not. He -preferred alpaca and fine linen, and he actually carried an excel<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_94">{94}</a></span>lent -hunting watch. Every night, too, while in the wilderness he had his tent -erected, his hammock slung, and the whole of the latter neatly -surrounded by a mosquito curtain. If ever, dear reader, you go to the -wilds, I advise you to adopt the same plan.</p> - -<p>Well then, after Samaro had tucked his master in, as you might say, he -threw up one side of the tent, and lo! the sweet pure air of heaven -swept in. The creepies came too—some of them at all events. The -scorpions and centipeds had not a chance, and the flying “ferlies” could -only grind their mandibles outside the curtain. Mosquitoes are very -insinuating though, and if there had been a hole in the curtain big -enough to admit the end of a pencil some enterprising mosquito would -have found it out and forthwith started a limited liability company, -thousands would have joined, and before morning Tom’s face would have -been a sight to see in the looking-glass—that is, if seeing was any -longer a possibility.</p> - -<p>“Stay and talk with me to-night,” said Tom, after Samaro had tucked him -in. “Throw up the tent that I may see the stars. That’s right. Now -smoke.”</p> - -<p>“Is this going to be the order of our evenings?” said Samaro.</p> - -<p>It will be observed that this man talked excellent English, and well he -might: he had lived in every country under the sun.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_95">{95}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied Tom, “if you don’t mind. You see, it is too soon to go to -sleep, and if I have the lamp lit we will have more flying things about -us than I care for.”</p> - -<p>To keep stray pumas, or a wandering and inquisitive jaguar—the American -tiger, at a respectable distance, a fire of wood was lit every evening, -and near this lay talking low, and sometimes singing strange uncouth -lilts of love and war, Tom’s five men. There was one drawback to their -pleasure—the snakes. But it was a very slight one; for as a rule snakes -do not bite unless you tread on their tails. They take good care you -never tread on their heads; they glide away quickly enough to save the -front portions of their anatomy. It is the after-part of the procession -that cannot be got away in time to save itself, and when the unhappy -man’s foot comes down the snake strikes at once, and there is but little -chance of life after that.</p> - -<p>Well, when one goes first to the wilderness, if he be a green hand, or -tender-foot as the Yankees call a novice, he keeps thinking about snakes -all day long, and they even follow him into his dreams, fevering body as -well as mind, and destroying all chance of perfect happiness. But a few -weeks in the wilds harden even a tender-foot, and he finds out as his -face gets browner that even snakes never bite except in self-defence, -and that if he observes ordinary caution he is<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_96">{96}</a></span> as safe on the plains as -he would be in Hyde Park.</p> - -<p>“O,” said Samaro, “I shall be very much pleased.”</p> - -<p>“Well then, tell me a story, and sing me a song if you can. I want to -feel perfectly at home.”</p> - -<p>And Samaro not only this night but every night almost told Tom stories -of his wild life and adventures, and sang him songs, just as if he had -been a little boy at home in his own bed-room. And to tell the truth Tom -used very often to go to sleep before Samaro had done singing.</p> - -<p>Tom, the black cat, invariably retired to the hammock with his master. -By day he rode on the saddle sometimes, or he might disappear altogether -for half a day at a time. Black Tom was permitted to do precisely as he -pleased, and that is the secret of his affection for White Tom.</p> - -<p>Tom was never tired hearing Samaro tell all about Uncle Robert’s -adventures, and, to a great extent, he determined to do very much as his -uncle had done.</p> - -<p>“It will be such a surprise, you know,” he told Samaro, “to collect -precisely the same kind of curios, and skins of birds and beasts, and -butterflies, and beetles as Uncle Robert did. Why, when I go home and -show him all these, he will be as happy as the good little boys in the -fairy-books.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_97">{97}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>This was a happy thought, and Samaro entered into the scheme with great -spirit and joy.</p> - -<p>Between Riobamba, therefore, and Banyos they spent three whole weeks. -But bird skins and butterflies were almost the sole objects that Tom -collected in these regions. They had hardly yet come to lions and -tigers. He gathered, however, specimens of ore, which Samaro assured him -contained gold as well as other precious metals.</p> - -<p>Sometimes they met wandering bands of Indians. They were quiet and civil -as yet, but they were extremely curious to know what brought the white -hunter to these regions. They were satisfied each and all of them with -Samaro’s explanations. All Englishmen were mad, the guide told them, -except a very few, and these were fools.</p> - -<p>Seeing Tom pursuing bright-winged butterflies they naturally concluded -he belonged to the latter section.</p> - -<p>“It is well it should be thought so,” said Samaro. “Your fame and -reputation will go before you into the wilds.”</p> - -<p>“My reputation as a fool—eh?” said Tom laughing.</p> - -<p>“Yes, as a fool. Then if your friend Bernard does indeed live among the -Jivaros, you will be more likely to find and free him. They will not -suspect a fool.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_98">{98}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>They found the horses very handy at present; but by and by the country -would be far too wild to make any use of them.</p> - -<p>The dogs, however, were as yet of little service. However they -occasionally caught a cavy or agouti, and these, roasted whole in gypsy -fashion, formed occasionally a very appetizing supper.</p> - -<p>Fruit was everywhere abundant here, and eggs of various kinds of birds -added considerably to the contents of the larder.</p> - -<p>The rain, however, spoiled many a good day’s sport, and always after a -“spate” or downfall the streams became swollen.</p> - -<p>They would have to ford these at times with considerable risk; while at -other times they found bridges. But terrible bridges they were. It -really makes me shudder a little to think of them, although I am not -much given to shuddering as a general rule. The best of them were -suspension bridges, and the method adopted in their construction was -simplicity itself. Three or four chains were swung across the stream and -tied to the tree trunks, and on these pieces of wood were fastened with -withes, and lo! the bridge was complete, but fearfully unsafe. They were -very high above the water to prevent their being washed away during -floods, and as they were stretched over the narrowest gulleys, the water -beneath rushed onward with such rapidity,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_99">{99}</a></span> that the strongest swimmer -that ever lived would not have had the ghost of a chance for his life -had he fallen off the bridge.</p> - -<p>Imagine if you can horses having to cross such a bridge. But they often -had to.</p> - -<p>Tom had one adventure on a bridge that he is never likely to forget. He -was all alone too; that is, no human being was within reach. About four -miles down a stream he had found a ford in the morning, but on returning -about an hour before sunset he came to this fearful bridge and -determined to cross over. He tied his horse up first, then ventured on -himself, and went backwards and forwards several times to test its -strength. The bridge was not more than four feet wide, but felt firm -enough, and it was all right with Tom so long as he did not let his eyes -fall in the direction of the roaring, tumbling torrent far down beneath. -If he did so for a moment he felt as if the whole structure were gliding -from under him.</p> - -<p>But now for the horse. It was not difficult to get the wise creature on, -though he walked with excessive care and caution, feeling his way as it -were step by step, with his eyes fixed steadfastly on the bank beyond.</p> - -<p>Tom walked on before holding the bridle. The bridge bent as they neared -the centre till it assumed almost the shape of a hammock, and Tom began -to think it must break. He kept up<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_100">{100}</a></span> his heart, however, and with gentle, -encouraging words urged his beast to follow.</p> - -<p>They had reached the middle when, without the slightest warning, a -squall came suddenly roaring down the gulley, and the bridge began to -sway and swing and creak and crack. Never in his lifetime before had Tom -experienced such a feeling of awful danger. The horse stood still now, -shaking with dread, and emitting a low, frightened kind of a whinny, -while the sweat poured over his hoofs.</p> - -<p>Tom crouched lower and lower to save himself from falling, but he still -kept hold of the bridle; for even in the extremity of his own danger, he -did not forget that the touch from man’s hand gives confidence to the -brute, even when seemingly paralysed with terror.</p> - -<p>The squall luckily did not last many minutes. Then it fell calm again, -and in a very short time he and his faithful horse were safely across. -But even then he dared scarcely look back and down into that frightful -chasm that seemed to have been yawning hungrily for his life.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_101">{101}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br><br> -“THE WHOLE SEA OF MIST TURNED TO CLOUDS OF MINGLED GOLD AND CRIMSON.”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE crossing of streams, either by swinging bridges or through fords in -which the water roared and rushed with the rapidity of a mill-stream, -constituted a source of ever-recurring danger. The bridges at times were -of even simpler construction than that already described, especially if -the stream or chasm were narrow, for then two trees, or perhaps but one, -would have to do duty as a support for the cross-pieces of wood; and as -these latter were often so rotten that they snapped in two with the -weight of a man, it may easily be perceived that the comfort and feeling -of security while on them were but slight.</p> - -<p>As a rule the natives have but little faith in these frail and fearful -structures, and will go a long distance round to find a ford; unless -indeed they are intoxicated, which they too often are when a chance -occurs. But the bridges as a rule are left standing until they fall with -the weight of some unlucky wight.</p> - -<p>I have said that the horses were exceedingly sure-footed. So they needed -to be; for the tracks in this mountain-land sometimes went winding<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_102">{102}</a></span> -alongside of frightful precipices, and the danger was quite as great in -coming down as in going up.</p> - -<p>But a horse occasionally got frightened, and lost for a time all his -presence of mind.</p> - -<p>One day Tom was riding on in front on just such a pathway as that I have -mentioned. It was nowhere more than five feet wide; the mountain rising -steep close on one side, the yawning gulf at the other, with bushes -clinging to its edges. Stones occasionally came tumbling down from above -with a hurtling noise; but when they rolled over the precipice they were -heard no more, for they had fallen into space, and the sudden silence -was awfully suggestive. Now and then came a sharp angle or curve in the -pathway; and here the danger was at its height, for you could no longer -see where the road led. You were riding right on to the cliff; and it -was impossible to divest the mind of the idea that next moment the horse -you bestrode would be pawing the air, as he and you were being hurled to -destruction.</p> - -<p>It was close to such an eeriesome and uncanny corner as this, and -immediately after he had passed it, that Tom found himself face to face -with a puma, coming along the narrow pathway with long, stealthy, -lynx-like steps. The beast was as much startled as anyone. He emitted -one low growl, then immediately turned to fly.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_103">{103}</a></span></p> - -<p>Nothing but instant action could have saved Tom’s life now, for the -horse reared and swerved half over the cliff, as his rider threw himself -off against the hill and clung to some rhododendron bushes. He had not -quitted hold of the bridle, and slight though this support was it -probably saved his horse. The beast’s hind-legs and thighs had almost -disappeared. His nostrils were distended, and his eyes seemed to flash -dark fire, as for a moment he hung ’twixt life and death. The -shuddering, quivering groan the poor brute gave when he once more stood -safe on the path was evidence of his appreciation of the terrible danger -he had just escaped.</p> - -<p>It will be easily seen, therefore, that travelling in Ecuador is fraught -with many perils, and one may truly be said to take the road with his -life in his hand. As far as our hero was concerned, however, this spice -of danger certainly did not detract from the pleasures of the journey. -He was nevertheless most careful before setting out of a morning to see -that his horse and all the horses had been well fed and harnessed; for -this concerned the safety of the poor brutes as well as his own. So -simple an accident as the loosening of a belly-band has ere now in this -wild land resulted in horse and rider being precipitated over a -mountain-side, or swept from a ford into the rapids of some swollen -river.</p> - -<p>Dangers come when least looked for; nothing<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_104">{104}</a></span> is certain when travelling -except the unexpected, and it is always prudent to be prepared.</p> - -<p>But I do not mean to hold my hero up as a paragon of prudence, or any -other virtue for that matter; and I have to confess that his love of -nature, and his search for the beautiful and the picturesque, often led -him into difficulties he might otherwise have steered clear of.</p> - -<p>“I say, Samaro,” he said one night to his major-domo, “I have a notion -to climb one of these lofty mountains. Up into the region of perpetual -snow. Do you understand?”</p> - -<p>“I understand, señor; but—”</p> - -<p>“Well, what?”</p> - -<p>“Your uncle would not have dared to do so.”</p> - -<p>“O, I shall dare more than my uncle ever dared. And whatever a man dares -he can do.”</p> - -<p>“Well, señor, I am ready. Will you start to-morrow?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. The hill is at hand, or mountain rather; and it does not seem -difficult to ascend. Looks quite near, indeed.”</p> - -<p>“Excuse me, señor,” said Samaro, “if I take the liberty of laughing. The -mountain certainly seems near, but so does the moon. The air is very -clear, señor.”</p> - -<p>“Well, all the better for us.”</p> - -<p>Tom was early astir next morning; but early though it was he found -Samaro busy enough. He was squatting under a bush, making for him<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_105">{105}</a></span>self -what looked to Tom something like a pair of leather breeches with feet -attached.</p> - -<p>“Ah! I see,” said Tom. “You expect it will be cold up yonder, so you are -utilizing a puma’s skin.”</p> - -<p>“I have been there before,” said Samaro, “with—”</p> - -<p>“With whom?”</p> - -<p>“A mad Englishman.”</p> - -<p>“O! and now you will have to pilot a fool?”</p> - -<p>“Si, señor.”</p> - -<p>“Well, are you nearly ready, Mr. Guide?”</p> - -<p>“I am ready,” replied Samaro; “and,” he added, pointing upward at the -mighty Tinguragua, “the mountain is ready and waiting also.”</p> - -<p>The journey and ascent, for it was both combined, were now commenced.</p> - -<p>“There is no occasion to hurry,” said Tom; “we will take it easy.”</p> - -<p>Well, mountain climbing does always seem easy at first; but, anyhow, Tom -was now in grand form: his limbs were as hard and tough as hawsers, and -it would have taken a good deal to make his heart palpitate. On they -went, and soon leaving the river’s bank they penetrated into the depths -of the primeval forest, and following a little track made by some wild -animals in their nightly visits to the river, began to ascend.</p> - -<p>The company consisted of Tom and his guide, with Tootu, Taoh, and Oko -carrying ropes, axes,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_106">{106}</a></span> arms, provisions, and blankets. It was wonderful -how well these three honest fellows agreed. As a rule wind, fire, and -water do not pull well together when they meet, but in this case they -did. Tootu was usually spokesman; but whatever he said, the other two, -fire and water, were ready to chime in with, and swear to if need be.</p> - -<p>Onwards and upwards they journeyed now for hours, the pathway sometimes -so steep that they had to clamber on their hands and knees.</p> - -<p>Onwards and upwards, then onwards and <i>downwards</i>. This was the worst of -it. It was as trying to the nerves as the temper. It did seem a pity -that, after they had reached a certain elevation, they should be -confronted with a ravine into the very bottom of which the pathway led -them before taking them onwards and upwards again. It was like having to -do the ascent twice over. But there was no help for it.</p> - -<p>Tom was amply rewarded, however, by the beauty of the tropical forest. I -should search in vain through the tablets of my memory for words in -which to express the charm and singularity of those woodlands. On the -lower grounds, indeed, the vegetation was all a wild and lovely tangle, -representing on an enormous scale the struggle for existence that has -been going on here for ages. It was one great and continued fight for -the sunlight, in which to some extent and for a time the largest and -strongest trees gained the<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_107">{107}</a></span> victory. But the smaller and weaker plants, -the splendidly-flowered creepers, the mosses, the orchids, and lesser -ferns were not to be denied. There was nowhere they would not go, no -height to which they would not aspire and climb. They draped the -tree-stems and branches with blossoms, it is true; but by and by that -very wealth of trailing, hanging, waving beauty proved the downfall of -the most lordly giants of the forest; and when winds swept through the -woods they came down with a crash, and in a few weeks had disappeared -off the face of the earth. For here a fallen trunk is seldom seen, in -such teeming myriads do busy-footed insects work on the ground and -beneath it.</p> - -<p>Out at last came the wanderers upon a higher region still, and now they -had to traverse for miles a kind of hilly plateau that looked altogether -like the work of some wonderful landscape gardener. It was a plateau -covered with innumerable little tree-clad, fern-clad, moss-clad, -flower-covered hills, with rocks in the shape of gray needles, silvery -boulders, square towers, domes, and minarets, peeping up through the -foliage everywhere. Round and among these wound many a little -footpath—the footpaths of wild beasts—but none, probably, more -dangerous than the timid agouti, the cavy, or peccary. Occasionally they -crossed small meandering streams that appeared here and there, popping -out from<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_108">{108}</a></span> banks of foliage or gushing and trickling from the hill-sides, -and disappearing again soon in the same mysterious manner.</p> - -<p>Add to this “garden wide and wild” birds that flutter from bough to -bough, many silent but of rainbow radiance, others gray and brown and -hardly seen, but trilling forth such melody as can be heard from no -other feathered songsters on earth; add to it radiant butterflies and -moths in clouds; bees also, some of enormous size and dangerous wrathful -appearance; and snakes basking on the moss of rocks, gliding swiftly -through the little glades, or hanging asleep on the bushes.</p> - -<p>Close to a tiny stream of clear water Tom sat down; the weary carriers -threw down their burdens, and a welcome meal was made of biscuits and -fruit, and a long rest taken before resuming the ascent.</p> - -<p>The great mountain was there before them still, looking as big and far -steeper than when they started.</p> - -<p>The foliage changed now, and some parts of the mountain over which they -climbed were all ablaze with tree-rhododendrons, while the perfume of -wild heliotrope filled the air. Heaths, too, were abundant, many of -which put Tom in mind of those he had wandered among on the mountains of -the Cape of Good Hope.</p> - -<p>Climbing began in earnest soon after this; and no one spoke, but -clambered on and up in silent<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_109">{109}</a></span> earnestness. Just about sunset they found -themselves once more on a vast plateau, on which grew only the scantiest -herbage. After crossing this they found a small cave in the -mountain-side, and here for the night the bivouac was made.</p> - -<p>While dinner was being prepared Tom climbed higher up still and sat -himself down on a rock; but the vastness and grandeur of the scene, and -its indescribable silence and solemnity, must be left to the reader’s -imagination.</p> - -<p>He must have been fully ten thousand feet above the sea-level; and yet -the snowy craters of Carhuairazo, just visible over the bluff bare brow -of the mountain, still towered high above him.</p> - -<p>Far below was an ocean of lesser hills, of woods and plains and smiling -valleys, with streams that looked like trickling rills or silver threads -among the green, and here and there a glassy lake.</p> - -<p>The sun went down in a blaze of glory, and he now hastened below to -enjoy repose and a well-earned dinner.</p> - -<p>About nine o’clock, though the stars had been very bright before this, a -storm-cloud passed over the mountain-side, with a roaring wind, heavy -rain, and thunder and lightning. After this Tom went out to have one -more look at the scene before turning in. Nothing was now visible -beneath but a dim chaos of clouds, nothing on the horizon either, -except, far away to the north, the giant<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_110">{110}</a></span> cone of Cotopaxi. Its -snow-girt crater was lit up every now and then by the gleams of the -great fires within—gleams that darted in straight lines up through the -rolling clouds of smoke that hung pall-like over it.</p> - -<p>This is the loftiest and mightiest volcano in the world. Talk not of its -height in feet or yards—speak of it in miles; and fancy, if you can, a -burning mountain nearly five miles in height, the thunders of whose -workings can be heard, and have been heard, six hundred miles away! It -made Tom shiver to think of it. But O, the illimitable distance of the -stars that shone above, and to think of God who made them all! What a -mystery of mysteries! And the stars are voice-less, and these dread -volcanoes speak only to us in thunders that we cannot understand, till -we are fain to seek for refuge in the only refuge we have: our belief in -the goodness of the Father, and the religion revealed to us in the Book -of Books.</p> - -<p>Tom sighed, he knew not why, and crept inside to the shelter of the -cave, and wrapping himself in his blanket soon sank to sleep. But many -times ere morning he was startled by the roar of falling debris of -earth, rocks, and stone, loosened by the recent rain storm.</p> - -<p>Samaro roused his young master early to see the sunrise. But when he -went outside he stood for a few moments in silent wonder. Where<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_111">{111}</a></span> had the -world all gone to? It had disappeared, most assuredly—most of it at all -events. Here was the mountain above and round him, but all the gorgeous -scenery he had gazed on last night was swallowed up in an ocean of white -mist or clouds. The word “ocean” is precisely the one to use. Beneath -and as far as the eye could gaze all was a vast white sea, only it was -bounded on the horizon by the jagged ridges and crater-cones of the -mountains, and these looked like rocks and cliffs overhanging this -ocean.</p> - -<p>It was a marvellous sight; but when presently the red sun showed over -the edge the scene was changed, and the whole sea of mist turned to -clouds of mingled gold and crimson.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.<br><br> -“IN THE FORESTS STRANGE SHRIEKS AND SOUNDS WERE HEARD.”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>T was only that daring and indomitable spirit of adventure which every -true-born healthy Briton possesses that compelled Tom to climb any -further into cloud-land to-day.</p> - -<p>Tootu and his companions were left behind at the cave, our hero going up -alone with Samaro. He meant to reach the snow-line, and he did;<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_112">{112}</a></span> and had -the satisfaction of walking a mile or two over a region of glaciers -unsurpassed anywhere else in the world.</p> - -<p>Apart from the pleasure he felt in having gained his desires, and -standing where no human foot had probably ever trodden before, there was -little comfort at this sublime altitude. A high cutting wind was -blowing, and the cold was intense and piercing. Poor Samaro looked blue -and benumbed; and albeit he had donned those wonderful nether garments -of his, he was a very pitiable spectacle indeed.</p> - -<p>At last he stopped, and pointing to a cloud that seemed fast -approaching—</p> - -<p>“Has my young chief,” he said, “made his will? If we have to die, Samaro -would prefer to be where the birds sing.”</p> - -<p>So enchanted had Tom been with the desolalation and sublimity of the -scene everywhere beneath, above, and around him, that he took no heed of -anything else, and had hardly felt the cold.</p> - -<p>But his eyes now followed the direction of Samaro’s finger, and to his -surprise and alarm he noticed that the last shoulder of the mighty -mountain was already hidden with a darkling cloud. It was as if this -monarch of the Andes were himself feeling the effects of the bitter wind -and drawing his mantle close around him.</p> - -<p>“Come, sir, come; there is not a moment to lose.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_113">{113}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>Tom looked now towards the point from which they had entered the -plateau; it appeared very far away indeed.</p> - -<p>“We can run,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Nay, nay,” was the reply. “We will be exhausted soon enough. As well -lie down and die as run.”</p> - -<p>The guide going on in front at a moderately quick pace, with Tom in the -rear, they now began to retrace their steps.</p> - -<p>But soon the snow began to drive athwart the track in a blinding shower, -the wind and cold also increased till the former gained all the awful -strength of a blizzard. In less than five minutes their footprints in -the soft snow were entirely obliterated. But Samaro held on unheeding, -and now and then some hummock of ice dimly seen through the snow-cloud -proved to Tom that they were still in the right track.</p> - -<p>There was no talking now. Indeed had they shrieked even, their voices -would hardly have been heard in the howling of that awful storm.</p> - -<p>How long they had walked Tom never knew: it seemed hours and hours; but -he was drowsy, stupid, and all but benumbed. He was aroused at length -from his lethargy by the Indian violently shaking him, for he had almost -sunk down with the terrible fatigue. Samaro, standing there by his side -all clad in ice and snow, looked like the very spirit of the storm.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_114">{114}</a></span></p> - -<p>Tom pulled himself together once more and followed his guide.</p> - -<p>At last, at long, long last they were descending.</p> - -<p>Tom could breathe more freely now at every step. The terrible tightness -across his chest had gone, and the fearful feeling of suffocation that -had half-garrotted him.</p> - -<p>Then the snow changed gradually to sleet, the sleet to rain, and the -rain to mountain-mist. In half an hour the sun was shining brightly, -though all around the terrible mountain-top the clouds still curled and -mixed.</p> - -<p>They were saved! Saved but by the merest chance; for Samaro now told Tom -that had the wind changed by so much as two points of the compass, as it -often does during these blizzards, they must both have sunk and -perished.</p> - -<p>“You were steering by the wind, then?” said Tom.</p> - -<p>“Entirely by the wind, señor.”</p> - -<p class="dtts">. . . . . . .</p> - -<p>In another week’s time a change was made in the method of travelling, -for the party were now entering a region so terribly wild and trackless -that horses would no longer be of any service to them. So well and -faithfully, however, had these honest nags served them, that Tom -determined not to part entirely with them; and as Samaro thought it -would be possible to trust to the honesty of some of the people of the -last village<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_115">{115}</a></span> through which they passed before entering the wilderness -proper, they were left there, and might or might not be awaiting them on -the return journey, if ever such a journey should be permitted them.</p> - -<p>Ten additional carriers had now to be hired, and, to his credit be it -said, Samaro made the very best bargains possible for his young master.</p> - -<p>Altogether, the crew all told, as we say at sea, of the little -expedition now consisted of seventeen souls, not including the three -dogs and Black Tom himself, who possibly had souls as well as the rest. -Here what the poet Tupper says on this subject:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“It is not unwisdom to hold with the savage<br></span> -<span class="i3">That brutes (as we name them for dumbness) have souls,<br></span> -<span class="i1">For though, as with us, death’s fury may ravage<br></span> -<span class="i3">Their bodies—their spirits it never controls.<br></span> -<span class="i1">Dumb innocents, often too cruelly treated,<br></span> -<span class="i3">May well for their patience find future reward,<br></span> -<span class="i1">And the Great Judge in mercy and majesty seated<br></span> -<span class="i3">Claims <i>all</i> His creation as bought by its Lord.”<br></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Black Tom and the dogs, it may be added, were very friendly; though at -the same time puss gave the dogs to understand that he was king of the -castle, being his master’s chief pet and favourite, and sleeping in his -arms every night.</p> - -<p>One evening puss brought home a fine specimen of cavy which he had -caught in the forest. He laid it dead at his master’s feet; and -receiving<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_116">{116}</a></span> the praise that was his due, went immediately forth and -brought in another. His master offered those to Tootu; but Tootu said, -“No sah, I not eat de food wot de debil catch.”</p> - -<p>So the cavies were cooked for Tom himself, and his guide shared them, -washing the excellent food down with a cup of <i>yerba-maté</i>, which Samaro -assured his white chief came all the way from Patagonia. A most -delightful beverage it made; and it turned out that the guide had quite -a store of it. After drinking it a gentle feeling of comfort seems -instilled through every vein and nerve in the body, far more pleasant -than that produced by tea, but by no means approaching the stimulating -effects of wine or beer.</p> - -<p>Still acting on the advice of his clever guide and companion, Tom -continued to figure as an eccentric Englishman, and made no hurry across -country into the land of the Indians proper. They had seen but few of -these even yet, so the packages of gifts had not been broached.</p> - -<p>The life now led was quite of a gypsy character. Whenever Tom found a -more comfortable bivouac than usual, “Here shall we stay for a day or -two, Samaro,” he would say, and probably this day would be extended to a -week or even more.</p> - -<p>Tom fished as well as hunted.</p> - -<p>In many of the lesser streams the fish were truly marvellously tame. -Here hardly any science at all was required to catch them. A hook -“busked<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_117">{117}</a></span>” with a little white hair or cotton at the end of a strong -line, and a short stout rod, was all that was required. Patience is one -of the angler’s virtues in this country, but in the wilds out there it -was not needed; for at times one might work two rods, leaving one line -in the water while taking the fish from the other, and even thus he -would have plenty of work to do.</p> - -<p>Strange to say the cat always accompanied his master on a fishing -expedition; but very seldom, indeed, when he went shooting. Cats, we all -know, are fond of fish; but there are exceptions, and this particular -puss could never be prevailed upon to eat fish raw or cooked. -Nevertheless he would play with those his master threw out on the bank, -and thus had no end of fun.</p> - -<p>Black Tom came to the tent one evening with a huge snake in his mouth. -He no doubt expected praise for this exploit also; but on being -admonished about the matter he evidently made a resolve not to repeat -the offence, at all events he never did.</p> - -<p>One evening, on returning after dark, Tom found Samaro with the cat on -his knee, and nearly all the men standing silently round him. He jumped -up laughing as his master approached, and puss sprang on Tom’s shoulder -with his usual fond cry of welcome.</p> - -<p>“What were you doing with pussy?” asked Tom that same night.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_118">{118}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Hush, chief!” said Samaro. “I was keeping up their creed—the servants’ -creed.”</p> - -<p>“And that is—”</p> - -<p>“That the cat is a debil. I was stroking his back, and the ’lectricity -was crackling, and the sparks flying plentifully when you, señor, came -up. They think the chief is a great man to have a private debil.”</p> - -<p>Tom laughed, and the subject dropped.</p> - -<p>In the forests of Ecuador, by day as well as by night, there are all -kinds of strange shrieks and sounds to be heard; but returning about -sunset one evening towards his little camp, and just before leaving the -woods, Tom heard a plaintive scream that caused him at once to pause and -listen. Again and again it was repeated, and he hastened in the -direction from which it came.</p> - -<p>None too soon, for there on the top of a large spreading tree was his -favourite and pet, and not five yards away a gigantic puma preparing to -spring.</p> - -<p>Up came the rifle. He hardly took aim, but nevertheless one minute -afterwards the puma was stretched lifeless on the ground, and the cat -was singing a song of victory on his master’s shoulder.</p> - -<p>About a week after this, our hero had a very narrow escape from death by -drowning. His company were on the march, when they came to<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_119">{119}</a></span> an extremely -rapid river that had to be crossed acrobatically. It was well for Tom -that he was a sailor, for the rope bridge is very common in these wilds. -This one looked rather insecure, for it stretched with each man till his -feet were almost touching the torrent beneath. Package after package had -been swung over in the loop attached to the rope, and man after man, in -somewhat the same way adopted in saving life by a line from a wrecked -ship to the shore. The dogs had been taken over, and then it came to -Tom’s own turn—the cat, as usual on such occasions, clinging to his -shoulder. When about half-way across there was an ominous crack; but -still the rope held, and it was not until he was nearly at bank that it -gave way suddenly and entirely, and the white chief was plunged into the -boiling whirling rapids.</p> - -<p>He struck out bravely though blindly. He could see nothing and hear -nothing save the roaring of the water in his ears. How long he struggled -he could not have told. It seemed like an age. He was giving up at last, -when all at once the surging sound of the rapids ceased, and he found -himself near the bank and in calm water. He caught at a tree-trunk that -was floating slowly down stream, and held on till rescued by the -Indians.</p> - -<p>But where was Black Tom? Gone undoubtedly.</p> - -<p>They did not travel much farther that day<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_120">{120}</a></span> before the white chief called -a halt, although it still wanted three hours to sunset.</p> - -<p>The tent was erected, and the men soon built themselves shelters of palm -and plantain leaves. The camp fires were lit, and dinner cooked and -eaten. Then the men settled down for their long forenight’s chat and -smoke, and as usual Samaro threw himself down beside his chief.</p> - -<p>But his chief was very sad to-night.</p> - -<p>He cared not for the guide’s stories or conversation, nor would he -partake of the fragrant <i>yerba-maté</i>.</p> - -<p>All was silence and gloom for a time, but as it grew darker the forest -seemed to suddenly awake to life—though a weird wild life it was. The -low grumbling growl of the prowling jaguar, the strange medley of notes -produced by flying or crawling insects, the plaintive wailings of the -night-birds, and now and then these howlings and shriekings from the -darkest depths of the woods that make one’s spine feel like ice to -listen to, and cause the superstitious Indians themselves to place their -fingers in their ears and cease for a time to talk.</p> - -<p>“The señor is very sad to-night,” said Samaro.</p> - -<p>“Very sad, my friend. Very sad.”</p> - -<p>“And I too mourn the loss of your poor dark friend.”</p> - -<p>“He has been with me so long, Samaro.”</p> - -<p>“And he has come through so much, señor.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_121">{121}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“And was always so loving and faithful, Samaro.”</p> - -<p>What Samaro was going to reply will never be known, for at that moment a -wild and frightened yell burst from the lungs of the Indian servants. -Something black had leapt over their heads.</p> - -<p>Tom made a spring for his rifle, which lay loaded near him, thinking a -jaguar had attacked the camp. But the mystery was speedily solved; for -here was Black Tom himself, none the worse for his adventure, as dry as -if he had never been half drowned, and in his mouth a plump little cavy. -Tom could talk after that.</p> - -<p>Samaro brewed an additional bowl of maté, and it was quite late that -night before either thought of retiring.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.<br><br> -“THE TREES WENT DOWN BEFORE IT LIKE HAY BEFORE THE MOWER’S SCYTHE.”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE road next day led over a very lofty range of mountains. I say “road” -for want of a better word; for, in the direction they took at the advice -of Samaro, there was not even a path. The forest that they had to -penetrate, half the<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_122">{122}</a></span> distance towards the nearest ridge, was an almost -impassible jungle. They had to fight almost every yard of the way -against trees and creepers and rocks. There were pumas in this forest; -they sighted and startled jaguars even, and snakes seemed to be -everywhere, but they thought of nothing but how best to get onwards.</p> - -<p>When they reached the mountain top at last, and lay down to rest—fully -five thousand feet above the sea-level—every man in the company felt as -tired as if a long day’s work had been done.</p> - -<p>A cool breeze was blowing at this great altitude however, and having -partaken of a moderate luncheon, everybody felt once more as active as -Black Tom himself.</p> - -<p>The view spread out before them here was wide, wonderful, and -magnificent in the extreme. Probably in no country in the world is the -scenery more grand and thrilling than in this land of Ecuador. Tom felt -the influence of the situation in all its force, as he reclined on a -moss-covered bank and gazed enraptured on the panorama that was spread -out far below him—the wide and beautiful valley, the winding silvery -river with its whirling rapids and waterfalls that sparkled in the sun, -hills wooded to the top and forests everywhere, the distant sierras on -the horizon, and the sky itself bluer in its rifts to-day than<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_123">{123}</a></span> ever he -had seen it, because there were ominous-looking rain clouds about.</p> - -<p>“I think,” he said to himself, “I could be perfectly happy here if I had -anyone to share my pleasure with me. Heigho!” he sighed. “Even the life -of a hermit hunter has its drawbacks.”</p> - -<p>Then his heart gave a big throb of joy-expectant, as he thought of the -probability of soon having as a companion poor lost Bernard, ’Theena’s -brother. ’Theena! Yes, dear little ’Theena. He wondered what she was -doing just then. But she would not be so little now. ’Theena at thirteen -would look and act differently from the ’Theena of nine years old, that -had to be forced weeping from his arms when he left his native shore, -long, long ago. Ay, indeed it seemed very long ago; for his young life -had been so crowded with strange incidents and events, that the past -appeared like an age.</p> - -<p>And his uncle and dear mother, what would they be doing just then? -Sitting by the fire perhaps, and talking of him; for though it was early -forenoon here, it would be evening in Scotland. He began to reckon the -time in his own mind. He was right, it would be about nine o’clock. His -father would be in the corner with that studious face, and that -everlasting long pipe of his; his mother and Alicia would be quietly -knitting; uncle would be reading his paper with ’Theena by his side; and -the great logs and the<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_124">{124}</a></span> coal and peats would be merrily blazing on the -hearth as they used to be in the dear old days when Jack and Dick used -to tease and chaff him, and call him Cinderella. Then he remembered his -dream.</p> - -<p>“O,” he said, half aloud, “that dream will assuredly come true. I shall -find and free poor Bernard if he be in the land of Ecuador.”</p> - -<p>The very words suggested action, and he sprang to his feet. In five -minutes more the expedition was once again on the move.</p> - -<p>Were I to relate all Tom’s adventures during his memorable march into -the land of the Ecuador Indians, what a very large book I could make! -And what a very large price my readers would have to pay for it! It may -not be; I must hurry on with my narrative, my main object being to give -but the principle lines in the picture of the life a wanderer must lead -in this wild country. One way or another Tom and his party spent nearly -five months on the journey. It was a long time, but it passed away most -pleasantly and quickly; and Tom could say what few travellers in Ecuador -ever could—that he had the utmost faith in his servants, from Samaro, -his major-domo, down to Rooph, the Indian boy, who did little else -except shoot strange birds with his blow-gun, and whom no threats or -punishment either could induce to carry a package of any sort. Tom’s -servants all liked him too, and he<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_125">{125}</a></span> felt confident they would fight for -him if ever there should be any necessity. Well, the life these Indians -now led under their white chief was a very enjoyable one, and as they -were engaged to bring Tom back to Riobamba, they would each have a -modest sum at their banker’s when they got there—if ever they did.</p> - -<p>There were times when it really did not seem at all likely any one of -the party should ever come up out of the wilderness again.</p> - -<p>Once, for example, they were encamped by the banks of a beautiful river -and close to the edge of the forest. It was a charming situation, and -they had lain here for over a week. On this particular night Tom thought -as he took his last look at the sky he had never noticed the stars -shining more brightly nor looking more near. There were the usual sounds -in the forest and all about, but otherwise the deep solitude was -unbroken; for not a breath of wind was there to move the long grass that -grew near the tent. It was unusually sultry and hot too. But for the -creepies Tom would have laid himself down as the men were lying, on a -bed of palm leaves, and slept sound till morning. He envied the poor -fellows their sweet repose. The creepies did not appear to trouble them. -Musquitoes might sing and buzz about their heads, drink their blood and -go, but the men slept on. Centipeds—and in the forest the green-backed -ones are quite as dangerous as<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_126">{126}</a></span> snakes—might crawl over their hands, -and cockroaches in scores pass over their faces, but they would not heed -even if they felt them. Serpents even might take a short cut over their -bodies without awaking them, while the mournful cries of the night-birds -in the adjoining forest but lulled them to dreamless slumber. It was -very different with Tom though; he dared no more sleep in the open than -in a tiger’s den.</p> - -<p>“Señor, señor, awake!” It was Samaro’s voice, and he was swinging Tom’s -hammock to arouse him.</p> - -<p>“What is it, Samaro?” cried Tom, raising himself on his elbow.</p> - -<p>“We must strike camp at once, señor, or we will be swept away by the -flood. Listen!”</p> - -<p>There was little need to listen. That peal of thunder would have -awakened Rip Van Winkle himself.</p> - -<p>“Are the men astir?”</p> - -<p>“Si, señor. Hurry, señor. Hurry, there is not a moment to lose!”</p> - -<p>Tom was on his feet in an instant, and the men were soon busily engaged -making up the tent. He was a good general, and never during all his long -sojourn in the wilds did he retire for the night until he had seen -everything ready for a start. There was never any telling what might -occur. A sudden attack by hostile Indians, a flood, or a fire in the -forest might necessitate<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_127">{127}</a></span> instant movement, and if they were not ready -for such a contingency, all would be loss and confusion.</p> - -<p>“Now, Samaro, whither away? Shall we cross back into the plains, for we -cannot get over the river?”</p> - -<p>“We must get to yonder hill,” was the reply. “Come.”</p> - -<p>The sky was black during the brief intervals in which the lightning did -not play. But this was incessant, so that everything around was almost -as bright as day, though the light was strangely confusing.</p> - -<p>They had to go through the forest. This was the most dangerous part of -the journey; for here the flashes played around every tree, while every -now and then some branch or even tree-trunk would fall crashing across -the track.</p> - -<p>Luckily for our adventurers, it was along a path made by tapirs that the -route lay, so it was broad and well beaten. These strange animals are -about four feet high and fully six feet long, and are exceedingly -numerous in the wilderness of the Andes, especially in the vicinity of a -not too rapid river.</p> - -<p>The rain now began to patter around them, the lightning became even more -vivid, and the terrible thunder-cannonade was increased tenfold. The -wind also began to rise; it came down with the storm from the north and -west. It was this<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_128">{128}</a></span> direction of the clouds that had caused the -ever-watchful Samaro to expect a flood. Had the depression come up -stream the danger would not have been so urgent.</p> - -<p>They had still half a mile to go, as the crow flies; and as the pathway, -like that of all wild beasts, was very winding, it would be at least -half an hour before they could hope to reach a position of safety.</p> - -<p>Samaro was here, there, and everywhere, hurrying and encouraging all -hands, using a bamboo cane even to stimulate the flagging calves of a -few of the men. Suddenly there was a wild and frightened yell from -someone in front, a yell that was heard high over the hurtling of the -thunder.</p> - -<p>“Eemateena! Eemateena!” was the shout from the others. “The jaguar! the -jaguar!” and for a few moments every man seemed panic-stricken. They -even dropped their burdens, and hardly knowing what they were about -would have hurried wildly back towards the river, had not Samaro and -Tom, revolvers in hand, barred their progress. The terrible confusion -that had ensued was fatal to the poor fellow, who had been attacked by -the dreaded king of the wilderness. He might have been saved had Tom got -to the front in time.</p> - -<p>As it was, the beast dragged him at once into the depths of the forest. -A few more piercing shrieks were heard, then it was evident that all<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_129">{129}</a></span> -was over. The jaguar, or tiger as he is generally called, must have been -coming towards the river, and thus met the unhappy man in his path; for -during a storm these animals will hardly ever go out of their way to -attack either man or beast.</p> - -<p>The storm ceased almost as suddenly as it had commenced, though the rain -now came down in rushing torrents, and just an occasional flash of -lightning shot athwart the inky gloom and served to reveal the pathway.</p> - -<p>As soon as they reached the high ground or knoll they were safe. Here -were a hundred pathways instead of one, and all led upwards. The top of -the little hill was beaten hard with the feet of the tapirs, and -probably peccaries, who for reasons best known to themselves must have -assembled here at times. It was only a wonder none of these creatures -were found here now; but their strange instincts had doubtless warned -them to seek for higher grounds before the floods came down. It rained -heavily for hours, then morning broke gray and uncertain over the hills, -and about the same time down came the river “bore.”</p> - -<p>Tom had never witnessed anything in life so appalling, and even Samaro -himself confessed that such a quick and rapid “spate” was unusual. The -roar of this immense wall of water could be heard for long minutes -before it dashed round the bend of the stream, and came tumbling onwards -carrying with it huge masses of rock and<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_130">{130}</a></span> even soil that looked like -islands in the midst of the murky flood. The bore must have been fully -twenty feet in height, and the forest trees went down before it like hay -before the mower’s scythe. The noise at first was deafening; but it -gradually subsided, and before ten o’clock had entirely ceased. But at -this time the whole valley looked like an immense inland sea or lake -studded with little islands. One of these islands was the hill on which -Tom and his men stood, and on which they were for a time as completely -imprisoned and isolated as if the ground had been a rock in mid-ocean.</p> - -<p>There were three days rain, and all this time the river, instead of -going down, seemed gradually rising.</p> - -<p>It rose, and rose, and rose, as slowly but as surely as fate itself, -till the island was limited to little over the site of the tent.</p> - -<p>Then the rain ceased for a time. But the clouds were very dark away -towards the north, from which direction low muttering thunder was -occasionally heard.</p> - -<p>Was another storm brewing? If another bore came down the stream, though -not even half as big as the last, the fate of the little expedition -would be sealed, and its doom be swift indeed. All day long they watched -the rising clouds. When the sun set at last, forked lightning darted -here and there across the dark sky, with now and<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_131">{131}</a></span> then streams of fire -rushing downwards from zenith to nadir. These last were followed by -tremendous peals of thunder, but still the rain kept off. No one thought -of lying down to rest, and for hours and hours no one spoke.</p> - -<p>All eyes were turned towards the north. They were like men waiting for -death.</p> - -<p>The clouds mounted higher and higher; they saw star after star and -constellation after constellation blotted out, or swallowed up as it -were in the gloom. Still they sat and silently watched.</p> - -<p>The suspense was terrible; every flash was now like a message from an -unseen world, every peal sounded like a knell of doom.</p> - -<p>Tom was praying. He was trying hard, too, to yield himself to the will -of heaven; but it seemed sad to die so young.</p> - -<p>Probably he had fallen into a kind of uneasy doze at last, for suddenly -he felt Samaro clutch at his arm.</p> - -<p>“It is coming! It is coming!” he cried.</p> - -<p>“The flood, Samaro? Is it coming at last?”</p> - -<p>“No, no, señor. I would not wake you for that. Better you should die -asleep. But look yonder! Look eastwards!”</p> - -<p>Tom did as he was told, and saw in the sky a long line of glittering -silver.</p> - -<p>The moon was rising!</p> - -<p>Up, up, up she sailed, the clouds changing from black to gauze and gold -before her, and by<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_132">{132}</a></span> and by she found a little rift of blue to shine in, -and her radiance was reflected from the river beneath as if showers of -diamonds were falling on it from the sky.</p> - -<p>By next morning the flood had gone down considerably, but days must -elapse before they could once more resume their journey.</p> - -<p>What struck Tom now as remarkable was the deep impressive silence by -night. Except in the river there was no life about—no beasts or birds -of the forest, not even insect life itself. Never a whisper, never a -hum, except the little sad lilt the river sang as it went rippling past -the island shore.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.<br><br> -“A SHOWER OF POISONED DARTS FELL PATTERING ON THE STOCKADE.”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">O</span>NE day about three weeks after the adventure in the floods, as the -party were filing over the ridge of a hill, Samaro pointed away towards -the horizon with his outstretched arm.</p> - -<p>There was a joyful smile on his face.</p> - -<p>“At last, señor,” he said, “we come to human beings.”</p> - -<p>True; there was a village down there, for blue smoke was curling up over -the green of the palm-trees.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_133">{133}</a></span></p> - -<p>Tom was rejoiced. What if Bernard himself were in that village! Perhaps -he would be one of the first to come to meet them. And what a strange -story it would be his to tell!</p> - -<p>Tom could not think of his captain’s son as a slave. No white man ever -remained long in a position of actual slavery among Indians; and -Bernard, if indeed he were alive, would doubtless be some great chief or -warrior.</p> - -<p>They were nearing the land of the Jivaro Indians.</p> - -<p>Two hours more of a toilsome march across ground which was partly marsh -and partly fallen forest brought them to hard open ground. They could -hear the beating of drums and shouting of the natives, and presently a -dusky crowd swarmed out to meet them.</p> - -<p>A halt was immediately ordered, for even among Indians etiquette must be -obeyed.</p> - -<p>Samaro advanced alone with Tom; who, by the way, much to the terror of -some of the juvenile portion of this wild community, had his feline pet -perched upon his shoulder.</p> - -<p>But their reception on the whole was a hearty one. The general notion -that appeared to prevail among these Indian villagers was that Tom and -all his party were starving, for they brought them food of all kinds; -and to refuse to taste at least would have been a grave offence.</p> - -<p>That evening a grand festival was held at one<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_134">{134}</a></span> of the chiefs’ houses. -Tom was not quite sure, indeed, if the man was a chief, or held some -office akin to that of our mayors in this country.</p> - -<p>Every one in the village or town was armed in some form or another. Even -the boys moved about with their blow-guns; while spears and shields -formed the defensive weapons of their elders. Many of the latter had the -awful-looking scalp hanging at their waists, just as Samaro wore his. -This evidently entitled them to be looked upon as braves; for these -scalps had all been taken in battle.</p> - -<p>Tom spent a few days in this village, distributed a few presents, and -went on again, having left nothing but good-will behind him, and being -therefore assured of a welcome if ever he returned this way.</p> - -<p>On the evening of the day of their departure from this village of -Jivaros, and while resting by the camp fire in the solitude of the -forest, Tom questioned Samaro about the probability of their finding -Bernard among these tribes.</p> - -<p>Samaro’s first reply was a negative and solemn shake of the head.</p> - -<p>Then he became a little more explicit. He had feared he said to put -questions too directly, but at a feast one evening he had led round -deftly to the subject by asking an old warrior whether Tom was not the -second Englishman ever he had seen; Tom’s Uncle Robert, who had<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_135">{135}</a></span> been -here, being reckoned the first. “Yes,” the brave had replied, “with the -exception of a child.”</p> - -<p>This child, he had told Samaro later on, had been the cause of a great -quarrel; for the Jivaros on the other bank of the river had borne him -off. The Canelo Indians had joined against these. But, meanwhile, the -boy had been sold to a tribe who had taken him northward and east, -perhaps to Napo or Zaparo-land, and he might be killed. The old warrior -knew no more, or would tell no more.</p> - -<p>This was far from encouraging intelligence to Tom, but he determined at -all hazards to pursue his wanderings and his investigations until at all -events he should discover the fate of Bernard Herbert.</p> - -<p>They visited many more villages and scattered hamlets of the Jivaros. -Each of these possess what is called a war-drum, which if beaten at one -village is heard at another, and soon echoes throughout the length and -breadth of the tribal land. This is a method of calling the warriors -together, and is as much resorted to as was the fiery cross in the brave -days of old in the Scottish Highlands.</p> - -<p class="dtts">. . . . . . .</p> - -<p>About a month after his visit to the Jivaro Indians Tom found himself -with his men descending a ridge of hills towards a river, where<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_136">{136}</a></span> Samaro -expected to find a village. He had been here before, and was somewhat -surprised now to find as they drew near no appearance of smoke, nor any -sound of life among the trees. True, many if not most of the tribes in -these regions are nomads; but so well situated was this town, on the -banks of the Aguarico, not far from its conjunction with the Napo, that -something very remarkable must have occurred to account for its apparent -desolation.</p> - -<p>They were not left long in doubt; for Samaro, who had entered the town -some distance in front of Tom, stopped short, then turning round -beckoned to his master to hurry.</p> - -<p>Here on its back lay a corpse. The neck had been fearfully gashed with a -spear, and one hand was almost severed through. The unfortunate man must -have been alive but a short time before, for decomposition, so rapid in -these hot regions, had not yet set in.</p> - -<p>They found the bodies of many more murdered Indians; indeed, almost -every house told its sad story of massacre, not even the children nor -old women having been spared. The huts had been all plundered, but -otherwise left intact.</p> - -<p>“Who has done these fearful deeds?” said Tom, addressing Samaro.</p> - -<p>“The Awheeshiries, without doubt,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>Some broken blow-guns and spears lay about,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_137">{137}</a></span> but otherwise there was -scarcely any evidence of a struggle. The attack must have been made at -the dead of night; and from the dreadful way the victims had been cut -and hacked about, the probability is that revenge had instigated the -attack quite as much as the hopes of plunder.</p> - -<p>Close to the village, at a bend of the river, they came upon several -boats drawn up on the beach. They had evidently been used very shortly -before this, as evidenced by the number of fresh banana skins lying here -and there. The hostile Indians must have come in these war-canoes -therefore; and it was certain they had not gone. Indeed, from the care -with which the paddles were secured, and the boats themselves shaded by -bushes from the sun, it appeared certain they meant to return. Where -were they now? In all probability they had gone farther inland, bent on -plundering other peaceful villages; and Tom shuddered as he thought of -the awful deeds that might be enacted in that lovely, still, forest land -before the sun now declining towards the west should again rise and -shine over the greenery of the woods.</p> - -<p>What must now be done? was the next question to be considered. Savages -on the war-path, their knives and hands still red with the fresh-drawn -blood of fellow-savages, are but little likely to brook the presence of -strangers in their midst. Tom knew he could not expect to gain<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_138">{138}</a></span> anything -by fair means. He must be on the defensive; and there was no time to -lose.</p> - -<p>So he held a council of war.</p> - -<p>Tom proposed instant embarkation in the canoes, and a passage down the -river. But wiser and more wary Samaro vetoed such a plan. They knew the -dangers around them now, but to drop down an unknown river at night -would almost certainly expose them to worse, not the least of which -might be perils from rapids and cataracts.</p> - -<p>But a sand bank or spit ran out into the river some distance down, and -this could easily be fortified, and held against a whole cloud of -hostile Indians. To decide was to act with Tom. The packages and stores -were therefore immediately transferred to the boats, and landed on the -spit; and at the land-side thereof a long trench was dug, where a kind -of fort, formed of the bamboo fences dragged from the village, had been -formed. Behind this they would be safe against even poisoned darts, for -luckily there was no cover for the enemy anywhere very close at hand.</p> - -<p>The sun was almost set, and Tom was having one final run round the -village, to find out if there were not some poor wretch still alive that -he might render assistance to. He came upon a footpath that led him for -some distance directly away from the river, through the bush, to the -very gates of an Indian compound of far greater<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_139">{139}</a></span> pretensions than any he -had yet seen. It must be a kind of palace, Tom thought. As he listened -before pushing open the door of the hut, he heard the unmistakable -moaning of someone in pain. He hesitated no longer, and next moment -stood in the inner compartment. Here on a kind of raised wicker couch -lay the insensible form of a woman, who, a glance told him, was -certainly no Indian belonging to this land of Ecuador. Her face, though -sadly racked by anguish, was very fair and finely chiselled. Her -hair—long, dark, and straight, though now dishevelled—and her dress -betokened her a kind of princess of the tribe.</p> - -<p>She raised herself on her elbow as Tom entered, and looked at him for a -moment wildly and wistfully.</p> - -<p>“O,” she exclaimed, “an Englishman! You are not my boy, Bernard?”</p> - -<p>“No, no,” cried Tom advancing excitedly. “I am not Bernard. I have come -to seek him. O, it is awful to find you thus! You were the ayah on board -the <i>Southern Hope</i>. Speak! tell me quickly where I can find Bernard.”</p> - -<p>“Find? Find my boy? Yes, I will tell you.”</p> - -<p>A spasm of pain passed over her pale face, and she fell back as if dead.</p> - -<p>A calabash of water stood near, and Tom moistened her lips and brow, and -presently she revived.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_140">{140}</a></span></p> - -<p>“You are wounded,” Tom said. “I am selfish to ask you to talk now. I -will hurry away for help; but first let me bind your arm.”</p> - -<p>It had been frightfully gashed with a knife while she was trying to ward -off a blow aimed at her heart.</p> - -<p>Tom brought the edges together, and bound the arm up with leaves and -grass cloth. At that moment Samaro himself entered.</p> - -<p>“Quick, señor,” he said, “the Awheeshiries are returning. If they find -us here we will have but small mercy.”</p> - -<p>“Help me then to bear this lady to our camp, my good friend. Pray heaven -she may live, for she knows Bernard’s story.”</p> - -<p>Between them they carried the ayah princess out and away to the -fortified sand-spit. And none too soon. Hardly had they entered when -savages appeared from the bush, and a shower of poison darts fell -pattering upon the stockade.</p> - -<p>As there was no reply from the fort they came nearer and nearer, -brandishing spears and capering and howling like very demons. The reply -they sought came at length, however. Tom’s rifle rang out sharp and -clear in the evening air, and the foremost foeman fell never to rise -more. Consternation seized the Indians, and they fled indiscriminately -towards the bush; but before they could reach it Tom fired his revolver, -and some of them were wounded. It was from no<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_141">{141}</a></span> spirit of cruelty he -opened fire on a retreating foe, but for the safety of his camp. He -wished to show these savages what kind of an enemy they had to deal -with, and the lesson was well merited.</p> - -<p>It fell dark now; but presently the moon rose, silvering the beautiful -river and casting a glamour over the now silent woods.</p> - -<p>Yes, the woods were silent; for the savages appeared to have fled. But -about midnight there were signs unmistakable that they were continuing -their unhallowed work in other places; for every now and then, borne -along on the light breeze, came sounds that made Tom’s heart thrill with -anger—the exultant shouts of victorious Indians mingling with mournful -cries of agony and fear.</p> - -<p>Then a great red gleam appeared in the north, and dense white clouds of -smoke rolled skyward. The savages had fired the forest.</p> - -<p>Nearer and nearer came that red glare as the night wore on, and soon -they could hear the crackling of the blazing wood; then the deserted -village took fire, and burned with terrible fierceness for a time.</p> - -<p>Constantly all night long after this, in the fitful light of the -conflagration, creatures could be seen leaping madly into the river, and -swimming towards the other bank for safety. These were the denizens of -the woods and wilds; but many must have perished in the merciless -flames.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_142">{142}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.<br><br> -THE DYING AYAH TELLS OF BERNARD.</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">D</span>AYLIGHT dawned at last, and heavy rain began to fall, and soon even -smoke itself had ceased to rise from the blackened woods and ruins of -the village.</p> - -<p>That the enemy still lay in ambush was evident, for now and then dusky -forms could be seen moving about among the dark tree-trunks. Towards -noon they came near enough to shoot darts at the fort from their -blow-guns, and Tom found it necessary to fire once more.</p> - -<p>The wounded ayah had remained insensible all night long, but at daybreak -revived and beckoned Tom to her side.</p> - -<p>“I am going,” she said. “I will be with my dear mistress soon, and if -Bernard is dead I will be with him. I am glad.”</p> - -<p>“But you do not think Bernard is dead?”</p> - -<p>“I fear—nay, I hope he is. He will be at peace.”</p> - -<p>Tom spoke not. He feared to say anything to confuse the dying woman. He -tried even to control his feelings as he listened to the ayah’s terrible -story of her slavery, and that of the poor boy, among the Indians. She -spoke with difficulty, pausing often, sometimes even fainting<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_143">{143}</a></span> away -entirely. But Tom’s patience was rewarded at last.</p> - -<p>The mutineers of the good ship <i>Southern Hope</i> had taken Bernard and the -ayah into the interior, as far as Riobamba, and there they were both -sold. The poor ayah would have been happy even then had they both been -bought by the same master, or even by the same tribe. But this was not -so; for, while Bernard was first taken to the Jivaro country, and sold -thence to one of the wildest tribes of the far interior, she had -remained all along with the Zaparo Indians. They had not been altogether -unkind to her, though the lord and master who had claimed her made her -drudge and toil at household duties, like the slaves that the wives of -the Indians there ever are. She had to prepare and cook his food with -her own hands, see to his arms and clothing, make and dye the very -material of which his garments were composed, and, while wandering from -place to place and sleeping in the woods, she had even at night to lie -down in the place most open to the attacks of the jaguar or puma, or -more likely to be traversed by some deadly snake. For all these toils -and acts of kindness her reward was nothing save the bite and the blow. -Finally she had fled, and after adventures innumerable she had found her -boy. Though it was many years since he had seen her, and he had grown up -into a tall skin-clad young savage,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_144">{144}</a></span> he knew his second mother, and -gladly ran away with her. Both had been captured by the Zaparos, and -brought to the very village from which the ayah had fled. Here she was -condemned to die, and her “injured” lord and master was to be the -executioner.</p> - -<p>As she lay in her grass hut on the night before her intended execution -she heard some movement near her, and next minute a tiny dagger was put -into her hands. Then she knew that her would-be deliverer was Bernard. -She could have cut the cords that bound her now, and once more sought -safety in flight, but she would not leave her boy. Dead or alive she -would be with him.</p> - -<p>The morning came, and she was led out to die. The Indians were there in -their thousands to see the grand spectacle of a foreign woman being -massacred by their chief. She was led to the stake; for death by torture -was her intended doom. Bernard was placed close to her that he might -witness her sufferings.</p> - -<p>And now her master approached with stern, set brow to begin the torture.</p> - -<p>Suddenly with her own hand her cords were severed, and with a yell like -that of a panther she sprang upon the chief, and cast him on the ground -stabbed to the heart.</p> - -<p>For a moment the tribe was silent, paralysed as it were, and the ayah -herself broke the spell.</p> - -<p>Advancing to where Bernard stood she cut the</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="ill_002"> -<a href="images/img-145.jpg"> -<img src="images/img-145.jpg" width="351" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable:“‘BEHOLD YOUR CHIEF!’ SHE CRIED.”]"></a> -<br> -<span class="caption">“‘BEHOLD YOUR CHIEF!’ SHE CRIED.”</span> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_145">{145}</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">thongs that bound his hands, placed the spear of the dead chief in his -hand, and waving her hands in the air above him:</p> - -<p>“Behold your chief!” she cried. “The White Chief of the Zaparo Indians, -sent by the Great Spirit to rule over them—and I am his mother!”</p> - -<p>Then wild exclamations rent the air, as the Indians crowded round their -new king and threw themselves on the ground before him.</p> - -<p>All had been peace for years after this in the camping ground of the -Zaparos. They became less nomadic in their tendencies, and built -themselves better villages by the river. And whenever they were insulted -by other tribes Bernard led them on the war-path; and they never failed -to gain the victory, and to return home rejoicing, laden with spoil and -many scalps.</p> - -<p>The Zaparos are very warlike when roused; but prefer hunting to fishing, -and are the most expert woodsmen probably in the world, and this is -saying a great deal. The spear and the blow-gun are their weapons <i>par -excellence</i>, and they are experts with either.</p> - -<p>Bernard made a noble young chief. He had all the wisdom of the white -race, combined with the cunning and training of the savages he had dwelt -so long amongst. He had no fear, either when hunting or fighting. From -hunting his party would return laden with skins and meat. He tackled -single-handed either the jaguar or<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_146">{146}</a></span> puma, and many a sturdy tapir fell -beneath his spear. From a raid on the foe Bernard’s warriors came back -with joy and song, and for weeks thereafter the sound of the war-drum -was heard in all the villages by the river’s bank.</p> - -<p>But Bernard was not wholly a savage; and it had come to pass that he was -seized with an irresistible longing to see the ocean once more, and find -out if possible if his mother still lived. So he chose from among his -warriors fifty of the bravest and most trustworthy, and bidding the ayah -adieu, amidst the tears of his people he departed on his dangerous -journey.</p> - -<p>Then fell the curtain over his life-drama. The dying ayah knew no more. -He had never returned; but rumours reached the tribe that their white -chief had been captured far beyond the rocky Andes, and that all his -followers were killed by the hands of hostile Spaniards.</p> - -<p>The poor ayah! She held Tom’s hand as her life was ebbing away. But she -evidently was not afraid to die. The religion that had been instilled -into her mind on board the <i>Southern Hope</i> had been all through her -weary life a guiding star to her, and let us hope that when daylight -streamed through the fence, and fell on her pale dead face, the soul had -gone to a land where there is no more sorrow.</p> - -<p>They buried her there deep down in the sand; and that same evening the -boats were loaded up,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_147">{147}</a></span> and in the hour of darkness, ’twixt sunset and -moonrise, they dropped silently down stream, and succeeded in eluding -their dangerous foes, who, no doubt, lay in wait near the sand-spit -ready to renew their attack whenever opportunity offered.</p> - -<p>As soon as the moon began to glimmer over the distant mountains they -paddled towards the shore, and hid under the thick foliage till morning. -Then after a hurried breakfast, principally of fruit, they once more -embarked and went gliding down the river.</p> - -<p>It was no part of Tom’s intention, however, to keep to the stream. It -would have led him on to the great Marañon, or even into the wilds of -Brazil. So the very next morning, being now safe from pursuit, they once -more took to the woods, and the long and toilsome march was commenced -towards the distant shores of the Pacific, and Guayaquil.</p> - -<p>All speed, however, was made on the backward journey. There was no more -dallying to collect beautiful butterflies, or to seek for more skins of -bird or beast. If Tom could but succeed in saving the splendid -collection he had already made he felt he should be more than happy. The -party still depended on their guns for their living, however, and killed -each day just sufficient food to carry them on.</p> - -<p>Their adventures were of the usual sort already<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_148">{148}</a></span> described, and many a -hair-breadth escape both Tom and his companions had by flood and field.</p> - -<p>While nearing Guayaquil, however, the fatigues on this terribly-forced -march began to tell on Tom’s excellent constitution, and he fell sick.</p> - -<p>A few days’ rest became imperative now.</p> - -<p>“Just a few days, Samaro,” Tom said, “and I shall be well, and able to -go on again.”</p> - -<p>That night he was in a burning fever, and for three long weeks he -hovered betwixt life and death.</p> - -<p>But his youth claimed victory at last; and Samaro had been a most -faithful nurse. It would have been difficult to say which of the -two—Samaro or Black Tom—showed the greatest exuberance of delight when -the master became quiet and sensible once more. About the first food -that Tom ate was a tenderly-cooked cavy that this strange puss had -caught and brought in. Indeed, Samaro said that all through Tom’s -terrible illness hardly a day passed that the cat did not bring either a -cavy or dead bird in, and he invariably jumped into his master’s hammock -with the offering, laid it by his cheek, and then sat down to watch his -face.</p> - -<p>So now that Tom was apparently out of danger, both Samaro and the -faithful cat went about singing—each in his own way—from morning till -night.</p> - -<p>One day as Tom lay in his hammock, with the end of the tent thrown up to -let him breathe the<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_149">{149}</a></span> fresh, pure mountain air, and feast his eyes on the -wild and beautiful scenery all around the camp, he heard strange voices, -and in another minute, lo! there stood before him a tall and somewhat -ungainly Quaker-looking Yankee.</p> - -<p>That he was a Yankee Tom could tell at a glance, and the first words he -spoke confirmed it.</p> - -<p>“My name’s Barnaby Blunt,” he said, throwing his rifle on the grass; -“and I’m mighty sorry to see a young Britisher in such a plight as you -are, sirr. But precious glad I’ll be if I can do you a service.”</p> - -<p>Tom smiled feebly, and thanked him; but he was far too languid to talk -much.</p> - -<p>That did not matter much, for this Yankee could talk for two, or even -for half a dozen at a push. And he had not squatted beside Tom’s hammock -much over ten minutes before his listener had his whole history, and -that of his wife and wife’s family.</p> - -<p>But Barnaby Blunt proved himself a true friend indeed, and to his -disinterested kindness Tom no doubt owed his life.</p> - -<p>“I’m only hunting about here,” he told Tom, “and it ain’t a deal o’ -matter where I goes; but out o’ this camp I don’t budge for a week, and -by that time I’ll have you taut and trim enough to come along. Trust -Barnaby Blunt to do the right thing for a stranger, and all the more if -that stranger be a Britisher.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_150">{150}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>Tom smiled, and feebly thanked him.</p> - -<p>“My wife’s a Britisher; but for all that ye won’t find a longer-headed -old gal about anywhere’s than ’Liza Ann. ’Liza Ann is my wife’s name, -and ’<i>Liza Ann</i> is the name o’ my ship; and now you see what kind o’ -water you’re in.” “But,” he added, after a brief pause, “I’m not going -to bother you now. I’ll come again. My camp’s only just over here.”</p> - -<p>Barnaby did come again—that very evening, too. And he did not come -empty-handed either. Before he sat down on a package—which was the only -thing by way of a chair the tent contained—he began to empty his -pockets, and Tom could not help smiling at the magnitude and diversity -of their contents. Pots of jelly, parcels of Iceland moss, boxes of -marvellous tonic pills, bags of arrow-root, and bottles of wine. He -handed the things one by one to Samaro, and then he sat down.</p> - -<p>“Now, young fellow,” he said, “you haven’t got anything else in this -world to do or to think about but getting well. And as to that, why, -your worthy servant and myself will shore you up in a brace of shakes. -No, you mustn’t talk. You must listen, and I guess I’ll amuse you. See -here, you’ve been in the wilds for about a year, haven’t you?”</p> - -<p>Tom nodded.</p> - -<p>“That’s right,” continued the Yankee. “Nod<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_151">{151}</a></span> your head for ‘Yes;’ shut -your eyes for ‘No.’ Give yourself no earthly trouble about anything, and -we’ll get on like a boundless prairie on fire. You’ve been out o’ the -world, I’ve been in it, and every night I’ll tell you or read you some -news.”</p> - -<p>Barnaby was as good as his word. He came regularly every forenoon and -every evening, and read or talked to Tom; and no woman could have been -more kind or more considerate. It is not wonderful then that, in less -than a fortnight, the patient was able to sit once more by the camp -fire, and could give information as well as receive it. He told Barnaby -all his adventures, and those of his uncle and Bernard as well. The -Yankee marvelled very much at all he heard.</p> - -<p>“Of course you have a collection of curios, haven’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Rather,” said Tom proudly.</p> - -<p>“Then I guess we can deal.”</p> - -<p>“I guess we can’t.” And Tom laughed.</p> - -<p>“Will you sell the cat? Why, there’s a small fortune in that animile.”</p> - -<p>But Tom refused to sell his favourite.</p> - -<p>“And now,” said the Yankee one evening, “I’m going to sea for three -months, and as you’ve nothing particular to do, why, come along. It’ll -set you up for life. What say?”</p> - -<p>“I accept your hospitality,” said Tom “and thank you very much.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_152">{152}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you dare thank me. By thunder, sir, if you thank me I’ll throw -you overboard. Barnaby Blunt wants no reward, not even a wordy one. But -you’ll come?”</p> - -<p>“Like a shot.”</p> - -<p>“Spoken like a man and a Britisher. Tip us your flipper. Now, -good-night; I’ll go and get ready for the march.”</p> - -<p>“Good-night, and may God himself reward you.”</p> - -<p>“Amen,” said Barnaby, and next minute he was out of sight.</p> - -<p>A week after this Tom was back in Guayaquil, and had bidden his faithful -servants a long farewell.</p> - -<p>The boy Rooph was disconsolate in the extreme, and shed tears -abundantly.</p> - -<p>To comfort him in some measure Tom gave him his photograph.</p> - -<p>“Ah,” said the lad, “you leave wid me, then, your soul! O, I shall ever -love it, and I shall weep when I look at it when you are far from poor -Rooph!”</p> - -<p>Samaro was affected also, though he shed no tears.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps,” he said somewhat sadly, “we shall meet again. I will live in -hope, señor.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_153">{153}</a></span>”</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.<br><br> -“FILLED WITH GOLD DOUBLOONS—SIRR, ARE YE LISTENING?”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE <i>’Liza Ann</i> was about as strange-looking a craft as ever Tom had -clapped eyes upon. He was not well enough yet to be hypercritical; but -for all that he could not resist the temptation of making his boatman -pull right round and round her at some distance away, so that he might -see her from every point of the compass.</p> - -<p>She lay like a duck on the water, there was no doubts about that; in -fact she had about the same comparative breadth of beam that a duck -possesses, the same lowness of free-board, and the same depth or rather -absence of depth of hull. Her masts, two in all, were set in with a -pretty, though rather old-fashioned rake. She was brig-rigged, though, -considering her length, she might easily have been a barque. Her spars -were not of great height, and her yards were very long. There was no -mistake about it, she could take a good spread of canvas. Well, she was -painted dark green all over; picked out as to ports with a lighter -green, and her bulwarks inside were also light green.</p> - -<p>Tom smiled to himself as he sized her up. Barnaby Blunt saw that smile. -He was probably six hundred yards away at the time, and stand<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_154">{154}</a></span>ing on the -quarter-deck of his own ship; but he had eyes like a hawk, and -“barnacles,” as he called the lorgnettes that hung in a patent leather -case by his side, to aid those eyes.</p> - -<p>“That Britisher is a-sizing of my ship up,” he said to Pebbles his mate. -“Britishers don’t know everything. I’ll talk to him.”</p> - -<p>The Yankee was politeness itself to his passenger. He had a seat all -ready for him on deck under a snow-white awning, a delightfully easy -deck chair, in which one might sleep as comfortably as in a hammock, or -dream without sleeping.</p> - -<p>The mate hastened to assist Tom on board, but the captain was before -him.</p> - -<p>“With all due deference to you, Mr. Pebbles,” he said, “I’m going to do -everything for our guest with my own hands. If my wife was on board I’d -turn him over to her. As she ain’t, I does the honours. Take my arm, -young man. You ain’t so strong as you think. You’re as shaky as an old -chimney-pot.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” said Tom; “you really are good.”</p> - -<p>“I’d do the same for a nigger, sirr, if he were as shaky as you; and if -my wife were on board, she’d do more. Now, sit down there; I’m not going -to pester you with any extra attentions. Whatever you needs you hollers -for.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think,” said Tom, “I’ll have to holler for anything. This chair -is delightful, and the awning is a happy thought.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_155">{155}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“We don’t sail before to-morrow morning, cause I’ve more stores to get -off. And now, as we don’t dine for an hour yet, suppose we have a drink. -What shall it be—wine, old rye, a cup o’ coffee, or a cock-tail?”</p> - -<p>“I’d prefer coffee, I think; but isn’t it rather hot?”</p> - -<p>“O, bless your innocence, we’ll have it iced! Ginger Brandy, where are -you?”</p> - -<p>A bullet-headed nigger boy, dressed in white calico, with face and -calves as black as pitch, rushed up.</p> - -<p>“Heeh I is, sah,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Talisker, here’s your slave. His name is Ginger Brandy. If he -irritates you, don’t hit him over the back with a capstan-bar, ’cause -you’ll break the bar. Don’t heave a cocoa-nut at his head, ’cause you’ll -damage the cocoa-nut. Just get up and toe his shins. Now, Ginger Brandy, -bring the ice, and the coffee, and the lemons, and my pipe, and a bundle -of smokes. Skedaddle!”</p> - -<p>Ginger skedaddled quickly, brought out a little table from the raised -poop, spread a white cloth, and in two minutes more had placed thereon -two cups of fragrant coffee, with lumps of clear ice floating in each. -And when Tom lit his cigar after drinking half of the coffee, Ginger -Brandy took his stand beside his chair with a huge fan, and our hero -felt as happy and comfortable as ever he had done in his life.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_156">{156}</a></span></p> - -<p>The Yankee’s pipe stood on deck, an immense hubble-bubble; the smoke, -which passed through iced-water, being conducted to his lips by means of -a tube that seemed yards in length. Sitting there in his rocker, with -his long legs dangling over the bulwarks and his eyes half closed, -Barnaby Blunt looked the quintessence of enjoyment.</p> - -<p>“And what d’ye think o’ my little yacht, sirr,” he drawled at last. -“Mind ye, I twigged you sizing her up. I see’d your smile; yes, sirr, I -think I heard it.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Tom, “to tell you the truth, I never saw so strange a craft -before; and had I met her at sea, I shouldn’t have been able to say what -was her nationality.”</p> - -<p>“You do me honour. She’s my own idee. I’ve sailed in all kinds o’ craft, -and saved a little pile. ‘Barn,’ says my wife to me onct, ‘why don’t ye -build a boat o’ your own, and deal in notions?’ Well, sirr, the same -thing had been runnin’ thro’ my head for months, and I set to work and -planned out the <i>’Liza Ann</i>. She is the safest brig that sails. She’s -maybe not the fastest. Safety before speed, sirr. ‘I don’t mind waitin’ -a month or six weeks,’ says my wife to me; ‘I don’t mind that, Barn,’ -says she, ‘but always come home in your own ship, and not atop o’ the -hencoop.’</p> - -<p>“Yes, sirr, and the <i>’Liza Ann</i> won’t broach to<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_157">{157}</a></span> either, and she can’t -be taken aback, and the sticks won’t blow out o’ her, and she’ll float -in shoal water if a punt can, and if she does ship green seas, sirr, why -they slide off again like rain off a garden roller. That’s what my -<i>’Liza Ann</i> is, sirr.”</p> - -<p>Tom laughed at the Yankee’s enthusiasm.</p> - -<p>“All my own idee—all my own and ’Liza’s remember.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it must be a pleasant life—going anywhere and seeing anything.”</p> - -<p>“You bet it is; making a few dollars too. There is nothing I won’t trade -in. Now, those curios o’ yours—they did tempt me. I guess you’d better -sell. The white ants may eat them all if they lie long at Guayaquil.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve provided against that. They’re all preserved in tin cases; but as -they are for my uncle, I wouldn’t sell them for the world.”</p> - -<p>“What! you’re goin’ to pawn them then?”</p> - -<p>“No, no, no; I don’t mean <i>that</i> uncle. I mean my uncle Robert; who, -like yourself, is a splendid fellow and a thorough sailor. And I’m sure -he’ll be delighted to make your acquaintance if ever he has the good -luck to meet you.”</p> - -<p>“Give us your hand, young man. That little speech is good enough for the -senate. I say, what a pity you ain’t a true-born American. I guess -you’re a sailor yourself out and out.”</p> - -<p>Tom was indeed a sailor out and out. When<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_158">{158}</a></span> he went on deck next day he -found that the <i>’Liza Ann</i>, with all sail set and almost dead before the -wind, was ploughing and plunging southwards through the Gulf of -Guayaquil. The anchor had been weighed, and a start made in the -moonlight long before the sun or Tom either had dreamt of rising.</p> - -<p>“Young man, come in to breakfast,” said a voice behind him. “Ye can’t -live without eating, you know. Good-morning. I hope you slept—and your -cat? Droll idee a cat. Ha, ha! Well, come and tuck in a bit. Why, you’re -looking better already.”</p> - -<p>Talking thus, Captain Barnaby Blunt led the way into the poop, which was -flush with the upper deck in the grand old fashion. He pointed to two -chairs.</p> - -<p>“There’s a seat for you, sirr, and one for your friend. Droll idee, -truly. Ha, ha, ha! Looks as wise as a Christian, and I daresay is better -than many. Now, sirr, you see what’s on the table. Eat, drink, and be -merry; and during all this voyage I’m your servant, Brandy’s your slave, -and you’ve nothing to do but get well.”</p> - -<p>Before touching a knife or fork, however, this strange Yankee lifted his -right hand piously to his ear to ask a blessing. It was quite the length -of a short prayer, but evidently came right away from the speaker’s -heart.</p> - -<p>Tom liked him better after this.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_159">{159}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Now fall to, sir. Ginger Brandy, keep that fan moving.”</p> - -<p>It was pretty evident that during this voyage Barnaby Blunt was going to -do most of the talking. Tom was rather pleased than otherwise that it -should be so. He was now in that delightful, half-dreamy stage of -convalescence that all must have experienced who have ever been -downright ill, and in which existence itself seems a pleasure, and -everything one looks at is seen through rose-coloured glasses.</p> - -<p>But had Tom been even in robust health, a voyage like that he was now -embarked in would have been pleasant in the extreme.</p> - -<p>The ship was everything that could be desired from bowsprit to binnacle. -She had every good quality except speed. But who could wish to speed -over an ocean like that which sparkled all around them in the sun’s -rays; a sun, mind, that did not feel a single degree too hot, albeit -they were almost on the equator. The wind too was favourable, and kept -so for over a week, and when it did at last die almost down, no one on -board appeared to regret it; even the ship herself seemed to think it -was the most natural thing in the world she should take it easy a bit.</p> - -<p>There were plenty of books on board, plenty of ice, Ginger Brandy with -his fan, and Barnaby Blunt with his ever cheery smile and his wealth of -droll conversation.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_160">{160}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Say, young man,” said Barnaby to Tom one day as both reclined in their -chairs on deck, “don’t you wonder where you’re goin’ to?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Tom with half-shut eyes. “It never occurred to me to ask. You -said I was to come with you, and I’ve come. By the way, where are we -going? To Tahiti, to Fife, New Zealand, or where?”</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha, ha! Well, that cat and you are a pair, I guess. Ha, ha, ha! How -’Liza, my wife, would enjoy you. But now, look here. I’m going to tell -you a story.”</p> - -<p>“I’m all attention.”</p> - -<p>“Well, don’t go to sleep. Once upon a time—”</p> - -<p>“That’s a nice beginning,” said Tom.</p> - -<p>“Once upon a time a ship filled with gold doubloons—Sirr, are you -listening?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, gold doubloons—”</p> - -<p>“Seems to me you nodded. But never mind. She sailed away from Calla—O. -It was all specie and nothing else she had on board. There must have -been pretty near five million dollars. Are you awake?”</p> - -<p>“I’m listening. I like to keep my eyes shut when anyone else is telling -a good story. Go on.”</p> - -<p>“Well, sirr, a certain bad lot who lived at Lima got wind of it, and -pursued this craft in a hired <span class="pagenum"><a id="page_161">{161}</a></span>cruiser, with a hired -crew—assassins—overtook—ugly affair—spared -none—plank—sharks—Australia—back—island—mutiny—gold -hidden—terrible sufferings—death—nobody found—Galapagos Islands—”</p> - -<p>The above disjointed sentences are the skipper’s strange story as Tom -heard it—not as the Yankee told it; and at the word “islands” Tom -dropped to sleep altogether, and did not awake until Barnaby had -finished.</p> - -<p>“Very remarkable story indeed!” said Tom; “very remarkable! And of -course they hanged him?”</p> - -<p>“Hanged whom—eh?”</p> - -<p>“Why, didn’t you say that somebody—Why, I do believe I <i>was</i> half -asleep.”</p> - -<p>“I guess you were, and so was the cat. But there, it don’t matter. I -mean to find that pile. If I don’t somebody else will, and then Barnaby -Blunt won’t have it—eh?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not.”</p> - -<p>“And when Barnaby Blunt does find it and does get it on board, then -hurrah! for ’Frisco and my old woman ’Liza, and no more going to sea for -me on this side the grave. Only, altho’ I must confess you ain’t the -most inquisitive coon ever I came across, still I thought I’d tell you -the strange story, and let you know where I was bearing up for, and the -kind o’ notion Barnaby Blunt had in his long head.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’m much obliged, Captain Blunt, for your confidence in me; and -all will, I hope, turn out well and for the best.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_162">{162}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>It may as well be confessed here at once that Tom’s notions even now as -to where the ship was going to were the most hazy imaginable.</p> - -<p>All went well in the <i>’Liza Ann</i> for two more weeks.</p> - -<p>The men called her the lazy <i>’Liza</i>; but certainly they appeared to -enjoy the ship’s laziness very much. They were only ten all told, -including Ginger Brandy; but <i>dolce far niente</i> was their motto, from -Pebbles the mate all the way down.</p> - -<p>The masts, as I have said, were not tall, and as there was patent -reefing tackle they never had far aloft to go; so their work was very -easy. But they kept the ship as clean as a new sovereign. They sang all -day long, and danced in the evening—verily a happy-go-lucky crew.</p> - -<p>Tom the cat was a favourite forward; indeed, this strange puss, being -thoroughly up to the ways of ships and sailors, seemed happier now than -ever he had been in his life.</p> - -<p>He used to sit in the weather-bow of a night till a flying-fish came on -board, then catch it and come aft with it to his master, and go back and -wait for another. The men averred that these fish flew at Tom’s eyes, -because they looked like a couple of ship’s lanterns in the dark. -Perhaps this was the true explanation. At all events, the fish did fly -on board, and were duly cooked for breakfast every morning; and if there -be anything nicer for breakfast than a broiled flying-<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_163">{163}</a></span>fish, I have yet -to learn something new about the sea, and things in general.</p> - -<p>Years and years after this, Tom—our hero, not the cat—used to look -back to the days he spent on board of the lazy <i>’Liza</i> as among the most -delightful—dreamily delightful—in all his experience of a seafarer’s -life.</p> - -<p>Ah! but they came to an end in a sadly unexpected way.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.<br><br> -“NEXT INSTANT THE SHIP WAS STRUCK AND STAVED.”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">“I</span>F this breeze keeps,” said Captain Barnaby Blunt—“if this breeze -keeps up, we should sight Chatham to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, indeed!” said Tom.</p> - -<p>“Yes. We are here now, I reckon,” continued Blunt, sticking a pin in the -chart that was spread out on the cabin table.</p> - -<p>Something called the worthy Yank on deck just then, and Tom closed his -book.</p> - -<p>“I say, Brandy, little boy.”</p> - -<p>“I’se a-listenin’, sah, propah.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know where the ship is going to, and what she is going to do? -Funny now, but I’ve<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_164">{164}</a></span> never looked at the chart yet. I think I’ve eaten -the lotus leaf.”</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">’</span>Spects you has, sah. I don’t know nuffin neider, sah. I’m jes’ like -yourse’f, sah.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ve been so happy and so—so—half asleep all the time; but now -I’ll have a peep at the chart. Here we are—Guayaquil Gulf. Why, what a -zig-zag course the tub has taken. Oh! here we are—Galapagos! Whatever -are we going to do here? Ah! well, time will tell, and it’s nothing to -me much.”</p> - -<p>The day passed dreamily away, like all the other days; and night fell, -and with it the wind. Before turning in Tom went on deck. Such a night -of inky darkness and mysterious silence he could not remember ever -experiencing. The blackness brooded over the sea—it was almost -palpable, and the silence seemed to enter one’s very soul. Hardly a -sound in board, no sound at all out yonder in the beyond. The men’s -voices forward round the bow when they did speak sounded loud and -strange. Tom even felt relieved when a sail flapped or a bolt creaked to -some almost imperceptible roll of the ship. There was never a star in -the sky to-night, and a mist that was not a mist appeared to completely -envelop the ship.</p> - -<p>Pebbles came aft quietly to where he could dimly see Tom’s figure in a -ray of light streaming from the poop cabin.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_165">{165}</a></span></p> - -<p>He took Tom’s hand.</p> - -<p>“Come with me,” he said, “and listen.”</p> - -<p>He led Tom forward through the darkness to the bows.</p> - -<p>“We’ve heard it again,” said one of the men in a half-suppressed -whisper. “Listen! Away out yonder. It is coming this way; but what is -it?”</p> - -<p>They leant over the bows, “peering,” “keening” into the mysterious -darkness.</p> - -<p>The sound was like some great living monster steering through the water, -breathing heavily with every stroke—sighing I had almost said—ceasing -sometimes, to be heard closer to the ship the next minute.</p> - -<p>Pebbles still held Tom’s hand, as if in his anxiety he had forgotten to -let it go; and Tom could feel that hand tremble.</p> - -<p>“Look! look! Oh—h!”</p> - -<p>The “Oh—h!” was a simultaneous cry of fear from the men. Tom felt like -one in a dream. For there in the sea, higher far than the bulwarks, -blacker even than the blackness of night, was a shape!</p> - -<p>Next instant the ship was struck and staved. Every timber of her shook -and shivered from stem to stern, and some loose belaying-pins leapt -clear of their holes and fell rattling on deck.</p> - -<p>All was shouting and confusion on board now. The captain rushed out of -his cabin, the mate ran aft; but no one could tell what had happened.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_166">{166}</a></span></p> - -<p>“She has run on a snag rock?” cried the captain.</p> - -<p>“We cannot say, sir; but we saw—”</p> - -<p>The carpenter, lantern in hand, appeared from below.</p> - -<p>“She is making water at a tremendous rate, sir. Shouldn’t think she’d -float an hour.”</p> - -<p>Blunt went away with him to see for himself. When he came up again he -entered the cabin, where Tom was standing by the table looking white and -scared; for he was yet little more than an invalid.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the captain, “this is about the suddentest thing, I guess, -I ever came across. It’s a sudden thing, sirr, and it’s a very solemn -thing too. Mister Talisker, it’s a good thing your clothes is on.”</p> - -<p>“Has it come to that?” said Tom.</p> - -<p>“Well, sirr, it hasn’t come to the hen-coop quite; but it’s come to -boats. Now, I always said the <i>’Liza Ann</i> was the safest ship out; but I -didn’t reckon on snags in deep water. Pebbles!”</p> - -<p>“I’m here, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Well, tell the hands to lay aft here. I guess we’ll have time for -prayers.”</p> - -<p>“She’s going fast, sir.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll have time for prayers, I tell you.”</p> - -<p>“Very good, sir.”</p> - -<p>Tom had never known so cool a sailor as this. With the sound of the -water rushing into the<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_167">{167}</a></span> sinking, reeling ship, he nevertheless found -time—nay, but made time, to kneel there and pray long and fervently for -protection to Him who rules on sea as well as on earth, and whose hand -and eye are everywhere, in the blackness of night as well as in the -sunshine.</p> - -<p>The men’s response of “Amen” was deep and solemn. Half a minute of dead -silence, then all rose from their knees.</p> - -<p>“Now, Pebbles!” roared Captain Blunt, “bustle about. Load up the dinghy -and the jolly-boat. Put in everything we’re likely to want—arms, -ammunition, water, food. Mr. Talisker, you’ll go in the dinghy with -Ginger Brandy and Smith.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Well, see after your own affairs. Don’t forget lights, for keep -together we must.”</p> - -<p>There were no signs of weakness about Tom now. He appeared to have grown -suddenly strong and well.</p> - -<p>Smith was a sort of hobble-de-hoy sailor—a lad of seventeen, with -plenty of strength, but not much brains to command action. Ginger -Brandy, the other half of Tom’s crew, was far more useful; so he gave -the nigger charge of the white man. This was reversing the order of -nature some might think, but it worked very well indeed on the present -occasion.</p> - -<p>Tom showed good generalship. He first had a run below to see how fast -the water was gaining.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_168">{168}</a></span> It certainly was coming in at a very rapid rate. -But she would last an hour, Tom thought; so he at once set to work to -provision his boat.</p> - -<p>The dinghy was not over twelve feet long, but she was broad in beam and -with a good free-board. So Tom had her lowered, and swung a lantern over -the side where she was that its light might shine right into her. Then -under his directions the lads began to load up.</p> - -<p>“You’ll have her too deep, I reckon,” said Captain Blunt as he passed.</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” replied Tom, “but I do not think so; for you see if it -comes on to blow we can lighten her by pitching the least necessary -things overboard.”</p> - -<p>The jolly-boat was ready first, and lay waiting till Tom and his crew -embarked. Both boats had stepped their masts, ready for the least puff -of wind; and both had compasses and a ready-made chart each.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye!” cried pious Blunt. “Keep our light in sight; keep yours -hanging on your mast as we have ours. Fire a rifle if ye want -assistance. May the Lord be with you! Now, men, three farewell cheers -for the dear old <i>’Liza Ann</i>.”</p> - -<p>What sorrowful cheers they were, and how strangely they sounded in the -pitchy darkness!</p> - -<p>“Pull round the bows, lads, in close. I just want to put my hand on her -once more. Now give way.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_169">{169}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>These are the last words Tom heard the Yankee skipper speak, and -presently the jolly-boat was swallowed up in the blackness. All except -her twinkling light—and by this the dinghy was steered.</p> - -<p>Everything went well till morning. Then with the sun, that leapt up like -a ball of fire and changed the waters to a pool of crimson, came a -breeze of wind. Oars were taken in and a little sail set. Tom hoped it -would not increase, for he desired to save all her stores if possible.</p> - -<p>About noon that day the jolly-boat was distant nearly a league, about -two points on the weather-bow. She was signalling to the dinghy, and -presently she took in sail. Tom increased his, rightly judging that -Captain Blunt wished him to come closer.</p> - -<p>The dinghy leaned over now in a most uncomfortable way. Tom, still -determined if possible to save his precious cargo, made his men sit well -to the weather-side, and thus they managed to keep her lee-gunwale out -of the water as they tried to get closer to the jolly-boat. The latter -was seen to lower sail altogether, and Tom could not make out what the -matter was. He understood soon, however; for down the wind at that -moment he descried rolling along a dark wall of fog. In a few minutes -the jolly-boat was engulphed, and soon after the dinghy.</p> - -<p>All that day the fog lasted; but now and then<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_170">{170}</a></span> Tom could hear the ring -of a rifle, and steered by that. Towards evening the wind had increased -in force, and he heard no more firing. The jolly-boat would doubtless -lie to, however,—so Tom thought; and by next day, when the fog cleared, -he should see the boat again. The fog did not clear next day, however, -nor for many days; and when the sun shone at last there was no sail in -sight!</p> - -<p>There was no help for it; they must make the nearest land, and doubtless -the other boat would do the same.</p> - -<p>And now ensued a painful and weary time.</p> - -<p>The wind had died down entirely. It seemed as though it would never blow -again. The sea all round was like molten glass, a long rolling swell -coming in from the north-west—a swell that was delusive in the extreme, -causing them to believe they were making progress to the south, although -the current was dead against them. The sun’s rays, beating straight down -from the heavens and reflected from the waters, were doubly fierce, and -there was no awning for protection.</p> - -<p>Two days passed like this; then poor Smith sickened and died. Tom had -given him the last drop of water that remained in the boat. So between -them Ginger Brandy and he gently lifted the body up and dropped it -astern, and the scene that followed was horrible to witness. Before -their eyes the corpse was torn in pieces by those tigers of the sea—the -hammer-headed sharks.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_171">{171}</a></span> There must have been at least a dozen at that -dreadful feast, yet next minute several were floating alongside, and -casting sidelong glances up at the rowers with their hungry, eager, and -awful eyes.</p> - -<p>On and on and on they rowed, resting often on their oars and gazing -round them in the vain hope of descrying a sail.</p> - -<p>A bird alighted in the water on the forenoon of next day. A strange -weird-looking gull, the like of which Tom had never seen before. It was -so tame that Brandy easily knocked it dead with his oar, and they sucked -its blood and devoured the flesh raw and warm. Horrid meal though this -appears to have been, it revived them better than anything else save -water could have done. Of food there was abundance in the boat; it was -water alone they craved for. That same evening it rained a little. They -caught the water in their jackets and eagerly drank it.</p> - -<p>Another long dark black starless night; but in the morning the clouds -were dissolved, and the sun shone more fiercely than ever.</p> - -<p>No rain, no mist even.</p> - -<p>They dipped biscuits in the sea and sucked them, but the thirst grew -more intense.</p> - -<p>Tom suffered worst; his agony was fearful. With eyes and brow that felt -bursting with pain, and swollen and parched tongue, he sat at the oar -and rowed feebly and mechanically.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_172">{172}</a></span></p> - -<p>Birds came now in larger numbers, but none came near enough to be -caught.</p> - -<p>Surely they were nearing land! But nothing was in sight from where they -sat. Only the burning sky, only the heaving sea!</p> - -<p>A bright-eyed butterfly flew on board one day, and the negro boy shouted -for joy. But Tom heeded it not; he was past heeding anything. Pain was -gone though. He felt nothing. His very mind seemed to have fled. He -remembered looking down at his own hands holding the oars, and wondering -to whom they belonged. The birds screaming around the boat became -spirits with human voices and kept saying things to him, and -awful-looking black lizards swam in the water near.</p> - -<p>Then through the mist and haze that had gathered before his eyes he -could dimly see the negro lad approach nearer. The boy took someone’s -oars gently out of his hand, and laid someone down in the bottom of the -boat. But who was the someone, Tom wondered. It could not be himself, -for he felt nothing.</p> - -<p>Then all was a blank.</p> - -<p>When he opened his eyes again he was no longer in the boat. The boy was -pouring something down his throat. It revived him, and he sat up.</p> - -<p>He pointed to some immense lizards—the same he had seen in the sea. -They were lying together on some igneous rocks in the sunlight, as large -as<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_173">{173}</a></span> young alligators but ten times more ugly—broad in head with -spreading legs, squalid, hideous, fearsome.</p> - -<p>Tom tried to speak as he pointed to them, but could only utter a series -of unintelligible vowel-sounds with the back of his throat.</p> - -<p>But poor little Brandy understood him.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sah, dey are dere all right. You not dream at all, sah. I see -dem.”</p> - -<p>Then the boy took a stick and forced them off the rock; though some of -them turned round as if to bite, and others caught the stick in their -hands in a way that curdles one’s blood to think of.</p> - -<p>Tom lay back now and slept again.</p> - -<p>It must have been near morning when he awoke, feeling almost well.</p> - -<p>He was quite covered with a piece of sail, and lay on a bed of soft dry -sea-weed.</p> - -<p>For a few moments he could remember nothing, and sadly wondered where he -was. But memory soon returned. The stars were shining brightly above. By -its light he could see the foam of the wavelets that sang dolefully on -the beach. He could see, too, the rocks and boulders near the water. As -he gazed on these, to his horror and surprise some of them moved away -inland slowly with a harsh and rattling noise.</p> - -<p>“Surely I am on an island of enchantment,” thought poor Tom, “or I -cannot be awake!”</p> - -<p>“Ginger Brandy!” he cried as well as he could.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_174">{174}</a></span></p> - -<p>“I’se heah, sah. Tank de Lawd, marster, you hab got your voice once mo’, -sah!”</p> - -<p>“Brandy, I saw the rocks move slowly away. Was I dreaming?”</p> - -<p>“No, sah. Nevah feah, sah. Dem not rocks; dey are to’toises, as big as -elerphants. I ride on one to-day all ’long de beach. Dey are puffikly -ha’mless, sah. Don’t you be ’larmed. I’se fit ’nuff to look arter you. -Sleep, sah, sleep; de sun rise soon.”</p> - -<p>As the boy spoke a gush of bird-melody came from a neighbouring bush, so -entrancingly sweet but so wondrously strange, that Tom at once placed -his head again on his pillow of sea-weed to listen.</p> - -<p>Sleep the most refreshing ever he had enjoyed in his life succeeded; but -all through his slumbers rang the bird-song, mingling with his dreams -like chimes from elfin-land.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.<br><br> -“A VAST GREEN AND FLOWERY VALLEY SURROUNDED BY ROMANTIC HILLS.”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">“Y</span>OU bettah now, sah?”</p> - -<p>“O yes, Brandy; I’ll soon be all right. But where are we?<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_175">{175}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know nuffin’ ’t all. On’y dis is an island—I make shuah ob -dat.”</p> - -<p>“How long have I slept?”</p> - -<p>“Two day, sah. I gib you plenty watah all de time; and you suckee he -down all same’s modder’s milk, sah. You will lib now.”</p> - -<p>“And thanks to you. But who helped you up with the boat?”</p> - -<p>“He, he, he! You not believe, plaps. But Brandy neveh tell lie. I hab de -paintah ob de boat all ready, and presently one big elerphant-to’toise -come down. Plenty quick I hitch de bight ober dat varmint’s neck. Den I -cried ‘shoo!’ Den he pull and I push, and ’way we go cheerily. But la! -de elerphant-to’toise, he had strangle his little self. And I make soup -of some of him, fo’ true!”</p> - -<p>Hardly believing what Brandy said Tom got slowly up, and lo! there was -the dead tortoise right enough; and Tom had never seen such a monster<a id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> -before. Nor could he have seen one, for the creature belongs only to the -Galapagos Islands.</p> - -<p>“Why, Brandy,” he said, “it is bigger than a feather bed. I begin to -believe, my boy, we have landed on one of the enchanted islands I used -to read of long ago; and I can easily fancy a ship-wrecked mariner -making a boat of the shell of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page_176">{176}</a></span>one of these beasts, and with a bamboo -for a mast and his jacket for a sail, crossing the ocean to the -mainland. And you strangled him?”</p> - -<p>“No, he strangle his little self, sah. I help jes’ a leetle wid de axe. -Den he bleed—O, he bleed mo’ dan one big bull, sah.”</p> - -<p>“And where is the blood, Brandy?”</p> - -<p>“De fly eatee he all up plenty quick, and de ants eatee all de fly -leave. Den I dink all de rest myself. But come, sah; de soup is all -ready.”</p> - -<p>On board the <i>’Liza Ann</i> Ginger Brandy had gone about his duties in a -very quiet way, indeed. He had shown himself smart enough, but had -exhibited no extra talent of any kind. Now, lo and behold! all his -nature was changed. He was in the wilds; he was part and parcel of the -wilds, and his capabilities of making the best of everything appeared to -know neither bounds nor limits. During the time Tom had been lying -insensible, he had not only got the boat drawn up, but had built a hut -inside a broken-down rocky cone, which looked like a small volcanic -crater. It was cool and clean. The roof was formed of the sail, and -inside was a soft bed of sea-weed. The provisions and ammunition were -also carefully stored here; and as there appeared to be no destroying -angels in the shape of ants about, everything was safe enough.</p> - -<p>The soup was splendid. Tom felt a new man as soon as he had eaten a -shellful. They had no<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_177">{177}</a></span> basins, only shells. But several pannikins or -billies were among the precious stores; so there seemed but little -likelihood that they would have to live on raw meat for many a day.</p> - -<p>After dinner Tom noticed that Ginger Brandy was carefully banking the -fire with turf and ashes.</p> - -<p>“Why not let it out, Brandy? You can light it again.”</p> - -<p>“No, sah; nebber no mo’.”</p> - -<p>“Why?”</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">’</span>Cause, sah, I let fall de packet of lucifire match. One box catchee -fi’. Den I jump on de packet to stamp he out, and all de rest go puff. -You bery angry, sah?”</p> - -<p>“No, my friend; it can’t be helped. Cheer up. I say, Brandy?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sah.”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t it fun being a Crusoe? I used to be the Hermit Hunter of the -Wilds; now I’ve turned a Crusoe, and you’re my man Friday.”</p> - -<p>“Befo’ de Lawd, sah,” said Ginger Brandy looking tremendously serious -all at once, “I tink de sun or de soup hab affect you’ head!”</p> - -<p>Tom laughed.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you know what a Crusoe is?”</p> - -<p>“Sumfin’ to eat, plaps?”</p> - -<p>“No, Brandy; it’s nothing to eat or drink either. Come, I’ll tell you -the story.”</p> - -<p>And as far as he could remember it, Tom told<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_178">{178}</a></span> Ginger Brandy all the -romance of Juan Fernandez, much to his delight.</p> - -<p>“Dat is fus’rate, sah. Aha! you and I play at Crusoes. Aha! dere is -nuffin’ like fun. Is dere, sah? But now look, marster. De sun go down, -all red like one big slice ob pomola. You not well yet, sah. S’pose you -go to bed?”</p> - -<p>And Tom did, and found himself so strong next morning that he was able -for a good long stroll.</p> - -<p>Ginger Brandy came with him and helped to carry his gun.</p> - -<p>What a mysterious looking place it was, and how black and dreary -everything a little way inland looked! Those fearsome lizards basking on -the dark burned rocks near the sea seemed the evil genii of the place. -Tom could not look at them without shuddering.</p> - -<p>But bigger and more powerful genii than they have been at work here and -all about in ages long since passed away. The genii of volcanic fire and -water. The soil was everywhere brown and scorched looking, extinct -craters like shafts of founderies stood here and there, and ugly dark -boulders lay scattered in the open as if they had been rained from -heaven. Among these, snakes of many kinds wriggled hither and thither, -or lay coiled up in huge old half-broken shells. The very bushes -appeared black and blighted, and at a little distance seemed to have no -leaves; while the birds that flew from bough to bough were<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_179">{179}</a></span> dusky, and -even the moths and beetles were sad in colour. And yet high above, the -sky was blue, and the billows out yonder sparkled in his rays as if -diamonds were being scattered on them by angels’ hands.</p> - -<p>The shrubs and cacti that grew further from the sea had branches so -wildly erratic, and shapes so weird, that do what he would Tom could not -disabuse his mind of the notion that either he was really on an island -of enchantment, or that he was dreaming, and might awake at any moment -on board the <i>’Liza Ann</i>.</p> - -<p>The gun so far was useless; there was nothing to shoot except those huge -elephantic tortoises, and that would have been cruel. They were as deaf -as posts, but wondrous quick in seeing. At a little distance many of -them looked like flat or rounded rocks; and it was therefore rather -startling to one’s nerves on getting alongside an immense slab of -supposed rock to find it had a long neck and awful head, and that it -hissed louder than a python, and began to move away.</p> - -<p>Tom was not sorry when the walk was over, and he found himself once more -reclining on his sea-weed couch reading Shakespeare, while Ginger Brandy -busied himself not far off making tortoise stew, with a bit of bacon in -it to give it a flavour. The delicious steam went all round Tom’s heart -each time Brandy lifted the lid to peep inside.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_180">{180}</a></span></p> - -<p>Tom and Ginger Brandy spent many days at the seaside, dragging the boat -down sometimes and going for a sail. In this way they cruised round a -considerable portion of the coast. They found no signs of life anywhere, -however, and though they landed at several places they found no -tortoises.<a id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<p>Inland they could see high hills, but all the coast-line was bordered -with black rocks, boulders, and scoriæ. The ugly lizards were -everywhere, and swam in the water as well as crawled on the beach.</p> - -<p>As regards fish, Tom found the island coast a mine of luxury. Wherever -the water was fairly shallow they found them in shoals, and could -capture them with their hands—at least Ginger Brandy could; and his -method of fishing was peculiar, to say the least of it. First he -divested himself of his clothes, then overboard he sprang like a frog. -Holding one hand under the water, he dropped a few crumbs of biscuit -from the other. The fish, by no means shy, sailed up at once, and Brandy -seized them one by one slowly but surely, and threw them into the boat.</p> - -<p>Tom was a fairly clever naturalist, but he could not name a tenth of the -many strange <span class="pagenum"><a id="page_181">{181}</a></span>varieties of fish caught, nor even guess the natural -orders to which they belonged. Most were edible.</p> - -<p>Some were too gaudily coloured to be otherwise than suspicious. These -Brandy discarded. Others were horribly grotesque, with immense heads, -diabolical faces and horns. Brandy would have nothing to say to these -either.</p> - -<p>He held a frightfully ugly specimen up one day for Tom’s inspection.</p> - -<p>“Is he for dinner, Ginger Brandy?”</p> - -<p>“Gully, massy; no, sah. Plaps, sah, he one debil. He no aflaid ob de -fire nor de f’ying pan. Suppose I put he ober de fire, sah, his ugly -mouf grow bigger, his horns grow longer, his eyes grow fierce, den he -switch his tail, jump out ob de fire and gobble up bof you and me, and -fly away in de smoke.”</p> - -<p>“Brandy,” said Tom one morning after breakfast, “I’m strong enough now -to explore.”</p> - -<p>“To ’splore, sah?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Brandy. To explore the island.”</p> - -<p>“Well I’se strong ’nuff to ’splore mos’ anyting, sah.”</p> - -<p>“All right, we’ll start. There is no fear of anyone breaking into the -house while we’re away, so you needn’t lock the door, Brandy.”</p> - -<p>It was a delightful day, with a strong breeze chafing the sea and -roaring through the stunted shrubs and thorny cacti. The sky too was -over<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_182">{182}</a></span>cast with clouds; and it being the end of October some showers had -fallen, so that the air was wondrously cool considering that they were -right under the equator.</p> - -<p>Tom felt as easy-minded and happy to-day as ever he did in his life.</p> - -<p>There was something in the very air of this semi-enchanted isle of the -ocean, that seemed to engender happiness, and hope as well. Tom had not -begun to think yet if there was any chance of his ever getting away from -the island.</p> - -<p>“One of these days,” he said to Brandy, “you and I will sit down and do -a jolly big think. But there is no occasion to hurry. Is there, Brandy?”</p> - -<p>“O, I’se in no ’ticular hurry, sah! Not in de slightest. I lub dis -little island. ’Spose we lib heah always, I not care.”</p> - -<p>For miles and miles they scrambled onwards and upwards, wondering, like -the little girl in the fairy tale, where they would come to at last. -They took a straight course through the thorny jungle; but afterwards -found that though this was the nearest route, it certainly was not the -quickest. Poor Brandy’s feet were cut with cinders and rocks, and both -had their faces and clothes torn with the cruel briers, that were as -sharp and long as penknives.</p> - -<p>They found themselves on a hilltop at last, and looking down, to their -great astonishment, into a perfect paradise.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_183">{183}</a></span></p> - -<p>What was it like? It is not easy to describe. Imagine if you can a vast -green and flowery valley, surrounded on all sides by romantic hills -covered half-way to the top with waving woods, their summits round, -fantastic, coned, or serrated; the valley itself containing every -description of beautiful scenery that can be conceived. Yonder are green -parks or fields, with cattle and donkeys quietly browsing in them, and -shrubby knolls and patches of trees in their midst; yonder a beautiful -lake or pond, with cattle wading therein or standing drowsily in its -shallows; yonder a racing streamlet, like a thread of silver, winding -through the plain till lost among the woods.</p> - -<p>Down towards this paradise the Crusoes now hurry, new wonders greeting -their sight at every turn. The forest itself is garlanded and festooned -with flowers, trailing, climbing, and hanging, and shedding beauty -everywhere. And when they leave the woods at last and come into the -open, there are more marvels yet in store for them. A herd of wild pigs -start squeaking and grunting away from a thicket of bananas, where they -have been feeding on the fruit. There are groves of oranges, of citrons, -and limes, and further on patches of wild potatoes, yams, and vegetables -innumerable.</p> - -<p>And to crown all the other wonders, lo! they come to a house or rather a -hut, and at a little distance off there are others. But no smoke is<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_184">{184}</a></span> now -curling up from the compounds around. The fences are decayed and overrun -with creepers; snakes glide here and there through what had once been a -pretty garden, and the door of the principal hut has fallen from its -hinges.</p> - -<p>Nay, not fallen; it has been smashed in, and the two skeletons that lie -bleaching not far off—one that of a child—tell the tale of a tragedy -that was enacted in these wilds many years ago far more graphically than -any words could have done.</p> - -<p>“I not like de look ob tings at p’esent, sah,” said Brandy.</p> - -<p>“Nor I either, my friend. But it is pretty evident that this island has -at one time been a settlement, that there has been a foul deed done, and -that the murderers have fled. Never mind, Brandy, we shall remove from -the desolate triton-haunted sea-shore to this lovely valley, and build -ourselves a hut. As for these poor remains we will bury them. The -wretches who committed the crime doubtless landed from a ship, and the -story of their terrible iniquity may never, never be known.”</p> - -<p>The Crusoes returned to the hut by the sea that same evening, Brandy -carrying on his shoulder a tiny young pig, part of which he meant to -cook for supper.</p> - -<p>They got up shortly after sunrise next day, and were off to the wild -interior again as soon<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_185">{185}</a></span> as breakfast had been discussed. Tom carried his -rifle, Brandy carried a spade.</p> - -<p>In a little orange grove they dug a shallow grave, and there laid the -skeletons side by side and covered them up.</p> - -<p>“We’ll come some other day, Brandy, and erect a cross here,” said Tom as -they walked away.</p> - -<p>He paused several times to look back at the spot he had chosen for a -last resting-place for the remains. It was peculiar, and the more he -thought of it the stranger it appeared. Three trees had been planted at -right angles to the wood that rose over a hill on the east side of the -valley. They were equidistant, and close to the centre one, almost -overshadowed by it indeed, was the grove of orange-trees and bananas in -which they had made the grave. No other trees were anywhere nearer than -the wood itself.</p> - -<p>They must have been planted there as a mark to something. But to what?</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.<br><br> -STRANGE LIFE ON THE BEAUTIFUL ISLAND.</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>OM TALISKER knew nothing for some time after this of the terrible -tragedy that had taken place on the island. The place had<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_186">{186}</a></span> once been a -small penal settlement for political prisoners from Ecuador, the -governor himself a suspect; but the men had revolted and slain both him -and his family, and escaping on a raft or boat had gone no one knew -whither, though in all probability to the bottom of the sea.</p> - -<p>Such things as men landing from a passing ship, to rob and mayhap murder -a few inhabitants of a lonely island, have happened many times and oft, -and might happen again, Tom thought. He was determined, therefore, to be -prepared. So he built a little outlook, well screened with trees, on the -top of one of the highest hills, and here he or Brandy could go every -morning to reconnoitre, with the aid of the telescope they had brought -with them. They could from this vantage ground see passing ships, and if -possible signal to them by smoke or otherwise; but if men came on shore -who looked like cut-throats, it would be easy for them to hide in the -forest.</p> - -<p>The finding of the skeletons and their burial in the orange grove did -not tend to raise the spirits of our hero; but as to Ginger Brandy, -nothing on earth was calculated to depress that boy long. More than once -next day, while they were busily engaged building their new hut not far -from the ruins of the old settlement, though nearer to the orange grove, -Brandy told Tom he was glad they had been cast away here, and that<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_187">{187}</a></span> for -his part he would be sorry if any ship found them and brought them away.</p> - -<p>The building of the new villa, as they called it, was a work of time as -well as art. First and foremost they had to transport all their stores -to a tent of bamboo and plaintain leaves which they erected near the old -settlement. This necessitated a great many journeys back and fore to the -coast; and when night came at last, and they could no longer work, both -were so tired that they fell sound asleep after supper, and did not -awake until well into the morning.</p> - -<p>Some cattle were browsing near, but they fled in wild alarm as soon as -they saw human beings. One immense red-eyed fierce-looking bull at first -showed fight, but finally retreated slowly towards the other end of the -plain, growling ominously as he did so, and giving Tom clearly to -understand that his presence here was an intrusion that he should one -day resent. This bull had evidently been monarch of all he surveyed -before Tom’s arrival, and now to be deposed was hard indeed to bear.</p> - -<p>But how labour lightens the mind. Both Tom and his dusky companion were -singing and laughing all day long as they worked away at the building of -the villa.</p> - -<p>It really was no child’s play, however, which they had taken in hand. -All the uprights and transverse beams, the couples, &c., had to be<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_188">{188}</a></span> made -of trees cut down in the woods, and borne on the shoulders to the site -they had chosen. Here they had to be deprived of their bark, for Tom -knew better than leave any shelter in his house for venomous -creepie-creepies. While he would be engaged at this bark-stripping -Brandy would be busy cooking the one great meal of the day, namely, -supper, which they discussed together by the camp fire and under the -stars.</p> - -<p>It took them three whole weeks to complete the building of the house, -but when it was at last finished they had good cause indeed to be proud -of their handiwork. It was certainly of no great size, nor was it of -very showy pretentions. The couples that supported the grass roof came -right down to the ground, as they had no iron nails big enough to affix -it to the top of the plank walls. A couple of axes, a good saw, some -hammers and chisels, were all the tools they possessed, and the nails -had to be made of hard wood, the holes to receive them being bored by -means of a piece of red-hot iron.</p> - -<p>All their energies and all their ingenuity too was therefore taxed to -make a complete job of this rustic dwelling.</p> - -<p>“I tell you what it is, Brandy,” Tom said one day, “I thank my stars I -had such a clever uncle when a boy. Our hermitage in the woods was built -something in this fashion, and Uncle Robert taught me how to use not -only the woodma<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_189">{189}</a></span>n’s axe and the carpenter’s saw, but the plasterer’s -trowel as well.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sah,” replied Brandy; “and you mus’ tellee me mo’ ’bout dat same -uncle after dinner, sah.”</p> - -<p>That after-dinner hour or two by the camp fire was the most delightful -of the whole twenty-four. Tom was the story-teller, and his powers of -invention were so great that he never once found himself short of -material for a good spicy tale of sea and land. All his adventures here -and there, in many lands and round the world, were related to his -companion with a hundred different verbal embellishments; and Brandy -made a most excellent listener.</p> - -<p>But Brandy himself had an accomplishment: he could sing. His voice was a -sweet contralto; and, strange as it may seem, he always sung in good -English, though we know he could not talk the language well. Tom taught -him a great many songs he had never known before. So, what with -story-telling and singing, the long dark evenings passed quickly enough -away, and once they laid their heads down on their grass pillows they -knew no more about the world until the sun rose once again.</p> - -<p>Brandy was always first up, and Tom’s breakfast was waiting for him by -the time he had come back from the lake, where he used to have his -morning swim, much to the consternation of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_190">{190}</a></span> half-wild ducks that -floated there, and built their nests among the sedges.</p> - -<p>When the hut was built it was plastered inside and out with a blackish -clay, which finally grew as hard as cement. Then some rude seats were -made, and a rough table, while all around the house a garden was -trenched and inclosed with a plantation fence. All kinds of vegetables -were planted or sown in this garden, and flowers from the woods and the -valley planted in beds and borders, with climbing ones along the fence; -but not along the walls. Tom knew better than that, for during their -work in the woods he had come across some very awful-looking spiders, -and other ugly crawling things that he wished to keep at as safe a -distance as possible.</p> - -<p>If Brandy was enamoured of his wild and lonely life, so was Black Tom, -the cat. He was seldom at home from sunrise till sunset; but invariably -put in an appearance at dinner-time, and kept up the old sea custom of -sleeping in his master’s arms every night. Tom had come to love this -honest cat so much, that he even doubted whether he would not as soon -have lost Brandy himself as puss. If he happened to be half an hour late -of an evening his master would even put dinner back till he came.</p> - -<p>Black Tom one day proved himself a friend in need in a very remarkable -manner.</p> - -<p>All unconscious of danger Tom Talisker was<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_191">{191}</a></span> coming singing to himself, -gun on shoulder, across the plain, when out from the woods rushed that -fiery-eyed bull. He was close on Tom before he knew what was about to -happen. His rifle was unloaded. Instinct caused him to run, and he did -his best while doing so to get a cartridge in.</p> - -<p>On rushes the maddened brute, with tail erect and awful horned head at -the charge. It seems as if nothing can save Tom. The cartridge will -neither go in nor come out from where it has stuck. But at that moment -something rushes past Tom which at first he can hardly see. It is his -feline friend, and he springs at once on the bull’s head with a yell of -anger and claws at his eyes. This is more than the bull has bargained -for. He pauses and tosses his head wildly in the air, but the cat keeps -firm hold.</p> - -<p>At last the cartridge goes home, and Tom advances now. But where to fire -is the difficulty. His aim must be a steady one, else he may kill his -little protector.</p> - -<p>Bang! at last, and the bull drops. Dead? Yes, dead; for the bullet has -entered behind and below the ear, torn through the carotid artery, and -lodged in the brain itself.</p> - -<p>The cat comes singing up now and rubs himself against his master’s knee, -and the two walk home together.</p> - -<p>The very next day another huge black bull<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_192">{192}</a></span> was seen to quietly possess -himself of the dead monarch’s flock. Where he had come from Tom could -not even guess, but the probability is he had been condemned to a life -in the woods during his predecessor’s reign.</p> - -<p>“Do cats go to heaben w’en dey dies, sah?” asked Brandy one evening as -the three friends lounged near the camp fire.</p> - -<p>“What makes you speak so, Brandy?”</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">’</span>Cause, sah, I ’spects dat cat is one angel, sah. I ’spects some day he -talk.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I shouldn’t wonder a great deal. Indeed, I would not wonder at -anything that happened in this strange island.”</p> - -<p>It may be as well mentioned that never an evening did Tom lie down -without reading a portion of the Bible that his mother had given him, -and praying a simple but earnest little prayer for their own safety -during the silent watches of the night, and for those who were far, far -away in their homes beyond the sea.</p> - -<p>No work was ever done on Sunday, and no stories told except those of -Bible lands or the sweet old story of our salvation, which the negro boy -was never tired listening to.</p> - -<p>One evening, about three months after they had landed on the island, a -terrible storm swept over it. The lightning seemed to set the very woods -on fire, and to run along the ground in the awful rain. Next day the -inland lake was a<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_193">{193}</a></span> little sea, and acres of the forest had been levelled -to the ground by the force of the gale.</p> - -<p>When Brandy went out in the morning to prepare breakfast, a sorrowful -lad was he; for the rain had completely drowned out the fire, and there -were no matches.</p> - -<p>He was not to be beaten, however; and so set to work to make fire in the -usual way adopted by savages—piercing a hole in a piece of soft plank -and twirling a pointed piece of very hard dry wood. It took him nearly -an hour, however, to accomplish the feat.</p> - -<p>Two months passed away, making five months in all since the foundering -of the <i>’Liza Ann</i>, but all that time they had never seen a passing -ship. True, they spent only a part of the day at the outlook; but the -view was so extensive that had a vessel been anywhere within a radius of -twenty miles or more they would have discried it.</p> - -<p>All the food, consisting chiefly of biscuits and tinned meats which they -had taken from the ship, had long since been finished; but this was a -small matter so long as their ammunition held out. Of this, however, Tom -was now unusually careful; and for ordinary purposes of hunting they -used bows and arrows, and soon became very accomplished marksmen indeed.</p> - -<p>They also paid frequent visits to the sea-shore, and, embarking in their -dinghy, caught fish. As to fruit and vegetables, these were<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_194">{194}</a></span> abundant; -so that on the whole they wanted for nothing.</p> - -<p>Salt, by the way, was at first wanting, till Tom thought of the -old-fashioned plan of placing seawater in shallows or rocks. When it -evaporated it left a crust of saline matter, and this had to do duty as -a relish.</p> - -<p>And now with constant hard work in the forest their clothes began to get -somewhat ragged, and also their shoes; so Tom had to learn two new -trades, those of shoemaker—or rather cobbler—and tailor. As for Ginger -Brandy, he dispensed entirely with the use of shoes, and almost entirely -with clothes even. He told Tom that he was not afraid of the sun -spoiling <i>his</i> complexion.</p> - -<p>“But, O marster,” he added, “<i>you</i> is getting redder ebery day. Bymeby -you turn brown, den black, and den dere will be two niggah boys. Aha! -Your ole moder won’t know you, sah, when you goes home.”</p> - -<p>“Home, Brandy!” said Tom with a sigh. “Heigh-ho! I begin to think we -will never, never see home any more.”</p> - -<p>Yes, Tom had sighed. It was the first sigh for liberty; for albeit the -wild free life the two Crusoes led now was very enjoyable, there were -times when, do as he might, he could not prevent thoughts of home from -crowding into his mind.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_195">{195}</a></span></p> - -<p>But he could not help thinking also how happy he was to have such a -faithful companion as Ginger Brandy. To be quite alone on such an island -as this at night and all the livelong day would, he thought, have driven -him out of his mind.</p> - -<p>The silence was irksome by day, although then there were the songs of -birds and the loud hum of insect life; but at night hardly a hush was to -be heard, except now and then a strange eerie cry in the forest that -only served to make the solitude feel more deep and awful.</p> - -<p>They were several miles inland, and yet every night the sound of the -waves breaking on the rocks fell distinctly on their ears, and all night -long till sunrise awakened once more the voices of the woods and glens.</p> - -<p>There grew a tree with a tall, slim, even stem not far from the hut, and -every Saturday afternoon Tom cut a notch thereon, and thus kept count of -time. One day he reckoned these up. There were thirty-eight in all! He -started. He could hardly believe it. But it was true nevertheless. They -had been over eight long months on the island!</p> - -<p>And the time had gone quickly enough by. Tom could not say he was -unhappy. There was something in the very air they breathed which had -seemed to brew contentment, and make the days fly quickly past.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_196">{196}</a></span></p> - -<p>Birds and beasts too became very tame. Wild ducks even came in flocks to -the water’s edge to be fed, and the new bull was such a gentlemanly -fellow that he used to lead his cows towards the hut to be milked. The -mocking-birds would sit on the fence at sundown and sing low and sweetly -till darkness fell, and moon or stars shone out.</p> - -<p>But I have something still more wonderful to relate. Those elephantic -tortoises that came almost every day to look for their favourite food in -the valley—a species of sweet and esculent cactus—grew so tame at last -that they no longer drew in their necks or even hissed when Tom or -Brandy approached, which they never did without an armful of something -for them to eat.</p> - -<p>They had their regular beaten tracks to or from the high plateau where -the Crusoes lived. When upon these they turned neither to the right hand -nor to the left, but went steadily though slowly on to their journey’s -end.</p> - -<p>Well, Brandy and Tom soon fell upon a plan to take advantage of this. If -they wanted to go towards the beach they would turn a monster in that -direction on his beaten pathway, then mount his back and be hauled away. -If the monsters they squatted on felt disinclined to move, they had only -to strike two on the shell and off they waddled.</p> - -<p>This was glorious fun, and only had one drawback—the tortoises seldom -moved at a quicker<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_197">{197}</a></span> pace than two miles an hour; but as time was no -object to either Tom or Brandy, it did not make much difference in the -long run. They were always good to their strange steeds and never -attempted to ride back to the valley, and it is to be hoped the -tortoises appreciated their goodness.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.<br><br> -“HE WAS CONVINCED NOW HE HAD SEEN A SPECTRE AND NOTHING ELSE.”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">W</span>HEN a few months more had gone over their heads it is no wonder that -the time began to seem a little longer.</p> - -<p>Tom spent more time now alone by himself at the outlook station on the -hilltop. I really ought not to say “alone,” however, when so faithful a -companion as puss was with him.</p> - -<p>Brandy and he had built a sun shelter here, and as there was always a -little breeze blowing it was delightful enough to sit under cover and -read or write. He read his Shakespeare till he had it well nigh by -heart, and used to spend hours in reciting. Often of an evening too he -used to delight his dusky companion by reading nearly a whole play. This -was a pleasant way of spending the time. But he thought of an<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_198">{198}</a></span>other, and -one which Ginger Brandy became quite enamoured of. This was simply the -good old-fashioned game of draughts; and over this they spent many a -quiet and pleasant evening. It was very easy to make a board, and -anything did duty as men—slices of vegetables, for instance.</p> - -<p>Although it fell dark shortly after sunset in this island, it must not -be supposed they wanted light. No; for from the fat of the animals -killed for food they made excellent candles, the wicks being composed of -a kind of pith from rushes that grew plentifully near the water’s edge.</p> - -<p>In the mornings Brandy went hunting in the woods or over the hills with -his master, then he would go by himself to the hut to get dinner ready, -and prepare to have a delightful hour or two before retiring. But it -soon grew a habit with Tom to spend the afternoon with pussy at the -outlook.</p> - -<p>But, alas! he swept the horizon in vain for any signs of the coming -ship.</p> - -<p>One afternoon a sharp thunder-storm kept him longer at his station than -usual. But the sun went down, and darkness came on apace, before he had -recognized that it was so late. It would be impossible now to find his -way down through the woods until the moon should rise. Brandy would -certainly be anxious about him; but there was no help for it, wait he -must.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_199">{199}</a></span></p> - -<p>Happily the moon was nearly a full one, when it did rise he would have -plenty of light.</p> - -<p>But waiting here was certainly lonesome.</p> - -<p>He began to think of home, and before many minutes he was in dreamland. -And the spirit of his dreams flew away with him far over the sea, far -over the wild mountain lands of Ecuador, across Colombia, and across the -wide Atlantic to the dear old farm of Craigielea; and he found himself, -as he thought, walking towards the house from the pine-wood, with little -laughing ’Theena by his side. ’Theena was not a whit bigger, nor did she -seem a day older, than when he had left her. Nor was his mother, father, -and uncle at all astonished to see him, but simply made room for him at -the fireside, as in the days of yore; and he sat as of old at his -sister’s feet, with her loving fingers entwined in his hair.</p> - -<p>How long he had slept he could not tell. He awoke with a start at last; -for the cat had sprung on his shoulder, and was growling low and -ominously. The moon was very high now, and suddenly escaping from a -cloud shone full on the figure of a man, or—was it a spectre?</p> - -<p>An unaccountable feeling of superstitious dread seized him, and he -trembled in every limb. The figure was tall, and as well as could be -made out dressed in skins, but with naked brown arms and feet. The face -was almost black, and a short dark beard curled round cheeks and chin.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_200">{200}</a></span></p> - -<p>Next instant he or <i>it</i> had glided silently behind a tree.</p> - -<p>Tom forced a laugh to relieve his mind.</p> - -<p>“I have been dreaming,” he said aloud.</p> - -<p>But surely there must have been something there, else why had the cat -growled?</p> - -<p>For the first time in his life, as far as he could remember, he -experienced something akin to genuine fear as he set out to walk -homewards through the woods.</p> - -<p>The clouds were very high to-night, which gave the moon the appearance -of being exceedingly far away. The whole sky, partially overcast with -these soft-looking feathery clouds, had little rifts of deep dark blue -between, and it was only when the moon escaped into one of these that -everything could be seen distinctly.</p> - -<p>But a hundred times at least during his journey through that wild forest -Tom started, as he thought he saw that strange skin-clad man lurking -among the bushes.</p> - -<p>What a relief it was to his feelings when he got clear at last of the -weird-looking trees, whose very shadows to-night seemed to enter his -soul! And, look, yonder was Brandy bounding joyfully to meet him.</p> - -<p>“O, sah, sah, I’se so glad you come. I tink you lost. I tink I nebber, -nebber see you no more. And de drefful man, sah! O, he scare poor Brandy -a’most to def, sah.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_201">{201}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“The man, Brandy! What, you have seen him too? Then it was no -apparition.”</p> - -<p>“I dun know nuffin’, sah. I was bend down near de fire to makee he burn -up more bright, den I hear a footstep. I look up plenty quick, and -dere—O, it was drefful, sah, dat hairy man, all same’s one big baboon!”</p> - -<p>“Which way did he go?”</p> - -<p>“Round by de ruins, sah. Den I see him run to de forest, O, ebber so -fast! I tink he one ghost, sah. Den I tink plaps he hab murder you, and -I turn pale wid fear.”</p> - -<p>“Come along anyhow,” said Tom, “and give me some dinner. I am famishing, -and food will banish fear; though, Brandy, I think it would take a good -deal to make you turn pale.”</p> - -<p>Hardly anything else was thought about that night except the apparition; -and lest he should come again at midnight, Tom loaded his rifle and kept -it handy by his couch.</p> - -<p>Days wore by, and nothing more was seen of the hairy man, and Tom began -to think it must after all have been a baboon. Brandy and he went to the -woods together as usual; but after this somehow neither cared to stay -alone at the outlook station, and they were always at home by nightfall.</p> - -<p>One evening, however,—a clear and starlit one it was, with everything -easily seen at a considerable distance—Tom was taking a last look<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_202">{202}</a></span> -round before turning in, when he saw that figure again crossing the -plain not a hundred yards away.</p> - -<p>He followed slowly. He seemed impelled to follow. The figure glided on -silently far in front, and finally disappeared in the orange grove where -the graves were.</p> - -<p>While following the strange figure Tom had experienced no fear; but -immediately it disappeared the same unaccountable feeling of -apprehension stole over him, and he retraced his steps to the hut, nor -would he have gazed behind him for all the world.</p> - -<p>He was convinced now in his own mind that he had seen a spectre and -nothing else.</p> - -<p>Curiosity led Brandy and him to visit the orange grove next day, -nevertheless.</p> - -<p>What they saw almost took their breath away for a moment.</p> - -<p>The grave had been opened, the skeletons taken up and thrown on one -side, and quite a quantity of earth excavated from the bed in which they -had lain.</p> - -<p>“No spectre has done this,” said Tom as soon as he had recovered the -power of speech.</p> - -<p>“Look, marster,” said Brandy; “it is de ebil man. He hab drefful claws.”</p> - -<p>The sides of the grave really did appear to have been clawed at, and -this only deepened the mystery.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_203">{203}</a></span></p> - -<p>Tom touched nothing; he even obliterated the marks of their footsteps, -and left the skeletons as they were.</p> - -<p>“Was the creature who had done this deed a ghoul?” he could not help -thinking as he walked silently back to the hut with Ginger Brandy.</p> - -<p>“Brandy,” he said that afternoon, “let us have an early dinner -to-night.”</p> - -<p>“Sartinly, sah. But—”</p> - -<p>“But what, my friend?”</p> - -<p>“Dere am sumfing strange in your eye, sah. You is goin’ to de grabe -after dinner to watch?”</p> - -<p>“You have guessed aright, Brandy. I am going to the grave to watch. Be -this creature man or beast, fiend or ghoul, I shall get to the bottom of -the mystery to-night.”</p> - -<p>“Brandy go too?”</p> - -<p>“No, you must stop in the hut; and you must keep Black Tom in too. The -cat might spoil all.”</p> - -<p>“I stay at home den, marster. But I dreffully frightened.”</p> - -<p>“There is no occasion to be frightened, Brandy. Say your prayers, and -nothing will happen to you or to me.”</p> - -<p>“O, I pray, sah, fo’ true. I pray all de time you away; but I dreffully -aflaid all de same.”</p> - -<p>The moon would not rise to-night till past twelve, and there was little -likelihood of the creature visiting the orange grove before then.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_204">{204}</a></span></p> - -<p>But soon after ten o’clock Tom, with revolver in belt, left the hut, and -betook himself across the plain to the little grove of trees where the -now unburied skeletons lay.</p> - -<p>The tree that overshadowed the place afforded ample room for -concealment, so he climbed well up and sat down to watch.</p> - -<p>Would the ghoul appear?</p> - -<p>How very long the time seemed!</p> - -<p>The silence was intense to-night, for not a breath of air was stirring -among the leaves. The moan of the restless sea was distinctly audible. -And at intervals strange voice-sounds came from the woods, and from the -lonesome far-off hills; sounds that perhaps birds or beasts emitted, and -which it was difficult to locate exactly, for at times they appeared to -come from the very sky itself. But they made Tom feel very eerie, and -more than once he repented of his rashness, and wished he had not -undertaken so lonely a vigil.</p> - -<p>At long last the moon rose red and rosy over the mountains, and soon its -light glimmered through the orange trees and fell in patches on and -around the grave.</p> - -<p>Tom placed his hand on his revolver, and sat on his perch as silent as -the leaves themselves.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_205">{205}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.<br><br> -“UNDER THE GRAVE YOU DUG ARE GOLD AND PRECIOUS STONES.”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE creature, whatever it was, came at last, and so silently, too, that -Tom was startled. How his heart did beat! It was audible to himself, it -caused him even to shake, and he fancied he could even feel the branch -of the tree tremble under him.</p> - -<p>The figure stood for fully a minute gazing down into the grave; then a -sigh escaped it, and descending into the hollow the operation of digging -was commenced with vigour. Not with the hands or claws, however, but -with a huge white shell; and it was the marks of this on the sides of -the excavation that had so alarmed poor Brandy.</p> - -<p>The strength of the creature seemed enormous, and the grave got deeper -and deeper every minute. But in a short time the figure desisted, and -standing up wiped the perspiration from its brow. This was a very human -act, and went far to banish fear from Tom’s heart. Almost at the same -moment the creature turned its face up towards the moonlight, and Tom -was able to satisfy himself it was a man and nothing else.</p> - -<p>He made up his mind for instant action now, and just as this skin-clad -savage had commenced<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_206">{206}</a></span> to dig again he sprang lightly from the tree and -stood before him, revolver in hand.</p> - -<p>An eldritch scream was the first result of this manœuvre of Tom’s, and -the wild man attempted to scramble from the grave.</p> - -<p>“Hold, my friend!—hold!” cried Tom. “I am armed. You see my pistol. Do -not force me to fire.”</p> - -<p>“Fire!—no, no, no!” was the reply in strangely broken and semi-guttural -English. “Fire me!—no, no! I surrend—I surrend—I prison—I prison—”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you are my prisoner. But you have nothing to fear; only come along -with me to my hut. Promise me you will not run away, and I and my black -servant will do everything we can for your comfort.”</p> - -<p>“You English? No, I fly not from Englishmen. I took -you—Spanish—Ecuador.”</p> - -<p>The strange being was smiling now.</p> - -<p>“O!” he continued, “I—happy.”</p> - -<p>It was soon evident to Tom that this wild man was, like himself, a -Briton, but must have been so long a recluse that he had forgotten his -own language. This became more apparent every minute. Tom’s voice and -talking seemed to recall words and phrases to him, though for weeks -after their meeting the man could not finish any long word.</p> - -<p>Great indeed was Brandy’s surprise and terror<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_207">{207}</a></span> when Tom walked into the -hut in company with the very apparition they had both seen, and who had -clawed up the grave.</p> - -<p>“Come, Brandy, boy, don’t stand and stare. This is an Englishman. He was -only afraid of us because he thought we were Spanish. Get us supper -quick, and get something nice while you are about it.”</p> - -<p>Brandy took one more look at the wild man, then laughing heartily held -out his hand. This was cordially shaken, and thus friendly relations -between all three were speedily established. Nay, but between all four, -I should say; for Black Tom soon jumped on the stranger’s knee and gave -vent to his pleasure in a song.</p> - -<p>“But,” said Brandy, “I take you for de debil at fust, sah. But now I’se -mistaken. Aha! O, golly! dere is one big load tumble off dis chile’s -liber. Aha! I not turn pale wid fear no more.”</p> - -<p>And away bustled Brandy to get the supper ready.</p> - -<p>The wild man ate what was placed before him almost ravenously, though -with little regard to table etiquette. Indeed, Tom half thought at one -time he wanted to take the food into a corner quietly and devour it as a -tiger does his prey.</p> - -<p>He spoke scarcely a word all the time supper was being partaken of, but -he was evidently far from at ease. The wind had risen now and was -moaning drearily round the hut, and he started<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_208">{208}</a></span> often and listened as if -he heard voices in it. When Brandy had cleared away he spoke at last.</p> - -<p>“I—go—now,” he said with some hesitation, “to the woods.”</p> - -<p>“No, no, no!” cried Tom. “My dear friend, you are safe here. Yonder on a -bed of grass you shall sleep. Nothing shall hurt you. To-morrow, or -rather to-day—for it is late—we will talk.”</p> - -<p>And the strange wild man extended a sleepy hand to Tom, smoothed the -cat—a touch of nature not lost on Tom—and went and threw himself on -his bed, and almost immediately went sound asleep.</p> - -<p>Before Brandy retired he advanced furtively and half fearfully to his -master, and pointing to the recumbent figure, “Marster,” he said, “he -safe—puffikly safe? And he not de debil—you is sure? Den I sleep. All -same, I pray some mo’.”</p> - -<p>Both Brandy and Tom slept late. When they awoke they found the wild -man’s couch deserted. But he had not fled; he was outside lying under a -bush playing with the cat; and when Tom proposed an adjournment to the -lake for the purpose of ablution and a swim, he joyfully assented.</p> - -<p>Tom was perfectly astonished at the wild man’s prowess in the water. He -had all the strength and agility of a seal.</p> - -<p>After breakfast Tom and he went off for a walk in the woods. They went -not anywhere<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_209">{209}</a></span> near the orange grove to-day. They passed over the hill -where the outlook station was.</p> - -<p>“I see you often here,” said Tom’s companion.</p> - -<p>“I wish you had revealed yourself sooner.”</p> - -<p>“I was afraid. Say, will you come to my house?”</p> - -<p>Tom looked at him just once. Yes, he could trust him. There was -something almost benevolent in the man’s face, wild though he was and -had been. His eye was a dark and kindly one, and strangely enough Tom -thought that he had seen someone like him somewhere. He was not old, -this wild man—probably but little older than Tom; and he was remarkably -handsome—every movement of his lithe body was as graceful and easy as -those of the jaguar.</p> - -<p>“What shall I call you?” said Tom.</p> - -<p>“My name is Yanakova.”</p> - -<p>He led Tom through the woods and wilds for many miles, then into a close -dark bit of jungle near the top of a high hill. Here was a cave. It was -lined with skins and carpeted with skins—skins everywhere, indeed.</p> - -<p>From the doorway of this strange dwelling, where the bushes were tied -back with a piece of thong, they could see the ocean spread blue and -beautiful far beneath them, the sea-beach with the white line of -breaking waters, and all the greenery of hills and dells, ending in the -dark and burned border around the sea.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_210">{210}</a></span></p> - -<p>Here the two new-made friends rested for nearly an hour, hardly -speaking, for the day was a drowsy one.</p> - -<p>“My good Yanakova,” said Tom at last, “will you tell me your story? It -must be a strange one.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you my story,” said Yanakova with all the simplicity of a -little child. And he spoke as follows, though it would be impossible to -give the exact words, or even to describe the wild man’s method of -talking:—</p> - -<p>“My story is a sad one. I will begin not at the beginning but the end of -it, when I met you. I took you for Spanish. Most of the Spanish I hate. -But I had one friend among them. He was governor of this island long, -long ago. We were convicts all, in number ten. The others had died or -been taken away. Then the government of Ecuador forgot us. Sometimes in -long intervals a ship would come, but not often. So the governor told -me. They came for tortoises, but the tortoises were nearly all killed; -then they came no more. But the convicts were bad; they rose one day and -killed my friend the governor and his children, I fought like a madman. -I loved the governor. But they left me for dead, and went away in a raft -from the island. I could not look at the settlement after that. I fled -to the woods, and lived as best I could.”</p> - -<p>“Had you been long on the island?<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_211">{211}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“If I can judge of time, only a year or two. But it seemed an age. O, I -feel very old!”</p> - -<p>“But, Yanakova, what had you done to deserve banishment here?”</p> - -<p>“I was an Indian chief. I came from the eastern wilds of Ecuador with -fifty warriors. They said I conspired against the government; and so -they sent me here. I do not now repent it. I have met you.”</p> - -<p>“But stay, Yanakova, this is not all your terribly eventful history. Go -farther back into the past—tell me of your childhood, your earlier -days, your parents.”</p> - -<p>“No, no, no!” cried Yanakova; “that is all a dream, and some part of it -is a fearful dream. I do not wish to dream that dream again.”</p> - -<p>“Then listen, Yanakova, and I will tell you a story—a brief one.”</p> - -<p>As Tom spoke he was sitting on a fallen tree at the entrance to the -cave, his wild companion lying at full length at his feet, leaning on -his elbows and gazing intently and intensely at Tom’s face as he -proceeded with his story.</p> - -<p>“There was a ship many years ago” he said, “that sailed away from -England to visit strange islands and countries on the Pacific shore; for -the captain was rich, owned his ship, and dearly loved a life on the -ocean wave. He had a wife and a little boy, and both went with him. Nay<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_212">{212}</a></span> -more, on the sea a baby was born; and no one was happier than the kindly -captain then.”</p> - -<p>Tom paused.</p> - -<p>“Go on. Speak quick,” cried Yanakova.</p> - -<p>“It came to pass soon after, that thinking to make themselves rich, the -crew, under the command of an evil-minded half-caste, mutinied. They -killed the mate, and those of the men that had taken the captain’s part. -Then they ran the ship on the rocks and left the rest to perish.”</p> - -<p>“<i>All</i> the rest?”</p> - -<p>“No, not all the rest. They took away the boy, and the boy’s nurse, and -sold them both for slaves—”</p> - -<p>Yanakova’s excitement was almost fearful to witness. He had raised -himself to his knees, and thus remained clutching Tom’s hands.</p> - -<p>“The boy’s name?” he gasped.</p> - -<p>“Bernard Herbert, and you are he!”</p> - -<p>“Then the Great Spirit has heard my prayer. I have found one who can -tell me of my parents. Does mother live?”</p> - -<p>“Alas, no. But your sister and father lives, I hope.”</p> - -<p>“My sister?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, the child ’Theena.”</p> - -<p>“Then tell me more, tell me all, and tell who you are.”</p> - -<p>So Tom had to repeat the story of his own life and adventures from the -very beginning, Ber<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_213">{213}</a></span>nard never once taking his eyes off his face while -he spoke.</p> - -<p>When he had finished, Tom took from a little pocket-book a bunch of -portraits, and handed them to his companion. He looked half afraid of -them at first.</p> - -<p>“O,” he cried, “is this right? I have seen such things at Quito. Are -these the souls of these peoples stolen away?”<a id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> - -<p>“No, no,” replied Tom laughing. “Only sun pictures—only shadow -likenesses.”</p> - -<p>He handled them rapidly now; but put them all aside except one—his -mother’s.</p> - -<p>On this he gazed long and fondly, the tears meanwhile chasing each other -adown his sun-browned face.</p> - -<p>Tom was glad to see him weep. It was so human. He was no longer the -savage, no longer the wild man. He was Bernard Herbert, ’Theena’s -brother.</p> - -<p>Then Tom told him more about ’Theena, and about the dream he had in his -boyhood.</p> - -<p>“Part of this dream has come true,” said Tom; “and you see the Great -Spirit has also heard my prayer. The other part about going back to my -own country wealthy and restoring the old castle was but a child’s idle -folly. O, Bernard, if ever we can leave this island, and return to dear -old <span class="pagenum"><a id="page_214">{214}</a></span>Craigielea and my parents, I shall be happy even if in rags.”</p> - -<p>“O, but stay, brother, stay. You shall be wealthy. In the orange grove -down yonder, under the grave you dug, are more gold and precious stones -than we could carry or even lift. I found the treasure; but I touch it -not unless you consent to share it.”</p> - -<p>“This, then,” said Tom laughing now, “is the secret of the grave we had -thought desecrated. Come, then, we shall bury the skeletons elsewhere; -and, if we are fortunate ever to get away from this lonely island, I -will share your treasure.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, brother, thank you. How good the Great Spirit is to us at -last!”</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.<br><br> -“O, BERNARD, IT IS YOUR FATHER’S SHIP!.”</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">A</span>FTER the strange meeting with Bernard Herbert, his imprisonment on the -lonely island no longer felt irksome to Tom Talisker.</p> - -<p>Indeed, for a time at all events, he was in no hurry for “the ship” to -come. Had it arrived the first week even, I daresay Tom would have been -a little disappointed. O, it was bound to<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_215">{215}</a></span> appear some day or other; all -three prisoners felt sure of that. For they were young and healthy, and -therefore they were happy and hopeful. Why should they not enjoy life as -thoroughly as possible, therefore? They did so anyhow.</p> - -<p>They hunted, they fished, they roamed through the woods and wild glens, -and studied nature in its every phase and form, and in fact really felt -part and parcel of the living joys and wonders all around them.</p> - -<p>“It is very well being a Crusoe, for a short time all by yourself,” Tom -said one day to Bernard; “but it is doubly delightful to have a -companion.”</p> - -<p>The very flowers seemed more beautiful now, the trees looked greener, -and the sky and sea a deeper blue.</p> - -<p>Strange to say, neither Tom nor Bernard thought twice of the buried -treasure. It was there waiting them when they wanted it. Far more in -gold alone than would purchase all the lands of Craigielea, and half the -parish besides. They did not even trouble themselves to wonder how it -had come there. A dying convict had told Bernard its whereabouts—a -convict that he had befriended—and doubtless it had been concealed long -years ago by the buccaneers who infested these seas in the good old -times.</p> - -<p>The huge tame tortoises were a source of end<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_216">{216}</a></span>less amusement to the -Crusoes. They even managed to domesticate them. Two of these especially -were great pets and favourites. Both were old males—bulls Bernard -called them; and there is really no saying how long they might not have -crawled about the island—probably a hundred years if not two. Tortoises -are animals that take life wondrously easy. They never hurry, and most -assuredly never worry; and thus they manage to exist for a whole -century, and live happy ever afterwards.</p> - -<p>One would think that during such a long innings the Galapagos tortoise -would amass a vast deal of wisdom. Perhaps they do; but, if so, they -keep it to themselves. They seem to know that silence is golden, and -consequently stick to it. These two giants, Peter and John the Crusoes -called them, knew well enough what was good for them; and that is more -than some boys do. Their food was collected for them, and they stopped -eating at once when nature was satisfied; and they never touched -anything that was left, a second time. If stale food were offered to -them, they snorted and drew in their heads at once; but as soon as the -half-dry stuff was taken away, and some nice juicy morsels of cacti -placed about a yard off, out came the heads again. Not quickly; O, no, -they did not even hurry themselves in putting their heads out; though -they always managed to draw them in with a jerk</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="ill_003"> -<a href="images/img-216.jpg"> -<img src="images/img-216.jpg" width="351" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable:GIANT TORTOISE RIDING]"></a> -<br> -<span class="caption">GIANT TORTOISE RIDING</span> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page_217">{217}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">when offended. Black Tom was their particular aversion. I cannot -understand why, but as soon as he appeared, “Pshaw!” they would shout, -and in went their heads in a moment; and away Black Tom would fly, with -his tail on end and like a bottle brush. The cat could growl and hiss -pretty well himself; but not in the terribly startling way the tortoises -did. John was the better-natured of these two race-horses. That is the -reason they call him John. The other was a little crotchety so they -called him Peter. Peter did not like anyone to point a stick or even a -finger at him. If you did so, you offended him at once. “Pshaw!” he -would cry, and draw in his head, and one could not help feeling mean. -But you might have pointed a finger all day long at John, and he would -not have troubled himself.</p> - -<p>Is it possible, I wonder, for huge ungainly monsters like these to -possess affection? I myself believe it is; and that John grew really -fond of Tom. For sometimes after eating his dinner, instead of drawing -in his neck and going quickly to sleep as his brother Peter did, John -started looking or staring at Tom, if he happened to be lying reading -out of doors. It was a long, steady, stony stare, that lasted for -perhaps half an hour at a time. Bernard used to say that he saw a smile -on John’s face; but Tom would not admit that. However, there was no -mistake<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_218">{218}</a></span> about the staring; for Tom used to shift his position, and the -head and neck followed him slowly round. But John never turned his body -round. That would have been far too much trouble. When Tom got tired of -being stared at like this he used to call for pussy. That was enough for -John. “Pshaw!” he would cry, and in would go the neck.</p> - -<p class="dtts">. . . . . . .</p> - -<p>In about a month’s time Bernard Herbert, though still dressed in -garments made of skin, was as thoroughly civilized as could be wished, -and his English was now unexceptionably good. But though a handsome man, -he was a terribly red-brown one. The tanning his skin had received in -the wilds of the eastern lands of Ecuador would probably never leave it; -only there was surely nothing to be sorry for on this account.</p> - -<p>Tom had commenced to teach Bernard to read, and, partly because his -heart was in it, and partly because he really was very clever, he soon -made excellent progress.</p> - -<p>One forenoon when Brandy was away in the woods Tom had just sat down to -give Brother Bernard, as he called him, a lesson, when they heard a -distant shout, and looking up beheld the negro boy coming rushing wildly -over the plain.</p> - -<p>Tom ran for his rifle, then hastened to meet him, not knowing what might -be the matter.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_219">{219}</a></span> He hailed the lad when near enough; but Brandy had no -voice now, he could only point away seawards and make faces.</p> - -<p>“Is it a ship?” cried Tom.</p> - -<p>Brandy signalled assent, and back ran Tom, shouting wildly, madly, -exultantly—</p> - -<p>“A ship! A ship!”</p> - -<p>And Bernard threw his goat-skin cap in the air and joined the chorus, -for Brandy had recovered his breath, and the very woods and welkin rang -with—</p> - -<p>“A ship! A ship!”</p> - -<p>Then away they all hurried together to the look-out station.</p> - -<p>The vessel was standing steadily in towards the land, with all sail set.</p> - -<p>But Tom had only to look at her once before he exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“O, Bernard, it is the <i>Caledonia</i>! It is your father’s ship!”</p> - -<p>Bernard smiled faintly, then pressed both hands to his heart, as if in -sudden pain. Strong man though he was, the joyful and sudden news was -almost too much for him.</p> - -<p>He recovered in a moment though; then, as if by some sudden impulse, the -three joined hands and danced and capered there until they were fain to -desist from sheer exhaustion. They quieted down after this. They had -allayed their excitement, blown off their steam. But for the time<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_220">{220}</a></span> being -surely no madder, dafter dance had ever been danced on a hilltop. -Brandy, with his black face and white rolling eyes, the wild red man in -his skins, and honest Tom Talisker in his rags-a comical trio!</p> - -<p>I think when the dance was over they were all a little ashamed of it; -but after all what else could they have done under the circumstances?</p> - -<p>“Well, sah,” said Ginger Brandy, “I’se ’llayed my feelings plenty -proper.”</p> - -<p>“And I’ve allayed mine,” said Tom.</p> - -<p>“I think,” said Bernard, “that dance has saved my reason.”</p> - -<p>“And now,” cried Tom, “look, yonder goes the anchor down. Let us run and -meet them.”</p> - -<p>Well, surely there is truth in the old saying that wonders will never -cease, for who should Tom meet near the shore coming panting up the -tortoise-path but Uncle Robert himself.</p> - -<p>“O, may the Lord be praised, my boy, we have found you.”</p> - -<p>And for one moment Tom in his rags was pressed to the old man’s heart, -and, will it be believed, he was sobbing like a child.</p> - -<p>Uncle Robert saw he could not speak, though he was trying hard to, so he -wisely forestalled his questions.</p> - -<p>“Your mother and father, sister and brothers are all well, and ’Theena -is here on board the <i>Caledonia</i>.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_221">{221}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>About the same time an earnest-eyed red man in goat skins had rushed up -to Captain Herbert on the beach.</p> - -<p>“Father,” he said. “Do not start, I am your boy, Bernard!”</p> - -<p>But wonders had not ceased even yet. For coming along the path, -clambering over lumps of scoriæ and kicking away cinders, was Barnaby -Blunt himself.</p> - -<p>“I tell you what it is, friends, this is about the prettiest bit of an -ending to a drama that ever I see’d in all my born days, and I reckon -nobody’ll care to contradict me. Here was Captain Barnaby Blunt -foundered at sea, and took to boats, separated from his dinghy and -finally picked up by a whaler, who landed him at Buenos Ayres. Here five -months afterwards was Captain Herbert, and my young friend’s Uncle -Robert, come out from England to look for their runaway boys, and here -we all meet again as unexpected as if we had dropped out of a balloon. -If it ain’t about the strangest and queerest thing that ever happened, -then may Barnaby Blunt never command a ship of his own again, nor meet -his dear old wife, ’Liza Ann. And here’s Brandy himself.”</p> - -<p>Then this queer old Quaker Yankee got serious all at once.</p> - -<p>“I say, men and boys,” he said, “don’t you think we’ve all got a deal to -be thankful for. Then let<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_222">{222}</a></span> us just kneel down here among the cinders and -praise God’s holy name.”</p> - -<p>They did kneel down—just there, where they had been standing, and if -Barnaby Blunt’s prayer was brief it was heartfelt.</p> - -<p class="dtts">. . . . . . .</p> - -<p>Reader, my story is all but ended, and I am not the one to keep the -curtain up a single minute longer than is necessary.</p> - -<p>Just as they were then, in their rags and skins, Captain Herbert -insisted on bundling them on board the <i>Caledonia</i>. “Bundling” is the -right word in the right place.</p> - -<p>When Tom Talisker saw advancing to meet him on the quarter-deck a -beautiful girl of some seventeen summers—we should always call it -summers when talking of a lady’s age—he felt inclined to hang fire, and -Bernard was half afraid too.</p> - -<p>But Tom soon screwed up his courage, took Brother Bernard by the hand, -and both advanced; and when she looked at them ’Theena first smiled and -then laughed right heartily, though the tears were rolling over her face -all the time. And everybody joined in the laugh, even the Crusoes -themselves.</p> - -<p class="dtts">. . . . . . .</p> - -<p>The treasure was safely loaded and stowed, and let me say to his credit -that Barnaby Blunt was not a bit jealous of the young men’s luck.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_223">{223}</a></span></p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">’</span>Liza Ann and me has eno’, praised be His name,” said Barnaby, “and I -wish you long life and luck to spend your fortune, boys.”</p> - -<p>When boats at Guayaquil brought off Tom’s treasures of natural history, -and brought off at the same time his old friend Samaro to see Uncle -Robert, the latter was indeed a proud and happy man. And his parting -with his quondam guide was quite affecting.</p> - -<p>“My boy Tom may see you again, Samaro,” he said, “he is a rover born; -but I never shall till we meet up bye. Farewell!”</p> - -<p>“<i>A dios</i>, my good señor. <i>A dios.</i>”</p> - -<p>These were Samaro’s last words as he went slowly over the side.</p> - -<p class="dtts">. . . . . . .</p> - -<p>It was many months after this ere the good ship <i>Caledonia</i> was towed up -the Clyde; but the long voyage had been a very happy one, almost idyllic -indeed, and ere it was all ended ’Theena had one evening under the -silvery stars promised Tom Talisker that she would take a longer voyage -with him—the voyage through life.</p> - -<p>They are living now at Craigielea; Tom’s parents still keep the fine old -farm, but Tom himself lives at Craigie Castle, and owns the shootings. -Black Tom, the cat, is also alive and very living like. Uncle Robert has -rooms at the castle too. The place would not be complete without Uncle -Robert.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_224">{224}</a></span></p> - -<p>Bernard is still a bachelor and likely to be, but he has bought a fine -estate not far from Tom’s place.</p> - -<p>Between them they own a very beautiful yacht, with decks white as snow -and sails like sea-bird’s wings; but only their most intimate friends -know the reason why she is named the <i>Southern Hope</i>.</p> -<hr> -<p class="c">“English boys owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Henty.”—<i>Athenæum.</i></p> - -<p class="cbig250">Blackie & Son’s -<br>Illustrated Story Books</p> - -<p class="c"><span class="smcap">Large Crown 8vo, Cloth Extra, Olivine Edges</span></p> - -<p class="big">G. A. 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-<p>—<b>Maori and Settler</b>: A Story of the New Zealand War. <i>New Edition.</i> -3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“This is a first-rate book, brimful of adventure.”—<i>Schoolmaster.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>St. Bartholomew’s Eve</b>: A Tale of the Huguenot Wars. <i>New Edition.</i> -3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“A really good story.”—<i>Bookman.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Under Drake’s Flag</b>: A Tale of the Spanish Main. <i>New Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> -6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“A stirring book of Drake’s time.”—<i>Daily Telegraph.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Orange and Green</b>: A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick. <i>New Edition.</i> -3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“<i>Orange and Green</i> is an extremely spirited story.”—<i>Saturday -Review.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>A Final Reckoning</b>: A Tale of Bush Life in Australia. <i>New Edition.</i> -3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“Mr. Henty has never published a more readable, a more carefully -constructed, or a better-written story than this.”—<i>Spectator.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>By Right of Conquest</b>: or, With Cortez in Mexico. <i>New Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> -6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“Mr. Henty’s skill has never been more convincingly displayed than in -this admirable and ingenious story.”—<i>Saturday Review.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>With Cochrane the Dauntless</b>: A Tale of his Exploits. <i>New Edition.</i> -3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“This tale we specially recommend, for the career of Lord Cochrane and -his many valiant fights in the cause of liberty deserve to be better -known than they are.”—<i>St. James’s Gazette.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>A Jacobite Exile</b>: or, In the Service of Charles XII of Sweden. <i>New -Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“Full of life, adventure, movement, and admirably -illustrated.”—<i>Scotsman.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>With Frederick the Great</b>: A Tale of the Seven Years’ War. <i>New -Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“It is a good deal to say, but this prolific and admirable writer has -never done better than this story.”—<i>British Weekly.</i> </p> - 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With -4 Maps. <i>New Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“Boys know and love Mr. Henty’s books of adventure, and will welcome -his tale of the freeing of the Netherlands.”—<i>Athenæum.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>The Lion of the North</b>: A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus. <i>New Edition.</i> -3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“A clever and instructive piece of history. As boys may be trusted to -read it conscientiously, they can hardly fail to be profited as well as -pleased.”—<i>Times.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>The Lion of St. Mark</b>: A Tale of Venice. <i>New Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“Every boy should read <i>The Lion of St. Mark</i>.”—<i>Saturday Review.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Both Sides the Border</b>: A Tale of Hotspur and Glendower. <i>New Edition.</i> -3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“Mr. Henty retains the reader’s interest throughout the story, which he -tells clearly and vigorously.”—<i>Daily Telegraph.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Captain Bayley’s Heir</b>: A Tale of the Gold Fields of California. <i>New -Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“Told with that vigour which is peculiar to Mr. Henty.”—<i>Academy.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>By Pike and Dyke</b>: A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic. <i>New -Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“Told with a vividness and skill worthy of Mr. Henty at his -best.”—<i>Academy.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>A Chapter of Adventures</b>: or, Through the Bombardment of Alexandria. -<i>New Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“Their chapter of adventures is so brisk and entertaining we could have -wished it longer than it is.”—<i>Saturday Review.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>For the Temple</b>: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem. <i>New Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> -6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“Many an ‘old boy’, as well as the younger ones, will delight in this -narrative of that awful page of history.”—<i>Church Times.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Through the Fray</b>: A Story of the Luddite Riots. <i>New Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> -6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“This is one of the best of the many good books Mr. Henty has -produced.”—<i>Record.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>The Young Colonists</b>: A Tale of the Zulu and Boer Wars. <i>New Edition.</i> -3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“It is vigorously written.”—<i>Standard.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>In Freedom’s Cause:</b> A Story of Wallace and Bruce. <i>New Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> -6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“His tale is full of stirring action and will commend itself to -boys.”—<i>Athenæum.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>When London Burned</b>: A Story of Restoration Times. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A handsome volume, and boys will rejoice to possess it....”—<i>Record.</i> -</p> - -<p>—The Treasure of the Incas: A Tale of Adventure in Peru. With a Map. -5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“The interest never flags for one moment, and the story is told with -vigour.”—<i>World.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>With Roberts to Pretoria:</b> A Tale of the South African War. With a Map. -6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“In this story of the South African war Mr. Henty proves once more his -incontestable pre-eminence as a writer for boys.”—<i>Standard.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Bonnie Prince Charlie:</b> A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A historical romance of the best quality.”—<i>Academy.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Through Russian Snows:</b> or, Napoleon’s Retreat from Moscow. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Very graphically told.”—<i>St. James’s Gazette.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>The Tiger of Mysore:</b> A Story of the War with Tippoo Saib. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A thrilling tale.”—<i>Athenæum.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Wulf the Saxon:</b> A Story of the Norman Conquest. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“We may safely say that a boy may learn from it more genuine history -than he will from many a tedious tome.”—<i>Spectator.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>With Kitchener in the Soudan</b>: A Tale of Atbara and Omdurman. With 3 -Maps. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Characterized by those familiar traits which endear Mr. Henty to -successive generations of schoolboys.”—<i>Pall Mall Gazette.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>At the Point of the Bayonet</b>: A Tale of the Mahratta War. With 2 Maps. -6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A brisk, dashing narrative.”—<i>Bookman.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Through Three Campaigns</b>: A Story of Chitral, the Tirah, and Ashanti. -With 3 Maps. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Every true boy will enjoy this story of plucky -adventure.”—<i>Educational News.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>St. George for England</b>: A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A story of very great interest for boys.”—<i>Pall Mall Gazette.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>With the British Legion</b>: A Story of the Carlist Wars. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“It is a rattling story told with verve and spirit.”—<i>Pall Mall -Gazette.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>True to the Old Flag</b>: A Tale of the American War of Independence. -6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Mr. Henty undoubtedly possesses the secret of writing eminently -successful historical tales.”—<i>Academy.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>At Aboukir and Acre.</b> 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“For intrinsic interest and appropriateness, <i>At Aboukir and Acre</i> -should rank high.”—<i>Spectator.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Redskin and Cow-Boy</b>: A Tale of the Western Plains. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A strong interest of open-air life and movement pervades the whole -book.”—<i>Scotsman.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>With Buller in Natal</b>: or, A Born Leader. With a Map. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Just the sort of book to inspire an enterprising boy.”—<i>Army and Navy -Gazette.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>By Conduct and Courage</b>: A Story of the Days of Nelson. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“As it is the last it is good to be able to say that it shows no -falling off in the veteran’s vigour of style or in his happy choice of a -subject.”—<i>Globe.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>With the Allies to Pekin</b>: A Story of the Relief of the Legations. With -a Map. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“The author’s object being to interest and amuse, it must be admitted -that he has succeeded.”—<i>Guardian.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>By Sheer Pluck</b>: A Tale of the Ashanti War. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Written with a simple directness, force, and purity of style worthy of -Defoe.”—<i>Christian Leader.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>With Lee in Virginia</b>: A Story of the American Civil War. With 6 Maps. -6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“The story is a capital one and full of variety.”—<i>Times.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>To Herat and Cabul</b>: A Story of the First Afghan War. With Map. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“We can heartily commend it to boys, old and young.”—<i>Spectator.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>A Knight of the White Cross</b>: A Tale of the Siege of Rhodes. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Quite up to the level of Mr. Henty’s former historical -tales.”—<i>Saturday Review.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>In the Heart of the Rockies</b>: A Story of Adventure in Colorado. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Mr. Henty is seen here at his best as an artist in lightning -fiction.”—<i>Academy.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>The Bravest of the Brave</b>: or, With Peterborough in Spain. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Lads will read this book with pleasure and profit.”—<i>Daily -Telegraph.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>A Roving Commission</b>: or, Through the Black Insurrection of Hayti. -6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“May be confidently recommended to schoolboy readers.”—<i>Guardian.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>For Name and Fame</b>: or, To Cabul with Roberts. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“The book teems with spirited scenes and stirring adventures.”—<i>School -Guardian.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>In the Reign of Terror</b>: The Adventures of a Westminster Boy. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“May fairly be said to beat Mr. Henty’s record.”—<i>Saturday Review.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Beric the Briton</b>: A Story of the Roman Invasion of Britain. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“One of the most spirited and well-imagined stories Mr. Henty has -written.”—<i>Saturday Review.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>No Surrender!</b> A Tale of the Rising in La Vendée. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A vivid tale of manly struggle against oppression.”—<i>World.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>The Dash for Khartoum</b>: A Tale of the Nile Expedition. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“It is literally true that the narrative never flags a -moment.”—<i>Academy.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>With Wolfe in Canada</b>: or, The Winning of a Continent. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A moving tale of military exploit and thrilling adventure.”—<i>Daily -News.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Out With Garibaldi</b>: A Story of the Liberation of Italy. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“It is a stirring tale.”—<i>Graphic.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Held Fast for England</b>: A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“There is no cessation of exciting incident throughout the -story.”—<i>Athenæum.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Won by the Sword</b>: A Tale of the Thirty Years’ War. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“As fascinating as ever came from Mr. Henty’s pen.”—<i>Westminster -Gazette.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>In the Irish Brigade</b>: A Tale of War in Flanders and Spain. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A stirring book of military adventure.”—<i>Scotsman.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>At Agincourt</b>: A Tale of the White Hoods of Paris. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Cannot fail to commend itself to boys of all ages.”—<i>Manchester -Courier.</i> </p> - -<p class="cbig250">Blackie & Son’s<br> -Story Books for Boys</p> - -<p class="c"><span class="smcap">Large Crown 8vo, Cloth Extra. Illustrated</span></p> - -<p class="big">Capt. F. S. BRERETON</p> - -<p> <b>The Hero of Panama</b>: A Tale of the Great Canal. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">W. -Rainey</span>, R.I.Olivine edges, 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>—<b>Under the Chinese Dragon:</b> A Tale of Mongolia. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">Charles -M. Sheldon</span>. Olivine edges, 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>—<b>Tom Stapleton, the Boy Scout:</b> With a commendation by <span class="smcap">Lieut.-General -Sir R. S. S. Baden-Powell</span>, and illustrated with coloured frontispiece -and in black-and-white by <span class="smcap">Gordon Browne</span>, R.I.3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“A rousing piece of story-telling.”—<i>Westminster Gazette.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>The Great Aeroplane:</b> A Thrilling Tale of Adventure. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“The story is a bracing one.”—<i>Outlook.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Indian and Scout:</b> A Tale of the Gold Rush to California, 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A dashing narrative of the best quality.”—<i>British Weekly.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>A Hero of Sedan:</b> A Tale of the Franco-Prussian War. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“The exciting events of the book are developed in a manly spirit and -healthy tone.”—<i>Academy.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>John Bargreave’s Gold:</b> A Tale of Adventure in the Caribbean. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“The book is full of breathless happenings.”—<i>Daily Graphic.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>How Canada was Won:</b> A tale of Wolfe and Quebec. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Will make the strongest appeal to the juvenile fancy.”—<i>Outlook.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Roughriders of the Pampas</b>: A Tale of Ranch Life in South America. -5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“The interest is unflagging throughout the well-written -tale.”—<i>World.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>With Wolseley to Kumasi</b>: A Story of the First Ashanti War. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Boys will want nothing better.”—<i>Daily Graphic.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Jones of the 64th</b>: A Tale of the Battles of Assaye and Laswaree. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“The story is full of dash and spirit.”—<i>Birmingham Post.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Roger the Bold</b>: A Tale of the Conquest of Mexico. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“The tale forms lively reading, the fighting being especially -good.”—<i>Athenæum.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>With Roberts to Candahar</b>: A Tale of the Third Afghan War. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A very tried author, who improves with each book he writes, is Captain -F. S. Brereton.”—<i>Academy.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>A Soldier of Japan</b>: A Tale the Russo-Japanese War. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“The pages bristle with hairbreadth escapes and gallantry.”—<i>Graphic.</i> -</p> - -<p>—<b>Foes of the Red Cockade</b>: A Story of the French Revolution. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A stirring picture of a fearful time.”—<i>World.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>With the Dyaks of Borneo</b>: A Tale of the Head Hunters. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Young readers must be hard to please if <i>With the Dyaks</i> does not suit -them.”—<i>Spectator.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>A Hero of Lucknow</b>: A Tale of the Indian Mutiny. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Full of action and picturesque adventure.”—<i>British Weekly.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>A Knight of St. John</b>: A Tale of the Siege of Malta. <i>New Edition.</i> -3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“Would enthral any boy reader.”—<i>World.</i> </p> - - -<p>—<b>In the Grip of the Mullah</b>: A Tale of Somaliland. <i>New Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> -6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“A more spirited tale could not be wished for.”—<i>British Weekly.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>With Rifle and Bayonet</b>: A Story of the Boer War. <i>New Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> -6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>—<b>A Gallant Grenadier</b>: A Story of the Crimean War. <i>New Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> -6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>—<b>One of the Fighting Scouts.</b> <i>New Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>—<b>The Dragon of Pekin.</b> <i>New Edition.</i> 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>—<b>With Shield and Assegai.</b> 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">SIR HARRY JOHNSTON, G.C.M.G., K.C.B.</p> - -<p><b>Pioneers in West Africa.</b> With 8 coloured illustrations by the author, -and maps and other illustrations in black-and-white. Demy 8vo, cloth -extra, 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>—<b>Pioneers in Canada.</b> With 8 coloured illustrations by E. Wallcousins, -and maps and other illustrations in black-and-white. Demy 8vo, cloth -extra, 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>These two volumes are the first of a series, the object of which is to -provide reading of “real adventures” of those pioneers who have helped -to lay the foundations of the British Empire. The story is truthfully -told in a picture of splendid colouring, and with great accuracy. </p> - -<p class="big">ALEXANDER MACDONALD</p> - -<p> <b>Through the Heart of Tibet</b>: -A Tale of a Secret Mission to Lhasa. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A rattling story.”—<i>British Weekly.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>The White Trail</b>: A Story of the Early Days of Klondike. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Should satisfy any boy’s mental appetite.”—<i>Outlook.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>The Pearl Seekers</b>: A Story of Adventure in the Southern Seas. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“This is the kind of story a boy will want to read at a -sitting.”—<i>Schoolmaster.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>The Invisible Island</b>: A Story of the Far North of Queensland. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A well-told story.”—<i>World.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>The Quest of the Black Opals</b>: A Story of Adventure in the Heart of -Australia. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“An admirable tale.”—<i>Westminster Gazette.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>The Lost Explorers</b>: A Story of the Trackless Desert. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“As vivid a narrative as any boy could wish to read.”—<i>Daily Graphic.</i> -</p> - -<p class="big">HARRY COLLINGWOOD</p> - -<p> <b>A Middy of the King</b>: A Romance of the Old British Navy. Illustrated by -<span class="smcap">E. S. Hodgson</span>. Olivine edges, 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>—<b>The Adventures of Dick Maitland</b>: A Tale of Unknown Africa. Illustrated -by <span class="smcap">Alec Ball</span>. Olivine edges, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>—<b>A Middy of the Slave Squadron</b>: A West African Story. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“An up-to-date sea story.”—<i>Truth.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Overdue</b>: or, The Strange Story of a Missing Ship. 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“A story of thrilling interest.”—<i>British Weekly.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>The Cruise of the Thetis</b>: A Tale of the Cuban Insurrection. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A good, stirring book.”—<i>Times.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">STAFF SURGEON T. T. JEANS, R.N.</p> - -<p><b>On Foreign Service</b>: or, The Santa Cruz Revolution. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">W. -Rainey, r.i.</span> 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“It is a rousing good yarn.”—<i>Athenæum.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Ford of H.M.S. Vigilant</b>: A Tale of Adventure in the Chusan -Archipelago. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A distinctly good story.”—<i>Naval and Military Record.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">—STAFF SURGEON T. T. JEANS, R.N.</p> - -<p> Mr. Midshipman Glover, R.N.: A Tale of the Royal Navy of To-day. 5<i>s.</i> -</p> - -<p>“Full of exciting adventures and gallant fighting.”—<i>Truth.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">HERBERT STRANG</p> - -<p>The Adventures of Harry Rochester: A Story of the Days of Marlborough -and Eugene. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“One of the best stories of a military and historical type we have seen -for many a day.”—<i>Athenæum.</i> </p> - -<p>—Boys of the Light Brigade: A Story of Spain and the Peninsular War. -6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>Professor Oman (Chichele Professor of Modern History at Oxford, and -author of <i>A History of the Peninsular War</i>) writes: “I can’t tell you -what a pleasure and rarity it is to the specialist to find a tale on the -history of his own period in which the details are all right ... accept -thanks from a historian for having got historical accuracy combined with -your fine romantic adventures.” </p> - -<p>—Brown of Moukden: A Story of the Russo-Japanese War. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“The book will hold boy readers spellbound.”—<i>Church Times.</i> </p> - -<p>—Tom Burnaby: A Story of Uganda and the Great Congo Forest. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A delightful story of African adventure.”—<i>Spectator.</i> </p> - -<p>—Kobo: A Story of the Russo-Japanese War. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“For vibrant actuality there is nothing to come up to Mr. Strang’s -<i>Kobo</i>.”—<i>Academy.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">ROBERT M. MACDONALD</p> - -<p> The Rival Treasure Hunters:A Tale of the Debatable Frontier of British -Guiana. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A story which every schoolboy would probably describe as ‘simply -ripping’.”—<i>Daily Graphic.</i> </p> - -<p>—The Great White Chief: A Story of Adventure in Unknown New Guinea. -6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A rattling story told with spirit and vigour.”—<i>British Weekly.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">DAVID KER</p> - -<p><b>Under the Flag of France</b>: A Tale of Bertrand du Guesclin. 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Full of vigour and movement.”—<i>British Weekly.</i> </p> - -<p><b>Among the Dark Mountains</b>: or, Cast away in Sumatra. 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“A glorious tale of adventure.”—<i>Educational News.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">ERNEST GLANVILLE</p> - -<p><b>The Diamond Seekers</b>: A Story of Adventure in South Africa. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“We have seldom seen a better story for boys.”—<i>Guardian.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>In Search of the Okapi</b>: A Story of Adventure in Central Africa. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“An admirable story.”—<i>Daily Chronicle.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">MEREDITH FLETCHER</p> - -<p> <b>Every Inch a Briton</b>:A School Story. 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“Mr. Meredith Fletcher has scored a success.”—<i>Manchester Guardian.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Jefferson Junior</b>: A School Story. 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“A comical yarn.”—<i>Yorkshire Daily Observer.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">FREDERICK P. GIBBON</p> - -<p><b>The Disputed V.C.</b> A Tale of the Indian Mutiny. 3<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A good, stirring tale, well told.”—<i>Graphic.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">G. MANVILLE FENN</p> - -<p><b>The Boys at Menhardoc</b>: A Story of Cornish Nets and Mines. 3<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“The story is well worth reading.”—<i>British Weekly.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Bunyip Land</b>: Among the Blackfellows in New Guinea. 3<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“One of the best tales of adventure produced by any living -writer.”—<i>Daily Chronicle.</i> <span class="pagenum"><a id="page_225">{225}</a></span></p> - -<p>—In the King’s Name. 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“This is, we think, the best of all Mr. Fenn’s productions.”—<i>Daily -News.</i> </p> - -<p>—Dick o’ the Fens: A Romance of the Great East Swamp. 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“We conscientiously believe that boys will find it capital -reading.”—<i>Times.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">Dr. GORDON STABLES, R.N.</p> - -<p>The Naval Cadet: A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea. 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“An interesting travellers’ tale, with plenty of fun and incident in -it.”—<i>Spectator.</i> </p> - -<p>—For Life and Liberty: A Tale of the Civil War in America. 3<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“The story is lively and spirited.”—<i>Times.</i> </p> - -<p>—To Greenland and the Pole: A story of the Arctic Regions. 3<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“One of the best books Dr. Stables has ever written.”—<i>Truth.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">FRED SMITH</p> - -<p>The World of Animal Life. A Natural History for Little Folk. With eight -full-page coloured Illustrations and numerous black-and-white -Illustrations. Crown 4to, 11¼ inches by 9½ inches. Handsome cloth cover. -Gilt top, 5<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“An admirable volume.”—<i>Birmingham Gazette.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">A. J. CHURCH</p> - -<p>Lords of the World: A Tale of the Fall of Carthage and Corinth. 3<i>s.</i> -6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“As a boys’ book, Lords of the World deserves a hearty -welcome.”—<i>Spectator.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">G. I. WHITHAM</p> - -<p>The Nameless Prince: A Tale of Plantagenet Days. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">Charles -M. Sheldon</span>. 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>—The Red Knight: A Tale of the Days of King Edward III. Illustrated. -2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“It holds the imagination from beginning to end.”—<i>British Weekly.</i> <span class="pagenum"><a id="page_226">{226}</a></span></p> - -<p class="big">ESCOTT LYNN</p> - -<p><b>When Lion-Heart was King</b>: A Tale of Robin Hood and Merry Sherwood. -3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“A lively tale.”—<i>Birmingham Post.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">WILLIAM BECK</p> - -<p><b>Hawkwood the Brave</b>: A Tale of Mediæval Italy. 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“A good story for boys.”—<i>Literary World.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">DOROTHEA MOORE</p> - -<p><b>God’s Bairn</b>: A Story of the Fen Country. 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“An excellent tale, most dainty in execution and fortunate in -subject.”—<i>Globe.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>The Luck of Ledge Point</b>: A Tale of 1805. 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“We thoroughly recommend it as a giftbook.”—<i>Schoolmaster.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">WALTER C. RHOADES</p> - -<p><b>For the Sake of His Chum</b>: A School Story. 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“There is a breeziness about the book which is sure to commend -it.”—<i>Athenæum.</i> </p> - -<p>—<b>Two Scapegraces</b>: A School Story. 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“A school story of high merit.”—<i>Liverpool Mercury.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">PAUL DANBY</p> - -<p><b>The Red Army Book.</b> With many Illustrations in colour and in -black-and-white. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“Every boy would glory in the keeping and reading of such a -prize.”—<i>Daily Telegraph.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">J. CUTHBERT HADDEN</p> - -<p><b>The Nelson Navy Book.</b> With many Illustrations in colour and in -black-and-white. 6<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>“A stirring, heartening tale, bold and bracing as the sea -itself.”—<i>Standard.</i> </p> - -<p class="big">PERCY F. WESTERMAN</p> - -<p><b>The Quest of the Golden Hope</b>: A Seventeenth century Story of Adventure. -Illustrated by Frank Wiles. 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> </p> - -<div class="trans"> -<p><a id="transcrib"></a></p> - -<table> -<tr><th>Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:</th></tr> -<tr><td> -<p class="nind">for Samoro now told=> for Samaro now told {pg 114}</p> - -<p>Barnably Blunt looked=> Barnaby Blunt looked {pg 156}</p> - -<p class="nind">see the the negro=> see the negro {pg 172}</p> -</td></tr></table></div> - -<div class="footnotes"><p class="cb"><a id="FOOTNOTES"></a>FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Some of these wonderful tortoises are so large that half a -dozen men can hardly lift them from the ground.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Owing to the raids made upon these strange animals by the -American whalers they had become very scarce, but this island not having -been visited for many years, they had recuperated their forces.—G. S.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> This is the idea Indians have of photographs.</p></div> - -</div> -<hr class="full"> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'></div> -<section class='pg-boilerplate pgheader' id='pg-footer' lang='en' > -<div id='pg-end-separator'> -<span>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERMIT HUNTER OF THE WILDS ***</span> -</div> - -<div> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> -<div> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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