THE HERMIT
It was now quite dark, and the whole country seemed alive with
fire-flies. These beautiful little insects sat upon the trees and bushes,
spangling them as with living diamonds, and flew about in the air like
little wandering stars. Barney had seen them before, in the West Indies,
but Martin had only heard of them; and his delight and amazement at their
extreme brilliancy were very great. Although he was naturally anxious to
reach the light in the valley, in the hope that it might prove to proceed
from some cottage, he could not refrain from stopping once or twice to
catch these lovely creatures; and when he succeeded in doing so, and
placed one on the palm of his hand, the light emitted from it was more
brilliant than that of a small taper, and much more beautiful, for it was
of a bluish colour, and very intense,--more like the light reflected from
a jewel than a flame of fire. He could have read a book by means of it
quite easily.
In half an hour they drew near to the light, which they found proceeded
from the window of a small cottage or hut.
"Whist, Martin," whispered Barney, as they approached the hut on tiptoe;
"there may be savages into it, an' there's no sayin' what sort o' craturs
they are in them parts."
When about fifty yards distant, they could see through the open window
into the room where the light burned; and what they beheld there was well
calculated to fill them with surprise. On a rude wooden chair, at a rough
unpainted table, a man was seated, with his head resting on his hand, and
his eyes fixed intently on a book. Owing to the distance, and the few
leaves and branches that intervened between them and the hut, they could
not observe him very distinctly. But it was evident that he was a large
and strong man, a little past the prime of life. The hair of his head and
beard was black and bushy, and streaked with silver-grey. His face was
massive, and of a dark olive complexion, with an expression of sadness on
it, strangely mingled with stern gravity. His broad shoulders--and,
indeed, his whole person--were enveloped in the coarse folds of a long
gown or robe, gathered in at the waist with a broad band of leather.
The room in which he sat--or rather the hut, for there was but one room
in it--was destitute of all furniture, except that already mentioned,
besides one or two roughly-formed stools; but the walls were completely
covered with strange-looking implements and trophies of the chase; and
in a corner lay a confused pile of books, some of which were, from
their appearance, extremely ancient. All this the benighted wanderers
observed as they continued to approach cautiously on tiptoe. So
cautious did they become as they drew near, and came within the light
of the lamp, that Barney at length attempted to step over his own
shadow for fear of making a noise; and, in doing so, tripped and fell
with considerable noise through a hedge of prickly shrubs that
encircled the strange man's dwelling.
The hermit--for such he appeared to be--betrayed no symptom of surprise
or fear at the sudden sound; but, rising quietly though quickly from his
seat, took down a musket that hung on the wall, and, stepping to the open
door, demanded sternly, in the Portuguese language, "Who goes there?"
"Arrah, then, if ye'd help a fellow-cratur to rise, instead o' talkin'
gibberish like that, it would be more to your credit!" exclaimed the
Irishman, as he scrambled to his feet and presented himself, along with
Martin, at the hermit's door.
A peculiar smile lighted up the man's features as he retreated into the
hut, and invited the strangers to enter.
"Come in," said he, in good English, although with a slightly foreign
accent. "I am most happy to see you. You are English. I know the voice
and the language very well. Lived among them once, but long time past
now--very long. Have not seen one of you for many years."
With many such speeches, and much expression of good-will, the hospitable
hermit invited Martin and his companion to sit down at his rude table, on
which he quickly spread several plates of ripe and dried fruits, a few
cakes, and a jar of excellent honey, with a stone bottle of cool water.
When they were busily engaged with these viands, he began to make
inquiries as to where his visitors had come from.
"We've comed from the sae," replied Barney, as he devoted himself to a
magnificent pineapple. "Och but yer victuals is mighty good,
Mister--what's yer name?--'ticklerly to them that's a'most starvin'."
"The fact is," said Martin, "our ship has been taken by pirates, and we
two swam ashore, and lost ourselves in the woods; and now we have
stumbled upon your dwelling, friend, which is a great comfort."
"Hoigh, an' that's true," sighed Barney, as he finished the last slice of
the pineapple.
They now explained to their entertainer all the circumstances attending
the capture of the _Firefly_, and their subsequent adventures and
vicissitudes in the forest; all of which Barney detailed in a most
graphic manner, and to all of which their new friend listened with grave
attention and unbroken silence. When they had concluded he said,--
"Very good. You have seen much in very short time. Perhaps you shall see
more by-and-by. For the present you will go to rest, for you must be
fatigued. I will _think_ to-night,--to-morrow I will _speak_"
"An', if I may make so bould," said Barney, glancing with a somewhat
rueful expression round the hard earthen floor of the hut, "where-abouts
may I take the liberty of sleepin'?"
The hermit replied by going to a corner, whence, from beneath a heap of
rubbish, he dragged two hammocks, curiously wrought in a sort of light
net-work. These he slung across the hut, at one end, from wall to wall,
and, throwing a sheet or coverlet into each, he turned with a smile to
his visitors,--
"Behold your beds! I wish you a very good sleep,--adios!"
So saying, this strange individual sat down at the table, and was soon as
deeply engaged with his large book as if he had suffered no interruption;
while Martin and Barney, having gazed gravely and abstractedly at him for
five minutes, turned and smiled to each other, jumped into their
hammocks, and were soon buried in deep slumber.