Chapter Twenty Eight.
Attacked by pirates.
The party who had remained in the fort had made good progress in strengthening it, and we now felt ourselves prepared for the pirates’ reception.
“We shall have no difficulty in beating them back,” I observed to Mr Thudicumb, “with a fort like this for our protection.”
“I hope not, Walter,” he answered; “but they are fierce and desperate fellows, and they may use means for our destruction which we little expect. Still it is our duty to be prepared and to fight to the last. We can do no more!”
“But if they conquer us what will Emily and Grace and the poor Frau do?”
“We must leave that in God’s hands, Walter,” answered the mate. “We must fight like men, and not yield while life remains. If we are all killed, he will take care of the helpless ones who are trusting in him.”
Tanda at this time had not returned, and we were once more afraid that he had been caught by the pirates. At length my uncle’s anxiety to ascertain what was going on made him resolve to set out to try and get sufficiently near them to watch their movements. I begged to accompany him.
“If you do, you must promise one thing—to keep behind me; and should I be captured, to make your escape, and carry back news to the camp of what has occurred,” he observed.
I of course willingly gave the promise he desired. While we were speaking, we saw, rising in the distance, a thin column of smoke. It rose higher and higher in the sky. All those in the fort gazed anxiously towards it.
“They have discovered the house, and set it on fire,” observed Mr Hooker. “Oh, what treasures they are destroying—the ignorant savages! and yet, I am afraid, under similar circumstances our own countrymen would not behave much better. They are not likely to appreciate such treasures more than these dark-skinned Asiatics.”
“I am not quite so certain that that is the house on fire,” observed Mr Sedgwick, after watching the smoke for some time. “I should not be at all surprised if it was the brig that is burning. The smoke, in this clear atmosphere, is seen a long way off; and though my house would burn rapidly enough, I scarcely think it would send up such dense volumes as are now ascending to the blue sky. What do you think, Mr Thudicumb? It appears to me that the smoke is somewhat to the right of the house, and further off?”
“I have been watching it attentively,” said the mate, “and I agree with you, sir.”
“Still, as the wind is off shore, and there will be no surf in our bay, I am afraid the fellows will very likely land there; and if so, it will not be long before they discover the house,” observed Mr Sedgwick. “However, come along, Walter, and we will try to ascertain the true state of the case.”
My uncle, charging our friends to be on the alert, set off down the hill, rifle in hand; and I, bidding farewell to Emily and Grace, followed him. I soon caught him up, and we made our way along our torrent road. We calculated that we should have ample time to get into the neighbourhood of the house and return to the fort before dark. I could not help recollecting the tiger we had seen on our way up, and the numerous serpents which I knew were crawling about in all directions. My uncle, however, seemed utterly indifferent to them. We had got to the end of our torrent road, and were working our way through the jungle, when the sound of human voices reached our ears. On this, instead of going straight forward, my uncle turned to the right towards the sea. I followed him, literally crawling on hands and feet, something in the fashion of the monkeys, from bough to bough amid the thick entanglement of the forest; sometimes close down to the ground, though not often more than a few feet above it. I could not help having a fear that in those places there often lurked the fearful python; while some dark pools over which we crawled might, I thought it more than possible, harbour a hermit alligator or some other monster.
We had gone some distance, moving as noiselessly as possible, when my uncle stopped and looked eagerly forward, keeping his body concealed behind a bough. I imitated his example. Our worst anticipations were realised. In the distance I could see the brig burning furiously, while alongside the rocks lay several long prows with swivel guns in their bows, and their general appearance betokening them to be, what we supposed, pirates of Sooloo. A number of their crew were on the beach, while others, in a compact body, were making their way up the road in the direction of the house. They were fierce-looking fellows, armed with krisses and swords as well as spears and long bows. They were shouting to each other, and evidently expected, from the appearance of the road, that they were approaching some village which they hoped to sack. We watched them for some time. Fortunately they were making so much noise that they were not likely to hear us, even should they pass quite near. My uncle, therefore, turning round, led by the way we had come. I found that he was approaching as near the house as the thick brushwood would allow. I shall not easily forget the shout of savage delight the pirates set up when they came in sight of our peaceful abode. They instantly rushed forward, sending a shower of arrows before them, and shrieking at the top of their voices. It was somewhat trying to my companion’s temper to see them rushing up the steps of the house and along the verandah into the rooms. I was glad we had left Merlin behind us, for he would probably not have restrained himself, but would have rushed forward and betrayed our whereabouts. My uncle did not move from the spot, but continued to peer out from among the bushes. The pirates who had first reached the house were seen going in and out at all the doors like a troop of monkeys. They now came to the verandah and shouted out to the others. They were evidently disappointed at finding no one within. I could not help feeling pleased, however, that they were not likely to find anything which they would look upon as valuable, however much the articles might be prized by the owners. In a short time those who had been on the beach came up, and now they all rushed in together, and we could hear them shouting to each other as they ran about seeking for booty. Their shouts of satisfaction were soon changed to cries of disappointment and rage, as they found that everything they prized had been carried off. Some of the provisions, however, which had been left behind were at length discovered; and before long they found their way to the menagerie. This seemed to astonish them not a little. Several of the creatures, however, having been left without food, were howling piteously. At last I caught sight of a fellow rubbing away with two pieces of bamboo, and I knew well enough that he was striking a light. Another brought some dried boughs, and they soon had a torch twisted up and blazing away. Uttering a shout of triumph, one of them rushed up the steps of the house with a blazing torch, and ran round it, setting fire to the light wood-work and thatch. It rapidly caught, and the flames darting out in all directions, the whole house was soon furiously blazing away. Some of the men who had been inside rushed out, reeling as if they were drunk, and I guessed that they had got hold of some of the arrack which had been kept for preserving specimens. They now began to dance round the house, shouting and shrieking as if in delight at the destruction they had wrought. Some of them, however, were hid from our view by the building, so that we could not see what they were about. Presently their shrieks and cries seemed to increase, and we saw those from the other side of the building scampering away as fast as their legs could carry them, apparently in a panic. The rest followed. Away they went, each man tumbling over the other, and caring only for his own safety. I really think that at that moment, had our whole party been together, we might have rushed out and cut them to pieces. I heard my uncle utter a low chuckle of laughter, and presently there issued from behind the building his huge python, hissing furiously, and making its way at a rapid rate along the ground, as if in pursuit of the pirates.
“The fellows have set his cage on fire, and the creature has made his escape from the flames,” said my uncle. “He is wisely rushing to the nearest water to cool himself, and I suspect he thinks less of attacking them than of soothing his wounds.”
The python, however, as he was speaking, began to move slower and slower. He evidently had considerable difficulty in working his way over the ground. Presently his head, hitherto erect, sunk down, and he lay stretched out at his full length apparently dead.
“It will be as well,” said my uncle, “to make our way back to the fort, for these fellows will soon recover from their panic, and will suspect that the owners of the house are not far off. We cannot remain long concealed from them, for if they once begin to search about, they will soon discover the path to our river road.”
We accordingly hurried back to the fort. We found that Tanda had arrived before us. The whole party were in a great state of alarm, for he had made signs that the pirates had landed, and they also had seen the smoke from the burning house. They also dreaded from his signs that we had fallen into their power. I was glad to find that some deep caves had been dug, in which Emily and her companions could find shelter. The provisions had also been stored in them. All our arms were loaded. A number of bamboo stakes had likewise been formed, their points projecting out between the palisades to prevent the pirates from climbing over them. Our return quickly restored the spirits of the party. Emily threw herself into my arms and burst into tears, and Grace followed her example.
We had now a time of great anxiety. In spite of it, however, I was very glad when Mr Thudicumb proposed that we should pipe to supper.
“I never knew people fight so well on empty stomachs as on full ones; and as we may have sharp work before the morning, it will be wise if we fall to while we can,” he remarked.
I found that during our absence Roger Trew had led the way to the well, and brought up an ample supply of water to last us for some time. Thus our fort was pretty well stored; and even should the pirates lay siege to it, we might be able to hold out for some time.
“By-the-by, Mr Walter,” observed Roger, “the last time I came up, I saw that the boughs had given way over the pit we dug; but I was in too great a hurry to look in. I have a notion, however, that something or other has been caught, and whether it is that great brute with a horn on his nose, or some other creature, I cannot say.”
As darkness came on, we assembled in the largest cavern which had been dug, in order that the light might not betray us. Here we found that without danger—as the flame would be hid, and the smoke would, of course, not be seen—we might light a fire and boil water, and cook our food, which was a great luxury. Two of the party kept on watch while the rest of us assembled to supper. The sentries were accompanied by Merlin, who was a host in himself, as his quick ear was more likely to catch the sound of approaching footsteps than any one among us. We were, however, allowed to enjoy our meal in peace, and we, most of us tired out, lay down to rest, while our watch was set as usual. Often during the night I fancied I heard the cries of the Malays rushing up the hill, and I started up to find that I had been dreaming. Hour after hour passed by, Mr Thudicumb would not let me go on guard, as he said I was already tired out. I slept on and on, and at length daylight streamed in through the entrance of the rustic hut in which I had passed the night. Emily and Grace were on foot, and soon afterwards Frau Ursula made her appearance at the entrance of their bower. “No pirate come,” she observed. “I hope they go away, and not find us out.” I heartily hoped so also; but, at the same time, had it not been for the girls, I own I should rather have liked to have had a brush with the pirates, so confident did I feel that we could beat them off. Oliver soon joined us. He looked somewhat pale, I fancied.
“I have not slept at all,” he whispered to me. “I have been praying that we may be protected from those fearful men. It would be so dreadful to have to fight them. Before they could be driven off, so many would be killed; and Walter, I confess I cannot bear the thoughts of destroying our fellow-creatures.”
“I do not wish it either,” I said; “but if they come, they must take the consequences.”
I was sure that, notwithstanding his feelings, no one would fight more bravely than Oliver. Those who had been on watch during the night, now got up, and the whole party assembled in the centre of our fort.
“Gentlemen,” said Mr Thudicumb, “on board the Bussorah Merchant we always used to have morning prayers when the weather permitted, and, with your leave, we will have them now. We have plenty to pray for, and much to be thankful for. We should be thankful we have escaped the dangers from which so many of our fellow-creatures have suffered, and that we are all alive and well; and we need to pray that a stronger arm than ours may fight for us, should we be attacked by those fierce and ignorant savages.”
“Very right,” said Mr Hooker, “and I am sure all will agree with you.”
Mr Sedgwick, however, made no remark. He had never said anything against religion; but I had observed, since we first found him, that he did not appear to be in any way under its influence. However, as he did not object, Mr Thudicumb forthwith produced a Bible which he had found in the cabin of the brig uninjured. He now read a portion of Scripture, and then offered up an earnest prayer for our deliverance. I know I for one felt more cheerful after it, and so I am sure did Emily and Grace, while a tear stood in Oliver’s eye. He had entered more than any of us, with all his heart, into the simple prayer of the untutored sailor. Watch was, of course, kept meantime by one of the party, and we then in good spirits went to breakfast, having lighted our fire as before in the pit, making as small a one as possible, so as not to allow the smoke to be seen at a distance.
Once more Tanda went out as a scout to try and ascertain what the pirates were about. Soon after he had gone, we were aroused by a loud squeaking which seemed to come from the wood at the bottom of the hill. It sounded exactly like the cry of a pig. Oliver and I offered to go down and ascertain what it was. I was starting without any arms, and had got to the gate, when it occurred to me that I might as well take a fowling-piece. I ran back for it, and Oliver and I then set forward down the hill. The squeaking sound increased for a little time, and then ceased. We had, however, marked the place from whence it had come. We were making our way through the forest, when Oliver seized my arm.
“Stop, Walter,” he exclaimed; “not a step further! See, see!” There, at the foot of a large tree, with its tail coiled round an upper branch, its body circling the trunk, was a huge python. Our uncle’s pet, compared to it, was a mere pigmy. It was pressing with its enormous body a large pig, which, with its huge mouth wide open, it was preparing to swallow. So eager was it that it did not observe us. We stood transfixed with a feeling akin to horror, lest any movement might disturb it. We knew that we should be much safer should it once get the unfortunate pig within its jaws. Greatly to my relief, it now darted down upon the pig, taking the head within its mouth, and gradually it began to suck in the body. We watched it without moving or speaking. In a short time, more than half the quadruped had disappeared, and I now knew, from the formation of the animal’s teeth, that no power could draw it out again, and that thus, till it had entirely swallowed it, we were safe. Now was the time, therefore, to beat our retreat, and we hurried back to the fort with an account of what we had seen.
“We must prevent the creature from causing further mischief,” said Mr Hooker, seizing an axe. “When it has digested the pig, it may pay us a visit, and may be a more awkward enemy to deal with than even the pirates. Now, if we make haste, he is at our mercy.”
Potto Jumbo begged that he might accompany us, and Oliver and he and I, with the two gentlemen, each armed with an axe and a long bamboo spear, hurried back to where we had seen the python. As we reached it the hind legs of the pig were just disappearing within its jaws. “Now is the time for the attack,” cried Mr Sedgwick, rushing forward with his axe and dealing the animal a blow behind the neck. It instantly uncoiled its powerful tail and attempted to seize its enemy. It seemed as if it could have crushed him with one blow against the tree, but he gave a spring and just escaped it. At the same instant Potto Jumbo sprang in and struck the tail, which instantly flew back and again encircled the tree. The monster now tried to lift up his head to make a spring towards us, but the pig prevented it from opening its jaws, though the force with which it projected its enormous head was sufficient to have knocked down the strongest man and killed him on the spot. Mr Hooker was on the watch, and received it on the point of his spear, which transfixed its throat, and must have gone through the pig’s body at the same time. Still his spine was uninjured, and there was great danger in getting within the coils of its body. Potto Jumbo, however, kept watching the tail, which was again unwound from the branch of the tree. “You cut, cut at the back while I hold,” he cried out, seizing the very end of the tail. He threw himself out so as to stretch out the animal. Oliver and I, who had been waiting our opportunity, rushed in, and dealt it several severe blows with our hatchets. Potto pulled away at the same time. “No fear now,” he cried out; “one more cut and he die!” Once more we rushed in with our hatchets. No sooner did we deal the blows than the creature lay stretched out apparently quite dead.
“We have settled him,” said Mr Sedgwick. “And now let us measure his length.”
He paced along the body, which lay stretched out on the ground, and we found it to be fully twenty-five feet long.
“An unpleasant creature to encounter in a morning’s ramble,” observed Mr Hooker. “But how have you managed to escape these reptiles, Sedgwick?” he asked.
“Simply, I suppose, because they prefer pork to man,” he answered; “and as we have the same taste, we may as well get piggy out of his maw.”
To do so was impossible without cutting off the serpent’s head. This we accomplished with our hatchets. However, the appearance of the pig when we got it out was far from tempting, and as we had a supply of food in the fort, we agreed to let it remain where it was. We had been so interested in this encounter that we had almost forgotten the position in which we were placed. A shout from Mr Thudicumb, however, quickly recalled us, and we hurried up to the fort. Tanda had just arrived.
“He is in a state of great agitation, sir,” said Mr Thudicumb, as Mr Sedgwick appeared, “but what he says I cannot make out.”
Tanda and his master exchanged a few words.
“Friends,” said Mr Sedgwick, “the pirates are approaching. They have found their way up the river road, and will be here in a short time. Once more I must urge you to fight to the last. I know them well. Should we yield, a fearful death or painful captivity would be our lot.”
“We are all aware of that, sir,” said Mr Thudicumb; “and I can answer for all hands that none will fail in their duty.”
The bank round the more gentle slope of the hill had been raised sufficiently to protect our bodies, so that by keeping close to it, no shot—should the enemy have fire-arms—could hit us. All the muskets were laid carefully loaded against the bank, and the Frau and the girls, who had been practising loading for some time, took their places in hollows which had been formed on purpose, where they might load without risk, as soon as the guns were handed to them. We all now stood at our posts anxiously watching for the approach of the enemy. At length we saw some dark-skinned faces appearing amid the brushwood, and directly afterwards some thirty or more wild-looking savages rushed through it and began to ascend the hill. They stopped for an instant on seeing the formidable preparations made for their reception, while, of course, they could not tell how many people were within the stockades ready to fire on them. At length one of their chiefs apparently came to the front, and waving his curved sword, seemed to urge them to follow him. On he came, a humpbacked savage-looking fellow. Even at that distance I fancied I could distinguish his hideous features. More than once he went back, and seemed shouting to his followers to keep up with him; and with wonderful agility, considering his form, he toiled up the hill.
“Mr Hooker, you are the best shot among us, please to pick off that fellow,” said Mr Thudicumb. “If it were not for him, I do not think the fellows would have come on.”
The hunchback still continued to advance, his long arms and claw-like fingers assisting him up the steeper places. Again he stopped and appeared to be swearing at his men for not coming faster. He was now within range. I could not help looking on one side to watch Mr Hooker as he stood perfectly calm with his musket covering the pirate chief. Little did the man think that a musket in the hands of an unerring shot was pointed at him. The pirates, finding no opposition as yet, now came on more readily, and soon another body of an equal number appeared behind them, coming from the woods. I could by this time clearly see the countenance of the pirate. He was an old man, with two or more ugly gashes about the face, showing that he had not followed his profession with impunity. The pirates, uttering fierce cries, were now rushing on.
“I must stop that fellow’s career, at all events,” said Mr Hooker, levelling his piece. He fired. The old pirate stood up for an instant on a rock which he had just reached, waving his sword above his head, and then fell backwards over the men who were coming up behind him. The Frau instantly seized the gun, and began reloading it. The pirates, who had been quickly advancing, now appeared to waver.
“If we had a dozen more fellows with us, we would quickly sally out and put them to flight!” exclaimed Mr Thudicumb.
“But as we are only nine in all, not counting de ladies and Merlin, and dem fellows fight like wild beasts, we hab hard job to drive dem back,” said Potto Jumbo. “Still we fight while we got drop blood in de veins. Merlin fight wid teeth dough; you see dat! Hurrah, boys!” and Potto took aim at another Malay leader who now occupied the position of the first.
Merlin was fully as eager for the fight as any one, and rushed backwards and forwards, poking his snout between the palisades wherever there was an opening, and barking furiously.
“I wish we had another python to let loose on them, uncle,” I said to Mr Sedgwick, near whom I was standing. “It might have a useful effect.”
“Ah, yes; we should not have killed the other fellow, Walter,” he observed. “But, to be sure, it would have been a difficult matter to capture him, and still more so to make him take the right course when we let him loose again.”
The pirates, fortunately, had but very few fire-arms among them, and they evidently depended on a hand to hand combat to overcome us. The larger body had now gained a more exposed part of the hill, and began to ascend quicker than before. We therefore, taking good aim, had to fire as rapidly as possible. No time for speaking now. Thanks to the skill with which the Frau and the young ladies loaded the muskets, we were able to keep up a constant fusillade, which must have made it appear that we had far more men within the fort than was really the case. To keep up the deception, we ran from side to side, thus extending the length of our line, now firing out through one opening, now through another.
“Do not throw a shot away,” Mr Thudicumb continued saying. “Fix on your man before you fire.”
I had never seen a shot fired in anger; but I own my blood quickly got up, and I no longer felt the slightest compunction in killing our enemies. Even Oliver, so gentle and tender-hearted, played his part well, and I believe every shot he fired took effect. In my eagerness I missed once or twice; but seeing the importance of following the mate’s advice, I endeavoured to restrain my excitement and take steady aim before I pulled the trigger. Still our ferocious enemies so far outnumbered us, that if they once got up to the palisades, even though many might be killed, a superior force would be able to climb up and overpower us. They were within a dozen yards when, greatly to my dismay, I saw another strong body emerging from the wood, and with loud shouts rushing up the hill to join their companions. I began for the first time to think that all would be lost. My heart sank as I contemplated the dreadful fate of the two poor girls. What would become of them and the good Frau when we were all killed? for killed I fully believed we all should be. Still, as yet, none of us were hurt, although their arrows flew thickly over our heads, and they had begun to throw their darts at us. Four or five, armed with muskets, now advanced, and also began firing away—their shot pinging against the palisades. We had far more to dread from them than from the arrows, I fancied. As they got nearer, however, several arrows came through the openings, and I heard a bullet whistle close to my ear. It was the first time I had heard such a sound, but I knew it well, and could not avoid bobbing my head, though the shot had passed me. Mr Thudicumb and Dick Tarbox, however, never flinched the whole time. Uttering loud shouts and shrieks, the fresh body of men now joined their companions, while the first continued to shower arrows and darts and to send their bullets among us. I saw Oliver suddenly fall. An arrow had struck him on the shoulder.
“It is nothing,” he called out; “it is nothing,” and endeavoured to draw the weapon from his wound.
Frau Ursula saw what had occurred, as she was at that moment handing up a musket, and springing up, carried him down into their cave. The dreadful thought came across me that the arrows were poisoned. I could not, however, leave my post to inquire. His fate might be that of any one of us the next instant. I could only wish that all were as prepared to meet death as I knew he was. Directly afterwards I saw my uncle stagger. A bullet had struck him; but recovering himself, he cried, “Never mind, lads! A mere graze;” and instantly again fired. The muskets came from below loaded, less quickly than before. I guessed the reason—that the Frau or the girls were attending to poor Oliver. Again a flight of arrows came flying over and through the palisades, some sticking in them, when I felt one pass through my cap, and, as I thought, wound my head. I could not help having the fearful dread that the poison would quickly enter my veins, and expected every instant to drop. Still there was but little time for thought, and I resolved to fight away with my companions to the last. A few minutes more of life were of but little value, and I now fully expected that, in spite of the determined way in which we were defending our fort, it would be stormed at last. Directly afterwards the Malays, showering their missiles upon us, with loud shouts and shrieks rushed on. Some caught hold of the palisades, and attempted to pull them down; others began to climb over them. Some forced their hands through the openings to seize the bamboo spears as we thrust them out at our enemies. I caught sight of a number of pirates making their way to one side where the fort was undefended. Nothing now, it seemed to me, could prevent them from getting in; but when I shouted out, Potto Jumbo joined me, and we rushed to the spot. Just then a loud shouting was heard coming up from the bottom of the hill. I could distinguish through the opening, for the space was clear where we then were, several pirates turning their heads. The shouting increased. Some ran down the hill, the others turned and followed, and those who had been climbing up the palisades dropped to the ground, and then, as if seized by a sudden panic, rushed down the hill helter-skelter, eager to avoid the shot which we sent after them. We could scarcely believe what had occurred.
“Heaven be praised!” said Mr Thudicumb. “We are saved, and I do not think they will come back again.”
Chapter Twenty Nine.
Building of the “Hope.”
What had thus suddenly made the Malays take to flight remained a mystery. Forgetting my own wound, my first impulse was to run down and see after Oliver. I met Emily, who threw herself into my arms.
“He is better, he is better!” she exclaimed. “The good Frau has, I believe, saved his life.”
“We are all saved, my dear sister,” I said. “The enemy have taken to flight, and we hope will not come back again.”
“And he will be saved—he will not die,” she again said, leading me to where Oliver was lying on a bed of leaves.
The Frau had torn off his jacket and shirt, and I found that, like Queen Eleanor, who saved her husband’s life, she had been sucking the poison, if there was any, from the wound, and was now carefully bathing it.
“I do not think I am much hurt,” said Oliver, looking up as I entered. “The good Frau has tended me so kindly and carefully, that I am sure I shall soon get better.”
When the Frau had finished with Oliver, I begged her to look at my head, and, greatly to my relief, I found that the point of the arrow had not entered the flesh; the pain was caused by the shaft, which had passed over my head, only carrying away some of the hair. While the Frau was making the examination, Emily and Grace stood trembling, watching the result. Emily now threw herself on my neck and burst into tears, while little Grace took my hand, and exclaimed,—“I am so thankful! I am so thankful that neither you nor Oliver are likely to suffer.”
“And now, my kind Frau,” said Mr Sedgwick, coming down, “perhaps you will look at my little hurt. You are the best doctor of the party, and it strikes me that I have a bullet somewhere in my shoulder.”
“Well, then, you lie down there,” she said, placing him on the ground, and kneeling down by his side after he had taken off his coat and shirt. “Let me see. Yes, here is the hole the bullet came through.”
I looked, when, to my surprise, I saw a little blue mark, scarcely larger than a pea, and could not believe that a bullet had passed into it.
“Yes, it come in there,” she continued; “I see. Hillo! here it is, though;” and she touched a large lump which appeared just behind the shoulder. “Oh, I got knife. Now you no squeak out, sir;” and taking a sharp knife from her pocket, she made a cut across the flesh, when out popped the bullet almost into the mouth of the faithful Tanda, who had followed his master, and was eagerly watching the operation. An abundant supply of cool water was then applied, and plasters put on. “There, you stay quiet a little, sir, and you soon get well,” she said; “but stay, I want to pull out the bit of shirt that go in—not much, though.” Indeed, the hole in the shirt was not much larger than that in the flesh; but still it was evident that some portion had been torn away. My uncle could hardly refrain from crying out as the Frau probed the wound. She, however, succeeded in finding the piece of cotton. Fortunately the jacket had flown open at the moment, so that nothing else had gone in. “There, you healthy man; you be well in a few days—no fear,” she said.
Seldom has a desperate battle been fought with so few casualties on one side, though, to be sure, a third of our party might have been put down as wounded. We had reason to be thankful; but still I could not help dreading that the Malays might return. Mr Sedgwick was about to despatch Tanda, when Mr Thudicumb proposed that we should hoist our post, and endeavour to ascertain what was the cause of their flight. By means of the coir-rope we had prepared, it was soon hoisted up, and stepped in its place more securely now than at first, because there was no necessity for again lowering it. Roger Trew was very speedily at the top.
“Hurrah!” he shouted; “hurrah! The prows are shoving off to sea, pulling away like mad! Yes, there’s the reason too—a large square-rigged, white-sailed vessel coming round the point. By her look, too, she is English; and they know pretty well that if they were to be caught by her, their day of pirating would be over. Hurrah! hurrah!”
As may be supposed, we were all eager to mount to the top of the post, and have a look at the stranger. Mr Thudicumb with his spy-glass followed Roger.
“Yes, there is no doubt about it. She is a British man-of-war; and I daresay she has been cruising in search of these very fellows. They are all off, though; yes—five, six, eight prows, making their way to the eastward. She will see our flagstaff on the rock, I hope, and send in here. But I forgot; the pirates carried that away.”
Thus he continued making his observations. We all stood eagerly round him, though the ocean was hid from us.
“She has caught sight of the prows,” he exclaimed, “and is making more sail. They are, however, well to windward of her, and I am afraid she will have a hard job to catch them up. Perhaps she will make a tack in here; and if so, she will see us.”
“Would it not be as well to hoist a signal on the Flagstaff Rock, to supply the place of the flag carried off?” observed Mr Hooker.
“Of course, of course,” was the answer; “and the sooner we do so the better.”
As we knew that the house had been burned down, and no accommodation was to be found on the shore, it was agreed that the ladies, with Oliver and Potto Jumbo, Mr Sedgwick and Tanda, should remain at the fort, in case any stray Malays might have failed to get off. It was important also to drag away the dead bodies as soon as possible. In a very few hours they would render the fort scarcely bearable; besides which they would be certain to attract beasts of prey. Tanda and Potto Jumbo undertook to perform this unpleasant work, and to bury them in some soft ground at the bottom of the hill. The rest of us then set off to the sea-shore, carrying a large sheet which had been saved from the wreck to act as a signal.
“And Hooker, my dear fellow—Hooker,” exclaimed my uncle, as we were starting, “do let me know as soon as possible if our treasures have escaped; it would be heartbreaking to lose them. Send up Walter as soon as possible. The knowledge that they are safe would bring me round quicker than anything else, and recompense me for what we have gone through.”
“Depend on me,” answered his brother naturalist. “I hope it will be all right; though probably, had the pirates not found their way to the fort, they would have discovered our stores.”
We now hurried down the hill, and made the best of our way along our river road to the shore. As we passed the spot where the house had stood, a heap of cinders alone remained, still smouldering. It was surprising, indeed, that the trees had escaped. Had they caught fire, a large portion of the forest, if not the whole of the woods on the island, might have been burned. We were thankful we had escaped such a fearful calamity. On our way we found the apparently dead body of a pirate. I was going up to him, when Mr Thudicumb called me back.
“Stay, stay, Walter!” he cried. “If he is not dead, he may take his revenge on you, even though at the last gasp.”
I drew back just in time, for I thought I saw the man’s eye move. Dick Tarbox came on the next moment, when the seemingly dead Malay started up, and made a rush at me, with his sharp kriss in his hand. But the exertion was too much for him: just as he reached me he fell back, his wound bursting out afresh, and the next instant he gave a gasp, and was dead. It showed the desperate character of the men with whom we had had to contend, and increased our gratitude that we had escaped falling into their hands. Two more we found close to the beach, who had been left behind by their companions in their hurry to embark. One was already dead; the other, though badly wounded, still breathed. We approached him cautiously. Roger Trew was on the point of lifting up his musket to give him his quietus, when Mr Hooker called to him.
“He knows no better, poor wretch!” he said. “If he were our greatest enemy, we should do our best to save him; only let us take away from him the power of doing mischief.”
“You are right, sir; I forgot that,” said Roger Trew.
The pirate’s kriss was in his hand, but his arm was too weak to lift it. We removed his weapon, when Mr Hooker addressed some words to him, which made the pirate open his eyes wide with astonishment.
“I have told him we will not hurt him,” said our friend, “and if we can do him any good, we will. I do not think he quite believes us; but here, fortunately, I have brought some water. He is suffering from thirst; lift up his head, and I will pour a few drops down his throat.”
This was done; and Mr Hooker—asking me to watch the man, after we had placed him higher up on the beach—giving me his flask, hurried off with the rest of the party to the Flagstaff Rock.
I confess I was somewhat disappointed, as I thought I should be able to get a better view of the movements of the English ship from thence. I continued, however, to apply the flask to the man’s mouth, he every now and then making signs that he was suffering from thirst. I looked out seaward, where I could still see the ship, and she seemed to me to be standing towards the shore. How eagerly my heart beat with the thoughts of being once more on board, and on my way to a civilised land! Not that I was weary of my stay on the island; but I knew how anxious Captain and Mrs Davenport must be about their daughter: and she, too, poor girl, was pining sadly for them.
I lost sight of the party for some time, till at length I saw them clambering up on a point of the rock where our flagstaff stood. It was still there, though the flag had been carried away. Presently I saw Roger Trew mounting to the top to re-reeve the halliards; and then up went the huge white cloth, which flew out in the breeze against the dark-green foliage of the forest. That surely must be seen, I thought. The party stood round it, keeping their telescopes fixed on the distant ship. Presently I saw that some movement was taking place on board. Alas! the ship was tacking, and away she stood from the island. Perhaps she will tack again, and once more stand in for the shore, I thought. With difficulty could I take my eyes off her, to attend to the wounded Malay. His low voice asking for water again drew my attention to him. Although his brow was low and his eyes somewhat close together and turned inwards, the expression of his countenance was not so bad as that of many of his people; and I thought even that he gave a smile of gratitude as I occasionally let a few drops of water trickle down his throat.
The ship stood on and on. Once more she tacked, and my hopes revived. She was, however, by this time a considerable distance along the coast, and I could scarcely hope that our signal had been seen. I had been keeping my eyes on her for some time, without turning my head, when I heard voices, and looking round, I saw Mr Hooker and his party coming towards me.
“No chance of getting off this time, I am afraid,” said Mr Thudicumb. “We shall have to build our vessel, and the sooner we set about it the better.”
“We must, however, put a house over our heads in the meantime,” said Mr Hooker. “This poor fellow, too, if we are to be instrumental in preserving his life, must be cared for.”
“Of course, sir,” said Roger Trew. “We will have a hut up for him in no time; and then, as it will be better to be near the shore instead of remaining on the hill, we must get one set up for the young ladies and the old Frau.”
“Very right, my lad,” said Mr Hooker. “But now, while you attend to the wounded man, Walter and I will go and look for our treasures, and ascertain whether they have escaped discovery by the pirates.”
How eagerly Mr Hooker, whom I followed, looked round him on every side as we proceeded to the hiding-place, lest he should discover any signs of its having been visited!
“Alack! alack! I am afraid some of them have been here,” he said. “Oh, what mischief they may have done!”
We reached a hollow under the bank of a dry stream. Alas! the boughs had been pulled away, and it was very evident that it had been entered. The first thing we came upon was the jar which had contained the nautilus: it was open and empty. The arrack had been carried off, and the mollusc lay, entirely destroyed, on one side.
“This is sad—very sad! Oh, what a loss!” exclaimed Mr Hooker. “I hope we may discover that no worse mischief has been done.”
We went in, almost falling over a case which had been opened. Mr Hooker examined it anxiously. It had not been disturbed, but after being opened, the top had been allowed to fall down again. The other cases were in the place where we left them. We now examined them. Mr Hooker uttered a shout of joy as he found that all had escaped. It was evident that the Malays had intended carrying off the cases, but had been frightened away before they could accomplish their object.
“Now, Walter, run up to your uncle with the good news,” exclaimed Mr Hooker. “He said it would restore him, and I am sure it will. But do not go without your fowling-piece, though. We have had examples of the savage creatures to be met with in the woods.”
I hurried along as fast as my legs would let me. I knew the delight the announcement would give my uncle. I took the path we had so often followed; keeping, as may be supposed, a bright look-out on either side, lest I might encounter a wild beast or serpent. Emily saw me coming, for she was on the watch, and ran down the hill to meet me. She gave a good account of Oliver.
“I am so thankful,” she said; “he does not seem to have suffered from that fearful arrow. I little knew at the time what a risk you were all running; but I now see how mercifully we have been preserved.”
Our uncle had been sleeping, but he started up when he heard me speaking in the fort.
“And our treasures, have they escaped, Walter? Are my collections all safe?” he asked eagerly.
I told him that all his things had been uninjured, and that one case only of Mr Hooker’s had suffered, besides the nautilus.
“Nautilus, did you say? Has that been destroyed? Oh, those atrocious villains! That prize on which I set such value! Well, Walter, you must try and catch me another; you cannot render me a greater service. Alas! alas! that I should have lost that one, and all for the sake of the arrack in which it was preserved!”
I assured him that I would do my best to try and catch another, as I was certain would also our companions.
“If poor Macco had been with us, I should have had more hope,” I said. “I never met a more expert fisherman, and I am sure he would have devised some means, though we might fail.”
He seemed to take much less to heart the information that the English ship had passed by; indeed, I suspect he was very unwilling to leave the island till he had re-collected more of the specimens which had been left in the house and destroyed. As yet we could not tell whether the pirates had discovered our store of timber for building the vessel, as we had not had time to visit the bay; nor, indeed, whether the boat had escaped their sharp eyes. That had been hidden among the rocks at some distance from the place where we usually landed, and might possibly, we hoped, not have been seen.
Late in the evening the rest of the party returned. They had given up all hopes of again seeing the vessel, and they came to ask Mr Sedgwick whether he would like to be carried down to the sea-shore.
“Certainly, certainly,” he answered; “though I think I can walk. The lad here—Oliver—must be carried; and if I fail, I will get you to help me. But the sooner we commence building a house the better. I suppose some time must pass before the vessel can be got afloat, and we can be comfortable in the meantime Tanda here, who helped me to put up the other house, will be of great assistance; and with so many hands, we can soon get it ready.”
I forgot to mention the creatures which had accompanied us into the fort: we had to pull down some of our stockade to let them out. And now, much in the order in which we had arrived, we returned to the site of the house; near which we found our friends had put up very comfortable huts for the reception of Mr Sedgwick and Oliver, and the ladies.
It was night by the time we arrived. Our two-footed and four-footed friends seemed delighted to get back to their old location, and began feeding away eagerly, there being an abundance of provender suited to their tastes scattered about.
“Up, lads, up!” I heard my uncle shouting out next morning. The sound made me open my eyes. “Up, lads, up! We have work to do: a house to put up, and a vessel to build; provisions to collect, and stores to prepare.”
All hands of our little community were soon on foot.
“Yah! yah! yah!” I heard the Frau cry out. “I will prepare breakfast. You men go and work. Yah!”
With axes, knives, and saws, most of us started for the nearest bamboo grove, and were soon cutting and hacking away, bringing down the huge stalks and clearing them of their leaves. Oliver and I, however, went in search of the boat, promising to join them. We eagerly hastened to the spot where we had left it, scarcely, however, expecting to find, it safe. It had escaped discovery, and we returned with the satisfactory information.
As the stalks of the bamboos were cut down, they were formed into bundles of a size which we could manage to drag over the ground to the site of the house. Two of the party, under the direction of my uncle, dug the holes where the uprights were to be inserted. Mr Hooker and I undertook to drag the bundles. When we arrived with the first, we found the Frau, aided by the girls, busily employed in roasting and boiling before a huge fire which she had kindled. Oliver was still unable to do any work. He therefore remained at the camp—as I may call it—in the careful hands of the kind Frau; she or one of the girls being constantly at his side, either with some cooling beverage, or with some delicacy which they thought might tempt his appetite. At a little distance, in the shade of some boughs, lay the wounded Malay. I saw his eyes fixed on the girls with an expression of wonder. He probably had never seen any beings so fair and graceful before. I could not help fancying that he must have supposed them angels from another world; but whether or not I was right, I have my doubts. When, however, one of them took him a cup of tea which the Frau had just brewed, he received it with an expression of countenance which I thought betokened gratitude.
When a number of people are working together with a will properly directed, it is extraordinary how rapidly work can be got through. We had a considerable number of the uprights in their places before we sat down to breakfast. We were not long about our meal, as we were determined to finish what was necessary to be done as soon as possible. Having cut down a sufficient supply of bamboos, we next proceeded to fell several sago-palms, for the purpose of obtaining the leaf-stems for the walls and partitions, while from the trunks we intended to make a supply of sago for our voyage. By the evening we had made wonderful progress with the house, and retired to our temporary huts, satisfied that we had done a good day’s work.
Fitting the leaf-stems into frames occupied a longer time; but as neatness was not our object, it was done rapidly. Thus in about four days we had a very respectable house over our heads, capable of holding all the party. My uncle sighed as he looked about it, though, and thought of the treasures his former abode had contained. We now brought back his and Mr Hooker’s collections, and stored them in a division which we called the museum.
“The next thing we have to do is to grow some corn for our consumption,” said our uncle.
“Grow corn?” I asked. “Why, I did not suppose that we were to remain here a year till it came up.”
He laughed. “A couple of months, or little more, after it is put into the ground, will be sufficient to produce the ripe corn,” he answered.
I expressed some incredulity, for I fancied that he was laughing at me.
“Set to work and scrape up the ground, for it is scarcely necessary to dig it very deep. We will put in the corn, and you will see that my prediction will be fulfilled. Fortunately, I saved a quantity of seed, which I placed with my collections in concealment,” he said.
From house-building all hands set to work to cultivate the ground, and we quickly had a large space cleared for the reception of the seed, which, although not a native of that clime, flourishes, as it does throughout the greater portion of the American continent, whatever may be the latitude.
By this time my uncle had almost recovered from his wound, and Oliver and the Malay were much better and able to move about. Both my uncle and Mr Hooker could converse with the Malay. They found him a very intelligent fellow. He told them that his name was Ali, that he had followed various occupations, but that, having gambled away all his property, he had as a last resource taken to piracy. Among other things, he had been a bee-hunter, and seemed to possess a great knowledge of those wonderful insects. He boasted also of his skill as a fisherman. Constantly listening to us as we talked, he soon began to pick up a great many words of English. He was thus able to understand things said to him, though he could not make any very clear reply.
Mr Thudicumb now once more urged the importance of commencing our proposed vessel. I rather think that the two naturalists were in no hurry to get away from the island, as they were both of them anxious to replace the objects of natural history which had been destroyed by the pirates. However, they could not refuse to comply with Mr Thudicumb’s request, and we therefore set forth with tools to the bay where we had collected the materials, which, it will be remembered, we called Hope Harbour. Fortunately, the pirates had not discovered it, or they would probably have burned our wood. The timber and planks which had been brought on shore did not appear very promising; at first, indeed, I thought it would be impossible to make a vessel out of them.
“Perseverance will overcome difficulties,” observed Mr Thudicumb. “Never fear, Walter. With our axes and saws we shall be able in time to smooth away these planks and fit the ribs to the new craft. However, the first thing to be done is to get the keel laid, and for that purpose we must have one of the longest and straightest trees we can find.”
There was a clear road from the bay up into the interior, and while one party prepared the spot where the vessel was to be built, levelling the ground, and fixing logs on which the keel was to be placed, under Mr Thudicumb’s directions another started to select the timber. We were not long before we came to a tall tree, fully eighty feet in height, and as straight as an arrow.
“That will do admirably for us,” said Mr Thudicumb; “for though our vessel must not be so long, we shall require the thicker part for the purpose.”
Tarbox, Roger Trew, and Potto Jumbo set to work to fell the tree, the forest loudly resounding with the blows of their axes. I must not occupy too much time in describing how the tree was felled, the branches cut off, and squared into shape. We then, fastening some ratans round it, dragged it on rollers to the bed which had been prepared, and thus in due form laid the keel of the Hope. Mr Thudicumb, with pencil and paper, had drawn a plan of the proposed vessel.
“We will give her a good floor,” he said, “though she may be rather long for her beam; but a long vessel is better suited to the seas we may have to go through. We will rig her as a cutter or yawl perhaps.”
Day after day we repaired to the bay; but to my eye our progress was but slow indeed, as every timber had to be reformed, and the old bolts taken out of them, as well as out of the planks. It was a long business. With the exception of Mr Thudicumb and Tarbox, we were all inexperienced carpenters. At last, indeed, Mr Thudicumb proposed that he and Tarbox and Roger Trew, with Potto Jumbo, should devote themselves to building the vessel, while the rest of us either went fishing, or assisted Mr Sedgwick and Mr Hooker in collecting objects of natural history, or in manufacturing sago, or in making other articles which would be required for the voyage or present use.
We set to work to make our sago, much in the way I have before described. We had got through the pith of a couple of trees, when one day Ali made us understand that he had seen some bees at a distance, and that he was sure we might procure some honey, if we would assist him in obtaining it. The Frau pricked up her ears at the sound.
“Oh yes, yes!” she exclaimed; “it will be great thing with sago-bread. You go, Ali; go!”
It was arranged that Mr Hooker, with Oliver and I, should accompany Ali in his search. We started, therefore, accompanied by Merlin. Ali supplied himself with a couple of large cloths. He also, as he went along, cut some creepers, one a stout one, and another, of considerable length, very fine. These he begged us to carry. With our guns as usual, we took our way through the forest. I had often remarked that he seemed very uncomfortable, as if there was something he wanted very much. As we were proceeding, we came to several tall, slender, and extremely graceful palms. The trunks were from six to eight inches only in diameter, though the sheath of green leaves that sprang from their summits was nearly forty feet from the ground. They were indeed elegant trees. Mr Hooker, when he saw them, said they were the pinang, or betel-nut palm—Areca catechu. We found the nuts growing from a stalk hanging down in the centre, forming a loose conical cluster. Ali no sooner set eyes on them, than he climbed one of the trees, and brought down a bunch of the nuts. He put several of them into the bag he carried by his side, and we proceeded some distance, till we came to a stony place, when he instantly, selecting two large stones, pounded some nuts. They were ripe, each about the size of a small chicken’s egg, the skin of a brightish yellow. Within was a husk, similar to the husk of a cocoa-nut. Within this again was a small spherical nut, not unlike a nutmeg, and somewhat hard and tough. Having picked some leaves, he took one of them, and produced from his pocket a small piece of lime about the size of a pea. This he mixed with some of the nut, and enclosed in the leaf. He then took the roll between his thumb and forefinger, and rubbed it violently against the front of his gums, his teeth being closed and his lips open. After this, he began to chew it for some time, and then held it between his lips and teeth, a portion protruding from his mouth. Nothing could be more disagreeable than the result, for immediately a profusion of a red brick-coloured saliva poured out from each corner, dropping to the ground as if his mouth was bleeding. He seemed, however, highly satisfied, and continued on at a brisk pace. Soon, however, he spoke a few words to Mr Hooker, who forthwith produced from his pocket a tobacco-bag. The eyes of the Malay glistened with delight as he saw it; and as soon as Mr Hooker gave him a small portion of the tobacco, cut very fine, he put it in with the betel, leaving long threads, like pieces of oakum, hanging out on either side of his mouth, not improving his appearance; and on again he went, chewing the mass with evident delight.
Mr Hooker was not at all surprised. He told me that not only the men but the women indulge in the same unpleasant habit. When a number of them meet to chat, the various articles are produced from a box at hand, and a high urn-shaped receptacle of brass is placed in the middle of the circle, into which each dame or damsel may discharge the surplus saliva from her mouth. When a guest comes in, the siri box is immediately presented, that the mouth may be filled before commencing conversation.
In a short time a bee was seen flying before us; and immediately Ali hurried on at a rapid rate, till we came under a tall, straight tree, with a very smooth bark, and without a branch for at least eighty feet from the ground. On one of the long outspreading branches I saw a couple of large combs hanging down, of a black colour. After watching it for a minute, there was a slight movement on the outside, and I discovered that it was covered with bees. Ali now produced a small bundle of resinous wood, which he had brought with him to serve as a torch, and giving it to me to hold, lighted the end. He then fastened one of the cloths round his loins, and another over his head, neck, and body, leaving, however, his face, arms, and legs without covering. The thin coil of rope he had brought he secured to his girdle, while he formed round the tree a circle of tough creepers, inside of which he placed his body. He now secured his torch to the end of another piece of ratan, eight or ten yards long, with his chopping-knife fastened by a short rope. Having done this, he began to ascend the tree, throwing his ratan band a short distance above him, leaning back at the same time and placing his feet against the trunk. It appeared to us who looked on that every instant he would perform a somersault, and come down head first, with a great risk of breaking his neck; but he seemed to have no fear of that sort. Up he went. After ascending a few feet, and getting a firm hold with his bare feet, he again threw up the creeper; and thus he went on and on. If there was any unevenness in the trunk, he took immediate advantage of it by either placing his foot upon it or catching the creeper above it. At length he got within about ten feet of the bough on which the bees hung. He then lifted the torch, swinging it towards the bees, so that the smoke ascended between him and them. He next in a wonderful manner mounted on the bough; and we could not help dreading that the bees would attack him and sting him to death. He, however, brought the torch nearer and nearer to them; and in a short time the cones, which before had been black with bees, were completely deserted, and their natural white colour appeared. The insects, instead of flying towards him, formed a dense mass above his head, where they seemed to hover as if contemplating an attack. Some, braver than the rest, occasionally flew towards him; but he, with perfect coolness, brushed them away, allowing the smoke to circle round above his head, thus keeping them at a distance from his face. At length he got close to the cone, and, with one stroke of his knife, cut it from the bough, when, fastening the end of the rope round it, he lowered it down to us. Proceeding along the bough, he cut the other cone away in the same manner, when the bees, angry at being deprived of their habitation, food, and their young, began to dart down towards us. He, of course, had enough to do to think of himself, and continued waving the torch about his body, while he returned by the same way he had gone up, though at a somewhat more rapid rate.
Meantime the bees had begun to swarm about our heads. Poor Merlin was furiously attacked, and I saw him driving his nose among the leaves, in the vain endeavour to get rid of them. Defeated by the pertinacious insects, he rushed howling away through the forest. We, having secured the cones, followed at full speed, the bees pursuing us, and every now and then giving a disagreeable sting at our ears, face, and hands. We knocked them off as they approached as well as we could. Though we were glad we had got the honey, we agreed that we had paid somewhat dearly for it. However, our blood was in good order, and the pain soon wore off. We had not only got some delicious honey for our friends, but some wax, which was of considerable value. We agreed, however, that the next time we went bee-hunting we would each of us carry a torch for our defence.
“Ali says there are many more cones in the island, and it is a pity not to take them,” said Mr Hooker. We were therefore ready to proceed, provided we could find torches. Ali made us a sign to follow him, and soon afterwards, on the side of a hill which we were passing, he pointed out some tall trees. On approaching them we found that from the trunks masses of a sort of gum had exuded.
“Those are dammar trees,” observed Mr Hooker. “It burns readily, and the natives of these regions use it for torches; indeed, in some places it serves them instead of candles.”
We found not only small lumps, but some weighing upwards of fifteen pounds. Some were hanging on to the trunk; others had fallen, and were partly buried in the ground near the roots. Ali took some of these lumps, and, putting them on a piece of rock, with the blunt end of his axe reduced them to powder. He then cut some palm-leaves, which he formed into tubes about a yard long, and these tubes he filled with the resin, binding them tightly round with small creepers. He presented one to each of us, and then signified that if we followed him he would find more bees’ nests, and that we should thus have the means of defending ourselves.
“But poor Merlin, what can he do?” I could not help asking.
“We must defend him then,” said Mr Hooker; “and Ali must make another tube to be at his service.”
Another was quickly manufactured, and we then proceeded on carefully to discover the nests. In a short time we came to another tree with no less than four cones hanging to one of the branches. In spite of the injuries he had received (for he had not escaped altogether free), Ali prepared to ascend the tree. He made his preparations as before; and it was wonderful to see the composure with which he occasionally swung the torches towards the creatures while ascending, or waved it slowly above his head when he got on the bough. Four more fine cones rewarded him for his enterprise. The bees descended as before, but we received them with the smoke from our dammar torches, which helped considerably to keep them off. Now and then, however, one bold fellow would rush in between the wreaths of smoke and inflict a disagreeable sting; and we had difficult work to defend Merlin’s nose and tail at the same time. Mr Hooker, however, stood stock still, merely letting his torch burn quietly; and though some of the bees settled on him, they seemed to consider that they could do him no harm, and again flew off in pursuit of Oliver, Merlin, and I, as we ran away from them.
We now commenced our return homewards, laden with our honey cones and a supply of dammar. We were proceeding across a space rather more open than usual, when we saw a creature run up the trunk of a tree and fly obliquely from it towards the ground, near the foot of another, up which it immediately commenced its ascent. I should have supposed it to be a huge bat, had I not seen it climbing as it did. Ali immediately made chase; and as the creature did not move very fast, he succeeded in overtaking it before it had got to any great distance up the stem. He gave it a tremendous blow on the head, when it fell to the ground, and we thought it had been killed; but as we reached it, it gradually began to move off, running along like any ordinary quadruped. We caught it just as it was about to ascend another tree, when again it received several heavy blows. Even then, however, it seemed not to be dead. Ali coming up, pinned it to the ground with a forked stick. We then saw that it was a creature about the size of a cat, and that it had broad membranes, extending completely round its body to the extremities of the toes, as also to the end of its tail. This was of considerable length, and by the way it curled round a stick we placed near it we found that it was prehensile. The creature we now saw had a young one clinging to its breast, a miserable little wrinkled, hairless monster, and apparently as yet unable to see. Its fur was beautifully soft, almost like velvet. The little one had escaped injury; indeed, the mother was evidently still alive.
Mr Hooker at once recognised it as a flying lemur, the learned name for which is Galeo-pithecus. Ali having covered up its head, undertook to carry it home, as Mr Hooker hoped it would recover.
“Your uncle will be delighted to have it in his menagerie,” said Mr Hooker; “and I believe that, unless we cut the creature’s head off, nothing will deprive it of life. So I have no doubt that it will be in good health again by to-morrow morning.”
We had not got far after this adventure when I heard a curious noise close to us, which I thought must proceed from some bird. It sounded like “Tokay, tokay;” almost, indeed, like a human voice. I drew Mr Hooker’s attention to it. He also thought it must be some bird, till Ali coming up at once informed him that it was a lizard, and that he had often heard the creatures thus talk. What it said, he declared he could not tell, but he was very positive that it did talk some language. Perhaps some day a person who did understand it might come that way.
As may be supposed, we were cordially welcomed on our return, especially by the Frau, who was highly delighted with the honey and wax which we brought her.
“Oh! now you shall have honey for your breakfasts, and wax candles when you sit in the house to read or stuff the birds and beasts; though I cannot tell what use they are after you have taken the meat out of them, or wherefore you get so many skins, and pack them up in the boxes,” she remarked.
The Frau was no naturalist.