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diff --git a/9150-0.txt b/9150-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3e8ca8d --- /dev/null +++ b/9150-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12539 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook of Dick Sands the Boy Captain, by Jules Verne + +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: Dick Sands the Boy Captain + +Author: Jules Verne + +Release Date: September 8, 2003 [eBook #9150] +[Most recently updated: October 8, 2023] + +Language: English + +Produced by: Distributed Proofreaders + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DICK SANDS THE BOY CAPTAIN *** + + + + +Dick Sands the Boy Captain by Jules Verne + + + + +[Redactor's Note: _Dick Sands the Boy Captain_ (Number V018 in the T&M +numerical listing of Verne's works) is a translation of _Un capitaine +de quinze ans_ (1878) by Ellen E. Frewer who also translated other +Verne works. The current translation was published by Sampson & Low in +England (1878) and Scribners in New York (1879) and was republished +many times and included in Volume 8 of the Parke edition of _The Works +of Jules Verne_ (1911). There is another translation published by +George Munro (1878) in New York with the title _Dick Sand A Captain at +Fifteen_. + +This work has an almost mechanical repetiveness in the continuing +description of the day after day trials of sailing at sea. Thus the +illustrations, of which there were 94 in the french edition, are all +the more important in keeping up the reader's interest. The titles of +the illustrations are given here as a prelude to a future fully +illustrated edition.] + + + +***** + + + +DICK SANDS + + + + +THE BOY CAPTAIN. + + +BY + +JULES VERNE. + + +TRANSLATED BY + +ELLEN E. FREWER + + +ILLUSTRATED + + +1879 + + +***** + + +CONTENTS. + + + PART THE FIRST + + I. THE "PILGRIM" + II. THE APPRENTICE + III. A RESCUE + IV. THE SURVIVORS OF THE "WALDECK" + V. DINGO'S SAGACITY + VI. A WHALE IN SIGHT + VII. PREPARATIONS FOR AN ATTACK + VIII. A CATASTROPHE + IX. DICK'S PROMOTION + X. THE NEW CREW + XI. ROUGH WEATHER + XII. LAND AT LAST + XIV. ASHORE + XV. A STRANGER + XVI. THROUGH THE FOREST + XVII. MISGIVINGS + XVIII. A TERRIBLE DISCOVERY + + + PART THE SECOND + + I. THE DARK CONTINENT + II. ACCOMPLICES + III. ON THE MARCH AGAIN + IV. ROUGH TRAVELLING + V. WHITE ANTS + VI. A DIVING-BELL + VII. A SLAVE CARAVAN + VIII. NOTES BY THE WAY + IX. KAZONDÉ + X. MARKET-DAY + XI. A BOWL OF PUNCH + XII. ROYAL OBSEQUIES + XIII. IN CAPTIVITY + XIV. A RAY OF HOPE + XV. AN EXCITING CHASE + XVI. A MAGICIAN + XVII. DRIFTING DOWN THE STREAM + XVIII. AN ANXIOUS VOYAGE + XIX. AN ATTACK + XX. A HAPPY REUNION + + + +***** + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + Number Title + + I-01-a Cousin Benedict + + I-01-b Captain Hull advanced to meet Mrs. Weldon and her party + + I-02-a Negoro + + I-02-b Dick and Little Jack + + I-03-a Negoro had approached without being noticed by any one + + I-03-b The dog began to swim slowly and with manifest weakness + towards the boat + + I-04-a Mrs. Weldon assisted by Nan and the ever active Dick Sands, + was doing everything in her power to restore consciousness + to the poor sufferers + + I-04-b The good-natured negroes were ever ready to lend a helping + hand + + I-05-a "There you are, then, Master Jack!" + + I-05-b Jack cried out in the greatest excitement that Dingo knew + how to read + + I-05-c Negoro, with a threatening gesture that seemed half + involuntary, withdrew immediately to his accustomed quarters + + I-06-a "This Dingo is nothing out of the way" + + I-06-b Occasionally Dick Sands would take a pistol, and now and + then a rifle + + I-06-c "What a big fellow!" + + I-07-a The captain's voice came from the retreating boat + + I-07-b "I must get you to keep your eye upon that man" + + I-08-a The whale seemed utterly unconscious of the attack that was + threatening it + + I-08-b The boat was well-nigh full of water, and in imminent danger + of being capsized + + I-08-c There is no hope + + I-09-a "Oh, we shall soon be on shore!" + + I-09-b "Oh yes, Jack; you shall keep the wind in order" + + I-10-a All three of them fell flat upon the deck + + I-10-b Jack evidenced his satisfaction by giving his huge friend a + hearty shake of the hand + + I-10-c A light shadow glided stealthily along the deck + + I-11-a For half an hour Negoro stood motionless + + I-12-a Under bare poles + + I-12-b Quick as lightning, Dick Sands drew a revolver from his pocket + + I-12-c "There! look there!" + + I-13-a "You have acquitted yourself like a man" + + I-13-b They both examined the outspread chart + + I-13-c The sea was furious, and dashed vehemently upon the crags + on either hand + + I-14-a Surveying the shore with the air of a man who was trying to + recall some past experience + + I-14-b Not without emotion could Mrs. Weldon, or indeed any of + them, behold the unfortunate ship + + I-14-c The entomologist was seen making his way down the face of + the cliff at the imminent lisk of breaking his neck + + I-15-a "Good morning, my young friend" + + I-15-b "He is my little son" + + I-15-c They came to a tree to which a horse was tethered + + I-16-a The way across the forest could scarcely be called a path + + I-16-b Occasionally the soil became marshy + + I-16-c A halt for the night + + I-16-d Hercules himself was the first to keep watch + + I-17-a "Don't fire!" + + I-17-b A herd of gazelles dashed past him like a glowing cloud + + I-17-c A halt was made for the night beneath a grove of lofty trees + + I-18-a "Look here! here are hands, men's hands" + + I-18-b The man was gone, and his horse with him! + + II-02-a They were seated at the foot of an enormous banyan-tree + + II-02-b Both men, starting to their feet, looked anxiously around + them + + II-02-c Dingo disappeared again amongst the bushes + + II-03-a "You must keep this a secret" + + II-03-b "Harris has left us" + + II-03-c The march was continued with as much rapidity as was + consistent with caution + + II-04-a It was a scene only too common in Central Africa + + II-04-b Another brilliant flash brought the camp once again into + relief + + II-04-c One after another, the whole party made their way inside + + II-05-a Cousin Benedict's curiosity was awakened + + II-05-b The naturalist now fairly mounted on a favourite hobby + + II-05-c "My poor boy, I know everything" + + II-06-a They set to work to ascertain what progress the water was + making + + II-06-b All fired simultaneously at the nearest boat + + II-06-c The giant clave their skulls with the butt end of his gun + + II-07-a The start was made + + II-08-a If ever the havildar strolled a few yards away, Bat took + the opportunity of murmuring a few words of encouragement + to his poor old father + + II-08-b The caravan had been attacked on the flank by a dozen or + more crocodiles + + II-08-c The creature that had sprung to my feet was Dingo + + II-08-d More slaves sick, and abandoned to take their chance + + II-09-a Adjoining the commercial quarter was the royal residence + + II-09-b With a yell and a curse, the American fell dead at his feet + + II-10-a Accompanied by Coïmbra, Alvez himself was one of the first + arrivals + + II-11-a The potentate beneath whose sway the country trembled for a + hundred miles round + + II-11-b Alvez advanced and presented the king with some fresh tobacco + + II-11-c The king had taken fire internally + + II-12-a "Your life is in my hands!" + + II-12-b All his energies were restored + + II-13-a Friendless and hopeless He contented himself with the + permission to go where he pleased within the limits of the + palisade + + II-13-b "I suppose Weldon will not mind coming to fetch you?" + + II-14-a Dr. Livingstone + + II-14-b With none to guide him except a few natives + + II-14-c "You are Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" + + II-15-a The insufferable heat had driven all the residents within + the depôt indoors + + II-15-b Before long the old black speck was again flitting just + above his head + + II-15-c For that day at least Cousin Benedict had lost his chance + of being the happiest of entomologists + + II-16-a The entire crowd joined in + + II-16-b "Here they are, captain! both of them!!" + + II-17-a Hercules could leave the boat without much fear of detection + + II-17-b It was caused by a troop of a hundred or more elephants + + II-18-a He stood face to face with his foe + + II-18-b Instantly five or six negroes scrambled down the piles + + II-19-a Upon the smooth wood were two great letters in dingy red + + II-19-b The dog was griping the man by the throat + + II-19-c The bullet shattered the rudder-scull into fragments + + + +***** + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE "PILGRIM." + + +On the 2nd of February, 1873, the "Pilgrim," a tight little craft of +400 tons burden, lay in lat. 43° 57', S. and long. 165° 19', W. She was +a schooner, the property of James W. Weldon, a wealthy Californian +ship-owner who had fitted her out at San Francisco, expressly for the +whale-fisheries in the southern seas. + +James Weldon was accustomed every season to send his whalers both to +the Arctic regions beyond Behring Straits, and to the Antarctic Ocean +below Tasmania and Cape Horn; and the "Pilgrim," although one of the +smallest, was one of the best-going vessels of its class; her +sailing-powers were splendid, and her rigging was so adroitly adapted +that with a very small crew she might venture without risk within sight +of the impenetrable ice-fields of the southern hemisphere: under +skilful guidance she could dauntlessly thread her way amongst the +drifting ice-bergs that, lessened though they were by perpetual shocks +and undermined by warm currents, made their way northwards as far as +the parallel of New Zealand or the Cape of Good Hope, to a latitude +corresponding to which in the northern hemisphere they are never seen, +having already melted away in the depths of the Atlantic and Pacific +Oceans. + +For several years the command of the "Pilgrim" had been entrusted to +Captain Hull, an experienced seaman, and one of the most dexterous +harpooners in Weldon's service. The crew consisted of five sailors and +an apprentice. This number, of course, was quite insufficient for the +process of whale-fishing, which requires a large contingent both for +manning the whale-boats and for cutting up the whales after they are +captured; but Weldon, following the example of other owners, found it +more economical to embark at San Francisco only just enough men to work +the ship to New Zealand, where, from the promiscuous gathering of +seamen of well-nigh every nationality, and of needy emigrants, the +captain had no difficulty in engaging as many whalemen as he wanted for +the season. This method of hiring men who could be at once discharged +when their services were no longer required had proved altogether to be +the most profitable and convenient. + +The "Pilgrim" had now just completed her annual voyage to the Antarctic +circle. It was not, however, with her proper quota of oil-barrels full +to the brim, nor yet with an ample cargo of cut and uncut whalebone, +that she was thus far on her way back. The time, indeed, for a good +haul was past; the repeated and vigourous attacks upon the cetaceans +had made them very scarce; the whale known as "the Right whale," the +"Nord-kapper" of the northern fisheries, the "Sulpher-boltone" of the +southern, was hardly ever to be seen; and latterly the whalers had had +no alternative but to direct their efforts against the Finback or +Jubarte, a gigantic mammal, encounter with which is always attended +with considerable danger. + +So scanty this year had been the supply of whales that Captain Hull had +resolved next year to push his way into far more southern latitudes; +even, if necessary, to advance to the regions known as Clarie and +Adélie Lands, of which the discovery, though claimed by the American +navigator Wilkes, belongs by right to the illustrious Frenchman Dumont +d'Urville, the commander of the "Astrolabe" and the "Zélee." + +The season had been exceptionally unfortunate for the "Pilgrim." At the +beginning of January, almost in the height of the southern summer, long +before the ordinary time for the whalers' return, Captain Hull had been +obliged to abandon his fishing-quarters. His hired contingent, all men +of more than doubtful character, had given signs of such +insubordination as threatened to end in mutiny; and he had become aware +that he must part company with them on the earliest possible +opportunity. Accordingly, without delay, the bow of the "Pilgrim" was +directed to the northwest, towards New Zealand, which was sighted on +the 15th of January, and on reaching Waitemata, the port of Auckland, +in the Hauraki Gulf, on the east coast of North Island, the whole of +the gang was peremptorily discharged. + +The ship's crew were more than dissatisfied. They were angry. Never +before had they returned with so meagre a haul. They ought to have had +at least two hundred barrels more. The captain himself experienced all +the mortification of an ardent sportsman who for the first time in his +life brings home a half-empty bag; and there was a general spirit of +animosity against the rascals whose rebellion had so entirely marred +the success of the expedition. + +Captain Hull did everything in his power to repair the disappointment; +he made every effort to engage a fresh gang; but it was too late; every +available seaman had long since been carried off to the fisheries. +Finding therefore that all hope of making good the deficiency in his +cargo must be resigned, he was on the point of leaving Auckland, alone +with his crew, when he was met by a request with which he felt himself +bound to comply. + +It had chanced that James Weldon, on one of those journeys which were +necessitated by the nature of his business, had brought with him his +wife, his son Jack, a child of five years of age, and a relation of the +family who was generally known by the name of Cousin Benedict. Weldon +had of course intended that his family should accompany him on his +return home to San Francisco; but little Jack was taken so seriously +ill, that his father, whose affairs demanded his immediate return, was +obliged to leave him behind at Auckland with his wife and Cousin +Benedict. + +Three months had passed away, little Jack was convalescent, and Mrs. +Weldon, weary of her long separation from her husband, was anxious to +get home as soon as possible. Her readiest way of reaching San +Francisco was to cross to Australia, and thence to take a passage in +one of the vessels of the "Golden Age" Company, which run between +Melbourne and the Isthmus of Panama: on arriving in Panama she would +have to wait the departure of the next American steamer of the line +which maintains a regular communication between the Isthmus and +California. This route, however, involved many stoppages and changes, +such as are always disagreeable and inconvenient for women and +children, and Mrs. Weldon was hesitating whether she should encounter +the journey, when she heard that her husband's vessel, the "Pilgrim," +had arrived at Auckland. Hastening to Captain Hull, she begged him to +take her with her little boy, Cousin Benedict, and Nan, an old negress +who had been her attendant from her childhood, on board the "Pilgrim," +and to convey them to San Francisco direct. + +"Was it not over hazardous," asked the captain, "to venture upon a +voyage of between 5000 and 6000 miles in so small a sailing-vessel?" + +But Mrs. Weldon urged her request, and Captain Hull, confident in the +sea-going qualities of his craft, and anticipating at this season +nothing but fair weather on either side of the equator, gave his +consent. + +In order to provide as far as possible for the comfort of the lady +during a voyage that must occupy from forty to fifty days, the captain +placed his own cabin at her entire disposal. + +Everything promised well for a prosperous voyage. The only hindrance +that could be foreseen arose from the circumstance that the "Pilgrim" +would have to put in at Valparaiso for the purpose of unlading; but +that business once accomplished, she would continue her way along the +American coast with the assistance of the land breezes, which +ordinarily make the proximity of those shores such agreeable quarters +for sailing. + +Mrs. Weldon herself had accompanied her husband in so many voyages, +that she was quite inured to all the makeshifts of a seafaring life, +and was conscious of no misgiving in embarking upon a vessel of such +small tonnage. She was a brave, high-spirited woman of about thirty +years of age, in the enjoyment of excellent health, and for her the sea +had no terrors. Aware that Captain Hull was an experienced man, in whom +her husband had the utmost confidence, and knowing that his ship was a +substantial craft, registered as one of the best of the American +whalers, so far from entertaining any mistrust as to her safety, she +only rejoiced in the opportuneness of the chance which seemed to offer +her a direct and unbroken route to her destination. + +Cousin Benedict, as a matter of course, was to accompany her. He was +about fifty; but in spite of his mature age it would have been +considered the height of imprudence to allow him to travel anywhere +alone. Spare, lanky, with a bony frame, with an enormous cranium, and a +profusion of hair, he was one of those amiable, inoffensive _savants_ +who, having once taken to gold spectacles, appear to have arrived at a +settled standard of age, and, however long they live afterwards, seem +never to be older than they have ever been. + +Claiming a sort of kindredship with all the world, he was universally +known, far beyond the pale of his own connexions, by the name of +"Cousin Benedict." In the ordinary concerns of life nothing would ever +have rendered him capable of shifting for himself; of his meals he +would never think until they were placed before him; he had the +appearance of being utterly insensible to heat or cold; he vegetated +rather than lived, and might not inaptly be compared to a tree which, +though healthy enough at its core, produces scant foliage and no fruit. +His long arms and legs were in the way of himself and everybody else; +yet no one could possibly treat him with unkindness. As M. Prudhomme +would say, "if only he had been endowed with capability," he would have +rendered a service to any one in the world; but helplessness was his +dominant characteristic; helplessness was ingrained into his very +nature; yet this very helplessness made him an object of kind +consideration rather than of contempt, and Mrs. Weldon looked upon him +as a kind of elder brother to her little Jack. + +It must not be supposed, however, that Cousin Benedict was either idle +or unoccupied. On the contrary, his whole time was devoted to one +absorbing passion for natural history. Not that he had any large claim +to be regarded properly as a natural historian; he had made no +excursions over the whole four districts of zoology, botany, +mineralogy, and geology, into which the realms of natural history are +commonly divided; indeed, he had no pretensions at all to be either a +botanist, a mineralogist, or a geologist; his studies only sufficed to +make him a zoologist, and that in a very limited sense. No Cuvier was +he; he did not aspire to decompose animal life by analysis, and to +recompose it by synthesis; his enthusiasm had not made him at all +deeply versed in vertebrata, mollusca, or radiata; in fact, the +vertebrata--animals, birds, reptiles, fishes--had had no place in his +researches; the mollusca--from the cephalopoda to the bryozia--had had +no attractions for him; nor had he consumed the midnight oil in +investigating the radiata, the echmodermata, acalephæ, polypi, entozoa, +or infusoria. + +No; Cousin Benedict's interest began and ended with the articulata; and +it must be owned at once that his studies were very far from embracing +all the range of the six classes into which "articulata" are +subdivided; viz, the insecta, the mynapoda, the arachnida, the +crustacea, the cinhopoda, and the anelides; and he was utterly unable +in scientific language to distinguish a worm from a leech, an earwig +from a sea-acorn, a spider from a scorpion, a shrimp from a +frog-hopper, or a galley-worm from a centipede. + +To confess the plain truth, Cousin Benedict was an amateur +entomologist, and nothing more. + +Entomology, it may be asserted, is a wide science; it embraces the +whole division of the articulata; but our friend was an entomologist +only in the limited sense of the popular acceptation of the word; that +is to say, he was an observer and collector of insects, meaning by +"insects" those articulata which have bodies consisting of a number of +concentric movable rings, forming three distinct segments, each with a +pair of legs, and which are scientifically designated as hexapods. + +[Illustration: Cousin Benedict] + +To this extent was Cousin Benedict an entomologist; and when it is +remembered that the class of insecta of which he had grown up to be the +enthusiastic student comprises no less than ten[1] orders, and that of +these ten the coleoptera and diptera alone include 30,000 and 60,000 +species respectively, it must be confessed that he had an ample field +for his most persevering exertions. + + +[Footnote 1: These ten orders are (1) the orthoptera, _e.g._ +grasshoppers and crickets; (2) the neuroptera, _e.g._ dragon-flies; (3) +the hymenoptera, _e.g._ bees, wasps, and ants; (4) the lepidoptera, +_e.g._ butterflies and moths; (5) the hemiptera, _e.g._ cicadas and +fleas; (6) the coleoptera, _e.g._ cockchafers and glow-worms; (7) the +diptera, _e.g._ gnats and flies; (8) the rhipiptera, _e.g._ the +stylops; (9) the parasites, _e.g._ the acarus; and (10) the thysanura, +_e.g._ the lepisma and podura.] + + +Every available hour did he spend in the pursuit of his favourite +science: hexapods ruled his thoughts by day and his dreams by night. +The number of pins that he carried thick on the collar and sleeves of +his coat, down the front of his waistcoat, and on the crown of his hat, +defied computation; they were kept in readiness for the capture of +specimens that might come in his way, and on his return from a ramble +in the country he might be seen literally encased with a covering of +insects, transfixed adroitly by scientific rule. + +This ruling passion of his had been the inducement that had urged him +to accompany Mr. and Mrs. Weldon to New Zealand. It had appeared to him +that it was likely to be a promising district, and now having been +successful in adding some rare specimens to his collection, he was +anxious to get back again to San Francisco, and to assign them their +proper places in his extensive cabinet. + +Besides, it never occurred to Mrs. Weldon to start without him. To +leave him to shift for himself would be sheer cruelty. As a matter of +course whenever Mrs. Weldon went on board the "Pilgrim," Cousin +Benedict would go too. + +Not that in any emergency assistance of any kind could be expected from +him; on the contrary, in the case of difficulty he would be an +additional burden; but there was every reason to expect a fair passage +and no cause of misgiving of any kind, so the propriety of leaving the +amiable entomologist behind was never suggested. + +Anxious that she should be no impediment in the way of the due +departure of the "Pilgrim" from Waitemata, Mrs. Weldon made her +preparations with the utmost haste, discharged the servants which she +had temporarily engaged at Auckland, and accompanied by little Jack and +the old negress, and followed mechanically by Cousin Benedict, embarked +on the 22nd of January on board the schooner. + +The amateur, however, kept his eye very scrupulously upon his own +special box. Amongst his collection of insects were some very +remarkable examples of new staphylins, a species of carnivorous +coleoptera with eyes placed above their head; it was a kind supposed to +be peculiar to New Caledonia. Another rarity which had been brought +under his notice was a venomous spider, known among the Maoris as a +"katipo;" its bite was asserted to be very often fatal. As a spider, +however, belongs to the order of the arachnida, and is not properly an +"insect," Benedict declined to take any interest in it. Enough for him +that he had secured a novelty in his own section of research; the +"Staphylin Neo-Zelandus" was not only the gem of his collection, but +its pecuniary value baffled ordinary estimate; he insured his box at a +fabulous sum, deeming it to be worth far more than all the cargo of oil +and whalebone in the "Pilgrim's" hold. + +Captain Hull advanced to meet Mrs. Weldon and her party as they stepped +on deck. + +"It must be understood, Mrs. Weldon," he said, courteously raising his +hat, "that you take this passage entirely on your own responsibility." + +"Certainly, Captain Hull," she answered; "but why do you ask?" + +"Simply because I have received no orders from Mr. Weldon," replied the +captain. + +[Illustration: Captain Hull advanced to meet Mrs. Weldon and her party.] + +"But my wish exonerates you," said Mrs. Weldon. + +"Besides," added Captain Hull, "I am unable to provide you with the +accommodation and the comfort that you would have upon a passenger +steamer." + +"You know well enough, captain," remonstrated the lady "that my husband +would not hesitate for a moment to trust his wife and child on board +the 'Pilgrim.'" + +"Trust, madam! No! no more than I should myself. I repeat that the +'Pilgrim' cannot afford you the comfort to which you are accustomed." + +Mrs. Weldon smiled. + +"Oh, I am not one of your grumbling travellers. I shall have no +complaints to make either of small cramped cabins, or of rough and +meagre food." + +She took her son by the hand, and passing on, begged that they might +start forthwith. + +Orders accordingly were given; sails were trimmed; and after taking the +shortest course across the gulf, the "Pilgrim" turned her head towards +America. + +Three days later strong easterly breezes compelled the schooner to tack +to larboard in order to get to windward. The consequence was that by +the 2nd of February the captain found himself in such a latitude that +he might almost be suspected of intending to round Cape Horn rather +than of having a design to coast the western shores of the New +Continent. + +Still, the sea did not become rough. There was a slight delay, but, on +the whole, navigation was perfectly easy. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE APPRENTICE. + + +There was no poop upon the "Pilgrim's" deck, so that Mrs. Weldon had no +alternative than to acquiesce in the captain's proposal that she should +occupy his own modest cabin. + +Accordingly, here she was installed with Jack and old Nan; and here she +took all her meals, in company with the captain and Cousin Benedict. + +For Cousin Benedict tolerably comfortable sleeping accommodation had +been contrived close at hand, while Captain Hull himself retired to the +crew's quarter, occupying the cabin which properly belonged to the +chief mate, but as already indicated, the services of a second officer +were quite dispensed with. + +All the crew were civil and attentive to the wife of their employer, a +master to whom they were faithfully attached. They were all natives of +the coast of California, brave and experienced seamen, and united by +tastes and habits in a common bond of sympathy. Few as they were in +number, their work was never shirked, not simply from the sense of +duty, but because they were directly interested in the profits of their +undertaking; the success of their labours always told to their own +advantage. The present expedition was the fourth that they had taken +together; and, as it turned out to be the first in which they had +failed to meet with success, it may be imagined that they were full of +resentment against the mutinous whalemen who had been the cause of so +serious a diminution of their ordinary gains. + +[Illustration: Negoro.] + +The only one on board who was not an American was a man who had been +temporarily engaged as cook. His name was Negoro; he was a Portuguese +by birth, but spoke English with perfect fluency. The previous cook had +deserted the ship at Auckland, and when Negoro, who was out of +employment, applied for the place, Captain Hull, only too glad to avoid +detention, engaged him at once without inquiry into his antecedents. +There was not the slightest fault to be found with the way in which the +cook performed his duties, but there was something in his manner, or +perhaps, rather in the expression of his countenance, which excited the +Captain's misgivings, and made him regret that he had not taken more +pains to investigate the character of one with whom he was now brought +into such close contact. + +Negoro looked about forty years of age. Although he had the appearance +of being slightly built, he was muscular; he was of middle height, and +seemed to have a robust constitution; his hair was dark, his complexion +somewhat swarthy. His manner was taciturn, and although, from +occasional remarks that he dropped, it was evident that he had received +some education, he was very reserved on the subjects both of his family +and of his past life. No one knew where he had come from, and he +admitted no one to his confidence as to where he was going, except that +he made no secret of his intention to land at Valparaiso. His freedom +from sea-sickness demonstrated that this could hardly be his first +voyage, but on the other hand his complete ignorance of seamen's +phraseology made it certain that he had never been accustomed to his +present occupation. He kept himself aloof as much as possible from the +rest of the crew, during the day rarely leaving the great cast-iron +stove, which was out of proportion to the measurement of the cramped +little kitchen; and at night, as soon as the fire was extinguished, +took the earliest opportunity of retiring to his berth and going to +sleep. + +It has been already stated that the crew of the "Pilgrim" consisted of +five seamen and an apprentice. This apprentice was Dick Sands. + +Dick was fifteen years old; he was a foundling, his unknown parents +having abandoned him at his birth, and he had been brought up in a +public charitable institution. He had been called Dick, after the +benevolent passer-by who had discovered him when he was but an infant a +few hours old, and he had received the surname of Sands as a memorial +of the spot where he had been exposed, Sandy Hook, a point at the mouth +of the Hudson, where it forms an entrance to the harbour of New York. + +As Dick was so young it was most likely he would yet grow a little +taller, but it did not seem probable that he would ever exceed middle +height, he looked too stoutly and strongly built to grow much. His +complexion was dark, but his beaming blue eyes attested, with scarcely +room for doubt, his Anglo-Saxon origin, and his countenance betokened +energy and intelligence. The profession that he had adopted seemed to +have equipped him betimes for fighting the battle of life. + +Misquoted often as Virgil's are the words + + "Audaces fortuna juvat!" + +but the true reading is + + "Audentes fortuna juvat!" + +and, slight as the difference may seem, it is very significant. It is +upon the confident rather than the rash, the daring rather than the +bold, that Fortune sheds her smiles; the bold man often acts without +thinking, whilst the daring always thinks before he acts. + +And Dick Sands was truly courageous; he was one of the daring. At +fifteen years old, an age at which few boys have laid aside the +frivolities of childhood, he had acquired the stability of a man, and +the most casual observer could scarcely fail to be attracted by his +bright, yet thoughtful countenance. At an early period of his life he +had realized all the difficulties of his position, and had made a +resolution, from which nothing tempted him to flinch, that he would +carve out for himself an honourable and independent career. Lithe and +agile in his movements, he was an adept in every kind of athletic +exercise; and so marvellous was his success in everything he undertook, +that he might almost be supposed to be one of those gifted mortals who +have two right hands and two left feet. + +Until he was four years old the little orphan had found a home in one +of those institutions in America where forsaken children are sure of an +asylum, and he was subsequently sent to an industrial school supported +by charitable aid, where he learnt reading, writing, and arithmetic. +From the days of infancy he had never deviated from the expression of +his wish to be a sailor, and accordingly, as soon as he was eight, he +was placed as cabin-boy on board one of the ships that navigate the +Southern Seas. The officers all took a peculiar interest in him, and he +received, in consequence, a thoroughly good grounding in the duties and +discipline of a seaman's life. There was no room to doubt that he must +ultimately rise to eminence in his profession, for when a child from +the very first has been trained in the knowledge that he must gain his +bread by the sweat of his brow, it is comparatively rare that he lacks +the will to do so. + +Whilst he was still acting as cabin-boy on one of those +trading-vessels, Dick attracted the notice of Captain Hull, who took a +fancy to the lad and introduced him to his employer. Mr. Weldon at once +took a lively interest in Dick's welfare, and had his education +continued in San Francisco, taking care that he was instructed in the +doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, to which his own family +belonged. + +Throughout his studies Dick Sands' favourite subjects were always those +which had a reference to his future profession; he mastered the details +of the geography of the world; he applied himself diligently to such +branches of mathematics as were necessary for the science of +navigation; whilst for recreation in his hours of leisure, he would +greedily devour every book of adventure in travel that came in his way. +Nor did he omit duly to combine the practical with the theoretical; and +when he was bound apprentice on board the "Pilgrim," a vessel not only +belonging to his benefactor, but under the command of his kind friend +Captain Hull, he congratulated himself most heartily, and felt that the +experience he should gain in the southern whale-fisheries could hardly +fail to be of service to him in after-life. A first-rate sailor ought +to be a first-rate fisherman too. + +It was a matter of the greatest pleasure to Dick Sands when he heard to +his surprise that Mrs. Weldon was about to become a passenger on board +the "Pilgrim." His devotion to the family of his benefactor was large +and genuine. For several years Mrs. Weldon had acted towards him little +short of a mother's part, and for Jack, although he never forgot the +difference in their position, he entertained well-nigh a brother's +affection. His friends had the satisfaction of being assured that they +had sown the seeds of kindness on a generous soil, for there was no +room to doubt that the heart of the orphan boy was overflowing with +sincere gratitude. Should the occasion arise, ought he not, he asked, +to be ready to sacrifice everything in behalf of those to whom he was +indebted not only for his start in life, but for the knowledge of all +that was right and holy? + +Confiding in the good principles of her protégé, Mrs. Weldon had no +hesitation in entrusting her little son to his especial charge. During +the frequent periods of leisure, when the sea was fair, and the sails +required no shifting, the apprentice was never weary of amusing Jack by +making him familiar with the practice of a sailor's craft; he made him +scramble up the shrouds, perch upon the yards, and slip down the +back-stays; and the mother had no alarm; her assurance of Dick Sands' +ability and watchfulness to protect her boy was so complete that she +could only rejoice in an occupation for him that seemed more than +anything to restore the colour he had lost in his recent illness. + +Time passed on without incident; and had it not been for the constant +prevalence of an adverse wind, neither passengers nor crew could have +found the least cause of complaint. The pertinacity, however, with +which the wind kept to the east could not do otherwise than make +Captain Hull somewhat concerned; it absolutely prevented him from +getting his ship into her proper course, and he could not altogether +suppress his misgiving that the calms near the Tropic of Capricorn, and +the equatorial current driving him on westwards, would entail a delay +that might be serious. + +[Illustration: Dick and little Jack.] + +It was principally on Mrs. Weldon's account that the Captain began to +feel uneasiness, and he made up his mind that if he could hail a vessel +proceeding to America he should advise his passengers to embark on her; +unfortunately, however, he felt that they were still in a latitude far +too much to the south to make it likely that they should sight a +steamer going to Panama; and at that date, communication between +Australia and the New World was much less frequent than it has since +become. + +Still, nothing occurred to interrupt the general monotony of the voyage +until the 2nd of February, the date at which our narrative commences. + +It was about nine o'clock in the morning of that day that Dick and +little Jack had perched themselves together on the top-mast-yards. The +weather was very clear, and they could see the horizon right round +except the section behind them, hidden by the brigantine-sail on the +main-mast. Below them, the bowsprit seemed to lie along the water with +its stay-sails attached like three unequal wings; from the lads' feet +to the deck was the smooth surface of the fore-mast; and above their +heads nothing but the small top-sail and the top-mast. The schooner was +running on the larboard tack as close to the wind as possible. + +Dick Sand was pointing out to Jack how well the ship was ballasted, and +was trying to explain how it was impossible for her to capsize, however +much she heeled to starboard, when suddenly the little fellow cried +out,-- + +"I can see something in the water!" + +"Where? what?" exclaimed Dick, clambering to his feet upon the yard. + +"There!" said the child, directing attention to the portion of the +sea-surface that was visible between the stay-sails. + +Dick fixed his gaze intently for a moment, and then shouted out +lustily,-- + +"Look out in front, to starboard! There is something afloat. To +windward, look out!" + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A RESCUE. + + +At the sound of Dick's voice all the crew, in a moment, were upon the +alert. The men who were not on watch rushed to the deck, and Captain +Hull hurried from his cabin to the bows. Mrs. Weldon, Nan, and even +Cousin Benedict leaned over the starboard taffrails, eager to get a +glimpse of what had thus suddenly attracted the attention of the young +apprentice. With his usual indifference, Negoro did not leave his +cabin, and was the only person on board who did not share the general +excitement. + +Speculations were soon rife as to what could be the nature of the +floating object which could be discerned about three miles ahead. +Suggestions of various character were freely made. One of the sailors +declared that it looked to him only like an abandoned raft, but Mrs. +Weldon observed quickly that if it were a raft it might be carrying +some unfortunate shipwrecked men who must be rescued if possible. +Cousin Benedict asserted that it was nothing more nor less than a huge +sea-monster; but the captain soon arrived at the conviction that it was +the hull of a vessel that had heeled over on to its side, an opinion +with which Dick thoroughly coincided, and went so far as to say that he +believed he could make out the copper keel glittering in the sun. + +"Luff, Bolton, luff!" shouted Captain Hull to the helmsman; "we will at +any rate lose no time in getting alongside." + +"Ay, ay, sir," answered the helmsman, and the "Pilgrim" in an instant +was steered according to orders. + +In spite, however, of the convictions of the captain and Dick, Cousin +Benedict would not be moved from his opinion that the object of their +curiosity was some huge cetacean. + +"It is certainly dead, then," remarked Mrs. Weldon; "it is perfectly +motionless." + +"Oh, that's because it is asleep," said Benedict, who, although he +would have willingly given up all the whales in the ocean for one rare +specimen of an insect, yet could not surrender his own belief. + +"Easy, Bolton, easy!" shouted the captain when they were getting nearer +the floating mass; "don't let us be running foul of the thing; no good +could come from knocking a hole in our side; keep out from it a good +cable's length." + +"Ay, ay, sir," replied the helmsman, in his usual cheery way; and by an +easy turn of the helm the "Pilgrim's" course was slightly modified so +as to avoid all fear of collision. + +The excitement of the sailors by this time had become more intense. +Ever since the distance had been less than a mile all doubt had +vanished, and it was certain that what was attracting their attention +was the hull of a capsized ship. They knew well enough the established +rule that a third of all salvage is the right of the finders, and they +were filled with the hope that the hull they were nearing might contain +an undamaged cargo, and be "a good haul," to compensate them for their +ill-success in the last season. + +A quarter of an hour later and the "Pilgrim" was within half a mile of +the deserted vessel, facing her starboard side. Water-logged to her +bulwarks, she had heeled over so completely that it would have been +next to impossible to stand upon her deck. Of her masts nothing was to +be seen; a few ends of cordage were all that remained of her shrouds, +and the try-sail chains were hanging all broken. On the starboard flank +was an enormous hole. + +"Something or other has run foul of her," said Dick. + +"No doubt of that," replied the captain; "the only wonder is that she +did not sink immediately." + +"Oh, how I hope the poor crew have been saved!" exclaimed Mrs Weldon. + +"Most probably," replied the captain, "they would all have taken to the +boats. It is as likely as not that the ship which did the mischief +would continue its course quite unconcerned." + +"Surely, you cannot mean," cried Mrs Weldon, "that any one could be +capable of such inhumanity?" + +"Only too probable," answered Captain Hull, "unfortunately, such +instances are very far from rare." + +He scanned the drifting ship carefully and continued,-- + +"No, I cannot see any sign of boats here, I should guess that the crew +have made an attempt to get to land, at such a distance as this, +however, from America or from the islands of the Pacific I should be +afraid that it must be hopeless." + +"Is it not possible," asked Mrs Weldon, "that some poor creature may +still survive on board, who can tell what has happened?" + +"Hardly likely, madam; otherwise there would have been some sort of a +signal in sight. But it is a matter about which we will make sure." + +The captain waved his hand a little in the direction in which he wished +to go, and said quietly,-- + +"Luff, Bolton, luff a bit!" + +The "Pilgrim" by this time was not much more than three cables' lengths +from the ship, there was still no token of her being otherwise than +utterly deserted, when Dick Sands suddenly exclaimed,-- + +"Hark! if I am not much mistaken, that is a dog barking!" + +Every one listened attentively; it was no fancy on Dick's part, sure +enough a stifled barking could be heard, as if some unfortunate dog had +been imprisoned beneath the hatchways; but as the deck was not yet +visible, it was impossible at present to determine the precise truth. + +Mrs Weldon pleaded,-- + +"If it is only a dog, captain, let it be saved." + +"Oh, yes, yes, mamma, the dog must be saved!" cried little Jack; "I +will go and get a bit of sugar ready for it." + +[Illustration: Negoro had approached without being noticed by any one] + +"A bit of sugar, my child, will not be much for a starved dog." + +"Then it shall have my soup, and I will do without," said the boy, and +he kept shouting, "Good dog! good dog!" until he persuaded himself that +he heard the animal responding to his call. + +The vessels were now scarcely three hundred feet apart; the barking was +more and more distinct, and presently a great dog was seen clinging to +the starboard netting. It barked more desperately than ever. + +"Howick," said Captain Hull, calling to the boatswain, "heave to, and +lower the small boat." + +The sails were soon trimmed so as to bring the schooner to a standstill +within half a cable's length of the disabled craft, the boat was +lowered, and the captain and Dick, with a couple of sailors, went on +board. The dog kept up a continual yelping; it made the most vigourous +efforts to retain its hold upon the netting, but perpetually slipped +backwards and fell off again upon the inclining deck. It was soon +manifest, however, that all the noise the creature was making was not +directed exclusively towards those who were coming to its rescue, and +Mrs. Weldon could not divest herself of the impression that there must +be some survivors still on board. All at once the animal changed its +gestures. Instead of the crouching attitude and supplicating whine with +which it seemed to be imploring the compassion of those who were +nearing it, it suddenly appeared to become bursting with violence and +furious with rage. + +"What ails the brute?" exclaimed Captain Hull. + +But already the boat was on the farther side of the wrecked ship, and +the captain was not in a position to see that Negoro the cook had just +come on to the schooner's deck, or that it was obvious that it was +against him that the dog had broken out in such obstreperous fury. +Negoro had approached without being noticed by any one; he made his way +to the forecastle, whence, without a word or look of surprise, he gazed +a moment at the dog, knitted his brow, and, silent and unobserved as he +had come, retired to his kitchen. + +As the boat had rounded the stern of the drifting hull, it had been +observed that the one word "Waldeck" was painted on the aft-board, but +that there was no intimation of the port to which the ship belonged. To +Captain Hull's experienced eye, however, certain details of +construction gave a decided confirmation to the probability suggested +by her name that she was of American build. + +Of what had once been a fine brig of 500 tons burden this hopeless +wreck was now all that remained. The large hole near the bows indicated +the place where the disastrous shock had occurred, but as, in the +heeling over, this aperture had been carried some five or six feet +above the water, the vessel had escaped the immediate foundering which +must otherwise have ensued; but still it wanted only the rising of a +heavy swell to submerge the ship at any time in a few minutes. + +It did not take many more strokes to bring the boat close to the +larboard bulwark, which was half out of the water, and Captain Hull +obtained a view of the whole length of the deck. It was clear from end +to end. Both masts had been snapped off within two feet of their +sockets, and had been swept away with shrouds, stays, and rigging. Not +a single spar was to be seen floating anywhere within sight of the +wreck, a circumstance from which it was to be inferred that several +days at least had elapsed since the catastrophe. + +Meantime the dog, sliding down from the taffrail, got to the centre +hatchway, which was open. Here it continued to bark, alternately +directing its eyes above deck and below. + +"Look at that dog!" said Dick; "I begin to think there must be somebody +on board." + +"If so," answered the captain, "he must have died of hunger; the water +of course has flooded the store-room." + +"No," said Dick; "that dog wouldn't look like that if there were nobody +there alive." + +[Illustration: The dog began to swim slowly and with manifest weakness +towards the boat.] + +Taking the boat as close as was prudent to the wreck, the captain and +Dick called and whistled repeatedly to the dog, which after a while let +itself slip into the sea, and began to swim slowly and with manifest +weakness towards the boat. As soon as it was lifted in, the animal, +instead of devouring the piece of bread that was offered him, made its +way to a bucket containing a few drops of fresh water, and began +eagerly to lap them up. + +"The poor wretch is dying of thirst!" said Dick. + +It soon appeared that the dog was very far from being engrossed with +its own interests. The boat was being pushed back a few yards in order +to allow the captain to ascertain the most convenient place to get +alongside the "Waldeck," when the creature seized Dick by the jacket, +and set up a howl that was almost human in its piteousness. It was +evidently in a state of alarm that the boat was not going to return to +the wreck. The dog's meaning could not be misunderstood. The boat was +accordingly brought against the larboard side of the vessel, and while +the two sailors lashed her securely to the "Waldeck's" cat-head, +Captain Hull and Dick, with the dog persistently accompanying them, +clambered, after some difficulty, to the open hatchway between the +stumps of the masts, and made their way into the hold. It was half full +of water, but perfectly destitute of cargo, its sole contents being the +ballast sand which had slipped to larboard, and now served to keep the +vessel on her side. + +One glance was sufficient to convince the captain that there was no +salvage to be effected. + +"There is nothing here; nobody here," he said. + +"So I see," said the apprentice, who had made his way to the extreme +fore-part of the hold. + +"Then we have only to go up again," remarked the captain. + +They ascended the ladder, but no sooner did they reappear upon the deck +than the dog, barking irrepressibly, began trying manifestly to drag +them towards the stern. + +Yielding to what might be called the importunities of the dog, they +followed him to the poop, and there, by the dim glimmer admitted by the +sky-light, Captain Hull made out the forms of five bodies, motionless +and apparently lifeless, stretched upon the floor. + +One after another, Dick hastily examined them all, and emphatically +declared it to be his opinion, that not one or them had actually ceased +to breathe; whereupon the captain did not lose a minute in summoning +the two sailors to his aid, and although it was far from an easy task, +he succeeded in getting the five unconscious men, who were all negroes, +conveyed safely to the boat. + +The dog followed, apparently satisfied. + +With all possible speed the boat made its way back again to the +"Pilgrim," a girt-line was lowered from the mainyard, and the +unfortunate men were raised to the deck. + +"Poor things!" said Mrs. Weldon, as she looked compassionately on the +motionless forms. + +"But they are not dead," cried Dick eagerly; "they are not dead; we +shall save them all yet!" + +"What's the matter with them?" asked Cousin Benedict, looking at them +with utter bewilderment. + +"We shall hear all about them soon, I dare say," said the captain, +smiling; "but first we will give them a few drops of rum in some water." + +Cousin Benedict smiled in return. + +"Negoro!" shouted the captain. + +At the sound of the name, the dog, who had hitherto been quite passive, +growled fiercely, showed his teeth, and exhibited every sign of rage. + +The cook did not answer. + +"Negoro!" again the captain shouted, and the dog became yet more angry. + +At this second summons Negoro slowly left his kitchen, but no sooner +had he shown his face upon the deck than the animal made a rush at him, +and would unquestionably have seized him by the throat if the man had +not knocked him back with a poker which he had brought with him in his +hand. + +The infuriated beast was secured by the sailors, and prevented from +inflicting any serious injury. + +"Do you know this dog?" asked the captain. + +"Know him? Not I! I have never set eyes on the brute in my life." + +"Strange!" muttered Dick to himself; "there is some mystery here. We +shall see." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE SURVIVORS OF THE "WALDECK." + + +In spite of the watchfulness of the French and English cruisers, there +is no doubt that the slave-trade is still extensively carried on in all +parts of equatorial Africa, and that year after year vessels loaded +with slaves leave the coasts of Angola and Mozambique to transport +their living freight to many quarters even of the civilized world. + +Of this Captain Hull was well aware, and although he was now in a +latitude which was comparatively little traversed by such slavers, he +could not help almost involuntarily conjecturing that the negroes they +had just found must be part of a slave-cargo which was on its way to +some colony of the Pacific; if this were so, he would at least have the +satisfaction of announcing to them that they had regained their freedom +from the moment that they came on board the "Pilgrim." + +Whilst these thoughts were passing through his mind, Mrs. Weldon, +assisted by Nan and the ever active Dick Sands, was doing everything in +her power to restore consciousness to the poor sufferers. The judicious +administration of fresh water and a limited quantity of food soon had +the effect of making them revive; and when they were restored to their +senses it was found that the eldest of them, a man of about sixty years +of age, who immediately regained his powers of speech, was able to +reply in good English to all the questions that were put to him. In +answer to Captain Hull's inquiry whether they were not slaves, the old +negro proudly stated that he and his companions were all free American +citizens, belonging to the state of Pennsylvania. + +[Illustration: Mrs. Weldon, assisted by Nan and the ever active Dick +Sands, was doing everything in her power to restore consciousness to +the poor sufferers.] + +"Then, let me assure you, my friend," said the captain, "you have by no +means compromised your liberty in having been brought on board the +American schooner 'Pilgrim.'" + +Not merely, as it seemed, on account of his age and experience, but +rather because of a certain superiority and greater energy of +character, this old man was tacitly recognized as the spokesman of his +party; he freely communicated all the information that Captain Hull +required to hear, and by degrees he related all the details of his +adventures. + +He said that his name was Tom, and that when he was only six years of +age he had been sold as a slave, and brought from his home in Africa to +the United States; but by the act of emancipation he had long since +recovered his freedom. His companions, who were all much younger than +himself, their ages ranging from twenty-five to thirty, were all +free-born, their parents having been emancipated before their birth, so +that no white man had ever exercised upon them the rights of ownership. +One of them was his own son; his name was Bat (an abbreviation of +Bartholomew); and there were three others, named Austin, Actæon, and +Hercules. All four of them were specimens of that stalwart race that +commands so high a price in the African market, and in spite of the +emaciation induced by their recent sufferings, their muscular, +well-knit frames betokened a strong and healthy constitution. Their +manner bore the impress of that solid education which is given in the +North American schools, and their speech had lost all trace of the +"nigger-tongue," a dialect without articles or inflexions, which since +the anti-slavery war has almost died out in the United States. + +Three years ago, old Tom stated, the five men had been engaged by an +Englishman who had large property in South Australia, to work upon his +estates near Melbourne. Here they had realized a considerable profit, +and upon the completion of their engagement they determined to return +with their savings to America. Accordingly, on the 5th of January, +after paying their passage in the ordinary way, they embarked at +Melbourne on board the "Waldeck." Everything went on well for seventeen +days, until, on the night of the 22nd, which was very dark, they were +run into by a great steamer. They were all asleep in their berths, but, +roused by the shock of the collision, which was extremely severe, they +hurriedly made their way on to the deck. The scene was terrible; both +masts were gone, and the brig, although the water had not absolutely +flooded her hold so as to make her sink, had completely heeled over on +her side. Captain and crew had entirely disappeared, some probably +having been dashed into the sea, others perhaps having saved themselves +by clinging to the rigging of the ship which had fouled them, and which +could be distinguished through the darkness rapidly receding in the +distance. For a while they were paralyzed, but they soon awoke to the +conviction that they were left alone upon a half-capsized and disabled +hull, twelve hundred miles from the nearest land. Mrs. Weldon was loud +in her expression of indignation that any captain should have the +barbarity to abandon an unfortunate vessel with which his own +carelessness had brought him into collision. It would be bad enough, +she said for a driver on a public road, when it might be presumed that +help would be forthcoming, to pass on unconcerned after causing an +accident to another vehicle; but how much more shameful to desert the +injured on the open sea, where the victims of his incompetence could +have no chance of obtaining succour! Captain Hull could only repeat +what he had said before, that incredibly atrocious as it might seem, +such inhumanity was far from rare. + +On resuming his story, Tom said that he and his companions soon found +that they had no means left for getting away from the capsized brig; +both the boats had been crushed in the collision, so that they had no +alternative except to await the appearance of a passing vessel, whilst +the wreck was drifting hopelessly along under the action of the +currents. This accounted for the fact of their being found so far south +of their proper course. + +For the next ten days the negroes had subsisted upon a few scraps of +food that they found in the stern cabin; but as the store room was +entirely under water, they were quite unable to obtain a drop of +anything to drink, and the freshwater tanks that had been lashed to the +deck had been stove in at the time of the catastrophe. Tortured with +thirst, the poor men had suffered agonies, and having on the previous +night entirely lost consciousness, they must soon have died if the +"Pilgrim's" timely arrival had not effected their rescue. + +All the outlines of Tom's narrative were fully confirmed by the other +negroes; Captain Hull could see no reason to doubt it; indeed, the +facts seemed to speak for themselves. + +One other survivor of the wreck, if he had been gifted with the power +of speech, would doubtless have corroborated the testimony. This was +the dog who seemed to have such an unaccountable dislike to Negoro. + +Dingo, as the dog was named, belonged to the fine breed of mastiffs +peculiar to New Holland. It was not, however, from Australia, but from +the coast of West Africa, near the mouth of the Congo, that the animal +had come. He had been picked up there, two years previously, by the +captain of the "Waldeck," who had found him wandering about and more +than half starved. The initials S. V. engraved upon his collar were the +only tokens that the dog had a past history of his own. After he had +been taken on board the "Waldeck," he remained quite unsociable, +apparently ever pining for some lost master, whom he had failed to find +in the desert land where he had been met with. + +Larger than the dogs of the Pyrenees, Dingo was a magnificent example +of his kind. Standing on his hind legs, with his head thrown back, he +was as tall as a man. His agility and strength would have made him a +sure match for a panther, and he would not have flinched at facing a +bear. His fine shaggy coat was a dark tawny colour, shading off +somewhat lighter round the muzzle, and his long bushy tail was as +strong as a lion's. If he were made angry, no doubt he might become a +most formidable foe, so that it was no wonder that Negoro did not feel +altogether gratified at his reception. + +But Dingo, though unsociable, was not savage. Old Tom said that, on +board the "Waldeck," he had noticed that the animal seemed to have a +particular dislike to negroes; not that he actually attempted to do +them any harm, only he uniformly avoided them, giving an impression +that he must have been systematically ill-treated by the natives of +that part of Africa in which he had been found. During the ten days +that had elapsed since the collision, Dingo had kept resolutely aloof +from Tom and his companions; they could not tell what he had been +feeding on; they only knew that, like themselves, he had suffered an +excruciating thirst. + +Such had been the experience of the survivors of the "Waldeck." Their +situation had been most critical. Even if they survived the pangs of +want of food, the slightest gale or the most inconsiderable swell might +at any moment have sunk the water-logged ship, and had it not been that +calms and contrary winds had contributed to the opportune arrival of +the "Pilgrim," an inevitable fate was before them; their corpses must +lie at the bottom of the sea. + +Captain Hull's act of humanity, however, would not be complete unless +he succeeded in restoring the shipwrecked men to their homes. This he +promised to do. After completing the unlading at Valparaiso, the +"Pilgrim" would make direct for California, where, as Mrs. Weldon +assured them, they would be most hospitably received by her husband, +and provided with the necessary means for returning to Pennsylvania. + +The five men, who, as the consequence of the shipwreck, had lost all +the savings of their last three years of toil, were profoundly grateful +to their kind-hearted benefactors; nor, poor negroes as they were, did +they utterly resign the hope that at some future time they might have +it in their power to repay the debt which they owed their deliverers. + +[Illustration: The good natured negroes were ever ready to lend a +helping hand.] + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +DINGO'S SAGACITY. + + +Meantime the "Pilgrim" pursued her course, keeping as much as possible +to the east, and before evening closed in the hull of the "Waldeck" was +out of sight. + +Captain Hull still continued to feel uneasy about the constant +prevalence of calms; not that for himself he cared much about the delay +of a week or two in a voyage from New Zealand to Valparaiso, but he was +disappointed at the prolonged inconvenience it caused to his lady +passenger. Mrs. Weldon, however, submitted to the detention very +philosophically, and did not utter a word of complaint. + +The captain's next care was to improvise sleeping accommodation for Tom +and his four associates. No room for them could possibly be found in +the crew's quarters, so that their berths had to be arranged under the +forecastle; and as long as the weather continued fine, there was no +reason why the negroes, accustomed as they were to a somewhat rough +life, should not find themselves sufficiently comfortable. + +After this incident of the discovery of the wreck, life on board the +"Pilgrim" relapsed into its ordinary routine. With the wind invariably +in the same direction, the sails required very little shifting; but +whenever it happened, as occasionally it would, that there was any +tacking to be done, the good-natured negroes were ever ready to lend a +helping hand; and the rigging would creak again under the weight of +Hercules, a great strapping fellow, six feet high, who seemed almost to +require ropes of extra strength made for his special use. + +Hercules became at once a great favourite with little Jack; and when +the giant lifted him like a doll in his stalwart arms, the child fairly +shrieked with delight. + +"Higher! higher! very high!" Jack would say sometimes. + +"There you are, then, Master Jack," Hercules would reply as he raised +him aloft. + +"Am I heavy?" asked the child, + +"As heavy as a feather." + +"Then lift me higher still," cried Jack; "as high as ever you can +reach." + +And Hercules, with the child's two feet supported on his huge palm, +would walk about the deck with him like an acrobat, Jack all the time +endeavouring, with vain efforts, to make him "feel his weight." + +Besides Dick Sands and Hercules, Jack admitted a third friend to his +companionship. This was Dingo. The dog, unsociable as he had been on +board the "Waldeck," seemed to have found society more congenial to his +tastes, and being one of those animals that are fond of children, he +allowed Jack to do with him almost anything he pleased. The child, +however, never thought of hurting the dog in any way, and it was +doubtful which of the two had the greater enjoyment of their mutual +sport. Jack found a live dog infinitely more entertaining than his old +toy upon its four wheels, and his great delight was to mount upon +Dingo's back, when the animal would gallop off with him like a +race-horse with his jockey. It must be owned that one result of this +intimacy was a serious diminution of the supply of sugar in the +store-room. Dingo was the delight of all the crew excepting Negoro, who +cautiously avoided coming in contact with an animal who showed such +unmistakable symptoms of hostility. + +The new companions that Jack had thus found did not in the least make +him forget his old friend Dick Sands, who devoted all his leisure time +to him as assiduously as ever. Mrs. Weldon regarded their intimacy with +the greatest satisfaction, and one day made a remark to that effect in +the presence of Captain Hull. + +[Illustration: "There you are, then, Master Jack!"] + +"You are right, madam," said the captain cordially; "Dick is a capital +fellow, and will be sure to be a first-rate sailor. He has an instinct +which is little short of a genius; it supplies all deficiencies of +theory. Considering how short an experience and how little instruction +he has had, it is quite wonderful how much he knows about a ship." + +"Certainly for his age," assented Mrs. Weldon, "he is singularly +advanced. I can safely say that I have never had a fault to find with +him. I believe that it is my husband's intention, after this voyage, to +let him have systematic training in navigation, so that he may be able +ultimately to become a captain." + +"I have no misgivings, madam," replied the captain; "there is every +reason to expect that he will be an honour to the service." + +"Poor orphan!" said the lady; "he has been trained in a hard school." + +"Its lessons have not been lost upon him," rejoined Captain Hull; "they +have taught him the prime lesson that he has his own way to make in the +world." + +The eyes of the two speakers turned as it were unwittingly in the +direction where Dick Sands happened to be standing. He was at the helm. + +"Look at him now!" said the captain; "see how steadily he keeps his eye +upon the fore; nothing distracts him from his duty; he is as much to be +depended on as the most experienced helmsman. It was a capital thing +for him that he began his training as a cabin-boy. Nothing like it. +Begin at the beginning. It is the best of training for the merchant +service." + +"But surely," interposed Mrs. Weldon, "you would not deny that in the +navy there have been many good officers who have never had the training +of which you are speaking?" + +"True, madam; but yet even some of the best of them have begun at the +lowest step of the ladder. For instance, Lord Nelson." + +Just at this instant Cousin Benedict emerged from the stern-cabin, and +completely absorbed, according to his wont, in his own pursuit, began +to wander up and down the deck, peering into the interstices of the +network, rummaging under the seats, and drawing his long fingers along +the cracks in the floor where the tar had crumbled away. + +"Well, Benedict, how are you getting on?" asked Mrs Weldon. + +"I? Oh, well enough, thank you," he replied dreamily; "but I wish we +were on shore." + +"What were you looking for under that bench?" said Captain Hull. + +"Insects, of course," answered Benedict; "I am always looking for +insects." + +"But don't you know, Benedict," said Mrs. Weldon, "that Captain Hull is +far too particular to allow any vermin on the deck of his vessel?" + +Captain Hull smiled and said,-- + +"Mrs Weldon is very complimentary; but I am really inclined to hope +that your investigations in the cabins of the 'Pilgrim' will not be +attended with much success." + +Cousin Benedict shrugged his shoulders in a manner that indicated that +he was aware that the cabins could furnish nothing attractive in the +way of insects. + +"However," continued the captain, "I dare say down in the hold you +could find some cockroaches; but cockroaches, I presume, would be of +little or no interest to you." + +"No interest?" cried Benedict, at once warmed into enthusiasm; "why, +are they not the very orthoptera that roused the imprecations of Virgil +and Horace? Are they not closely allied to the _Periplaneta orientalis_ +and the American Kakerlac, which inhabit--" + +"I should rather say infest," interrupted the captain. + +"Easy enough to see, sir," replied Benedict, stopping short with +amazement, "that you are not an entomologist!" + +"I fear I must plead guilty to your accusation," said the captain +good-humouredly. + +"You must not expect every one to be such an enthusiast in your +favourite study as yourself." Mrs. Weldon interposed; "but are you not +satisfied with the result of your explorations in New Zealand?" + +"Yes, yes," answered Benedict, with a sort of hesitating reluctance; "I +must not say I was dissatisfied; I was really very delighted to secure +that new staphylin which hitherto had never been seen elsewhere than in +New California; but still, you know, an entomologist is always craving +for fresh additions to his collection." + +While he was speaking, Dingo, leaving little Jack, who was romping with +him, came and jumped on Benedict, and began to fawn on him. + +"Get away, you brute!" he exclaimed, thrusting the dog aside. + +"Poor Dingo! good dog!" cried Jack, running up and taking the animal's +huge head between his tiny hands. + +"Your interest in cockroaches, Mr. Benedict," observed the captain, +"does not seem to extend to dogs." + +"It isn't that I dislike dogs at all," answered Benedict; "but this +creature has disappointed me." + +"How do you mean? You could hardly want to catalogue him with the +diptera or hymenoptera?" asked Mrs Weldon laughingly. + +"Oh, not at all," replied Benedict, with the most unmoved gravity. "But +I understood that he had been found on the West Coast of Africa, and I +hoped that perhaps he might have brought over some African hemiptera in +his coat; but I have searched his coat well, over and over again, +without finding a single specimen. The dog has disappointed me," he +repeated mournfully. + +"I can only hope," said the captain, "that if you had found anything, +you were going to kill it instantly." + +Benedict looked with mute astonishment into the captain's face. In a +moment or two afterwards, he said,-- + +"I suppose, sir, you acknowledge that Sir John Franklin was an eminent +member of your profession?" + +"Certainly; why?" + +"Because Sir John would never take away the life of the most +insignificant insect; it is related of him that when he had once been +incessantly tormented all day by a mosquito, at last he found it on the +back of his hand and blew it off, saying, 'Fly away, little creature, +the world is large enough for both you and me!'" + +"That little anecdote of yours, Mr. Benedict," said the captain, +smiling, "is a good deal older than Sir John Franklin. It is told, in +nearly the same words, about Uncle Toby, in Sterne's 'Tristram Shandy'; +only there it was not a mosquito, it was a common fly." + +"And was Uncle Toby an entomologist?" asked Benedict; "did he ever +really live?" + +"No," said the captain, "he was only a character in a novel." + +Cousin Benedict gave a look of utter contempt, and Captain Hull and Mrs +Weldon could not resist laughing. + +Such is only one instance of the way in which Cousin Benedict +invariably brought it about that all conversation with him ultimately +turned upon his favourite pursuit, and all along, throughout the +monotonous hours of smooth sailing, while the "Pilgrim" was making her +little headway to the east, he showed his own devotion to his pet +science, by seeking to enlist new disciples. First of all, he tried his +powers of persuasion upon Dick Sands, but soon finding that the young +apprentice had no taste for entomological mysteries, he gave him up and +turned his attention to the negroes. Nor was he much more successful +with them; one after another, Tom, Bat, Actæon, and Austin had all +withdrawn themselves from his instructions, and the class at last was +reduced to the single person of Hercules; but in him the enthusiastic +naturalist thought he had discovered a latent talent which could +distinguish between a parasite and a thysanura. + +Hercules accordingly submitted to pass a considerable portion of his +leisure in the observation of every variety of coleoptera; he was +encouraged to study the extensive collection of stag-beetles, +tiger-beetles and lady-birds; and although at times the enthusiast +trembled to see some of his most delicate and fragile specimens in the +huge grasp of his pupil, he soon learned that the man's gentle docility +was a sufficient guarantee against his clumsiness. + +While the science of entomology was thus occupying its two votaries, +Mrs. Weldon was giving her own best attention to the education of +Master Jack. Reading and writing she undertook to teach herself, while +she entrusted the instruction in arithmetic to the care of Dick Sands. +Under the conviction that a child of five years will make a much more +rapid progress if something like amusement be combined with his +lessons, Mrs. Weldon would not teach her boy to spell by the use of an +ordinary school primer, but used a set of cubes, on the sides of which +the various letters were painted in red. After first making a word and +showing it to Jack, she set him to put it together without her help, +and it was astonishing how quickly the child advanced, and how many +hours he would spend in this way, both in the cabin and on deck. There +were more than fifty cubes, which, besides the alphabet, included all +the digits; so that they were of service for Dick Sands' lessons as +well as for her own. She was more than satisfied with her device. + +On the morning of the 9th an incident occurred which could not fail to +be observed as somewhat remarkable. Jack was half lying, half sitting +on the deck, amusing himself with his letters, and had just finished +putting together a word with which he intended to puzzle old Tom, who, +with his hand sheltering his eyes, was pretending not to see the +difficulty which was being labouriously prepared to bewilder him; all +at once, Dingo, who had been gambolling round the child, made a sudden +pause, lifted his right paw, and wagged his tail convulsively. Then +darting down upon a capital S, he seized it in his mouth, and carried +it some paces away. + +"Oh, Dingo, Dingo! you mustn't eat my letters!" shouted the child. + +But the dog had already dropped the block of wood, and coming back +again, picked up another, which he laid quietly by the side of the +first. This time it was a capital V. Jack uttered an exclamation of +astonishment which brought to his side not only his mother, but the +captain and Dick, who were both on deck. In answer to their inquiry as +to what had occurred, Jack cried out in the greatest excitement that +Dingo knew how to read. At any rate he was sure that he knew his +letters. + +Dick Sands smiled and stooped to take back the letters. Dingo snarled +and showed his teeth, but the apprentice was not frightened; he carried +his point, and replaced the two blocks among the rest. Dingo in an +instant pounced upon them again, and having drawn them to his side, +laid a paw upon each of them, as if to signify his intention of +retaining them in his possession. Of the other letters of the alphabet +he took no notice at all. + +"It is very strange," said Mrs. Weldon; "he has picked out S V again." + +"S V!" repeated the captain thoughtfully; "are not those the letters +that form the initials on his collar?" + +And turning to the old negro, he continued,-- + +"Tom didn't you say that this dog did not always belong to the captain +of the 'Waldeck'?" + +"To the best of my belief," replied Tom, "the captain had only had him +about two years. I often heard him tell how he found him at the mouth +of the Congo." + +"Do you suppose that he never knew where the animal came from, or to +whom he had previously belonged?" asked Captain Hull. + +"Never," answered Tom, shaking his head; "a lost dog is worse to +identify than a lost child; you see, he can't make himself understood +any way." + +The captain made no answer, but stood musing; Mrs. Weldon interrupted +him. + +"These letters, captain, seem to be recalling something to your +recollection. + +"I can hardly go so far as to say that, Mrs. Weldon," he replied; "but +I cannot help associating them with the fate of a brave explorer." + +"Whom do you mean? said the lady. + +"In 1871, just two years ago," the captain continued, "a French +traveller, under the auspices of the Geographical Society of Paris, set +out for the purpose of crossing Africa from west to east. His +starting-point was the mouth of the Congo, and his exit was designed to +be as near as possible to Cape Deldago, at the mouth of the River +Rovouma, of which he was to ascertain the true course. The name of this +man was Samuel Vernon, and I confess it strikes me as somewhat a +strange coincidence that the letters engraved on Dingo's collar should +be Vernon's initials." + +[Illustration: Jack cried out in the greatest excitement that Dingo +knew how to read] + +"Is nothing known about this traveller?" asked Mrs. Weldon. + +"Nothing was ever heard of him after his first departure. It appears +quite certain that he failed to reach the east coast, and it can only +be conjectured either that he died upon his way, or that he was made +prisoner by the natives; and if so, and this dog ever belonged to him, +the animal might have made his way back to the sea-coast, where, just +about the time that would be likely, the captain of the 'Waldeck' +picked him up." + +"But you have no reason to suppose, Captain Hull, that Vernon ever +owned a dog of this description?" + +"I own I never heard of it," said the captain; "but still the +impression fixes itself on my mind that the dog must have been his; how +he came to know one letter from another, it is not for me to pretend to +say. Look at him now, madam! he seems not only to be reading the +letters for himself, but to be inviting us to come and read them with +him." + +Whilst Mrs. Weldon was watching the dog with much amusement, Dick +Sands, who had listened to the previous conversation, took the +opportunity of asking the captain whether the traveller Vernon had +started on his expedition quite alone. + +"That is really more than I can tell you, my boy," answered Captain +Hull; "but I should almost take it for granted that he would have a +considerable retinue of natives." + +The captain spoke without being aware that Negoro had meanwhile quietly +stolen on deck. At first his presence was quite unnoticed, and no one +observed the peculiar glance with which he looked at the two letters +over which Dingo still persisted in keeping guard. The dog, however, no +sooner caught sight of the cook than he began to bristle with rage, +whereupon Negoro, with a threatening gesture which seemed half +involuntary, withdrew immediately to his accustomed quarters. + +The incident did not escape the captain's observation. + +"No doubt," he said, "there is some mystery here;" and he was pondering +the matter over in his mind when Dick Sands spoke. + +"Don't you think it very singular, sir, that this dog should have such +a knowledge of the alphabet?" + +Jack here put in his word. + +"My mamma has told me about a dog whose name was Munito, who could read +as well as a schoolmaster, and could play dominoes." + +Mrs. Weldon smiled. + +"I am afraid, my child, that that dog was not quite so learned as you +imagine. I don't suppose he knew one letter from another; but his +master, who was a clever American, having found out that the animal had +a very keen sense of hearing, taught him some curious tricks." + +"What sort of tricks?" asked Dick, who was almost as much interested as +little Jack. + +"When he had to perform in public," continued Mrs. Weldon, "a lot of +letters like yours, Jack, were spread out upon a table, and Munito +would put together any word that the company should propose, either +aloud or in a whisper, to his master. The creature would walk about +until he stopped at the very letter which was wanted. The secret of it +all was that the dog's owner gave him a signal when he was to stop by +rattling a little tooth-pick in his pocket, making a slight noise that +only the dog's ears were acute enough to perceive." + +Dick was highly amused, and said,-- + +"But that was a dog who could do nothing wonderful without his master." + +"Just so," answered Mrs. Weldon; "and it surprises me very much to see +Dingo picking out these letters without a master to direct him." + +[Illustration: Negoro, with a threatening gesture that seemed half +involuntary, withdrew immediately to his accustomed quarters.] + +"The more one thinks of it, the more strange it is," said Captain Hull; +"but, after all, Dingo's sagacity is not greater than that of the dog +which rang the convent bell in order to get at the dish that was +reserved for passing beggars; nor than that of the dog who had to turn +a spit every other day, and never could be induced to work when it was +not his proper day. Dingo evidently has no acquaintance with any other +letters except the two S V; and some circumstance which we can never +guess has made him familiar with them." + +"What a pity he cannot talk!" exclaimed the apprentice; "we should know +why it is that he always shows his teeth at Negoro." + +"And tremendous teeth they are!" observed the captain, as Dingo at that +moment opened his mouth, and made a display of his formidable fangs. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +A WHALE IN SIGHT. + + +It was only what might be expected that the dog's singular exhibition +of sagacity should repeatedly form a subject of conversation between +Mrs. Weldon, the captain, and Dick. The young apprentice in particular +began to entertain a lurking feeling of distrust towards Negoro, +although it must be owned that the man's conduct in general afforded no +tangible grounds for suspicion. + +Nor as it only among the stern passengers that Dingo's remarkable feat +was discussed; amongst the crew in the bow the dog not only soon gained +the reputation of being able to read, but was almost credited with +being able to write too, as well as any sailor among them; indeed the +chief wonder was that he did not speak. + +"Perhaps he can," suggested Bolton, the helmsman, "and likely enough +some fine day we shall have him coming to ask about our bearings, and +to inquire which way the wind lies." + +"Ah! why not?" assented another sailor; "parrots talk, and magpies +talk; why shouldn't a dog? For my part, I should guess it must be +easier to speak with a mouth than with a beak." + +"Of course it is," said Howick, the boatswain; "only a quadruped has +never yet been known to do it." + +Perhaps, however, the worthy fellow would have been amazed to hear that +a certain Danish _savant_ once possesed a dog that could actually +pronounce quite distinctly nearly twenty different words, demonstrating +that the construction of the glottis, the aperture at the top of the +windpipe, was adapted for the emission of regular sounds: of course the +animal attached no meaning to the words it uttered any more than a +parrot or a jay can comprehend their own chatterings. + +[Illustration: "This Dingo is nothing out of the way."] + +Thus, unconsciously, Dingo had become the hero of the hour. On several +separate occasions Captain Hull repeated the experiment of spreading +out the blocks before him, but invariably with the same result; the dog +never failed, without the slightest hesitation, to pick out the two +letters, leaving all the rest of the alphabet quite unnoticed. + +Cousin Benedict alone, somewhat ostentatiously, professed to take no +interest in the circumstance. + +"You cannot suppose," he said to Captain Hull, after various +repetitions of the trick, "that dogs are to be reckoned the only +animals endowed with intelligence Rats, you know, will always leave a +sinking ship, and beavers invariably raise their dams before the +approach of a flood. Did not the horses of Nicomedes, Scanderberg and +Oppian die of grief for the loss of their masters? Have there not been +instances of donkeys with wonderful memories? Birds, too, have been +trained to do the most remarkable things; they have been taught to +write word after word at their master's dictation; there are cockatoos +who can count the people in a room as accurately as a mathematician; +and haven't you heard of the old Cardinal's parrot that he would not +part with for a hundred gold crowns because it could repeat the +Apostles' creed from beginning to end without a blunder? And insects," +he continued, warming into enthusiasm, "how marvellously they vindicate +the axiom-- + + 'In minimis maximus Deus!' + +Are not the structures of ants the very models for the architects of a +city? Has the diving-bell of the aquatic argyroneta ever been surpassed +by the invention of the most skilful student of mechanical art? And +cannot fleas go through a drill and fire a gun as well as the most +accomplished artilleryman? This Dingo is nothing out of the way. I +suppose he belongs to some unclassed species of mastiff. Perhaps one +day or other he may come to be identified as the 'canis alphabeticus' +of New Zealand." + +The worthy entomologist delivered this and various similar harangues; +but Dingo, nevertheless, retained his high place in the general +estimation, and by the occupants of the forecastle was regarded as +little short of a phenomenon. The feeling, otherwise universal, was not +in any degree shared by Negoro, and it is not improbable that the man +would have been tempted to some foul play with the dog if the open +sympathies of the crew had not kept him in check. More than ever he +studiously avoided coming in contact in any way with the animal, and +Dick Sands in his own mind was quite convinced that since the incident +of the letters, the cook's hatred of the dog had become still more +intense. + +After continual alternations with long and wearisome calms the +north-east wind perceptibly moderated, and on the both, Captain Hull +really began to hope that such a change would ensue as to allow the +schooner to run straight before the wind. Nineteen days had elapsed +since the "Pilgrim" had left Auckland, a period not so long but that +with a favourable breeze it might be made up at last. Some days however +were yet to elapse before the wind veered round to the anticipated +quarter. + +It has been already stated that this portion of the Pacific is almost +always deserted. It is out of the line of the American and Australian +steam-packets, and except a whaler had been brought into it by some +such exceptional circumstances as the "Pilgrim," it was quite unusual +to see one in this latitude. + +But, however void of traffic was the surface of the sea, to none but an +unintelligent mind could it appear monotonous or barren of interest. +The poetry of the ocean breathes forth in its minute and almost +imperceptible changes. A marine plant, a tuft of seaweed lightly +furrowing the water, a drifting spar with its unknown history, may +afford unlimited scope--for the imagination; every little drop passing, +in its process of evaporation, backwards and forwards from sea to sky, +might perchance reveal its own special secret; and happy are those +minds which are capable of a due appreciation of the mysteries of air +and ocean. + +[Illustration: Occasionally Dick Sands would take a pistol, and now and +then a rifle.] + +Above the surface as well as below, the restless flood is ever teaming +with animal life; and the passengers on board the "Pilgrim" derived no +little amusement from watching great flocks of birds migrating +northwards to escape the rigour of the polar winter, and ever and again +descending in rapid flight to secure some tiny fish. Occasionally Dick +Sands would take a pistol, and now and then a rifle, and, thanks to Mr. +Weldon's former instructions, would bring down various specimens of the +feathered tribe. + +Sometimes white petrels would congregate in considerable numbers near +the schooner; and sometimes petrels of another species, with brown +borders on their wings, would come in sight; now there would be flocks +of damiers skimming the water; and now groups of penguins, whose clumsy +gait appears so ludicrous on shore; but, as Captain Hull pointed out, +when their stumpy wings were employed as fins, they were a match for +the most rapid of fish, so that sailors have often mistaken them for +bonitos. + +High over head, huge albatrosses, their outspread wings measuring ten +feet from tip to tip, would soar aloft, thence to swoop down towards +the deep, into which they plunged their beaks in search of food. Such +incidents and scenes as these were infinite in their variety, and it +was accordingly only for minds that were obtuse to the charms of nature +that the voyage could be monotonous. + +On the day the wind shifted, Mrs. Weldon was walking up and down on the +"Pilgrim's" stern, when her attention was attracted by what seemed to +her a strange phenomenon. All of a sudden, far as the eye could reach, +the sea had assumed a reddish hue, as if it were tinged with blood. + +Both Dick and Jack were standing close behind her, and she cried,-- + +"Look, Dick, look! the sea is all red. Is it a sea-weed that is making +the water so strange a colour? + +"No," answered Dick, "it is not a weed; it is what the sailors call +whales' food; it is formed, I believe, of innumerable myriads of minute +crustacea." + +"Crustacea they may be," replied Mrs. Weldon, "but they must be so +small that they are mere insects. Cousin Benedict no doubt will like to +see them." + +She called aloud,-- + +"Benedict! Benedict! come here! we have a sight here to interest you." + +The amateur naturalist slowly emerged from his cabin followed by +Captain Hull. + +"Ah! yes, I see!" said the captain; "whales' food; just the opportunity +for you, Mr. Benedict; a chance not to be thrown away for studying one +of the most curious of the crustacea." + +"Nonsense!" ejaculated Benedict contemptuously; "utter nonsense!" + +"Why? what do you mean, Mr. Benedict?" retorted the captain; "surely +you, as an entomologist, must know that I am right in my conviction +that these crustacea belong to one of the six classes of the +articulata." + +The disdain of Cousin Benedict was expressed by a repeated sneer. + +"Are you not aware, sir, that my researches as an entomologist are +confined entirely to the hexapoda?" + +Captain Hull, unable to repress a smile, only answered +good-humouredly,-- + +"I see, sir, your tastes do not lie in the same direction as those of +the whale." + +And turning to Mrs. Weldon, he continued,-- + +"To whalemen, madam, this is a sight that speaks for itself. It is a +token that we ought to lose no time in getting out our lines and +looking to the state of our harpoons. There is game not far away." + +Jack gave vent to his astonishment. + +"Do you mean that great creatures like whales feed on such tiny things +as these?" + +"Yes, my boy," said the captain; "and I daresay they are as nice to +them as semolina and ground rice are to you. + +"When a whale gets into the middle of them he has nothing to do but to +open his jaws, and, in a minute, hundreds of thousands of these minute +creatures are inside the fringe or whalebone around his palate, and he +is sure of a good mouthful." + +"So you see, Jack," said Dick, "the whale gets his shrimps without the +trouble of shelling them." + +"And when he has just closed his snappers is the very time to give him +a good taste of the harpoon," added Captain Hull. + +The words had hardly escaped the captain's lips when a shout from one +of the sailors announced,-- + +"A whale to larboard!" + +"There's the whale!" repeated the captain. All his professional +instincts were aroused in an instant, and he hurried to the bow, +followed in eager curiosity by all the stern passengers. + +Even Cousin Benedict loitered up in the rear, constrained, in spite of +himself, to take a share in the general interest. + +There was no doubt about the matter. Four miles or so to windward an +unusual commotion in the water betokened to experienced eyes the +presence of a whale; but the distance was too great to permit a +reasonable conjecture to be formed as to which species of those +mammifers the creature belonged. + +Three distinct species are familiarly known. First there is the Right +whale, which is ordinarily sought for in the northern fisheries. The +average length of this cetacean is sixty feet, though it has been known +to attain the length of eighty feet. It has no dorsal fin, and beneath +its skin is a thick layer of blubber. One of these monsters alone will +yield as much as a hundred barrels of oil. + +Then there is the Hump-back, a typical representative of the species +"balænoptera," a definition which may at first sight appear to possess +an interest for an entomologist, but which really refers to two white +dorsal fins, each half as wide as the body, resembling a pair of wings, +and in their formation similar to those of the flying-fish. It must be +owned, however, that a flying whale would decidedly be a _rara avis_. + +Lastly, there is the Jubarte, commonly known as the Finback. It is +provided with a dorsal fin, and in length not unfrequently is a match +for the gigantic Right whale. + +While it was impossible to decide to which of the three species the +whale in the distance really belonged, the general impression inclined +to the belief that it was a jubarte. + +With longing eyes Captain Hull and his crew gazed at the object of +general attraction. Just as irresistibly as it is said a clockmaker is +drawn on to examine the mechanism of every clock which chance may throw +in his way, so is a whaleman ever anxious to plunge his harpoon into +any whale that he can get within his reach. The larger the game the +more keen the excitement; and no elephant-hunter's eagerness ever +surpasses the zest of the whale-fisher when once started in pursuit of +the prey. + +To the crew the sight of the whale was the opening of an unexpected +opportunity, and no wonder they were fired with the burning hope that +even now they might do something to supply the deficiency of their +meagre haul throughout the season. + +Far away as the creature still was, the captain's practised eye soon +enabled him to detect various indications that satisfied him as to its +true species. Amongst other things that arrested his attention, he +observed a column of water and vapour ejected from the nostrils. "It +isn't a right whale," he said; "if so, its spout would be smaller and +it would rise higher in the air. And I do not think it is a hump-back. +I cannot hear the hump-back's roar. Dick, tell me, what do you think +about it?" + +With a critical eye Dick Sands looked long and steadily at the spout. + +"It blows out water, sir," said the apprentice, "water, as well as +vapour. I should think it is a finback. But it must be a rare large +one." + +"Seventy feet, at least!" rejoined the captain, flushing with his +enthusiasm. + +"What a big fellow!" said Jack, catching the excitement of his elders. + +[Illustration: "What a big fellow!"] + +"Ah, Jack, my boy," chuckled the captain, "the whale little thinks who +are watching him enjoy his breakfast!" + +"Yes," said the boatswain; "a dozen such gentlemen as that would +freight a craft twice the size of ours; but this one, if only we can +get him, will go a good way towards filling our empty barrels." + +"Rather rough work, you know," said Dick, "to attack a finback!" + +"You are right, Dick," answered the captain; "the boat has yet to be +built which is strong enough to resist the flap of a jubarte's tail." + +"But the profit is worth the risk, captain, isn't it?" + +"You are right again, Dick," replied Captain Hull, and as he spoke, he +clambered on to the bowsprit in order that he might get a better view +of the whale. + +The crew were as eager as their captain. Mounted on the fore-shrouds, +they scanned the movements of their coveted prey in the distance, +freely descanting upon the profit to be made out of a good finback and +declaring that it would be a thousand pities if this chance of filling +the casks below should be permitted to be lost. + +Captain Hull was perplexed. He bit his nails and knitted his brow. + +"Mamma!" cried little Jack, "I should so much like to see a whale +close,--quite close, you know." + +"And so you shall, my boy," replied the captain, who was standing by, +and had come to the resolve that if his men would back him, he would +make an attempt to capture the prize. + +He turned to his crew,-- + +"My men! what do you think? shall we make the venture? Remember, we are +all alone; we have no whalemen to help us; we must rely upon ourselves; +I have thrown a harpoon before now; I can throw a harpoon again; what +do you say?" + +The crew responded with a ringing cheer,-- + +"Ay, ay, sir! Ay, ay!" + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +PREPARATIONS FOR AN ATTACK. + + +Great was the excitement that now prevailed, and the question of an +attempt to capture the sea-monster became the ruling theme of +conversation. Mrs. Weldon expressed considerable doubt as to the +prudence of venturing upon so great a risk with such a limited number +of hands, but when Captain Hull assured her that he had more than once +successfully attacked a whale with a single boat, and that for his part +he had no fear of failure, she made no further remonstrance, and +appeared quite satisfied. + +Having formed his resolve, the captain lost no time in setting about +his preliminary arrangements. He could not really conceal from his own +mind that the pursuit of a finback was always a matter of some peril, +and he was anxious, accordingly, to make every possible provision which +forethought could devise against all emergencies. + +Besides her long-boat, which was kept between the two masts, the +"Pilgrim" had three whale-boats, two of them slung to the starboard and +larboard davits, and the third at the stern, outside the taffrail. +During the fishing season, when the crew was reinforced by a hired +complement of New Zealand whalemen, all three of these boats would be +brought at once into requisition, but at present the whole crew of the +"Pilgrim" was barely sufficient to man one of the three boats. Tom and +his friends were ready to volunteer their assistance, but any offers of +service from them were necessarily declined; the manipulation of a +whale-boat can only be entrusted to those who are experienced in the +work, as a false turn of the tiller or a premature stroke of the oar +may in a moment compromise the safety of the whole party. Thus +compelled to take all his trained sailors with him on his venturous +expedition, the captain had no alternative than to leave his apprentice +in charge of the schooner during his absence. Dick's choice would have +been very much in favour of taking a share in the whale-hunt, but he +had the good sense to know that the developed strength of a man would +be of far greater service in the boat, and accordingly without a murmur +he resigned himself to remain behind. + +Of the five sailors who were to man the boat, there were four to take +the oars, whilst Howick the boatswain was to manage the oar at the +stern, which on these occasions generally replaces an ordinary rudder +as being quicker in action in the event of any of the side oars being +disabled. The post of harpooner was of course assigned to Captain Hull, +to whose lot it would consequently fall first to hurl his weapon at the +whale, then to manage the unwinding of the line to which the harpoon +was attached, and finally to kill the creature by lance-wounds when it +should emerge again from below the sea. + +A method sometimes employed for commencing an attack is to place a sort +of small cannon on the bows or deck of the boat and to discharge from +it either a harpoon or some explosive bullets, which make frightful +lacerations on the body of the victim; but the "Pilgrim" was not +provided with apparatus of this description; not only are all the +contrivances of this kind very costly and difficult to manage, but the +fishermen generally are averse to innovations, and prefer the +old-fashioned harpoons. It was with these alone that Captain Hull was +now about to encounter the finback that was lying some four miles +distant from his ship. + +The weather promised as favourably as could be for the enterprise. The +sea was calm, and the wind moreover was still moderating, so that there +was no likelihood of the schooner drifting away during the captain's +absence. + +When the starboard whale-boat had been lowered, and the four sailors +had entered it, Howick passed a couple of harpoons down to them, and +some lances which had been carefully sharpened; to these were added +five coils of stout and supple rope, each 600 feet long, for a whale +when struck often dives so deeply that even these lengths of line +knotted together are found to be insufficient. After these implements +of attack had been properly stowed in the bows, the crew had only to +await the pleasure of their captain. + +The "Pilgrim," before the sailors left her, had been made to heave to, +and the yards were braced so as to secure her remaining as stationary +as possible. As the time drew near for the captain to quit her, he gave +a searching look all round to satisfy himself that everything was in +order; he saw that the halyards were properly tightened, and the sails +trimmed as they should be, and then calling the young apprentice to his +side, he said,-- + +"Now, Dick, I am going to leave you for a few hours: while I am away, I +hope that it will not be necessary for you to make any movement +whatever. However, you must be on the watch. It is not very likely, but +it is possible that this finback may carry us out to some distance. If +so, you will have to follow; and in that case, I am sure you may rely +upon Tom and his friends for assistance." + +One and all, the negroes assured the captain of their willingness to +obey Dick's instructions, the sturdy Hercules rolling up his capacious +shirt-sleeves as if to show that he was ready for immediate action. + +The captain went on,-- + +"The weather is beautifully fine, Dick, and I see no prospect of the +wind freshening; but come what may, I have one direction to give you +which I strictly enforce. You must not leave the ship. If I want you to +follow us, I will hoist a flag on the boat-hook." + +"You may trust me, sir," answered Dick; "and I will keep a good +look-out." + +"All right, my lad; keep a cool head and a good heart. You are second +captain now, you know. I never heard of any one of your age being +placed in such a post; be a credit to your position!" + +Dick blushed, and the bright flush that rose to his cheeks spoke more +than words. + +"The lad may be trusted," murmured the captain to himself; "he is as +modest as he is courageous. Yes; he may be trusted." + +It cannot be denied that the captain was not wholly without compunction +at the step he was taking; he was aware of the danger to which he was +exposing himself, but he beguiled himself with the persuasion that it +was only for a few hours; and his fisherman's instinct was very keen. +It was not only for himself; the desire upon the part of the crew was +almost irresistibly strong that every opportunity ought to be employed +for making the cargo of the schooner equal to her owner's expectations. +And so he finally prepared to start. + +"I wish you all success!" said Mrs. Weldon. + +"Many thanks!" he replied. + +Little Jack put in his word,-- + +"And you will try and catch the whale without hurting him much?" + +"All right, young gentleman," answered the captain; "he shall hardly +feel the tip of our fingers!" + +"Sometimes," said Cousin Benedict, as if he had been pondering the +expedition in relation to his pet science, "sometimes there are strange +insects clinging to the backs of these great mammifers; do you think +you are likely to procure me any specimens?" + +"You shall soon have the opportunity of investigating for yourself," +was the captain's reply. + +"And you, Tom; we shall be looking to you for help in cutting up our +prize, when we get it alongside," continued he. + +"We shall be quite ready, sir," said the negro. + +"One thing more, Dick," added the captain; "you may as well be getting +up the empty barrels out of the hold; they will be all ready." + +"It shall be done, sir," answered Dick promptly. + +If everything went well it was the intention that the whale after it +had been killed should be towed to the side of the schooner, where it +would be firmly lashed. Then the sailors with their feet in spiked +shoes would get upon its back and proceed to cut the blubber, from head +to tail, in long strips, which would first be divided into lumps about +a foot and a half square, the lumps being subsequently chopped into +smaller portions capable of being stored away in casks. The ordinary +rule would be for a ship, as soon as the flaying was complete, to make +its way to land where the blubber could be at once boiled down, an +operation by which it is reduced by about a third of its weight, and by +which it yields all its oil, the only portion of it which is of any +value. Under present circumstances, however, Captain Hull would not +think of melting down the blubber until his arrival at Valparaiso, and +as he was sanguine that the wind would soon set in a favourable +direction, he calculated that he should reach that port in less than +three weeks, a period during which his cargo would not be deteriorated. + +The latest movement with regard to the "Pilgrim" had been to bring her +somewhat nearer the spot where the spouts of vapour indicated the +presence of the coveted prize. The creature continued to swim about in +the reddened waters, opening and shutting its huge jaws like an +automaton, and absorbing at every mouthful whole myriads of animalcula. +No one entertained a fear that it would try to make an escape; it was +the unanimous verdict that it was "a fighting whale," and one that +would resist all attacks to the very end. + +As Captain Hull descended the rope-ladder and took his place in the +front of the boat, Mrs. Weldon and all on board renewed their good +wishes. + +Dingo stood with his fore paws upon the taffrail, and appeared as much +as any to be bidding the adventurous party farewell. + +When the boat pushed off, those who were left on board the "Pilgrim" +made their way slowly to the bows, from which the most extensive view +was to be gained. + +The captain's voice came from the retreating boat,-- + +"A sharp look-out, Dick; a sharp look-out; one eye on us, one on the +ship!" + +[Illustration: The Captain's voice came from the retreating boat. _Page +72_] + +[Illustration: "I must get you to keep your eye upon that man" _Page +73._] + +"Ay, ay, sir," replied the apprentice. + +By his gestures the captain showed that he was under some emotion; he +called out again, but the boat had made such headway that it was too +far off for any words to be heard. + +Dingo broke out into a piteous howl. + +The dog was still standing erect, his eye upon the boat in the +distance. To the sailors, ever superstitious, the howling was not +reassuring. Even Mrs. Weldon was startled. + +"Why, Dingo, Dingo," she exclaimed, "this isn't the way to encourage +your friends. Come here, sir; you must behave better than that!" + +Sinking down on all fours the animal walked slowly up to Mrs. Weldon, +and began to lick her hand. + +"Ah!" muttered old Tom, shaking his head solemnly, "he doesn't wag his +tail at all. A bad omen." + +All at once the dog gave a savage growl. + +As she turned her head, Mrs Weldon caught sight of Negoro making his +way to the forecastle, probably actuated by the general spirit of +curiosity to follow the maneuvers of the whale-boat. He stopped and +seized a handspike as soon as he saw the ferocious attitude of the dog. + +The lady was quite unable to pacify the animal, which seemed about to +fly upon the throat of the cook, but Dick Sands called out loudly,-- + +"Down, Dingo, down!" + +The dog obeyed; but it seemed to be with extreme reluctance that he +returned to Dick's side; he continued to growl, as if still remembering +his rage. Negoro had turned very pale, and having put down the +handspike, made his way cautiously back to his own quarters. + +"Hercules," said Dick, "I must get you to keep your eye upon that man." + +"Yes, I will," he answered, significantly clenching his fists. + +Dick took his station at the helm, whence he kept an earnest watch upon +the whale-boat, which under the vigourous plying of the seamen's oars +had become little more than a speck upon the water. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +A CATASTROPHE. + + +Experienced whaleman as he was, Captain Hull knew the difficulty of the +task he had undertaken, he was alive to the importance of making his +approach to the whale from the leeward, so that there should be no +sound to apprize the creature of the proximity of the boat. He had +perfect confidence in his boatswain, and felt sure that he would take +the proper course to insure a favourable result to the enterprise. + +"We mustn't show ourselves too soon, Howick," he said. + +"Certainly not," replied Howick, "I am going to skirt the edge of the +discoloured water, and I shall take good care to get well to leeward." + +"All right," the captain answered, and turning to the crew said, "now, +my lads, as quietly as you can." + +Muffling the sound of their oars by placing straw in the rowlocks, and +avoiding the least unnecessary noise, the men skilfully propelled the +boat along the outline of the water tinged by the crustacea, so that +while the starboard oars still dipped in the green and limpid sea, the +larboard were in the deep-dyed waves, and seemed as though they were +dripping with blood. + +"Wine on this side, water on that," said one of the sailors jocosely. + +"But neither of them fit to drink," rejoined the captain sharply, "so +just hold your tongue!" + +Under Howick's guidance the boat now glided stealthily on to the greasy +surface of the reddened waters, where she appeared to float as on a +pool of oil. The whale seemed utterly unconscious of the attack that +was threatening it, and allowed the boat to come nearer without +exhibiting any sign of alarm. + +[Illustration: The whale seemed utterly unconscious of the attack that +was threatening it] + +The wide circuit which the captain had thought it advisable to take had +the effect of considerably increasing the distance between his boat and +the "Pilgrim," whilst the strange rapidity with which objects at sea +become diminished in apparent magnitude, as if viewed through the wrong +end of a telescope, made the ship look farther away than she actually +was. + +Another half-hour elapsed, and at the end of it the captain found +himself so exactly to leeward that the huge body of the whale was +precisely intermediate between his boat and the "Pilgrim." A closer +approach must now be made; every precaution must be used; but the time +had come to get sufficiently near for the harpoon to be discharged. + +"Slowly, my men," said the captain, in a low voice; "slowly and softly!" + +Howick muttered something that implied that the whale had ceased +blowing so hard, and that it was aware of their approach; the captain, +upon this, enjoined the most perfect silence, but urged his crew +onwards, until, in five or six minutes, they were within a cable's +length of the finback. Erect at the stern the boatswain stood, and +manoeuvred to get the boat as close as possible to the whale's left +flank, while he made it an object of special care to keep beyond the +reach of its formidable tail, one stroke of which could involve them +all in instantaneous disaster. + +The manipulation of the boat thus left to the boatswain, the captain +made ready for the arduous effort that was before him. At the extreme +bow, harpoon in hand, with his legs somewhat astride so as to insure +his equilibrium, he stood prepared to plunge his weapon into the mass +that rose above the surface of the sea. By his side, coiled in a pail, +and with one end firmly attached to the harpoon, was the first of the +five lines which if the whale should dive to a considerable depth, +would have to be joined end to end, one after another. + +"Are you ready, my lads?" said he, hardly above a whisper. + +"Ay, ay, sir," replied Howick, speaking as gently as his master, and +giving a firmer grip to the rudder-oar that he held in his hands. + +"Then, alongside at once," was the captain's order, which was promptly +obeyed, so that in a few minutes the boat was only about ten feet from +the body of the whale. The animal did not move. Was it asleep? In that +case there was hope that the very first stroke might be fatal. But it +was hardly likely. Captain Hull felt only too sure that there was some +different cause to be assigned for its remaining so still and +stationary; and the rapid glances of the boatswain showed that he +entertained the same suspicion. But it was no time for speculation; the +moment for action had arrived, and no attempt was made on either hand +to exchange ideas upon the subject. + +Captain Hull seized his weapon tightly by the shaft, and having poised +it several times in the air, in order to make more sure of his aim, he +gathered all his strength and hurled it against the side of the finback. + +"Backwater!" he shouted. + +The sailors pushed back with all their might, and the boat in an +instant was beyond the range of the creature's tail. + +And now the immoveableness of the animal was at once accounted for. + +"See; there's a youngster!" exclaimed Howick. + +And he was not mistaken. Startled by the blow of the harpoon the +monster had heeled over on to its side, and the movement revealed a +young whale which the mother had been disturbed in the act of suckling. +It was a discovery which made Captain Hull aware that the capture of +the whale would be attended with double difficulty; he knew; that she +would defend "her little one" (if such a term can be applied to a +creature that was at least twenty feet long) with the most determined +fury; yet having made what he considered a successful commencement of +the attack, he would not be daunted, nor deterred from his endeavour to +secure so fine a prize. + +The whale did not, as sometimes happens, make a precipitate dash upon +the boat, a proceeding which necessitates the instant cutting of the +harpoon-line, and an immediate retreat, but it took the far more usual +course of diving downwards almost perpendicularly. It was followed by +its calf; very soon, however, after rising once again to the surface +with a sudden bound, it began swimming along under water with great +rapidity. + +Before its first plunge Captain Hull and Howick had sufficient +opportunity to observe that it was an unusually large balaenoptera, +measuring at least eighty feet from head to tail, its colour being of a +yellowish-brown, dappled with numerous spots of a darker shade. + +The pursuit, or what may be more aptly termed "the towing," of the +whale had now fairly commenced. The sailors had shipped their oars, and +the whale-boat darted like an arrow along the surface of the waves. In +spite of the oscillation, which was very violent, Howick succeeded in +maintaining equilibrium, and did not need the repeated injunctions with +which the agitated captain urged his boatswain to be upon his guard. + +But fast as the boat flew along, she could not keep pace with the +whale, and so rapidly did the line run out that except proper care had +been taken to keep the bucket in which it was coiled filled with water, +the friction against the edge of the boat would inevitably have caused +it to take fire. The whale gave no indication of moderating its speed, +so that the first line was soon exhausted, and the second had to be +attached to its end, only to be run out with like rapidity. In a few +minutes more it was necessary to join on the third line; it was evident +that the whale had not been hit in a vital part, and so far from rising +to the surface, the oblique direction of the rope indicated that the +creature was seeking yet greater depths. + +"Confound it!" exclaimed the captain; "it seems as if the brute is +going to run out all our line." + +"Yes; and see what a distance the animal is dragging us away from the +'Pilgrim,'" answered Howick. + +"Sooner or later, however," said Captain Hull, "the thing must come to +the surface; she is not a fish, you know." + +"She is saving her breath for the sake of her speed," said one of the +sailors with a grin. + +But grin as he might, both he and his companions began to look serious +when the fourth line had to be added to the third, and more serious +still when the fifth was added to the fourth. The captain even began to +mutter imprecations upon the refractory brute that was putting their +patience to so severe a test. + +The last line was nearly all uncoiled, and the general consternation +was growing very great, when there was observed to be a slight +slackening in the tension. + +"Thank Heaven!" cried the captain; "the beast has tired herself out at +last." + +Casting his eye towards the "Pilgrim," he saw at a glance that she +could not be less than five miles to leeward. It was a long distance, +but when, according to his arrangement, he had hoisted the flag on the +boat-hook which was to be the signal for the ship to approach, he had +the satisfaction of seeing that Dick Sands and the negroes at once +began bracing the yards to get as near as possible to the wind. The +breeze, however, blew only in short, unsteady puffs, and it was only +too evident that the "Pilgrim" would have considerable difficulty in +working her way to the whale-boat, even if she succeeded at last. + +Meantime, just as had been expected, the whale had risen to the surface +of the water, the harpoon still fixed firmly in her side. She remained +motionless, apparently waiting for her calf, which she had far +out-distanced in her mad career. Captain Hull ordered his men to pull +towards her as rapidly as they could, and on getting close up, two of +the sailors, following the captain's example, shipped their oars and +took up the long lances with which the whale was now to be attacked. +Howick held himself in readiness to sheer off quickly in the event of +the finback making a turn towards the boat. + +"Now, my lads!" shouted the captain. "Look out! take a good aim! no +false shots! Are you ready, Howick?" + +"Quite ready, captain," answered the boatswain, adding, "but it +perplexes me altogether to see the brute so quiet all of a sudden." + +"It looks suspicious," said the captain; "but never mind; go on! +straight ahead!" + +Captain Hull was becoming more excited every moment. + +During the time the boat was approaching, the whale had only turned +round a little in the water without changing its position. It was +evidently still looking for its calf, which was not to be seen by its +side. All of a sudden it gave a jerk with its tail which carried it +some few yards away. + +The men were all excited. Was the beast going to escape again? Was the +fatiguing pursuit all to come over a second time? Must not the chase be +abandoned? Would not the prize have to be given up? + +But no: the whale was not starting on another flight; it had merely +turned so as to face the boat, and now rapidly beating the water with +its enormous fins, it commenced a frantic dash forwards. + +"Look out, Howick, she's coming!" shouted Captain Hull. + +The skilful boatswain was all on the alert; the boat swerved, as if by +instinct, so as to avoid the blow, and as the whale passed furiously +by, she received three tremendous thrusts from the lances of the +captain and the two men, who all endeavoured to strike at some vital +part. There was a sudden pause. The whale spouted up two gigantic +columns of blood and water, lashed its tail, and, with bounds and +plunges that were terrible to behold, renewed its angry attack upon the +boat. + +None but the most determined of whalemen could fail to lose their head +under such an assault. Calm and collected, however, the crew remained. +Once again did Howick adroitly sheer aside, and once again did the +three lances do their deadly work upon the huge carcase as it rolled +impetuously past; but this time, so great was the wave that was caused +by the infuriated animal, that the boat was well-nigh full of water, +and in imminent danger of being capsized. + +"Bale away, men!" cried the captain. + +Putting down their oars, the other sailors set to work baling with all +their might. Captain Hull cut the harpoon-line, now no longer required, +because the whale, maddened with pain and grief for the loss of its +offspring, would certainly make no further attempt to escape, but would +fight desperately to the very end. + +The finback was obviously bent on a third onslaught upon the boat, +which, being in spite of all the men's exertions still more than half +full of water, no longer answered readily to the rudder-oar. + +No one thought of flight. The swiftest boat could be overtaken in a +very few bounds. There was no alternative but to face the encounter. It +was not long in coming. Their previous good fortune failed them. The +whale in passing caught the boat with such a violent blow from its +dorsal fin, that the men lost their footing and the lances missed their +mark. + +"Where's Howick?" screamed the captain in alarm. + +"Here I am, captain; all right!" replied the boatswain, who had +scrambled to his feet only to find that the oar with which he had been +steering was snapped in half. + +"The rudder's smashed," he said. + +"Take another, Howick; quick!" cried the captain. + +But scarcely had he time to replace the broken oar, when a bubbling was +heard a few yards away from the boat, and the young whale made its +appearance on the surface of the sea. Catching sight of it instantly, +the mother made a fresh dash in its direction, the maternal instincts +were aroused, and the contest must become more deadly than ever. + +Captain Hull looked towards the "Pilgrim," and waved his signal +frantically above his head. It was, however, with no hope of succour; +he was only too well aware that no human efforts could effectually +hasten the arrival of the ship. Dick Sands indeed had at once obeyed +the first summons: already the wind was filling the sails, but in +default of steam power her progress at best could not be otherwise than +slow. Not only did Dick feel convinced that it would be a useless waste +of time to lower a boat and come off with the negroes to the rescue, +but he remembered the strict orders he had received on no account to +quit the ship. Captain Hull, however, could perceive that the +apprentice had had the aft-boat lowered, and was towing it along, so +that it should be in readiness for a refuge as soon as they should get +within reach. + +[Illustration: The boat was well nigh full of water, and in imminent +danger of being capsized] + +But the whale, close at hand, demanded attention that could ill be +spared for the yet distant ship. Covering her young one with her body, +she was manifestly designing another charge full upon the boat. + +"On your guard, Howick! sheer off!" bellowed the captain. + +But the order was useless. The fresh oar that the boatswain had taken +to replace the broken one was considerably shorter, and consequently it +failed in lever-power. There was, in fact, no helm for the boat to +answer. The sailors saw the failure, and convinced that all was lost +uttered one long, despairing cry that might have been heard on board +the "Pilgrim." Another moment, and from beneath there came a tremendous +blow from the monster's tail that sent the boat flying in the air. In +fragments it fell back again into a sea that was lashed into fury by +the angry flapping of the finback's fins. + +Was it not possible for the unfortunate men, bleeding and wounded as +they were, still to save themselves by clinging to some floating spar? +Captain Hull is indeed seen endeavouring to hoist the boatswain on to a +drifting plank. But all in vain. There is no hope. The whale, writhing +in the convulsions of death, returns yet once again to the attack; the +waters around the struggling sailors seethe and foam. A brief turmoil +follows as if there were the bursting of some vast waterspout. + +In a quarter of an hour afterwards, Dick Sands, with the negroes, +reaches the scene of the catastrophe. All is still and desolate. Every +living object has vanished. Nothing is visible except a few fragments +of the whale-boat floating on the blood-stained water. + +[Illustration: There is no hope.] + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +DICK'S PROMOTION. + + +The first feeling experienced by those on board the "Pilgrim," after +witnessing the terrible disaster was one of grief and horror at the +fearful death that had befallen the victims. Captain Hull and his men +had been swept away before their very eyes, and they had been powerless +to assist. Not one was saved; the schooner had reached the spot too +late to offer the least resistance to the attacks of the formidable +sea-monster. + +When Dick and the negroes returned to the ship after their hopeless +search, with only the corroboration of their sad foreboding that +captain and crew had disappeared for ever, Mrs. Weldon sank upon her +knees; little Jack knelt beside her crying bitterly; and Dick, old Nan, +and all the negroes stood reverently around her whilst with great +devoutness the lady offered up the prayer of commendation for the souls +of the departing. All sympathized heartily with her supplications, nor +was there any diminution of their fervour when she proceeded to implore +that the survivors might have strength and courage for their own hour +of need. + +The situation was indeed very grave. Here was the "Pilgrim" in the +middle of the Pacific, hundreds of miles away from the nearest land, +without captain, without crew, at the mercy of the wind and waves. It +was a strange fatality that had brought the whale across their path; it +was a fatality stranger still that had induced her captain, a man of no +ordinary prudence, to risk even his life for the sake of making good a +deficient cargo. It was an event almost unknown in the annals of +whale-fishing that not a single man in the whale-boat should escape +alive; nevertheless, it was all too true; and now, of all those left on +board, Dick Sands, the apprentice-boy of fifteen years of age, was the +sole individual who had the slightest knowledge of the management of a +ship; the negroes, brave and willing as they were, were perfectly +ignorant of seamen's duties; and, to crown all, here was a lady with +her child on board, for whose safety the commander of the vessel would +be held responsible. + +Such were the facts which presented themselves to the mind of Dick as, +with folded arms, he stood gazing gloomily at the spot where Captain +Hull, his esteemed benefactor, had sunk to rise no more. The lad raised +his eyes sadly; he scanned the horizon with the vain hope that he might +perchance descry some passing vessel to which he could confide Mrs. +Weldon and her son; for himself, his mind was made up; he had already +resolved that nothing should induce him to quit the "Pilgrim" until he +had exhausted every energy in trying to carry her into port. + +The ocean was all deserted. Since the disappearance of the whale +nothing had broken the monotonous surface either of sea or sky. The +apprentice, short as his experience was, knew enough to be aware that +he was far out of the common track alike of merchantmen or whalers; he +would not buoy himself up with false expectations; he would look his +situation full and fairly in the face; he would do his best, and trust +hopefully in guidance from the Power above. + +Thus absorbed in his meditations he did not observe that he was not +alone. Negoro, who had gone below immediately after the catastrophe, +had again come back upon deck. What this mysterious character had felt +upon witnessing the awful calamity it would be impossible to say. +Although with his eye he had keenly taken in every detail of the +melancholy spectacle, every muscle of, his face had remained unmoved; +not a gesture, not a word betrayed the least emotion. Even if he had +heard, he had taken no part, nor evinced the faintest interest in Mrs. +Weldon's outpouring of prayer. + +He had made his way to the stern, where Dick Sands was pondering over +the responsibilities of his own position, and stood looking towards the +apprentice without interrupting his reverie. + +Catching sight of him, Dick roused himself in an instant, and said,-- + +"You want to speak to me?" + +"I must speak either to the captain or the boatswain," answered the man. + +"Negoro," said Dick sharply, "you know as well as I do, that they are +both drowned." + +"Then where am I to get my orders from?" asked the fellow insolently. + +"From me," promptly rejoined the apprentice. + +"From you! from a boy of fifteen?" + +"Yes, from me," repeated Dick, in a firm and resolute voice, looking at +the man until he recoiled under his gaze. "From _me_." + +Mrs. Weldon had heard what passed. + +"I wish every one on board to understand," she interposed, "that Dick +Sands is captain now. Orders must be taken from him, and they must be +obeyed." + +Negoro frowned, bit his lip, sneered, and having muttered something +that was unintelligible, made his way back to his cabin. + +Meantime, the schooner under the freshening breeze had been carried +beyond the shoal of the crustaceans. Dick cast his eye first at the +sails, then along the deck, and seemed to become more and more alive to +the weight of the obligation that had fallen upon him; but his heart +did not fail him; he was conscious that the hopes of the passengers +centred in himself, and he was determined to let them see that he would +do his best not to disappoint them. + +Although he was satisfied of his capability, with the help of the +negroes, to manipulate the sails, he was conscious of a defect of the +scientific knowledge which was requisite for properly controlling the +ship's course. He felt the want of a few more years' experience. If +only he had had longer practice he would, he thought, have been as able +as Captain Hull himself, to use the sextant, to take the altitude of +the stars, to read the time from his chronometer; sun, moon, and +planets, should have been his guides; from the firmament, as from a +dial-plate, he would have gathered the teachings of his true position; +but all this was beyond him as yet; his knowledge went no further than +the use of the log and compass, and by these alone he must be content +to make his reckonings. But he kept up his courage, and did not permit +himself for one moment to despair of ultimate success. + +Mrs. Weldon needed little penetration to recognize the thoughts which +were passing in the mind of the resolute youth. + +"I see you have come to your decision, Dick," she said. "The command of +the ship is in your hands; no fear but that you will do your duty; and +Tom, and the rest of them, no doubt, will render you every assistance +in their power." + +"Yes, Mrs. Weldon," rejoined Dick brightly; "and before long I shall +hope to make them good seamen. If only the weather lasts fair, +everything will go on well enough; and if the weather turns out bad, we +must not despond; we will get safe ashore." + +He paused a moment and added reverently,-- + +"God helping us." + +Mrs. Weldon proceeded to inquire whether he had any means of +ascertaining the "Pilgrim's" present position. He replied that the +ship's chart would at once settle that. Captain Hull had kept the +reckoning accurately right up to the preceding day. + +"And what do you propose to do next?" she asked. "Of course you +understand that in our present circumstances we are not in the least +bound to go to Valparaiso if there is a nearer port which we could +reach." + +"Certainly not," replied Dick; "and therefore it is my intention to +sail due east, as by following that course we are sure to come upon +some part of the American coast." + +[Illustration: "Oh, we shall soon be on shore!"] + +"Do your best, Dick, to let us get ashore somewhere." + +"Never fear, madam," he answered; "as we get nearer land we shall be +almost sure to fall in with a cruiser which will put us into the right +track. If the wind does but remain in the north-west, and allow us to +carry plenty of sail, we shall get on famously." + +He spoke with the cheery confidence of a good sailor who knows the good +ship beneath his feet. He had moved off a few steps to go and take the +helm, when Mrs. Weldon, calling him back, reminded him that he had not +yet ascertained the true position of the schooner. Dick confessed that +it ought to be done at once, and going to the captain's cabin brought +out the chart upon which the ill-fated commander had marked the +bearings the evening before. According to this dead-reckoning they were +in lat. 43° 35', S., and long. 164° 13', W.; and as the schooner had +made next to no progress during the last twenty-four eventful hours, +the entry might fairly be accepted as representing approximately their +present position. + +To the lady's inexperienced eye, as she bent over the outspread chart, +it seemed that the land, as represented by the brown patch which +depicted the continent of South America extending like a barrier +between two oceans from Cape Horn to Columbia, was, after all, not so +very far distant; the wide space of the Pacific was not so broad but +that it would be quickly traversed. + +"Oh, we shall soon be on shore!" she said. + +But Dick knew better. He had acquaintance enough with the scale upon +which the chart was constructed to be aware that the "Pilgrim" herself +would have been a speck like a microscopic infusoria on the vast +surface of that sea, and that hundreds and hundreds of weary miles +separated her from the coast. + +No time was to be lost. Contrary winds had ceased to blow; a fresh +north-westerly breeze had sprung up, and the _cirri_, or curl-cloud: +overhead indicated that for some time at least the direction of the +wind would be unchanged. + +Dick appealed to the negroes, and tried to make them appreciate the +difficulty of the task that had fallen to his lot. Tom answered, in +behalf of himself and all the rest, that they were not only willing, +but anxious, to do all they could to assist him, saying that if their +knowledge was small, yet their arms were strong, and added that they +should certainly be obedient to every order he gave. + +"My friends," said Dick, addressing them in reply; "I shall make it a +point of myself taking the helm as much as possible. But you know I +must have my proper rest sometimes. No one can live without sleep. Now, +Tom, I intend you to stand by me for the remainder of the day. I will +try and make you understand how to steer by the aid of the compass. It +is not difficult. You will soon learn. I shall have to leave you when I +go to my hammock for an hour or two." + +"Is there nothing," said little Jack, "that I can learn to do?" + +"Oh yes, Jack; you shall keep the wind in order," answered Dick, +smiling. + +"That I will!" cried the child, clapping his hands, while the mother +drew him to her side. + +"And now, my men," was Dick's first order to his crew, "we must brace +in the yards to sail fair. I will show you how." + +"All right, Captain Sands; we are at your service," said old Tom +gravely. + +[Illustration: "Oh yes, Jack; you shall keep the wind in order."] + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE NEW CREW. + + +Dick Sands, captain of the "Pilgrim," would not lose a moment in +getting his ship under sail. His prime object was to land his +passengers safely at Valparaiso or some other American port, and to +accomplish his purpose it was in the first place necessary that he +should ascertain the schooner's rate of speed and the direction that +she was taking. This information was to be obtained readily enough by +means of the log and compass, and the result of each day's observations +would be entered regularly on the chart. + +The log on board was a patent log, with a dial-plate and screw, by +means of which the distance that is travelled can be measured +accurately for any definite time; it was an instrument so simple that +the negroes were very soon taught its use. The slight error in the +reckoning caused by the action of the currents could only be rectified +by astronomical observations, which, as already has been stated, were +beyond Dick's attainments to make. + +The idea more than once crossed Dick's mind whether he would not take +the "Pilgrim" back again to New Zealand; the distance was considerably +less than it was to America, and had the wind remained in the quarter +whence it had been blowing so long, it is more than likely he would +have determined to retrace his course. But as the wind had now veered +to the north-west, and there was every probability that it was settled +for a time, he came to the conclusion that he had better take advantage +of it and persevere in making his way towards the east. Accordingly he +lost no time in putting his ship before the wind. + +On a schooner the fore-mast usually carries four square sails; on the +lower mast a fore-sail; on the top-mast a top-sail; on the top-gallant +a top-gallant-sail and a royal. The main-mast carries only a main-sail +and a top-sail. Between the masts upon the fore-stays can be hoisted a +triple tier of triangular sails; while the bowsprit with its jib-boom +will carry the three jibs. + +The jibs, the main-sail, the main-top-sail and the staysails are all +managed with comparative ease, because they can be hoisted from the +deck without the necessity of ascending the mast to let fly the +robbins, by which they are fastened to the yards. With the sails on the +fore-mast it is altogether a more difficult business. In order either +to unfurl them, to take them in, or to reef them, it is necessary for a +man to clamber up by the shrouds, either to the fore-top, or to the +top-gallant cross-trees, and thence mounting by loose ropes, extended +below the yards, to hold on by one hand whilst he does his work with +the other. The operation requires alike the head and arm of an +experienced mariner; and when a fresh breeze has been blowing, it is a +casualty far from uncommon that a sailor, confused by the flapping of +the canvas and the pitching of the vessel, should be blown overboard in +the act. For the unpractised negroes the danger would necessarily be +very great. However, the wind at present was very moderate, and the +ship ploughed her way over the waves without any violent oscillations. + +At the time when Dick Sands, in obedience to the signal he received +from Captain Hull, proceeded to make his way to the scene of the +disaster, the "Pilgrim," as she lay to, was carrying only her jibs, +main-sail, fore-sail, and fore-top-sail. In order, therefore, to put +her as near as possible to the wind, it had been merely necessary to +counter-brace the fore-sail yard, a manoeuvre in which the negroes had +rendered all the assistance that was necessary. It was requisite now to +do something more. To enable him to get straight before the wind Dick +wanted to increase his sail, and was desirous of hoisting the +top-gallant, the royal, the main-top-sail, and the stay-sails. + +He was himself standing at the wheel. + +"Now, my men," he shouted to the negroes; "I want your help. Do exactly +as I tell you. Bear away, Tom!" + +Tom looked puzzled. + +"Bear away! unfasten that rope, I mean. And, Bat, come along; do the +same as Tom." + +The men did what they were bidden. + +"That's right!" continued Dick, and calling to Hercules, said,-- + +"Now, Hercules; a good strong pull!" + +To give such a direction to Hercules was somewhat imprudent; the +rigging creaked again under his giant strength. + +"Gently, gently, my good fellow!" said Dick, laughing; "you will have +the mast down." + +"I declare I hardly touched the rope," answered Hercules. + +"Well, next time, you must only pretend to touch it," said Dick; and, +continuing his orders, shouted, "Now slacken! let fly! make fast! now +brace in the yards! all right! that's capital!" + +The yards were loosened, the foresails turned slowly round, and, +catching the breeze, gave a slight impetus to the ship. Dick's next +orders were for the jib-sheets to be set free, and then he called the +men to the stern. + +"Now," said he; "we must look to the main-mast; but take care, +Hercules, not to have it down." + +"I will be as careful as possible, Mr. Dick," submissively replied +Hercules, as though he were afraid to commit himself to any rash +promise. + +The manoeuvre was simple enough. The main-sheet was gradually +slackened, the great sail took the wind and added its powerful action +to that of the fore-sails. The main-top-sail was next brought to bear; +it was only clewed up, so that there was nothing to do except to pull +the halyards, haul it aboard the tack, and unfurl it. But in pulling at +the halyards the muscular energy of Hercules, which was supplemented by +that of Actæon, not to forget little Jack, who had volunteered his +assistance, proved to be overpowering, and the rope snapped in two. All +three of them, of course, fell flat upon the deck; but fortunately +neither of them was hurt, and Jack laughed heartily at his tumble as an +excellent joke. + +"Up with you!" cried Captain Dick; "there's no harm done; splice the +rope, and haul away more gently next time." + +It took but a few minutes to execute the order, and the "Pilgrim" was +soon sailing away rapidly with her head to the east. + +"Well done, my friends!" said Dick, who had not left his post at the +helm; "you will be first-rate sailors before the end of the voyage." + +"We shall do our best, I promise you, Captain Sands," replied Tom, +making it a point to give the young commander his proper title. + +Mrs. Weldon also congratulated the new crew upon the success of their +first attempt. + +"I believe it was Master Jack who broke that rope," said Hercules, with +a sly twinkle in his eye; "he is very strong, I can tell you." + +Jack looked as though he thoroughly appreciated the compliment, and +evidenced his satisfaction by giving his huge friend a hearty shake of +the hand. + +There were still several sails that were not yet set. Running well +before the wind as the "Pilgrim" was, Dick nevertheless felt that the +gallant, royal, and stay-sails, if brought into service, would +materially assist her progress, and he determined not to dispense with +their help. The stay-sails could be hoisted from below, but to bring +the gallant and royal into play demanded more experience than any of +his crew had had. Knowing that he could not entrust the task to them, +and yet resolved not to be baulked of his wish to set them, he +undertook the task himself. He first put Tom to the helm, showing him +how to keep the schooner's head in the right direction, and having +placed the other four at the royal and top-gallant halyards, proceeded +to mount the foremast. + +[Illustration: All three of them fell flat upon the deck.] + +To clamber up the foreshrouds and the top-shrouds on to the cross-trees +was mere child's play to the active apprentice. In a few minutes he had +unfurled the top-gallant-sail, mounted to the royal-yard, unfurled the +royal, again reached the cross-trees, and having caught hold of one of +the starboard backstays, had descended to the deck; there he gave the +necessary directions, and the two sails were made fast, and both yards +braced. + +Nor did this content him. The stay-sails were set between the masts, +and thus the "Pilgrim" was running along, crowded to the full, with all +her canvas. The only additional sails which Dick could possibly have +employed would have been some studding-sails to larboard, but as the +setting of these was a matter of some difficulty, and they were not +always readily struck in the case of a sudden squall, he contented +himself without them. + +Again he took his place at the helm. The breeze was manifestly +freshening, and the "Pilgrim," almost imperceptibly heeling to +starboard, glided rapidly along the surface of the water, leaving +behind her a wake, smooth and clean, that bore plain witness to the +true adjustment of her water-line. + +"This is good progress, Mrs. Weldon," he said; "may Heaven grant the +wind and weather may continue thus favourable!" + +The lady, in silence, shook the boy's hand; and then, worn-out with the +excitement of the past hours, went to her cabin, where she lay down and +fell into a troubled doze. + +The new crew remained on watch. They were stationed on the forecastle, +in readiness to make any alteration which the sails might require, but +the wind was so steady and unshifting that no need arose for their +services. + +And Cousin Benedict? all this time, where was he? and what had he been +doing? + +He was sitting in his cabin; he had a magnifying-glass in his hand and +was studying an articulata of the order orthoptera, an insect of the +Blattidae family; its characteristics are a roundish body, rather long +wings, flat elytra, and a head hidden by the prothorax. He had been on +deck at the time of the calamity; the ill-fated captain with the crew +had been drowned before his very eyes; but he said nothing; not that he +was unmoved; to think that he was not struck with horror would be to +libel his kind and pitying nature. His sympathy was aroused, especially +for his cousin; he pressed her hand warmly as if he would assure her of +his truest commiseration; but he said nothing; he hurried off towards +his cabin; and who shall deny that it was to devise some wonderfully +energetic measures that he would take in consequence of this melancholy +event? + +Passing the kitchen, however, he caught sight of Negoro in the act of +crushing a blatta, an American species of cockroach. He broke out into +a storm of invective, and in tones of indignation demanded the +surrender of the insect, which Negoro made with cool contempt. In a +moment Captain Hull and his partners in death were all forgotten; the +enthusiast had secured a prize with which he hastened to his own little +compartment, where he was soon absorbed in proving to his own +satisfaction, in opposition to the opinion of other entomologists, that +the blattae of the phoraspous species, which are remarkable for their +colours, differ in their habits from blattae of the ordinary sort. + +For the remainder of the day perfect order reigned on board the +"Pilgrim." Though they were unable to shake off the sickening feeling +of horror roused by the frightful disaster, and felt that they had +sustained a startling shock, all the passengers seemed mechanically to +fall into their usual routine. Dick Sands, though avowedly at the +wheel, seemed to be everywhere, with an eye for every thing, and his +amateur crew obeyed him readily, and with the promptness of a willing +activity. + +Negoro made no further overt attempt to question the young captain's +authority, but remained shut up in his kitchen. Dick made no secret of +his determination to place the cook in close confinement if he +exhibited any future sign of insubordination. Hercules was ready to +carry him off bodily to the hold, and old Nan was equally ready to take +his place in the cooking department. Probably Negoro was aware of all +this; at any rate he did not seem disposed to give any further cause of +offence at present. + +[Illustration: Jack evidenced his satisfaction by giving his huge +friend a hearty shake of the hand.] + +As the day advanced the wind continued to freshen; but no shifting of +the sails seemed necessary. The "Pilgrim" was running well. There was +no need to diminish her spread of canvas. Masts as solid and rigging as +strong as hers could stand a far heavier breeze. + +As a general rule, it is deemed prudent in case of a squall to shorten +sail at night, and especially to take in gallants and royal; but the +weather prospects now were all so promising and satisfactory that Dick +persuaded himself he was under no necessity to take this precaution; he +rather felt himself bound to take the strongest measures he could to +expedite his reaching less unfrequented waters. He made up his mind, +however, not to leave the deck at all that night. + +The young captain made every effort to get an approximate reckoning of +the schooner's progress. He heaved the log every half-hour and duly +registered the result of each successive examination. There were two +compasses on board; one in the binnacle, close under the eye of the +helmsman, the other, an inverted compass, being attached to the rafters +of the captain's cabin, so that without leaving his berth he could see +whether the man in charge of the wheel was holding a proper course. + +Every vessel that is duly furnished for a lengthened voyage has always +not only two compasses but two chronometers, one to correct the other. +The "Pilgrim" was not deficient in this respect, and Dick Sands made a +strong point of admonishing his crew that they should take especial +care of the compasses, which under their present circumstances were of +such supreme importance. + +A misfortune, however, was in store for them. On the night of the 12th, +while Dick was on watch, the compass in the cabin became detached from +its fastening and fell on the floor. The accident was not discovered +until the following morning. Whether the metal ferule that had attached +the instrument to the rafters had become rusty, or whether it had been +worn away by additional friction it seemed impossible to settle. All +that could be said was that the compass was broken beyond repair. Dick +was extremely grieved at the loss; but he did not consider that any one +was to be blamed for the mishap, and could only resolve for the future +to take extra care of the compass in the binnacle. + +With the exception of this _contretemps_, everything appeared to go on +satisfactorily on board. Mrs. Weldon, reassured by Dick's confidence, +had regained much of her wonted calmness, and was besides ever +supported by a sincere religious spirit. She and Dick had many a long +conversation together. The ingenuous lad was always ready to take the +kind and intelligent lady into his counsel, and day by day would point +out to her on the chart the registers he made as the result of his dead +reckoning; he would then try and satisfy her that under the prevailing +wind there could be no doubt they must arrive at the coast of South +America: moreover, he said that, unless he was much mistaken, they +should sight the land at no great distance from Valparaiso. + +Mrs. Weldon had, in truth, no reason to question the correctness of +Dick's representations; she owned that provided the wind remained in +the same favourable quarter, there was every prospect of their reaching +land in safety; nevertheless at times she could not resist the +misgiving that would arise when she contemplated what might be the +result of a change of wind or a breaking of the weather. + +With the light-heartedness that belonged to his age, Jack soon fell +back into his accustomed pursuits, and was to be seen merrily running +over the deck or romping with Dingo. At times, it is true, he missed +the companionship of Dick; but his mother made him comprehend that now +that Dick, was captain, his time was too much occupied to allow him; +any leisure for play, and the child quite understood that he must not +interrupt his old friend in his new duties. + +[Illustration: A light shadow glided stealthily along the deck.] + +The negroes performed their work with intelligence, and seemed to make +rapid progress in the art of seamanship. Tom had been unanimously +appointed boatswain, and took one watch with Bat and Austin, the +alternate watch being discharged by Dick himself with Hercules and +Actæon. One of them steered so that the other two were free to watch at +the bows. As a general rule Dick Sands managed to remain at the wheel +all night; five or six hours' sleep in the daytime sufficed for him, +and during the time when he was lying down he entrusted the wheel to +Tom or Bat, who under his instructions had become very fair helmsmen. +Although in these unfrequented waters there was little chance of +running foul of any other vessel, Dick invariably took the precaution +of lighting his signals, carrying a green light to starboard and a red +light to port. His exertions, however, were a great strain upon him, +and sometimes during the night his fatigue would induce a heavy +drowsiness, and he steered, as it were, by instinct more than by +attention. + +On the night of the 13th, he was so utterly worn-out that he was +obliged to ask Tom to relieve him at the helm whilst he went down for a +few hours' rest. Actæon and Hercules remained on watch on the +forecastle. + +The night was very dark; the sky was covered with heavy clouds that had +formed in the chill evening air, and the sails on the top-masts were +lost in the obscurity. At the stern, the lamps on either side of the +binnacle cast a faint reflection on the metal mountings of the wheel, +leaving the deck generally in complete darkness. + +Towards three o'clock in the morning Tom was getting so heavy with +sleepiness that he was almost unconscious. His eye, long fixed steadily +on the compass, lost its power of vision, and he fell into a doze from +which it would require more than a slight disturbance to arouse him. + +Meantime a light shadow glided stealthily along the deck. Creeping +gradually up to the binnacle, Negoro put down something heavy that he +had brought in his hand. He stole a keen and rapid glance at the dial +of the compass, and made his way back, unseen and unheard as he had +come. + +Almost immediately afterwards, Tom awakened from his slumber. His eye +fell instinctively on the compass, and he saw in a moment that the ship +was out of her proper course. By a turn of the helm he brought her head +to what he supposed to be the east. But he was mistaken. During his +brief interval of unconsciousness a piece of iron had been deposited +beneath the magnetic needle, which by this means had been diverted +thirty degrees to the right, and, instead of pointing due north, +inclined far towards north-east. + +Consequently it came to pass that the "Pilgrim," supposed by her young +commander to be making good headway due east, was in reality, under the +brisk north-west breeze, speeding along towards the south-east. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +ROUGH WEATHER. + + +During the ensuing week nothing particular occurred on board. The +breeze still freshened, and the "Pilgrim" made on the average 160 miles +every twenty-four hours. The speed was as great as could be expected +from a craft of her size. + +Dick grew more and more sanguine in his anticipations that it could not +be long before the schooner would cross the track of the mail-packets +plying between the eastern and western hemispheres. He had made up his +mind to hail the first passing vessel, and either to transfer his +passengers, or what perhaps would be better still, to borrow a few +sailors, and, it might be, an officer to work the "Pilgrim" to shore. +He could not help, however, a growing sense of astonishment, when day +after day passed, and yet there was no ship to be signalled. He kept +the most vigourous look-out, but all to no purpose. Three voyages +before had he made to the whale-fisheries, and his experience made him +sure that he ought now to be sighting some English or American vessel +on its way between the Equator and Cape Horn. + +Very different, however, was the true position of the "Pilgrim" from +what Dick supposed; not only had the ship been carried far out of her +direct course by currents, the force of which there were no means of +estimating, but from the moment when the compass had been tampered with +by Negoro, the steering itself had put the vessel all astray. + +Unconscious of both these elements of disturbance, Dick Sands was +convinced that they were proceeding steadily eastwards, and was +perpetually encouraging Mrs. Weldon and himself by the assurance that +they must very soon arrive within view of the American coast; again and +again asserting that his sole concern was for his passengers, and that +for his own safety he had no anxiety. + +"But think, Dick," said the lady, "what a position you would have been +in, if you had not had your passengers. You would have been alone with +that terrible Negoro; you would have been rather alarmed then." + +"I should have taken good care to put it out of Negoro's power to do me +any mischief, and then I should have worked the ship by myself," +answered the lad stoutly. + +His very pluck gave Mrs. Weldon renewed confidence. She was a woman +with wonderful powers of endurance, and it was only when she thought of +her little son that she had any feeling of despair; yet even this she +endeavoured to conceal, and Dick's undaunted courage helped her. + +Although the youth of the apprentice did not allow him to pretend to +any advanced scientific knowledge, he had the proverbial "weather-eye" +of the sailor. He was not only very keen in noticing any change in the +aspect of the sky, but he had learnt from Captain Hull, who was a +clever meteorologist, to draw correct conclusions from the indications +of the barometer; the captain, indeed, having taken the trouble to make +him learn by heart the general rules which are laid down in +Vorepierre's _Dictionnaire Illustré_. + +There are seven of these rules:-- + +1. If after a long period of fine weather the barometer falls suddenly +and continuously, although the mercury may be descending for two or +three days before there is an apparent change in the atmosphere, there +will ultimately be rain; and the longer has been the time between the +first depression and the commencement of the rain, the longer the rain +may be expected to last. + +2. _Vice versâ_, if after a long period of wet weather the barometer +begins to rise slowly and steadily, fine weather will ensue; and the +longer the time between the first rising of the mercury and the +commencement of the fine weather, the longer the fine weather may be +expected to last. + +3. If immediately after the fall or rise of the mercury a change of +weather ensues, the change will be of no long continuance.[1] + +4. A gradual rise for two or three days during rain forecasts fine +weather; but if there be a fall immediately on the arrival of the fine +weather, it will not be for long. This rule holds also conversely. + +5. In spring and autumn a sudden fall indicates rain; in the summer, if +very hot, it foretells a storm. In the winter, after a period of steady +frost, a fall prognosticates a change of wind with rain and hail; +whilst a rise announces the approach of snow. + +6. Rapid oscillations of the mercury either way are not to be +interpreted as indicating either wet or dry weather of any duration; +continuance of either fair or foul weather is forecast only by a +prolonged and steady rise or fall beforehand. + +7. At the end of autumn, after a period of wind and rain, a rise may be +expected to be followed by north wind and frost. + +Not merely had Dick got these rules by rote, but he had tested them by +his own observations, and had become singularly trustworthy in his +forecasts of the weather. He made a point of consulting the barometer +several times every day, and although to all appearances the sky +indicated that the fine weather was settled, it did not escape his +observation that on the 20th the mercury showed a tendency to fall. +Dick knew that rain, if it came, would be accompanied by wind; an +opinion in which he was very soon confirmed by the breeze freshening, +till the air was displaced at the rate of nearly sixty feet a second, +or more[1] than forty miles an hour; and he recognized the necessity of +at once shortening sail. He had already used the precaution to take in +the royal, the main-top-sail, and the flying jib, but he now at once +resolved likewise to take in the top-gallant, and to have a couple of +reefs in the foretop-sail. + + +[Footnote 1: This and several of the other rules are concisely +concentrated in the couplet-- + + Long foretold, long last; + Short notice, soon past.] + + +To an inexperienced crew, the last operation was far from easy; but +there was no symptom of shrinking from it. Followed by Bat and Austin, +Dick mounted the rigging of the foremast, and with little trouble got +to the top-gallant. Had the weather been less unpromising he would have +been inclined to leave the two yards as they were, but anticipating the +ultimate necessity of being obliged to lower the mast, he unrigged +them, and let them down to the deck; he knew well enough that in the +event of the gale rising as he expected, the lowering of the mast as +well as the shortening of sail would contribute to diminish the strain +and stress upon the vessel. + +It was the work of two hours to get this preliminary operation over. +There still remained the task of taking in the reefs in the top-sail. + +The "Pilgrim" in one respect differed from most modern vessels. She did +not carry a double foretop, which would very much have diminished the +difficulty attending the reefing. It was consequently necessary to +proceed as before; to mount the rigging, by main force to haul in the +flapping canvas, and to make the fastening secure. But critical and +dangerous as the task was, it was successfully accomplished, and the +three young men, having descended safely to the deck, had the +satisfaction of seeing the schooner run easily before the wind, which +had further increased till it was blowing a stiff gale. + +For three days the gale continued brisk and hard, yet without any +variation in its direction. But all along the barometer was falling; +the mercury sank to 28° without symptom of recovery. The sky was +becoming overcast; clouds, thick and lowering, obscured the sun, and it +was difficult to make out where it rose or where it set. Dick did his +best to keep up his courage, but he could not disguise from himself +that there was cause for uneasiness. He took no more rest than was +absolutely necessary, and what repose he allowed himself he always took +on deck; he maintained a calm exterior, but he was really tortured with +anxiety. + +[Illustration: For half an hour Negoro stood motionless.] + +Although the violence of the wind seemed to lull awhile, Dick did not +suffer himself to be betrayed into any false security; he knew only too +well what to expect, and after a brief interval of comparative quiet, +the gale returned and the waves began to run very high. + +About four o'clock one afternoon, Negoro (a most unusual thing for him) +emerged from his kitchen, and skulked to the fore. Dingo was fast +asleep, and did not make his ordinary growl by way of greeting to his +enemy. For half an hour Negoro stood motionless, apparently surveying +the horizon. The heavy waves rolled past; they were higher than the +condition of the wind warranted; their magnitude witnessed to a storm +passing in the west, and there was every reason to suspect that the +"Pilgrim" might be caught by its violence. + +Negoro looked long at the water; he then raised his eyes and scanned +the sky. Above and below he might have read threatening signs. The +upper stratum of cloud was travelling far more rapidly than that +beneath, an indication that ere long the masses of vapour would +descend, and, coming in contact with the inferior current, would change +the gale into a tempest, which probably would increase to a hurricane. + +It might be from ignorance or it might be from indifference, but there +was no indication of alarm on the face of Negoro; on the other hand +there might be seen a sort of smile curling on his lip. After thus +gazing above him and around him, he clambered on to the bowsprit, and +made his way by degrees to the very gammonings; again he rested and +looked about him as if to explore the horizon; after a while he +clambered back on deck, and soon stealthily retreated to his own +quarters. + +No doubt there was much to cause concern in the general aspect of the +weather; but there was one point on which they never failed to +congratulate each other;--that the direction of the wind had never +changed, and consequently must be carrying them in the desired course. +Unless a storm should overtake them, they could continue their present +navigation without peril, and with every prospect of finding a port +upon the shore where they might put in. Such were their mutual and +acknowledged hopes; but Dick secretly felt the misgiving lest, without +a pilot, he might in his ignorance fail to find a harbour of refuge. +Nevertheless, he would not suffer himself to meet trouble half-way, and +kept up his spirits under the conviction that if difficulties came he +should be strengthened to grapple with them or make his escape. + +Time passed on, and the 9th of March arrived without material change in +the condition of the atmosphere. The sky remained heavily burdened, and +the wind, which occasionally had abated for a few hours, had always +returned with at least its former violence. The occasional rising of +the mercury never encouraged Dick to anticipate a permanent improvement +in the weather, and he discerned only too plainly that brighter times +at present were not to be looked for. + +A startling alarm had more than once been caused by the sudden breaking +of storms in which thunderbolts had seemed to fall within a few cables' +lengths of the schooner. On these occasions the torrents of rain had +been so heavy that the ship had appeared to be in the very midst of a +whirlpool of vapour, and it was impossible to see a yard ahead. + +The "Pilgrim" pitched and rolled frightfully. Fortunately Mrs. Weldon +could bear the motion without much personal inconvenience, and +consequently was able to devote her attention to her little boy, who +was a miserable sufferer. Cousin Benedict was as undisturbed as the +cockroaches he was investigating; he hardly noticed the increasing +madness of either wind or wave, but went on with his studies as calmly +as if he were in his own comfortable museum at San Francisco. Moreover, +it was fortunate that the negroes did not suffer to any great degree +from sea-sickness, and consequently were able to assist their captain +in his arduous task, Dick was far too experienced a sailor himself to +be inconvenienced by any oscillations of the vessel, however violent. + +The "Pilgrim" still made good headway, and Dick, although he was aware +that ultimately it would probably be necessary again to shorten sail, +was anxious to postpone making any alteration before he was absolutely +obliged. Surely, he reasoned with himself, the land could not now be +far away; he had calculated his speed; he had kept a diligent reckoning +on the chart; surely, the shore must be almost in sight. He would not +trust his crew to keep watch; he was aware how easily their +inexperienced eyes would be misled, and how they might mistake a +distant cloud-bank for the land they coveted to see; he kept watch for +himself; his own gaze was ever fixed upon the horizon; and in the +eagerness of his expectation he would repeatedly mount to the +cross-trees to get a wider range of vision. + +But land was not to be seen. + +Next day as Dick was standing at the bow, alternately considering the +canvas which his ship carried and the aspect presented by the sky, Mrs. +Weldon approached him without his noticing her. She caught some +muttered expressions of bewilderment that fell from his lips, and asked +him whether he could see anything. + +He lowered the telescope which he had been holding in his hand, and +answered,-- + +"No, Mrs. Weldon, I cannot see anything; and it is this Hiat perplexes +me so sorely. I cannot understand why we have not already come in sight +of land. It is nearly a month since we lost our poor dear captain. +There has been no delay in our progress; no stoppage in our rate of +speed. I cannot make it out." + +"How far were we from land when we lost the captain?" + +"I am sure I am not far out in saying that we were scarcely more than +4500 miles from the shores of America." + +"And at what rate have we been sailing?" + +"Not much less than nine score knots a day." + +"How long, then, do you reckon, Dick, we ought to be in arriving at the +coast?" + +"Under six-and-twenty days," replied Dick. + +He paused before he spoke again, then added,-- + +"But what mystifies me even more than our failing to sight the land is +this: we have not come across a single vessel; and yet vessels without +number are always traversing these seas." + +"But do you not think," inquired Mrs. Weldon, "that you have made some +error in your reckoning? Is your speed really what you have supposed?" + +"Impossible, madam," replied Dick, with an air of dignity, "impossible +that I should have fallen into error. The log has been consulted, +without fail, every half-hour. I am about to have it lowered now, and I +will undertake to show you that we are at this present moment making +ten miles an hour, which would give considerably over 200 miles a day." + +He then called out to Tom,-- + +"Tom, lower the log!" + +The old man was quite accustomed to the duty. The log was fastened to +the line and thrown overboard. It ran out regularly for about +five-and-twenty fathoms, when all at once the line slackened in Tom's +hand. + +"It is broken!" cried Tom; "the cord is broken!" + +"Broken?" exclaimed Dick: "good heavens! we have lost the log!" + +It was too true. The log was gone. + +Tom drew in the rope. Dick took it up and examined it. It had not +broken at its point of union with the log; it had given way in the +middle, at a place where the strands in some unaccountable way had worn +strangely thin. + +Dick's agony of mind, in spite of his effort to be calm, was intensely +great. A suspicion of foul play involuntarily occurred to him. He knew +that the rope had been of first-rate make; he knew that it had been +quite sound when used before; but he could prove nothing; he could only +mourn over the loss which committed him to the sole remaining compass +as his only guide. + +That compass, too, although he knew it not, was misleading him entirely! + +Mrs. Weldon sighed as she witnessed the grief which the loss manifestly +caused poor Dick, but in purest sympathy she said nothing, and retired +thoughtfully to her cabin. + +It was no longer possible to reckon the rate of progress, but there was +no doubt that the "Pilgrim" continued to maintain at least her previous +speed. + +Before another four-and-twenty hours had passed the barometer had +fallen still lower, and the wind was threatening to rise to a velocity +of sixty miles. Resolved to be on the safe side, Dick determined not +only to strike the top-gallant and the main-top-mast, but to take in +all the lower sails. Indeed, he began to be aware that no time was to +be lost. The operation would not be done in a moment, and the storm was +approaching. Dick made Tom take the helm; he ascended the shrouds with +Bat, Austin, and Actæon, making Hercules stay on deck to slacken the +halyards as required. + +By dint of arduous exertion, and at no little risk of being thrown +overboard by the rolling of the ship, they succeeded in lowering the +two masts; the fore-top-sail was then reefed, and the fore-sail +entirely struck, so that the only canvas that the schooner carried was +the reefed fore-top and the one stay. These, however, made her run with +a terrific speed. + +Early on the morning of the 12th, Dick noted with alarm that the +barometer had not ceased to fall, and now registered only 27.9°. The +tempest had continued to increase, till it was unsafe for the ship to +carry any canvas at all. The order was given for the top-sail to be +taken in, but it was too late; a violent gust carried the sail +completely away, and Austin, who had made his way to the fore-top-yard, +was struck by the flying sheet; and although he was not seriously hurt, +he was obliged at once to return to deck. + +Dick Sands became more uneasy than ever; he was tortured by +apprehensions of reefs outlying the shore, to which he imagined he must +now be close; but he could discern no rocks to justify his fears, and +returned to take his place at the helm. + +The next moment Negoro appeared on deck; he pointed mysteriously to the +far-off horizon, as though he discerned some object, as a mountain, +there; and looking round with a malevolent smile, immediately left the +deck, and went back to his cabin. + +[Illustration: Under bare poles] + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +HOPE REVIVED. + + +The wind had now increased to a hurricane; it had veered to the +south-west, and had attained a velocity little short of ninety miles an +hour. On land, the most substantial of erections could with difficulty +have withstood its violence, and a vessel anchored in a roadstead must +have been torn from its moorings and cast ashore. The memorable storm +that had devastated the Island of Guadaloupe on the 25th of July, 1825, +when heavy cannon were lifted from their carriages, could scarcely have +been more furious, and it was only her mobility before the blast and +the solidity of her structure that gave the "Pilgrim" a hope of +surviving the tempest. + +A few minutes after the topsail had been lost, the small jib was +carried away. Dick Sands contemplated the possibility of throwing out a +storm-jib, made of extra strong canvas, as a means of bringing the ship +a little more under his control, but abandoned the idea as useless. It +was, therefore, under bare poles that the "Pilgrim" was driven along; +but in spite of the lack of canvas, the hull, masts, and rigging, gave +sufficient purchase to the wind, and the progress of the schooner was +prodigiously rapid; sometimes, indeed, she seemed to be literally +lifted from the water, and scudded on, scarcely skimming its surface. +The rolling was fearful. Enormous waves followed in quick succession, +and as they travelled faster than the ship, there was the perpetual +risk of one of them catching her astern. Without sail, there were no +means of escaping that peril by increase of speed; the adroit +management of the helm was the only chance of avoiding the hazardous +shocks, and even this repeatedly failed. + +To prevent his being washed overboard Dick lashed himself to his place +at the wheel by a rope round his waist, and made Tom and Bat keep close +at hand, ready to give him assistance, in case of emergency. Hercules +and Actæon, clinging to the bitt, kept watch at the bow. Mrs. Weldon +and her party, at Dick's special request, remained inside the stern +cabin, although the lady, for her own part, would much rather have +stayed on deck; she had, however, yielded to the representation that +she would thus be exposing herself to unnecessary danger. + +The hatchways were hermetically closed, and it was to be hoped that +they would withstand the heavy sea that was dashing over them; only let +one of them give way to the pressure, and the vessel must inevitably +fill and founder. It was a matter of congratulation that the stowage +had been done very carefully, so that notwithstanding all the lurchings +of the ship, the cargo did not shift in the least. + +The heroic young commander had still further curtailed his periods of +rest, and it was only at the urgent entreaty of Mrs. Weldon, who feared +that he would exhaust himself by his vigilance, that he was induced to +lie down for a few hours' sleep on the night of the 13th. + +After Tom and Bat had been left alone at the wheel they were, somewhat +to their surprise, joined by Negoro, who very rarely came aft. He +seemed inclined to enter into conversation, but found little +encouragement to talk on the part either of Tom or his son. All at once +a violent roll of the ship threw him off his feet, and he would have +gone overboard if he had not been saved by falling against the binnacle. + +Old Tom was in a frantic state of alarm lest the compass should be +broken. He uttered a cry of consternation so loud that it roused Dick +from the light slumber into which he had fallen in the cabin, and he +rushed to the deck. By the time he had reached the stern, Negoro had +not only regained his feet, but had managed successfully to conceal the +bit of iron which he had again extracted from beneath the binnacle +where he had himself laid it. Now that the wind had shifted to the +south-west, it suited his machinations that the magnetic needle should +indicate its true direction. + +[Illustration: Quick as lightning, Dick Sands drew a revolver from his +pocket.] + +"How now?" asked Dick eagerly; "what is the meaning of all this noise?" + +Tom explained how the cook had fallen against the binnacle, and how he +had been terrified lest the compass should be injured. Dick's heart +sank at the thought of losing his sole remaining compass, and his +anxiety betrayed itself in his countenance as he knelt down to examine +its condition; but he breathed freely as he ascertained that the +instrument had sustained no damage; by the dim light he saw the needle +resting on its two concentric circles, and felt his fears at once +relieved; of course, he was quite unconscious of the fact that the +removal of the bit of iron had made the magnet change its pointing. The +incident, however, excited his misgiving; although he felt that Negoro +could not be held responsible for an accidental fall, the very presence +of the man in such a place at such a time perplexed him. + +"And what brings you here, this hour of the night?" he asked. + +"That's not your business," retorted Negoro insolently. + +"It is my business," replied Dick resolutely; "and I mean to have an +answer; what brought you here?" + +Negoro answered sullenly that he knew of no rule to prevent his going +where he liked and when he liked. + +"No rule!" cried Dick; "then I make the rule now. From this time +forward, I make the rule that you shall never come astern. Do you +understand?" + +Roused from his accustomed doggedness, the man seemed to make a +threatening movement. Quick as lightning, Dick Sands drew a revolver +from his pocket. + +"Negoro, one act, one word of insubordination, and I blow out your +brains!" + +Negoro had no time to reply; before he could speak he was bowed down +towards the deck by an irresistible weight. Hercules had grasped him by +the shoulder. + +"Shall I put him overboard, captain? he will make a meal for the +fishes; they are not very particular what they eat," said the negro, +with a grin of contempt. + +"Not yet," quietly answered Dick. + +The giant removed his hand, and Negoro stood upright again, and began +to retreat to his own quarters, muttering, however, as he passed +Hercules,-- + +"You cursed nigger! You shall pay for this!" + +The discovery was now made that the wind apparently had taken a sudden +shift of no less than forty-five degrees; but what occasioned Dick the +greatest perplexity was that there was nothing in the condition of the +sea to correspond with the alteration in the current of the air; +instead of being directly astern, wind and waves were now beating on +the larboard. Progress in this way must necessarily be full of danger, +and Dick was obliged to bring his ship up at least four points before +he got her straight before the tempest. + +The young captain felt that he must be more than ever on the alert; he +could not shake off the suspicion that Negoro had been concerned in the +loss of the first compass, and had some further designs upon the +second. Still he was utterly at a loss to imagine what possible motive +the man could have for so criminal an act of malevolence, as there was +no plausible reason to be assigned why he should not be as anxious as +all the rest to reach the coast of America. The suspicion continued, +however, to haunt him, and when he mentioned it to Mrs. Weldon he found +that a similar feeling of distrust had agitated her, although she, like +himself, was altogether unable to allege a likely motive why the cook +should contemplate so strange an act of mischief. It was determined +that a strict surveillance should be kept upon all the fellow's +movements. + +Negoro, however, manifested no inclination to disobey the captain's +peremptory order; he kept strictly to his own part of the ship; but as +Dingo was now regularly quartered on the stern, there was a tolerably +sure guarantee that the cook would not be found wandering much in that +direction. + +A week passed, and still the tempest showed no signs of abating; the +barometer continued to fall, and not once did a period of calmer +weather afford an opportunity of carrying sail. The "Pilgrim" still +made her way northeast. Her speed could not be less than two hundred +miles in twenty-four hours. But no land appeared. Vast as was the range +of the American continent, extending for 120 degrees between the +Atlantic and the Pacific, it was nowhere to be discerned. Was he +dreaming? was he mad? Dick would perpetually ask himself: had he been +sailing in a wrong direction? had he failed to steer aright? + +But no: he was convinced there was no error in his steering. Although +he could not actually see it for the mist, he knew that day after day +the sun rose before him, and that it set behind him. Yet he was +constrained in bewilderment to ask, what had become of those shores of +America upon which, when they came in sight, there was only too great a +fear the ship should be dashed? what had become of them? where were +they? whither had this incessant hurricane driven them? why did not the +expected coast appear? + +To all these bewildering inquiries Dick could find no answer except to +imagine that his compass had misled him. Yet he was powerless to put +his own misgivings to the test; he deplored more than ever the +destruction of the duplicate instrument which would have checked his +registers. He studied his chart; but all in vain; the position in which +he found himself as the result of Negoro's treachery, seemed to baffle +him the more, the more he tried to solve the mystery. + +The days were passing on in this chronic state of anxiety, when one +morning about eight o'clock, Hercules, who was on watch at the fore, +suddenly shouted,-- + +"Land!" + +Dick Sands had little reliance upon the negro's inexperienced eye, but +hurried forward to the bow. + +"Where's the land?" he cried; his voice being scarcely audible above +the howling of the tempest. + +"There! look there!" said Hercules, nodding his head and pointing over +the larboard side, to the north-east. + +Dick could see nothing. + +Mrs. Weldon had heard the shout. Unable to restrain her interest, she +had left her cabin and was at Dick's side. He uttered an expression of +surprise at seeing her, but could not hear anything she said, as her +voice was unable to rise above the roaring of the elements; she stood, +her whole being as it were concentrated in the power of vision, and +scanned the horizon in the direction indicated by Hercules. But all to +no purpose. + +Suddenly, however, after a while, Dick raised his hand. + +"Yes!" he said; "yes; sure enough, yonder is land." + +He clung with excitement to the netting; and Mrs Weldon, supported by +Hercules, strained her eyes yet more vehemently to get a glimpse of a +shore which she had begun to despair of ever reaching. + +Beyond a doubt an elevated peak was there. It must be about ten miles +to leeward. A break in the clouds soon left it more distinct. Some +promontory it must be upon the American coast. Without sails, of +course, the "Pilgrim" had no chance of bearing down direct upon it; but +at least there was every reason to believe that she would soon reach +some other portion of the shore; perhaps before noon, certainly in a +few hours, they must be close to land. + +The pitching of the ship made it impossible for Mrs. Weldon to keep +safe footing on the deck; accordingly, at a sign from Dick, Hercules +led her back again to her cabin. + +Dick did not remain long at the bow, but went thoughtfully back to the +wheel. + +He had, indeed, a tremendous responsibility before him. Here was the +land, the land for which they had longed so eagerly; and now that their +anticipations were on the point of being realized, what was there, with +a hurricane driving them on towards it, to prevent that land being +their destruction? What measures could he take to prevent the schooner +being dashed to pieces against it? + +[Illustration: "There! look there!"] + +At the very moment when the promontory was just abreast of them, Negoro +appeared on deck; he nodded to the peak familiarly, as he might have +saluted a familiar friend, and retired as stealthily as he had come. + +Two hours later, and the promontory was lying to the larboard wake. +Dick Sands had never relaxed his watchfulness, but he had failed to +discover any further indications of a coast-line. His perplexity could +only increase; the horizon was clear; the Andes ought to be distinct; +they would be conspicuous twenty miles or more away. Dick took up his +telescope again and again; he scrutinized the eastern horizon with +minutest care; but there was nothing to be seen; and as the afternoon +waned away the last glimpse had been taken of the promontory that had +awakened their expectation; it had vanished utterly from their gaze; no +indication of shore could be seen from the "Pilgrim's" deck. + +Dick Sands uttered a sigh of mingled amazement and relief. He went into +Mrs. Weldon's cabin, where she was standing with her party. + +"It was only an island!" he said; "only an island!" + +"How? why? what island? what do you mean?" cried Mrs. Weldon +incredulously; "what island can it be?" + +"The chart perhaps will tell us," replied Dick; and hurrying off to his +own cabin, he immediately returned with the chart in his hands. + +After studying it attentively for a few minutes, he said,-- + +"There, Mrs. Weldon; the land we have just passed, I should suppose +must be that little speck in the midst of the Pacific. It must be +Easter Island. At least, there seems to be no other land which possibly +it could be." + +"And do you say," inquired Mrs. Weldon, "that we have left it quite +behind us?" + +"Yes, entirely; almost to windward." + +Mrs. Weldon commenced a searching scrutiny of the map that was +outspread before her. + +"How far is this," she said, after bending a considerable time over the +chart; "how far is this from the coast of America?" + +"Thirty-five degrees," answered Dick; "somewhere about 2500 miles." + +"What ever do you mean?" rejoined the lady astonished; "if the +'Pilgrim' is still 2500 miles from shore, she has positively made no +progress at all. Impossible!" + +In thoughtful perplexity, Dick passed his hand across his brow. He did +not know what to say. After an interval of silence, he said,-- + +"I have no account to give for the strange delay. It is inexplicable to +myself, except upon that one hypothesis, which I cannot resist, that +the readings of the compass, somehow or other, have been wrong." + +He relapsed into silence. Then, brightening up, he added,-- + +"But, thank God! at least we have now the satisfaction of knowing where +we really are; we are no longer lost upon the wide Pacific; if only +this hurricane will cease, long as the distance seems, we are on our +proper course to the shores of America." + +The tone of confidence with which the youthful captain spoke had the +effect of inspiring new hope into all who heard him; their spirits +rose, and to their sanguine mood it seemed as if they were approaching +to the end of all their troubles, and had hardly more to do than to +await the turning of a tide to bring them into a glad proximity to port. + +Easter Island, of which the true name is Vai-Hoo, was discovered by +David in 1686 and visited by Cook and Lapérouse. It lies in lat. 27° +S., and long. 112 E.; consequently, it was evident that during the +raging of the hurricane the schooner had been driven northwards no less +than fifteen degrees. Far away, however, as she was from shore, the +wind could hardly fail within ten days to carry her within sight of +land; and then, if the storm had worn itself out, (as probably it +would,) the "Pilgrim" would again hoist sail, and make her way into +some port with safety. Anyhow, the discovery of his true position +restored a spirit of confidence to Dick Sands, and he anticipated the +time when he should no longer be drifting helplessly before the storm. + +To say the truth, the "Pilgrim" had suffered very little from the +prolonged fury of the weather. The damage she had sustained was limited +to the loss of the topsail and the small jib, which could be easily +replaced. The caulking of the seams remained thoroughly sound, and no +drop of water had found its way into the hold. The pumps, too, were +perfectly free. Dick Sands did not fear for the stability of his ship; +his only anxiety was lest the weather should not moderate in time. Only +let the wind subside, and the schooner once more would be under his +control; but he never forgot that the ordering of the winds and waves +were in the hands of the Great Disposer of all. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +LAND AT LAST. + + +It was not long before Dick's sanguine expectations were partially +realized, for on the very next day, which was the 27th, the barometer +began to rise, not rapidly, but steadily, indicating that its elevation +would probably continue. The sea remained exceedingly rough, but the +violence of the wind, which had veered slightly towards the west, had +perceptibly diminished. The tempest had passed its greatest fury, and +was beginning to wear itself out. + +Not a sail, however, could yet be hoisted; the smallest show of canvas +would have been carried away in an instant; nevertheless Dick hoped +that before another twenty-four hours were over, the "Pilgrim" might be +able to carry a storm-jib. + +In the course of the night the wind moderated still more and the +pitching of the ship had so far diminished that the passengers began to +reappear on deck. Mrs. Weldon was the first to leave her enforced +imprisonment. She was anxious to speak to Dick, whom she might have +expected to find looking pale and wan after his almost superhuman +exertions and loss of sleep. But she was mistaken; however much the lad +might suffer from the strain in after-years, at present he exhibited no +symptoms of failing energy. + +"Well, Captain Dick, how are you?" she said, as she advanced towards +him holding out her hand. + +Dick smiled. + +"You call me captain, Mrs. Weldon," he answered, "but you do not seem +disposed to submit implicitly to captain's orders. Did I not direct you +to keep to your cabin?" + +[Illustration: "You have acquitted yourself like a man."] + +"You did," replied the lady; "but observing how much the storm had +abated, I could not resist the temptation to disobey you." + +"Yes, madam, the weather is far more promising; the barometer has not +fallen since yesterday morning, and I really trust the worst is over +now." + +"Thank Heaven!" she replied, and after a few moments' silence, she +added.-- + +"But now, Dick, you must really take some rest; you may perhaps not +know how much you require it; but it is absolutely necessary." + +"Rest!" the boy repeated; "rest! I want no rest. I have only done my +duty, and it will be time enough for me to concern myself about my own +rest, when I have seen my passengers in a place of safety." + +"You have acquitted yourself like a man," said Mrs. Weldon; "and you +may be assured that my husband, like myself, will never forget the +services you have rendered me. I shall urge upon him the request which +I am sure he will not refuse, that you shall have your studies +completed, so that you may be made a captain for the firm." + +Tears of gratitude rose to Dick's eyes. He deprecated the praise that +was lavished upon him, but rejoiced in the prospect that seemed opening +upon his future. Mrs. Weldon assured him that he was dear as a son to +her, and pressed a gentle kiss upon his forehead. The lad felt that he +was animated, if need be, to yet greater hardships in behalf of his +benefactors, and resolved to prove himself even more worthy of their +confidence. + +By the 29th, the wind had so far moderated that Dick thought he might +increase the "Pilgrim's" speed by hoisting the foresail and topsail. + +"Now, my men, I have some work for you to-day," he said to the negroes +when he came on deck at daybreak. + +"All right, captain," answered Hercules, "we are growing rusty for want +of something to do." + +"Why didn't you blow with your big mouth?" said little Jack; "you could +have beaten the wind all to nothing." + +Dick laughed, and said, "Not a bad idea, Jack; if ever we get becalmed, +we must get Hercules to blow into the sails." + +"I shall be most happy," retorted the giant, and he inflated his huge +checks till he was the very impersonation of Boreas himself. + +"But now to work!" cried Dick; "we have lost our topsail, and we must +contrive to hoist another. Not an easy matter, I can tell you." + +"I dare say we shall manage it," replied Actæon. + +"We must do our best," said Tom. + +"Can't I help?" inquired Jack. + +"Of course you can," answered Dick; "run along to the wheel, and assist +Bat." + +Jack strutted off, proud enough of his commission. + +Under Dick's directions, the negroes commenced their somewhat difficult +task. The new topsail, rolled up, had first of all to be hoisted, and +then to be made fast to the yard; but so adroitly did the crew carry +out their orders, that in less than an hour the sail was properly set +and flying with a couple of reefs. The foresail and second jib, which +had been taken down before the tempest, were hoisted again, and before +ten o'clock the "Pilgrim" was running along under the three sails which +Dick considered were as much as it was prudent to carry. Even at her +present speed, the schooner, he reckoned, would be within sight of the +American shore in about ten days. It was an immense relief to him to +find that she was no longer at the mercy of the waves, and when he saw +the sails properly set he returned in good spirits to his post at the +helm, not forgetting to thank the temporary helmsman for his services, +nor omitting his acknowledgment to Master Jack, who received the +compliment with becoming gravity. + +Although the clouds continued to travel all the next day with great +rapidity they were very much broken, and alternately the "Pilgrim" was +bathed in sunlight and enveloped in vapours, which rolled on towards +the east. As the weather cleared, the hatchways were opened in order to +ventilate the ship, and the outer air was allowed again to penetrate +not only the hold, but the cabin and crew's quarters The wet sails were +hung out to dry, the deck was washed down, for Dick Sands was anxious +not to bring his ship into port without having "finished her toilet," +and he found that his crew could very well spare a few hours daily to +get her into proper trim. + +[Illustration: They both examined the outspread chart.] + +Notwithstanding the loss of the log, Dick had sufficient experience to +be able to make an approximate estimate of the schooner's progress, and +after having pointed out to Mrs. Weldon what he imagined was the +"Pilgrim's" true position, he told her that it was his firm impression +that land would be sighted in little more than a week. + +"And upon what part of South America do you reckon we are likely to +find ourselves?" she asked. + +"That is more than I dare venture to promise," replied Dick; "but I +should think somewhere hereabouts." + +He was pointing on the chart to the long shore-line of Chili and Peru. + +They both examined the outspread chart with still closer attention. + +"Here, you see," resumed Dick, "here is the island we have just left; +we left it in the west; the wind has not shifted; we must expect to +come in sight of land, pretty nearly due east of it. The coast has +plenty of harbours. From any one of them you will be able easily to get +to San Francisco. You know, I dare say, that the Pacific Navigation +Company's steamers touch at all the principal ports. From any of them +you will be sure to get direct passage to California." + +"But do you mean," asked Mrs. Weldon, "that you are not going yourself +to take the schooner to San Francisco?" + +"Not direct," replied the young captain; "I want to see you safe on +shore and satisfactorily on your homeward way. When that is done, I +shall hope to get competent officers to take the ship to Valparaiso, +where she will discharge her cargo, as Captain Hull intended; and +afterwards I shall work our way back to San Francisco." + +"Ah, well; we will see all about that in due time." Mrs. Weldon said, +smiling; and, after a short pause, added, "At one time, Dick, you +seemed to have rather a dread of the shore." + +"Quite true," answered Dick; "but now I am in hopes we may fall in with +some passing vessel; we want to have a confirmation as to our true +position. I cannot tell you how surprised I am that we have not come +across a single vessel. But when we near the land we shall be able to +get a pilot." + +"But what will happen if we fail to get a pilot?" was Mrs. Weldon's +inquiry. She was anxious to learn how far the lad was prepared to meet +any emergency. + +With unhesitating promptness Dick replied,-- + +"Why, then, unless the weather takes the control of the ship out of my +hands, I must patiently follow the coast until I come to a harbour of +refuge. But if the wind should freshen, I should have to adopt other +measures." + +"What then, Dick, what then?" persisted Mrs. Weldon. + +The boy's brow knitted itself together in resolution, and he said +deliberately,-- + +"I should run the ship aground." + +Mrs. Weldon started. + +"However," Dick continued, "there is no reason to apprehend this. The +weather has mended and is likely to mend. And why should we fear about +finding a pilot? Let us hope all will be well." + +Mrs. Weldon at least had satisfied herself on one point. She had +ascertained that although Dick did not anticipate disaster, yet he was +prepared in the case of emergency to resort to measures from which any +but the most experienced seaman would shrink. + +But although Dick's equanimity had been successful in allaying any +misgivings on Mrs. Weldon's part, it must be owned that the condition +of the atmosphere caused him very serious uneasiness. + +The wind remained uncomfortably high, and the barometer gave very +ominous indications that it would ere long freshen still more. Dick +dreaded that the time was about to return in which once again he must +reduce his vessel to a state of bare poles; but so intense was his +aversion to having his ship so wrested as it were from his own +management, that he determined to carry the topsail till it was all but +carried away by the force of the blast. Concerned, moreover, for the +safety of his masts, the loss of which he acknowledged must be fatal, +he had the shrouds well overhauled and the backstays considerably +tightened. + +More than once another contingency occurred to his mind, and gave him +some anxiety. He could not overlook the possibility of the wind +changing all round. What should he do in such a case? He would of +course endeavour by all means to get the schooner on by incessant +tacking; but was there not the certainty of a most hazardous delay? and +worse than this, was there not a likelihood of the "Pilgrim" being once +again driven far out to sea? + +Happily these forebodings were not realized. The wind, after chopping +about for several days, at one time blowing from the north, and at +another from the south, finally settled down into a stiffish gale from +the west, which did nothing worse than severely strain the masts. + +In this weary but hopeful endurance time passed on. The 5th of April +had arrived. It was more than two months since the "Pilgrim" had +quitted New Zealand; it was true that during the first three weeks of +her voyage she had been impeded by protracted calms and contrary winds; +but since that time her speed had been rapid, the very tempests had +driven her forwards with unwonted velocity; she had never failed to +have her bow towards the land, and yet land seemed as remote as ever; +the coast line was retreating as they approached it. What could be the +solution of the mystery? + +From the cross-trees one or other of the negroes was kept incessantly +on the watch. Dick Sands himself, telescope in hand, would repeatedly +ascend in the hope of beholding some lofty peak of the Andes emerging +from the mists that hung over the horizon. But all in vain. + +False alarms were given more than once. Sometimes Tom, sometimes +Hercules, or one of the others would be sure that a distant speck they +had descried was assuredly a mountain ridge; but the vapours were +continually gathering in such fantastic forms that their unexperienced +eyes were soon deceived, and they seldom had to wait long before their +fond delusion was all dispelled. + +At last, the expected longing was fulfilled. At eight o'clock one +morning the mists seemed broken up with unusual rapidity, and the +horizon was singularly clear. Dick had hardly gone aloft when his voice +rung out,-- + +"Land! Land ahead!" + +As if summoned by a spell, every one was on deck in an instant: Mrs. +Weldon, sanguine of a speedy end to the general anxiety; little Jack, +gratified at a new object of curiosity; Cousin Benedict, already +scenting a new field for entomological investigation; old Nan; and the +negroes, eager to set foot upon American soil; all, with the exception +of Negoro, all were on deck; but the cook did not stir from his +solitude, or betray any sympathy with the general excitement. + +Whatever hesitation there might be at first soon passed away; one after +another soon distinguished the shore they were approaching, and in half +an hour there was no room for the most sceptical to doubt that Dick was +right. There was land not far ahead. + +A few miles to the east there was a long low-lying coast; the chain of +the Andes ought to be visible; but it was obscured, of course, by the +intervening clouds. + +The "Pilgrim" bore down rapidly towards the land, and in a short time +its configuration could be plainly made out. Towards the north-east the +coast terminated in a headland of moderate height sheltering a kind of +roadstead; on the south-east it stretched out in a long and narrow +tongue. The Andes were still wanting to the scene; they must be +somewhere in the background; but at present, strange to say, there was +only a succession of low cliffs with some trees standing out against +the sky. No human habitation, no harbour, not even an indication of a +river-mouth, could anywhere be seen. + +The wind remained brisk, and the schooner was driving directly towards +the land, with sails shortened as seemed desirable; but Dick realized +to himself the fact that he was utterly incapable of altering her +course. With eager eyes he scrutinized his situation. Straight ahead +was a reef over which the waves were curling, and around which the surf +must be tremendous. It could hardly be more than a mile away. The wind +seemed brisker than before. + +After gazing awhile, Dick seemed to have come to a sudden resolution. +He went quickly aft and took the helm. He had seen a little cove, and +had made up his mind that he would try and make his way into it. He did +not speak a word; he knew the difficulty of the task he had undertaken; +he was aware from the white foam, that there was shallow water on +either hand; but he kept the secret of the peril to himself, and sought +no counsel in coming to his fixed resolve. + +Dingo had been trotting up and down the deck. All at once he bounded to +the fore, and broke out into a piteous howl. It roused Dick from his +anxious cogitations. Was it possible that the animal recognized the +coast? It almost seemed as if it brought back some painful associations. + +The howling of the dog had manifestly attracted Negoro's attention; the +man emerged from his cabin, and, regardless of the dog, stood close to +the netting; but although he gazed at the surf, it did not seem to +occasion him any alarm. Mrs. Weldon, who was watching him, fancied she +saw a flush rise to his face, which involuntarily suggested the thought +to her mind that Negoro had seen the place before. + +Either she had no time or no wish to express what had struck her, for +she did not mention it to Dick, who, at that moment, left the helm, and +came and stood beside her. + +Dick looked as if he were taking a lingering farewell of the cove past +which they were being carried beyond his power to help. + +In a few moments he turned round to Mrs. Weldon, and said quietly,-- + +"Mrs. Weldon, I am disappointed. I hoped to get the schooner into +yonder cove; but there is no chance now; if nothing is done, in half an +hour she will be upon that reef. I have but one alternative left. I +must run her aground. It will be utter destruction to the ship, but +there is no choice. Your safety is the first and paramount +consideration." + +"Do you mean that there is no other course to be taken, Dick?" + +"None whatever," said Dick decidedly. + +"It must be as you will," she said. + +Forthwith ensued the agitating preparations for stranding. Mrs. Weldon, +Jack, Cousin Benedict, and Nan were provided with life belts, while +Dick and the negroes made themselves ready for being dashed into the +waves. Every precaution that the emergency admitted was duly taken. +Mrs. Weldon was entrusted to the special charge of Hercules; Dick made +himself responsible for doing all he could for little Jack; Cousin +Benedict, who was tolerably calm, was handed over to Bat and Austin; +while Actæon promised to look after Nan. Negoro's nonchalance implied +that he was quite capable of shifting for himself. + +Dick had the forethought also to order about a dozen barrels of their +cargo to be brought in front, so that when the "Pilgrim" struck, the +oil escaping and floating on the waves would temporarily lull their +fury, and make smoother water for the passage of the ship. + +After satisfying himself that there was no other measure to be taken to +ameliorate the peril, Dick Sands returned to the helm. The schooner was +all but upon the reef, and only a few cables' length from the shore; +her starboard quarter indeed was already bathed in the seething foam, +and any instant the keel might be expected to grate upon the +under-lying rock. Presently a change of colour in the water was +observed; it revealed a passage between the rocks. Dick gave the wheel +a turn; he saw the chance of getting aground nearer to the shore than +he had dared to hope, and he made the most of it. He steered the +schooner right into the narrow channel; the sea was furious, and dashed +vehemently upon the crags on either hand. + +[Illustration: The sea was furious, and dashed vehemently upon the +crags on either hand] + +"Now, my lads!" he cried to his crew, "now's your time; out with your +oil! let it run!" + +Ready for the order, the negroes poured out the oil, and the raging +waters were stilled as if by magic. A few moments more and perchance +they would rage more vehemently than ever. But for the instant they +were lulled. + +The "Pilgrim," meanwhile, had glided onwards, and made dead for the +adjacent shore. There was a sudden shock. Caught by an enormous wave +the schooner had been hurled aground; her masts had fallen, fortunately +without injury to any one on board. But the vessel had parted +amidships, and was foundering; the water was rushing irresistibly into +the hold. + +The shore, however, was not half a cable's length away; there was a +low, dark ridge of rocks that was united to the beach; it afforded +ample means of rescue, and in less than ten minutes the "Pilgrim's" +captain, crew, and passengers were all landed, with their lives, at the +foot of the overhanging cliff. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +ASHORE. + + +Thus, after a voyage of seventy-four days, the "Pilgrim" had stranded. +Mrs. Weldon and her fellow-voyagers joined in thanksgiving to the kind +Providence that had brought them ashore, not upon one of the solitary +islands of Polynesia, but upon a solid continent, from almost any part +of which there would be no difficulty in getting home. + +The ship was totally lost. She was lying in the surf a hopeless wreck, +and few must be the hours that would elapse before she would be broken +up in scattered fragments; it was impossible to save her. +Notwithstanding that Dick Sands bewailed the loss of a valuable ship +and her cargo to the owner, he had the satisfaction of knowing that he +had been instrumental in saving what was far more precious, the lives +of the owner's wife and son. + +It was impossible to do more than hazard a conjecture as to the part of +the South American coast on which the "Pilgrim" had been cast. Dick +imagined that it must be somewhere on the coast of Peru; after sighting +Easter Island, he knew that the united action of the equatorial current +and the brisk wind must have had the effect of driving the schooner far +northward, and he formed his conclusion accordingly. Be the true +position, however, what it might, it was all important that it should +be accurately ascertained as soon as possible. If it were really in +Peru, he would not be long in finding his way to one of the numerous +ports and villages that lie along the coast. + +But the shore here was quite a desert. A narrow strip of beach, strewn +with boulders, was enclosed by a cliff of no great height, in which, at +irregular intervals, deep funnels appeared as chasms in the rock. Here +and there a gentle slope led to the top. + +About a quarter of a mile to the north was the mouth of a little river +which had not been visible from the sea. Its banks were overhung by a +number of "rhizophora," a species of mangrove entirely distinct from +that indigenous to India. It was soon ascertained that the summit of +the cliff was clothed by a dense forest, extending far away in +undulations of verdure to the mountains in the background. Had Cousin +Benedict been a botanist, he could not have failed to find a new and +interesting field for his researches; there were lofty baobabs (to +which an extraordinary longevity has often been erroneously ascribed), +with bark resembling Egyptian syenite; there were white pines, +tamarinds, pepper-plants of peculiar species, and numerous other plants +unfamiliar to the eye of a native of the North; but, strange to say, +there was not a single specimen of the extensive family of palms, of +which more than a thousand varieties are scattered in profusion in so +many quarters of the globe. + +Above the shore hovered a large number of screeching birds, mostly of +the swallow tribe, their black plumage shot with steelly blue, and +shading off to a light brown at the top of the head. Now and then a few +partridges of a greyish colour rose on wing, their necks entirely bare +of feathers: the fearless manner in which the various birds all allowed +themselves to be approached made Mrs. Weldon and Dick both wonder if +the shores upon which they had been thrown were not so deserted that +the sound of fire-arms was not known. + +On the edge of the reefs some pelicans (of the species known as +_pelicanus minor_) were busily filling their pouches with tiny fish, +and some gulls coming in from the open sea began to circle round the +wreck: with these exceptions not a living creature appeared in sight. +Benedict, no doubt, could have discovered many entomological novelties +amongst the foliage, but these could give no more information than the +birds as to the name of their habitat. Neither north, nor south, nor +towards the forest, was there trace of rising smoke, or any footprint +or other sign to indicate the presence of a human being. + +Dick's surprise was very great. He knew that the proximity of a native +would have made Dingo bark aloud; but the dog gave no warning; he was +running backwards and forwards, his tail lowered and his nose close to +the ground; now and again he uttered a deep growl. + +"Look at Dingo!" said Mrs. Weldon; "how strange he is! he seems to be +trying to discover a lost scent." + +After watching the dog for a time, she spoke again:-- + +"Look, too, at Negoro! he and the dog seem to be on the same purpose!" + +"As to Negoro," said Dick, "I cannot concern myself with him now; he +must do as he pleases; I have no further control over him; his service +expires with the loss of the ship." + +Negoro was in fact walking to and fro, surveying the shore with the air +of a man who was trying to recall some past experience to his +recollection. His dogged taciturnity was too well known for any one to +think of questioning him; every one was accustomed to let him go his +own way, and when Dick noticed that he had gone towards the little +river, and had disappeared behind the cliff, he thought no more about +him. Dingo likewise had quite forgotten his enemy, and desisted from +his growling. + +The first necessity for the shipwrecked party was to find a temporary +shelter where they might take some refreshment. There was no lack of +provisions; independently of the resources of the land, the ebbing tide +had left upon the rocks the great bulk of the "Pilgrim's" stores, and +the negroes had already collected several kegs of biscuit, and a number +of cases of preserved meat, besides a variety of other supplies. All +that they rescued they carefully piled up above high-water mark. As +nothing appeared to be injured by the sea-water, the victualling of the +party all seemed to be satisfactorily secure for the interval which +must elapse (and they all believed it would not be long,) before they +reached one of the villages which they presumed were close at hand. +Dick, moreover, took the precaution of sending Hercules to get a small +supply of fresh water from the river hard by, and the good-natured +fellow returned carrying a whole barrel-full on his shoulder. + +[Illustration: Surveying the shore with the air of a man who was trying +to recall some past experience] + +Plenty of fuel was lying about, and whenever they wanted to light a +fire they were sure of having an abundance of dead wood and the roots +of the old mangroves. Old Tom, an inveterate smoker, always carried a +tinder box in his pocket; this had been too tightly fastened to be +affected by the moisture, and could always produce a spark upon +occasion. + +Still they must have a shelter. Without some rest it was impossible to +start upon a tour of exploration; accordingly, all interests were +directed towards ascertaining where the necessary repose could be +obtained. + +The honour of discovering where the desired retreat could be found fell +to the lot of little Jack. Trotting about at the foot of the cliff, he +came upon one of those grottoes which are constantly being found +hollowed out in the rock by the vehement action of the waves in times +of tempest. + +"Here, look here!" cried the child; "here's a place!" + +"Well done, Jack!" answered his mother; "your lucky discovery is just +what we wanted. If we were going to stay here any time we should have +to do the same as the Swiss Family Robinson, and name the spot after +you!" + +It was hardly more than twelve or fourteen feet square, and yet the +grotto seemed to Jack to be a gigantic cavern. But narrow as its limits +were, it was capacious enough to receive the entire party. It was a +great satisfaction to Mrs. Weldon to observe that it was perfectly dry, +and as the moon was just about her first quarter there was no +likelihood of a tide rising to the foot of the cliff. At any rate, it +was resolved that they might take up their quarters there for a few +hours. + +Shortly after one o'clock the whole party were seated upon a carpet of +seaweed round a repast consisting of preserved meat, biscuit, and water +flavoured with a few drops of rum, of which Bat had saved a quart +bottle from the wreck. Even Negoro had returned and joined the group; +probably he had not cared to venture alone along the bank of the stream +into the forest. He sat listening, as it seemed indifferently, to the +various plans for the future that were being discussed, and did not +open his mouth either by way of remonstrance or suggestion. + +Dingo was not forgotten, and had his share of food duly given him +outside the grotto, where he was keeping guard. + +When the meal was ended, Mrs. Weldon, passing her arms round Jack, who +was lounging half asleep with excitement and fatigue at her side, was +the first to speak. + +"My dear Dick," she said, "in the name of us all, let me thank you for +the services you have rendered us in our tedious time of difficulty. As +you have been our captain at sea, let me beg you to be our guide upon +land. We shall have perfect confidence in your judgment, and await your +instructions as to what our next proceedings shall be." + +All eyes were turned upon Dick. Even Negoro appeared to be roused to +curiosity, as if eager to know what he had to say. + +Dick did not speak for some moments. He was manifestly pondering what +step he should advise. After a while he said,-- + +"My own impression, Mrs. Weldon, is that we have been cast ashore upon +one of the least-frequented parts of the coast of Peru, and that we are +near the borders of the Pampas. In that case I should conclude that we +are at a considerable distance from any village. Now, I should +recommend that we stay here altogether for the coming night. To-morrow +morning, two of us can start off on an exploring expedition. I +entertain but little doubt that natives will be met with within ten or +a dozen miles." + +Mrs. Weldon looked doubtful. Plainly she thought unfavourably of the +project of separating the party. She reflected for a considerable time, +and then asked,-- + +"And who is to undertake the task of exploring?" + +Prompt was Dick's answer:-- + +"Tom and I." + +"And leave us here?" suggested the lady. + +"Yes; to take care of you, there will be Hercules, Bat, Actæon and +Austin. Negoro, too, I presume, means to remain here," said Dick, +glancing towards the cook. + +"Perhaps," replied Negoro, sparing as ever of his words. + +"We shall take Dingo," added Dick; "likely enough he may be useful." + +At the sound of his name the dog had entered the grotto. A short bark +seemed to testify his approval of Dick's proposal. + +Mrs. Weldon was silent. She looked sad and thoughtful. It was hard to +reconcile herself to the division of the party. She was aware that the +separation would not be for long, but she could not suppress a certain +feeling of nervousness. Was it not possible that some natives, +attracted by the wreck, would assault them in hopes of plunder? + +Every argument he could think of, Dick brought forward to reassure the +lady. He told her that the Indians were perfectly harmless, and +entirely different to the savage tribes of Africa and Polynesia; there +was no reason to apprehend any mischief, even if they should chance to +encounter them, which was itself extremely unlikely. No doubt the +separation would have its inconveniences, but they would be +insignificant compared with the difficulty of traversing the country +_en masse_. Tom and he would have far greater freedom if they went +alone, and could make their investigations much more thoroughly. +Finally he promised that if within two days they failed to discover +human habitation, they would return to the grotto forthwith. + +"I confess, however," he added, "that I have little expectation of +being able to ascertain our true position, until I have penetrated some +distance into the country." + +There was nothing in Dick's representations but what commanded Mrs. +Weldon's assent as reasonable. It was simply her own nervousness, she +acknowledged, that made her hesitate; but it was only with extreme +reluctance that she finally yielded to the proposition. + +"And what, Mr. Benedict, is your opinion of my proposal?" said Dick, +turning to the entomologist. + +"I?" answered Cousin Benedict, looking somewhat bewildered, "Oh, I am +agreeable to anything. I dare say I shall find some specimens. I think +I will go and look at once." + +"Take my advice, and don't go far away," replied Dick. + +"All right; I shall take care of myself." + +"And don't be bringing back a lot of mosquitoes," said old Tom +mischievously. + +With his box under his arm, the naturalist left the grotto. + +Negoro followed almost immediately. He did not take the same direction +as Benedict up the cliff, but for the second time bent his steps +towards the river, and proceeded along its bank till he was out of +sight. + +It was not long before Jack's exertions told upon him, and he fell into +a sound sleep. Mrs. Weldon having gently laid him on Nan's lap, +wandered out and made her way to the water's edge. She was soon joined +by Dick and the negroes, who wanted to see whether it was possible to +get to the "Pilgrim," and secure any articles that might be serviceable +for future use. The reef on which the schooner had stranded was now +quite dry, and the carcase of the vessel which had been partially +covered at high water was lying in the midst of _debris_ of the most +promiscuous character. The wide difference between high and low-water +mark caused Dick Sands no little surprise. He knew that the tides on +the shores of the Pacific were very inconsiderable; in his own mind, +however, he came to the conclusion that the phenomenon was to be +explained by the unusually high wind that had been blowing on the coast. + +Not without emotion could Mrs. Weldon, or indeed any of them, behold +the unfortunate ship upon which they had spent so many eventful days, +lying dismasted on her side. But there was little time for sentiment. +If they wished to visit the hull before it finally went to pieces there +must be no delay. + +Hoisting themselves by some loose rigging that was hanging from the +deck, Dick and several of the negroes contrived to make their way into +the interior of the hull. Dick left his men to gather together all they +could in the way of food and drink from the store-room, and himself +went straight to the stern cabin, into which the water had not +penetrated. Here he found four excellent Purday's Remington rifles and +a hundred cartridges; with these he determined to arm his party, in +case they should be attacked by Indians. He also chose six of the +strongest of the cutlasses that are used for slicing up dead whales; +and did not forget the little toy gun which was Jack's special +property. Unexpectedly he found a pocket-compass, which he was only too +glad to appropriate. What a boon it would have been had he discovered +it earlier! The ship's charts in the fore-cabin were too much injured +by water to be of any further service. Nearly everything was either +lost or spoiled, but the misfortune was not felt very acutely because +there was ample provision for a few days, and it seemed useless to +burden themselves with more than was necessary. Dick hardly needed Mrs. +Weldon's advice to secure all the money that might be on board, but +after the most diligent search he failed to discover more than five +hundred dollars. This was a subject of perplexity. Mrs. Weldon herself +had had a considerably larger sum than this, and Captain Hull was known +always to keep a good reserve in hand. There was but one way to solve +the mystery. Some one had been beforehand to the wreck. It could not be +any of the negroes, as not one of them had for a moment left the +grotto. Suspicion naturally fell upon Negoro, who had been out alone +upon the shore. Morose and cold-blooded as the man was, Dick hardly +knew why he should suspect him of the crime of theft; nevertheless, he +determined to cross-examine him, and, if need be, to have him searched, +as soon as he came back. + +[Illustration: Not without emotion could Mrs. Weldon, or indeed any of +them, behold the unfortunate ship.] + +The day wore onwards to its close. The sun was approaching the vernal +equinox, and sank almost perpendicularly on to the horizon. Twilight +was very short, and the rapidity with which darkness came on confirmed +Dick in his belief that they had got ashore at some spot lying between +the tropic of Capricorn and the equator. + +They all assembled in the grotto again for the purpose of getting some +sleep. + +"Another rough night coming on!" said Tom, pointing to the heavy clouds +that hung over the horizon. + +"No doubt, Tom!" answered Dick, "and I think we may congratulate +ourselves on being safe out of our poor ship." + +As the night could not be otherwise than very dark, it was arranged +that the negroes should take their turns in keeping guard at the +entrance of the grotto. Dingo also would be upon the alert. + +Benedict had not yet returned. Hercules shouted his name with the full +strength of his capacious lungs, and shortly afterwards the +entomologist was seen making his way down the face of the cliff at the +imminent risk of breaking his neck. He was in a great rage. He had not +found a single insect worth having, scorpions, scolopendra, and other +myriapoda were in the forest in abundance; but not one of these of +course could be allowed a place in his collection. + +"Have I come six thousand miles for this?" he cried: "have I endured +storm and shipwreck only to be cast where not a hexapod is to be seen? +The country is detestable! I shall not stay in it another hour!" + +Ever gentle to his eccentricities, Mrs. Weldon soothed him as she would +a child, she told him that he had better take some rest now, and most +likely he would have better luck to-morrow. + +Cousin Benedict had hardly been pacified when Tom remarked that Negoro +too had not returned. + +"Never mind!" said Bat, "his room is as good as his company." + +"I cannot say that I altogether think so. The man is no favourite of +mine, but I like him better under my own eye," said Mrs. Weldon. + +"Perhaps he has his own reasons for keeping away," said Dick, and +taking Mrs. Weldon aside, he communicated to her his suspicions of the +fellow's dishonesty. + +He found that she coincided with him in her view of Negoro's conduct; +but she did not agree with him in his proposal to have him searched at +once. If he returned, she should be convinced that he had deposited the +money in some secret spot; and as there would be no proof of his guilt, +it would be better to leave him, at least for a time, uninterrogated. + +[Illustration: The entomologist was seen making his way down the face +of the cliff at the imminent risk of breaking his neck.] + +Dick was convinced by her representations, and promised to act upon her +advice. + +Before they resigned themselves to sleep, they had repeatedly summoned +Negoro back, but he either could not or would not hear. Mrs. Weldon and +Dick scarcely knew what to think; unless he had lost his way; it was +unaccountable why he should be wandering about alone on a dark night in +a strange country. + +Presently Dingo was heard barking furiously. He had left the opening of +the grotto, and was evidently down at the water's edge. Imagining that +Negoro must be coming, Dick sent three of the negroes in the direction +of the river to meet him; but when they reached the bank not a soul +could be seen, and as Dingo was quiet again, they made their way back +to the grotto. + +Excepting the man left on watch, they now all lay down, hoping to get +some repose. Mrs. Weldon, however, could not sleep. The land for which +she had sighed so ardently had been reached, but it had failed to give +either the security or the comfort which she had anticipated! + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +A STRANGER. + + +At daybreak, next morning, Austin, who happened to be on guard, heard +Dingo bark, and noticed that he started up and ran towards the river. +Arousing the inmates of the grotto, he announced to them that some one +was coming. + +"It isn't Negoro," said Tom; "Dingo would bark louder than that if +Negoro were to be seen." + +"Who, then, can it be?" asked Mrs. Weldon, with an inquiring glance +towards Dick. + +"We must wait and see, madam," replied Dick quietly. + +Bidding Bat, Austin, and Hercules follow his example, Dick Sands took +up a cutlass and a rifle, into the breach of which he slipped a +cartridge. Thus armed, the four young men made their way towards the +river bank. Tom and Actæon were left with Mrs. Weldon at the entrance +of the grotto. + +The sun was just rising. Its rays, intercepted by the lofty range of +mountains in the east, did not fall directly on the cliff; but the sea +to its western horizon was sparkling in the sunbeams as the party +marched along the shore. Dingo was motionless as a setter, but did not +cease barking. It soon proved not to be his old enemy who was +disturbing him. A man, who was not Negoro, appeared round the angle of +the cliff, and advancing cautiously along the bank of the stream, +seemed by his gestures to be endeavouring to pacify the dog, with which +an encounter would certainly have been by no means desirable. + +"That's not Negoro!" said Hercules. + +[Illustration: "Good morning, my young friend."] + +"No loss for any of us," muttered Bat. + +"You are right," replied Dick; "perhaps he is a native; let us hope he +may be able to tell us our whereabouts, and save us the trouble of +exploring." + +With their rifles on their shoulders, they advanced steadily towards +the new arrival. The stranger, on becoming aware of their approach, +manifested great surprise; he was apparently puzzled as to how they had +reached the shore, for the "Pilgrim" had been entirely broken up during +the night, and the spars that were floating about had probably been too +few and too scattered to attract his attention. His first attitude +seemed to betray something of fear; and raising to his shoulder a gun +that had been slung to his belt, he began to retrace his steps; but +conciliatory gestures on the part of Dick quickly reassured him, and +after a moment's hesitation, he continued to advance. + +He was a man of about forty years of age, strongly built, with a keen, +bright eye, grizzly hair and beard, and a complexion tanned as with +constant exposure to the forest air. He wore a broad-brimmed hat, a +kind of leather jerkin, or tunic, and long boots reaching nearly to his +knees. To his high heels was fastened a pair of wide-rowelled spurs, +which clanked as he moved. + +Dick Sands in an instant saw that he was not looking upon one of the +roving Indians of the pampas, but upon one of those adventurers, often +of very doubtful character, who are not unfrequently to be met with in +the remotest quarters of the earth. Clearly this was neither an Indian +nor a Spaniard. His erect, not to say rigid deportment, and the reddish +hue with which his hair and beard were streaked, betokened him to be of +Anglo-Saxon origin, a conjecture which was at once confirmed when upon +Dick's wishing him "good morning," he replied in unmistakable English, +with hardly a trace of foreign accent,-- + +"Good morning, my young friend." + +He stepped forward, and having shaken hands with Dick, nodded to all +his companions. + +"Are you English?" he asked. + +"No; we are Americans," replied Dick. + +"North or South?" inquired the man. + +"North," Dick answered. + +The information seemed to afford the stranger no little satisfaction, +and he again wrung Dick's hand with all the enthusiasm of a +fellow-countryman. + +"And may I ask what brings you here?" he continued. + +Before, however, Dick had time to reply, the stranger had courteously +raised his hat, and, looking round, Dick saw that his bow was intended +for Mrs. Weldon, who had just reached the river-bank. She proceeded to +tell him the particulars of how they had been shipwrecked, and how the +vessel had gone to pieces on the reefs. + +A look of pity crossed the man's face as he listened, and he cast his +eye, as it might be involuntarily, upon the sea, in order to discern +some vestige of the stranded ship. + +"Ah! there is nothing to be seen of our poor schooner!" said Dick +mournfully; "the last of her was broken up in the storm last night." + +"And now," interposed Mrs. Weldon, "can you tell us where we are?" + +"Where?" exclaimed the man, with every indication of surprise at her +question; "why, on the coast of South America, of course!" + +"But on what part? are we near Peru?" Dick inquired eagerly. + +"No, my lad, no; you are more to the south; you are on the coast of +Bolivia; close to the borders of Chili." + +"A good distance, I suppose, from Lima?" asked Dick. + +"From Lima? yes, a long way; Lima is far to the north." + +"And what is the name of that promontory?" Dick said, pointing to the +adjacent headland. + +"That, I confess, is more than I am able to tell you," replied the +stranger; "for although I have travelled a great deal in the interior +of the country, I have never before visited this part of the coast." + +Dick pondered in thoughtful silence over the information he had thus +received. He had no reason to doubt its accuracy; according to his own +reckoning he would have expected to come ashore somewhere between the +latitudes of 27° and 30°; and by this stranger's showing he had made +the latitude 25°; the discrepancy was not very great; it was not more +than might be accounted for by the action of the currents, which he +knew he had been unable to estimate; moreover, the deserted character +of the whole shore inclined him to believe more easily that he was in +Lower Bolivia. + +Whilst this conversation was going on, Mrs. Weldon, whose suspicions +had been excited by Negoro's disappearance, had been scrutinizing the +stranger with the utmost attention; but she could detect nothing either +in his manner or in his words to give her any cause to doubt his good +faith. + +"Pardon me," she said presently; "but you do not seem to me to be a +native of Peru?" + +"No; like yourself, I am an American, Mrs. ----;" he paused, as if +waiting to be told her name. + +The lady smiled, and gave her name; he thanked her, and continued,-- + +"My name is Harris. I was born in South Carolina; but it is now twenty +years since I left my home for the pampas of Bolivia; imagine, +therefore, how much pleasure it gives me to come across some countrymen +of my own." + +"Do you live in this part of the province, Mr. Harris?" Mrs. Weldon +asked. + +"No, indeed; far away; I live down to the south, close to the borders +of Chili. At present I am taking a journey north-eastwards to Atacama." + +"Atacama!" exclaimed Dick; "are we anywhere near the desert of Atacama?" + +"Yes, my young friend," rejoined Harris, "you are just on the edge of +it. It extends far beyond those mountains which you see on the horizon, +and is one of the most curious and least explored parts of the +continent." + +"And are you travelling through it alone?" Mrs. Weldon inquired. + +"Yes, quite alone; and it is not the first time I have performed the +journey. One of my brothers owns a large farm, the hacienda of San +Felice, about 200 miles from here, and I have occasion now and then to +pay him business visits." + +[Illustration: "He is my little son."] + +After a moment's hesitation, as if he were weighing a sudden thought, +he continued,-- + +"I am on my way there now, and if you will accompany me I can promise +you a hearty welcome, and my brother will be most happy to do his best +to provide you with means of conveyance to San Francisco." + +Mrs. Weldon had hardly begun to express her thanks for the proposal +when he said abruptly,-- + +"Are these negroes your slaves?" + +"Slaves! sir," replied Mrs. Weldon, drawing herself up proudly; "we +have no slaves in the United States. The south has now long followed +the example of the north. Slavery is abolished." + +"I beg your pardon, madam. I had forgotten that the war of 1862 had +solved that question. But seeing these fellows with you, I thought +perhaps they might be in your service," he added, with a slight tone of +irony. + +"We are very proud to be of any service to Mrs. Weldon," Tom interposed +with dignity, "but we are no man's property. It is true I was sold for +a slave when I was six years old; but I have long since had my freedom; +and so has my son. Bat here, and all his friends, were born of free +parents." + +"Ah! well then, I have to congratulate you," replied Harris, in a +manner that jarred very sensibly upon Mrs. Weldon's feelings; but she +said nothing. + +Harris added,-- + +"I can assure you that you are as safe here in Bolivia as you would be +in New England." + +He had not finished speaking, when Jack, followed by Nan, came out of +the grotto. The child was rubbing his eyes, having only just awakened +from his night's sleep. Catching sight of his mother, he darted towards +her. + +"What a charming little boy!" exclaimed Harris. + +"He is my little son," said Mrs. Weldon, kissing the child by way of +morning greeting. + +"Ah, madam, I am sure you must have suffered doubly on his account. +Will the little man let me kiss him too?" + +But there was something in the stranger's appearance that did not take +Jack's fancy, and he shrank back timidly to his mother's side. + +"You must excuse him, sir; he is very shy." + +"Never mind," said Harris; "we shall be better acquainted by-and-by. +When we get to my brother's, he shall have a nice little pony to ride." + +But not even this tempting offer seemed to have any effect in coaxing +Jack into a more genial mood. He kept fast hold of his mother's hand, +and she, somewhat vexed at his behaviour, and anxious that no offence +should be given to a man who appeared so friendly in his intentions, +hastened to turn the conversation to another topic. + +Meantime Dick Sands had been considering Harris's proposal. Upon the +whole, the plan of making their way to the hacienda of San Felice +seemed to commend itself to his judgment; but he could not conceal from +himself that a journey of 200 miles across plains and forests, without +any means of transport, would be extremely fatiguing. On expressing his +doubts on this point, he was met with the reply,-- + +"Oh, that can be managed well enough, young man; just round the corner +of the cliff there I have a horse, which is quite at the disposal of +the lady and her son; and by easy stages of ten miles or so a day, it +will do the rest of us no harm to travel on foot. Besides," he added, +"when I spoke of the journey being 200 miles, I was thinking of +following, as I usually do, the course of the river; but by taking a +short cut across the forest, we may reduce the distance by nearly +eighty miles." + +Mrs. Weldon was about to say how grateful she was, but Harris +anticipated her. + +"Not a word, madam, I beg you. You cannot thank me better than by +accepting my offer. I confess I have never crossed this forest, but I +am so much accustomed to the pampas that I have little fear of losing +my way. The only difficulty is in the matter of provisions, as I have +only supplied myself with enough to carry me on to San Felice." + +"As to provisions," replied Mrs. Weldon, "we have enough and to spare; +and we shall be more than willing to share everything with you." + +"That is well," answered Harris; "then there can be no reason why we +should not start at once." + +He was turning away with the intention of fetching his horse, when Dick +Sands detained him. True to his seaman's instincts, the young sailor +felt that he should be much more at his ease on the sea-shore than +traversing the heart of an unknown forest. + +"Pardon me, Mr. Harris," he began, "but instead of taking so long a +journey across the desert of Atacama, would it not be far better for us +to follow the coast either northwards or southwards, until we reach the +nearest seaport?" + +A frown passed over Harris's countenance. + +"I know very little about the coast," he answered; "but I know enough +to assure you that there is no town to the north within 300 or 400 +miles." + +"Then why should we not go south?" persisted Dick. + +"You would then have to travel to Chili, which is almost as far; and, +under your circumstances, I should not advise you to skirt the pampas +of the Argentine Republic. For my own part, I could not accompany you." + +"But do not the vessels which ply between Chili and Peru come within +sight of this coast?" interposed Mrs. Weldon. + +"No, madam; they keep out so far to sea that there would not be the +faintest chance of your hailing one." + +"You seem to have another question to ask Mr. Harris," Mrs. Weldon +continued, addressing Dick, who still looked rather doubtful. + +Dick replied that he was about to inquire at what port he would be +likely to find a ship to convey their party to San Francisco. + +"That I really cannot tell you, my young friend," rejoined Harris; "I +can only repeat my promise that we will furnish you with the means of +conveyance from San Felice to Atacama, where no doubt you will obtain +all the information you require." + +"I hope you will not think that Dick is insensible to your kindness, +Mr. Harris," said Mrs. Weldon, apologetically. + +"On the contrary," promptly observed Dick; "I fully appreciate it; I +only wish we had been cast ashore upon a spot where we should have had +no need to intrude upon his generosity." + +"I assure you, madam, it gives me unbounded pleasure to serve you in +any way," said Harris; "it is, as I have told you, not often that I +come in contact with any of my own countrymen." + +"Then we accept your offer as frankly as it is made," replied the lady, +adding; "but I cannot consent to deprive you of your horse. I am a very +good walker." + +"So am I," said Harris, with a bow, "and consequently I intend you and +your little son to ride. I am used to long tramps through the pampas. +Besides, it is not at all unlikely that we shall come across some of +the workpeople belonging to the hacienda; if so, they will be able to +give us a mount." + +Convinced that it would only be thwarting Mrs. Weldon's wishes to throw +any further impediment in the way, Dick Sands suppressed his desire to +raise fresh obstacles, and simply asked how soon they ought to start. + +"This very day, at once," said Harris quickly. + +"So soon?" asked Dick. + +"Yes. The rainy season begins in April, and the sooner we are at San +Felice the better. The way through the forest is the safest as well as +the shortest, for we shall be less likely to meet any of the nomad +Indians, who are notorious robbers." + +Without making any direct reply, Dick proceeded to instruct the negroes +to choose such of the provisions as were most easy of transport, and to +make them up into packages, that every one might carry a due share. +Hercules with his usual good nature professed himself willing to carry +the entire load; a proposal, however, to which Dick would not listen +for a moment. + +"You are a fine fellow, Hercules" said Harris, scrutinizing the giant +with the eye of a connoisseur; "you would be worth something in the +African market." + +"Those who want me now must catch me first," retorted Hercules, with a +grin. + +The services of all hands were enlisted, and in a comparatively short +time sufficient food was packed up to supply the party for about ten +days' march. + +"You must allow us to show you what hospitality is in our power," said +Mrs. Weldon, addressing her new acquaintance; "our breakfast will be +ready in a quarter of an hour, and we shall be happy if you will join +us." + +"It will give me much pleasure," answered Harris, gaily; "I will employ +the interval in fetching my horse, who has breakfasted already." + +"I will accompany you," said Dick. + +"By all means, my young friend; come with me, and I will show you the +lower part of the river." + +While they were gone, Hercules was sent in search of Cousin Benedict, +who was wandering on the top of the cliff in quest of some wonderful +insect, which, of course, was not to be found. Without asking his +permission, Hercules unceremoniously brought him back to Mrs. Weldon, +who explained how they were about to start upon a ten days' march into +the interior of the country. The entomologist was quite satisfied with +the arrangement, and declared himself ready for a march across the +entire continent, as long as he was free to be adding to his collection +on the way. + +Thus assured of her cousin's acquiescence in her plans; Mrs. Weldon +proceeded to prepare such a substantial meal as she hoped would +invigorate them all for the approaching journey. + +Harris and Dick Sands, meantime, had turned the corner of the cliff, +and walked about 300 paces along the shore until they came to a tree to +which a horse was tethered. The creature neighed as it recognized its +master. It was a strong-built animal, of a kind that Dick had not seen +before, although its long neck and crupper, short loins, flat shoulders +and arched forehead indicated that it was of Arabian breed. + +[Illustration: They came to a tree to which a horse was tethered.] + +"Plenty of strength here," Harris said, as after unfastening the horse, +he took it by the bridle and began to lead it along the shore. + +Dick made no reply; he was casting a hasty glance at the forest which +enclosed them on either hand; it was an unattractive sight, but he +observed nothing to give him any particular ground for uneasiness. + +Turning round, he said abruptly,-- + +"Did you meet a Portuguese last night, named Negoro?" + +"Negoro? who is Negoro?" asked Harris, in a tone of surprise. + +"He was our ship's cook; but he has disappeared." + +"Drowned, probably," said Harris indifferently. + +"No, he was not drowned; he was with us during the evening, but left +afterwards; I thought perhaps you might have met him along the +river-side, as you came that way." + +"No," said Harris, "I saw no one; if your cook ventured alone into the +forest, most likely he has lost his way; it is possible we may pick him +up upon our road." + +When they arrived at the grotto, they found breakfast duly prepared. +Like the supper of the previous evening it consisted mainly of corned +beef and biscuit. Harris did ample justice to the repast. + +"There is no fear of our starving as we go," he observed to Mrs. +Weldon; "but I can hardly say so much for the unfortunate Portuguese, +your cook, of whom my young friend here has been speaking." + +"Ah! has Dick been telling you about Negoro?" Mrs. Weldon said. + +Dick explained that he had been inquiring whether Mr. Harris had +happened to meet him in the direction he had come. + +"I saw nothing of him," Harris repeated; "and as he has deserted you, +you need not give yourselves any concern about him." And apparently +glad to turn the subject, he said, "Now, madam, I am at your service; +shall we start at once?" + +It was agreed that there was no cause for delay. Each one took up the +package that had been assigned him. Mrs. Weldon, with Hercules' help, +mounted the horse, and Jack, with his miniature gun slung across his +shoulder, was placed astride in front of her. Without a thought of +acknowledging the kindness of the good-natured stranger in providing +him so enjoyable a ride, the heedless little fellow declared himself +quite capable of guiding the "gentleman's horse," and when to indulge +him the bridle was put into his hand, he looked as proud as though he +had been appointed leader of the whole caravan. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THROUGH THE FOREST. + + +Although there was no obvious cause for apprehension, it cannot be +denied that it was with a certain degree of foreboding that Dick Sands +first entered that dense forest, through which for the next ten days +they were all to wend their toilsome way. + +Mrs. Weldon, on the contrary, was full of confidence and hope. A woman +and a mother, she might have been expected to be conscious of anxiety +at the peril to which she might be exposing herself and her child; and +doubtless she would have been sensible of alarm if her mind had not +been fully satisfied upon two points; first, that the portion of the +pampas they were about to traverse was little infested either by +natives or by dangerous beasts; and secondly, that she was under the +protection of a guide so trustworthy as she believed Harris to be. + +The entrance to the forest was hardly more than three hundred paces up +the river. An order of march had been arranged which was to be observed +as closely as possible throughout the journey. At the head of the troop +were Harris and Dick Sands, one armed with his long gun, the other with +his Remington; next came Bat and Austin, each carrying a gun and a +cutlass, then Mrs. Weldon and Jack, on horseback, closely followed by +Tom and old Nan, while Actæon with the fourth Remington, and Hercules +with a huge hatchet in his waist-belt, brought up the rear. Dingo had +no especial place in the procession, but wandered to and fro at his +pleasure. Ever since he had been cast ashore Dick had noticed a +remarkable change in the dog's behaviour; the animal was in a constant +state of agitation, always apparently on the search for some lost +scent, and repeatedly giving vent to a low growl, which seemed to +proceed from grief rather than from rage. + +As for Cousin Benedict, his movements were permitted to be nearly as +erratic as Dingo's; nothing but a leading-string could possibly have +kept him in the ranks. With his tin box under his arm, and his +butterfly net in his hand, and his huge magnifying-glass suspended from +his neck, he would be sometimes far ahead, sometimes a long way behind, +and at the risk of being attacked by some venomous snake, would make +frantic dashes into the tall grass whenever he espied some attractive +orthoptera or other insect which he thought might be honoured by a +place in his collection. + +In one hour after starting Mrs. Weldon had called to him a dozen times +without the slightest effect. At last she told him seriously that if he +would not give up chasing the insects at a distance, she should be +obliged to take possession of his tin box. + +"Take away my box!" he cried, with as much horror as if she had +threatened to tear out his vitals. + +"Yes, your box and your net too!" + +"My box and my net! but surely not my spectacles!" almost shrieked the +excited entomologist. + +"Yes, and your spectacles as well!" added Mrs. Weldon mercilessly; "I +am glad you have reminded me of another means of reducing you to +obedience!" + +The triple penalty of which he was thus warned had the effect of +keeping him from wandering away for the best part of the next hour, but +he was soon once more missing from the ranks; he was manifestly +incorrigible; the deprivation of box, net, and spectacles would, it was +acknowledged, be utterly without avail to prevent him from rambling. +Accordingly it was thought better to let him have his own way, +especially as Hercules volunteered to keep his eye upon him, and to +endeavour to guard the worthy naturalist as carefully as he would +himself protect some precious specimen of a lepidoptera. Further +anxiety on his account was thus put to rest. + +[Illustration: The way across the forest could scarcely be called a +path.] + +In spite of Harris's confident assertion that they were little likely +to be molested by any of the nomad Indians, the whole company rejoiced +in feeling that they were well armed, and they resolved to keep in a +compact body. The way across the forest could scarcely be called a +path; it was, in fact, little more than the track of animals, and +progress along it was necessarily very slow; indeed it seemed +impossible, at the rate they started, to accomplish more than five or +six miles in the course of twelve hours. + +The weather was beautifully fine; the sun ascended nearly to the +zenith, and its rays, descending almost perpendicularly, caused a +degree of heat which, as Harris pointed out, would have been +unendurable upon the open plain, but was here pleasantly tempered by +the shelter of the foliage. + +Most of the trees were quite strange to them. To an experienced eye +they were such as were remarkable more for their character then for +their size. Here, on one side, was the bauhinia, or mountain ebony; +there, on the other, the molompi or pterocarpus, its trunk exuding +large quantities of resin, and of which the strong light wood makes +excellent oars or paddles; further on were fustics heavily charged with +colouring matter, and guaiacums, twelve feet in diameter, surpassing +the ordinary kind in magnitude, yet far inferior in quality. + +Dick Sands kept perpetually asking Harris to tell him the names of all +these trees and plants. + +"Have you never been on the coast of South America before?" replied +Harris, without giving the explicit information that was sought. + +"Never," said Dick; "never before. Nor do I recollect ever having seen +any one who has." + +"But surely you have explored the coasts of Columbia or Patagonia," +Harris continued. + +Dick avowed that he had never had the chance. + +"But has Mrs. Weldon never visited these parts? Our countrymen, I know, +are great travellers." + +"No," answered Mrs. Weldon; "my husband's business called him +occasionally to New Zealand, but I have accompanied him nowhere else. +With this part of Lower Bolivia we are totally unacquainted." + +"Then, madam, I can only assure you that you will see a most remarkable +country, in every way a very striking contrast to the regions of Peru, +Brazil, and the Argentine republic. Its animal and vegetable products +would fill a naturalist with unbounded wonder. May I not declare it a +lucky chance that has brought you here?" + +"Do not say chance, Mr. Harris, if you please." + +"Well, then, madam; providence, if you prefer it," said Harris, with +the air of a man incapable of recognizing the distinction. + +After finding that there was no one amongst them who was acquainted in +any way with the country through which they were travelling, Harris +seemed to exhibit an evident pleasure in pointing out and describing by +name the various wonders of the forest. Had Cousin Benedict's +attainments included a knowledge of botany he would have found himself +in a fine field for researches, and might perchance have discovered +novelties to which his own name could be appended in the catalogues of +science. But he was no botanist; in fact, as a rule, he held all +blossoms in aversion, on the ground that they entrapped insects into +their corollæ, and poisoned them sometimes with venomous juices. New +and rare insects, however, seemed hereabouts to be wanting. + +Occasionally the soil became marshy, and they all had to wend their way +over a perfect network of tiny rivulets that were affluents of the +river from which they had started. Sometimes these rivulets were so +wide that they could not be passed without a long search for some spot +where they could be forded; their banks were all very damp, and in many +places abounded with a kind of reed, which Harris called by its proper +name of papyrus. + +As soon as the marshy district had been passed, the forest resumed its +original aspect, the footway becoming narrow as ever. Harris pointed +out some very fine ebony-trees, larger than the common sort, and +yielding a wood darker and more durable than what is ordinarily seen in +the market. There were also more mango-trees than might have been +expected at this distance from the sea; a beautiful white lichen +enveloped their trunks like a fur; but in spite of their luxuriant +foliage and delicious fruit, Harris said that there was not a native +who would venture to propagate the species, as the superstition of the +country is that "whoever plants a mango, dies!" + +[Illustration: Occasionally the soil became marshy.] + +At noon a halt was made for the purpose of rest and refreshment. During +the afternoon they arrived at some gently rising ground, not the first +slopes of hills, but an insulated plateau which appeared to unite +mountains and plains. Notwithstanding that the trees were far less +crowded and more inclined to grow in detached groups, the numbers of +herbaceous plants with which the soil was covered rendered progress no +less difficult than it was before. The general aspect of the scene was +not unlike an East Indian jungle. Less luxuriant indeed than in the +lower valley of the river, the vegetation was far more abundant than +that of the temperate zones either of the Old or New continents. Indigo +grew in great profusion, and, according to Harris's representation, was +the most encroaching plant in the whole country; no sooner, he said, +was a field left untilled, than it was overrun by this parasite, which +sprang up with the rank growth of thistles or nettles. + +One tree which might have been expected to be common in this part of +the continent seemed entirely wanting. This was the caoutchouc. Of the +various trees from which India-rubber is procured, such as the Ficus +prinoides, the Castilioa elastica, the Cecropia peltata, the Callophora +utilis, the Cameraria latifolia, and especially the Siphonia elastica, +all of which abound in the provinces of South America, not a single +specimen was to be seen. Dick had promised to show Jack an +India-rubber-tree, and the child, who had conjured up visions of +squeaking dolls, balls, and other toys growing upon its branches, was +loud and constant in his expressions of disappointment. + +"Never mind, my little man," said Harris; "have patience, and you shall +see hundreds of India-rubber-trees when you get to the hacienda." + +"And will they be nice and elastic?" asked Jack, whose ideas upon the +subject were of the vaguest order. + +"Oh, yes, they will stretch as long as you like," Harris answered, +laughing. "But here is something to amuse you," he added, and as he +spoke, he gathered a fruit that looked as tempting as a peach. + +"You are quite sure that it is safe to give it him?" said Mrs. Weldon +anxiously. + +"To satisfy you, madam, I will eat one first myself." + +The example he set was soon followed by all the rest. The fruit was a +mango; that which had been so opportunely discovered was of the sort +that ripens in March or April; there is a later kind which ripens in +September. With his mouth full of juice, Jack pronounced that it was +very nice, but did not seem to be altogether diverted from his sense of +disappointment at not coming to an India-rubber-tree. Evidently the +little man thought himself rather injured. + +"And Dick promised me some humming-birds too!" he murmured. + +"Plenty of humming-birds for you, when you get to the farm; lots of +them where my brother lives," said Harris. + +And to say the truth, there was nothing extravagant in the way the +child's anticipations had been raised, for in Bolivia humming-birds are +found in great abundance. The Indians, who weave their plumage into all +kinds of artistic designs, have bestowed the most poetical epithets +upon these gems of the feathered race. They call them "rays of the +sun," and "tresses of the day-star;" at one time they will describe +them as "king of flowers," at another as "blossoms of heaven kissing +blossoms of earth," or as "the jewel that reflects the sunbeam." In +fact their imagination seems to have shaped a suitable distinction for +almost every one of the 150 known species of this dazzling little +beauty. + +But however numerous humming-birds might be expected to be in the +Bolivian forest, they proved scarce enough at present, and Jack had to +content himself with Harris's representations that they did not like +solitude, but would be found plentifully at San Felice, where they +would be heard all day long humming like a spinning-wheel. Already Jack +said he longed to be there, a wish that was so unanimously echoed by +all the rest, that they resolved that no stoppage should be allowed +beyond what was absolutely indispensable. + +After a time the forest began to alter its aspect. The trees were even +less crowded, opening now and then into wide glades. The soil, cropping +up above its carpet of verdure, exhibited veins of rose granite and +syenite, like plates of lapis lazuli; on some of the higher ground, the +fleshy tubers of the sarsaparilla plant, growing in a hopeless +entanglement, made progress a matter of still greater difficulty than +in the narrow tracks of the dense forest. + +At sunset the travellers found that they had accomplished about eight +miles from their starting-point. They could not prognosticate what +hardships might be in store for them on future days, but it was certain +that the experiences of the first day had been neither eventful nor +very fatiguing. It was now unanimously agreed that they should make a +halt for the night, and as little was to be apprehended from the +attacks either of man or beast, it was considered unnecessary to form +anything like a regular encampment. One man on guard, to be relieved +every few hours, was presumed to be sufficient. Admirable shelter was +offered by an enormous mango, the spreading foliage of which formed a +kind of natural verandah, sweeping the ground so thoroughly that any +one who chose could find sleeping-quarters in its very branches. + +Simultaneously with the halting of the party there was heard a +deafening tumult in the upper boughs. The mango was the roosting place +of a colony of grey parrots, a noisy, quarrelsome, and rapacious race, +of whose true characteristics the specimens seen in confinement in +Europe give no true conception. Their screeching and chattering were +such a nuisance that Dick Sands wanted to fire a shot into the middle +of them, but Harris seriously dissuaded him, urging that the report of +firearms would only serve to reveal their own presence, whilst their +greatest safety lay in perfect silence. + +Supper was prepared. There was little need of cooking. The meal, as +before, consisted of preserved meat and biscuit. Fresh water, which +they flavoured with a few drops of rum, was obtained from an adjacent +stream which trickled through the grass. By way of dessert they had an +abundance of ripe mangoes, and the only drawback to their general +enjoyment was the discordant outcry which the parrots kept up, as it +were in protest against the invasion of what they held to be their own +rightful domain. + +It was nearly dark when supper was ended. The evening shade crept +slowly upwards to the tops of the trees, which soon stood out in sharp +relief against the lighter background of the sky, while the stars, one +by one, began to peep. The wind dropped, and ceased to murmur through +the foliage; to the general relief, the parrots desisted from their +clatter; and as Nature hushed herself to rest, she seemed to be +inviting all her children to follow her example. + +"Had we not better light a good large fire?" asked Dick. + +"By no means," said Harris; "the nights are not cold, and under this +wide-spreading mango the ground is not likely to be damp. Besides, as I +have told you before, our best security consists in our taking care to +attract no attention whatever from without." + +Mrs. Weldon interposed,-- + +"It may be true enough that we have nothing to dread from the Indians, +but is it certain that there are no dangerous quadrupeds against which +we are bound to be upon our guard?" + +Harris answered,-- + +"I can positively assure you, madam, that there are no animals here but +such as would be infinitely more afraid of you than you would be of +them." + +"Are there any woods without wild beasts?" asked Jack. + +"All woods are not alike, my boy," replied Harris; "this wood is a +great park. As the Indians say, 'Es como el Pariso;' it is like +Paradise." + +Jack persisted,-- + +"There must be snakes, and lions, and tigers." + +"Ask your mamma, my boy," said Harris, "whether she ever heard of lions +and tigers in America?" + +Mrs. Weldon was endeavouring to put her little boy at his ease on this +point, when Cousin Benedict interposed, saying that although there were +no lions or tigers, there were plenty of jaguars and panthers in the +New World. + +"And won't they kill us?" demanded Jack eagerly, his apprehensions once +more aroused. + +"Kill you?" laughed Harris; "why, your friend Hercules here could +strangle them, two at a time, one in each hand!" + +"But, please, don't let the panthers come near me!" pleaded Jack, +evidently alarmed. + +"No, no, Master Jack, they shall not come near you. I will give them a +good grip first," and the giant displayed his two rows of huge white +teeth. + +Dick Sands proposed that it should be the four younger negroes who +should be assigned the task of keeping watch during the night, in +attendance upon himself; but Actæon insisted so strongly upon the +necessity of Dick's having his full share of rest, that the others were +soon brought to the same conviction, and Dick was obliged to yield. + +Jack valiantly announced his intention of taking one watch, but his +sleepy eyelids made it only too plain that he did not know the extent +of his own fatigue. + +"I am sure there are wolves here," he said. + +"Only such wolves as Dingo would swallow at a mouthful," said Harris. + +"But I am sure there are wolves," he insisted, repeating the word +"wolves" again and again, until he tumbled off to sleep against the +side of old Nan. Mrs. Weldon gave her little son a silent kiss; it was +her loving "good night." + +Cousin Benedict was missing. Some little time before, he had slipped +away in search of "cocuyos," or fire-flies, which he had heard were +common in South America. + +Those singular insects emit a bright bluish light from two spots on the +side of the thorax, and their colours are so brilliant that they are +used as ornaments for ladies' headdresses. Hoping to secure some +specimens for his box, Benedict would have wandered to an unlimited +distance; but Hercules, faithful to his undertaking, soon discovered +him, and heedless of the naturalist's protestations and vociferations, +promptly escorted him back to the general rendezvous. + +Hercules himself was the first to keep watch, but with this exception, +the whole party, in another hour, were wrapped in peaceful slumber. + +[Illustration: Hercules himself was the first to keep watch.] + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +MISGIVINGS. + + +Most travellers who have passed a night in a South American forest have +been roused from their slumbers by a _matinée musicale_ more fantastic +than melodious, performed by monkeys, as their ordinary greeting of the +dawn. The yelling, chattering, screeching, howling, all unite to form a +chorus almost unearthly in its hideousness. + +Amongst the various specimens of the numerous family of the quadrumana +ought to be recognized the little marikina; the sagouin, with its +parti-coloured face; the grey mora, the skin of which is used by the +Indians for covering their gun-locks; the sapajou, with its singular +tuft over the forehead, and, most remarkable of all, the guariba +(_Simia Beelzebul_) with its prehensile tail and diabolical countenance. + +At the first streak of daylight the senior member, as choragus, will +start the key-note in a sonorous barytone, the younger monkeys join in +tenor and alto, and the concert begins. But this morning there was no +concert at all. There was nothing of the wonted serenade to break the +silence of the forest. The shrill notes resulting from the rapid +vibration of the hyoid bones of the throat were not to be heard. +Indians would have been disappointed and perplexed; they are very fond +of the flesh of the guariba when smoked and dried, and they would +certainly have missed the chant of the monkey "paternosters;" but Dick +Sands and his companions were unfamiliar with any of these things, and +accordingly the singular quietude was to them a matter of no surprise. + +They all awoke much refreshed by their night's rest, which there had +been nothing to disturb. Jack was by no means the latest in opening his +eyes, and his first words were addressed to Hercules, asking him +whether he had caught a wolf with his teeth. Hercules had to +acknowledge that he had tasted nothing all night, and declared himself +quite ready for breakfast. The whole party were unanimous in this +respect, and after a brief morning prayer, breakfast was expeditiously +served by old Nan. The meal was but a repetition of the last evening's +supper, but with their appetites sharpened by the fresh forest air, and +anxious to fortify themselves for a good day's march, they did not fail +to do ample justice to their simple fare. Even Cousin Benedict, for +once in his life at least, partook of his food as if it were not +utterly a matter of indifference to him; but he grumbled very much at +the restraint to which he considered himself subjected; he could not +see the good of coming to such a country as this, if he were to be +obliged to walk about with his hands in his pockets; and he protested +that if Hercules did not leave him alone and permit him to catch +fire-flies, there would be a bone to pick between them. Hercules did +not look very much alarmed at the threat. Mrs. Weldon, however, took +him aside, and telling him that she did not wish to deprive the +enthusiast entirely of his favourite occupation, instructed him to +allow her cousin as much liberty as possible, provided he did not lose +sight of him. + +The morning meal was over, and it was only seven o'clock when the +travellers were once more on their way towards the east, preserving the +same marching-order as on the day before. + +The path was still through luxuriant forest. The vegetable kingdom +reigned supreme. As the plateau was immediately adjacent to tropical +latitudes, the sun's rays during the summer months descended +perpendicularly upon the virgin soil, and the vast amount of heat thus +obtained combined with the abundant moisture retained in the subsoil, +caused vegetation to assume a character which was truly magnificent. + +Dick Sands could not overcome a certain sense of mystification. Here +they were, as Harris told them, in the region of the pampas, a word +which he knew in the Quichna dialect signifies "a plain;" but he had +always read that these plains were characterized by a deficiency alike +of water, of trees, and rocks; he had always understood that during the +rainy season, thistles spring up in great abundance and grow until they +form thickets that are well-nigh impenetrable; he had imagined that the +few dwarf trees and prickly shrubs that exist during the summer only +stamp the general scene with an aspect of yet more thorough bareness +and desolation. But how different was everything to all this! The +forest never ceased to stretch away interminably to the horizon. There +were no tokens of the rough nakedness that he had expected. Dick seemed +to be driven to the conclusion that Harris was right in describing this +plateau of Atacama, which he had for his part most firmly believed to +be a vast desert between the Andes and the Pacific, as a region that +was quite exceptional in its natural features. + +It was not in Dick's character to keep his reflections to himself. In +the course of the morning he expressed his extreme surprise at finding +the pampas answer so little to his preconceived ideas. + +"Have I not understood correctly," he said, "that the pampas is similar +to the North American savannahs, only less marshy?" + +Harris replied that such was indeed a correct description of the pampas +of Rio Colorado, and the Ilanos of Venezuela and the Orinoco. + +"But," he continued, "I own I am as much astonished as yourself at the +character of this region; I have never crossed the plateau before, and +I must confess it is altogether different to what you find beyond the +Andes towards the Atlantic." + +"You don't mean that we are going to cross the Andes?" said Dick, in +sudden alarm. + +Harris smiled. + +"No, no, indeed. With our limited means of transport such an +undertaking would have been rash in the extreme. We had better have +kept to the coast for ever rather than incur such a risk. Our +destination, San Felice, is on this side of the range, and in order to +reach it, we shall not have to leave the plateau, of which the greatest +elevation is but little over 1500 feet." + +"And you say," Dick persisted, "that you have really no fear of losing +your way in a forest such as this, a forest into which you have never +set foot before?" + +"No fear whatever," Harris answered; "so accustomed am I to travelling +of this kind, that I can steer my way by a thousand signs revealing +themselves in the growth of the trees, and in the composition of the +soil, which would never present themselves to your notice. I assure you +that I anticipate no difficulties." + +This conversation was not heard by any of the rest of the party. Harris +seemed to speak as frankly as he did fearlessly, and Dick felt that +there might be, after all, no just grounds for any of his own +misgivings. + +Five days passed by, and the 12th of April arrived without any special +incident. Nine miles had been the average distance accomplished in a +day; regular periods of rest had been taken, and, except that Jack's +spirits had somewhat flagged, the fatigue did not seem to have +interfered with the general good health of the travellers. + +First disappointed of his India-rubber-tree, and then of his humming +birds, Jack had inquired about the beautiful parrots which he had been +led to expect he should see in this wonderful forest. Where were the +bright green macaws? where were the gaudy aras with their bare white +cheeks and pointed tails, which seem never to light upon the ground? +and where, too, were all the brilliant parroquets, with their feathered +faces, and indeed the whole variety of those forest chatterers of which +the Indians affirm that they speak the language of nations long extinct? + +It is true that there was no lack of the common grey parrots with +crimson tails, but these were no novelty; Jack had seen plenty of them +before, for owing to their reputation of being the most clever in +mimickry of the Psittacidæ, they have been domesticated everywhere in +both the Old and New worlds. + +[Illustration: "Don't Fire!"] + +But Jack's dissatisfaction was nothing compared to Cousin Benedict's. +In spite of being allowed to wander away from the rank, he had failed +to discover a single insect which was worth the pursuit; not even a +fire-fly danced at night; nature seemed to be mocking him, and his +ill-humour increased accordingly. + +In this way the journey was continued for four days longer, and on the +16th it was estimated that they must have travelled between eighty and +ninety miles north-eastwards from the coast. Harris positively asserted +that they could not be much more than twenty miles from San Felice, and +that by pushing forwards they might expect in eight-and-forty hours to +find themselves lodged in comfortable quarters. + +But although they had thus succeeded in traversing this vast +table-land, they had not seen one human inhabitant. Dick was more than +ever perplexed, and it was a subject of bitter regret to him that they +had not stranded upon some more frequented part of the shore, near some +village or plantation where Mrs. Weldon might long since have found a +suitable refuge. + +Deserted, however, as the country apparently was by man, it had +latterly shown itself much more abundantly tenanted by animals. Many a +time a long, plaintive cry was heard, which Harris attributed to the +tardigrades or sloths often found in wooded districts, and known by the +name of "ais;" and in the middle of the dinner-halt on this day, a loud +hissing suddenly broke upon the air which made Mrs. Weldon start to her +feet in alarm. + +"A serpent!" cried Dick, catching up his loaded gun. + +The negroes, following Dick's example, were in a moment on the alert. + +"Don't fire!" cried Harris. + +There was indeed nothing improbable in the supposition that a "sucuru," +a species of boa, sometimes measuring forty feet in length, had just +moved itself in the long grass at their side, but Harris affirmed that +the "sucuru" never hisses, and declared that the noise had really come +from animals of an entirely inoffensive character. + +"What animals?" asked Dick, always eager for information, which it must +be granted Harris seemed always equally anxious to give. + +"Antelopes," replied Harris; "but, hush! not a sound, or you will +frighten them away." + +"Antelopes!" cried Dick; "I must see them; I must get close to them." + +"More easily said than done," answered Harris, shaking his head; but +Dick was not to be diverted from his purpose, and, gun in hand, crept +into the grass. He had not advanced many yards before a herd of about a +dozen gazelles, graceful in body, with short, pointed horns, dashed +past him like a glowing cloud, and disappeared in the underwood without +giving him time to take a shot. + +"I told you beforehand what you would have to expect," said Harris, as +Dick, with a considerable sense of disappointment, returned to the +party. + +Impossible, however, as it had been fairly to scrutinize the antelopes, +such was hardly the case with another herd of animals, the +identification of which led to a somewhat singular discussion between +Harris and the rest. + +About four o'clock on the afternoon of the same day, the travellers +were halting for a few moments near an opening in the forest, when +three or four large animals emerged from a thicket about a hundred +paces ahead, and scampered off at full speed. In spite of what Harris +had urged, Dick put his gun to his shoulder, and was on the very point +of firing, when Harris knocked the rifle quickly aside. + +"They were giraffes!" shouted Dick. + +The announcement awakened the curiosity of Jack, who quickly scrambled +to his feet upon the saddle on which he was lounging. + +"My dear Dick," said Mrs. Weldon, "there are no giraffes in America!" + +[Illustration: A herd of gazelles dashed past him like a glowing cloud.] + +"Certainly not," cried Harris; "they were not giraffes, they were +ostriches which you saw!" + +"Ostriches with four legs! that will never do! what do you say. Mrs. +Weldon?" + +Mrs. Weldon replied that she had certainly taken the animals for +quadrupeds, and all the negroes were under the same impression. + +Laughing heartily, Harris said it was far from an uncommon thing for an +inexperienced eye to mistake a large ostrich for a small giraffe; the +shape of both was so similar, that it often quite escaped observation +as to whether the long necks terminated in a beak or a muzzle; besides, +what need of discussion could there be when the fact was established +that giraffes are unknown in the New World? The reasoning was plausible +enough, and Mrs Weldon and the negroes were soon convinced. But Dick +was far from satisfied. + +"I did not know that there was an American ostrich!" he again objected. + +"Oh, yes," replied Harris promptly, "there is a species called the +nandu, which is very well known here; we shall probably see some more +of them." + +The statement was correct; the nandu is common in the plains of South +America, and is distinguished from the African ostrich by having three +toes, all furnished with claws. It is a fine bird, sometimes exceeding +six feet in height; it has a short beak, and its wings are furnished +with blue-grey plumes. Harris appeared well acquainted with the bird, +and proceeded to give a very precise account of its habits. In +concluding his remarks, he again pressed upon Dick his most urgent +request that he should abstain from firing upon any animal whatever. It +was of the utmost consequence. + +Dick made no reply. He was silent and thoughtful. Grave doubts had +arisen in his mind, and he could neither explain nor dispel them. + +When the march was resumed on the following day, Harris asserted his +conviction that another four-and-twenty hours would bring them to the +hacienda. + +"And there, madam," he said, addressing Mrs. Weldon, "we can offer you +every essential comfort, though you may not find the luxuries of your +own home in San Francisco." + +Mrs. Weldon repeated her expression of gratitude for the proffered +hospitality, owning that she should now be exceedingly glad to reach +the farm, as she was anxious about her little son, who appeared to be +threatened with the symptoms of incipient fever. + +Harris could not deny that although the climate was usually very +healthy, it nevertheless did occasionally produce a kind of +intermittent fever during March and April. + +"But nature has provided the proper remedy," said Dick; and perceiving +that Harris did not comprehend his meaning, he continued, "Are we not +in the region of the quinquinas, the bark of which is notoriously the +medicine with which attacks of fever are usually treated? for my part, +I am amazed that we have not seen numbers of them already." + +"Ah! yes, yes; I know what you mean," answered Harris, after a moment's +hesitation; "they are trees, however, not always easy to find; they +rarely grow in groups, and in spite of their large leaves and fragrant +red blossom, the Indians themselves often have a difficulty in +recognizing them; the feature that distinguishes them most is their +evergreen foliage." + +At Mrs. Weldon's request, Harris promised to point out the tree if he +should see one, but added that when she reached the hacienda, she would +be able to obtain some sulphate of quinine, which was much more +efficacious than the unprepared bark.[1] + + +[Footnote 1: This bark was formerly, reduced to powder, known as +"Pulvis Jesuiticus," because in the year 1649 the Jesuits in Rome +imported a large quantity of it from their missionaries in South +America.] + + +The day passed without further incident. No rain had fallen at present, +though the warm mist that rose from the soil betokened an approaching +change of weather; the rainy season was certainly not far distant, but +to travellers who indulged the expectation of being in a few hours in a +place of shelter, this was not a matter of great concern. + +[Illustration: A halt was made for the night beneath a grove of lofty +trees.] + +Evening came, and a halt was made for the night beneath a grove of +lofty trees. If Harris had not miscalculated, they could hardly be more +than about six miles from their destination; so confirmed, however, was +Dick Sands in his strange suspicions, that nothing could induce him to +relax any of the usual precautions, and he particularly insisted upon +the negroes, turn by turn, keeping up the accustomed watch. + +Worn out by fatigue, the little party were glad to lie down, but they +had scarcely dropped off to sleep when they were aroused by a sharp cry. + +"Who's that? who's there? what's the matter?" exclaimed Dick, the first +to rise to his feet. + +"It is I," answered Benedict's voice; "I am bitten. Something has +bitten me." + +"A snake!" exclaimed Mrs. Weldon in alarm. + +"No, no, cousin, better than that! it was not a snake; I believe it was +an orthoptera; I have it all right," he shouted triumphantly. + +"Then kill it quickly, sir; and let us go to sleep again in peace," +said Harris. + +"Kill it! not for the world! I must have a light, and look at it!" + +Dick Sands indulged him, for reasons of his own, in getting a light. +The entomologist carefully opened his hand and displayed an insect +somewhat smaller than a bee, of a dull colour, streaked with yellow on +the under portion of the body. He looked radiant with delight. + +"A diptera!" he exclaimed, half beside himself with joy, "a most famous +diptera!" + +"Is it venomous?" asked Mrs. Weldon. + +"Not at all to men; it only hurts elephants and buffaloes." + +"But tell us its name! what is it?" cried Dick impetuously. + +The naturalist began to speak in a slow, oracular tone. + +"This insect is here a prodigy; it is an insect totally unknown in this +country,--in America." + +"Tell us its name!" roared Dick. + +"It is a tzetzy, sir, a true tzetzy." + +Dick's heart sank like a stone. He was speechless. He did not, dared +not, ask more. Only too well he knew where the tzetzy could alone be +found. He did not close his eyes again that night. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +A TERRIBLE DISCOVERY. + + +The morning of the 18th dawned, the day on which, according to Harris's +prediction, the travellers were to be safely housed at San Felice. Mrs. +Weldon was really much relieved at the prospect, for she was aware that +her strength must prove inadequate to the strain of a more protracted +journey. The condition of her little boy, who was alternately flushed +with fever, and pale with exhaustion, had begun to cause her great +anxiety, and unwilling to resign the care of the child even to Nan his +faithful nurse, she insisted upon carrying him in her own arms. Twelve +days and nights, passed in the open air, had done much to try her +powers of endurance, and the charge of a sick child in addition would +soon break down her strength entirely. + +Dick Sands, Nan, and the negroes had all borne the march very fairly. +Their stock of provisions, though of course considerably diminished, +was still far from small. As for Harris, he had shown himself +pre-eminently adapted for forest-life, and capable of bearing any +amount of fatigue. Yet, strange to say, as he approached the end of the +journey, his manner underwent a remarkable change; instead of +conversing in his ordinary frank and easy way, he became silent and +preoccupied, as if engrossed in his own thoughts. Perhaps he had an +instinctive consciousness that "his young friend," as he was in the +habit of addressing Dick, was entertaining hard suspicions about him. + +The march was resumed. The trees once again ceased to be crowded in +impenetrable masses, but stood in clusters at considerable distances +apart. Now, Dick tried to argue with himself, they must be coming to +the true pampas, or the man must be designedly misleading them; and yet +what motive could he have? + +Although during the earlier part of the day there occurred nothing that +could be said absolutely to justify Dick's increasing uneasiness, two +circumstances transpired which did not escape his observation, and +which, he felt, might be significant. The first of these was a sudden +change in Dingo's behaviour. The dog, throughout the march, had +uniformly run along with his nose upon the ground, smelling the grass +and shrubs, and occasionally uttering a sad low whine; but to-day he +seemed all agitation; he scampered about with bristling coat, with his +head erect, and ever and again burst into one of those furious fits of +barking, with which he had formerly been accustomed to greet Negoro's +appearance upon the deck of the "Pilgrim." + +The idea that flitted across Dick's mind was shared by Tom. + +"Look, Mr. Dick, look at Dingo; he is at his old ways again," said he; +"it is just as if Negoro...." + +"Hush!" said Dick to the old man, who continued in a lower voice,-- + +"It is just as if Negoro had followed us; do you think it is likely?" + +"It might perhaps be to his advantage to follow us, if he doesn't know +the country; but if he does know the country, why then...." + +Dick did not finish his sentence, but whistled to Dingo. The dog +reluctantly obeyed the call. + +As soon as the dog was at his side, Dick patted him, repeating,-- + +"Good dog! good Dingo! where's Negoro?" + +The sound of Negoro's name had its usual effect; it seemed to irritate +the animal exceedingly, and he barked furiously, and apparently wanted +to dash into the thicket. + +Harris had been an interested spectator of the scene, and now +approached with a peculiar expression on his countenance, and inquired +what they were saying to Dingo. + +"Oh, nothing much," replied Tom; "we were only asking him for news of a +lost acquaintance." + +"Ah, I suppose you mean that Portuguese cook of yours." + +"Yes," answered Tom; "we fancied from Dingo's behaviour, that Negoro +must be somewhere close at hand." + +"Why don't you send and search the underwood? perhaps the poor wretch +is in distress." + +"No need of that, Mr. Harris; Negoro, I have no doubt, is quite capable +of taking care of himself." + +"Well, just as you please, my young friend," said Harris, with an air +of indifference. + +Dick turned away; he continued his endeavours to pacify Dingo, and the +conversation dropped. + +The other thing that had arrested Dick's attention was the behaviour of +the horse. If they had been as near the hacienda as Harris described, +would not the animal have pricked up its ears, sniffed the air, and +with dilated nostril, exhibited some sign of satisfaction, as being +upon familiar ground? + +But nothing of the kind was to be observed; the horse plodded along as +unconcernedly as if a stable were as far away as ever. + +Even Mrs. Weldon was not so engrossed with her child, but what she was +fain to express her wonder at the deserted aspect of the country. No +trace of a farm-labourer was anywhere to be seen! She cast her eye at +Harris, who was in his usual place in front, and observing how he was +looking first to the left, and then to the right, with the air of a man +who was uncertain of his path, she asked herself whether it was +possible their guide might have lost his way. She dared not entertain +the idea, and averted her eyes, that she might not be harassed by his +movements. + +After crossing an open plain about a mile in width, the travellers once +again entered the forest, which resumed something of the same denseness +that had characterized it farther to the west. In the course of the +afternoon, they came to a spot which was marked very distinctly by the +vestiges of some enormous animals, which must have passed quite +recently. As Dick looked carefully about him, he observed that the +branches were all torn off or broken to a considerable height, and that +the foot-tracks in the trampled grass were much too large to be those +either of jaguars or panthers. Even if it were possible that the prints +on the ground had been made by ais or other taidigrades, this would +fail to account in the least for the trees being broken to such a +height. Elephants alone were capable of working such destruction in the +underwood, but elephants were unknown in America. Dick was puzzled, but +controlled himself so that he would not apply to Harris for any +enlightenment; his intuition made him aware that a man who had once +tried to make him believe that giraffes were ostriches, would not +hesitate a second time to impose upon his credulity. + +More than ever was Dick becoming convinced that Harris was a traitor, +and he was secretly prompted to tax him with his treachery. Still he +was obliged to own that he could not assign any motive for the man +acting in such a manner with the survivors of the "Pilgrim," and +consequently hesitated before he actually condemned him for conduct so +base and heartless. What could be done? he repeatedly asked himself. On +board ship the boy captain might perchance have been able to devise +some plan for the safety of those so strangely committed to his charge, +but here on an unknown shore, he could only suffer from the burden of +this responsibility the more, because he was so utterly powerless to +act. + +He made up his mind on one point. He determined not to alarm the poor +anxious mother a moment before he was actually compelled. It was his +carrying out this determination that explained why on subsequently +arriving at a considerable stream, where he saw some huge heads, +swollen muzzles, long tusks and unwieldy bodies rising from amidst the +rank wet grass, he uttered no word and gave no gesture of surprise; but +only too well he knew, at a glance, that he must be looking at a herd +of hippopotamuses. + +[Illustration: "Look here! here are hands, men's hands."] + +It was a weary march that day; a general feeling of depression spread +involuntarily from one to another; hardly conscious to herself of her +weariness, Mrs. Weldon was exhibiting manifest symptoms of lassitude; +and it was only Dick's moral energy and sense of duty that kept him +from succumbing to the prevailing dejection. + +About four o'clock, Tom noticed something lying in the grass, and +stooping down he picked up a kind of knife; it was of peculiar shape, +being very wide and flat in the blade, while its handle, which was of +ivory, was ornamented with a good deal of clumsy carving. He carried it +at once to Dick, who, when he had scrutinized it, held it up to Harris, +with the remark,-- + +"There must be natives not far off." + +"Quite right, my young friend; the hacienda must be a very few miles +away,--but yet, but yet...." + +He hesitated. + +"You don't mean that you are not sure of your way," said Dick sharply. + +"Not exactly that," replied Harris; "yet in taking this short cut +across the forest, I am inclined to think I am a mile or so out of the +way. Perhaps I had better walk on a little way, and look about me." + +"No; you do not leave us here," cried Dick firmly. + +"Not against your will; but remember, I do not undertake to guide you +in the dark." + +"We must spare you the necessity for that. I can answer for it that +Mrs. Weldon will raise no objection to spending another night in the +open air. We can start off to-morrow morning as early as we like, and +if the distance be only what you represent, a few hours will easily +accomplish it." + +"As you please," answered Harris with cold civility. + +Just then, Dingo again burst out into a vehement fit of barking, and it +required no small amount of coaxing on Dick's part to make him cease +from his noise. + +It was decided that the halt should be made at once. Mrs. Weldon, as it +had been anticipated, urged nothing against it, being preoccupied by +her immediate attentions to Jack, who was lying in her arms, suffering +from a decided attack of fever. The shelter of a large thicket had just +been selected by Dick as a suitable resting-place for the night, when +Tom, who was assisting in the necessary preparations, suddenly gave a +cry of horror. + +"What is it, Tom?" asked Dick very calmly. + +"Look! look at these trees! they are spattered with blood! and look +here! here are hands, men's hands, cut off and lying on the ground!" + +"What?" cried Dick, and in an instant was at his side. + +His presence of mind did not fail him; he whispered,-- + +"Hush! Tom! hush! not a word!" + +But it was with a shudder that ran through his veins that he witnessed +for himself the mutilated fragments of several human bodies, and saw, +lying beside them, some broken forks, and some bits of iron chain. + +The sight of the gory remains made Dingo bark ferociously, and Dick, +who was most anxious that Mrs. Weldon's attention should not be called +to the discovery, had the greatest difficulty in driving him back; but +fortunately the lady's mind was so engrossed with her patient, that she +did not observe the commotion. Harris stood aloof; there was no one to +notice the change that passed over his countenance, but the expression +was almost diabolical in its malignity. + +Poor old Tom himself seemed perfectly spell-bound. With his hands +clenched, his eyes dilated, and his breast heaving with emotion, he +kept repeating without anything like coherence, the words,-- + +"Forks! chains! forks! ... long ago ... remember ... too well ... +chains!" + +"For Mrs. Weldon's sake, Tom, hold your tongue!" Dick implored him. + +Tom, however, was full with some remembrance of the past; he continued +to repeat,-- + +"Long ago ... forks ... chains!" until Dick led him out of hearing. + +A fresh halting-place was chosen a short distance further on, and +supper was prepared. But the meal was left almost untasted; not so much +that hunger had been overcome by fatigue, but because the indefinable +feeling of uneasiness, that had taken possession of them all, had +entirely destroyed all appetite. + +[Illustration: The man was gone, and his horse with him.] + +Gradually the night became very dark. The sky was covered with heavy +storm-clouds, and on the western horizon flashes of summer lightning +now and then glimmered through the trees. The air was perfectly still; +not a leaf stirred, and the atmosphere seemed so charged with +electricity as to be incapable of transmitting sound of any kind. + +Dick, himself, with Austin and Bat in attendance, remained on guard, +all of them eagerly straining both eye and ear to catch any light or +sound that might disturb the silence and obscurity. Old Tom, with his +head sunk upon his breast, sat motionless, as in a trance; he was +gloomily revolving the awakened memories of the past. Mrs. Weldon was +engaged with her sick child. Scarcely one of the party was really +asleep, except indeed it might be Cousin Benedict, whose reasoning +faculties were not of an order to carry him forwards into any future +contingencies. + +Midnight was still an hour in advance, when the dull air seemed filled +with a deep and prolonged roar, mingled with a peculiar kind of +vibration. + +Tom started to his feet. A fresh recollection of his early days had +struck him. + +"A lion! a lion!" he shouted. + +In vain Dick tried to repress him; but he repeated,-- + +"A lion! a lion!" + +Dick Sands seized his cutlass, and, unable any longer to control his +wrath, he rushed to the spot where he had left Harris lying. + +The man was gone, and his horse with him! + +All the suspicions that had been so long pent up within Dick's mind now +shaped themselves into actual reality. A flood of light had broken in +upon him. Now he was convinced, only too certainly, that it was not the +coast of America at all upon which the schooner had been cast ashore! +it was not Easter Island that had been sighted far away in the west! +the compass had completely deceived him; he was satisfied now that the +strong currents had carried them quite round Cape Horn, and that they +had really entered the Atlantic. No wonder that quinquinas, caoutchouc, +and other South American products, had failed to be seen. This was +neither the Bolivian pampas nor the plateau of Atacama. They were +giraffes, not ostriches, that had vanished down the glade; they were +elephants that had trodden down the underwood; they were hippopotamuses +that were lurking by the river; it was indeed the dreaded tzetsy that +Cousin Benedict had so triumphantly discovered; and, last of all, it +was a lion's roar that had disturbed the silence of the forest. That +chain, that knife, those forks, were unquestionably the instruments of +slave-dealers; and what could those mutilated hands be, except the +relics of their ill-fated victims? + +Harris and Negoro must be in a conspiracy! + +It was with terrible anguish that Dick gnashed his teeth and muttered,-- + +"Yes, it is too true; we are in Africa! in equatorial Africa! in the +land of slavery! in the very haunt of slave-drivers!" + + + +END OF FIRST PART. + + + +***** + + + +PART THE SECOND. + + +[Illustration: WEST COAST OF CENTRAL AFRICA.] + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE DARK CONTINENT. + + +The "slave-trade" is an expression that ought never to have found its +way into any human language. After being long practised at a large +profit by such European nations as had possessions beyond the seas, +this abominable traffic has now for many years been ostensibly +forbidden; yet even in the enlightenment of this nineteenth century, it +is still largely carried on, especially in Central Africa, inasmuch as +there are several states, professedly Christian, whose signatures have +never been affixed to the deed of abolition. + +Incredible as it should seem, this barter of human beings still exists, +and for the due comprehension of the second part of Dick Sands' story +it must be borne in mind, that for the purpose of supplying certain +colonies with slaves, there continue to be prosecuted such barbarous +"man-hunts" as threaten almost to lay waste an entire continent with +blood, fire, and pillage. + +The nefarious traffic as far as regards negroes does not appear to have +arisen until the fifteenth century. The following are said to be the +circumstances under which it had its origin. After being banished from +Spain, the Mussulmans crossed the straits of Gibraltar and took refuge +upon the shores of Africa, but the Portuguese who then occupied that +portion of the coast persecuted the fugitives with the utmost severity, +and having captured them in large numbers, sent them as prisoners into +Portugal. They were thus the first nucleus of any African slaves that +entered Western Europe since the commencement of the Christian era. The +majority, however, of these Mussulmans were members of wealthy +families, who were prepared to pay almost any amount of money for their +release; but no ransom was exorbitant enough to tempt the Portuguese to +surrender them; more precious than gold were the strong arms that +should work the resources of their young and rising colonies. Thus +baulked in their purpose of effecting a direct ransom of their captured +relatives, the Mussulman families next submitted a proposition for +exchanging them for a larger number of African negroes, whom it would +be quite easy to procure. The Portuguese, to whom the proposal was in +every way advantageous, eagerly accepted the offer; and in this way the +slave-trade was originated in Europe. + +By the end of the sixteenth century this odious traffic had become +permanently established; in principle it contained nothing repugnant to +the semi-barbarous thought and customs then existing; all the great +states recognized it as the most effectual means of colonizing the +islands of the New World, especially as slaves of negro blood, well +acclimatized to tropical heat, were able to survive where white men +must have perished by thousands. The transport of slaves to the +American colonies was consequently regularly effected by vessels +specially built for that purpose, and large dépôts for this branch of +commerce were established at various points of the African coast. The +"goods" cost comparatively little in production, and the profits were +enormous. + +Yet, after all, however indispensable it might be to complete the +foundation of the trans-atlantic colonies, there was nothing to justify +this shameful barter of human flesh and blood, and the voice of +philanthropy began to be heard in protestation, calling upon all +European governments, in the name of mercy and common humanity, to +decree the abolition of the trade at once. + +In 1751, the Quakers put themselves at the head of the abolitionist +movement in North America, that very land where, a hundred years later, +the war of secession burst forth, in which the question of slavery bore +the most conspicuous part. Several of the Northern States, Virginia, +Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania prohibited the trade, +liberating the slaves, in spite of the cost, who had been imported into +their territories. + +The campaign, thus commenced, was not limited to a few provinces of the +New World; on this side of the Atlantic, too, the partisans of slavery +were subject to a vigourous attack. England and France led the van, and +energetically beat up recruits to serve the righteous cause. "Let us +lose our colonies rather than sacrifice our principles," was the +magnanimous watchword that resounded throughout Europe, and +notwithstanding the vast political and commercial interests involved in +the question, it did not go forth in vain. A living impulse had been +communicated to the liberation-movement. In 1807, England formally +prohibited the slave-trade in her colonies; France following her +example in 1814. The two great nations then entered upon a treaty on +the subject, which was confirmed by Napoleon during the Hundred Days. + +Hitherto, however, the declaration was purely theoretical. Slave-ships +continued to ply their illicit trade, discharging their living cargo at +many a colonial port. It was evident that more resolute and practical +measures must be taken to impress the enormity. Accordingly the United +States in 1820, and Great Britain in 1824, declared the slave-trade to +be an act of piracy and its perpetrators to be punishable with death. +France soon gave in her adherence to the new treaty, but the Southern +States of America, and the Spanish and Portuguese, not having signed +the act of abolition, continued the importation of slaves at a great +profit, and this in defiance of the recognized reciprocal right of +visitation to verify the flags of suspected ships. + +But although the slave-trade by these measures was in a considerable +measure reduced, it continued to exist; new slaves were not allowed, +but the old ones did not recover their liberty. England was now the +first to set a noble example. On the 14th of May, 1833, an Act of +Parliament, by a munificent vote of millions of pounds, emancipated all +the negroes in the British Colonies, and in August, 1838, 670,000 +slaves were declared free men. Ten years later, in 1848, the French +Republic liberated the slaves in her colonies to the number of 260,000, +and in 1859 the war which broke out between the Federals and +Confederates in the United States finished the work of emancipation by +extending it to the whole of North America. + +Thus, three great powers have accomplished their task of humanity, and +at the present time the slave-trade is carried on only for the +advantage of the Spanish and Portuguese colonies, or to supply the +requirements of the Turkish or Arab populations of the East. Brazil, +although she has not emancipated her former slaves, does not receive +any new, and all negro children are pronounced free-born. + +In contrast, however, to all this, it is not to be concealed that, in +the interior of Africa, as the result of wars between chieftains waged +for the sole object of making captives, entire tribes are often reduced +to slavery, and are carried off in caravans in two opposite directions, +some westwards to the Portuguese colony of Angola, others eastwards to +Mozambique. Of these miserable creatures, of whom a very small +proportion ever reach their destination, some are despatched to Cuba or +Madagascar, others to the Arab or Turkish provinces of Asia, to Mecca +or Muscat. The French and English cruisers have practically very little +power to control the iniquitous proceedings, because the extent of +coast to be watched is so large that a strict and adequate surveillance +cannot be maintained. The extent of the odious export is very +considerable; no less than 24,000 slaves annually reach the coast, a +number that hardly represents a tenth part of those who are massacred +or otherwise perish by a deplorable end. After the frightful +butcheries, the fields lie devastated, the smouldering villages are +void of inhabitants, the rivers reek with bleeding corpses, and wild +beasts take undisputed possession of the soil. Livingstone, upon +returning to a district, immediately after one of these ruthless raids, +said that he could never have recognized it for the same that he had +visited only a few months previously; and all other travellers, Grant, +Speke, Burton, Cameron, Stanley, describe the wooded plateau of Central +Africa as the principal theatre of the barbarous warfare between chief +and chief. In the region of the great lakes, throughout the vast +district which feeds the market of Zanzibar, in Bornu and Fezzan, +further south on the banks of the Nyassa and Zambesi, further west in +the districts of the Upper Zaire, just traversed by the intrepid +Stanley, everywhere there is the recurrence of the same scenes of ruin, +slaughter, and devastation. Ever and again the question seems to be +forced upon the mind whether slavery is not to end in the entire +annihilation of the negro race, so that, like the Australian tribes of +South Holland, it will become extinct. Who can doubt that the day must +dawn which will herald the closing of the markets in the Spanish and +Portuguese colonies, a day when civilized nations shall no longer +tolerate the perpetration of this barbarous wrong? + +It is hardly too much to say that another year ought to witness the +emancipation of every slave in the possession of Christian states. It +seems only too likely that for years to come the Mussulman nations will +continue to depopulate the continent of Africa; to them is due the +chief emigration of the natives, who, torn from their provinces, are +sent to the eastern coast in numbers that exceed 40,000 annually. Long +before the Egyptian expedition the natives of Sennaar were sold to the +natives of Darfur and _vice versa_; and even Napoleon Buonaparte +purchased a considerable number of negroes, whom he organized into +regiments after the fashion of the mamelukes. Altogether it may be +affirmed, that although four-fifths of the present century have passed +away, slave-traffic in Africa has been increased rather than diminished. + +The truth is that Islamism really nurtures the slave-trade. In +Mussulman provinces, the black slave has taken the place of the white +slave of former times; dealers of the most questionable character bear +their part in the execrable business, bringing a supplementary +population to races which, unregenerated by their own labour, would +otherwise diminish and ultimately disappear. + +As in the time of Buonaparte, these slaves often become soldiers; on +the Upper Niger, for instance, they still form half the army of certain +chieftains, under circumstances in which their lot is hardly, if at +all, inferior to that of free men. Elsewhere, where the slave is not a +soldier, he counts merely as current coin; and in Bornu and even in +Egypt, we are told by William Lejean, an eye-witness, that officers and +other functionaries have received their pay in this form. + +Such, then, appears to be the present actual condition of the +slave-trade; and it is stern justice that compels the additional +statement that there are representatives of certain great European +powers who still favour the unholy traffic with an indulgent +connivance, and whilst cruisers are watching the coasts of the Atlantic +and of the Indian Ocean, kidnapping goes on regularly in the interior, +caravans pass along under the very eyes of certain officials, and +massacres are perpetrated in which frequently ten negroes are +sacrificed in the capture of a single slave. + +It was the knowledge, more or less complete, of all this, that wrung +from Dick Sands his bitter and heart-rending cry:-- + +"We are in Africa! in the very haunt of slave-drivers!" + +Too true it was that he found himself and his companions in a land +fraught with such frightful peril. He could only tremble when he +wondered on what part of the fatal continent the "Pilgrim" had +stranded. Evidently it was at some point of the west coast, and he had +every reason to fear that it was on the shores of Angola, the +rendezvous for all the caravans that journey in that portion of Africa. + +His conjecture was correct; he really was in the very country that a +few years later and with gigantic effort was to be traversed by Cameron +in the south and Stanley in the north. Of the vast territory, with its +three provinces, Congo, Angola, and Benguela, little was then known +except the coast. It extends from the Zaire on the north to the Nourse +on the south, and its chief towns are the ports of Benguela and of St. +Paul de Loanda, the capital of the colony, which is a dependency of the +kingdom of Portugal. The interior of the country had been almost +entirely unexplored. Very few were the travellers who had cared to +venture far inland, for an unhealthy climate, a hot, damp soil +conducive to fever, a permanent warfare between the native tribes, some +of which are cannibals, and the ill-feeling of the slave-dealers +against any stranger who might endeavour to discover the secrets of +their infamous craft, all combine to render the region one of the most +hazardous in the whole of Equatorial Africa. + +It was in 1816 that Tuckey ascended the Congo as far as the Yellala +Falls, a distance not exceeding 203 miles; but the journey was too +short to give an accurate idea of the interior of the country, and +moreover cost the lives of nearly all the officers and scientific men +connected with the expedition. + +Thirty-seven years afterwards, Dr. Livingstone had advanced from the +Cape of Good Hope to the Upper Zambesi; thence, with a fearlessness +hitherto unrivalled, he crossed the Coango, an affluent of the Congo, +and after having traversed the continent from the extreme south to the +east he reached St. Paul de Loanda on the 31st of May, 1854, the first +explorer of the unknown portions of the great Portuguese colony. + +Eighteen years elapsed, and two other bold travellers crossed the +entire continent from east to west, and after encountering unparalleled +difficulties, emerged, the one to the south, the other to the north of +Angola. + +The first of these was Verney Lovett Cameron, a lieutenant in the +British navy. In 1872, when serious doubts were entertained as to the +safety of the expedition sent out under Stanley to the relief of +Livingstone in the great lake district, Lieutenant Cameron volunteered +to go out in search of the noble missionary explorer. His offer was +accepted, and accompanied by Dr. Dillon, Lieutenant Cecil Murphy, and +Robert Moffat, a nephew of Livingstone, he started from Zanzibar. +Having passed through Ugogo, he met Livingstone's corpse, which was +being borne to the eastern coast by his faithful followers. Unshaken in +his resolve to make his way right across the continent, Cameron still +pushed onwards to the west. He passed through Unyanyembe and Uganda, +and reached Kawele, where he secured all Livingstone's papers. After +exploring Lake Tanganyika he crossed the mountains of Bambarre, and +finding himself unable to descend the course of the Lualaba, he +traversed the provinces devastated and depopulated by war and the +slave-trade, Kilemba, Urua, the sources of the Lomami, Ulanda, and +Lovalé, and having crossed the Coanza, he sighted the Atlantic and +reached the port of St. Philip de Benguela, after a journey that had +occupied three years and five months. Cameron's two companions, Dr. +Dillon and Robert Moffat, both succumbed to the hardships of the +expedition. + +The intrepid Englishman was soon to be followed into the field by an +American, Mr. Henry Moreland Stanley. It is universally known how the +undaunted correspondent of the _New York Herald_, having been +despatched in search of Livingstone, found the veteran missionary at +Ujiji, on the borders of Lake Tanganyika, on the 31st of October, 1871. +But what he had undertaken in the course of humanity Stanley longed to +continue in the interests of science, his prime object being to make a +thorough investigation of the Lualaba, of which, in his first +expedition, he had only been able to get a partial and imperfect +survey. Accordingly, whilst Cameron was still deep in the provinces of +Central Africa, Stanley started from Bagamoyo in November, 1874. +Twenty-one months later he quitted Ujiji, which had been decimated by +small-pox, and in seventy-four days accomplished the passage of the +lake and reached Nyangwe, a great slave-market previously visited both +by Livingstone and Cameron. He was also present at some of the horrible +razzias, perpetrated by the officers of the Sultan of Zanzibar in the +districts of the Marunzu and Manyuema. + +In order to be in a position to descend the Lualaba to its very mouth, +Stanley engaged at Nyangwe 140 porters and nineteen boats. Difficulties +arose from the very outset, and not only had he to contend with the +cannibals of Ugusu, but, in order to avoid many unnavigable cataracts, +he had to convey his boats many miles by land. Near the equator, just +at the point where the Lualaba turns north-north-west, Stanley's little +convoy was attacked by a fleet of boats, manned by several hundred +natives, whom, however, he succeeded in putting to flight. Nothing +daunted, the resolute American pushed on to lat. 20° N. and +ascertained, beyond room for doubt, that the Lualaba was really the +Upper Zaire or Congo, and that, by following its course, he should come +directly to the sea. + +Beset with many perils was the way. Stanley was in almost daily +collision with the various tribes upon the river-banks; on the 3rd of +June, 1877, he lost one of his companions, Frank Pocock, at the passage +of the cataracts of Massassa, and on the 18th of July he was himself +carried in his boat into the Mbelo Falls, and escaped by little short +of a miracle. + +On the 6th of August the daring adventurer arrived at the village of Ni +Sanda, only four days from the sea; two days later he received a supply +of provisions that had been sent by two Emboma merchants to Banza +M'buko, the little coast-town where, after a journey of two years and +nine months, fraught with every kind of hardship and privation, he +completed his transit of the mighty continent. His toil told, at least +temporarily, upon his years, but he had the grand satisfaction of +knowing that he had traced the whole course of the Lualaba, and had +ascertained, beyond reach of question, that as the Nile is the great +artery of the north, and the Zambesi of the east, so Africa possesses +in the west a third great river, which in a course of no less than 2900 +miles, under the names of the Lualaba, Zaire, and Congo, unites the +lake district with the Atlantic Ocean. + +In 1873, however, the date at which the "Pilgrim" foundered upon the +coast, very little was known of the province of Angola, except that it +was the scene of the western slave-trade, of which the markets of Bihé, +Cassanga, and Kazunde were the chief centres. This was the country in +which Dick Sands now found himself, a hundred miles from shore, in +charge of a lady exhausted with fatigue and anxiety, a half-dying +child, and a band of negroes who would be a most tempting bait to the +slave-driver. + +His last illusion was completely dispelled. He had no longer the +faintest hope that he was in America, that land where little was to be +dreaded from either native, wild beast, or climate; he could no more +cherish the fond impression that he might be in the pleasant region +between the Cordilleras and the coast, where villages are numerous and +missions afford hospitable shelter to every traveller. Far, far away +were those provinces of Bolivia and Peru, to which (unless a criminal +hand had interposed) the "Pilgrim" would certainly have sped her way. +No: too truly this was the terrible province of Angola; and worse than +all, not the district near the coast, under the surveillance of the +Portuguese authorities, but the interior of the country, traversed only +by slave caravans, driven under the lash of the havildars. + +Limited, in one sense, was the knowledge that Dick Sands possessed of +this land of horrors; but he had read the accounts that had been given +by the missionaries of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, by the +Portuguese traders who frequented the route from St. Paul de Loanda, by +San Salvador to the Zaire, as well as by Dr. Livingstone in his travels +in 1853, and consequently he knew enough to awaken immediate and +complete despair in any spirit less indomitable than his own. + +Anyhow, his position was truly appalling. + +[Illustration: They were seated at the foot of an enormous banyan-tree.] + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +ACCOMPLICES. + + +On the day following that on which Dick Sands and his party had made +their last halt in the forest, two men met by appointment at a spot +about three miles distant. + +The two men were Harris and Negoro, the one lately landed from New +Zealand, the other pursuing his wonted occupation of slave-dealer in +the province of Angola. They were seated at the foot of an enormous +banyan-tree, on the banks of a rushing torrent that streamed between +tall borders of papyrus. + +After the conversation had turned awhile upon the events of the last +few hours, Negoro said abruptly,-- + +"Couldn't you manage to get that young fifteen-year-old any farther +into the interior?" + +"No, indeed; it was a hard matter enough to bring him thus far; for the +last few days his suspicions have been wide awake." + +"But just another hundred miles, you know," continued Negoro, "would +have finished the business off well, and those black fellows would have +been ours to a dead certainty." + +"Don't I tell you, my dear fellow, that it was more than time for me to +give them the slip?" replied Harris, shrugging his shoulders. "Only too +well I knew that our young friend was longing to put a shot into my +body, and that was a sugar-plum I might not be able to digest." + +The Portuguese gave a grunt of assent, and Harris went on,-- + +"For several days I succeeded well enough. I managed to palm off the +country as the forest of Atacama, which you may recollect I once +visited; but when the youngster began to ask for gutta-percha and +humming-birds, and his mother wanted quinquina-trees, and when that old +fool of a cousin was bent on finding cocuyos, I was rather nonplussed. +One day I had to swear that giraffes were ostriches, but the young +captain did not seem to swallow the dose at all easily. Then we saw +traces of elephants and hippopotamuses, which of course are as often +seen in America as an honest man in a Benguela penitentiary; then that +old nigger Tom discovered a lot of forks and chains left by some +runaway slaves at the foot of a tree; but when, last of all, a lion +roared,--and the noise, you know, is rather louder than the mewing of a +cat,--I thought it was time to take my horse and decamp." + +Negoro repeated his expression of regret that the whole party had not +been carried another hundred miles into the province. + +"It really cannot be helped," rejoined the American; "I have done the +best I could; and I think, mate," he added confidentially, "that you +have done wisely in following the caravan at a good distance; that dog +of theirs evidently owes you a grudge, and might prove an ugly +customer." + +"I shall put a bullet into that beast's head before long," growled +Negoro. + +"Take care you don't get one through your own first," laughed Harris; +"that young Sands, I warn you, is a first-rate shot, and between +ourselves, is rather a fine fellow of his kind." + +"Fine fellow, indeed!" sneered Negoro; "whatever he is, he is a young +upstart, and I have a long score to wipe off against him;" and, as he +spoke, an expression of the utmost malignity passed over his +countenance. + +Harris smiled. + +"Well, mate," he said; "your travels have not improved your temper, I +see. But come now, tell me what you have been doing all this time. When +I found you just after the wreck, at the mouth of the Longa, you had +only time to ask me to get this party, somehow or other, up into the +country. But it is just upon two years since you left Cassange with +that caravan of slaves for our old master Alvez. What have you been +doing since? The last I heard of you was that you had run foul of an +English cruiser, and that you were condemned to be hanged." + +"So I was very nearly," muttered Negoro. + +"Ah, well, that will come sooner or later," rejoined the American with +philosophic indifference; "men of our trade can't expect to die quietly +in our beds, you know. But were you caught by the English?" + +"No, by the Portuguese." + +"Before you had got rid of your cargo?" + +Negoro hesitated a moment before replying. + +"No," he said, presently, and added, "The Portuguese have changed their +game: for a long time they carried on the trade themselves, but now +they have got wonderfully particular; so I was caught, and condemned to +end my days in the penitentiary at St. Paul de Loanda." + +"Confound it!" exclaimed Harris, "a hundred times better be hanged!" + +"I'm not so sure of that," the Portuguese replied, "for when I had been +at the galleys about a fortnight I managed to escape, and got into the +hold of an English steamer bound for New Zealand. I wedged myself in +between a cask of water and a case of preserved meat, and so managed to +exist for a month. It was close quarters, I can tell you, but I +preferred to travel incognito rather than run the risk of being handed +over again to the authorities at Loanda." + +"Well done!" exclaimed the American, "and so you had a free passage to +the land of the Maoris. But you didn't come back in the same fashion?" + +"No; I always had a hankering to be here again at my old trade; but for +a year and a half...." + +He stopped abruptly, and grasped Harris by the arm. + +"Hush," he whispered, "didn't you hear a rustling in that clump of +papyrus?" + +In a moment Harris had caught up his loaded gun; and both men, starting +to their feet, looked anxiously around them. + +"It was nothing," said Harris presently; "the stream is swollen by the +storm, that is all; your two years' travelling has made you forget the +sounds of the forest, mate. Sit down again, and go on with your story. +When I know the past, I shall be better able to talk about the future." + +They reseated themselves, and Negoro went on,-- + +"For a whole year and a half I vegetated at Auckland. I left the hold +of the steamer without a dollar in my pocket, and had to turn my hand +to every trade imaginable in order to get a living." + +"Poor fellow! I daresay you even tried the trade of being an honest +man," put in the American. + +"Just so," said Negoro, "and in course of time the 'Pilgrim,' the +vessel by which I came here, put in at Auckland. While she was waiting +to take Mrs. Weldon and her party on board, I applied to the captain +for a post, for I was once mate on board a slaver, and know something +of seamanship. The 'Pilgrim's' crew was complete, but fortunately the +ship's cook had just deserted; I offered to supply his place; in +default of better my services were accepted, and in a few days we were +out of sight of New Zealand." + +"I have heard something about the voyage from young Sands," said +Harris, "but even now I can't understand how you reached here." + +"Neither does he," said Negoro, with a malicious grin. "I will tell you +now, and you may repeat the story to your young friend if you like." + +"Well, go on," said Harris. + +"When we started," continued Negoro, "it was my intention to sail only +as far as Chili: that would have brought me nearly half way to Angola; +but three weeks after leaving Auckland, Captain Hull and all his crew +were lost in chasing a whale, and I and the apprentice were the only +seamen left on board." + +"Then why in the name of peace didn't you take command of the ship?" +exclaimed Harris. + +[Illustration: Both men, starting to their feet, looked anxiously +around them.] + +"Because there were five strong niggers who didn't trust me; so, on +second thoughts, I determined to keep my old post as cook." + +"Then do you mean to say that it was mere accident that brought you to +the coast of Africa?" + +"Not a bit of it; the only accident,--and a very lucky one it was--was +meeting you on the very spot where we stranded. But it was my doing +that we got so far. Young Sands understood nothing more of navigation +than the use of the log and compass. Well, one fine day, you +understand, the log remained at the bottom of the sea, and one night +the compass was tampered with, so that the 'Pilgrim,' scudding along +before a tempest, was carried altogether out of her course. You may +imagine the young captain was puzzled at the length of the voyage; it +would have bewildered a more experienced head than his. Before he was +aware of it, we had rounded Cape Horn; I recognized it through the +mist. Then at once I put the compass to rights again, and the 'Pilgrim' +was carried north-eastwards by a tremendous hurricane to the very place +I wanted. The island Dick Sands took for Easter Island was really +Tristan d'Acunha." + +"Good!" said Harris; "I think I understand now how our friends have +been persuaded to take Angola for Bolivia. But they are undeceived now, +you know," he added. + +"I know all about that," replied the Portuguese. + +"Then what do you intend to do?" said Harris. + +"You will see," answered Negoro significantly; "but first of all tell +me something about our employer, old Alvez; how is he?" + +"Oh, the old rascal is well enough, and will be delighted to see you +again," replied Harris. + +"Is he at the market at Bihé?" + +"No, he has been at his place at Kazonndé for a year or more." + +"And how does business go on?" + +"Badly enough, on this coast," said Harris; "plenty of slaves are +waiting to be shipped to the Spanish colonies, but the difficulty is +how to get them embarked. The Portuguese authorities on the one hand, +and the English cruisers on the other, almost put a stop to exportation +altogether; down to the south, near Mossamedes, is the only part where +it can be attempted with any chance of success. To pass a caravan +through Benguela or Loande is an utter impossibility; neither the +governors nor the chefés[1] will listen to a word of reason. Old Alvez +is therefore thinking of going in the other direction towards Nyangwe +and Lake Tanganyika; he can there exchange his goods for slaves and +ivory, and is sure to do a good business with Upper Egypt and the coast +of Mozambique, which supplies Madagascar. But I tell you, Negoro," he +added gravely, "I believe the time is coming when the slave-trade will +come to an end altogether. The English missionaries are advancing into +the interior. That fellow Livingstone, confound him! has finished his +tour of the lakes, and is now working his way towards Angola; then +there is another man named Cameron who is talking about crossing the +continent from east to west, and it is feared that Stanley the American +will do the same. All this exploration, you know, is ruinous to our +business, and it is to our interest that not one of these travellers +should be allowed to return to tell tales of us in Europe." + + +[Footnote 1: Subordinate Portuguese governors at secondary stations.] + + +Harris spoke like a merchant embarrassed by a temporary commercial +crisis. The atrocious scenes to which the slave-dealers are accustomed +seems to render them impervious to all sense of justice or humanity, +and they learn to regard their living merchandize with as small concern +as though they were dealing with chests of tea or hogsheads of sugar. + +But Harris was right when he asserted that civilization must follow the +wake of the intrepid pioneers of African discovery. Livingstone first, +and after him, Grant, Speke, Burton, Cameron, Stanley, are the heroes +whose names will ever be linked with the first dawnings of a brighter +age upon the dark wilds of Equatorial Africa. + +Having ascertained that his accomplice had returned unscrupulous and +daring as ever, and fully prepared to pursue his former calling as an +agent of old Alvez the slave dealer, Harris inquired what he proposed +doing with the survivors of the "Pilgrim" now that they were in his +hands. + +"Divide them into two lots," answered Negoro, without a moment's +hesitation, "one for the market, the other...." + +He did not finish his sentence, but the expression of his countenance +was an index to the malignity of his purpose. + +"Which shall you sell?" asked the American. + +"The niggers, of course. The old one is not worth much, but the other +four ought to fetch a good price at Kazonndé." + +"Yes, you are right," said Harris; "American-born slaves, with plenty +of work in them, are rare articles, and very different to the miserable +wretches we get up the country. But you never told me," he added, +suddenly changing the subject, "whether you found any money on board +the 'Pilgrim'!" + +"Oh, I rescued a few hundred dollars from the wreck, that was all," +said the Portuguese carelessly; "but I am expecting...." he stopped +short. + +"What are you expecting?" inquired Harris eagerly. + +"Oh, nothing, nothing," said Negoro, apparently annoyed that he had +said so much, and immediately began talking of the means of securing +the living prey which he had been taking so many pains to entrap. +Harris informed him that on the Coanza, about ten miles distant, there +was at the present time encamped a slave caravan, under the control of +an Arab named Ibn Hamish; plenty of native soldiers were there on +guard, and if Dick Sands and his people could only be induced to travel +in that direction, their capture would be a matter of very little +difficulty. He said that of course Dick Sands' first thought would +naturally be how to get back to the coast; it was not likely that he +would venture a second time through the forest, but would in all +probability try to make his way to the nearest river, and descend its +course on a raft to the sea. The nearest river was undoubtedly the +Coanza, so that he and Negoro might feel quite sure of meeting "their +friends" upon its banks. + +"If you really think so," said Negoro, "there is not much time to be +lost; whatever young Sands determines to do, he will do at once: he +never lets the grass grow under his feet." + +"Let us start, then, this very moment, mate," was Harris's reply. + +Both rose to their feet, when they were startled by the same rustling +in the papyrus which had previously aroused Negoro's fears. Presently a +low growl was heard, and a large dog, showing his teeth, emerged from +the bushes, evidently prepared for an attack. + +"It's Dingo!" exclaimed Harris. + +"Confound the brute! he shall not escape me this time," said Negoro. + +He caught up Harris's gun, and raising it to his shoulder, he fired +just as the dog was in the act of springing at his throat. A long whine +of pain followed the report, and Dingo disappeared again amongst the +bushes that fringed the stream. Negoro was instantly upon his track, +but could discover nothing beyond a few blood-stains upon the stalks of +the papyrus, and a long crimson trail upon the pebbles on the bank. + +"I think I have done for the beast now," was Negoro's remark as he +returned from his fruitless search. + +Harris, who had been a silent spectator of the whole scene, now asked +coolly,-- + +"What makes that animal have such an inveterate dislike to you?" + +"Oh, there is an old score to settle between us," replied the +Portuguese. + +"What about?" inquired the American. + +Negoro made no reply, and finding him evidently disinclined to be +communicative on the subject, Harris did not press the matter any +further. + +A few moments later the two men were descending the stream, and making +their way through the forest towards the Coanza. + +[Illustration: Dingo disappeared again amongst the bushes] + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +ON THE MARCH AGAIN. + + +"Africa! Africa!" was the terrible word that echoed and re-echoed in +the mind of Dick Sands. As he pondered over the events of the preceding +weeks he could now understand why, notwithstanding the rapid progress +of the ship, the land seemed ever to be receding, and why the voyage +had been prolonged to twice its anticipated length. It remained, +however, a mystery inexplicable as before, how and when they had +rounded Cape Horn and passed into another ocean. Suddenly the idea +flashed upon him that the compass must have been tampered with; and he +remembered the fall of the first compass; he recalled the night when he +had been roused by Tom's cry of alarm that Negoro had fallen against +the binnacle. As he recollected these circumstances he became more and +more convinced that it was Negoro who was the mainspring of all the +mischief; that it was he who had contrived the loss of the "Pilgrim," +and compromised the safety of all on board. + +What had been the career, what could be the motives of a man who was +capable of such vile machinations? + +But shrouded in mystery as were the events of the past, the present +offered a prospect equally obscure. + +Beyond the fact that he was in Africa and a hundred miles from the +coast, Dick knew absolutely nothing. He could only conjecture that he +was in the fatal province of Angola, and assured as he was that Harris +had acted the traitor, he was led to the conclusion that he and Negoro +had been playing into each other's hands. The result of the collision, +he feared, might be very disastrous to the survivors of the "Pilgrim." +Yet, in what manner would the odious stratagem be accomplished? Dick +could well understand that the negroes would be sold for slaves; he +could only too easily imagine that upon himself Negoro would wreak the +vengeance he had so obviously been contemplating; but for Mrs. Weldon +and the other helpless members of the party what fate could be in store? + +The situation was terrible, but yet Dick did not flinch; he had been +appointed captain, and captain he would remain; Mrs. Weldon and her +little son had been committed to his charge, and he was resolved to +carry out his trust faithfully to the end. + +For several hours he remained wrapped in thought, pondering over the +present and the future, weighing the evil chances against the good, +only to be convinced that the evil much preponderated. At length he +rose, firm, resolute, calm. The first glimmer of dawn was breaking upon +the forest. All the rest of the party, except Tom, were fast asleep. +Dick Sands crept softly up to the old negro, and whispered:-- + +"Tom, you know now where we are!" + +"Yes, yes, Mr. Dick, only too well I know it. We are in Africa!" + +The old man sighed mournfully. + +"Tom," said Dick, in the same low voice, "you must keep this a secret; +you must not say a word to let Mrs. Weldon or any of the others know." + +The old man murmured his assent, and Dick continued:-- + +"It will be quite enough for them to learn that we have been betrayed +by Harris, and that we must consequently practise extra care and +watchfulness; they will merely think we are taking precautions against +being surprised by nomad Indians. I trust to your good sense, Tom, to +assist me in this." + +"You may depend upon me, Mr. Dick; and I can promise you that we will +all do our best to prove our courage, and to show our devotion to your +service." + +[Illustration: "You must keep this a secret"] + +Thus assured of Tom's co-operation, Dick proceeded to deliberate upon +his future line of action. He had every reason to believe that the +treacherous American, startled by the traces of the slaves and the +unexpected roaring of the lion, had taken flight before he had +conducted his victims to the spot where they were to be attacked, and +that consequently some hours might elapse before he would be joined by +Negoro, who (to judge from Dingo's strange behaviour) had undoubtedly +for the last few days been somewhere on their track. + +Here was a delay that might be turned to good account, and no time was +to be lost in taking advantage of it to commence their return journey +to the coast. If, as Dick had every reason to suppose, he was in +Angola, he hoped to find, either north or south, some Portuguese +settlement whence he could obtain the means of transporting his party +to their several homes. + +But how was this return journey to be accomplished? It would be +difficult, not to say imprudent, to retrace their footsteps through the +forest; it would merely bring them to their starting-point, and would, +moreover, afford an easy track for Negoro or his accomplices to follow. +The safest and most secret means of reaching the coast would assuredly +be by descending the course of some river. This would have to be +effected by constructing a strong raft, from which the little party, +well armed, might defend themselves alike from attacks either of the +natives or of wild beasts, and which would likewise afford a +comfortable means of transport for Mrs. Weldon and her little boy, who +were now deprived of the use of Harris's horse. The negroes, it is +true, would be only too pleased to carry the lady on a litter of +branches, but this would be to occupy the services of two out of five, +and under the circumstances it was manifestly advisable that all hands +should be free to act on the defensive. Another great inducement +towards the plan was that Dick Sands felt himself much more at home in +travelling by water than by land, and was longing to be once again upon +what to him was, as it were, his native element. He little dreamt that +he was devising for himself the very plan that Harris, in his +speculations, had laid down for him! + +The most urgent matter was now to find such a stream as would suit +their purpose. Dick had several reasons for feeling sure that one +existed in the neighbourhood. He knew that the little river, which fell +into the Atlantic near the spot where the "Pilgrim" stranded, could not +extend very far either to the north or east, because the horizon was +bounded in both directions by the chain of mountains which he had taken +for the Cordilleras. If the stream did not rise in those hills it must +incline to the south, so that in either case Dick was convinced he +could not be long in discovering it or one of its affluents. Another +sign, which he recognized as hopeful, was that during the last few +miles of the march the soil had become moist and level, whilst here and +there the appearance of tiny rivulets indicated that an aqueous network +existed in the subsoil. On the previous day, too, the caravan had +skirted a rushing torrent, of which the waters were tinged with oxide +of iron from its sloping banks. + +Dick's scheme was to make his way back as far as this stream, which +though not navigable itself would in all probability empty itself into +some affluent of greater importance. The idea, which he imparted to +Tom, met with the old negro's entire approval. + +As the day dawned the sleepers, one by one, awoke. Mrs. Weldon laid +little Jack in Nan's arms. The child was still dozing; the fever had +abated, but he looked painfully white and exhausted after the attack. + +"Dick," said Mrs. Weldon, after looking round her, "where is Mr. +Harris? I cannot see him." + +"Harris has left us," answered Dick very quietly. + +"Do you mean that he has gone on ahead?" + +"No, madam, I mean that he has left us, and gone away entirely: he is +in league with Negoro." + +"In league with Negoro!" cried Mrs. Weldon, "Ah, I have had a fancy +lately that there has been something wrong: but why? what can be their +motive?" + +"Indeed I am unable to tell you," replied Dick; "I only know that we +have no alternative but to return to the coast immediately if we would +escape the two rascals." + +[Illustration: "Harris has left us"] + +"I only wish I could catch them," said Hercules, who had overheard the +conversation; "I would soon knock their heads together;" and he shook +his two fists in giving emphasis to his words. + +"But what will become of my boy?" cried Mrs. Weldon, in tones of +despondency; "I have been so sanguine in procuring him the comforts of +San Felice." + +"Master Jack will be all right enough, madam, when we get into a more +healthy situation near the coast," said Tom. + +"But is there no farm anywhere near? no village? no shelter?" she +pleaded. + +"None whatever, madam; I can only repeat that it is absolutely +necessary that we make the best of our way back to the sea-shore." + +"Are you quite sure, Dick, that Mr. Harris has deceived us?" + +Dirk felt that he should be glad to avoid any discussion on the +subject, but with a warning glance at Tom, he proceeded to say that on +the previous night he and Tom had discovered the American's treachery, +and that if he had not instantly taken to his horse and fled he would +have answered for his guilt with his life. Without, however, dwelling +for a moment more than he could avoid upon the past, he hurried on to +detail the means by which he now proposed to reach the sea, concluding +by the assertion that he hoped a very few miles' march would bring them +to a stream on which they might be able to embark. + +Mrs. Weldon, thoroughly ignoring her own weakness, professed her +readiness not only to walk, but to carry Jack too. Bat and Austin at +once volunteered to carry her in a litter; of this the lady would not +hear, and bravely repeated her intention of travelling on foot, +announcing her willingness to start without further delay. Dick Sands +was only too glad to assent to her wish. + +"Let me take Master Jack," said Hercules; "I shall be out of my element +if I have nothing to carry." + +The giant, without waiting for a reply, took the child from Nan's arms +so gently that he did not even rouse him from his slumber. + +The weapons were next carefully examined, and the provisions, having +been repacked into one parcel, were consigned to the charge of Actæon, +who undertook to carry them on his back. + +Cousin Benedict, whose wiry limbs seemed capable of bearing any amount +of fatigue, was quite ready to start. It was doubtful whether he had +noticed Harris's disappearance; he was suffering from a loss which to +him was of far greater importance. He had mislaid his spectacles and +magnifying-glass. It had happened that Bat had picked them up in the +long grass, close to the spot where the amateur naturalist had been +lying, but acting on a hint from Dick Sands, he said nothing about +them; in this way the entomologist, who, without his glasses could +scarcely see a yard beyond his face, might be expected to be kept +without trouble in the limits of the ranks, and having been placed +between Actæon and Austin with strict injunctions not to leave their +side, he followed them as submissively as a blind man in +leading-strings. + +The start was made. But scarcely had the little troop advanced fifty +yards upon their way, when Tom suddenly cried out,-- + +"Where's Dingo?" + +With all the force of his tremendous lungs, Hercules gave a series of +reverberating shouts:-- + +"Dingo! Dingo! Dingo!" + +Not a bark could be distinguished in reply + +"Dingo! Dingo! Dingo!" again echoed in the air. + +But all was silence. + +Dick was intensely annoyed at the non-appearance of the dog; his +presence would have been an additional safeguard in the event of any +sudden surprise. + +"Perhaps he has followed Harris," suggested Tom. + +"Far more likely he is on the track of Negoro," rejoined Dick. + +"Then Negoro, to a dead certainty," said Hercules, "will put a bullet +into his head." + +"It is to be hoped," replied Bat, "that Dingo will strangle him first." + +Dick Sands, disguising his vexation, said, + +"At any rate, we have no time to wait for the animal now: if he is +alive, he will not fail to find us out. Move on, my lads! move on!" + +The weather was very hot; ever since daybreak heavy clouds had been +gathering upon the horizon, and it seemed hardly likely that the day +would pass without a storm. Fortunately the woods were sufficiently +light to ensure a certain amount of freshness to the surface of the +soil. Here and there were large patches of tall, rank grass enclosed by +clumps of forest trees. In some places, fossilized trunks, lying on the +ground, betokened the existence of one of the coal districts that are +common upon the continent of Africa. Along the glades the carpet of +verdure was relieved by crimson stems and a variety of flowers; +ginger-blossoms, blue and yellow, pale lobelias, and red orchids +fertilized by the numerous insects that incessantly hovered about them. +The trees did not grow in impenetrable masses of one species, but +exhibited themselves in infinite variety. There was also a species of +palm producing an oil locally much valued; there were cotton-plants +growing in bushes eight or ten feet high, the cotton attached in long +shreds to the ligneous stalks; and there were copals from which, +pierced by the proboscis of certain insects, exudes an odorous resin +that flows on to the ground and is collected by the natives. Then there +were citrons and wild pomegranates and a score of other arborescent +plants, all testifying to the fertility of this plateau of Central +Africa. In many places, too, the air was fragrant with the odour of +vanilla, though it was not possible to discover the shrub from which +the perfume emanated. + +In spite of it being the dry season, so that the soil had only been +moistened by occasional storms, all trees and plants were flourishing +in great luxuriance. It was the time of year for fever, but, according +to Dr. Livingstone's observation, the disorder may generally be cured +by quitting the locality where it has been contracted. Dick expressed +his hope that, in little Jack's case, the words of the great traveller +would be verified, and in encouragement of this sanguine view, pointed +out to Mrs. Weldon that although it was past the time for the +periodical return of the fever, the child was still slumbering quietly +in Hercules' arms. + +The march was continued with as much rapidity as was consistent with +caution. Occasionally, where the bushes and brushwood had been broken +down by the recent passage of men or beasts, progress was comparatively +easy; but much more frequently, greatly to Dick's annoyance, obstacles +of various sorts impeded their advance. Climbing plants grew in such +inextricable confusion that they could only be compared to a ship's +rigging involved in hopeless entanglement; there were creepers +resembling curved scimitars, thickly covered with sharp thorns; there +were likewise strange growths, like vegetable serpents, fifty or sixty +feet long, which seemed to have a cruel faculty for torturing every +passenger with their prickly spines. Axe in hand, the negroes had +repeatedly to cut their road through these bewildering obstructions +that clothed the trees from their summit to their base. + +Animal life was no less remarkable in its way than the vegetation. +Birds in great variety flitted about in the ample foliage, secure from +any stray shot from the little band, whose chief object it was to +preserve its incognito. Guinea-fowls were seen in considerable numbers, +francolins in several varieties, and a few specimens of the bird to +which the Americans, in imitation of their note, have given the name of +"whip-poor-will." If Dick had not had too much evidence in other ways +to the contrary, he might almost have imagined himself in a province of +the New World. + +Hitherto they had been unmolested by any dangerous wild beasts. During +the present stage of their march a herd of giraffes, startled by their +unexpected approach, rushed fleetly past; this time, however, without +being represented as ostriches. Occasionally a dense cloud of dust on +the edge of the prairie, accompanied by a sound like the roll of +heavily-laden chariots, betokened the flight of a herd of buffaloes; +but with these exceptions no animal of any magnitude appeared in view. + +[Illustration: The march was continued with as much rapidity as was +consistent with caution.] + +For about two miles Dick followed the course of the rivulet, in the +hope that it would emerge into a more important stream, which would +convey them without much difficulty or danger direct to the sea. + +Towards noon about three miles had been accomplished, and a halt was +made for rest. Neither Negoro nor Harris had been seen, nor had Dingo +reappeared. The encampment for the midday refreshment was made under +the shelter of a clump of bamboos, which effectually concealed them +all. Few words were spoken during the meal. Mrs. Weldon could eat +nothing; she had again taken her little boy into her arms, and seemed +wholly absorbed in watching him. Again and again Dick begged her to +take some nourishment, urging upon her the necessity of keeping up her +strength. + +"We shall not be long in finding a good current to carry us to the +coast," said the lad brightly. + +Mrs. Weldon raised her eyes to his animated features. With so sanguine +and resolute a leader, with such devoted servants as the five negroes +in attendance, she felt that she ought not utterly to despair. Was she +not, after all, on friendly soil? what great harm could Harris +perpetrate against her or her belongings? She would hope still, hope +for the best. + +Rejoiced as he was to see something of its former brightness return to +her countenance, Dick nevertheless had scarcely courage steadily to +return her searching gaze. Had she known the whole truth, he knew that +her heart must fail her utterly. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +ROUGH TRAVELLING. + + +Just at this moment Jack woke up and put his arms round his mother's +neck. His eyes were brighter, and there was manifestly no return of +fever. + +"You are better, darling!" said Mrs. Weldon, pressing him tenderly to +her. + +"Yes, mamma, I am better; but I am very thirsty." + +Some cold water was soon procured, which the child drank eagerly, and +then began to look about him. His first inquiry was for his old +friends, Dick and Hercules, both of whom approached at his summons and +greeted him affectionately. + +"Where is the horse?" was the next question. + +"Gone away, Master Jack; I am your horse now," said Hercules. + +"But you have no bridle for me to hold," said Jack, looking rather +disappointed. + +"You may put a bit in my mouth if you like, master Jack," replied +Hercules, extending his jaws, "and then you may pull as hard as you +please." + +"O, I shall not pull very hard," said Jack; "but haven't we nearly come +to Mr. Harris's farm?" + +Mrs. Weldon assured the child that they should soon be where they +wanted to be, and Dick, finding that the conversation was approaching +dangerous ground, proposed that the journey should be now resumed. Mrs. +Weldon assented; the encampment was forthwith broken up and the march +continued as before. + +[Illustration: It was a scene only too common in Central Africa] + +In order not to lose sight of the watercourse, it was necessary to cut +a way right through the underwood: progress was consequently very slow; +and a little over a mile was all that was accomplished in about three +hours. Footpaths had evidently once existed, but they had all become +what the natives term "dead," that is, they had become entirely +overgrown with brushwood and brambles. The negroes worked away with a +will; Hercules, in particular, who temporarily resigned his charge to +Nan, wielded his axe with marvellous effect, all the time giving vent +to stentorian groans and grunts, and succeeded in opening the woods +before him as if they were being consumed by a devouring fire. + +Fortunately this heavy labour was not of very long duration. + +After about a mile, an opening of moderate width, converging towards +the stream and following its bank, was discovered in the underwood. It +was a passage formed by elephants, which apparently by hundreds must be +in the habit of traversing this part of the forest. The spongy soil, +soaked by the downpour of the rainy season, was everywhere indented +with the enormous impressions of their feet. + +But it soon became evident that elephants were not the only living +creatures that had used this track. Human bones gnawed by beasts of +prey, whole human skeletons, still wearing the iron fetters of slavery, +everywhere strewed the ground. It was a scene only too common in +Central Africa, where like cattle driven to the slaughter, poor +miserable men are dragged in caravans for hundreds of weary miles, to +perish on the road in countless numbers beneath the trader's lash, to +succumb to the mingled horrors of fatigue, privation, and disease, or, +if provisions fail, to be butchered, without pity or remorse, by sword +and gun. + +That slave-caravans had passed that way was too obvious to permit a +doubt. For at least a mile, at almost every step Dick came in contact +with the scattered bones; while ever and again huge goat suckers, +disturbed by the approach of the travellers, rose with flapping wings, +and circled round their heads. + +The youth's heart sank with secret dismay lest Mrs. Weldon should +divine the meaning of this ghastly scene, and appeal to him for +explanation, but fortunately she had again insisted on carrying her +little patient, and although the child was fast asleep, he absorbed her +whole attention. Nan was by her side, almost equally engrossed. Old Tom +alone was fully alive to the significance of his surroundings, and with +downcast eyes he mournfully pursued his march. Full of amazement, the +other negroes looked right and left upon what might appear to them as +the upheaval of some vast cemetery, but they uttered no word of inquiry +or surprise. + +Meantime the bed of the stream had increased both in breadth and depth, +and the rivulet had in a degree lost its character of a rushing +torrent. This was a change which Dick Sands observed hopefully, +interpreting it as an indication that it might itself become navigable, +or would empty itself into some more important tributary of the +Atlantic. His resolve was fixed: he would follow its course at all +hazards. As soon, therefore, as he found that the elephant's track was +quitting the water's edge, he made up his mind to abandon it, and had +no hesitation in again resorting to the use of the axe. Once more, +then, commenced the labour of cutting a way through the entanglement of +bushes and creepers that were thick upon the soil. It was no longer +forest through which they were wending their arduous path; trees were +comparatively rare; only tall clumps of bamboos rose above the grass, +so high, however, that even Hercules could not see above them, and the +passage of the little troop could only have been discovered by the +rustling in the stalks. + +In the course of the afternoon, the soil became soft and marshy. It was +evident that the travellers were crossing plains that in a long rainy +season must be inundated. The ground was carpeted with luxuriant mosses +and graceful ferns, and the continual appearance of brown hematite +wherever there was a rise in the soil, betokened the existence of a +rich vein of metal beneath. + +Remembering what he had read in Dr. Livingstone's account of these +treacherous swamps, Dick bade his companions take their footing warily. +He himself led the way. Tom expressed his surprise that the ground +should be so soaked when there had been no rain for some time. + +"I think we shall have a storm soon," said Bat, + +"All the more reason, then," replied Dick, "why we should get away from +these marshes as quickly as possible. Carry Jack again, Hercules; and +you, Bat and Austin, keep close to Mrs. Weldon, so as to be able to +assist her if she wants your help. But take care, take care, Mr. +Benedict!" he cried out in sudden alarm; "what are you doing, sir?" + +"I'm slipping in," was poor Benedict's helpless reply. He had trodden +upon a kind of quagmire and, as though a trap had been opened beneath +his feet, was fast disappearing into the slough. Assistance was +immediately rendered, and the unfortunate naturalist was dragged out, +covered with mud almost to his waist, but thoroughly satisfied because +his precious box of specimens had suffered no injury. Actæon undertook +for the future to keep close to his side, and endeavour to avoid a +repetition of the mishap. + +The accident could not be said to be altogether free from unpleasant +consequences. Air-bubbles in great numbers had risen to the surface of +the mire from which Benedict had been extricated, and as they burst +they disseminated an odious stench that was well-nigh intolerable. The +passage of these pestilential districts is not unfrequently very +dangerous, and Livingstone, who on several occasions waded through them +in mud that reached to his breast, compares them to great sponges +composed of black porous earth, in which every footstep causes streams +of moisture to ooze out. + +For well nigh half a mile they had now to wend their cautious way +across this spongy soil. Mrs. Weldon, ankle-deep in the soft mud, was +at last compelled to come to a stand-still; and Hercules, Bat, and +Austin, all resolved that she should be spared further discomfort, and +insisted upon weaving some bamboos into a litter, upon which, after +much reluctance to become such a burden, she was induced, with Jack +beside her, to take her place. + +After the delay thus caused, the procession again started on its +perilous route. Dick Sands continued to walk at the head, in order to +test the stability of the footing; Action followed, holding Cousin +Benedict firmly by the arm; Tom took charge of old Nan, who without his +support would certainly have fallen into the quagmire; and the three +other negroes carried the litter in the rear. It was a matter of the +greatest difficulty to find a path that was sufficiently firm; the +method they adopted was to pick their way as much as possible on the +long rank grass that on the margin of the swamps was tolerably tough; +but in spite of the greatest precaution, there was not one of them who +escaped occasionally sinking up to his knees in slush. + +At about five o'clock they were relieved by finding themselves on +ground of a more clayey character; it was still soft and porous below, +but its surface was hard enough to give a secure foothold. There were +watery pores that percolated the subsoil, and these gave evident +witness to the proximity of a river-district. + +The heat would have been intolerably oppressive if it had not been +tempered by some heavy storm-clouds which obstructed the direct +influence of the sun's rays. Lightning was observed to be playing +faintly about the sky, and there was now and again the low growl of +distant thunder. The indications of a gathering storm were too manifest +to be disregarded, and Dick could not help being very uneasy. He had +heard of the extreme violence of African storms, and knew that torrents +of rain, hurricanes that no tree could resist, and thunderbolt after +thunderbolt were the usual accompaniment of these tempests. And here in +this lowland desert, which too surely would be completely inundated, +there would not be a tree to which they could resort for shelter, while +it would likewise be utterly vain to hope to obtain a refuge by +excavation, as water would be found only two feet below the surface. + +[Illustration: Another brilliant flash brought the camp once again into +relief.] + +After scrutinizing the landscape, however, he noticed some low +elevations on the north that seemed to form the boundary of the marshy +plain. A few trees were scattered along their summits; if his party +could get no other shelter here, he hoped they would be able to find +themselves free from any danger caused by the rising flood. + +"Push on, friends, push on!" he cried; "three miles more, and we shall +be out of this treacherous lowland." + +His words served to inspire a fresh confidence, and in spite of all the +previous fatigue, every energy was brought into play with renewed +vigour. Hercules, in particular, seemed ready to carry the whole party, +if it had been in his power. + +The storm was not long in beginning. The rising ground was still two +miles away. Although the sun was above the horizon, the darkness was +almost complete; the overhanging volumes of vapour sank lower and lower +towards the earth, but happily the full force of the deluge which must +ultimately come did not descend as yet. Lightning, red and blue, +flashed on every side and appeared to cover the ground with a network +of flame. + +Ever and again the little knot of travellers were in peril of being +struck by the thunderbolts which, on that treeless plain, had no other +object of attraction. Poor little Jack, who had been awakened by the +perpetual crashes, buried his face in terror in Hercules' breast, +anxious, however, not to distress his mother by any outward exhibition +of alarm. The good-natured negro endeavoured to pacify him by promises +that the lightning should not touch him, and the child, ever confident +in the protection of his huge friend, lost something of his nervousness. + +But it could not be long before the clouds would burst and discharge +the threatened down-pour. + +"What are we to do, Tom?" asked Dick, drawing up close to the negro's +side. + +"We must make a rush for it; push on with all the speed we can." + +"But where?" cried Dick. + +"Straight on," was the prompt reply; "if the rain catches us here on +the plain we shall all be drowned." + +"But where are we to go?" repeated Dick, in despair; "if only there +were a hut! But look, look there!" + +A vivid flash of lightning had lit up the country, and Dick declared +that he could see a camp which could hardly be more than a quarter of a +mile ahead. + +The negro looked doubtful. + +"I saw it too," he assented: "but if it be a camp at all it would be a +camp of natives; and to fall into that would involve us in a worse fate +than the rain." + +Another brilliant flash brought the camp once again into relief; it +appeared to be made up of about a hundred conical tents, arranged very +symmetrically, each of them being from twelve to fifteen feet in +height. It had the appearance, from a distance, of being deserted; if +it were really so, it would afford just the shelter that was needed; +otherwise, at all hazards, it must be most carefully avoided. + +"I will go in advance," said Dick, after a moment's reflection, "and +reconnoitre it." + +"Let one of us, at least, go with you," replied Tom. + +"No, stay where you are; I shall be much less likely to be discovered +if I go alone." + +Without another word, he darted off, and was soon lost in the sombre +darkness that was only broken by the frequent lightning. + +Large drops of rain were now beginning to fall. + +Tom and Dick had been walking some little distance in advance of the +rest of the party, who consequently had not overheard their +conversation. A halt being made, Mrs. Weldon inquired what was the +matter. Tom explained that a camp or village had been noticed a little +way in front, and that the captain had gone forward to investigate it. +Mrs. Weldon asked no further questions, but quietly waited the result. +It was only a few minutes before Dick returned. + +"You may come on," he cried. + +"Is the camp deserted?" asked Tom. + +"It is not a camp at all; it is a lot of ant-hills!" + +"Ant-hills!" echoed Benedict, suddenly aroused into a state of +excitement. + +[Illustration: One after another, the whole party made their way inside] + +"No doubt of it, Mr. Benedict." replied Dick; "they are ant-hills +twelve feet high at least: and I hope we shall be able to get into +them." + +"Twelve feet!" the naturalist repeated; "they must be those of the +termites, the white ants; there is no other insect that could make +them. Wonderful architects are the termites." + +"Termites, or whatever they are, they will have to turn out for us," +said Dick. + +"But they will eat us up!" objected Benedict. + +"I can't help that," retorted Dick; "go we must, and go at once." + +"But stop a moment," continued the provoking naturalist; "stop, and +tell me: I can't be wrong: I always thought that white ants could never +be found elsewhere than in Africa." + +"Come along, sir, I say; come along, quick!" shouted Dick, terrified +lest Mrs. Weldon should have overheard him. + +They hurried on. A wind had risen; large spattering drops were now +beginning to fall more heavily on the ground and in a few minutes it +would be impossible to stand against the advancing tempest. The nearest +of the accumulation of ant-hills was reached in time, and however +dangerous their occupants might be, it was decided either to expel +them, or to share their quarters. Each cone was formed of a kind of +reddish clay, and had a single opening at its base. Hercules took his +hatchet, and quickly enlarged the aperture till it would admit his own +huge body. Not an ant made its appearance. Cousin Benedict expressed +his extreme surprise. But the structure unquestionably was empty, and +one after another the whole party made their way inside. + +The rain by this time was descending in terrific torrents, strong +enough to extinguish, one would think, the most violent explosions of +the electric fluid. But the travellers were secure in their shelter, +and had nothing to fear for the present; their tenement was of greater +stability than a tent or a native hut. It was one of those marvellous +structures erected by little insects, which to Cameron appeared even +more wonderful than the upraising of the Egyptian pyramids by human +hands. To use his own comparison, it might be likened to the +construction of a Mount Everest, the loftiest of the Himalayan peaks, +by the united labour of a nation. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +WHITE ANTS. + + +The storm had now burst in full fury, and fortunate it was that a +refuge had been found. The rain did not fall in separate drops as in +temperate zones, but descended like the waters of a cataract, in one +solid and compact mass, in a way that could only suggest the outpour of +some vast aerial basin containing the waters of an entire ocean. +Contrary, too, to the storms of higher latitudes, of which the duration +seems ordinarily to be in inverse ratio to their violence, these +African tempests, whatever their magnitude, often last for whole days, +furrowing the soil into deep ravines, changing plains to lakes and +brooks to torrents, and causing rivers to overflow and cover vast +districts with their inundations. It is hard to understand whence such +volumes of vapour and electric fluid can accumulate. The earth, upon +these occasions, might almost seem to be carried back to the remote +period which has been called "the diluvian age." + +Happily, the walls of the ant-hill were very thick; no beaver-hut +formed of pounded earth could be more perfectly water-tight, and a +torrent might have passed over it without a particle of moisture making +its way through its substance. + +As soon as the party had taken possession of the tenement, a lantern +was lighted, and they proceeded to examine the interior. The cone, +which was about twelve feet high inside, was eleven feet wide at the +base, gradually narrowing to a sugar-loaf top. The walls and partitions +between the tiers of cells were nowhere less than a foot thick +throughout. + +These wonderful erections, the result of the combined labour of +innumerable insects, are by no means uncommon in the heart of Africa. +Smeathman, a Dutch traveller of the last century, has recorded how he +and four companions all at one time occupied the summit of one of them +in Loundé. Livingstone noticed some made of red clay, of which the +height varied from fifteen to twenty feet; and in Nyangwé, Cameron +several times mistook one of these colonies for a native camp pitched +upon the plain. He described some of these strange edifices as being +flanked with small spires, giving them the appearance of a +cathedral-dome. + +The reddish clay of which the ant-hill was composed could leave no +doubt upon the mind of a naturalist that it had been formed by the +species known as "termes bellicosus;" had it been made of grey or black +alluvial soil, it might have been attributed to the "termes mordax" or +"termes atrox," formidable names that must awaken anything but pleasure +in the minds of all but enthusiast entomologists. + +In the centre was an open space, surrounded by roomy compartments, +ranged one upon another, like the berths of a ship's cabin, and lined +with the millions of cells that had been occupied by the ants. This +central space was inadequate to hold the whole party that had now made +their hurried resort to it, but as each of the compartments was +sufficiently capacious to admit one person to occupy it in a sitting +posture, Mrs. Weldon, Jack, Nan, and Cousin Benedict were exalted to +the upper tier, Austin, Bat, and Actæon occupied the next story, whilst +Tom and Hercules, and Dick Sands himself remained below. + +Dick soon found that the soil beneath his feet was beginning to get +damp, and insisted upon having some of the dry clay spread over it from +the base of the cone. + +"It is a long time," he said, "since we have slept with a roof over our +heads; and I am anxious to make our refuge as secure as possible. It +may be that we shall have to stay here for a whole day or more; on the +first opportunity I shall go and explore; it may turn out that we are +near the stream we are seeking; and perhaps we shall have to build a +raft before we start again." + +[Illustration: Cousin Benedict's curiosity was awakened.] + +Under his direction, therefore, Hercules took his hatchet, and +proceeded to break down the lowest range of cells and to spread the +dry, brittle clay of which they were composed a good foot thick over +the damp floor, taking care not in any way to block up the aperture by +which the fresh air penetrated into the interior. + +It was indeed fortunate that the termites had abandoned their home; had +it swarmed with its multitudes of voracious Neuroptera, the ant-hill +would have been utterly untenable for human beings. Cousin Benedict's +curiosity was awakened, and he was intensely interested in the question +of the evacuation, so that he proceeded at once to investigate, if he +could, whether the emigration had been recent or otherwise. He took the +lantern, and as the result of his scrutiny he soon discovered in a +recess what he described as the termites' "storehouse," or the place +where the indefatigable insects keep their provisions. It was a large +cavity, not far from the royal cell, which, together with the cells for +the reception of the young larvae, had been destroyed by Hercules in +the course of his flooring operations. Out of this receptacle Benedict +drew a considerable quantity of gum and vegetable juices, all in a +state so liquid as to demonstrate that they had been deposited there +quite recently. + +"They have only just gone," he exclaimed, with an air of authority, as +if he imagined that some one was about to challenge his assertion. + +"We are not going to dispute your word, Mr. Benedict," said Dick; "here +we are; we have taken their place, and shall be quite content for them +to keep out of the way, without caring when they went, or where they +have gone." + +"But we must care," retorted Benedict testily; "why they have gone +concerns us a good deal; these juices make it evident, from the liquid +state in which we find them, that the ants were here this morning, they +have not only gone, but they have carried off their young larvae with +them; they have been sagacious enough to take warning of some impending +danger." + +"Perhaps they heard that we were coming," said Hercules, laughing. + +A look of withering scorn was the only answer that the entomologist +deigned to give. + +"Yes, I say," repeated Hercules, "perhaps they heard that we were +coming." + +"Pshaw!" said Benedict contemptuously; "do you imagine they would be +afraid of you? they would reduce your carcase to a skeleton in no time, +if they found it across their path." + +"No doubt, if I were dead," replied Hercules, "they could pick my bones +pretty clean; but while I had the use of my limbs I think I could crush +them by thousands." + +"Thousands!" ejaculated Benedict, with increasing warmth; "you think +you could demolish thousands; but what if they were hundreds of +thousands, millions, hundreds of millions? Alive as much as dead, I +tell you, they wouldn't be long in consuming every morsel of you." + +During this brisk little discussion Dick Sands had been pondering over +what Benedict had said. There was no doubt that the amateur naturalist +was well acquainted with the habits of white ants, and if, as he +affirmed, the insects had instinctively quitted their abode on account +of some approaching danger, Dick asked himself whether it was safe or +prudent for his party to remain. But the fury of the storm was still so +great that all possibility of removing from the shelter seemed +precluded for the present, and, without inquiring farther into the +mystery, he merely said, + +"Although the ants, Mr. Benedict, have left us their provisions, we +must not forget that we have brought our own. We will have our supper +now, and to-morrow, when the storm is over, we will see what is to be +done." + +Fatigue had not taken away the appetite of the energetic travellers, +and they gladly set about the preparation of their meal. The +provisions, of which they had enough for another two days, had not been +injured by the rain. For some minutes the crunching of hard biscuit was +the only sound to be heard; Hercules, in particular, seemed to pound +away with his huge jaws as with a pair of millstones. + +[Illustration: The naturalist now fairly mounted on a favourite hobby.] + +Mrs. Weldon was the only one of the party who ate little; and that +little was only taken at Dick's earnest solicitation; he could not help +noticing, with much concern, that although Jack seemed to be +satisfactorily recovering, and, without sign of fever, was sleeping +calmly enough on a bed made up of clothes spread out in one of the +cells, yet his mother had lost much of her courage, and seemed +preoccupied and depressed. + +Cousin Benedict did due honour to the simple evening repast; not on +account of its quantity or quality, but because it gave him an +opportunity of holding forth upon the subject of termites. He was much +vexed that he had been unable to discover a single specimen in the +deserted anthill with which he might illustrate his lecture, but +notwithstanding this deficiency he continued to talk, heedless whether +any one was listening. + +"They are wonderful insects," he said; "they belong to the order of the +Neuroptera, which have the antennae longer than the head; their +mandibles are well-developed, and the inferior pair of wings is +generally as large as the superior. There are five families of them; +the Panorpide, the Myrmellonide, the Hemerobiide, the Termitine, and +the Perlide. I need hardly say that what we are now occupying is a +dwelling of the Termitine." + +At this point Dick became all attention; he was anxious to ascertain +whether this discovery of white ants had aroused any suspicion in +Benedict's mind that they must be on African soil. The naturalist, now +fairly mounted on a favourite hobby, went on with his discourse. + +"I am sorry not to have a specimen to show you, but these Termitine +have four joints in the tarsi, and strong horny mandibles. The family +includes, as genera, the Mantispa, the Raphidia, and the Termes, the +last commonly known as white ants, amongst which are 'Termes fatalis, +Termes lucifugans, Termes mordax,' and several others more or less +rare." + +"And which of them built this ant-hill?" inquired Dick. + +"The bellicosi!" replied Benedict, pronouncing the name with as much +pride as if he were eulogizing the Macedonians or some warlike nation +of antiquity. "Bellicosi," he continued, "are to be found of every +size. There is as much difference between the largest and the smallest +of them as there is between Hercules and a dwarf; the workers are about +one-fifth of an inch long; the soldiers, or fighting-ants, are half an +inch; whilst the males and females measure four fifths of an inch. +There is another curious species, called 'sirafoos,' which are about +half an inch long, and have pincers instead of mandibles, and heads +larger than their bodies, like sharks. In fact, if sharks and sirafoos +were placed in competition, I should be inclined to back the sharks." + +"And where are these sirafoos most generally to be found?" said Dick +cautiously. + +"In Africa, in the southern and central provinces. Africa may truly be +termed the land of ants. Livingstone, in the notes brought home by +Stanley, describes a battle which he was fortunate enough to witness +between an army of black ants and an army of red. The black ants, or +drivers, which are what the natives call sirafoos, got the best of it; +and the red ants, or 'tchoongoos,' after a very resolute defence, were +obliged to retire defeated, carrying their eggs and young ones with +them. Livingstone avows that he never saw the warlike instinct so +strongly developed as in these sirafoos; the stoutest man, the largest +animal, a lion or an elephant, quails before the grip of their +mandibles: no obstacle impedes their progress; no tree is too lofty for +them to scale, and they contrive to cross wide streams by forming their +own bodies into a kind of suspension bridge. Equally amazing are their +numbers; Du Chaillu, another African traveller, relates how it took +more than twelve hours for a column of ants to file pass him, without a +moment's pause in their march. These numbers, however cease to be so +surprising when it is explained that their fecundity is such that a +single female of the termites bellicosi has been estimated to produce +as many as sixty thousand eggs a day. These Neuroptera furnish the +natives with a favourite food, grilled ants being considered a great +delicacy." + +"Have you ever tasted them?" asked Hercules, with a grin. + +"Never," answered the naturalist; "but I am in hopes I shall have a +chance of doing so very soon." + +"Surely you don't imagine yourself in Africa!" said Tom suddenly. + +"Africa! no; why should I?" replied Benedict; "but, as I have already +seen a tzetsy in America, I do not despair of having the satisfaction +of discovering white ants there too. You do not know the sensation I +shall make in Europe when I publish my folio volume and its +illustrations." + +It was evident that no inkling of the truth had yet entered poor +Benedict's brain, and it seemed likely that it would require +demonstration far more striking than any natural phenomena to undeceive +the minds of such of the party as were not already in possession of the +fatal secret. + +Although it was nine o'clock, Cousin Benedict went on talking +incessantly, regardless of the fact that one by one his audience were +falling to sleep in their separate cells. Dick Sands did not sleep, but +neither did he interrupt the entomologist by farther questions; +Hercules kept up his attention longer than the rest, but at length he +too succumbed to weariness, and his eyes and ears were closed to all +external sights and sounds. + +But endurance has limits, and at last Cousin Benedict, having worn +himself out, clambered up to the topmost cell of the cone, which he had +chosen for his dormitory, and fell into a peaceful slumber. + +The lantern had been already extinguished. All was darkness and silence +within, whilst the storm without still raged with a violence that gave +no sign of abatement. + +Dick Sands himself was the only one of the party who was not partaking +in the repose that was so indispensable to them all; but he could not +sleep; his every thought was absorbed in the responsibility that rested +on him to rescue those under his charge from the dangers that +threatened them. Again and again he recalled every incident that had +occurred since the loss of Captain Hull and his crew; he remembered the +occasion when he had stood with his pistol pointed at Negoro's head; +why, oh why, had his hand faltered then? why had he not at that moment +hurled the miserable wretch overboard, and thus relieved himself and +his partners in trouble from the catastrophe that had since befallen +them? Peril was still staring them in the face, and his sole drop of +consolation in the bitter cup of despondency was that Mrs. Weldon was +still ignorant of their real situation. + +At that moment, just in the fever of his agony, he felt a light breath +upon his forehead; a hand was laid upon his shoulder, and a gentle +voice murmured in his ear,-- + +"My poor boy, I know everything. God will help us! His will be done!" + +[Illustration: "My poor boy, I know everything."] + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +A DIVING-BELL. + + +This sudden revelation that Mrs. Weldon was acquainted with the true +state of things left Dick speechless. Even had he been capable of +replying, she gave him no opportunity, but immediately retired to the +side of her son. The various incidents of the march had all gradually +enlightened her, and perhaps the exclamation of Cousin Benedict on the +preceding evening had crowned them all; anyhow the brave lady now knew +the worst. Dick felt, however, that she did not despair; neither would +he. + +He lay and longed for the dawn, when he hoped to explore the situation +better, and perchance to find the watercourse which he was convinced +could not be far distant. Moreover, he was extremely anxious to be out +of the reach of the natives whom, it was only too likely, Negoro and +Harris might be putting on their track. + +But as yet no glimmer of daylight penetrated the aperture of the cone, +whilst the heavy rumblings, deadened as they were by the thickness of +the walls, made it certain that the storm was still raging with +undiminished fury. Attentively Dick listened, and he could distinctly +hear the rain beating around the base of the ant-hill; the heavy drops +splashed again as they fell, in a way altogether different to what they +would upon solid ground, so that he felt sure that the adjacent land +was by this time completely flooded. He was getting very drowsy when it +suddenly occurred to him that it was not unlikely the aperture was +getting blocked up with damp clay; in that case he knew that the breath +of the inmates would quickly vitiate the internal atmosphere. He crept +along the ground and had the satisfaction of finding that the clay +embankment was still perfectly dry; the orifice was quite unobstructed, +allowing not only a free passage to the air, but admitting the glare of +the occasional flashes of lightning, which the descending volumes of +water did not seem to stay. + +Having thus far satisfied himself that all was well, and that there was +no immediate danger, Dick thought that he might now resign himself to +sleep as well as the rest: he took the precaution, however, of +stretching himself upon the embankment within easy reach of the +opening, and with his head supported against the wall, after a while +dozed off. + +How long his light slumber had lasted he could not say, when he was +aroused by a sensation of cold. He started up, and to his horror +discovered that the water had entered the ant-hill and was rising +rapidly; it could not be long, he saw, before it reached the cells +which were occupied by Hercules and Tom. He woke them at once, and told +them what he had observed. The lantern was soon lighted, and they set +to work to ascertain what progress the water was making It rose for +about five feet, when it was found to remain stationary. + +"What is the matter, Dick?" inquired Mrs. Weldon, disturbed by the +movements of the men. + +"Nothing very alarming," answered Dick promptly; "only some water has +found its way into the lower part of the place; it will not reach your +upper cells; probably some river has overflowed its boundaries." + +"The very river, perhaps," suggested Hercules assuringly, "that is to +carry us to the coast." + +Mrs. Weldon made no reply. + +Cousin Benedict was still sleeping as soundly as if he were himself a +white ant; the negroes were peering down on to the sheet of water which +reflected back the rays of the lantern, ready to carry out any orders +given by Dick, who was quietly gauging the inundation, and removing the +provisions and fire-arms out of its reach. + +[Illustration: They set to work to ascertain what progress the water +was making.] + +"Did the water get in at the opening, Mr. Dick?" asked Tom. + +"Yes, Tom, and consequently we are coming to the end of our stock of +fresh air," was Dick's reply. + +"But why should we not make another opening above the water level?" Tom +inquired. + +"A thing to be thought about," said Dick; "but we have to remember that +if we have five feet of water here inside, there is probably a depth of +six or seven outside. In rising here the flood has compressed the air, +and made it an obstacle to further progress, but if we allow the air to +escape, we may perhaps only be letting the water rise too high for our +safety. We are just as if we were in a diving-bell." + +"Then what is to be done?" asked the old negro. + +"No doubt," replied Dick, "we must proceed very cautiously. An +inconsiderate step will jeopardize our lives." Dick Sands was quite +correct in comparing the cone to an immersed diving-bell. In that +mechanical contrivance, however, the air can always be renewed by means +of pumps, so that it can be occupied without inconvenience beyond what +is entailed by a somewhat confined atmosphere; but here the interior +space had already been reduced by a third part through the encroachment +of the water, and there was no method of communicating with the outer +air except by opening a new aperture, an operation in which there was +manifest danger. + +Dick did not entertain the slightest apprehension that the ant-hill +would be carried away bodily by the inundation; he knew that it would +adhere to its base as firmly as a beaver-hut; what he really dreaded +was that the storm would last so long that the flood would rise high +above the plain, perhaps submerging the ant-hill entirely, so that +ultimately all air would be expelled by the persistent pressure. + +The more he pondered the more he felt himself driven to the conviction +that the inundation would be wide and deep. It could not be, he felt +sure, entirely owing to the downpour from the clouds that the rapid +flood was rising; there must have been the sudden overflowing of some +stream to cause such a deluge over the low-lying plain. It could not be +proved that the ant hill was not already under water, so that escape +might be no longer possible, even from its highest point. + +With all Dick's courage, it was yet evident that he was very uneasy; he +did not know what to do, and asked himself again and again whether +patient waiting or decisive action would be his more prudent course. + +It was now about three o'clock in the morning. All within the ant-hill +were silent and motionless, listening to the incessant turmoil which +told that the strife of the elements had not yet ceased. + +Presently, old Tom pointed out that the height of the water was +gradually increasing, but only by very slow ascent. Dick could only say +that if the flood continued to rise, however slowly, it must inevitably +drive out the air. + +As if struck by a sudden thought, Bat called out,-- + +"Let me try and get outside. Perhaps I might dive and get through the +opening." + +"I think I had better make that experiment myself," answered Dick. + +"That you never shall," interposed Tom peremptorily; "you must let Bat +go. It may not be possible to get back, and your presence is +indispensable here. Think, sir, think of Mrs. Weldon, and Master Jack," +he added in a lower tone. + +"Well, well," Dick assented, "if it must be so, Bat shall go." + +And turning to Bat, he continued, + +"Do not try to come back again; we will try, if we can, to follow you +the same way; but if the top of the cone is still above water, knock +hard on it with your hatchet, and we shall take it as a signal that we +may break our way out. Do you understand?" + +"All right!" he said, "all right, sir." + +And after wringing his father's hand, he drew a long breath, and +plunged into the water that filled the lower section of the ant-hill. + +It was an exploit that required considerable agility; the diver would +have to find the orifice, make his way through it, and, without loss of +a moment, let himself rise to the surface outside. Full half a minute +elapsed, and Dick was making sure that the negro had been successful in +his effort, when his black head emerged from the water. There was a +general exclamation of surprise. + +"It is blocked up," gasped Bat, as soon as he had recovered breath +enough to speak. + +"Blocked up?" cried Tom. + +"Yes," Bat affirmed; "I have felt all round the wall very carefully +with my hand, and I am sure there is no hole left; I suppose the water +has dissolved the clay." + +"If you cannot find a hole," exclaimed Hercules, "I can very soon make +one;" and he was just about to plunge his hatchet into the side of the +ant-hill, when Dick prevented him. + +"Stop, stop! you must not be in such a hurry!" + +He reflected for a few moments, and went on,-- + +"We must be cautious; an impetuous step may be destruction; perhaps the +water is over the top; if it is allowed to enter, then at once is an +end of all." + +"But whatever we do," urged Tom, "must be done at once; there is no +time to lose." + +He was right; the water had risen till it was quite six feet deep; none +but Mrs. Weldon, Jack, Nan, and Cousin Benedict, who were lodged in the +upper cells, were fairly above its surface. + +Dick now came to his determination. At about a foot above the +water-level, that is, about seven feet from the ground, he resolved to +bore a hole through the clay. If he should find himself in +communication with the open air, he would have the proof he desired +that the top of the cone was still uncovered; if, on the other hand, he +should ascertain that he had pierced the wall below the surface of the +external water, he would be prepared to plug up the hole +instantaneously, and repeat the experiment higher up. It was true that +the inundation might have risen even fifteen feet above the plain; in +that case the worst had come, and there was no alternative but that +they must all die of asphyxia. + +Carefully considering the chances of his undertaking, Dick calmly and +steadily set about his task. The best instrument that suggested itself +for his purpose was the ramrod of a gun, which, having a sort of +corkscrew at the end for extracting the wadding, would serve as an +auger. The hole would be very small, but yet large enough for the +requisite test. Hercules showed him all the light he could by holding +up the lantern. There were several candles left, so that they were not +in fear of being altogether in darkness. + +The operation hardly took a minute; the ramrod passed through the clay +without difficulty; a muffled sound was distinguished as of air-bubbles +rushing through a column of water. As the air escaped, the water in the +cone rose perceptibly. The hole had been pierced too low. A handful of +clay was immediately forced into the orifice, which was thus +effectually plugged; and Dick turned round quietly, and said,-- + +"We must try again." + +The water had again become stationary, but its last rise had diminished +the amount of breathing space by more than eight inches. The supply of +oxygen was beginning to fail, respiration was becoming difficult, and +the flame of the candle burned red and dim. + +About a foot higher than the first hole, Dick now set about boring a +second. The experiment might again prove a failure, and the water rise +yet higher in the cone; but the risk must be run. + +Just as the auger was being inserted, a loud exclamation of delight was +heard proceeding from Cousin Benedict's cell. Dick paused, and Hercules +turned the lantern towards the excited naturalist, who seemed beaming +with satisfaction. + +"Yes, yes; I see it all well enough," he cried; "I know now why the +termites left their home; they were wide-awake; they were more clever +than we are; they knew that the storm was coming!" + +Finding that this was all the worthy entomologist had to communicate, +Dick, without comment, turned back again to his operation. Again the +gurgling noise! again the water's upward rush! For the second time he +had failed to effect an aperture to the outer air! + +[Illustration: All fired simultaneously at the nearest boat.] + +The situation was to the last degree alarming. The water had all but +reached Mrs. Weldon, and she was obliged to take her boy into her arms. +Every one felt nearly stifled. A loud singing was heard in the ears, +and the lantern showed barely any light at all. A few minutes more and +the air would be incapable of supporting life. One chance alone +remained. They must bore another hole at the very summit of the cone. +Not that they were unaware of the imminent danger of this measure, for +if the ant-hill were really submerged the water from below would +immediately expel the remaining air and death must be instantaneous. A +few brief words from Dick explained the emergency of the crisis. Mrs. +Weldon recognized the necessity,-- + +"Yes, Dick, do it; there is nothing else to be done." + +While she was speaking the light flickered out, and they were in total +darkness. + +Mounted on the shoulders of Hercules, who was crouching in one of the +side-cells, his head only just above water, Dick proceeded to force the +ramrod into the clay, which at the vertex of the ant-hill was +considerably harder and thicker than elsewhere. + +A strange mingling of hope and fear thrilled through Dick Sands as he +applied his hand to make the opening which was to admit life and air, +or the flood of death! + +The silence of the general expectation was broken by the noise of a +sharp hissing; the water rose for eight inches, but all at once it +ceased to rise; it had found its level. No need this time to close the +orifice; the top of the ant-hill was higher than the top of the flood; +and for the present, at least, they could all rejoice that their lives +were spared! + +A general cheer, led by the stentorian voice of Hercules, involuntarily +broke from the party; cutlasses were brought into action, and the clay +crumbled away beneath the vigorous assault that was made upon it. The +welcome air was admitted through the new-made aperture, bringing with +it the first rays of the rising sun. The summit of the ant-hill once +removed, it would be quite easy to clamber to the top, whence it was +hoped they would soon get away to some high ground out of reach of the +flood. + +Dick was the first to mount the summit; but a cry of dismay burst from +his lips! + +A sound only too well known to travellers in Africa broke upon his ear; +that sound was the whizzing of arrows. + +Hardly a hundred yards away was a large encampment; whilst, in the +water, quite close to the ant-hill where he stood, he saw some long +boats full of natives. From one of these had come the volley of arrows +which had greeted his appearance above the opening of the cone. + +To tell his people what had happened was the work of a moment. He +seized his gun, and made Hercules, Bat, and Actæon take theirs, and all +fired simultaneously at the nearest boat. Several of the natives were +seen to fall; but shouts of defiance were raised, and shots were fired +in return. + +Resistance was manifestly useless. What could they do against a hundred +natives? they were assailed on every hand. In accordance with what +seemed a preconcerted plan, they were carried off from the ant-hill +with brutal violence, in two parties, without the chance of a farewell +word or sign. + +Dick Sands saw that Mrs. Weldon, Jack, and Cousin Benedict were placed +on board one boat, and were conveyed towards the camp, whilst he +himself, with the five negroes and old Nan, was forced into another, +and taken in a different direction. Twenty natives formed a body-guard +around them, and five boats followed in their rear. + +Useless though it were, Dick and the negroes made one desperate attempt +to maintain their freedom; they wounded several of their antagonists, +and would doubtless have paid their lives as a penalty for their +daring, if there had not been special orders given that they should be +taken alive. + +The passage of the flood was soon accomplished. The boat had barely +touched the shore, when Hercules with a tremendous bound sprang on to +the land. Instantly two natives rushed upon him. The giant clave their +skulls with the butt end of his gun, and made off. Followed though he +was by a storm of bullets, he escaped in safety, and disappeared +beneath the cover of the woods. + +[Illustration: The giant clave their skulls with the butt end of his +gun.] + +Dick Sands and the others were guarded to the shore, and fettered like +slaves. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +A SLAVE CARAVAN. + + +The storm of the previous night, by swelling the tributaries of the +Coanza, had caused the main river to overflow its banks. The inundation +had entirely changed the aspect of the country, transforming the plain +into a lake, where the peaks of a number of ant-hills were the sole +objects that emerged above the watery expanse. + +The Coanza, which is one of the principal rivers of Angola, falls into +the Atlantic about a hundred miles from the spot at which the "Pilgrim" +was stranded. The stream, which a few years later was crossed by +Cameron on his way to Benguela, seems destined to become the chief +highway of traffic between Angola and the interior; steamers already +ply upon its lower waters, and probably ten years will not elapse +before they perform regular service along its entire course. + +Dick Sands had been quite right in searching northwards for the +navigable stream he had been so anxious to find; the rivulet he had +been following fell into the Coanza scarce a mile away, and had it not +been for this unexpected attack he and his friends might reasonably +have hoped to descend the river upon a raft, until they reached one of +the Portuguese forts where steam vessels put in. But their fate was +ordered otherwise. + +The camp which Dick had descried from the ant-hill was pitched upon an +eminence crowned by an enormous sycamore-fig, one of those giant trees +occasionally found in Central Africa, of which the spreading foliage +will shelter some five hundred men. Some of the non-fruit-bearing kind +of banyan-trees formed the background of the landscape. + +Beneath the shelter of the sycamore, the caravan which had been +referred to in the conversation between Negoro and Harris had just made +a halt. Torn from their villages by the agents of the slave-dealer +Alvez, the large troop of natives was on its way to the market of +Kazonndé, thence to be sent as occasion required either to the west +coast, or to Nyangwé, in the great lake district, to be dispersed into +Upper Egypt or Zanzibar. + +Immediately on reaching the camp, the four negroes and old Nan were +placed under precisely the same treatment as the rest of the captives. +In spite of a desperate resistance, they were deprived of their +weapons, and fastened two and two, one behind another, by means of a +pole about six feet long, forked at each end, and attached to their +necks by an iron bolt. Their arms were left free, that they might carry +any burdens, and in order to prevent an attempt to escape a heavy chain +was passed round their waists. It was thus in single file, unable to +turn either right or left, they would have to march hundreds of miles, +goaded along their toilsome road by the havildar's whip. The lot of +Hercules seemed preferable, exposed though undoubtedly he would be in +his flight to hunger, and to the attacks of wild beasts, and to all the +perils of that dreary country. But solitude, with its worst privations, +was a thing to be envied in comparison to being in the hands of those +pitiless drivers, who did not speak a word of the language of their +victims, but communicated with them only by threatening gestures or by +actual violence. + +As a white man, Dick was not attached to any other captive. The drivers +were probably afraid to subject him to the same treatment as the +negroes, and he was left unfettered, but placed under the strict +surveillance of a havildar. At first he felt considerable surprise at +not seeing Harris or Negoro in the camp, as he could not entertain a +doubt that it was at their instigation the attack had been made upon +their retreat; but when he came to reflect that Mrs. Weldon, Jack, and +Cousin Benedict had not been allowed to come with them, but had been +carried off in some other direction, he began to think it probable that +the two rascals had some scheme to carry out with regard to them +elsewhere. + +The caravan consisted of nearly eight hundred, including about five +hundred slaves of both sexes, two hundred soldiers and freebooters, and +a considerable number of havildars and drivers, over whom the agents +acted as superior officers. + +These agents are usually of Portuguese or Arab extraction; and the +cruelties they inflict upon the miserable captives are almost beyond +conception; they beat them continually, and if any unfortunate slave +sinks from exhaustion, or in any way becomes unfit for the market, he +is forthwith either stabbed or shot. As the result of this brutality it +rarely happens that fifty per cent of the slaves reach their +destination; some few may contrive to escape, and many are left as +skeletons along the line of route. + +Such of the agents as are Portuguese are (as it may well be imagined) +of the very lowest dregs of society, outlaws, escaped criminals, and +men of the most desperate character; of this stamp were the associates +of Negoro and Harris, now in the employ of José Antonio Alvez, one of +the most notorious of all the slave-dealers of Central Africa, and of +whom Commander Cameron has given some curious information. + +Most frequently the soldiers who escort the captives are natives hired +by the dealers, but they do not possess the entire monopoly of the +forays made for the purpose of securing slaves; the native negro kings +make war upon each other with this express design, and sell their +vanquished antagonists, men, women, and children, to the traders for +calico, guns, gunpowder and red beads; or in times of famine, according +to Livingstone, even for a few grains of maize. + +The escort of old Alvez' caravan was an average specimen of these +African soldiers. It was simply a horde of half-naked banditti, +carrying old flint-locked muskets, the barrels of which were decorated +with copper rings. The agents are very often put to their wits' end to +know how to manage them; their orders are called in question, halts are +continually demanded, and in order to avert desertion they are +frequently obliged to yield to the obstreperous will of their +undisciplined force. + +Although the slaves, both male and female, are compelled to carry +burdens whilst on their march, a certain number of porters, called +_pagazis_, is specially engaged to carry the more valuable merchandize, +and principally the ivory. Tusks occasionally weigh as much as 160 +lbs., and require two men to carry them to the dépôts, whence they are +sent to the markets of Khartoom, Natal, and Zanzibar. On their arrival +the _pagazis_ are paid by the dealers according to contract, which is +generally either by about twenty yards of the cotton stuff known as +_merikani_, or by a little powder, by a handful or two of cowries, by +some beads, or if all these be scarce, they are paid by being allotted +some of the slaves who are otherwise unsalable. + +Among the five hundred slaves in the caravan, very few were at all +advanced in years. The explanation of this circumstance was that +whenever a raid is made, and a village is set on fire, every inhabitant +above the age of forty is mercilessly massacred or hung upon the +neighbouring trees; only the children and young adults of both sexes +are reserved for the market, and as these constitute only a small +proportion of the vanquished, some idea may be formed of the frightful +depopulation which these vast districts of Equinoctial Africa are +undergoing. + +Nothing could be more pitiable than the condition of this miserable +herd. All alike were destitute of clothing, having nothing on them but +a few strips of the stuff known as _mbuza_, made from the bark of +trees; many of the women were covered with bleeding wounds from the +drivers' lashes, and had their feet lacerated by the constant friction +of the road, but in addition to other burdens were compelled to carry +their own emaciated children; young men, too, there were who had lost +their voices from exhaustion, and who, to use Livingstone's expression, +had been reduced to "ebony skeletons" by toiling under the yoke of the +fork, which is far more galling than the galley-chain. It was a sight +that might have moved the most stony-hearted, but yet there was no +symptom of compassion on the part of those Arab and Portuguese drivers +whom Cameron pronounces "worse than brutes."[1] + + +[Footnote 1: Cameron says, "In order to obtain the fifty women of whom +Alvez is the owner, ten villages, containing altogether a population of +not less than 1500, were totally destroyed. A few of the inhabitants +contrived to escape, but the majority either perished in the flames, +were slain in defending their families, or were killed by hunger or +wild beasts in the jungle.... The crimes which are perpetuated in +Africa, by men who call themselves Christians, seem incredible to the +inhabitants of civilized countries. It is impossible that the +government at Lisbon can be aware of the atrocities committed by those +who boast of being subject to her flag." _Tour du Monde_. + +N.B.--Against these assertions of Cameron, loud protestations have been +made in Portugal.] + + +The guard over the prisoners was so strict that Dick Sands felt it +would be utterly useless for him to make any attempt to seek for Mrs. +Weldon. She and her son had doubtless been carried off by Negoro, and +his heart sank when he thought of the dangers to which too probably she +would be exposed. Again and again he repeated his reproaches on himself +that he had ever allowed either Negoro or Harris to escape his hands. +Neither Mrs. Weldon nor Jack could expect the least assistance from +Cousin Benedict; the good man was barely able to consult for himself. +All three of them would, he conjectured, be conveyed to some remote +district of Angola; the poor mother, like some miserable slave, would +insist upon carrying her own sick son until her strength failed her, +and, exhausted by her endurances, she sank down helpless on the way. + +A prisoner, and powerless to help! the very thought was itself a +torture to poor Dick. Even Dingo was gone! It would have been a +satisfaction to have had the dog to send off upon the track of the lost +ones. One only hope remained. Hercules still was free. All that human +strength could attempt in Mrs. Weldon's behalf, Hercules would not fail +to try. Perhaps, too, under cover of the night, it was not altogether +improbable that the stalwart negro would mingle with the crowd of +negroes (amongst whom his dark skin would enable him to pass +unnoticed), and make his way to Dick himself; then might not the two +together elude the vigilance of the watch? might they not follow after +and overtake Mrs. Weldon in the forest? would they not perchance be +able either by stealth or by force to liberate her, and once free they +would effect an escape to the river, and finally accomplish the +undertaking in which they had been so lamentably frustrated. Such were +the sanguine visions in which Dick permitted himself to indulge; his +temperament overcame all tendency to despair, and kept him alive to the +faintest chance of deliverance. + +The next thing of importance was to ascertain the destination of the +caravan. It was a matter of the most serious moment whether the convoy +of slaves were going to be carried to one of the dépôts of Angola, or +whether they were to be sent hundreds of miles into the interior to +Nyangwe, in the heart of the great lake district that Livingstone was +then exploring. To reach the latter spot would occupy some months, and +to return thence to the coast, even if they should be fortunate enough +to regain their liberty, would be a work of insuperable difficulty. + +He was not long left in suspense. Although he could not understand the +half-African, half-Arab dialect that was used by the leaders of the +caravan, he noticed that the word Kazonndé occurred very frequently, +and knowing it as the name of an important market in the province, he +naturally concluded that it was there the slaves were to be disposed +of; whether for the advantage of the king of the district, or of one of +the rich traders, he had no means of telling. Unless his geographical +knowledge was at fault, he was aware that Kazonndé must be about 400 +miles from S. Paul de Loanda, and consequently that it could hardly be +more than 250 miles from the part of the Coanza where they were now +encamped. Under favourable circumstances it was a journey that could +not be accomplished in less than twelve or fourteen days, but allowing +for the retarded progress of a caravan already exhausted by a +lengthened march, Dick was convinced that they could not reach the +place for at least three weeks. + +He was most anxious to communicate to his companions in adversity his +impression that they were not to be carried into the heart of the +country, and began to cogitate whether some plan could not be devised +for exchanging a few words with them. + +Forked together, as it has been said, two and two, the four negroes +were at the right-hand extremity of the camp; Bat attached to his +father, Austin to Actæon. A havildar, with twelve soldiers, formed +their guard. Dick, at first, was about fifty yards away from the group, +but being left free to move about, contrived gradually to diminish the +distance between himself and them. Tom seemed to apprehend his +intention, and whispered a word to his companions that they should be +on the look-out. Without moving they were all on their guard in a +moment. Dick, careful to conceal his design, strolled backward with a +feigned indifference, and succeeded in getting so near that he might +have called out and informed Tom that they were going to Kazonndé. But +he was desirous of accomplishing more than this; he wanted to get an +opportunity of having some conversation as to their future plans, and +he ventured to approach still nearer. His heart beat high as he +believed he was on the point of attaining his object, when all at once +the havildar, becoming aware of his design, rushed upon him like a +madman, summoned some soldiers, and with considerable violence sent him +back to the front. Tom and the others were quickly removed to another +part of the encampment. + +Exasperated by the rough attack that was made upon him, Dick had seized +the havildar's gun and broken it, almost wrenching it from his hands, +when several soldiers simultaneously assailed him, and would have +struck him down and killed him upon the spot, had not one of the +chiefs, an Arab of huge stature and ferocious countenance, interfered +to stop them. + +This Arab was the Ibn Hamish of whom Harris had spoken to Negoro. He +said a few words which Dick could not understand, and the soldiers, +with manifest reluctance, relaxed their hold and retired. It was +evident that although Dick was not to be permitted to hold any +communication with the rest of his party, orders had been given that +his life was to be protected. + +[Illustration: The start was made.] + +It was now nine o'clock, and the beating of drums and the blowing of +coodoo[1] horns gave the signal that the morning march was to be +continued. Instantly chiefs, soldiers, porters, and slaves were upon +their feet, and arranged themselves in their various groups with a +havildar bearing a bright-coloured banner at their head. + + +[Footnote: Coodoo, a ruminant common in Africa.] + + +The order was given; the start was made. A strange song was heard +rising in the air. It was a song, not of the victors, but of the +vanquished. The slaves were chanting an imprecation on their +oppressors; and the burden of the chorus was that captured, tortured, +slain--after death they would return and avenge their wrongs upon their +murderers! + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +NOTES BY THE WAY. + + +The storm of the preceding evening had now passed away, but the sky was +still cloudy and the weather far from settled. It was the 19th of +April, the time of the _masika_, or second period of the rainy season, +so that for the next two or three weeks the nights might be expected to +be wet. + +On leaving the banks of the Coanza the caravan proceeded due east. +Soldiers marched at the head and in the rear, as well as upon the +flanks of the troop; any escape of the prisoners, therefore, even if +they had not been loaded with their fetters, would have been utterly +impossible. They were all driven along without any attempt at order, +the havildars using their whips unsparingly upon them whenever they +showed signs of flagging. Some poor mothers could be seen carrying two +infants, one on each arm, whilst others led by the hand naked children, +whose feet were sorely cut by the rough ground over which they had trod. + +Ibn Hamish, the Arab who had interfered between Dick and the havildar, +acted as commander to the caravan, and was here, there, and everywhere; +not moved in the least by the sufferings of the captives, but obliged +to be attentive to the importunities of the soldiers and porters, who +were perpetually clamouring for extra rations, or demanding an +immediate halt. Loud were the discussions that arose, and the uproar +became positively deafening when the quarrelsome voices rose above the +shrieks of the slaves, many of whom found themselves treading upon soil +already stained by the blood of the ranks in front. + +[Illustration: If ever the havildar strolled a few yards away, Bat took +the opportunity of murmuring a few words of encouragement to this poor +old father.] + +No chance again opened for Dick to get any communication with his +friends, who had been sent to the van of the procession. Urged on by +the whip they continued to march in single file, their heads in the +heavy forks. If ever the havildar strolled a few yards away, Bat took +the opportunity of murmuring a few words of encouragement to his poor +old father, while he tried to pick out the easiest path for him, and to +relax the pace to suit his enfeebled limbs. Large tears rolled down old +Tom's cheeks when he found that his son's efforts only resulted in +bringing down upon his back some sharp cuts of the havildar's whip. +Actæon and Austin, subject to hardly less brutality, followed a few +steps behind, but all four could not help feeling envious at the luck +of Hercules, who might have dangers to encounter, but at least had his +liberty. + +Immediately upon their capture, Tom had revealed to his companions the +fact that they were in Africa, and informing them how they had been +betrayed by Harris, made them understand that they had no mercy to +expect. + +Old Nan had been placed amongst a group of women in the central ranks. +She was chained to a young mother with two children, the one at the +breast, the other only three years old, and scarcely able to walk. +Moved by compassion, Nan took the little one into her own arms, thus +not only saving it from fatigue, but from the blows it would very +likely have received for lagging behind. The mother shed tears of +gratitude, but the weight was almost too much for Nan's strength, and +she felt as if she must break down under her self-imposed burden. She +thought fondly of little Jack, and imagining him borne along in the +arms of his weary mother, could not help asking herself whether she +should ever see him or her kind mistress again. + +Far in the rear, Dick could not see the head of the caravan except +occasionally, when the ground was rather on the rise. The voices of the +agents and drivers, harsh and excited as they were, scarcely roused him +from his melancholy reflections. His thoughts were not of himself nor +of his own sufferings; his whole attention was absorbed in looking for +some traces of Mrs. Weldon's progress; if she, too, was being taken to +Kazonndé, her route must also lie this way. But he could discover no +trace of her having been conducted by this line of march, and could +only hope that she was being spared the cruelties which he was himself +witnessing. + +The forest extended for about twenty miles to the east of the Coanza, +but whether it was that the trees had been destroyed by the ravages of +insects, or broken down before they had made their growth by being +trampled on by elephants, they were growing much less thickly than in +the immediate vicinity of the river. There were numbers of +cotton-trees, seven or eight feet high, from which are manufactured the +black-and-white striped stuffs that are worn in the interior of the +province; but, upon the whole, progress was not much impeded either by +shrubs or underwood. Occasionally the caravan plunged into jungles of +reeds like bamboos, their stalks an inch in diameter, so tall that only +an elephant or giraffe could have reared above them, and through which +none excepting such as had a very intimate knowledge of the country +could possibly have made their way. + +Starting every morning at daybreak they marched till noon, when an +hour's halt was made. Packets of manioc were then unfastened, and doled +out in sparing quantities among the slaves; sometimes, when the +soldiers had plundered some village, a little goat's flesh or some +sweet potatoes were added to the meal; but generally the fatigue, +aggravated by inadequate rest, took away the appetite, and when +meal-time arrived many of the slaves could hardly eat at all. During +the first eight days' march from the Coanza no less than twenty +unfortunate wretches had fallen upon the road, and had been left +behind, a prey to the lions, panthers, and leopards that prowled in the +wake. As Dick heard their roars in the stillness of the night, he +trembled as he thought of Hercules. Nevertheless, had the opportunity +offered itself, he would not for a moment have hesitated in making his +own escape to the wilderness. + +[Illustration: The caravan had been attacked on the flank by a dozen or +more crocodiles.] + +The two hundred and fifty miles between the river and Kazonndé were +accomplished in what the traders call marches of ten miles each, +including the halts at night and midday. The journey cannot be better +described than by a few rough notes that Dick Sands made upon his way. + +_April 25th_.--Saw a village surrounded with bamboo palisading, eight +or nine feet high. Fields round planted with maize, beans, and sorghum. +Two negroes captured, fifteen killed, rest took to flight. + +_26th_.--Crossed a torrent 150 yards wide. Bridge formed of trunks of +trees and creepers. Piles nearly gave way; two women fastened to a +fork; one of them, carrying a baby, fell into the water. Water quickly +tinged with blood; crocodiles seen under bridge; risk of stepping into +their very jaws. + +_28th_.--Crossed a forest of bauhinias; great trees, the iron-wood of +the Portuguese. Heavy rain; ground sodden; marching difficult. Caught +sight of Nan in the middle of caravan; she was toiling along with a +black child in her arms; the woman with her limping, and blood +trickling from her shoulder. + +_29th_.--Camp at night under a huge baobab, with white flowers and +light green leaves. Lions and leopards roaring all night. A soldier +fired at a panther. What has become of Hercules? + +_30th_.--Rainy season said to be over till November. First touch of +African winter. Dew very heavy. Plains all flooded. Easterly winds: +difficulty of respiration; susceptibility to fever. No trace of Mrs. +Weldon; cannot tell whether she is ahead. Fear Jack may have a return +of fever. + +_May 5th_.--Forced to march several stages across flooded plains, water +up to the waist; many leeches sticking to the skin. Lotus and papyrus +upon higher ground. Great heavy leaves, like cabbages, beneath the +water, make many stumble as they walk. Saw large numbers of little +fish, silurus-species; these are caught by the natives, and sold to the +caravans. + +_7th_.--Plain still inundated. Last night, no halting-place to be +found. Marched on through the darkness. Great misery. Except for Mrs. +Weldon, life not worth having; for her sake must hold out. Loud cries +heard. Saw, by the lightning, soldiers breaking large boughs from the +resinous trees that emerged from the water. The caravan had been +attacked on the flank by a dozen or more crocodiles; women and children +seized and carried off to what Livingstone calls their "pasture-lands," +the holes where they deposit their prey until it is decomposed. Myself +grazed by the scales of one of them. A slave close beside me torn out +of the fork, which was snapped in half. How the poor fellow's cry of +agony rings in my ear! This morning, twenty missing. Tom and the +others, thank God! are still alive. They are on in front. Once Bat made +a sharp turn, and Tom caught sight of me. Nothing to be seen of Nan; +was she, poor creature, one of those that the crocodiles had got? + +_8th_.--After twenty-four hours in the water we have crossed the plain. +We have halted on a hill. The sun helps to dry us. Nothing to eat +except a little manioc and a few handfuls of maize. Only muddy water to +drink. Impossible for Mrs. Weldon to survive these hardships; I hope +from my heart that she has been taken some other way. Small-pox has +broken out in the caravan; those that have it are to be left behind. + +_9th_.--Started at dawn. No stragglers allowed; sick and weary must be +kept together by havildars' whip; the losses were considerable. Living +skeletons all round. Rejoiced once more to catch sight of Nan. She was +not carrying the child any longer; she was alone; the chain was round +her waist, but she had the loose end thrown over her shoulder. I got +close to her; suppose I am altered, as she did not know me. After I had +called her by name several times she stared at me, and at last said, +"Ah, Mr. Dick, is it you? you will not see me here much longer." Her +cadaverous look pained my very soul, but I tried to speak hopefully. +Poor Nan shook her head. "I shall never see my dear mistress again; no, +nor master Jack; I shall soon die." Anxious to help her, I would gladly +have carried the end of the chain which she had been obliged to bear +because her fellow-prisoner was dead. A rough hand was soon upon my +shoulder; a cruel lash had made Nan retreat to the general crowd, +whilst, at the bidding of an Arab chief, I was hustled back to the very +hindmost rank of the procession. I overheard the word Negoro, in a way +that convinced me that it is under the direction of the Portuguese that +I am subject to this hard indignity. + +[Illustration: [**no caption, or it is cut off]] + +_11th_.--Last night encamped under some large trees on the skirts of a +forest. Several escaped prisoners recaptured; their punishment +barbarously cruel. Loud roaring of lions and hyenas heard at nightfall, +also snorting of hippopotamuses; probably some lake or water-course not +far off. Tired, but could not sleep; heard a rustling in the grass; +felt sure that something was going to attack me; what could I do? I had +no gun. For Mrs. Weldon's sake, must, if possible, preserve my life. +The night was dark; no moon; two eyes gleamed upon me; I was about to +utter a cry of alarm; fortunately, I suppressed it; the creature that +had sprung to my feet was Dingo! The dog licked my hands all over, +persisting in rubbing his neck against them, evidently to make me feel +there; found a reed fastened to the well-known collar upon which the +initials S.V. had so often awakened our curiosity; breaking open the +reed, I took a note from inside; it was too dark for me to see to read +it. I tried, by caressing Dingo, to detain him; but the dog appeared to +know that his mission with me was at an end; he licked my hands +affectionately, made a sudden bound, and disappeared in the long grass +as mysteriously as he had come. The howling of the wild beasts +increased. How I dreaded that the faithful creature would become their +prey! No more sleep this night for me. It seemed that daylight would +never dawn; at length it broke with the suddenness that marks a +tropical morn. I was able cautiously to read my note; the handwriting, +I knew at a glance, was that of Hercules; there were but a few lines in +pencil:-- + +"Mrs. Weldon and Jack carried away in a kitanda. + +"Harris and Negoro both with them. Mr. Benedict too. Only a few marches +ahead, but cannot be communicated with at present. Found Dingo wounded +by a gun-shot. Dear Mr. Dick, do not despair; keep up your courage. I +may help you yet. + +"Your ever true and faithful + +"HERCULES." + +As far as it went, this intelligence was satisfactory. A kitanda, I +know, is a kind of litter made of dry grass, protected by a curtain, +and carried on the shoulders of two men by a long bamboo. What a relief +to know that Mrs. Weldon and Jack have been spared the miseries of this +dreadful march! May I not indulge the hope of seeing them at Kazonndé? + +_12th_.--The prisoners getting more and more weary and worn out. +Blood-stains on the way still more conspicuous. Many poor wretches are +a mass of wounds. One poor woman for two days has carried her dead +child, from which she refuses to be parted. + +_16th_.--Small-pox raging; the road strewn with corpses. Still ten days +before we reach Kazonndé. Just passed a tree from which slaves who had +died from hunger were hanging by the neck. + +_18th_.--Must not give in, but I am almost exhausted. Rains have +ceased. We are to make what the dealers call _trikesa_, extra marches +in the after-part of the day. Road very steep; runs through _nyassi_, +tall grass of which the stalks scratch my face, and the seeds get under +my tattered clothes and make my skin smart painfully. My boots +fortunately are thick, and have not worn out. More slaves sick and +abandoned to take their chance. Provisions running very short; soldiers +and pagazis must be satisfied, otherwise they desert; consequently the +slaves are all but starved. "They can eat each other," say the agents. +A young slave, apparently in good health, dropped down dead. It made me +think of Livingstone's description of how free-born men, reduced to +slavery, will suddenly press their hand on their side, and die of a +broken heart. + +[Illustration: More slaves sick, and abandoned to take their chance.] + +_24th_.--Twenty captives, incapable any longer of keeping pace with the +rest, put to death by the havildars, the Arab chief offering no +opposition. Poor old Nan one of the victims of this horrible butchery. +My foot struck her corpse as I passed, but I was not permitted to give +her a decent burial. Poor old Nan! the first of the survivors of the +"Pilgrim" to go to her long rest! Poor old Nan! + +Every night I watch for Dingo; but he never comes. Has Hercules nothing +more to communicate? or has any mishap befallen him? If he is alive he +will do what mortal strength can do to aid us. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +KAZONNDÉ. + + +By the 26th of May, when the caravan reached Kazonndé the number of the +slaves had diminished by more than half, so numerous had been the +casualties along the road. But the dealers were quite prepared to make +a market of their loss; the demand for slaves was very great, and the +price must be raised accordingly. + +Angola at that time was the scene of a large negro-traffic, and as the +caravans principally wended their way towards the interior, the +Portuguese authorities at Loanda and Benguela had practically no power +to prevent it. The barracks on the shore were crowded to overflowing +with prisoners, the few slave-ships that managed to elude the cruisers +being quite inadequate to embark the whole number for the Spanish +colonies to America. + +Kazonndé, the point whence the caravans diverge to the various parts of +the lake district, is situated three miles from the mouth of the +Coanza, and is one of the most important _lakonis_, or markets of the +province. The open marketplace where the slaves are exposed for sale is +called the _chitoka_. + +All the larger towns of Central Africa are divided into two distinct +parts; one occupied by the Arab, Portuguese, or native merchants, and +containing their slave-barracks; the other being the residence of the +negro king, often a fierce drunken potentate, whose rule is a reign of +terror, and who lives by subsidies allowed him by the traders. + +The commercial quarter of Kazonndé now belonged to José Antonio Alvez. +It was his largest dépôt, although he had another at Bihé, and a third +at Cassangé, where Cameron subsequently met him. It consisted of one +long street, on each side of which were groups of flat-roofed houses +called _tembés_, built of rough earth, and provided with square yards +for cattle. The end of it opened into the _chitoka_, which was +surrounded by the barracks. Above the houses some fine banyan-trees +waved their branches, surmounted here and there by the crests of +graceful palms. There was at least a score of birds of prey that +hovered about the streets, and came down to perform the office of +public scavengers. At no great distance flowed the Loohi, a river not +yet explored, but which is supposed to be an affluent or sub-affluent +of the Congo. + +[Illustration: Adjoining the commercial quarter was the royal +residence.] + +Adjoining the commercial quarter was the royal residence, nothing more +nor less than a collection of dirty huts, extending over an area of +nearly a square mile. + +Some of these huts were unenclosed; others were surrounded by a +palisade of reeds, or by a hedge of bushy figs. + +In an enclosure within a papyrus fence were about thirty huts +appropriated to the king's slaves, another group for his wives, and in +the middle, almost hidden by a plantation of manioc, a _tembé_ larger +and loftier than the rest, the abode of the monarch himself. + +He had sorely declined from the dignity and importance of his +predecessors, and his army, which by the early Portuguese traders had +been estimated at 20,000, now numbered less than 4000 men; no longer +could he afford, as in the good old time, to order a sacrifice of +twenty-five or thirty slaves at one offering. + +His name was Moené Loonga. Little over fifty, he was prematurely aged +by drink and debauchery, and scarcely better than a maniac. His +subjects, officers, and ministers, were all liable to be mutilated at +his pleasure, and noses and ears, feet and hands, were cut off +unsparingly whenever his caprice so willed it. His death would have +been a cause of regret to no one, with the exception, perhaps, of +Alvez, who was on very good terms with him. Alvez, moreover, feared +that in the event of the present king's death, the succession of his +chief wife, Queen Moena, might be disputed, and that his dominions +would be invaded by a younger and more active neighbour, one of the +kings of Ukusu, who had already seized upon some villages dependent on +the government of Kazonndé, and who was in alliance with a rival trader +named Tipo-Tipo, a man of pure Arab extraction, from whom Cameron +afterwards received a visit at Nyangwé. + +To all intents and purposes Alvez was the real sovereign of the +district, having fostered the vices of the brutalized king till he had +him completely in his power. He was a man considerably advanced in +years; he was not (as his name might imply) a white man, but had merely +assumed his Portuguese title for purposes of business; his true name +was Kendélé, and he was a pure negro by birth, being a native of Dondo +on the Coanza. He had commenced life as a slave-dealer's agent, and was +now on his way towards becoming a first-class trader; that is to say, +he was a consummate rascal under the guise of an honest man. He it was +whom Cameron met at the end of 1874 at Kilemba, the capital of Urua, of +which Kasongo is chief, and with whose caravan he travelled to Bihé, a +distance of seven hundred miles. + +It was midday when the caravan entered Kazonndé. The journey from the +Coanza had lasted thirty-eight days, more than five weeks of misery as +great as was within human power to endure. Amidst the noise of drums +and coodoo-horns the slaves were conducted to the marketplace. The +soldiers of the caravan discharged their guns into the air, and old +Alvez' resident retinue responded with a similar salute. The bandits, +than which the soldiers were nothing better, were delighted to meet +again, and would celebrate their return by a season of riot and excess. + +The slaves, reduced to a total of about two hundred and fifty, were +many of them almost dead from exhaustion; the forks were removed from +their necks, though the chains were still retained, and the whole of +them were driven into barracks that were unfit even for cattle, to +await (in company with 1200 to 1500 other captives already there) the +great market which would be held two days hence. + +The _pagazis_, after delivering their loads of ivory, would only stay +to receive their payment of a few yards of calico or other stuff, and +would then depart at once to join some other caravan. + +On being relieved from the forks which they had carried for so many +weary days, Tom and his companions heartily wrung each other's hands, +but they could not venture to utter one word of mutual encouragement. +The three younger men, more full of life and vigour, had resisted the +effects of the fatigue, but poor old Tom was nearly exhausted, and had +the march been protracted for a few more days he must have shared Nan's +fate and been left behind, a prey to the wild beasts. + +Upon their arrival all four were packed into a narrow cell, where some +food was provided, and the door was immediately locked upon them. + +The _chitoka_ was now almost deserted, and Dick Sands was left there +under the special charge of a havildar: he lost no opportunity of +peering into every hut in the hope of catching a glimpse of Mrs. +Weldon, who, if Hercules had not misinformed him, had come on hither +just in front. + +But he was very much perplexed. He could well understand that Mrs. +Weldon, if still a prisoner, would be kept out of sight, but why Negoro +and Harris did not appear to triumph over him in his humiliation was +quite a mystery to him. It was likely enough that the presence of +either one or the other of them would be the signal for himself to be +exposed to fresh indignity, or even to torture, but Dick would have +welcomed the sight of them at Kazonndé, were it only as an indication +that Mrs. Weldon and Jack were there also. + +It disappointed him, too, that Dingo did not come back. Ever since the +dog had brought him the first note, he had kept an answer written ready +to send to Hercules, imploring him to look after Mrs. Weldon, and to +keep him informed of everything. He began to fear that the faithful +creature must be dead, perhaps perished in some attempt to reach +himself; it was, however, quite possible that Hercules had taken the +dog in some other direction, hoping to gain somedépôt in the interior. + +But so thoroughly had Dick persuaded himself that Mrs. Weldon had +preceded him to Kazonndé that his disappointment became more and more +keen when he failed to discover her. For a while he seemed to yield to +despair, and sat down sorrowful and sick at heart. + +Suddenly a chorus of voices and trumpets broke upon his ear; he was +startled into taking a new interest in what was going on. + +"Alvez! Alvez!" was the cry again and again repeated by the crowd. + +Here, then, was the great man himself about to appear. Was it not +likely that Harris or Negoro might be with him? + +Dick stood erect and resolute, his eye vivid with expectation; he felt +all eagerness to stand face to face with his betrayers; boy as he was, +he was equal to cope with them both. + +The _kitanda_, which came in sight at the end of the street, was +nothing more than a kind of hammock covered by a faded and ragged +curtain. An old negro stepped out of it. His attendants greeted him +with noisy acclamations. + +This, then, was the great trader, José Antonio Alvez. + +Immediately following him was his friend Coïmbra, son of the chief +Coïmbra of Bihé, and, according to Cameron, the greatest blackguard in +the province. This sworn ally of Alvez, this organizer of his +slave-raids, this commander, worthy of his own horde of bandits, was +utterly loathsome in his appearance, his flesh was filthily dirty, his +eyes were bloodshot, his skin yellow, and his long hair all +dishevelled. He had no other attire than a tattered shirt, a tunic made +of grass, and a battered straw hat, under which his countenance +appeared like that of some old hag. + +Alvez himself, whose clothes were like those of an old Turk the day +after a carnival, was one degree more respectable in appearance than +his satellite, not that his looks spoke much for the very highest class +of African slave-dealers. To Dick's great disappointment, neither +Harris nor Negoro was among his retinue. + +Both Alvez and Coïmbra shook hands with Ibn Hamish, the leader of the +caravan, and congratulated him on the success of the expedition. Alvez +made a grimace on being told that half the slaves had died on the way, +but on the whole he seemed satisfied; he could meet the demand that at +present existed, and would lose no time in bartering the new arrival +for ivory or _hannas_, copper in the shape of a St. Andrew's cross, the +form in which the metal is exported in Central Africa. + +After complimenting the havildars upon the way in which they had done +their work, the trader gave orders that the porters should be paid and +dismissed. The conversations were carried on in a mixture of Portuguese +and native idioms, in which the African element abounded so largely +that a native of Lisbon would have been at a loss to understand them. +Dick, of course, could not comprehend what was said, and it was only +when he saw a havildar go towards the cell in which Tom and the others +were confined, that he realized that the talk was about himself and his +party. + +When the negroes were brought out, Dick came close up, being anxious to +learn as much as he could of what was in contemplation. The old +trader's eyes seemed to brighten as he glanced upon the three strapping +young men who, he knew, would soon be restored to their full strength +by rest and proper food. They at least would get a good price; as for +poor old Tom, he was manifestly so broken down by infirmity and age, +that he would have no value in the market. + +In a few words of broken English, which Alvez had picked up from some +of his agents, he ironically gave them all a welcome. + +"Glad to see you!" he said, with a diabolical grin. + +Tom knew what he meant, and drew himself up proudly. + +"We are free men!" he protested, "free citizens of the United States!" + +"Yes, yes!" replied Alvez, grinning, "you are Americans; very glad to +see you!" + +"Very glad to see you!" echoed Coïmbra, and walking up to Austin he +felt his chest and shoulders, and then proceeded to open his mouth in +order to examine his teeth. + +A blow from Austin's powerful fist sent the satellite staggering +backwards. + +Some soldiers made a dash and seized the young negro, evidently ready +to make him pay dearly for his temerity; but Alvez was by no means +willing to have any injury done to his newly-acquired property, and +called them off. He hardly attempted to conceal his amusement at +Coïmbra's discomfiture, although the blow had cost him one of his front +teeth. + +After he had recovered somewhat from the shock, Coïmbra stood scowling +at Austin, as if mentally vowing vengeance on some future occasion. + +Dick Sands was now himself brought forward in the custody of a +havildar. It was clear that Alvez had been told all about him, for +after scanning him for a moment, he stammered out in his broken +English,-- + +"Ah! ah! the little Yankee!" + +"Yes," replied Dick; "I see you know who I am. What are you going to do +with me and my friends?" + +"Yankee! little Yankee!" repeated the trader, who either did not or +would not comprehend the meaning of Dick's question. + +Dick turned to Coïmbra and made the same inquiry of him; in spite of +his degraded features, now still farther disfigured by being swollen +from the blow, it was easy to recognize that he was not of native +origin. He refused to answer a word, and only stared again with the +vicious glare of malevolence. + +Meanwhile, Alvez had begun to talk to Ibn Hamish. Dick felt sure that +they intended to separate him from the negroes, and accordingly took +the opportunity of whispering a few words to them. + +"My friends, I have heard from Hercules. Dingo brought me a note from +him, tied round his neck. He says Harris and Negoro have carried off +Mrs. Weldon, Jack, and Mr. Benedict. He did not know where. Have +patience, and we will find them yet." + +[Illustration: With a yell and a curse, the American fell dead at his +feet.] + +"And where's Nan?" muttered Tom, in a low voice. + +"Dead," replied Dick, and was about to add more, when a hand was laid +upon his shoulder, and a voice that he knew too well exclaimed,-- + +"Well, my young friend, how are you? I am glad to see you again." + +He turned round quickly. Harris stood before him. + +"Where is Mrs. Weldon?" asked Dick impetuously. + +"Ah, poor thing!" answered Harris, with an air of deep commiseration. + +"What! is she dead?" Dick almost shrieked; "where is her child?" + +"Poor little fellow!" said Harris, in the same mournful tone. + +These insinuations, that those in whose welfare he was so deeply +interested had succumbed to the hardships of the journey, awoke in +Dick's mind a sudden and irresistible desire for vengeance. Darting +forwards he seized the cutlass that Harris wore in his belt, and +plunged it into his heart. + +With a yell and a curse, the American fell dead at his feet. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +MARKET-DAY. + + +So sudden was Dick's action that it had been impossible to parry his +blow. Several of the natives rushed on him, and in all likelihood would +have struck him down upon the spot had not Negoro arrived at that very +moment. At a sign from him the natives drew back, and proceeded to +raise and carry away Harris's corpse. + +Alvez and Coïmbra were urgent in their demand that Dick should +forthwith be punished by death, but Negoro whispered to them that they +would assuredly be the gainers by delay, and they accordingly contented +themselves with ordering the youth to be placed under strict +supervision. + +This was the first time that Dick had set eyes upon Negoro since he had +left the coast; nevertheless, so heartbroken was he at the intelligence +he had just received, that he did not deign to address a word to the +man whom he knew to be the real author of all his misery. He cared not +now what became of him. + +Loaded with chains, he was placed in the dungeon where Alvez was +accustomed to confine slaves who had been condemned to death for mutiny +or violence. That he had no communication with the outer world gave him +no concern; he had avenged the death of those for whose safety he had +felt himself responsible, and could now calmly await the fate which he +could not doubt was in store for him; he did not dare to suppose that +he had been temporarily spared otherwise than that he might suffer the +cruellest tortures that native ingenuity could devise. That the +"Pilgrim's" cook now held in his power the boy captain he so thoroughly +hated was warrant enough that the sternest possible measure of +vengeance would be exacted. + +[Illustration: Accompanied by Coïmbra, Alvez himself was one of the +first arrivals.] + +Two days later, the great market, the _lakoni_, commenced. Although +many of the principal traders were there from the interior, it was by +no means exclusively a slave-mart; a considerable proportion of the +natives from the neighbouring provinces assembled to dispose of the +various products of the country. + +Quite early the great _chitoka_ of Kazonndé was all alive with a +bustling concourse of little under five thousand people, including the +slaves of old Alvez, amongst whom were Tom and his three partners in +adversity--an item by no means inconsiderable in the dealer's stock. + +Accompanied by Coïmbra, Alvez himself was one of the first arrivals. He +was going to sell his slaves in lots to be conveyed in caravans into +the interior. The dealers for the most part consisted of half-breeds +from Ujiji, the principal market on Lake Tanganyika, whilst some of a +superior class were manifestly Arabs. + +The natives that were assembled were of both sexes, and of every +variety of age, the women in particular displaying an aptitude in +making bargains that is shared by their sisters elsewhere of a lighter +hue; and it may be said that no market of the most civilized region +could be characterized by greater excitement or animation, for amongst +the savages of Africa the customer makes his offer in equally noisy +terms as the vendor. + +The _lakoni_ was always considered a kind of fète-day; consequently the +natives of both sexes, though their clothing was scanty in extent, made +a point of appearing in a most lavish display of ornaments. Their +head-gear was most remarkable. The men had their hair arranged in every +variety of eccentric device; some had it divided into four parts, +rolled over cushions and fastened into a chignon, or mounted in front +into a bunch of tails adorned with red feathers; others plastered it +thickly with a mixture of red mud and oil similar to that used for +greasing machinery, and formed it into cones or lumps, into which they +inserted a medley of iron pins and ivory skewers; whilst the greatest +dandies had a glass bead threaded upon every single hair, the whole +being fastened together by a tattooing-knife driven through the +glittering mass. + +As a general rule, the women preferred dressing their hair in little +tufts about the size of a cherry, arranging it into the shape of a cap, +with corkscrew ringlets on each side of the face. Some wore it simply +hanging down their backs, others in French fashion, with a fringe +across the forehead; but every _coiffure_, without exception, was +daubed and caked either with the mixture of mud and grease, or with a +bright red extract of sandal-wood called _nkola_. + +But it was not only on their heads that they made this extraordinary +display of ornaments; the lobes of their ears were loaded till they +reached their shoulders with a profusion of wooden pegs, open-work +copper rings, grains of maize, or little gourds, which served the +purpose of snuff-boxes; their necks, arms, wrists, legs, and ankles +were a perfect mass of brass and copper rings, or sometimes were +covered with a lot of bright buttons. Rows of red beads, called +_sames-sames_, or _talakas_, seemed also very popular. As they had no +pockets, they attached their knives, pipes and other articles to +various parts of their body; so that altogether, in their holiday +attire, the rich men of the district might not inappropriately be +compared to walking shrines. + +With their teeth they had all played the strangest of vagaries; the +upper and lower incisors had generally been extracted, and the others +had been filed to points or carved into hooks, like the fangs of a +rattle-snake. Their fingernails were allowed to grow to such an +immoderate length as to render the hands well-nigh useless, and their +swarthy skins were tattooed with figures of trees, birds, crescents and +discs, or, not unfrequently, with those zigzag lines which Livingstone +thinks he recognizes as resembling those observed in ancient Egyptian +drawings. The tattooing is effected by means of a blue substance +inserted into incisions previously made in the skin. Every child is +tattooed in precisely the same pattern as his father before him, and +thus it may always be ascertained to what family he belongs. Instead of +carrying his armorial bearings upon his plate or upon the panels of his +carriage, the African magnate wears them emblazoned on his own bosom! + +The garments that were usually worn were simply aprons of +antelope-skins descending to the knees, but occasionally a short +petticoat might be seen made of woven grass and dyed with bright +colours. The ladies not unfrequently wore girdles of beads attached to +green skirts embroidered with silk and ornamented with bits of glass or +cowries, or sometimes the skirts were made of the grass cloth called +_lambda_, which, in blue, yellow, or black, is so much valued by the +people of Zanzibar. + +Garments of these pretensions, however, always indicated that the +wearers belonged to the upper classes; the lower orders, such as the +smaller dealers, as well as the slaves, had hardly any clothes at all. + +The women commonly acted as porters, and arrived at the market with +huge baskets on their backs, which they secured by means of straps +passed across the forehead. Having deposited their loads upon the +chitoka, they turned out their goods, and then seated themselves inside +the empty baskets. + +As the result of the extreme fertility of the country all the articles +offered for sale were of a first-rate quality. There were large stores +of rice, which had been grown at a profit a hundred times as great as +the cost, and maize which, producing three crops in eight months, +yielded a profit as large again as the rice. There were also sesame, +Urua pepper stronger than Cayenne, manioc, nutmegs, salt, and palm-oil. +In the market, too, were hundreds of goats, pigs and sheep, evidently +of a Tartar breed, with hair instead of wool; and there was a good +supply of fish and poultry. Besides all these there was an attractive +display of bright-coloured pottery, the designs of which were very +symmetrical. + +In shrill, squeaky voices, children were crying several varieties of +native drinks; banana-wine, _pombé_, which, whatever it was, seemed to +be in great demand; _malofoo_, a kind of beer compounded of bananas, +and mead, a mixture of honey and water, fermented with malt. + +But the most prominent feature in the whole market was the traffic in +stuffs and ivory. The pieces could be counted by thousands of the +unbleached _mcrikani_ from Salem in Massachusetts, of the blue cotton, +_kaniki_, thirty-four inches wide, and of the checked _sohari_, blue +and black with its scarlet border. More expensive than these were lots +of silk _diulis_, with red, green, or yellow grounds, which are sold in +lengths of three yards, at prices varying from seven dollars to eighty, +when they are interwoven with gold. + +The ivory had come from well-nigh every part of Central Africa, and was +destined for Khartoom, Zanzibar, and Natal, many of the merchants +dealing in this commodity exclusively. + +How vast a number of elephants must be slaughtered to supply this ivory +may be imagined when it is remembered that over 200 tons, that is, +1,125,000 lbs., are exported annually to Europe. Of this, much the +larger share goes to England, where the Sheffield cutlery consumes +about 382,500 lbs. From the West Coast of Africa alone the produce is +nearly 140 tons. + +The average weight of a pair of tusks is 28 lbs., and the ordinary +value of these in 1874 would be about 60_l_.; but here in Kazonndé were +some weighing no less than 165 lbs., of that soft, translucent quality +which retains its whiteness far better than the ivory from other +sources. + +As already mentioned, slaves are not unfrequently used as current money +amongst the African traders, but the natives themselves usually pay for +their goods with Venetian glass beads, of which the chalk-white are +called _catchokolos_, the black _bubulus_, and the red +_sikunderetches_. Strung in ten rows, or _khetés_, these beads are +twisted twice round the neck, forming what is called a _foondo_, which +is always reckoned of considerable value. + +The usual measure by which they are sold is the _frasilah_, containing +a weight of about 70 lbs. Livingstone, Cameron and Stanley always took +care to be well provided with this kind of currency. In default of +beads, the picé, a Zanzibar coin worth something more than a farthing, +and _vioon-gooas,_ shells peculiar to the East Coast, are recognized as +a medium of exchange in the market. Amongst the cannibal tribes a +certain value is attached to human teeth, and at the lakoni some +natives might be seen wearing strings of teeth, the owners of which +they had probably, at some previous time, devoured. This species of +currency, however, was falling rapidly into disuse. + +Towards the middle of the day the excitement of the market reached its +highest pitch, and the uproar became perfectly deafening. The voices of +the eager sellers mingled with those of indignant and overcharged +customers; fights were numerous, and as there was an utter absence of +any kind of police, no effort was made to restore peace or order +amongst the unruly crowd. + +It was just noon when Alvez gave orders that the slaves he wished to +dispose of should be placed on view. Thereupon nearly two thousand +unfortunates were brought forward, many of whom had been confined in +the dealer's barracks for several months. Most of the stock, however, +had been so carefully attended to that they were in good condition, and +it was only the last batch that looked as if they would be improved by +another month's rest; but as the demand upon the East Coast was now +very large, Alvez hoped to get a good price for all, and determined to +part with even the last arrivals for whatever sum he could obtain. + +Amongst these latter, whom the havildars drove like a herd of cattle +into the middle of the chitoka, were Tom and his three friends. They +were closely chained, and rage and shame were depicted in their +countenances. + +Bat passed a quick and scrutinizing gaze around him, and said to the +others,-- + +"I do not see Mr. Dick." + +Tom answered mournfully,-- + +"Mr. Dick will be killed, if he is not dead already. Our only hope is +that we may now all be bought in one lot; it will be a consolation to +us if we can be all together." + +Tears rose to Bat's eyes as he thought of how his poor old father was +likely to be sold, and carried away to wear out his days as a common +slave. + +The sale now commenced. The agents of Alvez proceeded to divide the +slaves, men, women and children, into lots, treating them in no respect +better than beasts in a cattle-market. Tom and the others were paraded +about from customer to customer, an agent accompanying them to proclaim +the price demanded. Strong, intelligent-looking Americans, quite +different to the miserable creatures brought from the banks of the +Zambesi and Lualaba, they at once attracted the observation of the Arab +and half-breed dealers. Just as though they were examining a horse, the +buyers felt their limbs, turned them round and round, looked at their +teeth, and finally tested their paces by throwing a stick to a distance +and making them run to fetch it. + +All the slaves were subjected to similar humiliations; and ail alike, +except the very young children, seemed deeply sensible of their +degradation. The cruelty exhibited towards them was very vile. Coïmbra, +who was half drunk, treated them with the utmost brutality; not that +they had any reason to expect any gentler dealings at the hands of the +new masters who might purchase them for ivory or any other commodity. +Children were torn away from their parents, husbands from their wives, +brothers from sisters, and without even the indulgence of a parting +word, were separated never to meet again. + +The scenes that occur at such markets as this at Kazonndé are too +heartrending to be described in detail. + +It is one of the peculiar requirements of the slave-trade that the two +sexes should have an entirely different destination. In fact, the +dealers who purchase men never purchase women. The women, who are +required to supply the Mussulman harems, are sent principally to Arab +districts to be exchanged for ivory; whilst the men, who are to be put +to hard labour, are despatched to the coast, East and West, whence they +are exported to the Spanish colonies, or to the markets of Muscat or +Madagascar. + +To Tom and his friends the prospect of being transported to a slave +colony was far better than that of being retained in some Central +African province, where they could have no chance of regaining their +liberty; and the moment, to them, was accordingly one of great suspense. + +Altogether, things turned out for them better than they dared +anticipate. They had at least the satisfaction of finding that as yet +they were not to be separated. Alvez, of course, had taken good care to +conceal the origin of this exceptional lot, and their own ignorance of +the language thoroughly prevented them from communicating it; but the +anxiety to secure so valuable a property rendered the competition for +it very keen; the bidding rose higher and higher, until at length the +four men were knocked down to a rich Arab dealer, who purposed in the +course of a few days to take them to Lake Tanganyika, and thence to one +of the deptôs of Zanzibar. + +This journey, it is true, would be for 1500 miles across the most +unhealthy parts of Central Africa, through districts harassed by +internal wars; and it seemed improbable that Tom could survive the +hardships he must meet; like poor old Nan, he would succumb to fatigue; +but the brave fellows did not suffer themselves to fear the future, +they were only too happy to be still together; and the chain that bound +them one to another was felt to be easier and lighter to bear. + +Their new master knew that it was for his own interest that his +purchase should be well taken care of; he looked to make a substantial +profit at Zanzibar, and sent them off at once to his own private +barracks; consequently they saw no more of what transpired at Kazonndé. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +A BOWL OF PUNCH. + + +The afternoon was passing away, and it was now past four o'clock, when +the sound of drums, cymbals, and a variety of native instruments was +heard at the end of the main thoroughfare. The market was still going +on with the same animation as before; half a day's screeching and +fighting seemed neither to have wearied the voices nor broken the limbs +of the demoniacal traffickers; there was a considerable number of +slaves still to be disposed of, and the dealers were haggling over the +remaining lots with an excitement of which a sudden panic on the London +Stock Exchange could give a very inadequate conception. + +But the discordant concert which suddenly broke upon the ear was the +signal for business to be at once suspended. The crowd might cease its +uproar, and recover its breath. The King of Kazonndé, Moené Loonga, was +about to honour the _lakoni_ with a visit. + +Attended by a large retinue of wives, officers, soldiers, and slaves, +the monarch was conveyed to the middle of the market-place in an old +palanquin, from which he was obliged to have five or six people to help +him to descend. Alvez and the other traders advanced to meet him with +the most exaggerated gestures of reverence, all of which he received as +his rightful homage. + +He was a man of fifty years of age, but might easily have passed for +eighty. He looked like an old, decrepit monkey. On his head was a kind +of tiara, adorned with leopards' claws dyed red, and tufts of +greyish-white hair; this was the usual crown of the sovereigns of +Kazonndé. From his waist hung two skirts of coodoo-hide, stiff as +blacksmiths' aprons, and embroidered with pearls. The tattooings on his +breast were so numerous that his pedigree, which they declared, might +seem to reach back to time immemorial. His wrists and arms were encased +in copper bracelets, thickly encrusted with beads; he wore a pair of +top-boots, a present from Alvez some twenty years ago; in his left hand +he carried a great stick surmounted by a silver knob; in his right a +fly-flapper with a handle studded with pearls; over his head was +carried an old umbrella with as many patches as a Harlequin's coat, +whilst from his neck hung Cousin Benedict's magnifying-glass, and on +his nose were the spectacles which had been stolen from Bat's pocket. + +[Illustration: The potentate beneath whose sway the country trembled +for a hundred miles round] + +Such was the appearance of the potentate beneath whose sway the country +trembled for a hundred miles round. + +By virtue of his sovereignty Moené Loonga claimed to be of celestial +origin; and any subject who should have the audacity to raise a +question on this point would have been despatched forthwith to another +world. All his actions, his eating and drinking, were supposed to be +performed by divine impulse. He certainly drank like no other mortal; +his officers and ministers, confirmed tipplers as they were, appeared +sober men in comparison with himself, and he seemed never to be doing +anything but imbibing strong pombé, and over-proof spirit with which +Alvez kept him liberally supplied. + +In his harem Moené Loonga had wives of all ages from forty to fourteen, +most of whom accompanied him on his visit to the _lakoni_. Moena, the +chief wife, who was called the queen, was the eldest of them all, and, +like the rest, was of royal blood. She was a vixenish-looking woman, +very gaily attired; she wore a kind of bright tartan over a skirt of +woven grass, embroidered with pearls; round her throat was a profusion +of necklaces, and her hair was mounted up in tiers that toppled high +above her head, making her resemble some hideous monster. The younger +wives, all of them sisters or cousins of the king, were less +elaborately dressed. They walked behind her, ready at the slightest +sign to perform the most menial services. Did his Majesty wish to sit +down, two of them would immediately stoop to the ground and form a seat +with their bodies, whilst others would have to lie down and support his +feet upon their backs: a throne and footstool of living ebony. + +Amidst the staggering, half-tipsy crowd of ministers, officers, and +magicians that composed Moené Loonga's suite, there was hardly a man to +be seen who had not lost either an eye, an ear, or hand, or nose. Death +and mutilation were the only two punishments practised in Kazonndé, and +the slightest offence involved the instant amputation of some member of +the body. The loss of the ear was considered the severest penalty, as +it prevented the possibility of wearing earrings! + +The governors of districts, or _kilolos_, whether hereditary or +appointed for four years, were distinguished by red waistcoats and +zebra-skin caps; in their hands they brandished long rattans, coated at +one extremity with a varnish of magic drugs. + +The weapons carried by the soldiers consisted of wooden bows adorned +with fringes and provided with a spare bowstring, knives filed into the +shape of serpents' tongues, long, broad lances, and shields of palm +wood, ornamented with arabesques. In the matter of uniform, the royal +army had no demands to make upon the royal treasury. + +Amongst the attendants of the king there was a considerable number of +sorcerers and musicians. The sorcerers, or _mganga_, were practically +the physicians of the court, the savages having the most implicit faith +in divinations and incantations of every kind, and employing fetishes, +clay or wooden figures, representing sometimes ordinary human beings +and sometimes fantastic animals. Like the rest of the retinue, these +magicians were, for the most part, more or less mutilated, an +indication that some of their prescriptions on behalf of the king had +failed of success. + +The musicians were of both sexes, some performing on shrill rattles, +some on huge drums, whilst others played on instruments called +_marimbas_, a kind of dulcimer made of two rows of different-sized +gourds fastened in a frame, and struck by sticks with india-rubber +balls at the end. To any but native ears the music was perfectly +deafening. + +[Illustration: Alvez advanced and presented the king with some fresh +tobacco.] + +Several flags and banners were carried in the procession, and amongst +these was mixed up a number of long pikes, upon which were stuck the +skulls of the various chiefs that Moené Loonga had conquered in battle. + +As the king as helped out of his palanquin, the acclamations rose +higher and higher from every quarter of the market place The soldiers +attached to the caravans fired off their old guns, though the reports +were almost too feeble to be heard above the noisy vociferations of the +crowd; and the havildars rubbed their black noses with cinnabar powder, +which they carried in bags, and prostrated themselves. Alvez advanced +and presented the king with some fresh tobacco, "the appeasing herb," +as it is called in the native dialect; and certainly Moené Loonga +seemed to require some appeasing, as, for some unknown reason, he was +in a thoroughly bad temper. + +Coïmbra, Ibn Hamish and the dealers all came forward to pay their court +to the monarch, the Arabs greeting him with the cry of _marhaba_, or +welcome; others clapped their hands and bowed to the very ground; while +some even smeared themselves with mud, in token of their most servile +subjection. + +But Moené Loonga scarcely took notice of any of them; he went +staggering along, rolling like a ship upon a stormy sea, and made his +way past the crowds of slaves, each of whom, no less than their +masters, trembled lest he should think fit to claim them for his own. + +Negoro, who kept close at Alvez' side, did not fail to render his +homage along with the rest. Alvez and the king were carrying on a +conversation in the native language, if that could be called a +conversation in which Moené Loonga merely jerked out a few +monosyllables from his inflamed and swollen lips. He was asking Alvez +to replenish his stock of brandy. + +"We are proud to welcome your majesty at the market of Kazonndé," Alvez +was saying. + +"Get me brandy," was all the drunken king's reply. + +"Will it please your majesty to take part in the business of the +_lakoni_?" Alvez tried to ask. + +"Drink!" blurted out the king impatiently. + +Alvez continued,-- + +"My friend Negoro here is anxious to greet your majesty after his long +absence." + +"Drink!" roared the monarch again. + +"Will the king take pombé or mead?" asked Alvez, at last obliged to +take notice of the demand. + +"Brandy! give me fire-water!" yelled the king, in a fury. "For every +drop you shall have ..." + +"A drop of a white man's blood!" suggested Negoro, glancing at Alvez. + +"Yes, yes; kill a white man," assented Moené Loonga, his ferocious +instincts all aroused by the proposition. + +"There is a white man here," said Alvez, "who has killed my agent. He +must be punished for his act." + +"Send him to King Masongo!" cried the king; "Masongo and the Assuas +will cut him up and eat him alive." + +Only too true it is that cannibalism is still openly practised in +certain provinces of Central Africa. Livingstone records that the +Manyuemas not only eat men killed in war, but even buy slaves for that +purpose; it is said to be the avowal of these Manyuemas that "human +flesh is slightly salt, and requires no seasoning." Cameron relates how +in the dominions of Moené Booga dead bodies were soaked for a few days +in running water as a preparation for their being devoured; and Stanley +found traces of a widely-spread cannibalism amongst the inhabitants of +Ukusu. + +But however horrible might be the manner of death proposed by Moené +Loonga, it did not at all suit Negoro's purpose to let Dick Sands out +of his clutches. + +"The white man is here," he said to the king; "it is here he has +committed his offence, and here he should be punished." + +"If you will," replied Moené Loonga; "only I must have fire-water; a +drop of fire-water for every drop of the white man's blood." + +"Yes, you shall have the fire-water," assented Alvez, "and what is +more, you shall have it all alight. We will give your majesty a bowl of +blazing punch." + +The thought had struck Alvez, and he was himself delighted with the +idea, that he would set the spirit in flames. Moené Loonga had +complained that the "fire-water" did not justify its name as it ought, +and Alvez hoped that perhaps, administered in this new form, it might +revivify the deadened membranes of the palate of the king. + +Moené Loonga did not conceal his satisfaction. Wives and courtiers +alike were full of anticipation. They had all drunk brandy, but they +had not drunk brandy alight. And not only was their thirst for alcohol +to be satisfied; their thirst for blood was likewise to be indulged; +and when it is remembered how, even amongst the civilized, drunkenness +reduces a man below the level of a brute, it may be imagined to what +barbarous cruelties Dick Sands was likely to be exposed. The idea of +torturing a white man was not altogether repugnant to the coloured +blood of either Alvez or Coïmbra, while with Negoro the spirit of +vengeance had completely overpowered all feeling of compunction. + +Night, without any intervening twilight, was soon drawing on, and the +contemplated display could hardly fail to be effective. The programme +for the evening consisted of two parts; first, the blazing punch-bowl; +then the torture, culminating in an execution. + +The destined victim was still closely confined in his dark and dreary +dungeon; all the slaves, whether sold or not, had been driven back to +the barracks, and the chitoka was cleared of every one except the +slave-dealers, the havildars, and the soldiers, who hoped, by favour of +the king, to have a share of the flaming punch. + +Alvez did not long delay the proceedings. He ordered a huge caldron, +capable of containing more than twenty gallons, to be placed in the +centre of the market-place. Into this were emptied several casks of +highly-rectified spirit, of a very inferior quality, to which was added +a supply of cinnamon and other spices, no ingredient being omitted +which was likely to give a pungency to suit the savage palate. + +The whole royal retinue formed a circle round the king. Fascinated by +the sight of the spirit, Moené Loonga came reeling up to the edge of +the punch-bowl, and seemed ready to plunge himself head foremost into +it. Alvez held him back, at the same time placing a lucifer in his hand. + +"Set it alight!" cried the slave-dealer, grinning slily as he spoke. + +The king applied the match to the surface of the spirit. The effect was +instantaneous. High above the edge of the bowl the blue flame rose and +curled. To give intensity to the process Alvez had added a sprinkling +of salt to the mixture, and this caused the fire to cast upon the faces +of all around that lurid glare which is generally associated with +apparitions of ghosts and phantoms. Half intoxicated already, the +negroes yelled and gesticulated; and joining hands, they performed a +fiendish dance around their monarch. Alvez stood and stirred the spirit +with an enormous metal ladle, attached to a pole, and as the flames +rose yet higher and higher they seemed to throw a more and more +unearthly glamour over the ape-like forms that circled in their wild +career. + +Moené Loonga, in his eagerness, soon seized the ladle from the +slave-dealer's hands, plunged it deep into the bowl, and bringing it up +again full of the blazing punch, raised it to his lips. + +A horrible shriek brought the dancers to a sudden standstill. By a kind +of spontaneous combustion, the king had taken fire internally; though +it was a fire that emitted little heat, it was none the less intense +and consuming. In an instant one of the ministers in attendance ran to +the king's assistance, but he, almost as much alcoholized as his +master, caught fire as well, and soon both monarch and minister lay +writhing on the ground in unutterable agony. Not a soul was able to +lend a helping hand. Alvez and Negoro were at a loss what to do; the +courtiers dared not expose themselves to so terrible a fate; the women +had all fled in alarm, and Coïmbra, awakened to the conviction of the +inflammability of his own condition, had rapidly decamped. + +[Illustration: The king had taken fire internally.] + +To say the truth, it was impossible to do anything; water would have +proved unavailing to quench the pale blue flame that hovered over the +prostrate forms, every tissue of which was so thoroughly impregnated +with spirit, that combustion, though outwardly extinguished, would +continue its work internally. + +In a few minutes life was extinct, but the bodies continued long +afterwards to burn; until, upon the spot where they had fallen, a few +light ashes, some fragments of the spinal column, some fingers and some +toes, covered with a thin layer of stinking soot, were all that +remained of the King of Kazonndé and his ill fated minister. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +ROYAL OBSEQUIES. + + +On the following morning the town of Kazonndé presented an aspect of +unwonted desolation. Awe-struck at the event of the previous evening, +the natives had all shut themselves up in their huts. That a monarch +who was to be assumed as of divine origin should perish with one of his +ministers by so horrible a death was a thing wholly unparalleled in +their experience. Some of the elder part of the community remembered +having taken part in certain cannibal preparations, and were aware that +the cremation of a human body is no easy matter, yet here was a case in +which two men had been all but utterly consumed without any extraneous +application. Here was a mystery that baffled all their comprehension. + +Old Alvez had also retired to the seclusion of his own residence; +having been warned by Negoro that he would probably be held responsible +for the occurrence, he deemed it prudent to keep in retirement. +Meanwhile Negoro industriously circulated the report that the king's +death had been brought about by supernatural means reserved by the +great Manitoo solely for his elect, and that it was sacred fire that +had proceeded from his body. The superstitious natives readily received +this version of the affair, and at once proceeded to honour Moené +Loonga with funeral rites worthy of one thus conspicuously elevated to +the rank of the gods. The ceremony (which entailed an expenditure of +human blood incredible except that it is authenticated by Cameron and +other African travellers) was just the opportunity that Negoro required +for carrying out his designs against Dick, whom he intended to take a +prominent part in it. + +The natural successor to the king was the queen Moena. By inaugurating +the funeral without delay and thus assuming the semblance of authority, +she forestalled the king of Ukusu or any other rival who might venture +to dispute her sovereignty; and moreover, by taking the reins of +government into her hands she avoided the fate reserved for the other +wives who, had they been allowed to live, might prove somewhat +troublesome to the shrew. Accordingly, with the sound of coodoo horns +and marimbas, she caused a proclamation to be made in the various +quarters of the town, that the obsequies of the deceased monarch would +be celebrated on the next evening with all due solemnity. + +The announcement met with no opposition either from the officials about +the court or from the public at large. Alvez and the traders generally +were quite satisfied with Moena's assumption of the supremacy, knowing +that by a few presents and a little flattery they could make her +sufficiently considerate for their own interests. + +Preparations began at once. At the end of the chief thoroughfare flowed +a deep and rapid brook, an affluent of the Coango, in the dry bed of +which the royal grave was to be formed. Natives were immediately set to +work to construct a dam by means of which the water should be diverted, +until the burial was over, into a temporary channel across the plain; +the last act in the ceremonial being to undam the stream and allow it +to resume its proper course. + +Negoro had formed the resolution that Dick Sands should be one of the +victims to be sacrificed upon the king's tomb. Thoroughly aware as he +was that the indignation which had caused the death of Harris extended +in at least an equal degree to himself, the cowardly rascal would not +have ventured to approach Dick under similar circumstances at the risk +of meeting a similar fate; but knowing him to be a prisoner bound hand +and foot, from whom there could be nothing to fear, he resolved to go +to him in his dungeon-* + +Not only did he delight in torturing his victims, but he derived an +especial gratification from witnessing the torture. + +About the middle of the day, accordingly, he made his way to the cell +where Dick was detained under the strict watch of a havildar. There, +bound with fetters that penetrated his very flesh, lay the poor boy; +for the last four and twenty hours he had not been allowed a morsel of +food, and would gladly have faced the most painful death as a welcome +relief to his miseries. + +But at the sight of Negoro all his energy revived; instinctively he +made an effort to burst his bonds, and to get a hold upon his +persecutor; but the strength of a giant would have been utterly +unavailing for such a design. Dick felt that the struggle he had to +make was of another kind, and forcing himself to an apparent composure, +he determined to look Negoro straight in the face, but to vouchsafe no +reply to anything he might say. + +"I felt bound," Negoro began, "to come and pay my respects to my young +captain, and to tell him how sorry I am that he has not the same +authority here that he had on board the 'Pilgrim.'" + +Finding that Dick returned no answer, he continued,-- + +"You remember your old cook, captain: I have come to know what you +would like to order for your breakfast." + +Here he paused to give a brutal kick at Dick's foot, and went on,-- + +"I have also another question to ask you, captain; can you tell me how +it was that you landed here in Angola instead of upon the coast of +America?" + +The way in which the question was put more than ever confirmed Dick's +impression that the "Pilgrim's" course had been altered by Negoro, but +he persevered in maintaining a contemptuous silence. + +"It was a lucky thing for you, captain," resumed the vindictive +Portuguese, "that you had a good seaman on board, otherwise the ship +would have run aground on some reef in the tempest, instead of coming +ashore here in a friendly port." + +[Illustration: "Your life is in my hands!"] + +Whilst he was speaking, Negoro had gradually drawn nearer to the +prisoner, until their faces were almost in contact. Exasperated by +Dick's calmness, his countenance assumed an expression of the utmost +ferocity, and at last he burst forth in a paroxysm of rage. + +"It is my turn now! I am master now! I am captain here! You are in my +power now! Your life is in my hands!" + +"Take it, then," said Dick quietly; "death has no terrors for me, and +your wickedness will soon be avenged." + +"Avenged!" roared Negoro; "do you suppose there is a single soul to +care about you? Avenged! who will concern himself with what befalls +you? except Alvez and me, there is no one with a shadow of authority +here; if you think you are going to get any help from old Tom or any of +those niggers, let me tell you that they are every one of them sold and +have been sent off to Zanzibar." + +"Hercules is free," said Dick. + +"Hercules!" sneered Negoro; "he has been food for lions and panthers +long ago, I am only sorry that I did not get the chance of disposing of +him myself." + +"And there is Dingo," calmly persisted Dick; "sure as fate, he will +find you out some day." + +"Dingo is dead!" retorted Negoro with malicious glee: "I shot the brute +myself, and I should be glad if every survivor of the 'Pilgrim' had +shared his fate." + +"But remember," said Dick, "you have to follow them all yourself;" and +he fixed a sharp gaze upon his persecutor's eye. + +The Portuguese villain was stung to the quick; he made a dash towards +the youth, and would have strangled him upon the spot, but remembering +that any such sudden action would be to liberate him from the torture +he was determined he should undergo, he controlled his rage, and after +giving strict orders to the havildar, who had been a passive spectator +of the scene, to keep a careful watch upon his charge, he left the +dungeon. + +So far from depressing Dick's spirits, the interview had altogether a +contrary effect; his feelings had undergone a reaction, so that all his +energies were restored. Possibly Negoro in his sudden assault had +unintentionally loosened his fetters, for he certainly seemed to have +greater play for his limbs, and fancied that by a slight effort he +might succeed in disengaging his arms. Even that amount of freedom, +however, he knew could be of no real avail to him; he was a +closely-guarded prisoner, without hope of succour from without; and now +he had no other wish than cheerfully to meet the death that should +unite him to the friends who had gone before. + +The hours passed on. The gleams of daylight that penetrated the +thatched roof of the prison gradually faded into darkness; the few +sounds on the chitoka, a great contrast to the hubbub of the day, +became hushed into silence, and night fell upon the town of Kazonndé. + +Dick Sands slept soundly for about a couple of hours, and woke up +considerably refreshed. One of his arms, which was somewhat less +swollen than the other, he was able to withdraw from its bonds; it was +at any rate a relief to stretch it at his pleasure. + +The havildar, grasping the neck of a brandy-bottle which he had just +drained, had sunk into a heavy slumber, and Dick Sands was +contemplating the possibility of getting posssession of his gaoler's +weapons when his attention was arrested by a scratching at the bottom +of the door. By the help of his liberated arm he contrived to crawl +noiselessly to the threshold, where the scratching increased in +violence. For a moment he was in doubt whether the noise proceeded from +the movements of a man or an animal. He gave a glance at the havildar, +who was sound asleep, and placing his lips against the door murmured +"Hercules!" + +A low whining was the sole reply. + +"It must be Dingo," muttered Dick to himself; "Negoro may have told me +a lie; perhaps, after all, the dog is not dead." + +As though in answer to his thoughts, a dog's paw was pushed below the +door. Dick seized it eagerly; he had no doubt it was Dingo's; but if +the dog brought a message, it was sure to be tied to his neck, and +there seemed to be no means of getting at it, except the hole +underneath could be made large enough to admit the animal's head. Dick +determined to try and scrape away the soil at the threshold, and +commenced digging with his nails. But he had scarcely set himself to +his task when loud barkings, other than Dingo's, were heard in the +distance. The faithful creature had been scented out by the native +dogs, and instinct dictated an immediate flight. Alarm had evidently +been taken, as several gun-shots were fired; the havildar half roused +himself from his slumber, and Dick was fain to roll himself once more +into his corner, there to await the dawn of the day which was intended +to be his last. + +[Illustration: All his energies were restored.] + +Throughout that day, the grave-digging was carried on with unremitted +activity. A large number of the natives, under the superintendence of +the queen's prime minister, were set to work, and according to the +decree of Moena, who seemed resolved to continue the rigorous sway of +her departed husband, were bound, under penalty of mutilation, to +accomplish their task within the proscribed time. + +As soon as the stream had been diverted into its temporary channel, +there was hollowed out in the dry river bed a pit, fifty feet long, ten +feet wide, and ten feet deep. This, towards the close of the day, was +lined throughout with living women, selected from Moené Loonga's +slaves; in ordinary cases it would have been their fate to be buried +alive beside their master; but in recognition of his miraculous death +it was ordained that they should be drowned beside his remains.[1] + + +[Footnote 1: The horrible hecatombs that commemorate the death of any +powerful chief in Central Africa defy all description. Cameron relates +that more than a hundred victims were sacrificed at the obsequies of +the father of the King of Kassongo.] + + +Generally, the royal corpse is arrayed in its richest vestments before +being consigned to the tomb, but in this case, when the remains +consisted only of a few charred bones, another plan was adopted. An +image of the king, perhaps rather flattering to the original, was made +of wicker-work; inside this were placed the fragments of bones and +skin, and the effigy itself was then arrayed in the robes of state, +which, as already mentioned, were not of a very costly description. + +Cousin Benedict's spectacles were not forgotten, but were firmly +affixed to the countenance of the image. The masquerade had its +ludicrous as well as its terrible side. + +When the evening arrived, a long procession was seen wending its way to +the place of interment; the uproar was perfectly deafening; shouts, +yells, the boisterous incantations of the musicians, the clang of +musical instruments, and the reports of many old muskets, mingled in +wild confusion. + +The ceremony was to take place by torch-light, and the whole population +of Kazonndé, native and otherwise, was bound to be present. Alvez, +Coïmbra, Negoro, the Arab dealers and their havildars all helped to +swell the numbers, the queen having given express orders that no one +who had been at the lakoni should leave the town, and it was not deemed +prudent to disobey her commands. + +The remains of the king were carried in a palanquin in the rear of the +cortége, surrounded by the wives of the second class, some of whom were +doomed to follow their master beyond the tomb. Queen Moena, in state +array, marched behind the catafalque. + +Night was well advanced when the entire procession reached the banks of +the brook, but the resin-torches, waved on high by their bearers, shed +a ruddy glare upon the teeming crowd. The grave, with its lining of +living women, bound to its side by chains, was plainly visible; fifty +slaves, some resigned and mute, others uttering loud and piteous cries, +were there awaiting the moment when the rushing torrent should be +opened upon them. + +The wives who were destined to perish had been selected by the queen +herself and were all in holiday-attire. One of the victims, who bore +the title of second wife, was forced down upon her hands and knees in +the grave, in order to form a resting-place for the effigy, as she had +been accustomed to do for the living sovereign; the third wife had to +sustain the image in an upright position, and the fourth lay down at +its feet to make a footstool. + +In front of the effigy, at the end of the grave, a huge stake, painted +red, was planted firmly in the earth. Bound to this stake, his body +half naked, exhibiting marks of the tortures which by Negoro's orders +he had already undergone, friendless and hopeless, was Dick Sands! + +[Illustration: Friendless and hopeless.] + +The time, however, for opening the flood-gate had not yet arrived. +First of all, at a sign from the queen, the fourth wife, forming the +royal footstool had her throat cut by an executioner, her blood +streaming into the grave. This barbarous deed was the commencement of a +most frightful butchery. One after another, fifty slaves fell beneath +the slaughterous knife, until the river-bed was a very cataract of +blood. For half an hour the shrieks of the victims mingled with the +imprecations of their murderers, without evoking one single expression +of horror or sympathy from the gazing crowd around. + +At a second signal from the queen, the barrier, which retained the +water above, was opened. By a refinement of cruelty the torrent was not +admitted suddenly to the grave, but allowed to trickle gradually in. + +The first to be drowned were the slaves that carpeted the bottom of the +trench, their frightful struggles bearing witness to the slow death +that was overpowering them. Dick was immersed to his knees, but he +could be seen making what might seem one last frantic effort to burst +his bonds. + +Steadily rose the water; the stream resumed its proper course; the last +head disappeared beneath its surface, and soon there remained nothing +to indicate that in the depth below there was a tomb where a hundred +victims had been sacrificed to the memory of the King of Kazonndé. + +Painful as they are to describe, it is impossible to ignore the reality +of such scenes. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +IN CAPTIVITY. + + +So far from Mrs. Weldon and Jack having succumbed to the hardships to +which they had been exposed, they were both alive, and together with +Cousin Benedict were now in Kazonndé. After the assault upon the +ant-hill they had all three been conveyed beyond the encampment to a +spot where a rude palanquin was in readiness for Mrs. Weldon and her +son. The journey hence to Kazonndé was consequently accomplished +without much difficulty; Cousin Benedict, who performed it on foot, was +allowed to entomologize as much as he pleased upon the road, so that to +him the distance was a matter of no concern. The party reached their +destination a week sooner than Ibn Hamish's caravan, and the prisoners +were lodged in Alvez' quarters. + +Jack was much better. After leaving the marshy districts he had no +return of fever, and as a certain amount of indulgence had been allowed +them on their journey, both he and his mother, as far as their health +was concerned, might be said to be in a satisfactory condition. + +Of the rest of her former companions Mrs. Weldon could hear nothing. +She had herself been a witness of the escape of Hercules, but of course +knew nothing further of his fate; as for Dick Sands, she entertained a +sanguine hope that his white skin would protect him from any severe +treatment; but for Nan and the other poor negroes, here upon African +soil, she feared the very worst. + +Being entirely shut off from communication with the outer world, she +was quite unaware of the arrival of the caravan; even if she had heard +the noisy commotion of the market she would not have known what it +meant, and she was in ignorance alike of the death of Harris, of the +sale of Tom and his companions, of the dreadful end of the king, and of +the royal obsequies in which poor Dick had been assigned so melancholy +a share. During the journey from the Coanza to Kazonndé, Harris and +Negoro had held no conversation with her, and since her arrival she had +not been allowed to pass the inclosure of the establishment, so that, +as far as she knew, she was quite alone, and being in Negoro's power, +was in a position from which it seemed only too likely nothing but +death could release her. + +From Cousin Benedict, it is needless to repeat, she could expect no +assistance; his own personal pursuits engrossed him, and he had no care +nor leisure to bestow upon external circumstances. His first feeling, +on being made to understand that he was not in America, was one of deep +disappointment that the wonderful things he had seen were no +discoveries at all; they were simply African insects common on African +soil. This vexation, however, soon passed away, and he began to believe +that "the land of the Pharaohs" might possess as much entomological +wealth as "the land of the Incas." + +"Ah," he would exclaim to Mrs. Weldon, heedless that she gave him +little or no attention, "this is the country of the manticoræ, and +wonderful coleoptera they are, with their long hairy legs, their sharp +elytra and their big mandibles; the most remarkable of them all is the +tuberous manticora. And isn't this, too, the land of the golden-tipped +calosomi? and of the prickly-legged goliaths of Guinea and Gabon? Here, +too, we ought to find the spotted anthidia, which lay their eggs in +empty snail-shells; and the sacred atenchus, which the old Egyptians +used to venerate as divine." + +"Yes, yes;" he would say at another time, "this is the proper habitat +of those death's-head sphinxes which are now so common everywhere; and +this is the place for those 'Idias Bigoti,' so formidable to the +natives of Senegal. There must be wonderful discoveries to be made here +if only those good people will let me." + +The "good people" referred to were Negoro and Harris, who had restored +him much of the liberty of which Dick Sands had found it necessary to +deprive him. With freedom to roam and in possession of his tin box, +Benedict would have been amongst the most contented of men, had it not +been for the loss of his spectacles and magnifying-glass, now buried +with the King of Kazonndé. Reduced to the necessity of poking every +insect almost into his eyes before he could discover its +characteristics, he would have sacrificed much to recover or replace +his glasses, but as such articles were not to be procured at any price, +he contented himself with the permission to go where he pleased within +the limits of the palisade. His keepers knew him well enough to be +satisfied that he would make no attempt to escape, and as the enclosure +was nearly a mile in circumference, containing many shrubs and trees +and huts with thatched roofs, besides being intersected by a running +stream, it afforded him a very fair scope for his researches, and who +should say that he would not discover some novel specimen to which, in +the records of entomological science, his own name might be assigned? + +If thus the domain of Antonio Alvez was sufficient to satisfy Benedict, +to little Jack it might well seem immense. But though allowed to ramble +over the whole place as he liked, the child rarely cared to leave his +mother; he would be continually inquiring about his father, whom he had +now so long been expecting to see: he would ask why Nan and Hercules +and Dingo had gone away and left him; and perpetually he would be +expressing his wonder where Dick could be, and wishing he would come +back again. Mrs. Weldon could only hide her tears and answer him by +caresses. + +Nothing, however, transpired to give the least intimation that any of +the prisoners were to be treated otherwise than they had been upon the +journey from the Coanza. Excepting such as were retained for old Alvez' +personal service, all the slaves had been sold, and the storehouses +were now full of stuffs and ivory, the stuffs destined to be sent into +the central provinces and the ivory to be exported. The establishment +was thus no longer crowded as it had been, and Mrs. Weldon and Jack +were lodged in a different hut to Cousin Benedict. All three, however, +took their meals together and were allowed a sufficient diet of mutton +or goats'-flesh, vegetables, manioc, sorghum and native fruits. With +the traders' servants they held no communication, but Halima, a young +slave who had been told off to attend to Mrs. Weldon, evinced for her +new mistress an attachment which, though rough, was evidently sincere. + +[Illustration: He contented himself with the permission to go where he +pleased within the limits of the palisade.] + +Old Alvez, who occupied the principal house in thedépôt, was rarely +seen; whilst the non-appearance of either Harris or Negoro caused Mrs. +Weldon much surprise and perplexity. In the midst of all her troubles, +too, she was haunted by the thought of the anxiety her husband must be +suffering on her account. Unaware of her having embarked on board the +"Pilgrim," at first he would have wondered at steamer after steamer +arriving at San Francisco without her. After a while the "Pilgrim" +would have been registered amongst the number of missing ships; and it +was certain the intelligence would be forwarded to him by his +correspondents, that the vessel had sailed from Auckland with his wife +and child on board. What was he to imagine? he might refuse to believe +that they had perished at sea, but he would never dream of their having +been carried to Africa, and would certainly institute a search in no +other direction than on the coast of America, or amongst the isles of +the Pacific. She had not the faintest hope of her whereabouts being +discovered, and involuntarily her thoughts turned to the possibility of +making an escape. She might well feel her heart sink within her at the +bare idea; even if she should succeed in eluding the vigilance of the +watch, there were two hundred miles of dense forest to be traversed +before the coast could be reached; nevertheless, it revealed itself to +her as her last chance, and failing all else, she resolved to hazard it. + +But, first of all, she determined, if it were possible, to discover the +ultimate design of Negoro. She was not kept long in suspense. On the +6th of June, just a week after the royal funeral, the Portuguese +entered the depót, in which he had not set foot since his return, and +made his way straight to the hut in which he knew he should find the +prisoner. Benedict was out insect-hunting; Jack, under Halima's charge, +was being taken for a walk. Mrs. Weldon was alone. + +Negoro pushed open the door, and said abruptly,-- + +"Mrs. Weldon, I have come to tell you, that Tom and his lot have been +sold for the Ujiji market; Nan died on her way here; and Dick Sands is +dead too." + +Mrs. Weldon uttered a cry of horror. + +"Yes, Mrs. Weldon," he continued; "he has got what he deserved; he shot +Harris, and has been executed for the murder. And here you are alone! +mark this! alone and in my power!" + +What Negoro said was true; Tom, Bat, Actæon, and Austin had all been +sent off that morning on their way to Ujiji. + +Mrs. Weldon groaned bitterly. + +Negoro went on. + +"If I chose, I could still further avenge upon you the ill-treatment I +got on board that ship; but it does not suit my purpose to kill you. +You and that boy of yours, and that idiot of a fly-catcher, all have a +certain value in the market. I mean to sell you." + +"You dare not!" said Mrs. Weldon firmly; "you know you are making an +idle threat; who do you suppose would purchase people of white blood?" + +"I know a customer who will give me the price I mean to ask," replied +Negoro with a brutal grin. + +She bent down her head; only too well she knew that such things were +possible in this horrid land. + +"Tell me who he is!" she said; "tell the name of the man who ..." + +"James Weldon," he answered slowly. + +"My husband!" she cried; "what do you mean?" + +"I mean what I say. I mean to make your husband buy you back at my +price; and if he likes to pay for them, he shall have his son and his +cousin too." + +[Illustration: "I suppose Weldon will not mind coming to fetch you?"] + +"And when, and how, may I ask, do you propose to manage this?" replied +Mrs. Weldon, forcing herself to be calm. + +"Here, and soon too. I suppose Weldon will not mind coming to fetch +you." + +"He would not hesitate to come; but how could he know we are here?" + +"I will go to him. I have money that will take me to San Francisco." + +"What you stole from the 'Pilgrim'?" said Mrs. Weldon. + +"Just so," replied Negoro; "and I have plenty more I suppose when +Weldon hears that you are a prisoner in Central Africa, he will not +think much of a hundred thousand dollars." + +"But how is he to know the truth of your statement?" + +"I shall take him a letter from you. You shall represent me as your +faithful servant, just escaped from the hands of savages." + +"A letter such as that I will never write; never," said Mrs. Weldon +decisively. + +"What? what? you refuse?" + +"I refuse." + +She had all the natural cravings of a woman and a wife, but so +thoroughly was she aware of the treachery of the man she had to deal +with, that she dreaded lest, as soon as he had touched the ransom, he +would dispose of her husband altogether. + +There was a short silence. + +"You will write that letter," said Negoro. + +"Never!" repeated Mrs. Weldon. + +"Remember your child!" + +Mrs. Weldon's heart beat violently, but she did not answer a word. + +"I will give you a week to think over this," hissed out Negoro. + +Mrs. Weldon was still silent. + +"A week! I will come again in a week; you will do as I wish, or it will +be the worse for you." + +He gnashed his teeth, turned on his heel, and left the hut. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +A RAY OF HOPE. + + +Mrs. Weldon's first feeling on being left alone was a sense of relief +at having a week's respite. She had no trust in Negoro's honesty, but +she knew well enough that their "marketable value" would secure them +from any personal danger, and she had time to consider whether some +compromise might be effected by which her husband might be spared the +necessity of coming to Kazonndé. Upon the receipt of a letter from +herself, he would not hesitate for a moment in undertaking the journey, +but she entertained no little fear that after all perhaps her own +departure might not be permitted; the slightest caprice on the part of +Queen Moena would detain her as a captive, whilst as to Negoro, if once +he should get the ransom he wanted, he would take no further pains in +the matter. + +Accordingly, she resolved to make the proposition that she should be +conveyed to some point upon the coast, where the bargain could be +concluded without Mr. Weldon's coming up the country. + +She had to weigh all the consequences that would follow any refusal on +her part to fall in with Negoro's demands. Of course, he would spend +the interval in preparing for his start to America, and when he should +come back and find her still hesitating, was it not likely that he +would find scope for his revenge in suggesting that she must be +separated from her child. + +The very thought sent a pang through her heart, and she clasped her +little boy tenderly to her side. + +"What makes you so sad, mamma?" asked Jack. + +"I was thinking of your father, my child," she answered; "would you not +like to see him?" + +"Yes, yes; is he coming here?" + +"No, my boy, he must not come here." + +"Then let us take Dick, and Tom, and Hercules, and go to him." + +Mrs. Weldon tried to conceal her tears. + +"Have you heard from papa?" + +"No." + +"Then why do you not write to him?" + +"Write to him?" repeated his mother, "that is the very thing I was +thinking about." + +The child little knew the agitation that was troubling her mind. + +Meanwhile Mrs. Weldon had another inducement which she hardly ventured +to own to herself for postponing her final decision. Was it absolutely +impossible that her liberation should be effected by some different +means altogether? + +A few days previously she had overheard a conversation outside her hut, +and over this she had found herself continually pondering. + +Alvez and one of the Ujiji dealers, discussing the future prospects of +their business, mutually agreed in denouncing the efforts that were +being made for the suppression of the slave-traffic, not only by the +cruisers on the coast, but by the intrusion of travellers and +missionaries into the interior. + +Alvez averred that all these troublesome visitors ought to be +exterminated forthwith. + +"But kill one, and another crops up," replied the dealer. + +"Yes, their exaggerated reports bring up a swarm of them," said Alvez. + +It seemed a subject of bitter complaint that the markets of Nyangwé, +Zanzibar, and the lake-district had been invaded by Speke and Grant and +others, and although they congratulated each other that the western +provinces had not yet been much persecuted, they confessed that now +that the travelling epidemic had begun to rage, there was no telling +how soon a lot of European and American busy-bodies might be among +them. Thedépôts at Cassange and Bihe had both been visited, and +although Kazonndé had hitherto been left quiet, there were rumours +enough that the continent was to be tramped over from east to west.[1] + + +[Footnote: This extraordinary feat was, it is universally known, +subsequently accomplished by Cameron.] + + +"And it may be," continued Alvez, "that that missionary fellow, +Livingstone, is already on his way to us; if he comes there can be but +one result; there must be freedom for all the slaves in Kazonndé." + +"Freedom for the slaves in Kazonndé!" These were the words which in +connexion with Dr. Livingstone's name had arrested Mrs. Weldon's +attention, and who can wonder that she pondered them over and over +again, and ventured to associate them with her own prospects? + +Here was a ray of hope! + +The mere mention of Livingstone's name in association with this story +seems to demand a brief survey of his career. + +Born on the 19th of March, 1813, David Livingstone was the second of +six children of a tradesman in the village of Blantyre, in Lanarkshire. +After two years' training in medicine and theology, he was sent out by +the London Missionary Society, and landed at the Cape of Good Hope in +1840, with the intention of joining Moffat in South Africa. After +exploring the country of the Bechuanas, he returned to Kuruman, and, +having married Moffat's daughter, proceeded in 1843 to found a mission +in the Mabotsa valley. + +After four years he removed to Kolobeng in the Bechuana district, 225 +miles north of Kuruman, whence, in 1849, starting off with his wife, +three children, and two friends, Mr. Oswell and Mr. Murray, he +discovered Lake Ngami, and returned by descending the course of the +Zouga. + +The opposition of the natives had prevented his proceeding beyond Lake +Ngami at his first visit, and he made a second with no better success. +In a third attempt, however, he wended his way northwards with his +family and Mr. Oswell along the Chobé, an affluent of the Zambesi, and +after a difficult journey at length reached the district of the +Makalolos, of whom the chief, named Sebituané, joined him at Linyanté. +The Zambesi itself was discovered at the end of June, 1851, and the +doctor returned to the Cape for the purpose of sending his family to +England. + +[Illustration: Dr. Livingstone. _Page_ 408.] + +His next project was to cross the continent obliquely from south to +west, but in this expedition he had resolved that he would risk no life +but his own. Accompanied, therefore, by only a few natives, he started +in the following June, and skirting the Kalahari desert entered +Litoubarouba on the last day of the year; here he found the Bechuana +district much ravaged by the Boers, the original Dutch colonists, who +had formed the population of the Cape before it came into the +possession of the English. After a fortnight's stay, he proceeded into +the heart of the district of the Bamangonatos, and travelled +continuously until the 23rd of May, when he arrived at Linyanté, and +was received with much honour by Sekeletoo, who had recently become +sovereign of the Makalolos. A severe attack of fever detained the +traveller here for a period, but he made good use of the enforced rest +by studying the manners of the country, and became for the first time +sensible of its terrible sufferings in consequence of the slave-trade. + +Descending the course of the Chobé to the Zambesi, he next entered +Naniele, and after visiting Katonga and Libonta, advanced to the point +of confluence of the Leeba with the Zambesi, where he determined upon +ascending the former as far as the Portuguese possessions in the west; +it was an undertaking, however, that required considerable preparation, +so that it was necessary for him to return to Linyanté. + +On the 11th of November he again started. He was accompanied by +twenty-seven Makalolos, and ascended the Leeba till, in the territory +of the Balonda, he reached a spot where it received the waters of its +tributary the Makondo. + +It was the first time a white man had ever penetrated so far. + +Proceeding on their way, they arrived at the residence of Shinté, the +most powerful of the chieftains of the Balonda, by whom they were well +received, and having met with equal kindness from Kateema, a ruler on +the other side of the Leeba, they encamped, on the 20th of February, +1853, on the banks of Lake Dilolo. + +Here it was that the real difficulty commenced; the arduous travelling, +the attacks of the natives, and their exorbitant demands, the +conspiracies of his own attendants and their desertions, would soon +have caused any one of less energy to abandon his enterprise; but David +Livingstone was not a man to be daunted; resolutely he persevered, and +on the 4th of April reached the banks of the Coango, the stream that +forms the frontier of the Portuguese possessions, and joins the Zaire +on the north. + +Six days later he passed through Cassangé. Here it was that Alvez had +seen him. On the 31st of May he arrived at St. Paul de Loanda, having +traversed the continent in about two years. + +It was not long, however, before he was off again. Following the banks +of the Coanza, the river which was to bring such trying experiences to +Dick Sands and his party, he reached the Lombé, and having met numbers +of slave-caravans on his way, again passed through Cassange, crossed +the Coango, and reached the Zambesi at Kewawa. By the 8th of the +following June he was again at Lake Dilolo, and descending the river, +he re-entered Linyanté. Here he stayed till the 3rd of November, when +he commenced his second great journey, which was to carry him +completely across Africa from west to east. + +After visiting the famed Victoria Falls, the intrepid explorer quitted +the Zambesi, and took a north-easterly route. The transit of the +territory of the Batokas, a people brutalized by the inhalation of +hemp; a visit to Semalemboni the powerful chief of the district; the +passage of the Kafoni; a visit to king Mbourouma; an inspection of the +ruins of Zumbo, an old Portuguese town; a meeting with the chief +Mpendé, at that time at war with the Portuguese, these were the +principal events of this journey, and on the 22nd of April, Livingstone +left Teté, and having descended the river as far as its delta, reached +Quilimané, just four years after his last departure from the Cape. On +the 12th of July he embarked for the Mauritius, and on the 22nd of +December, 1856, he landed in England after an absence of sixteen years. + +[Illustration: With none to guide him except a few natives.] + +Loaded with honours by the Geographical Societies of London and Paris, +brilliantly entertained by all ranks, it would have been no matter of +surprise if he had surrendered himself to a well-earned repose; but no +thought of permanent rest occurred to him, and on the 1st of March, +1858, accompanied by his brother Charles, Captain Bedingfield, Dr. +Kirk, Dr. Miller, Mr. Thornton, and Mr. Baines, he started again, with +the intention of exploring the basin of the Zambesi, and arrived in due +time at the coast of Mozambique. + +The party ascended the great river by the Kongone mouth; they were on +board a small steamer named the "Ma-Robert," and reached Teté on the +8th of September. + +During the following year they investigated the lower course of the +Zambesi, and its left affluent the Shiré, and having visited Lake +Shirwa, they explored the territory of the Manganjas, and discovered +Lake Nyassa. In August, 1860, they returned to the Victoria Falls. + +Early in the following year, Bishop Mackenzie and his missionary staff +arrived at the mouth of the Zambesi. + +In March an exploration of the Rovouma was made on board the "Pioneer," +the exploring party returning afterwards to Lake Nyassa, where they +remained a considerable time. The 30th of January, 1862, was signalized +by the arrival of Mrs. Livingstone, and by the addition of another +steamer, the "Lady Nyassa;" but the happiness of reunion was very +transient; it was but a short time before the enthusiastic Bishop +Mackenzie succumbed to the unhealthiness of the climate, and on the +27th of April Mrs. Livingstone expired in her husband's arms. + +A second investigation of the Rovouma soon followed and at the end of +November the doctor returned to the Zambesi, and reascended the Shire. +In the spring of 1803 he lost his companion Mr. Thornton, and as his +brother and Dr. Kirk were both much debilitated, he insisted upon their +return to Europe, while he himself returned for the third time to Lake +Nyassa, and completed the hydrographical survey which already he had +begun. + +A few months later found him once more at the mouth of the Zambesi; +thence he crossed over to Zanzibar, and after five years' absence +arrived in London, where he published his work, "The exploration of the +Zambesi and its affluents." + +Still unwearied and insatiable in his longings, he was back again in +Zanzibar at the commencement of 1866, ready to begin his fourth +journey, this time attended only by a few sepoys and negroes. +Witnessing on his way some horrible scenes which were perpetrated as +the result of the prosecution of the slave-trade, he proceeded to +Mokalaosé on the shores of Lake Nyassa, where nearly all his attendants +deserted him, and returned to Zanzibar with the report that he was dead. + +Dr. Livingstone meanwhile was not only alive, but undaunted in his +determination to visit the country between the two lakes Nyassa and +Tanganyika. With none to guide him except a few natives, he crossed the +Loangona, and in the following April discovered Lake Liemmba. Here he +lay for a whole month hovering between life and death, but rallying a +little he pushed on to the north shore of Lake Moero. Taking up his +quarters at Cazembé for six weeks, he made two separate explorations of +the lake, and then started farther northwards, intending to reach +Ujiji, an important town upon Lake Tanganyika; overtaken, however, by +floods, and again abandoned by his servants, he was obliged to retrace +his steps. Six weeks afterwards he had made his way southwards to the +great lake Bangweolo, whence once more he started towards Tanganyika. + +This last effort was most trying, and the doctor had grown so weak that +he was obliged to be carried, but he reached Ujiji, where he was +gratified by finding some supplies that had been thoughtfully forwarded +to him by the Oriental Society at Calcutta. + +[Illustration: "You are Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"] + +His great aim now was to ascend the lake, and reach the sources of the +Nile. On the 21st of September he was at Bambarré, in the country of +the cannibal Manyuema, upon the Lualaba, the river afterwards +ascertained by Stanley to be the Upper Zaire or Congo. At Mamobela the +doctor was ill for twenty-four days, tended only by three followers who +continued faithful; but in July he made a vigorous effort, and although +he was reduced to a skeleton, made his way back to Ujiji. + +During this long time no tidings of Livingstone reached Europe, and +many were the misgivings lest the rumours of his death were only too +true. He was himself, too, almost despairing as to receiving any help. +But help was closer at hand than he thought. On the 3rd of November, +only eleven days after his return to Ujiji, some gun shots were heard +within half a mile of the lake. The doctor went out to ascertain whence +they proceeded, and had not gone far before a white man stood before +him. + +"You are Dr. Livingstone, I presume," said the stranger, raising his +cap. + +"Yes, sir, I am Dr. Livingstone, and am happy to see you," answered the +doctor, smiling kindly. + +The two shook each other warmly by the hand. + +The new arrival was Henry Stanley, the correspondent of the _New York +Herald_, who had been sent out by Mr. Bennett, the editor, in search of +the great African explorer. On receiving his orders in October, 1870, +without a day's unnecessary delay he had embarked at Bombay for +Zanzibar, and, after a journey involving considerable peril, had +arrived safely at Ujiji. + +Very soon the two travellers found themselves on the best of terms, and +set out together on an excursion to the north of Tanganyika. They +proceeded as far as Cape Magala, and decided that the chief outlet of +the lake must be an affluent of the Lualaba, a conclusion that was +subsequently confirmed by Cameron. + +Towards the end of the year Stanley began to prepare to return. +Livingstone accompanied him as far as Kwihara, and on the 3rd of the +following March they parted. + +"You have done for me what few men would venture to do; I am truly +grateful," said Livingstone. + +Stanley could scarcely repress his tears as he expressed his hope that +the doctor might be spared to return to his friends safe and well. + +"Good-bye!" said Stanley, choked with emotion. + +"Good-bye!" answered the veteran feebly. + +Thus they parted, and in July, 1872, Stanley landed at Marseilles. + +Again David Livingstone resumed his researches in the interior. + +After remaining five months at Kwihara he gathered together a retinue +consisting of his faithful followers Suzi, Chumah, Amoda, and Jacob +Wainwright, and fifty-six men sent to him by Stanley, and lost no time +in proceeding towards the south of Tanganyika. In the course of the +ensuing month the caravan encountered some frightful storms, but +succeeded in reaching Moura. There had previously been an extreme +drought, which was now followed by the rainy season, which entailed the +loss of many of the beasts of burden, in consequence of the bites of +the tzetsy. + +On the 24th of January they were at Chitounkwé, and in April, after +rounding the east of Lake Bangweolo, they made their way towards the +village of Chitambo. At this point it was that Livingstone had parted +company with certain slave-dealers, who had carried the information to +old Alvez that the missionary traveller would very likely proceed by +way of Loanda to Kazonndé. + +But on the 13th of June, the very day before Negoro reckoned on +obtaining from Mrs. Weldon the letter which should be the means of +securing him a hundred thousand dollars, tidings were circulated in the +district that on the 1st of May Dr. Livingstone had breathed his last. + +The report proved perfectly true. On the 29th of April the caravan had +reached the village of Chitambo, the doctor so unwell that he was +carried on a litter. The following night he was in great pain, and +after repeatedly murmuring in a low voice, "Oh dear, oh dear!" he fell +into a kind of stupor. A short time afterwards he called up Suzi, and +having asked for some medicine, told his attendant that he should not +require anything more. + +"You can go now." + +About four o'clock next morning, when an anxious visit was made to his +room, the doctor was found kneeling by the bed-side, his head in his +hands, in the attitude of prayer. Suzi touched him, but his forehead +was icy with the coldness of death. He had died in the night. + +His body was carried by those who loved him, and in spite of many +obstacles was brought to Zanzibar, whence, nine months after his death, +it was conveyed to England. On the 12th of April, 1874, it was interred +in Westminster Abbey, counted worthy to be deposited amongst those whom +the country most delights to honour. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +AN EXCITING CHASE. + + +To say the truth, it was the very vaguest of hopes to which Mrs. Weldon +had been clinging, yet it was not without some thrill of disappointment +that she heard from the lips of old Alvez himself that Dr. Livingstone +had died at a little village on Lake Bangweolo. There had appeared to +be a sort of a link binding her to the civilized world, but it was now +abruptly snapped, and nothing remained for her but to make what terms +she could with the base and heartless Negoro. + +On the 14th, the day appointed for the interview, he made his +appearance at the hut, firmly resolved to make no abatement in the +terms that he had proposed, Mrs. Weldon, on her part, being equally +determined not to yield to the demand. + +"There is only one condition," she avowed, "upon which I will +acquiesce. My husband shall not be required to come up the country +here." + +Negoro hesitated; at length he said that he would agree to her husband +being taken by ship to Mossamedes, a small port in the south of Angola, +much frequented by slavers, whither also, at a date hereafter to be +fixed, Alvez should send herself with Jack and Benedict; the +stipulation was confirmed that the ransom should be 100,000 dollars, +and it was further made part of the contract that Negoro should be +allowed to depart as an honest man. + +Mrs. Weldon felt she had gained an important point in thus sparing her +husband the necessity of a journey to Kazonndé, and had no +apprehensions about herself on her way to Mossamedes, knowing that it +was to the interest of Alvez and Negoro alike to attend carefully to +her wants. + +Upon the terms of the covenant being thus arranged, Mrs. Weldon wrote +such a letter to her husband as she knew would bring him with all speed +to Mossamedes, but she left it entirely to Negoro to represent himself +in whatever light he chose. Once in possession of the document, Negoro +lost no time in starting on his errand. The very next morning, taking +with him about twenty negroes, he set off towards the north, alleging +to Alvez as his motive for taking that direction, that he was not only +going to embark somewhere at the mouth of the Congo, but that he was +anxious to keep as far as possible from the prison-houses of the +Portuguese, with which already he had been involuntarily only too +familiar. + +After his departure, Mrs. Weldon resolved to make the best of her +period of imprisonment, aware that it could hardly be less than four +months before he would return. She had no desire to go beyond the +precincts assigned her, even had the privilege been allowed her; but +warned by Negoro that Hercules was still free, and might at any time +attempt a rescue, Alvez had no thought of permitting her any +unnecessary liberty. Her life therefore soon resumed its previous +monotony. + +The daily routine went on within the enclosure pretty much as in other +parts of the town, the women all being employed in various labours for +the benefit of their husbands and masters. The rice was pounded with +wooden pestles; the maize was peeled and winnowed, previously to +extracting the granulous substance for the drink which they call +_mtyellé_; the sorghum had to be gathered in, the season of its +ripening being marked by festive observances; there was a fragrant oil +to be expressed from a kind of olive named the _mpafoo_; the cotton had +to be spun on spindles, which were hardly less than a foot and a half +in length; there was the bark of trees to be woven into textures for +wearing; the manioc had to be dug up, and the cassava procured from its +roots; and besides all this, there was the preparation of the soil for +its future plantings, the usual productions of the country being the +_moritsané_ beans, growing in pods fifteen inches long upon stems +twenty feet high, the _arachides_, from which they procure a +serviceable oil, the _chilobé_ pea, the blossoms of which are used to +give a flavour to the insipid sorghum, cucumbers, of which the seeds +are roasted as chestnuts, as well as the common crops of coffee, sugar, +onions, guavas, and sesame. + +To the women's lot, too, falls the manipulation of all the fermented +drinks, the _malafoo_, made from bananas, the _pombé_, and various +other liquors. Nor should the care of all the domestic animals be +forgotten; the cows that will not allow themselves to be milked unless +they can see their calf, or a stuffed representative of it; the +short-horned heifers that not unfrequently have a hump; the goats that, +like slaves, form part of the currency of the country; the pigs, the +sheep, and the poultry. + +The men, meanwhile, smoke their hemp or tobacco, hunt buffaloes or +elephants, or are hired by the dealers to join in the slave-raids; the +harvest of slaves, in fact, being a thing of as regular and periodic +recurrence as the ingathering of the maize. + +In her daily strolls, Mrs. Weldon would occasionally pause to watch the +women, but they only responded to her notice by a long stare or by a +hideous grimace; a kind of natural instinct made them hate a white +skin, and they had no spark of commiseration for the stranger who had +been brought among them; Halima, however, was a marked exception, she +grew more and more devoted to her mistress, and by degrees, the two +became able to exchange many sentences in the native dialect. + +Jack generally accompanied his mother. Naturally enough he longed to +get outside the enclosure, but still he found considerable amusement in +watching the birds that built in a huge baobab that grew within; there +were maraboos making their nests with twigs; there were +scarlet-throated _souimangas_ with nests like weaver-birds; widow birds +that helped themselves liberally to the thatch of the huts; _calaos_ +with their tuneful song; grey parrots, with bright red tails, called +_roufs_ by the Manyuema, who apply the same name to their reigning +chiefs; and insect-eating _drongos_, like grey linnets with large red +beaks. Hundreds of butterflies flitted about, especially in the +neighbourhood of the brooks; but these were more to the taste of Cousin +Benedict than of little Jack; over and over again the child expressed +his regret that he could not see over the walls, and more than ever he +seemed to miss his friend Dick, who had taught him to climb a mast, and +who he was sure would have fine fun with him in the branches of the +trees, which were growing sometimes to the height of a hundred feet. + +[Illustration: The insufferable heat had driven all the residents +within the depót indoors.] + +So long as the supply of insects did not fail, Benedict would have been +contented to stay on without a murmur in his present quarters. True, +without his glasses he worked at a disadvantage; but he had had the +good fortune to discover a minute bee that forms its cells in the holes +of worm-eaten wood, and a "sphex" that practises the craft of the +cuckoo, and deposits its eggs in an abode not prepared by itself. +Mosquitos abounded in swarms, and the worthy naturalist was so covered +by their stings as to be hardly recognizable; but when Mrs. Weldon +remonstrated with him for exposing himself so unnecessarily, he merely +scratched the irritated places on his skin, and said-- + +"It is their instinct, you know; it is their instinct." + +On the 17th of June an adventure happened to him which was attended +with unexpected consequences. It was about eleven o'clock in the +morning. The insufferable heat had driven all the residents within the +dépôt indoors, and not a native was to be seen in the streets of +Kazonndé. Mrs. Weldon was dozing; Jack was fast asleep. Benedict +himself, sorely against his will, for he heard the hum of many an +insect in the sunshine, had been driven to the seclusion of his cabin, +and was falling into an involuntary siesta. + +Suddenly a buzz was heard, an insect's wing vibrating some fifteen +thousand beats a second! + +"A hexapod!" cried Benedict, sitting up. + +Short-sighted though he was, his hearing was acute, and his perception +made him thoroughly convinced that he was in proximity to some giant +specimen of its kind. Without moving from his seat he did his utmost to +ascertain what it was; he was determined not to flinch from the +sharpest of stings if only he could get the chance of capturing it. +Presently he made out a large black speck flitting about in the few +rays of daylight that were allowed to penetrate the hut. With bated +breath he waited in eager expectation. The insect, after long hovering +above him, finally settled on his head. A smile of satisfaction played +about his lips as he felt it crawling lightly through his hair. Equally +fearful of missing or injuring it, he restrained his first impulse to +grasp it in his hand. + +"I will wait a minute," he thought; "perhaps it may creep down my nose; +by squinting a little perhaps I shall be able to see it." + +For some moments hope alternated with fear. There sat Benedict with +what he persuaded himself was some new African hexapod perched upon his +head, and agitated by doubts as to the direction in which it would +move. Instead of travelling in the way he reckoned along his nose, +might it not crawl behind his ears or down his neck, or, worse than +all, resume its flight in the air? + +Fortune seemed inclined to favour him. After threading the entanglement +of the naturalist's hair the insect was felt to be descending his +forehead. With a fortitude not unworthy of the Spartan who suffered his +breast to be gnawed by a fox, nor of the Roman hero who plunged his +hand into the red-hot coals, Benedict endured the tickling of the six +small feet, and made not a motion that might frighten the creature into +taking wing. After making repeated circuits of his forehead, it passed +just between his eyebrows; there was a moment of deep suspense lest it +should once more go upwards; but it soon began to move again; neither +to the right nor to the left did it turn, but kept straight on over the +furrows made by the constant rubbing of the spectacles, right along the +arch of the cartilage till it reached the extreme tip of the nose. Like +a couple of movable lenses, Benedict's two eyes steadily turned +themselves inwards till they were directed to the proper point. + +[Illustration: Before long the old black speck was again flitting just +above his head. _Page_ 432.] + +"Good!" he whispered to himself. + +He was exulting at the discovery that what he had been waiting for so +patiently was a rare specimen of the tribe of the Cicindelidæ, peculiar +to the districts of Southern Africa. + +"A tuberous manticora!" he exclaimed. + +The insect began to move again, and as it crawled down to the entrance +of the nostrils the tickling sensation became too much for endurance, +and Benedict sneezed. He made a sudden clutch, but of course he only +caught his own nose. His vexation was very great, but he did not lose +his composure; he knew that the manticora rarely flies very high, and +that more frequently than not it simply crawls. Accordingly he groped +about a long time on his hands and knees, and at last he found it +basking in a ray of sunshine within a foot of him. His resolution was +soon taken. He would not run the risk of crushing it by trying to catch +it, but would make his observations on it as it crawled; and so with +his nose close to the ground, like a dog upon the scent, he followed it +on all fours, admiring it and examining it as it moved. Regardless of +the heat he not only left the doorway of his hut, but continued +creeping along till he reached the enclosing palisade. + +At the foot of the fence the manticora, according to the habits of its +kind, began to seek a subterranean retreat, and coming to the opening +of a mole-track entered it at once. Benedict quite thought he had now +lost sight of his prize altogether, but his surprise was very great +when he found that the aperture was at least two feet wide, and that it +led into a gallery which would admit his whole body. His momentary +feeling of astonishment, however, gave way to his eagerness to follow +up the hexapod, and he continued burrowing like a ferret. + +Without knowing it, he actually passed under the palisading, and was +now beyond it;--the mole-track, in fact, was a communication that had +been made between the interior and exterior of the enclosure. Benedict +had obtained his freedom, but so far from caring in the least for his +liberty he continued totally absorbed in the pursuit upon which he had +started. He watched with unflagging vigilance, and it was only when the +hexapod expanded its wings as if for flight that he prepared to +imprison it in the hollow of his hand. + +All at once, however, he was taken by surprise; a whizz and a whirr and +the prize was gone! + +Disappointed rather than despairing, Benedict raised himself up, and +looked about him. Before long the old black speck was again flitting +just above his head. There was every reason to hope that it would +ultimately settle once more upon the ground, but on this side of the +palisade there was a large forest a little way to the north, and if the +manticora were to get into its mass of foliage all hope of keeping it +in view would be lost, and there would be an end of the proud +expectation of storing it in the tin box, to be preserved among the +rest of the entomological wonders. + +After a while the insect descended to the earth; it did not rest at +all, nor crawl as it had done previously, but made its advance by a +series of rapid hops. This made the chase for the near-sighted +naturalist a matter of great difficulty; he put his face as close to +the ground as possible, and kept starting off and stopping and starting +off again with his arms extended like a swimming frog, continually +making frantic clutches to find as continually that his grasp had been +eluded. + +After running till he was out of breath, and scratching his hands +against the brushwood and the foliage till they bled, he had the +mortification of feeling the insect dash past his ear with what might +be a defiant buzz, and finding that it was out of sight for ever. + +"Ungrateful hexapod!" he cried in dismay, "I intended to honour you +with the best place in my collection." + +[Illustration: For that day at least Cousin Benedict had lost his +chance of being the happiest of entomologists. _Page 435._] + +He knew not what to do, and could not reconcile himself to the loss; he +reproached himself for not having secured the manticora at the first; +he gazed at the forest till he persuaded himself he could see the +coveted insect in the distance, and, seized with a frantic impulse, +exclaimed,-- + +"I will have you yet!" + +He did not even yet realize the fact that he had gained his liberty, +but heedless of everything except his own burning disappointment, and +at the risk of being attacked by natives or beset by wild beasts, he +was just on the very point of dashing into the heart of the wood when +suddenly a giant form confronted him, as suddenly a giant hand seized +him by the nape of his neck, and, lifting him up, carried him off with +apparently as little exertion as he could himself have carried off his +hexapod! + +For that day at least Cousin Benedict had lost his chance of being the +happiest of entomologists. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +A MAGICIAN. + + +On finding that Cousin Benedict did not return to his quarters at the +proper hour, Mrs. Weldon began to feel uneasy. She could not imagine +what had become of him; his tin box with its contents were safe in his +hut, and even if a chance of escape had been offered him, she knew that +nothing would have induced him voluntarily to abandon his treasures. +She enlisted the services of Halima, and spent the remainder of the day +in searching for him, until at last she felt herself driven to the +conviction that he must have been confined by the orders of Alvez +himself; for what reason she could not divine, as Benedict had +undoubtedly been included in the number of prisoners to be delivered to +Mr. Weldon for the stipulated ransom. + +But the rage of the trader when he heard of the escape of the captive +was an ample proof that he had had no hand in his disappearance. A +rigorous search was instituted in every direction, which resulted in +the discovery of the mole-track. Here beyond a question was the passage +through which the fly-catcher had found his way. + +"Idiot! fool! rascal!" muttered Alvez, full of rage at the prospect of +losing a portion of the redemption-money; "if ever I get hold of him, +he shall pay dearly for this freak." + +The opening was at once blocked up, the woods were scoured all round +for a considerable distance, but no trace of Benedict was to be found. +Mrs. Weldon was bitterly grieved and much overcome, but she had no +alternative except to resign herself as best she could to the loss of +her unfortunate relation; there was a tinge of bitterness in her +anxiety, for she could not help being irritated at the recklessness +with which he had withdrawn himself from the reach of her protection. + +Meanwhile the weather for the time of year underwent a very unusual +change. Although the rainy season is ordinarily reckoned to terminate +about the end of April, the sky had suddenly become overcast in the +middle of June, rain had recommenced falling, and the downpour had been +so heavy and continuous that all the ground was thoroughly sodden. To +Mrs. Weldon personally this incessant rainfall brought no other +inconvenience beyond depriving her of her daily exercise, but to the +natives in general it was a very serious calamity. + +The ripening crops in the low-lying districts were completely flooded, +and the inhabitants feared that they would be reduced to the greatest +extremities; all agricultural pursuits had come to a standstill, and +neither the queen nor her ministers could devise any expedient to avert +or mitigate the misfortune. They resolved at last to have recourse to +the magicians, not those who are called in request to heal diseases or +to procure good luck, but to the _mganga_, sorcerers of a superior +order, who are credited with the faculty of invoking or dispelling rain. + +But it was all to no purpose. It was in vain that the _mganga_ +monotoned their incantations, flourished their rattles, jingled their +bells, and exhibited their amulets; it was equally without avail that +they rolled up their balls of dirt and spat in the faces of all the +courtiers: the pitiless rain continued to descend, and the malign +influences that were ruling the clouds refused to be propitiated. + +The prospect seemed to become more and more hopeless, when the report +was brought to Moena that there was a most wonderful _mganga_ resident +in the north of Angola. He had never been seen in this part of the +country, but fame declared him to be a magician of the very highest +order. Application, without delay, should be made to him; he surely +would be able to stay the rain. + +Early in the morning of the 25th a great tinkling of bells announced +the magician's arrival at Kazonndé. The natives poured out to meet him +on his way to the _chitoka_, their minds being already predisposed in +his favour by a moderation of the downpour, and by sundry indications +of a coming change of wind. + +The ordinary practice of the professors of the magical art is to +perambulate the villages in parties of three or four, accompanied by a +considerable number of acolytes and assistants. In this case the +_mganga_ came entirely alone. He was a pure negro of most imposing +stature, more than six feet high, and broad in proportion. All over his +chest was a fantastic pattern traced in pipe-clay, the lower portion of +his body being covered with a flowing skirt of woven grass, so long +that it made a train. Round his neck hung a string of birds' skulls, +upon his head he wore a leathern helmet ornamented with pearls and +plumes, and about his waist was a copper girdle, to which was attached +bells that tinkled like the harness of a Spanish mule. The only +instrument indicating his art was a basket he carried made of a +calabash containing shells, amulets, little wooden idols and other +fetishes, together with what was more important than all, a large +number of those balls of dung, without which no African ceremony of +divination could ever be complete. + +One peculiarity was soon discovered by the crowd; the _mganga_ was +dumb, and could utter only one low, guttural sound, which was quite +unintelligible; this was a circumstance, however, that seemed only to +augment their faith in his powers. + +With a stately strut that brought all his tinkling paraphernalia into +full play, the magician proceeded to make the circuit of the +market-place. The natives followed in a troop behind, endeavouring, +like monkeys, to imitate his every movement. He turned into the main +thoroughfare, and began to make his way direct to the royal residence, +whence, as soon as the queen heard of his approach, she advanced to +meet him. On seeing her, the _mganga_ bowed to the very dust; then, +rearing himself to his full height, he pointed aloft, and by the +significance of his animated gestures indicated that, although the +fleeting clouds were now going to the west, they would soon return +eastwards with a rotatory motion irresistibly strong. + +[Illustration: The entire crowd joined in. _Page_ 441.] + +All at once, to the surprise of the beholders, he stooped and took the +hand of the mighty sovereign of Kazonndé. + +The courtiers hurried forward to check the unprecedented breach of +etiquette, but the foremost was driven back with so staggering a blow +that the others deemed it prudent to retire. + +The queen herself appeared not to take the least offence at the +familiarity; she bestowed a hideous grimace, which was meant for a +smile, upon her illustrious visitor, who, still keeping his hold upon +her hand, started off walking at a rapid pace, the crowd following in +the rear. He directed his steps towards the residence of Alvez, and +finding the door closed, applied his strong shoulder to it with such +effect, that it fell bodily to the ground, and the passive sovereign +stood within the limits of the enclosure. The trader was about to +summon his slaves and soldiers to repel the unceremonious invasion of +his premises, but on beholding the queen all stepped back with +respectful reverence. + +Before Alvez had time to ask the sovereign to what cause he was +indebted for the honour of her visit, the magician had cleared a wide +space around him, and had once again commenced his performances. +Brandishing his arms wildly he pointed to the clouds as though he were +arresting them in their course; he inflated his huge cheeks and blew +with all his strength, as if resolved to disperse the heavy masses, and +then stretching himself to his full height, he appeared to clutch them +in his giant grasp. + +Deeply impressed, the superstitious Moena was half beside herself with +excitement; she uttered loud cries and involuntarily began herself to +imitate every one of the _mganga's_ gestures. The entire crowd joined +in, and very soon the low guttural note of the sorcerer was lost, +totally drowned in the turmoil of howls, shrieks, and discordant songs. + +To the chagrin, however, both of the queen and her subjects, there was +not the slightest intimation that the clouds above were going to permit +a rift by which the rays of the tropical sun could find a passage. On +the contrary, the tokens of improvement in the weather, which had been +observed in the early morning, had all disappeared, the atmosphere was +darker than ever, and heavy storm-drops began to patter down. + +A reaction was beginning to take place in the enthusiasm of the crowd. +After all, then, it would seem that this famous _mganga_ from whom so +much had been expected, had no power above the rest. Disappointment +every moment grew more keen, and soon there was a positive display of +irritation. The natives pressed around him with closed fists and +threatening gestures. A frown gathered on Moena's face, and her lips +opened with muttered words clear enough to make the magician understand +that his ears were in jeopardy. His position was evidently becoming +critical. + +An unexpected incident suddenly altered the aspect of affairs. + +The _mganga_ was quite tall enough to see over the heads of the crowd, +and all at once pausing in the midst of his incantations, he pointed to +a distant corner of the enclosure. All eyes were instantly turned in +that direction. Mrs. Weldon and Jack had just come out of their hut, +and catching sight of them, the _mganga_ stood with his left hand +pointing towards them and his right upstretched towards the heavens. + +Intuitively the multitude comprehended his meaning. Here was the +explanation of the mystery. It was this white woman with her child that +had been the cause of all their misery, it was owing to them that the +clouds had poured down this desolating rain. With yells of execration +the whole mob made a dash towards the unfortunate lady who, pale with +fright and rigid as a statue, stood clasping her boy to her side. The +_mganga_, however, anticipated them. Having pushed his way through the +infuriated throng, he seized the child and held him high in the air, as +though about to hurl him to the ground, a peace-offering to the +offended gods. + +[Illustration: "Here they are, captain! both of them!!"] + +Mrs. Weldon gave a piercing shriek, and fell senseless to the earth. + +Lifting her up, and making a sign to the queen that all would now be +right, the _mganga_ retreated carrying both mother and child through +the crowd, who retreated before him and made an open passage. + +Alvez now felt that it was time to interfere. Already one of his +prisoners had eluded his vigilance, and was he now to see two more +carried off before his eyes? was he to lose the whole of the expected +ransom? no, rather would he see Kazonndé destroyed by a deluge, than +resign his chance of securing so good a prize. Darting forwards he +attempted to obstruct the magician's progress; but public opinion was +against him; at a sign from the queen, he was seized by the guards, and +he was aware well enough of what would be the immediate consequence of +resistance. He deemed it prudent to desist from his obstruction, but in +his heart he bitterly cursed the stupid credulity of the natives for +supposing that the blood of the white woman or the child could avail to +put an end to the disasters they were suffering. + +Making the natives understand that they were not to follow him, the +magician carried off his burden as easily as a lion would carry a +couple of kids. The lady was still unconscious, and Jack was all but +paralyzed with fright. Once free of the enclosure the _mganga_ crossed +the town, entered the forest, and after a march of three miles, during +which he did not slacken his pace for a moment, reached the bank of a +river which was flowing towards the north. + +Here in the cavity of a rock, concealed by drooping foliage, a canoe +was moored, covered with a kind of thatched roof; on this the magician +deposited his burden, and sending the light craft into mid-stream with +a vigorous kick, exclaimed in a cheery voice,-- + +"Here they are, captain! both of them! Mrs. Weldon and Master Jack, +both! We will be off now! I hope those idiots of Kazonndé will have +plenty more rain yet! Off we go!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +DRIFTING DOWN THE STREAM. + + +"Off we go!" It was the voice of Hercules addressing Dick Sands, who, +frightfully debilitated by recent sufferings, was leaning against +Cousin Benedict for support. Dingo was lying at his feet. + +Mrs. Weldon gradually recovered her consciousness. Looking around her +in amazement she caught sight of Dick. + +"Dick, is it you?" she muttered feebly. + +The lad with some difficulty arose, and took her hand in his, while +Jack overwhelmed him with kisses. + +"And who would have thought it was you, Hercules, that carried us +away?" said the child; "I did not know you a bit; you were so +dreadfully ugly." + +"I was a sort of a devil, you know, Master Jack," Hercules answered; +"and the devil is not particularly handsome;" and he began rubbing his +chest vigorously to get rid of the white pattern with which he had +adorned it. + +Mrs. Weldon held out her hand to him with a grateful smile. + +"Yes, Mrs. Weldon, he has saved you, and although he does not own it, +he has saved me too," said Dick. + +"Saved!" repeated Hercules, "you must not talk about safety, for you +are not saved yet." + +And pointing to Benedict, he continued,-- + +"That's where your thanks are due; unless he had come and informed me +all about you and where you were, I should have known nothing, and +should have been powerless to aid you." + +It was now five days since he had fallen in with the entomologist as he +was chasing the manticora, and unceremoniously had carried him off. + +As the canoe drifted rapidly along the stream, Hercules briefly related +his adventures since his escape from the encampment on the Coanza. He +described how he had followed the kitanda which was conveying Mrs. +Weldon; how in the course of his march he had found Dingo badly +wounded; how he and the dog together had reached the neighbourhood of +Kazonndé, and how he had contrived to send a note to Dick, intending to +inform him of Mrs. Weldon's destination. Then he went on to say that +since his unexpected _rencontre_ with Cousin Benedict he had watched +very closely for a chance to get into the guardeddépôt, but until now +had entirely failed. A celebrated _mganga_ had been passing on his way +through the forest, and he had resolved upon impersonating him as a +means of gaining the admittance he wanted. His strength made the +undertaking sufficiently easy; and having stripped the magician of his +paraphernalia, and bound him securely to a tree, he painted his own +body with a pattern like that which he observed on his victim's chest, +and having attired himself with the magical garments was quite equipped +to impose upon the credulous natives. The result of his stratagem they +had all that day witnessed. + +He had hardly finished his account of himself when Mrs. Weldon, smiling +at his success, turned to Dick. + +"And how, all this time, my dear boy, has it fared with you?" she asked. + +Dick said,-- + +"I remember very little to tell you. I recollect being fastened to a +stake in the river-bed and the water rising and rising till it was +above my head. My last thoughts were about yourself and Jack. Then +everything became a blank, and I knew nothing more until I found myself +amongst the papyrus on the river-bank, with Hercules tending me like a +nurse." + +"You see I am the right sort of _mganga_" interposed Hercules; "I am a +doctor as well as a conjurer." + +"But tell me, Hercules, how did you save him?" + +"Oh, it was not a difficult matter by any means," answered Hercules +modestly; "it was dark, you know, so that at the proper moment it was +quite possible to wade in amongst the poor wretches at the bottom of +the trench, and to wrench the stake from its socket. Anybody could have +done it. Cousin Benedict could have done it. Dingo, too, might have +done it. Perhaps, after all, it was Dingo that did it." + +"No, no, Hercules, that won't do," cried Jack; "besides, look, Dingo is +shaking his head; he is telling you he didn't do it." + +"Dingo must not tell tales, Master Jack," said Hercules, laughing. + +But, nevertheless, although the brave fellow's modesty prompted him to +conceal it, it was clear that he had accomplished a daring feat, of +which few would have ventured to incur the risk. + +Inquiry was next made after Tom, Bat, Actæon, and Austin. His +countenance fell, and large tears gathered in his eyes as Hercules told +how he had seen them pass through the forest in a slave-caravan. They +were gone; he feared they were gone for ever. + +Mrs. Weldon tried to console him with the hope that they might still be +spared to meet again some day; but he shook his head mournfully. She +then communicated to Dick the terms of the compact that had been +entered into for her own release, and observed that under the +circumstances it might really have been more prudent for her to remain +in Kazonndé. + +"Then I have made a mistake; I have been an idiot, in bringing you +away," said Hercules, ever ready to depreciate his own actions. + +"No," said Dick; "you have made no mistake; you could not have done +better; those rascals, ten chances to one, will only get Mr. Weldon +into some trap. We must get to Mossamedes before Negoro arrives; once +there, we shall find that the Portuguese authorities will lend us their +protection, and when old Alvez arrives to claim his 100,000 dollars--" + +"He shall receive a good thrashing for his pains," said Hercules, +finishing Dick's sentence, and chuckling heartily at the prospect. + +It was agreed on all hands that it was most important that Negoro's +arrival at Mossamedes should be forestalled. The plan which Dick had so +long contemplated of reaching the coast by descending some river seemed +now in a fair way of being accomplished, and from the northerly +direction in which they were proceeding it was quite probable that they +would ultimately reach the Zaire, and in that case not actually arrive +at S. Paul de Loanda; but that would be immaterial, as they would be +sure of finding help anywhere in the colonies of Lower Guinea. + +On finding himself on the river-bank, Dick's first thought had been to +embark upon one of the floating islands that are continually to be seen +upon the surface of the African streams, but it happened that Hercules +during one of his rambles found a native boat that had run adrift. It +was just the discovery that suited their need. It was one of the long, +narrow canoes, thirty feet in length by three or four in breadth, that +with a large number of paddles can be driven with immense velocity, but +by the aid of a single scull can be safely guided down the current of a +stream. + +Dick was somewhat afraid that, to elude observation, it would be +necessary to proceed only by night, but as the loss of twelve hours out +of the twenty-four would double the length of the voyage, he devised +the plan of covering the canoe with a roof of long grass, supported by +a horizontal pole from stem to stern, and this not only afforded a +shelter from the sun, but so effectually concealed the craft, +rudder-scull and all, that the very birds mistook it for one of the +natural islets, and red-beaked gulls, black _arringhas_ and grey and +white kingfishers would frequently alight upon it in search of food. + +Though comparatively free from fatigue, the voyage must necessarily be +long, and by no means free from danger, and the daily supply of +provisions was not easy to procure. If fishing failed, Dick had the one +gun which Hercules had carried away with him from the ant-hill, and as +he was by no means a bad shot, he hoped to find plenty of game, either +along the banks or by firing through a loophole in the thatch. + +The rate of the current, as far as he could tell, was about two miles +an hour, enough to carry them about fifty miles a day; it was a speed, +however, that made it necessary for them to keep a sharp look-out for +any rocks or submerged trunks of trees, as well as to be on their guard +against rapids and cataracts. + +Dick's strength and spirits all revived at the delight of having Mrs. +Weldon and Jack restored to him, and he assumed his post at the bow of +the canoe, directing Hercules how to use the scull at the stern. A +litter of soft grass was made for Mrs. Weldon, who spent most of her +time lying thoughtfully in the shade. Cousin Benedict was very +taciturn; he had not recovered the loss of the manticora, and frowned +ever and again at Hercules, as if he had not yet forgiven him for +stopping him in the chase. Jack, who had been told that he must not be +noisy, amused himself by playing with Dingo. + +The first two days passed without any special incident. The stock of +provisions was quite enough for that time, so that there was no need to +disembark, and Dick merely lay to for a few hours in the night to take +a little necessary repose. + +The stream nowhere exceeded 150 feet in breadth. The floating islands +moved at the same pace as the canoe, and except from some unforeseen +circumstance, there could be no apprehension of a collision. The banks +were destitute of human inhabitants, but were richly clothed with wild +plants, of which the blossoms were of the most gorgeous colours; the +asclepiae, the gladiolus, the clematis, lilies, aloes, umbelliferae, +arborescent ferns and fragrant shrubs, combining on either hand to make +a border of surpassing beauty. Here and there the forest extended to +the very shore, and copal-trees, acacias with their stiff foliage, +bauhinias clothed with lichen, fig-trees with their masses of pendant +roots, and other trees of splendid growth rose to the height of a +hundred feet, forming a shade which the rays of the sun utterly failed +to penetrate. + +[Illustration: Hercules could leave the boat without much fear of +detection.] + +Occasionally a wreath of creepers would form an arch from shore to +shore, and on the 27th, to Jack's great delight, a group of monkeys was +seen crossing one of these natural bridges, holding on most carefully +by their tails, lest the aerial pathway should snap beneath their +weight. These monkeys, belonging to a smaller kind of chimpanzee, which +are known in Central Africa by the name of _sokos_, were hideous +creatures with low foreheads, bright yellow faces, and long, upright +ears; they herd in troops of about ten, bark like dogs, and are much +dreaded by the natives on account of their alleged propensity to carry +off young children; there is no telling what predatory designs they +might have formed against Master Jack if they had spied him out, but +Dick's artifice effectually screened him from their observation. + +Twenty miles further on the canoe came to a sudden standstill. + +"What's the matter now, captain?" cried Hercules from the stern. + +"We have drifted on to a grass barrier, and there is no hope for it, we +shall have to cut our way through," answered Dick. + +"All right, I dare say we shall manage it," promptly replied Hercules, +leaving his rudder to come in front. + +The obstruction was formed by the interlacing of masses of the tough, +glossy grass known by the name of _tikatika_, which, when compressed, +affords a surface so compact and resisting that travellers have been +known by means of it to cross rivers dry-footed. Splendid specimens of +lotus plants had taken root amongst the vegetation. + +As it was nearly dark, Hercules could leave the boat without much fear +of detection, and so effectually did he wield his hatchet that, in two +hours after the stoppage, the barrier was hewn asunder, and the light +craft resumed the channel. + +It must be owned that it was with a sense of reluctance that Benedict +felt the boat was again beginning to move forward; the whole voyage +appeared to him to be perfectly uninteresting and unnecessary; not a +single insect had he observed since he left Kazonndé, and his most +ardent wish was that he could return there and regain possession of his +invaluable tin box. But an unlooked for gratification was in store for +him. + +Hercules, who had been his pupil long enough to have an eye for the +kind of creature Benedict was ever trying to secure, on coming back +from his exertions on the grass-barrier, brought a horrible-looking +animal, and submitted it to the sullen entomologist. + +"Is this of any use to you?" + +The amateur lifted it up carefully, and having almost poked it into his +near-sighted eyes, uttered a cry of delight,-- + +"Bravo, Hercules! you are making amends for your past mischief; it is +splendid! it is unique!" + +"Is it really very curious?" said Mrs. Weldon. + +"Yes, indeed," answered the enraptured naturalist; "it is really +unique; it belongs to neither of the ten orders; it can be classed +neither with the coleoptera, neuroptera, nor to the hymenoptera: if it +had eight legs I should know how to classify it; I should place it +amongst the second section of the arachnida; but it is a hexapod, a +genuine hexapod; a spider with six legs; a grand discovery; it must be +entered on the catalogue as 'Hexapodes Benedictus.'" Once again +mounted on his hobby, the worthy enthusiast continued to discourse with +an unwonted vivacity to his indulgent ii* not over attentive audience. + +Meanwhile the canoe was steadily threading its way over the dark +waters, the silence of the night broken only by the rattle of the +scales of some crocodiles, or by the snorting of hippopotamuses in the +neighbourhood. Once the travellers were startled by a loud noise, such +as might proceed from some ponderous machinery in motion: it was caused +by a troop of a hundred or more elephants that, after feasting through +the day on the roots of the forest, had come to quench their thirst at +the river-side. + +[Illustration: It was caused by a troop of a hundred or more elephants.] + +But no danger was to be apprehended; lighted by the pale moon that rose +over the tall trees, the canoe throughout the night pursued in safety +its solitary voyage. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +AN ANXIOUS VOYAGE. + + +Thus the canoe drifted on for a week, the forests that for many miles +had skirted the river ultimately giving place to extensive jungles that +stretched far away to the horizon. Destitute, fortunately for the +travellers, of human inhabitants, the district abounded in a large +variety of animal life; zebras, elands, caamas, sported on the bank, +disappearing at night-fall before howling leopards and roaring lions. + +It was Dick's general custom, as he lay to for a while in the +afternoon, to go ashore in search of food, and as the manioc, maize, +and sorghum that were to be found were of a wild growth and +consequently not fit for consumption, he was obliged to run the risk of +using his gun. On the 4th of July he succeeded by a single shot in +killing _pokoo_, a kind of antelope about five feet long, with +annulated horns, a tawny skin dappled with bright spots, and a white +belly. The venison proved excellent, and was roasted over a fire +procured by the primitive method, practised, it is said, even by +gorillas, of rubbing two sticks together. + +In spite of these halts, and the time taken for the night's rest, the +distance accomplished by the 8th could not be estimated at less than a +hundred miles. The river, augmented by only a few insignificant +tributaries, had not materially increased in volume; its direction, +however, had slightly changed more to the north-west. It afforded a +very fair supply of fish, which were caught by lines made of the long +stems of creepers furnished with thorns instead of fish-hooks, a +considerable proportion being the delicate _sandjtkas_, which when +dried may be transported to any climate; besides these there were the +black _usakas_, the wide-headed _monndés_, and occasionally the little +_dagalas_, resembling Thames whitebait. + +[Illustration: He stood face to face with his foe.] + +Next day, Dick met with an adventure that put all his courage and +composure to the test. He had noticed the horns of a caama projecting +above the brushwood, and went ashore alone with the intention of +securing it. He succeeded in getting tolerably close to it and fired, +but he was terribly startled when a formidable creature bounded along +some thirty paces ahead, and took possession of the prey he had just +wounded. + +It was a majestic lion, at least five feet in height, of the kind +called _káramoo_, in distinction to the maneless species known as the +_Nyassi-lion_. Before Dick had time to reload, the huge brute had +caught sight of him, and without relaxing its hold upon the writhing +antelope beneath its claws, glared upon him fiercely. Dick's presence +of mind did not forsake him; flight he knew was not to be thought of; +his only chance he felt intuitively would be by keeping perfectly +still; and aware that the beast would be unlikely to give up a +struggling prey for another that was motionless, he stood face to face +with his foe, not venturing to move an eyelid. In a few minutes the +lion's patience seemed to be exhausted; with a grand stateliness, it +picked up the caama as easily as a dog would lift a hare, turned round, +and lashing the bushes with its tail, disappeared in the jungle. + +It took Dick some little time to recover himself sufficiently to return +to the canoe. On arriving, he said nothing of the peril to which he had +been exposed, but heartily congratulated himself that they had means of +transport without making their way through jungles and forests. + +As they advanced, they repeatedly came across evidences that the +country had not been always, as now it was, utterly devoid of +population; more than once, they observed traces which betokened the +former existence of villages; either some ruined palisades or the +_débris_ of some thatched huts, or some solitary sacred tree within an +enclosure would indicate that the death of a chief had, according to +custom, made a native tribe migrate to new quarters. + +If natives were still dwelling in the district, as was just probable, +they must have been living underground, only emerging at night like +beasts of prey, from which they were only a grade removed. + +Dick Sands had every reason to feel convinced that cannibalism had been +practised in the neighbourhood, Three times, as he was wandering in the +forest, he had come upon piles of ashes and half-charred human bones, +the remnants, no doubt, of a ghastly meal, and although he mentioned +nothing of what he had seen to Mrs. Weldon, he made up his mind to go +ashore as seldom as possible, and as often as he found it absolutely +necessary to go, he gave Hercules strict directions to push off into +mid-stream at the very first intimation of danger. + +A new cause of anxiety arose on the following evening, and made it +necessary for them to take the most guarded measures of precaution. The +river-bed had widened out into a kind of lagoon, and on the right side +of this, built upon piles in the water, not only was there a collection +of about thirty huts, but the fires gleaming under the thatch, made it +evident that they were all inhabited. Unfortunately the only channel of +the stream flowed close under the huts, the river elsewhere being so +obstructed with rocks that navigation of any kind was impossible. +Nothing was more probable than that the natives would have set their +nets all across the piles, and if so, the canoe would be sure to be +obstructed, and an alarm must inevitably be raised. Every caution +seemed to be unavailing, because the canoe must follow the stream; +however, in the lowest of whispers Dick ordered Hercules to keep clear +as much as he could of the worm-eaten timber. The night was not very +dark, which was equally an advantage and a disadvantage, as while it +permitted those on board to steer as they wanted, it did not prevent +them from being seen. + +The situation became more and more critical. About a hundred feet +ahead, the channel was very contracted; two natives, gesticulating +violently, were seen squatting on the pilework; a few moments more and +their voices could be heard; it was obvious that they had seen the +floating mass; apprehending that it was going to destroy their nets, +they yelled aloud and shouted for assistance; instantly five or six +negroes scrambled down the piles, and perched themselves upon the +cross-beams. + +On board the canoe the profoundest silence was maintained. Dick only +signalled his directions to Hercules, without uttering a word, while +Jack performed his part by holding Dingo's mouth tightly closed, to +stop the low growlings which the faithful watch-dog seemed resolved to +make; but fortunately every sound was overpowered by the rushing of the +stream and the clamour of the negroes, as they hurriedly drew in their +nets. If they should raise them in time, all might be well, but if, on +the other hand, the canoe should get entangled, the consequences could +hardly fail to be disastrous. The current in its narrow channel was so +strong that Dick was powerless either to modify his course or to +slacken it. + +Half a minute more, and the canoe was right under the woodwork, but the +efforts of the natives had already elevated the nets so that the +anticipated danger was happily escaped; but it chanced that in making +its way through the obstacle, a large piece of the grass-thatch got +detached. One of the negroes raised a sudden shout of alarm, and it +seemed only too probable that he had caught a sight of the travellers +below and was informing his companions. This apprehension, too, was +only momentary; the current had changed almost to a rapid, and carried +the canoe along with such velocity that the lacustrine village was +quickly out of sight. + +"Steer to the left!" cried Dick, finding that the riverbed had again +become clear. + +A stiff pull at the tiller made the craft fly in that direction. + +Dick went to the stern, and scanned the moonlit waters. All was +perfectly still, no canoe was in pursuit; perhaps the natives had not +one to use; but certain it was that when daylight dawned no vestige of +an inhabitant was to be seen. Nevertheless Dick thought it prudent for +a while to steer close under the shelter of the left-hand shore. + +[Illustration: Instantly five or six negroes scrambled down the piles.] + +By the end of the next four days the aspect of the country had +undergone a remarkable change, the jungle having given place to a +desert as dreary as the Kalahari itself. The river appeared +interminable, and it became a matter of serious consideration how to +get a sufficiency of food. Fish was scarce, or at least hard to catch, +and the arid soil provided no means of sustenance for antelopes, so +that nothing was to be gained from the chase. Carnivorous animals also +had quite disappeared, and the silence of the night was broken, not by +the roar of wild beasts, but by the croaking of frogs in a discordant +chorus, which Cameron has compared to the clanking of hammers and the +grating of files in a ship-builder's yard. + +Far away both to the east and west the outlines of hills could be +faintly discerned, but the shores on either hand were perfectly flat +and devoid of trees. Euphorbias, it is true, grew in considerable +numbers, but as they were only of the oil-producing species, and not +the kind from which cassava or manioc is procured, they were useless in +an alimentary point of view. + +Dick was becoming more and more perplexed, when Hercules happened to +mention that the natives often eat young fern-fronds and the pith of +the papyrus, and that before now he had himself been reduced to the +necessity of subsisting on nothing better. + +"We must try them," said Dick. + +Both ferns and papyrus abounded on the banks, and a meal was prepared, +the sweet soft pith of the papyrus being found very palatable. Jack in +particular appeared to enjoy it extremely, but it was not in any way a +satisfying diet. + +Thanks to Cousin Benedict, a fresh variety in the matter of food was +found on the following day. Since the discovery of the "Hexapodes +Benedictus" he had recovered his spirits, and, having fastened his +prize safely inside his hat, he wandered about, as often as he had a +chance, in his favourite pursuit of insect-hunting. As he was rummaging +in the long grass, he put up a bird which flew but a very short +distance. Benedict recognized it by its peculiar note, and, seeing Dick +take his gun to aim at it, exclaimed,-- + +"Don't fire, don't fire! that bird will be worth nothing for food among +five of us." + +"It will be dinner enough for Jack," said Dick, who, finding that the +bird did not seem in a hurry to make its escape, delayed his shot for a +moment, without intending to be diverted from his purpose of securing +it. + +"You mustn't fire," insisted Benedict, "it is an indicator; it will +show you where there are lots of honey." + +Aware that a few pounds of honey would really be of more value than a +little bird, Dick lowered his gun, and in company with the entomologist +set off to follow the indicator, which seemed, by alternately flying +and stopping, to be inviting them to come on, and they had but a little +way to go before they observed several swarms of bees buzzing around +some old stems hidden amongst the euphorbias. Notwithstanding +Benedict's remonstrances against depriving the bees of the fruits of +their industry, Dick instantly set to work, and without remorse +suffocated them by burning dry grass underneath. Having secured a good +amount of honey, he left the comb to the indicator as its share of the +booty, and went back with his companion to the canoe. + +The honey was acceptable, but it did not do much to alleviate the +cravings of hunger. + +Next day it happened that they had just stopped for their accustomed +rest, when they observed that an enormous swarm of grasshoppers had +settled at the mouth of a creek close by. Two or three deep they +covered the soil, myriads and myriads of them adhering to every shrub. + +"The natives eat those grasshoppers," said Benedict, "and like them +too." + +The remark produced an instant effect; all hands were busied in +collecting them, and a large supply was quickly gathered: the canoe +might have been filled ten times over. + +Grilled over a slow fire, they were found to be very palatable eating, +and, spite of his qualms of conscience, Benedict himself made a hearty +meal. + +But although the gnawings of absolute hunger were thus assuaged, all +the travellers began to long most anxiously for the voyage to come to +an end. The mode of transit indeed might be less exhausting to the +bodily powers than a land march would have been, but the excessive heat +by day, the damp mists at night, and the incessant attacks of +mosquitoes, all combined to render the passage extremely trying. There +was no telling how long it would last, and Dick was equally uncertain +whether it might end in a few days, or be protracted for a month. The +direction which the stream was taking was itself a subject of +perplexity. + +A fresh surprise was now in store. + +As Jack, a few mornings afterwards, was standing at the bow peering +through an aperture in the grass canopy above him, he suddenly turned +round and cried,-- + +"The sea! the sea!" + +Dick started forwards, and looked eagerly in the same direction. + +A large expanse of water was visible in the horizon, but after having +surveyed it for a moment or two, he said,-- + +"No, Jack, it is not the sea, it is a great river; it is running west, +and I suppose this river runs into it. Perhaps it is the Zaire." + +"Let us hope it is," said Mrs. Weldon earnestly. + +Most cordially did Dick Sands re-echo her words, being well aware that +at the mouth of that river were Portuguese villages, where a refuge +might assuredly be found. + +For several succeeding days the canoe, still concealed by its covering, +floated on the silvery surface of this new-found stream. On either side +the banks became less arid, and there seemed everything to encourage +the few survivors of the "Pilgrim" to believe that they would soon see +the last of the perils and toils of their journey. + +They were too sanguine. Towards three o'clock on the morning of the +18th, Dick, who was at his usual post at the bow, fancied he heard a +dull rumbling towards the west. Mrs. Weldon, Jack, and Benedict were +all asleep. Calling Hercules to him, he asked him whether he could not +hear a strange noise. The night was perfectly calm, and not a breath of +air was stirring. The negro listened attentively, and suddenly, his +eyes sparkling with delight, exclaimed,-- + +"Yes, captain, I hear the sea!" + +Dick shook his head and answered,-- + +"It is not the sea, Hercules." + +"Not the sea!" cried the negro, "then what can it be?" + +"We must wait till daybreak," replied Dick, "and meanwhile we shall +have to keep a sharp look-out." + +Hercules returned to his place, but only to continue listening with +ever-increasing curiosity. The rumbling perceptibly increased till it +became a continued roar. + +With scarcely any intervening twilight night passed into day. Just in +front, scarcely more than half a mile ahead, a great mist was hanging +over the river; it was not an ordinary fog, and when the sun rose, the +light of the dawn caused a brilliant rainbow to arch itself from shore +to shore. + +In a voice so loud that it awoke Mrs. Weldon, Dick gave his order to +Hercules to steer for the bank:-- + +"Quick, quick, Hercules! ashore! ashore! there are cataracts close +ahead!" + +And so it was. Within little more than a quarter of a mile the bed of +the river sank abruptly some hundred feet, and the foaming waters +rushed down in a magnificent fall with irresistible velocity. A few +minutes more and the canoe must have been swallowed in the deep abyss. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +AN ATTACK. + + +The canoe inclined to the west readily enough; the fall in the +river-bed was so sudden that the current remained quite unaffected by +the cataract at a distance of three hundred yards. + +On the bank were woods so dense that sunlight could not penetrate the +shade. Dick was conscious of a sad misgiving when he looked at the +character of the territory through which they must necessarily pass. It +did not seem practicable by any means to convey the canoe below the +falls. + +As they neared the shore, Dingo became intensely agitated. At first +Dick suspected that a wild beast or a native might be lurking in the +papyrus, but it soon became obvious that the dog was excited by grief +rather than by rage. + +"Dingo is crying," said Jack; "poor Dingo!" and the child laid his arms +over the creature's neck. + +The dog, however, was too impatient to be caressed; bounding away, he +sprang into the water, swam across the twenty feet that intervened +between the shore, and disappeared in the grass. + +In a few moments the boat had glided on to a carpet of confervas and +other aquatic plants, starting a few kingfishers and some snow-white +herons. Hercules moored it to the stump of a tree, and the travellers +went ashore. + +There was no pathway through the forest, only the trampled moss showed +that the place had been recently visited either by animals or men. + +[Illustration: Upon the smooth wood were two great letters in dingy +red.] + +Dick took his gun and Hercules his hatchet, and they set out to search +for Dingo. They had not far to go before they saw him with his nose +close to the ground, manifestly following a scent; the animal raised +his head for a moment, as if beckoning them to follow, and kept on till +he reached an old sycamore-stump. Having called out to the rest of the +party to join them, Dick made his way farther into the wood till he got +up to Dingo, who was whining piteously at the entrance of a dilapidated +hut. + +The rest were not long in following, and they all entered the hut +together. The floor was strewn with bones whitened by exposure. + +"Some one has died here," said Mrs. Weldon. + +"Perhaps," added Dick, as if struck by a sudden thought, "it was +Dingo's old master. Look at him! he is pointing with his paw." + +The portion of the sycamore-trunk which formed the farther side of the +hut had been stripped of its bark, and upon the smooth wood were two +great letters in dingy red almost effaced by time, but yet plain enough +to be distinguished. + +"S. V.," cried Dick, as he looked where the dog's paw rested; "the same +initials that Dingo has upon his collar. There can be no mistake. S. V." + +A small copper box, green with verdigris, caught his eye, and he picked +it up. It was open, but contained a scrap of discoloured paper. The +writing upon this consisted of a few sentences, of which only detached +words could be made out, but they revealed the sad truth only too +plainly. + +"Robbed by Negoro--murdered--Dingo--help--Negoro guide--120 miles from +coast--December 3rd, 1871--write no more. + +"S. VERNON." + +Here was the clue to a melancholy story. Samuel Vernon, under the +guidance of Negoro, and taking with him his dog Dingo, had set out on +an exploration of a district of Central Africa; he had taken a +considerable quantity of money to procure the necessary supplies on the +way, and this had excited the cupidity of his guide, who seized the +opportunity, whilst they were encamping on the banks of the Congo, to +assassinate his employer, and get possession of his property. Negoro, +however, had not escaped; he had fallen into the hands of the +Portuguese, by whom he was recognized as an agent of the slave-dealer +Alvez, and condemned to spend the rest of his days in prison. He +contrived after a while to make his escape, and, as has been already +mentioned, found his way to New Zealand, whence he had returned by +securing an engagement on board the "Pilgrim." Between the time when he +was attacked by Negoro and the moment of his death, Vernon had managed +to write the few brief lines of which the fragments still survived, and +to deposit the document in the box from which the money had been +stolen, and by a last effort had traced out his initials in blood upon +the naked wood which formed the wall of the hut. For many days Dingo +watched beside his master, and throughout that time his eyes were +resting so perpetually upon the two crimson letters in front of him, +that mere instinct seemed to fasten them indelibly on his memory. +Quitting his watch one day, perhaps to pacify his hunger, the dog +wandered to the coast, where he was picked up by the captain of the +"Waldeck," afterwards to be transferred to the very ship on which his +owner's murderer had been engaged as cook. + +All throughout this time poor Vernon's bones had been bleaching in the +African forest, and the first resolution of Dick and Mrs. Weldon was to +give the residue of his remains some semblance of a decent burial. They +were just proceeding to their task when Dingo gave a furious growl, and +dashed out of the hut; another moment, and a terrible shriek made it +evident that he was in conflict with some dread antagonist. + +Hercules was quickly in pursuit, and the whole party followed in time +to witness the giant hurl himself upon a man with whom already Dingo +was in mortal combat. + +[Illustration: The dog was griping the man by the throat] + +The dog was griping the man by the throat, the man was lifting his +cutlass high above the head of the dog. + +That man was Negoro. The rascal, on getting his letter at Kazonndé, +instead of embarking at once for America, had left his native escort +for a while, and returned to the scene of his crime to secure the +treasure which he had left buried at a little distance in a spot that +he had marked. At this very moment he was in the act of digging up the +gold he had concealed; some glistening coins scattered here and there +betrayed his purpose; but in the midst of his labours he had been +startled by the dashing forward of a dog; another instant, and the dog +had fixed itself upon his throat, whilst he, in an agony of +desperation, had drawn his cutlass and plunged it deep into the +creature's side. + +Hercules came up at the very climax of the death-struggle. + +"You villain! you accursed villain! I have you now!" he cried, about to +seize hold of his victim. + +But vengeance was already accomplished. Negoro gave no sign of life; +death had overtaken him on the very scene of his guilt. Dingo, too, had +received a mortal wound; he dragged himself back to the hut, lay down +beside the remains of his master, and expired. + +The sad task of burying Vernon's bones, and laying his faithful dog +beside them having been accomplished, the whole party was obliged to +turn their thoughts to their own safety. Although Negoro was dead, it +as very likely that the natives that he had taken with him were at no +great distance, and would come to search for him. + +A hurried conference was held as to what steps had best be taken. The +few words traceable on the paper made them aware that they were on the +banks of the Congo, and that they were still 120 miles from the coast. +The fall just ahead was probably the cataract of Memo, but whatever it +was, no doubt it effectually barred their farther progress by water. +There seemed no alternative but that they should make their way by one +bank or the other a mile or two below the waterfall, and there +construct a raft on which once again they could drift down the stream. +The question that pressed for immediate settlement was which bank it +should be. Here, on the left bank, would be the greater risk of +encountering the negro escort of Negoro, while as to the farther shore +they could not tell what obstacles it might present. + +Altogether Mrs. Weldon advocated trying the other side, but Dick +insisted upon crossing first by himself to ascertain whether an advance +by that route were really practicable. + +"The river is only about 100 yards wide," he urged; "I can soon get +across. I shall leave Hercules to look after you all." + +Mrs. Weldon demurred for a while, but Dick seemed resolute, and as he +promised to take his gun and not to attempt to land if he saw the least +symptom of danger, she at last consented, but with so much reluctance +that even after he had entered the canoe she said,-- + +"I think, Dick, it would be really better for us all to go together." + +"No, Mrs. Weldon, indeed, no; I am sure it is best for me to go alone; +I shall be back in an hour." + +"If it must be so, it must," said the lady. + +"Keep a sharp look-out, Hercules!" cried the youth cheerily, as he +pushed off from the land. + +The strength of the current was by no means violent, but quite enough +to make the direction of Dick's course somewhat oblique. The roar of +the cataract reverberated in his ears, and the spray, wafted by the +westerly wind, brushed lightly past his face, and he shuddered as he +felt how near they must have been to destruction if he had relaxed his +watch throughout the night. + +It took him hardly a quarter of an hour to reach the opposite bank, and +he was just preparing to land when there arose a tremendous shout from +about a dozen natives, who, rushing forward, began to tear away the +canopy of grass with which the canoe was covered. + +Dick's horror was great. It would have been greater still if he had +known that they were cannibals. They were the natives settled at the +lacustrine village higher up the river. When the piece of thatch had +been knocked off in passing the piles a glimpse had been caught of the +passengers below, and aware that the cataract ahead must ultimately +bring them to a standstill, the eager barbarians had followed them +persistently day by day for the last eight days. + +Now they thought they had secured their prize, but loud was their yell +of disappointment when on stripping off the thatch they found only one +person, and that a mere boy, standing beneath it. + +Dick stood as calmly as he could at the bow, and pointed his gun +towards the savages, who were sufficiently acquainted with the nature +of fire-arms to make them afraid to attack him. + +Mrs. Weldon with the others, in their eagerness to watch Dick's +movements, had remained standing upon the shore of the river, and at +this instant were caught sight of by one of the natives, who pointed +them out to his companions. A sudden impulse seized the whole of them, +and they sprang into the canoe; there seemed to be a practised hand +amongst them, which caught hold of the rudder-oar, and the little craft +was quickly on its way back. + +Although he gave up all as now well-nigh lost, Dick neither moved nor +spoke. He had one lingering hope yet left. Was it not possible even now +that by sacrificing his own life he could save the lives of those that +were entrusted to him? + +When the canoe had come near enough to the shore for his voice to be +heard, he shouted with all his might,-- + +"Fly, Mrs. Weldon; fly, all of you; fly for your lives!" + +But neither Mrs. Weldon nor Hercules stirred; they seemed rooted to the +ground. + +"Fly, fly, fly!" he continued shouting. + +But though he knew they must hear him, yet he saw them make no effort +to escape. He understood their meaning; of what avail was flight when +the savages would be upon their track in a few minutes after? + +A sudden thought crossed his mind. He raised his gun and fired at the +man who was steering; the bullet shattered the rudder-scull into +fragments. + +The cannibals uttered a yell of terror. Deprived of guidance, the canoe +was at the mercy of the current, and, borne along with increasing +speed, was soon within a hundred feet of the cataract. + +The anxious watchers on the bank instantly discerned Dick's purpose, +and understood that in order to save them he had formed the resolution +of precipitating himself with the savages into the seething waters. + +Nothing could avail to arrest the swift descent. Mrs Weldon in an agony +of despair waved her hands in a last sad farewell, Jack and Benedict +seemed paralyzed, whilst Hercules involuntarily extended his great +strong arm that was powerless to aid. + +Suddenly the natives, impelled by a last frantic effort to reach the +shore, plunged into the water, but then movement capsized the boat. + +Face to face with death, Dick lost nothing of his indomitable presence +of mind. Might not that light canoe, floating bottom upwards, be made +the means for yet another grasp at life? The danger that threatened him +was twofold, there was the risk of suffocation as well as the peril of +being drowned; could not the inverted canoe be used for a kind of float +at once to keep his head above water and to serve as a screen from the +rushing air? He had some faint recollection of how it had been proved +possible under some such conditions to descend in safety the falls of +Niagara. + +Quick as lightning he seized hold of the cross-bench of the canoe, and +with his head out of water beneath the upturned keel, he was dashed +down the furious and well-nigh perpendicular fall. + +The craft sank deep into the abyss, but rose quickly again to the +surface. Here was Dick's chance, he was a good swimmer, and his life +depended now upon his strength of arm. + +It was a hard struggle, but he succeeded. In a quarter of an hour he +had landed on the left hand bank, where he was greeted with the joyful +congratulations of his friends, who had hurried to the foot of the fall +to assure themselves of his fate. + +[Illustration: The bullet shattered the rudder scull into fragments] + +The cannibals had all disappeared in the surging waters. Unprotected in +their fall, they had doubtless ceased to breathe before reaching the +lowest depths of the cataract where their lifeless bodies would soon be +dashed to pieces against the sharp rocks that were scattered along the +lower course of the stream. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +A HAPPY REUNION. + + +Two days after Dick's marvellous deliverance the party had the good +fortune to fall in with a caravan of honest Portuguese ivory-traders on +their way to Emboma, at the mouth of the Congo. They rendered the +fugitives every assistance, and thus enabled them to reach the coast +without further discomfort. + +This meeting with the caravan was a most fortunate occurrence, as any +project of launching a raft upon the Zaire would have been quite +impracticable, the river between the Ntemo and Yellala Falls being a +continuous series of cataracts. Stanley counted as many as sixty-two, +and it was hereabouts that that brave traveller sustained the last of +thirty-one conflicts with the natives, escaping almost by a miracle +from the Mbelo cataract. + +Before the middle of August the party arrived at Emboma, where they +were hospitably received by M. Motta Viega and Mr. Harrison. A steamer +was just on the point of starting for the Isthmus of Panama; in this +they took their passage, and in due time set foot once more upon +American soil. + +Forthwith a message was despatched to Mr. Weldon, apprising him of the +return of the wife and child over whose loss he had mourned so long On +the 25th the railroad deposited the travellers at San Francisco, the +only thing to mar their happiness being the recollection that Tom and +his partners were not with them to share their joy. + +Mr. Weldon had every reason to congratulate himself that Negoro had +failed to reach him. No doubt he would have been ready to sacrifice the +bulk of his fortune, and without a moment's hesitation would have set +out for the coast of Africa, but who could question that he would there +have been exposed to the vilest treachery? He felt that to Dick Sands +and to Hercules he owed a debt of gratitude that it would be impossible +to repay; Dick assumed more than ever the place of an adopted son, +whilst the brave negro was regarded as a true and faithful friend. + +Cousin Benedict, it must be owned, failed to share for long the general +joy. After giving Mr. Weldon a hasty shake of the hand, he hurried off +to his private room, and resumed his studies almost as if they had +never been interrupted. He set himself vigorously to work with the +design of producing an elaborate treatise upon the "Hexapodes +Benedictus" hitherto unknown to entomological research. Here in his +private chamber spectacles and magnifying-glass were ready for his use, +and he was now able for the first time with the aid of proper +appliances to examine the unique production of Central Africa. + +A shriek of horror and disappointment escaped his lips. The Hexapodes +Benedictus was not a hexapod at all. It was a common spider. Hercules, +in catching it, had unfortunately broken off its two front legs, and +Benedict, almost blind as he was, had failed to detect the accident. +His chagrin was most pitiable, the wonderful discovery that was to have +exalted his name high in the annals of science belonged simply to the +common order of the arachnidæ The blow to his aspirations was very +heavy; it brought on a fit of illness from which it took him some time +to recover. + +For the next three years Dick was entrusted with the education of +little Jack during the intervals he could spare from the prosecution of +his own studies, into which he threw himself with an energy quickened +by a kind of remorse. + +"If only I had known what a seaman ought to know when I was left to +myself on board the 'Pilgrim,'" he would continually say, "what misery +and suffering we might have been spared!" + +So diligently did he apply himself to the technical branches of his +profession that at the age of eighteen he received a special +certificate of honour, and was at once raised to the rank of a captain +in Mr. Weldon's firm. + +Thus by his industry and good conduct did the poor foundling of Sandy +Hook rise to a post of distinction. In spite of his youth, he commanded +universal respect; his native modesty and straightforwardness never +failed him, and for his own part, he seemed to be unconscious of those +fine traits in his character which had impelled him to deeds that made +him little short of a hero. + +His leisure moments, however, were often troubled by one source of +sadness; he could never forget the four negroes for whose misfortunes +he held himself by his own inexperience to be in a way responsible. +Mrs. Weldon thoroughly shared his regret, and would have made many +sacrifices to discover what had become of them. This anxiety was at +length relieved. + +Owing to the large correspondence of Mr. Weldon in almost every quarter +of the world, it was discovered that the whole of them had been sold in +one lot, and that they were now in Madagascar. Without listening for a +moment to Dick's proposal to apply all his savings to effect their +liberation, Mr. Weldon set his own agents to negotiate for their +freedom, and on the 15th of November, 1877, Tom, Bat, Actæon, and +Austin awaited their welcome at the merchant's door. It is needless to +say how warm were the greetings they received. + +Out of all the survivors of the "Pilgrim" that had been cast upon the +fatal coast of Africa, old Nan alone was wanting to complete the +number. Considering what they had all undergone, and the perils to +which they had been exposed, it seemed little short of a miracle that +she and poor Dingo should be the only victims. + +High was the festivity that night in the house of the Californian +merchant, and the toast, proposed at Mrs. Weldon's request, that was +received with the loudest acclamation was + +"DICK SANDS, THE BOY CAPTAIN!" + + + +THE END. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DICK SANDS THE BOY CAPTAIN *** + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +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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