UP they got, early next morning, out of the silken beds; and they saw
that the sun was shining brightly and that the wind was blowing from
the South.
Jip smelt the South wind for half an hour. Then he came to the Doctor,
shaking his head.
“I smell no snuff as yet,” he said. “We must wait till the wind changes
to the East.”
But even when the East wind came, at three o’clock that afternoon, the
dog could not catch the smell of snuff.
The little boy was terribly disappointed and began to cry again, saying
that no one seemed to be able to find his uncle for him. But all Jip
said to the Doctor was,
“Tell him that when the wind changes to the West, I’ll find his uncle
even though he be in China—so long as he is still taking Black Rappee
snuff.”
Three days they had to wait before the West wind came. This was on a
Friday morning, early—just as it was getting light. A fine rainy mist
lay on the sea like a thin fog. And the wind was soft and warm and wet.
[Illustration: “‘Doctor!’ he cried. ‘I’ve got it!’”]
As soon as Jip awoke he ran upstairs and poked his nose in the air.
Then he got most frightfully excited and rushed down again to wake the
Doctor up.
“Doctor!” he cried. “I’ve got it! Doctor! Doctor! Wake up! Listen!
I’ve got it! The wind’s from the West and it smells of nothing but
snuff. Come upstairs and start the ship—quick!”
So the Doctor tumbled out of bed and went to the rudder to steer the
ship.
“Now I’ll go up to the front,” said Jip; “and you watch my
nose—whichever way I point it, you turn the ship the same way. The man
cannot be far off—with the smell as strong as this. And the wind’s all
lovely and wet. Now watch me!”
So all that morning Jip stood in the front part of the ship, sniffing
the wind and pointing the way for the Doctor to steer; while all the
animals and the little boy stood round with their eyes wide open,
watching the dog in wonder.
About lunch-time Jip asked Dab-Dab to tell the Doctor that he was
getting worried and wanted to speak to him. So Dab-Dab went and fetched
the Doctor from the other end of the ship and Jip said to him,
“The boy’s uncle is starving. We must make the ship go as fast as we
can.”
“How do you know he is starving?” asked the Doctor.
“Because there is no other smell in the West wind but snuff,” said Jip.
“If the man were cooking or eating food of any kind, I would be bound
to smell it too. But he hasn’t even fresh water to drink. All he is
taking is snuff—in large pinches. We are getting nearer to him all the
time, because the smell grows stronger every minute. But make the ship
go as fast as you can, for I am certain that the man is starving.”
“All right,” said the Doctor; and he sent Dab-Dab to ask the swallows
to pull the ship, the same as they had done when the pirates were
chasing them.
So the stout little birds came down and once more harnessed themselves
to the ship.
And now the boat went bounding through the waves at a terrible speed.
It went so fast that the fishes in the sea had to jump for their lives
to get out of the way and not be run over.
And all the animals got tremendously excited; and they gave up looking
at Jip and turned to watch the sea in front, to spy out any land or
islands where the starving man might be.
But hour after hour went by and still the ship went rushing on, over
the same flat, flat sea; and no land anywhere came in sight.
And now the animals gave up chattering and sat around silent, anxious
and miserable. The little boy again grew sad. And on Jip’s face there
was a worried look.
At last, late in the afternoon, just as the sun was going down, the
owl, Too-Too, who was perched on the tip of the mast, suddenly startled
them all by crying out at the top of his voice,
“Jip! Jip! I see a great, great rock in front of us—look—way out there
where the sky and the water meet. See the sun shine on it—like gold! Is
the smell coming from there?”
And Jip called back,
“Yes. That’s it. That is where the man is.—At last, at last!”
And when they got nearer they could see that the rock was very large—as
large as a big field. No trees grew on it, no grass—nothing. The great
rock was as smooth and as bare as the back of a tortoise.
Then the Doctor sailed the ship right round the rock. But nowhere on
it could a man be seen. All the animals screwed up their eyes and
looked as hard as they could; and John Dolittle got a telescope from
downstairs.
But not one living thing could they spy—not even a gull, nor a
star-fish, nor a shred of sea-weed.
They all stood still and listened, straining their ears for any sound.
But the only noise they heard was the gentle lapping of the little
waves against the sides of their ship.
Then they all started calling, “Hulloa, there!—HULLOA!” till their
voices were hoarse. But only the echo came back from the rock.
And the little boy burst into tears and said,
“I am afraid I shall never see my uncle any more! What shall I tell
them when I get home!”
But Jip called to the Doctor,
“He must be there—he must—_he must_! The smell goes on no further. He
must be there, I tell you! Sail the ship close to the rock and let me
jump out on it.”
So the Doctor brought the ship as close as he could and let down the
anchor. Then he and Jip got out of the ship on to the rock.
Jip at once put his nose down close to the ground and began to run
all over the place. Up and down he went, back and forth—zig-zagging,
twisting, doubling and turning. And everywhere he went, the Doctor ran
behind him, close at his heels—till he was terribly out of breath.
At last Jip let out a great bark and sat down. And when the Doctor came
running up to him, he found the dog staring into a big, deep hole in
the middle of the rock.
“The boy’s uncle is down there,” said Jip quietly. “No wonder those
silly eagles couldn’t see him!—It takes a dog to find a man.”
So the Doctor got down into the hole, which seemed to be a kind of
cave, or tunnel, running a long way under the ground. Then he struck
a match and started to make his way along the dark passage with Jip
following behind.
The Doctor’s match soon went out; and he had to strike another and
another and another.
At last the passage came to an end; and the Doctor found himself in a
kind of tiny room with walls of rock.
And there, in the middle of the room, his head resting on his arms, lay
a man with very red hair—fast asleep!
Jip went up and sniffed at something lying on the ground beside him.
The Doctor stooped and picked it up. It was an enormous snuff-box. And
it was full of Black Rappee!
_THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER_