The standing sleepers.
The advent of the adjutants produced a vivid impression on the minds of
all three of our adventurers--more vivid, perhaps, upon Ossaroo than
either of the others. To him they seemed like old friends who had come
to visit him in his prison; and though it never occurred to the
shikaree, that they could be in any way instrumental in obtaining his
release, still the impression produced was one of a pleasant nature. He
saw before him two creatures whose forms, however uncouth, were
associated with the scenes of his earliest childhood; and he could not
help a passing fancy, that the pair, that had thus unexpectedly made
their appearance, might be the same old cock and hen he had so often
seen roosted on the branches of a huge banyan tree, that overshadowed
the bungalow in which he was born.
Of course this could be only fancy on the part of Ossaroo. Out of the
thousands of storks, that annually make their migration from the plains
of Hindostan to the northward of the Himalaya Mountains, it would have
been a rare coincidence if the two that for years had performed the
office of scavengers in the shikaree's native village, should be
identical with those now hovering above his head--for it was while they
were yet upon the wing that Ossaroo had indulged in this pleasant
speculation. Though scarce serious in his thought--and only
entertaining it for an instant--he was nevertheless gratified by the
sight of the two storks, for he knew they must have come from his native
plains--from the banks of that glorious river in whose waters he longed
once more to wet his feet.
The sight of the huge birds suggested to Caspar a different train of
thought. As he beheld their immense wings, extended in slow but easy
flight, it occurred to him that one or other of the great creatures
might have the power to perform that task which had proved too much for
the bearcoot; and for which the "kite" had been "flyed" in vain.
"Oh!" exclaimed he, as the idea came across his mind, "don't you think,
Karl, that either of those great creatures would be strong enough to
carry the line aloft? They look as if they could lift even one of
ourselves to the top of the cliff."
Karl made no reply; though his silence was only caused by Caspar's
suggestion--which he was proceeding to ponder upon.
The young hunter continued: "If we could only catch one of them alive!
Do you suppose they are going to alight? They look as if they would.
What do _you_ say, Ossaroo? You know more of these birds than we do."
"Yees, youngee Sahib; ee speakee de true. Dey go for come down. You
savey dey make long fly. Dey both weary on de wing--no able fly furder.
'Sides, ee see, here am de lake--water--dey want drinkee--want eat too.
Dey sure come down."
Ossaroo's prediction was fulfilled, almost as soon as it was uttered.
The birds, first one and then the other, jerked in their spread wings;
and dropped down upon the shore of the lake--as already stated, not over
twenty paces from the spot where the three waders were occupied among
the leaves of the lilies.
The eyes of all three were now directed with a fixed gaze upon the
new-comers,--in whose behaviour they observed something irresistibly
ludicrous.
Almost on the instant of their feet touching _terra firma_, instead of
moving about over the ground in search of food, or striding down towards
the water to drink--as the spectators were expecting them to do--the two
long-legged bipeds acted in an entirely different manner. Neither of
them seemed to care either for food or drink. If they did, both these
appetites must have been secondary with them to the desire for rest; for
scarce ten seconds had elapsed after their alighting, when each drew in
its long neck, burying it between the shoulders as in a case, leaving
visible only the upper half of the head, with its huge scythe-shaped
beak--the mandibles resting against the prominence of the breast bone,
and pointing diagonally downwards.
Simultaneous with this movement, the spectators perceived another--
equally indicative of a desire on the part of the birds to betake
themselves to repose. This was the drawing up of one of their long
fleshless legs, until it was entirely concealed under the loose feathers
of the belly--a movement made by both so exactly at the same instant, as
to lead to the belief that they were actuated by like impulses, by some
spiritual union that existed between them!
In ten seconds more both birds appeared to be asleep. At all events,
their eyes were closed; and not a movement could be detected in the
limbs, wings, bodies, or beaks of either!
It was certainly a ludicrous sight to see these huge creatures--each
supporting itself on a single stalk, so straight and slender that
nothing but the nicest balance could have ensured their equilibrium; and
this, too, while neither seemed conscious of any danger of toppling
over--of which, indeed, there was not the slightest reason to be afraid.
The Hindoo had been too long accustomed to this sort of spectacle, to
see anything in it worthy of being laughed at. Not so Caspar--whose
mirth was at once excited to the point of risibility. The unconcerned
manner in which the storks had come to a stand--along with the
picturesque _pose_ in which they had composed themselves to sleep--was
even too much for the stoical Karl; who at once echoed the laughter
which his brother had inaugurated.
Their united cachinnations rang loudly over the lake--reverberating in
repeated peals from the adjacent cliffs.
It might be supposed that the _fracas_ thus created would have alarmed
the new arrivals: and caused them once more to make an appeal to their
wings.
Nothing of the sort. The only effect perceptible on either, was the
opening of their eyes, a slight protrusion of the neck, a shake of the
head, an upraising of the long beak, with a quick clattering of its
mandibles--which soon becoming closed again, were permitted to drop into
their original position of repose.
This cool behaviour of the birds only increased the hilarity of the
boys; and for several minutes they remained in their places, giving way
to loud and uncontrollable laughter.