In spite of howling jaguars, and snarling pumas, and buzzing mosquitoes,
and the whole host of nocturnal abominations peculiar to those regions,
our weary travellers lay peacefully in their hammocks, and slept like
humming-tops. In regard to Quashy, we might more appropriately say like
a buzzing-top.
Once or twice during the night Quashy rose to replenish the fires, for
the jaguars kept up a concert that rendered attention to this protection
advisable; but he did it with half-closed eyes, and a sort of
semi-wakefulness which changed into profound repose the instant he
tumbled back into his hammock. Lawrence, not being so well accustomed
to the situation, lay awake a short time at first, having his loaded
pistols under his pillow; but, as we have said, he soon slumbered, and
it is probable that all the jaguars, pumas, peccaries, tapirs,
alligators, and wild cats in that district might have walked in
procession under his hammock without disturbing him in the least, had
they been so minded. As for Manuela, with that quiet indifference to
mere prospective danger that usually characterises her race, she laid
her head on her tiger-skin pillow, and slept the sleep of innocence--
having absolute faith, no doubt, in the vigilance and care of her
protectors.
It might have been observed, however, that before lying down the Indian
maiden knelt beside her hammock and hid her face in her hands. Indeed
from the first it had been seen by her fellow-travellers that Manuela
thus communed with her God, and on one occasion Lawrence, remarking on
the fact, had asked Pedro if she were a Christian.
"She is a Christian," was Pedro's reply, but as he manifested an evident
intention not to be communicative on the subject, Lawrence forbore to
put further questions, although he felt his interest in the girl as well
as his curiosity increasing, and he longed to know how and when she had
been turned from heathen worship to the knowledge of Christ.
When daylight began to glimmer in the east, the bird, beast, and insect
worlds began to stir. And a wonderful stir do these worlds make at that
hour in the grand regions of Central South America; for although
nocturnal birds and beasts retire and, at least partially, hide their
diminished heads at daylight, the myriad denizens of the forests bound
forth with renewed life and vigour to sing a morning hymn of praise to
their Maker--involuntarily or voluntarily, who can tell which, and what
right has man to say dogmatically that it cannot be the latter?
Thousands of cooing doves, legions of chattering parrots, made the air
vocal; millions of little birds of every size and hue twittered an
accompaniment, and myriads of mosquitoes and other insects filled up the
orchestra with a high pitched drone, while alligators and other aquatic
monsters beat time with flipper, fin, and tail.
Breakfast, consisting of excellent fish, eggs, maize, jaguar-steak,
roast duck, alligator-ragout, and chocolate, was prepared outside the
Indian hut. The hut itself was unusually clean, Tiger being a peculiar
and eccentric savage, who seemed to have been born, as the saying is, in
advance of his generation. He was a noted man among his brethren, not
only for strength and prowess, but for strange ideas and practices,
especially for his total disregard of public opinion.
In respect of cleanliness, his hut differed from the huts of all other
men of his tribe. It was built of sun-dried mud. The furniture
consisted of two beds, or heaps of leaves and skins, and several rude
vessels of clay. The walls were decorated with bows, arrows,
blow-pipes, lances, game-bags, fishing-lines, and other articles of the
chase, as well as with miniature weapons and appliances of a similar
kind, varying its size according to the ages of the little Tigers.
Besides these, there hung from the rafters--if we may so name the sticks
that stretched overhead--several network hammocks and unfinished
garments, the handiwork of Mrs Tiger.
That lady herself was a fat and by no means uncomely young woman, simply
clothed in a white tunic, fastened at the waist with a belt--the arms
and neck being bare. Her black hair was cut straight across the
forehead, an extremely ugly but simple mode of freeing the face from
interference, which we might say is peculiar to all savage nations had
not the highly civilised English of the present day adopted it, thus
proving the truth of the proverb that "extremes meet"! The rest of her
hair was gathered into one long heavy plait, which hung down behind.
Altogether, Madame Tiger was clean and pleasant looking--for a savage.
This is more than could be said of her progeny, which swarmed about the
place in undisguised contempt of cleanliness or propriety.
Stepping into the hut after kindling the fire outside, Quashy proceeded
to make himself at home by sitting down on a bundle.
The bundle spurted out a yell, wriggled violently, and proved itself to
be a boy!
Jumping up in haste, Quashy discommoded a tame parrot on the rafters,
which, with a horrible shriek in the Indian tongue, descended on his
head and grasped his hair, while a tame monkey made faces at him and a
tame turtle waddled out of his way.
Having thus as it were established his footing in the family, the negro
removed the parrot to his perch, receiving a powerful bite of gratitude
in the act, and invited the wife of Spotted Tiger to join the
breakfast-party. This he did by the express order of Lawrence, for he
would not himself have originated such a piece of condescension. Not
knowing the dialect of that region, however, he failed to convey his
meaning by words and resorted to pantomime. Rubbing his stomach gently
with one hand, he opened his mouth wide, pointed down his throat with
the forefinger of the other hand, and made a jerky reference with his
thumb to the scene of preparations outside.
Madame Tiger declined, however, and pointed to a dark corner, where a
sick child claimed her attention.
"O poor t'ing! what's de matter wid it?" asked Quashy, going forward and
taking one of the child's thin hands in his enormous paw.
The little girl must have been rather pretty when in health, but there
was not much of good looks left at that time, save the splendid black
eyes, the lustre of which seemed rather to have improved with sickness.
The poor thing appeared to know that she had found in the negro a
sympathetic soul, for she not only suffered her hand to remain in his,
but gave vent to a little squeak of contentment.
"Stop! You hold on a bit, Poppity," said Quashy, whose inventive
capacity in the way of endearing terms was great, "I'll fetch de
doctor."
He ran out and presently returned with Lawrence, who shook his head the
moment he set eyes on the child.
"No hope?" inquired Quashy, with solemnity unspeakable on his
countenance.
"Well, I won't say that. While there is life there is hope, but it
would have been more hopeful if I had seen the child a week or two
sooner."
After a careful examination, during which the father, who had come in,
and the mother looked on with quiet patience, and Manuela with some
anxiety, he found that there was still room for hope, but, he said,
turning to Quashy, "she will require the most careful and constant
nursing, and as neither Tiger nor his wife understands what we say, and
Pedro may not be back for some days, it will be difficult to explain to
them what should be done. Can you not speak their dialect even a
little?" he added in Spanish to Manuela.