Courage, True Hearts Part 53

Duncan nodded to his fellows, and the gift was accepted unconditionally, and that very day the great wise beasts were taken over.

A huge compound was erected for them in a bit of jungle not far off; the king's men building it with their own hands.

Moreover, two men were told off to feed and care for the n.o.ble brutes, who soon became very great pets indeed, with all hands.

The larger of the two might well have been called immense or colossal.

He seemed especially fond of Frank, and there wasn't a t.i.tbit Frank could think of that he did not bring to Ju-ju of a morning.

Ju-ju was certainly grateful. He had one very curious method of showing his grat.i.tude, namely, by encircling the boy with his trunk and swaying him up and down, and to and fro.

"Gently, Ju-ju," Frank would say sometimes; "gently, Ju, old man."

Then Ju would set him quietly down and trumpet with delight.

But as soon as it was dark, all was generally peaceful enough about the fort, for after a residence of some months in king Goo-Goo's country they had got quite used to the cry of wild beasts, and even the roar of lions did not disturb their slumbers.

But the nugget and the diamond--oh! these indeed. Duncan's eyes used to sparkle with delight as they were placed upon the table of an evening.

What possibilities did they not point to! What joy for the future seemed to scintillate from the diamond! One night something that the king had said during his visit to the fort suddenly flashed across Frank's memory.

He almost startled both Conal and Duncan by the eagerness with which he almost shouted:

"Cousins!" he cried, "I have the happiest thought that ever I had. Do you not remember that the king refused to come into the fort because devils dwelt in a hole beneath the floor!"

"Yes, yes, he did say so."

"Duncan, those devils are diamonds, and, it may be, gold nuggets as well."

His comrades were thunder-struck apparently, but they admitted that in all likelihood Frank's surmise was correct.

"Then, boys," said Frank, "we shall open a devil hole right here where we sit."

This proposal was agreed to, and the work would have commenced the very next day had not a strange adventure happened to Frank.

It may be observed that mostly all the terrible adventures did happen to Frank. Some people are born unlucky, you know.

But next forenoon Duncan and he had gone towards the forest for the purpose of shooting hyenas, no great or very exalted sport, it is true, but they had become numerous and bold of late, and needed scattering.

Duncan had followed a wounded monster some distance for the sake of giving him his _conge_, when he came back---- lo! Frank was gone.

For hours and hours Duncan searched all that portion of the forest that he dared to enter, but in vain.

But he found his comrade's gun, and at some little distance his cap.

So he went sorrowfully home.

Further search was made next day, some of the bravest of Goo-Goo's native soldiers a.s.sisting.

But no more trace of the lost Frank could be found.

A whole fortnight went past, and he was mourned for as one dead, and even Carrambo gave up hopes.

Frank, he told them, must have been throttled by the gorillas and hung up in a tree.

But lo! and behold, one forenoon who should appear again _in propria persona_, but the laughing little c.o.c.kney boy himself.

By the hand he led a little long-armed hairy gorilla, that clung to him in terror when Viking began to growl.

Jeannie, as she was called, sprang trembling into Frank's arms, but he gently soothed her, and after having a cup of coffee he told his marvellous story.[2] It was briefly as follows:--

[1] This is no sailor's yarn, but founded on fact.

He had been captured by the awful gorillas, having been first stunned by a blow from a club. Then carried deep into the forest and up into a very high tree. There he found a shelter, quite a hut in fact, and far from being unkind to him, the gorillas fed and tended him every day, only guarding him at night.

"And this is my little pupil," he added. "Jeannie was given me to educate, I suppose; but early this morning the gorillas went off to do battle with some neighbouring tribe, and Jeannie and I slipped down the tree and ran for it.

"So here I am!"

"Heaven be praised!" cried Duncan with tears in his eyes. "You come to us as one risen from the dead."

"And what are you going to do with Jeannie?" asked Conal.

"Oh!" said Frank, "Jeannie is a sweet child. She shall go with us wherever we go."

"I hope," said Conal, "her parents won't come for her. It might be rather inconvenient."

Two long months pa.s.sed away, and our heroes were almost weary of this lonesome and wild land.

But they had not been idle all the time of their sojourn here. On the contrary, they had commenced to dig in the fort itself for buried treasure.

There was plenty of excitement about this, but for many a weary week no luck attended their excavations.

The excitement, however, was somewhat like that of gambling, and once begun they felt they could not give it up until they came to something.

So they dug and dug.

But all in vain.

They still spent much of their time in fis.h.i.+ng and shooting, however.

These were necessary sports. Food they must have.

A rather gloomy time arrived later on, when they had finally abandoned all hopes of finding any buried treasure. Tremendously heavy banks of clouds had rolled up from the horizon and overspread the heavens.