"Like it, gentlemen? That's right. On'y you are sure--quite sure?"
"Oh yes, we're sure enough!" replied Rob, as he watched the endless
scenes of beautiful objects they passed. "It's glorious."
"Don't find it too hot, I s'pose, sir?"
"Oh, it's hot enough," interposed Giovanni; "but we don't mind, do we,
Rob?"
"Not a bit. What fruit's that?"
"Which?" said Shaddy.
"That, on that tree, high up, swinging in the wind--the dark brown
thing, like a great nut with a long stalk."
He pointed to the object which had taken his attention.
"G'long with yer," growled Shaddy. "I thought you was in arnest."
"So I am," cried Rob, looking at the man wonderingly. "I mean that one.
It isn't a cocoa-nut, because the tree is different, and I know that
cocoanuts grow on a kind of palm."
"And that kind o' nut don't, eh?" said Shaddy, puckering his face. "Why
you are laughing at me."
"Nonsense! I am not!" cried Rob. "You don't see the fruit I mean.
There, on that tallest tree with the great branch sticking out and
hanging over the others. There now! can you see?"
"No," said Shaddy grimly; "it's gone."
"Yes; how curious that it should drop just at that moment. I saw it go
down among the trees. You did see it?"
"Oh yes. I see it plain enough."
"And you don't know what fruit it was?"
"Warn't a fruit at all, sir."
"What then? some kind of nut?"
"No, sir; warn't nut at all. It was a nut-cracker."
Rob looked at him seriously.
"Who's joking now?" he said.
"Not me, sir," replied Shaddy. "That was a nut-cracker sure enough."
"Is that the native name?"
Joe burst into a roar of laughter, and Rob coloured, for there was a
feeling of annoyance rising within him at being the butt of the others'
mirth.
"Have I said something very stupid?" he asked.
"Why, couldn't you see?" cried Joe eagerly. "It was a monkey."
"I did not see any monkey," said Rob coldly. "I was talking about that
great brown husky-looking fruit, like a cocoa-nut hanging by a long
stalk in that tree. Look! there are two more lower down!" he cried
eagerly, as the boat glided round a bend into a long reach, two of the
men being at the oars backing water a little from time to time with a
gentle dip, so as to keep the boat's head straight and check her to
enable Brazier to scan the banks through the little binocular glass he
carried, and be rowed close in when he wished to obtain specimens.
"Yes: there's two more lower down," said Shaddy, with his face puckered
up like the shell of a walnut, and then Rob's mouth expanded into a grin
as wide as that of Joe's, and he laughed heartily.
"Well," he cried, "that is comic, and no mistake. I really thought it
was some kind of fruit. It _was_ a monkey."
"You ain't the first as made that mistake, Mr Rob, sir," said Shaddy.
"You see, they just take a turn with their tails round a branch, draws
their legs up close, and cuddles them with their long arms round 'em,
and then they looks just like the hucks of a cocoa-nut."
"Like the what?" cried Rob.
"Hucks of a cocoa-nut."
"Oh--husk."
"You may call it `husk' if you like, sir: I calls it `hucks.' Then they
hangs head downwards, and goes to sleep like that, I believe. Wonderful
thing a monkey's tail is. Why I've seen the young ones hold on to their
mother by giving it a turn round the old girl's neck. They're all like
that out here. Ring-tail monkeys we call 'em."
While they were talking the last two monkeys had swung themselves to and
fro, and then lowered themselves down among the branches to get close to
the river and watch the boat, like a couple of tiny savages stricken
with wonder at the coming of the strange white men, and chattering away
to each other their comments on all they saw.
The progress made was very slow, for the boat was constantly being
anchored, so to speak, by the men rowing in and holding on by the
hanging boughs of trees, while Brazier cut and hacked off bulb and
blossom in what, with glowing face, he declared to be a perfect
naturalist's paradise.
They had been floating down a few miles when, right ahead, the stream
seemed to end, the way being blocked entirely by huge trees, and as they
drew nearer there appeared to be a repetition of the entrance from the
great river, where they passed along through the dark tunnel overhung by
trees.
"Oh, it's all right, sir," said Shaddy, on being appealed to. "Dessay
we shall find a way on."
"Of course," replied Brazier, who only had eyes for the plants he was
collecting and hardly looked up; "this great body of water must go
somewhere."
"Look sharp round to the left!" cried Rob, standing up in the boat as
they glided round a bend where the stream nearly turned upon itself and
then back again, forming a complete S; and as they moved round the
second bend Rob uttered a shout of delight, for the banks receded on
either hand, so that they appeared to have glided into a wide opening
about a mile long, floored with dark green dotted with silver, through
which in a sinuous manner the river wound. A minute later, though, the
two lads saw that the river really expanded into a lake, the stream in
its rapid course keeping a passage open, the rest of the water being
densely covered with the huge, circular leaves of a gigantic water-lily,
whose silvery blossoms peered up among the dark green leaves.
"Look at the jacanas!" cried Joe, pointing to a number of
singular-looking birds like long-necked and legged moorhens, but
provided with exaggerated toes, these being of such a length that they
easily supported their owners as they walked about or ran on the
floating leaves.
"Wouldn't be a bad place for a camp, sir," suggested Shaddy, when they
were about half-way along the lake, and he pointed to a spot on their
left where the trees stood back, leaving a grassy expanse not unlike the
one at which they had first halted, only of far greater extent.
"Yes, excellent," replied Brazier; "but can we get there?"
"Oh yes, sir; I'll soon make a way through the leaves."
Shaddy seized a pole, said a few words to his men, and stepped right to
the front of the boat, where he stood thrusting back the vegetation as
it collected about the bows, while the men rowed hard forcing the boat
onward, the huge leaves being sent to right and left and others passing
right under the keel, but all floating back to their former positions,
so that as Rob looked back the jacanas were again running over the
vegetation which had re-covered the little channel the boat had made.
In all probability a vessel had never entered that lake before, and it
caused so little alarm that great fish, which had been sheltering
themselves beneath the dark green disk-like leaves, lazily issued from
their lurking places to stare so stupidly, often even with their back
fins out of water, that the boys had no difficulty in startling a few of
them into a knowledge of their danger by gently placing a hand under and
hoisting them suddenly into the boat, where they displayed their alarm
by leaping vigorously and beating the fragile bottom with their tails.
"Better hold hard, young gentlemen!" cried Shaddy, as soon as half a
dozen were caught; "them fish won't keep, and we can easily catch more.
Ah! Why, Mr Joe, sir, I did think you knowed better."
This was to Joe, who had leaned over as far as he could to try and
perform the same feat upon a long dark object floating half hidden by a
leaf, but was met by a quick rush and a shower of water as the creature
twisted itself round and dived down.
"It was only a little one, Shaddy," said Joe.
"Little dogs have sharp teeth, my lad; and them small 'gators can bite
like fury. You take my advice, and don't do it again."
"Hah!" cried Brazier as he leaped ashore, "this is glorious. We can
make quite a collection here. See that the boat is fast, Naylor."
This was soon done, and the men were about to light a fire, but Brazier
checked them, preferring to make a little expedition for exploration
purposes all about their new camping place, partly to see if there were
noxious beasts at hand, partly to try and secure a few natural history
specimens, especially birds, which abounded, before the noise and the
fire should drive them away.
"Hand out the guns and cartridge bags," said Brazier; and this being
done the men were left in charge of the boat, and the little party
started, keeping close up to the trees on their left with the intention
of going all round the opening and so returning by the right side to the
boat.
The walking was hard, for the earth was tangled with dense growth so
that they progressed very slowly, while the heat was intense; but that
passed unnoticed in the excitement caused by the novel objects which met
their eyes at every step--flowers, such as Rob had never before seen,
looking up as if asking to be plucked; butterflies which flapped about
so lazily that they could, he felt, easily be caught, only without net
or appliances it seemed wanton destruction to capture and mutilate such
gorgeously painted objects. There were others too, resembling the
hawk-moths in shape, with thick body and long pointed wing, which were
constantly being taken for humming-birds, so rapid was their darting
flight. As for these latter, they flashed about them here, there, and
everywhere, now glittering in the sunshine, now looking dull and
plum-coloured as they hovered on hazy wings before the long trumpet
blossoms of some convolvulus-like flower whose twiny stems trailed over
or wrapped the lower growth.
Beetles, too, were abundant in every sun-scorched spot or on the bare
trunks of the trees, though bare places were rare, for the trees were
clothed densely with moss and orchid.
Rob's fingers itched as bird after bird flew up, and he longed to bring
them down for specimens, whose brilliant colours he could gloat over.
Now it was a huge scarlet-and-blue macaw, now one painted by Nature's
hand scarlet, yellow, and green, which flew off with its long tail
feathers spread, uttering discordant shrieks, and startling the smaller
parrots from the trees which they were stripping of their fruit.
But Brazier had told him not to fire at the smaller birds, as it was a
necessity to keep their larder supplied with substantial food, the four
boatmen and Shaddy being pretty good trencher-men, and making the deer
meat disappear even without the aid of trenchers.
"We ought to find a deer here surely," said Brazier, when they were
about half-way round.
"Well, I don't know, sir," replied their guide; "deer ain't like human
beings, ready to go walking in the hot sunshine in the middle of the
day. They like to lie up in the shade all through the sunny time, and
feed in the morning and evening."
"Then you think we shall not see a deer?"
"Can't say, sir; but if a turkey goes up I should make sure of him at
once. So I should if we came upon a carpincho, for this is a likely
place for one of them."
"But are they good eating?"
"Capital, sir. Now, look at that."
He faced round at a loud, fluttering sound, and guns were raised, but
the great bird which had taken flight was far out of shot, and winging
its way higher and higher, so as to fly over the tops of the trees and
away into the forest.
"Fine great turkey that, sir," said Shaddy.
"Yes: can we follow it?"
Shaddy shook his head.
"Far more sensible for us to walk straight away, sir, through the open
where that turkey got up: we might start another or two."
"But the going is so laborious," pleaded Brazier; "some of us would be
having sunstroke. No, let's keep on, we may put up something yet."
"And try for the turkeys toward sundown, sir?"
"Yes. Come on," said Brazier; "we had better get slowly back now to the
boat. It is too hot."
He stood wiping the perspiration from his forehead as he spoke, and
then, with Shaddy by his side carrying a spare gun, went on along by the
edge of the forest, Rob and Joe following some distance behind.
"I might as well have shot some of those beautiful toucans," said Rob;
"I could have skinned them, and they would be delightful to bring out at
home and show people, and remind one of this place in years to come."
"Yes, we shouldn't have scared away much game," replied Joe. "What's
that they can see?"
For Shaddy was holding up his hand to stop them, and Brazier, who had
forgotten all about being languid and weary in the hot sunshine, was
hurrying forward bending down and making for one of several clumps of
bushes about half-way between them and the river.
Rob noted that clump particularly, for it was scarlet with the blossoms
of a magnificent passion-flower, whose steins trailed all over it,
tangling it into a mass of flame colour, looking hot in the sunshine,
which made the air quiver as if in motion.
The lads stopped at Shaddy's signal and looked intently, but they could
see no sign of any game, and, rightly concluding that the object of
Brazier's movement must be hidden from them at the edge of the forest,
they crouched down and waited for fully five minutes.
"Here, I'm sick of this," whispered Rob at last; and he rose from his
uncomfortable position.
"So am I," said Joe, straightening himself. "Hullo! Where's old
Shaddy?"
"Lying down and having a nap, I expect," replied Rob. "I can't see him
nor Mr Brazier neither. Shall we go on."
"No: let's wait a bit. They may be seeing a chance for something good
at supper-time."
They waited another five minutes, ten minutes, and had at last
determined to go on, when Brazier's piece was heard, the sharp report
coming from about three hundred yards farther on toward the river.
"There's Shaddy running," cried Joe; and they saw now where he had been
crawling, far beyond the scarlet passion-flower, from whose shelter Mr
Brazier had evidently made a long stalk till he was close to the object
of his search, a bird or animal, which had probably fallen, from the
haste being made to reach the spot.
"Let's make haste," cried Joe, pushing forward.
"No, thank you; I'm too tired," said Rob. "I was not so fagged before,
but after lying down there so long I'm as stiff as can be. Oh, bother!
something stung me. It's one of those ants. Brush them off."
Joe performed the kindly duty, and they were on the way to join the
others, when there was a rustling sound just in front, and the young
Italian started back.
"A snake--a snake!" he panted, as he caught Rob's arm. "Shoot!"
"Well, you shoot too," said the latter rather sharply, for Joe seemed to
have forgotten that he had a gun in his hand.
But Rob could not boast, for as the dry grass and scrubby growth in
front moved he raised his piece, and drew first one trigger, then the
other: there was no result--he had forgotten to cock.
Lowering the gun he rapidly performed this necessary operation, and was
about to raise it again and wait, for in the hurry and excitement he had
been about to obey his companion and deliver a chance shot almost at
random amongst the moving grass--so great was the horror inspired by the
very name of one of the reptiles which haunted the moist swamps near the
riverside.
But, to the surprise of both, it was no huge anaconda which had been
worming its way toward them; for at the sound of the lock--_click_,
click--a beautiful warm-grey creature bounded lithely out almost to
where they stood, and there paused, watching them and waving its long
black tail.
"A lion," whispered Joe, who remained as if paralysed by the sudden
bound of the cat-like creature, which stood as high as a mastiff dog,
but beautifully soft-looking and rounded in its form, its ears erect,
eyes dilated, and motionless, all but that long writhing tail.
In those few moments Rob's powers of observation seemed as if they were
abnormally sharpened, and as he noted the soft hairs toward the end of
the tail erected and then laid down, and again erected, making it look
thick and soft, he noted too that the muzzle was furnished with long
cat-like whiskers, and the head was round, soft, and anything but cruel
and fierce of aspect.
"Shoot--shoot!" whispered Joe: "the ball--not the small shot."
But Rob did not stir; he merely stood with the muzzle of the gun
presented toward the beast, and did not raise it to his shoulder. Not
that he was stupefied by the peril of his position, but held back by the
non-menacing aspect of the puma. Had there been a display of its fangs
or an attempt to crouch for a spring, the gun would have been at his
shoulder in a moment, and, hit or miss, he would have drawn the trigger.
"Why don't you shoot?" whispered Joe again.
"I can't," replied Rob. "It must be a tame one."
"Nonsense! You're mad. We're right away in the wilds."
"I don't care where we are," said Rob, who was growing cool and
confident; "this must be a tame one. I shall go forward."
"No, no--don't! He'll claw you down."
"He'd better not. I've got my finger on the trigger. Here! Hallo, old
chap! puss! puss! whose cat are you?"
"He's mad," whispered Joe as Rob advanced, and the puma stood firm
watching him, till they were so close together that, in full confidence
that they had met with a tame beast, the property of some settler or
Indian, he laid his gun in the hollow of his left arm, and stretched out
his right hand.
The puma winced slightly, and its eyes grew more dilate; but, as Rob
stood still, the wild look passed slowly away, and it remained
motionless.
"Don't! pray don't!" cried Joe in a hoarse whisper; "it will seize your
hand in its jaws."
"Nonsense! It's as tame as an old tom-cat," said Rob coolly. "Poor old
puss, then!" he continued, reaching out a little farther, so that he
could just softly touch the animal's cheek, passing his fingers along
toward its left ear.
"There, I told you so," he said, with a laugh, for the puma pressed its
head against his hand, giving it a rub in regular cat fashion, while as,
to Joe's horror, Rob continued his caress and began gently rubbing the
animal's head, it emitted a soft, purring noise, rolled its head about,
and ended by closing up and leaning against the lad's leg, passing
itself along from nose to tail, turning and repeating the performance,
and again on the other side.
"I am glad I didn't shoot," said Rob, bending down to stroke the
animal's back. "I say, isn't he a beauty! Come and make friends. He's
a bit afraid of us yet."
Joe stood fast, with the loaded gun presented, ready to fire and save
his friend's life the moment the creature seized him, when, to his
astonishment, the puma so thoroughly approved of the first human caress
it had ever received that it lay down, rolled over, wriggling its spine
when all four legs were in the air, rolled back again, scratching the
ground, and finally crouched and looked up as much as to say, "Go on."
Rob answered the appeal he read in the puma's eyes, and going down on
one knee, he patted and stroked it, when, quick as the movement of a
serpent, it threw itself over on its back, seized the lad's hand between
its bent paws, patted it from one to the other, and then held it tightly
as it brought down its mouth as if to bite, but only began to lick the
palm with its rough tongue.
"There!" said Rob; "what do you say now? Isn't it a tame one?"
"I--I don't know yet. Hadn't I better fire and kill it?"
"You'd better not," cried Rob. "That'll do, old chap; you'll have the
skin off. I say, his tongue is rough. Why, what beautiful fur he has,
and how soft and clean! I wonder whose he is."
In the most domestic cat-like fashion the puma now curled itself round,
with its forepaws doubled under, and kept up its soft purr as it watched
the lad by its side. But as he rose the animal sprang up too, butted
its head affectionately against his leg, and then looked up as if to
say,--
"What next?"
"Why don't you come and stroke it?" cried Rob. "Because I'm sure it's
wild and fierce," was the reply. "Well, it isn't now."
"Ahoy!" came from a distance, and the puma looked sharply about, with
ears erect and an intense look, as if it were listening.
"Ahoy!" shouted back Rob. "Let's go to them. Come along, puss."
He took a few steps forward, the puma staring at him and twisting its
tail from side to side; but it did not stir. "There, I told you so. It
is wild."
"Well, it may be, but it's quite ready to make friends, and it will not
hurt us. Come along."
Joe did not possess his companion's faith, and keeping his face to the
puma as much as he could, he advanced toward where they could see
Brazier waving his hand to them to come on.
As they advanced Rob kept on stopping and looking back at the puma,
calling it loudly; but the animal made no response. It stood there with
its eyes dilating again, waving and twisting its tail, till they were
thirty or forty yards distant, when, with a sudden movement, it half
turned away, crouched, its hind legs seemed to act like a spring, and it
was shot forward into the low growth and disappeared.
"Gone!" said Joe, with a sigh of relief.
"Why, you're actually afraid of a cat," said Rob mockingly.
"I am--of cats like that," replied his companion. "I've heard my father
say that some of them are friendly. That must be a friendly one, but
I'm sure they are not fit to be trusted. Let's make haste."
Rob did not feel so disposed, and he looked back from time to time as
they forced their way through the grass and low growth, but there was no
puma visible, and finally, taking it for granted that the animal was
gone, but making up his mind to try and find it again if they stayed, he
stepped out more quickly to catch up to Joe, who was pressing on toward
where he could now see both of their companions and a hundred yards
beyond the boatmen coming to meet them.
"Hi! What have you shot, Mr Brazier?" cried Rob as he drew nearer.
"Deer! Very fine one!" came back the reply.
"Venison for dinner, then, and not `only fish,'" said Rob as he changed
shoulders with his gun. "Shouldn't care to be always tied down to
fresh-water fish, Joe. They're not like turbot and soles."
"I say, don't talk about eating," said the young Italian testily.
"Why not?"
"Makes me so hungry."
"Well, so much the better. Proves that you enjoy your meals. I say, I
wish that great cat had followed us."
"Nonsense! What could you have done with it?"
"Kept it as a pet. Taught it to catch birds for us, and to fetch those
we shot like a dog. Oh, what a beauty!"
This was on seeing the fine large fat deer which had fallen to Brazier's
gun.
"Yes," said Brazier, with a satisfied smile; "it was a piece of good
fortune, and it will relieve me of some anxiety about provisions."
"But it will not keep," said Rob.
"Yes; cut in strips and dried in the sun, it will last as long as we
want it. You see, we have no means of making up waste in our stores,
Rob, and the more we get our guns to help us the longer our expedition
can be."
The boatmen and the two lads reached the deer just about the same time,
and the latter stood looking on with rather an air of disgust upon their
countenances as the crew set to work and deftly removed the animal's
skin, which was carried off to the boat to be stretched over the awning
to dry, while those left rapidly went to work cutting the flesh in
strips and bearing it off to the boat.
"I say, Mr Brazier," said Rob after watching the proceedings for some
time, "hadn't those strips of flesh better be dried on shore somewhere?"
"Why?"
"Because they'll smell dreadfully."
"I hope not," said Brazier, smiling.
"Not they, sir," put in Shaddy. "Sun soon coats 'em over and takes the
juice out of them. They won't trouble your nose, Master Rob, sir, trust
me; and as to drying 'em on shore, that would be a very good plan in
every way but one."
"What do you mean?"
"Why, that it would be very convenient, sir, and the meat would dry
nicely; but when we wanted it you may take my word it wouldn't be
there."
"Would some one steal it?" cried Rob. "No; you told me there were no
Indians about."
"So I did, sir; but there are hundreds of other things would take it."
"Hang it up in a tree, then."
"Ready for the vultures to come and carry it off? That wouldn't do,
sir. No; there's no way of doing it but hanging it up in your boat.
The animals can't get at it, nor the ants neither, and the birds are
afraid to come."
"I did not think of that," said Rob apologetically.
"No, sir, s'pose not. I used to think as you did. I didn't want to
have anything that might smell on my boat, and I did as you advised till
I found out that it would not do. Don't take too much at a time," he
growled to the man who was loading himself, "and mind and lay out all
the pieces separate. Is the fire burning?"
The man replied in his own tongue, and went off.
"I'll get on now, sir," said Shaddy, "and see to the pieces frizzling
for our dinner, if you'll stop and see that the men don't leave before
they are done."
"How am I to speak to them? I don't know their tongue."
"No need to speak, sir. If they see you're watching them they won't
neglect anything, but will do it properly. I was only afraid of their
wanting to step off to the fireside to begin broiling bones."
Shaddy shouldered his gun, and went off after the man who was loaded
with strips of flesh to make what is called biltong, and the two left
worked on very diligently, with the boys wandering here and there in
search of objects of interest and finding plenty--brilliant
metallic-cased beetles, strange flowers which they wanted named, birds
which it was a delight to watch as they busied themselves about the
fruit and flowers of the trees at the forest edge.
"I shall be glad when they've done," said Joe at last, as they were
walking back to where Brazier stood leaning upon the muzzle of his gun.
"I am so hungry. Wonder whether these berries are good to eat!"
He turned aside into the bushes to begin picking some bright yellow
fruit, and scaring away a little parrot from the feast.
"I want something better than those," said Rob contemptuously; and he
went on, expecting that Joe was close behind.
All at once, when he was about twenty yards away from where Brazier was
standing, Rob saw him start, raise his gun, and cock it as he glared
wildly at his young companion.
"Anything the matter, sir?" cried Rob, hastening his steps.
"Yes!" cried Brazier hoarsely. "Stand aside, boy! Take care! Out of
my line of fire! You're being stalked by a wild beast!"
Rob stared, looked round, and saw at a glance that the puma had
evidently been hiding among the dead grass and thick growth, but had
been following and watching him ever since he had seen it leap into the
bushes. Then the truth dawned upon him that of course Mr Brazier could
not know what had passed, and there he was with his gun raised to fire.
"Stand aside, boy!" was roared again; and, obeying the stronger will,
Rob sprang aside, but only to leap back.
"Don't fire! don't fire!" he shrieked, but too late. The gun belched
forth rapidly its two charges, and Rob fell and rolled over upon the
earth.