Fire Island Part 61

"Yes, sir," said Smith, very solemnly, "we was, and he soon knowed it, for bang says my gun, down he come. Billy, as I says afore, goes and picks him up."

"Yes," said Oliver, laughing; "and after all that long rigmarole, I suppose it is something I don't want. Now, then, don't keep it behind you like that. Let's see what it's like. Come, don't be so childish."

"All right, sir," said Smith, giving his companion a wink, and then with a flourish he swung round a shapely-looking Pitta--a hen-bird of very sober plumage--and banged it down on the head of the cask.

"Well, upon my word," cried Oliver, indignantly. "Here have you two chaps kept me all this time spinning a miserable yarn about a bird that I began to hope was a fine specimen worth having, and then you bring out this!"

"Yes, sir, won't it do?" said Smith, winking at Wriggs once more.

"There, be off with you, and take the rubbis.h.i.+ng thing away," cried Oliver, wrathfully. "All your c.o.c.k and bull story about that."

"Yes, sir," cried Smith, with a peculiar chuckle and a wink at Wriggs; "but that there warn't the one."

As he spoke, Smith very carefully and slowly brought his hand round again, holding a bird in the most perfect plumage suspended by a thin ring of bra.s.s wire, which had been thrust through the nostrils, and Oliver uttered a cry of joy.

"Ahoy, Drew! Panton! come here, quick!"

"What's up?" came from the deck, and as there was the hurried sound of feet, the two sailors nodded and winked and gave each his leg a slap.

"What is it?" cried Panton, eagerly, as he ran to where his brother naturalist stood gloating over his treasure.

"A gem! A gem!" cried Oliver.

"Then, that's in my way, not yours," said Panton. "My word, what a beauty! That's quite fresh."

"To me, but I know what it is. The Golden Paradise bird. Isn't it exquisite? Look at its colours and the crest."

"That's what took my attention first of all," said Drew, who had now joined them, and they all three gloated over the wonderful specimen which glowed with intense colours. There were no long loose flowing buff plume; for the bird was short and compact, its princ.i.p.al decoration being six oval feathers at the end of as many thin wire-like pens, three growing crest-like out of each side of its head. The whole of its throat and breast were covered with broad scale-like feathers of brilliant metallic golden hue, looking in the suns.h.i.+ne like the dazzling throat of a humming bird vastly magnified; while, seen in different lights, these golden scales changed in hue like the plumes of a peac.o.c.k, becoming purple or green. A pure satiny white patch glistened conspicuously on the front of the head, before the place whence the six cresting feathers sprang. This covering stood out the more strongly from the fact that at first sight the bird appeared to be of a dense black, but at the slightest movement it glowed with bronze metallic blue, and an indescribable tint, such as is sometimes seen in freshly-broken sulphur and iron ore.

For some moments no one spoke, and with tender touches Oliver turned his bird here and there, so that the sun should play upon its glistening plumage at different angles. Now he was carefully raising some feather which was slightly out of place, now raising the six crest feathers through his hand, and bending over it as if it were the most glorious object he had ever seen.

"Seems a sin to attempt to skin it," said Oliver at last. "I shall never get those feathers to look so smooth again."

"Oh, yes, you will. Go on," said Panton, "and get it done. The weather soon makes a change."

"Yes, I must carefully preserve this," cried Oliver; and Drew sighed.

"I've worked pretty hard," he said, "but I have found nothing to compare with that in rarity or beauty."

"Then you think it'll do, sir?" said Smith, with his face s.h.i.+ning with pleasure.

"Do, my man! I can never be grateful enough to you both for finding it."

"Worth long rigmarole, eh, sir?" said Wriggs with a chuckle.

"It's worth anything to a naturalist, my man."

"What is?" said Mr Rimmer, coming up; and the bird was held up for his inspection.

"Another kind of bird of Paradise?" he said.

"Yes, isn't it lovely?"

"Very, gentlemen, but I want to talk to you about launching our lugger, she's getting well on toward being ready."

"Ready?" said Oliver. "Oh yes, of course. But don't hurry, Mr Rimmer, we shan't be ready to go for some time yet."

"Mean it?" said Rimmer, smiling.

"Mean it!" cried Oliver, looking up from his bird. "Why, you don't suppose we can go away from a place where such specimens as this are to be had. I can't."

"No," said Panton, quietly, "since I got better I have been finding such a grand series of minerals that I must stay if I possibly can. What do you say, Drew?"

"It would be madness to hurry away."

"And what about the n.i.g.g.e.rs?" said Mr Rimmer, who looked amused.

"They haven't worried us lately."

"But the volcano? Really, gentlemen, I never feel safe from one day to another. I am always expecting to see the earth open and swallow us up."

"Yes, we are in a doubtful position," said Panton, thoughtfully, "and never know what may happen, living as we are, over fire."

"And hot water," said the mate, smiling. "One of the men has just found a little spring, where the water spurts up at boiling point."

"Well," said Panton, "it will be convenient. There, Mr Rimmer, get your lugger launched, and we'll explore the coast, but don't say anything about our going away for months to come, for we must make some more efforts to get right up to the crater edge before we give up.

Besides, we have not half examined the land yet."

"No," said the mate, "we have not half examined the land yet. Very well, gentlemen, you came on purpose for this sort of thing, so it's not for me to say any more. I'm anch.o.r.ed pretty safely, that is, if the earth don't give way, and let the brig through. I'll, as I've said before, get my lugger finished and launched. She'll lie snugly enough in the deepest part of the lagoon if the blacks will keep away, and I shall gradually load and provision her, ready for when we have to go will that do?"

"Yes, splendidly," said Oliver. "There, don't say any wore about it, please, for I want to skin my bird."

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE.

PANTON SHOWS THE WAY TO WONDERLAND.

"You were so precious proud of your ornitho superbo, or whatever you call it, that you seemed to fancy yourself head c.o.c.k discoverer and chief boss of the expedition," cried Panton one morning, as he returned in a great hurry, after being out for some hours with Smith and Wriggs.

Oliver, who, helped by Drew, was busily packing layers of dried bird skins in a case, looked up laughingly.

"What is it?" he cried. "What have you found--diamonds?"

"Oh, no, nothing of that kind. Come on and see."

"In five minutes I shall be done. Then we'll come. But what is it?"

"Wait till you get there," responded Panton, wincing slightly, for he had just felt a sting in his newly-healed wound.