Yr Ynys Unyg Part 4

"Oh! master Felix," whispered Jenny, "for shame, sir, ladies are always served first, real gentlemen always give way to ladies." "Well! but, Jenny, how can they all three have it, I'd like to know, besides it looks so wise at me, I know it will love me best. Let mama decide," said Oscar, "yes, yes, yes," said each little girl, and each came flying with an eager pet.i.tion to where we all sat. "Oh," said Schillie, "humph, so you are fighting about the parrots, for my part (peeping into the nest), I have always heard that parrots make a capital pie." "Oh, oh, oh, little mother, how cruel you are." We laughed at this dismay, and Gatty said, "yes, I'll crunch their bones like Grumbo the giant." But the captain made amends for our cruelty, and if he had had his own way, would have marched up instantly in search of three more parrots; luckily the darkness came on so quickly that we were all obliged to make preparation for retiring, Felix being fixed on as the fortunate possessor of the other parrot, partly because I did not like to single out one little girl more than another, and partly because Oscar wished it. Besides the captain promised the little girls a perfect flock of parrots the first opportunity. So we all bid each other good night, Felix as the last thing, giving Jenny a practical proof that her lessons were not thrown away, by declaring that she must put the girls to bed before him, as ladies were to be served first.

With grateful hearts, we slept soundly and rose refreshed.

CHAPTER X.

It was so hot down on the sands that we agreed to move half way up the cliff, where a cool breeze from the sea blew morning and evening. The brook fell over a shelf of rock, about ten feet in depth, and then lay calm and quiet in a fair round pool. Two or three palms were on one side and a large Spanish chestnut on the other, giving us ample shade. We had a lovely view of the whole bay, and were, as we thought, quite secure from any dangers above, the rock being very precipitate, but the dogs never came home, which gave us very great uneasiness. While the others were busily employed running up and down to bring our goods and chattels, to the new abode, I, and the two little girls arranged them as they were brought up. They were merrily singing on one side of the brook, clearing a place for the tent to be placed, while I, on the other, was arranging seats for a dining place. Suddenly the song ceased abruptly. Looking up to see the cause, as well as that of a sudden cras.h.i.+ng noise, I saw the little girls gazing in speechless amazement at the great chestnut tree, and again, without apparent cause, I beheld the huge branches shake and quiver like an aspen tree in the storm. I sprang across the stream, and stood before the little girls. From between the branches there appeared and disappeared a horrible head, with glittering eyes and forked tongue, and, as I gazed still more the whole tree seemed to me to be enveloped in the folds of an enormous serpent.

The little girls now began to utter shriek upon shriek, which brought Serena with the speed of a lapwing to our side. "Take the children away," I whispered, "fly, fly, quickly." "Run, little ones, run," she said, feeling there was danger, but hardly realizing the full horrors of it. They obeyed her, and, as their little forms appeared from behind us, fleeing for their lives, the monster looked out still further from the groaning tree, his diamond eyes fixed upon their receding frames.

Fold after fold seemed rapidly unwinding from the branches. In the agony of the moment Serena flung a hatchet she had in her hand at the head she now for the first time saw. A frightful hiss, and a loathsome and deadly odour, told us it had taken effect. Again it coiled itself round the tree, which rocked and groaned with its furious movements. Faint with fear and the horrible smell, I knew not my own voice, as I said to Serena, "Fly, child, fly, and send help; and you also." She said, "Nay, one must stay, it must have one victim to save the others." "No, no, let us both go, I will not go without you, Serena, I command you go, it comes nearer and nearer." "No, no, I will die with you." She threw her arms round me, burying her face in my neck, to avoid seeing the dreadful jaws opening so near us. I flung her off, and thought would it not be better for us to be dashed to pieces over the rocks than to be grasped in those deadly coils. "We will both fly," I said; we turned and fled. I looked behind; he was not more than thirty yards from us. I tried to shout and scare him with my voice, but all sound died away in my throat.

My heart seemed to stop beating; my utterance to be choked. Everything seemed to be moving with the same angry springing motion of the snake.

Nothing stopped our flight; heedless of every impediment we bounded over stones, bushes, gulleys, rocks; but each glance showed him advancing. We now came to an open smooth platform of turf, from whence I knew there was a precipitous fall of twenty feet, unless we hit upon the right spot to descend. "We must throw ourselves down," I whispered. "Anywhere with you," she answered, "but, oh horrible fate, was that another monster just before us or the same?" No, there was but one, he was before us, round us, everywhere; and he knew he had us safe, for his eyes grew larger and more glowing as he bounded and leaped on every side of us, each bound and each leap bringing him nearer. Was there no escape? Yes, almost before I saw it myself the monster's quick eye has discerned two horns rising with the sloping ground, and with one bound which threw us both down, he darted forward. A rus.h.i.+ng deadly wind seemed to blow over us, and, ere it was past, the cras.h.i.+ng bones, and dying bellow of the cow gave us warning of the horrible fate from which she had saved us.

We helped each other to rise, and scrambling down the rock, we never stopped or spoke until we sunk breathless by the tents, where the little girls had only just arrived. But it was many minutes ere we could tell the frightful scene going on above. We clung together and all drew within the tent, while Smart went to summon the captain. The poisonous breath of the monstrous creature made Serena and myself the victims of successive fainting fits, we had the greatest difficulty in swallowing anything, and only revived under the influence of strong salts, and constant fanning. Our features a.s.sumed the paleness of death, and a cold dew rolled in large drops from our foreheads. The moment we raised our heads dreadful sickness overcame us, and when the captain and his men arrived, we were totally unable to give any particulars beyond the creature being monstrous and the cow destroyed. The captain desired every one to keep as quiet as possible, and directed the sides of the tent to be raised to give us air and our faces and heads to be sponged with cold vinegar and water. He entreated no one to be alarmed as the serpent would not leave his prey, and might be a day or two swallowing it, during which time we were quite safe. And afterwards in his gorged state he would be an easy victim. Towards evening Benjie crept up as near the spot as he dared, and came down reporting the snake was still occupied in reducing the poor cow to a shapeless ma.s.s, and had not even begun to swallow his intended meal. Even his dark skin shewed the fear and horror he was in, his look being quite pallid, and his eyeb.a.l.l.s livid, his teeth chattering. He declared the snake to be the most monstrous of its kind ever seen, and called it an anaconda. On the second evening the captain, Smart, and Benjie all went cautiously up.

When they returned the good captain seemed unable to express his mixed feelings, amazement at its large size, horror at what might have been our fate, thankfulness at our merciful escape, all overcame him. He could only wring our hands, and loudly and earnestly thank G.o.d.

After a while he took the two little girls in his arms, and said, "Oh!

my darlings, my little precious ones, had you found a horrible grave in those dreadful jaws, swallowed as if you had been two little innocent lambs, I must have laid my head on the nearest stone, and burst my heart with sorrow." Smart openly blubbered like a great school boy as he described to Oscar, "that it was the awfullest worm he ever seed, and that the poor cow was nothing but a b.l.o.o.d.y, broken ma.s.s enough to break the heart of a toad in a stone." It had only swallowed half its meal, and the tail was still so active and full of muscular movement that the captain did not deem it safe to try to destroy it till the next evening.

He particularly requested Schillie and every body that could, to come up and see the creature before the men cut it up, saying, they might live one thousand years, and never see such a sight again. So they all set off, leaving Serena and I to the care of Hargrave, who declared that if St. George and the Dragon were fighting up above, she would not leave her mistress to see them. Schillie came back very soon, and folded me in her arms, while the tears rained down her cheeks; not a word said she, but so unusual a sight told me all she felt.

Bye and bye all came down, poor Madame clasping her hands, invoking blessings and showering kisses on her pupil Serena. The little ones were in full fuss, especially the two who had first seen the snake, and who now detailed all their fears and feelings at full length. "Mama," said Felix, "I gave him a good kick with my thick nailed boots for daring to think of eating you." Gatty, from a similar feeling, had indulged herself with chopping the tail into little bits, and even the gentle and sweet Sybil had bestowed some very hard words, let alone blows, on the inanimate body. "Well! now then," said I, "captain, I wish to go on board as soon as possible." "Why? why? why?" sounded on all sides.

"Because there may be more of these snakes on the island," said I, with a shudder.

"No, Madam, no, you may rest a.s.sured, the only enemy you have on this island is now dead. I can a.s.sure you I have until now been much puzzled to account for the lack of living things on this luxuriant and lonely island, save birds. The sight of this anaconda has solved the mystery; he has depopulated it (if I may so say) of every creeping or four-footed thing. Nay, I am also certain it has destroyed its own kind too. By what means it became of so monstrous a size I know not; but, having become so, it was lord or master of the island; moreover, I am certain that of late its food has run extremely short; nothing but extreme hunger could have driven it down those sharp rocks, in search of us, the prey it saw below it." In many places it was bleeding besides the wound given it by the hatchet, and three or four inches of skin had been rubbed off in various parts, evidently quite fresh, and done in descent.

Also, if it had not been weakened for want of food, such an enormous creature would not have been so long demolis.h.i.+ng the cow.

"But, captain, can you account for its making all those hideous gambols at us, and not springing at us directly as it did at poor Daisy." "Yes, Madam, it had never seen the likes of you before. Your clothes made it fearful; but they never attack people unless angry or frantic from hunger, as I am sure he was. But, to set you at rest, Madam, to-morrow, spite of all my anxiety about the s.h.i.+p, every man of us will join parties, and we will go from one end of the island to another. We'll not leave a bush unexplored, or a corner unvisited, and then I know your mind will be easy." "I thank you, captain, that it will. Now, give the men each some grog, for I see them coming down, and let us all have supper and go to bed."

CHAPTER XI.

So we accordingly did, and long ere we were awake in the morning the captain and all his men, including Smart and Oscar, had departed to execute his plans. We busied ourselves in preparing them a good supper against their return; we had also all a dip in the sea, in a little natural bath in the rocks, where no sharks could get at us. Finally, not without misgivings, we all went up to look once more on the anaconda.

That evening, if they returned in time, it was to be skinned; the s.h.i.+ny, scaly covering being to be preserved as a memorial of the event, and the loathsome remains were to be thrown to the sharks. While we were standing looking at its huge length, we heard shouts from above, and saw the exploring party coming home. They soon joined us, the captain delighted at being able to say that a large rat seemed our only wild beast while Smart grumbled, and said he "did not think there was a beere on the hisland." They had done as they promised, and not left a part of the island unvisited.

They brought us home quant.i.ties of grapes, p.r.i.c.kly pears, yams, bananas, cocoa-nuts, with what would have been magnificent flowers but the hot tropical climate withered them almost as soon as gathered. Oscar and Smart seemed to have some great secrets between them, and, after keeping Felix and the little girls in suspense for some time, Smart put his hand into his pocket, and brought out a tiny, little, droll-looking monkey.

Shrieks of delight were heard, Felix exclaiming above all, "Oh give him to me, let him be mine; oh the darling fellow." The little creature, with its wild sorrowful eyes, looked from one face to the other, and, at last, making a spring, it jumped into Felix's arms, and, nestling its little head in his pinafore, grinned at everybody, as much as to say, "Now, I don't care for you." Felix was by no means backward in returning this spontaneous affection, spite of the little girls' civil remark "that he was so like a monkey the little thing took him for his father and mother."

We went to rest all very happy and contented, and enjoyed a week of the merriest gipsy life that could be imagined. Both the parrots and the monkey were getting quite familiar, and at home with us, taking to their education comfortably.

At the end of that time, after the young ones had gone to bed, the captain asked me how we liked this life? There was not a dissentient voice. "Then," said he, "I think this a favourable opportunity to propose a plan to you; it has been in my mind for some days. I only waited until I saw whether it would be as agreeable, as it seems to me inevitable." We waited in breathless expectation. He looked round us all as he said, "How would you like staying here another six weeks?" "Very much indeed! Beyond every thing. It is just what we wanted. It would be most jolly." Schillie wound up by saying, "It is extremely stupid, and I should not like it at all." "Would _you_ not?" said the captain, with kind concern, laying great stress on the you; "Oh but ye must, I'd never take ye to sea, and La Luna in such a leaky state." "What, captain, how!

pray explain yourself." "Well, if I must tell the truth, the more we have examined the s.h.i.+p the more fearful are we to trust you all on board of her." Heaps of voices now interrupted the captain. "But what are we to do? How are we to get away? We don't want to stay here for ever. That would be too much of a good thing." "Silence, girls," said I, "do let us hear what the captain proposes." "This is my proposal then, Madam.

Emptied of her cargo, and with as few hands in her as possible, La Luna will run nicely to St. Domingo, or some of the parts lying to the westward, and belonging to South America; and, even should she fail, we men can take to the boat, and, at all events make for some place, where we can procure a vessel to come for you." "But La Luna won't sink, surely we shall not lose her; we don't want any s.h.i.+p but her. Don't you know how you love her yourself, captain?" "So I do! so I do! young ladies, and I am fain to allow it's as much for her sake as yours, that I want to take her to some port to get properly repaired. She has strained so much that her ribs are quite bent, and, lying as she does, exposed to this hot sun, her seams are bursting asunder in all directions. She is too much damaged for us to repair, so as to make it safe for you to go in her. Therefore, Madam, will you let me take her empty to St. Domingo, where I will immediately charter a vessel for your use, and leave La Luna in dock to be repaired against we come for her."

"But, supposing anything was to happen; supposing she was to founder and all hands be lost, what would become of us?" "I would not have proposed such a scheme, Madam, did I not feel sure there would be no danger of such a thing happening; and, any way, it is better you should be left on this island, for the chance of a s.h.i.+p coming this way, than liable to go down to the bottom of the sea, without the power of man to save you." "I am not so sure of that, captain, I think I should prefer all sinking or swimming together." "At any rate, Madam," added the captain, "having unburdened my mind, I'll leave you to sleep over the matter. Tak time to consider, and let me know your wull in the morning."

CHAPTER XII.

Not all the taking time to consider, "nor all the morns" that ever came reconciled Schillie to the captain's plan. For my part I liked it, and am free to own that I entered into all the fun, and oddities the young ones proposed to themselves in living for six weeks _al fresco_. Madame had great misgivings about the matter. She did not think lessons would prosper; the cultivation of ladylike behaviour would be very difficult--manners would be at a very low ebb--music would be utterly abolished, and she was fast approaching a declaration on Schillie's side, when Serena, by a master-stroke of policy, brought her round. "We will speak any language you like, Madame," said she, "whatever we are doing, we can always speak in the language you order us." "So you can, my love," said Madame, most benignantly, "so I desire at once that you speak French, Mondays and Thursdays; Italian, Tuesdays and Fridays; German, Wednesdays and Sat.u.r.days."

"Oh come, come," said Gatty, "that's too bad, how am I ever to get all the nonsense, that is in my head, out if I am only to talk English on Sundays."

"My dear! you ought to have no nonsense in your head."

"But there it is, Madame, and you will be very angry if I break the Sabbath, by making puns and guessing jokes all Sunday."

"My dear Gertrude, your spirits carry you quite too far."

"Then think, Madame, what they will be on Sundays if my spirits are corked up all the other six days."

"I have not the least objection to your making puns either in French, Italian, or German."

"You're extremely kind, Madame, and I should feel most grateful for such kind permission, had I the least perception how I can profit by it."

"It is my wish that you all should understand those languages equally as well as your own."

"I have no doubt, Madame, that you will always be able to wish us such proficiency."

"No doubt, my dear child, no doubt, and that is the only drawback to my pleasure on the voyage, namely the number of interruptions and constant holidays you obtain."

"You are a pert young lady, Miss Gatty," said Schillie, "and had better leave the Mother to settle with Madame; come with me and let us see what fish the boys have got for supper."

I promised Madame that regular school should be held every day, and our conversation was put an end to, by the arrival of the captain. He wanted the a.s.sistance of every body, to get La Luna afloat that evening; with infinite trouble this was done, and we were all worn out with heat and fatigue by tea-time. But La Luna floated once more, and looked as lovely and graceful on the water. We were quite enchanted with her appearance.

At tea, I proposed to the captain, that when he did leave us, he should take Smart and Benjie with him, instead of their remaining with us, for I had found out from the maids, and the boys, that the captain was very anxious to have them, being doubtful about managing the s.h.i.+p with so few men, and it was agreed that they could be of no use to us, as we were exposed to no dangers, and they would be of infinite use to the captain, and ensure his return much sooner; much therefore to Smart's disgust it was decided that he was to be exposed once more to what he called "a s.h.i.+p-wrecked life." Schillie grew more reconciled to our being left on hearing this idea for she immediately took upon herself the care of us all, and the responsibility put her into some spirits on the subject. I asked when they meant to leave us. "The sooner the better," said she, "for then they will be the sooner back again." The captain said nothing, but he lingered over his tea, and told us so many things that we were to do, and to guard against, and seemed so low and oppressed, that I thought he was ill, or had over-worked himself. But he declared he was quite well, though he still repeated the same things, and he kissed and wished the little girls good-bye so often that they began to joke with him about his absence of mind. We were also all so tired, we longed to get to bed, yet he still sipped his tea, having had, as Sybil, the tea-maker whispered, eleven cups. "And horrible stuff it is without any milk," whispered Gatty back again, "I wonder at his taste." I began to be quite affected by his manner, while the others yawned, and yawned, until I thought all their jaws would be broken. Suddenly the darkness came on, as it always did, at once, and he was roused from his musings by eager good nights. His voice sounded rather strange as he returned our salutations, while the children declared his face was wet with tears. Schillie and I wondered to ourselves what could be the matter with him, as we undressed, the children noisily felicitating themselves that every body was obliged to go to bed at the same time that they were. But we were too weary to think much about it. It was not until early morning, when rising and opening the tent door, I looked out again to see the lovely scene we had admired so much the evening before. But did my eyes deceive me! Was I awake? Where was that object which had excited our admiration so much? I uttered a cry. Schillie ran to me; all awoke, and started from their beds. Every eye was strained, but what tongue could be the first to say that La Luna was gone; far away we could see her distant sails against the clear blue sky; we were alone, alone.

CHAPTER XIII.

All was explained now that had seemed to us extraordinary in our kind captain's conduct the evening before, and as we hurried down to the beach half in hopes not to find every one gone, we found at the usual dining place, a packet of papers put in a conspicuous situation, evidently meant to attract our notice. In this was a note from the captain, apologizing for departing in such a secret manner, but declaring that unless he had stolen away he could not have left us. That it was of such importance he should go and return ere the rainy season commenced, he could not even afford a day, and that he knew, however cheerful I might talk about the matter, my heart would misgive me, when the time came for him to leave, I might not probably grant him permission to go, when it was of the most vital importance he should. He was right in his last conjecture, the dread that came over me, as I read his letter, and looked at our helpless party, made me feel how truly he had judged me, tho' I so little knew it myself. The other papers consisted of directions, lists of what he had left, and where they were put. Also an account, written from Benjie's lips, as to what trees and fruits might be poisonous, what we had better avoid, and particular orders about the night air, the musquitos; in fact he seems to have left nothing for us to think of, and the papers wound up with many sweet messages to the children, and the dear young ladies, a characteristic speech to Schillie, a hope that the good old lady would not be nervous, or keep the children too long at their lessons, which was a bad thing in hot climates, and a very urgent appeal to all to be careful of her, whose heart was wrapped up in their happiness, to whom the breath of life came ebbing and flowing, according to the welfare and goodness of her precious charge.

There was a letter from Smart to the boys as follows, the spelling being corrected:--

"HONOURED YOUNG GENTS,