BAD DREAM CONCERNING THE DOUBTER.
As well as we could judge, Abraham was right in regard to the time; and
being all tired, after the story of the dyspeptic man we set about
arranging our quarters for the night. I must admit, however, take it all
in all, not omitting even the drawbacks to our enjoyment occasioned by
the unfortunate state of things between my friend and the Doubter, and
the probability of a hostile meeting in the morning, that from the time
of leaving home, four months before, I had not spent so pleasant an
evening. It was something to look back to with gratification and
enjoyment all the rest of the voyage, should we indeed ever be able to
resume our voyage.
[Illustration: THE FOOTPRINT IN THE SAND.]
Pearce now pulled down an additional lot of goatskins from the rafters,
which we spread on the ground so as to make a general bed; and having
piled some wood on the fire and bolted the door, we stretched ourselves
in a circle, with our feet toward the blaze, and made a fair beginning
for the night. It was only a beginning, however, so far as I was
concerned, for not long after I had closed my eyes and begun to doze,
some restless gentleman got up to see if there was any Spaniards trying
to unbolt the door; and in stepping over me he contrived to put one foot
upon my head, just as I was trying to get from under a big rock that I
saw rolling down from the top of a cliff. I was a good deal astonished,
upon nervously grasping at it, to find that it was made of leather, and
had a human foot in it, and likewise that it had a voice, and asked me,
as if very much frightened, "What the deuce was the matter?" This again,
upon falling into another doze, brought to mind the footprint in the
sand, which occasioned me the greatest distress and anxiety. I tried to
get away from it, but wherever I went I saw that fatal mark; in the
mountains, in the valleys, in the caves, on the rocks, on the trees, in
the air, in the surf, in the darkness of the storm, I saw that dreadful
footprint; I saw it, through the dim vista of the past, upon the banks
of the Ohio, where I had played in boyhood; I saw it again in my first
bright glowing dream of the island world, when, with the simplicity of
childhood, I prayed that I might be cast upon a desolate island; I saw
it in the cream-colored volume--every where--back in childhood, in
youth, now again in manhood--from the first to the last, at home,
abroad--wherever thought could wander, I saw that strange and wondrous
footprint.
[Illustration: THE SAVAGE ORGIES.]
In trying to get up the cliff where I could look out for the savages, I
fancied the tuft of grass that I had hold of gave way, and I rolled over
the precipice into the sea; and this was not altogether an unfounded
idea, for I actually had worked myself off the goatskin, and was at that
moment paddling about in a sea of mud. Again I fell asleep, and a great
many confused visions were impressed upon my mind. I saw the savages
down on the beach, going through all their infernal orgies. They had
seized upon my comrades, and were roasting them in flaming fires, and
eating the fattest of them with great relish. The flesh of the Doubter,
I thought, was so lean and tough that they were unable to eat it; but
they stripped it off in long flakes, and hung it round their necks, and
danced with it swinging about their bodies, as if they regarded it as
the finest ornament in the world. His head was cut off and scalped, and
his skull lay upon the ground. I thought Abraham had changed again into
Friday, and I called upon him to look at this dreadful scene, and help
me to kill these wretched cannibals; but no sooner did he catch sight of
the Doubter's skull, than he ran from me toward the spot, and picked it
up with a horrible shout of triumph, and sticking his gun into it he
held it in the air, and danced all round in a circle laughing like a
devil. The Doubter, perceiving this in some strange way (for he was
without a head), jumped to his feet, with his fleshless bones, and ran
after Abraham, making signs for his skull; but Abraham only laughed the
louder and danced the more, thrusting the skull at him as he jumped
about, and asking him, in a sneering voice, what he thought of it now?
was it a dog's skull yet? would he like to have it fastened on again
with glue? how had he contrived to keep out of the fire? were the
savages afraid he would put it out? did his present exercise warm him?
each of which taunting questions he ended with a wild laugh of derision,
and a snatch of his favorite song--
"Tinky ting tang, tinky ting tang,
Oh, poor Robinson Crusoe!"
This, I thought, so incensed the Doubter that he turned away in disgust,
and walked off shaking his neck as if it had the head still on; and when
he was some distance from Abraham he sat down on the ground and slowly
raised his right hand, placing the thumb where his nose would have been
had the head still remained in its place, and then his left hand in the
same way, fixing the thumb upon the little finger of the other, and thus
he waved them to and fro, as if he had no confidence even in his own
skull or in any of the circumstances connected with it. While this was
going on, the savages continued their infernal dance on the beach. I now
raised my gun and began shooting at them, killing them by scores. I
could see their dark bodies roll over into the surf, and hear their
yells of terror at the report of the gun; and when I rushed down to save
my shipmates, all I could see was Abraham sitting upon a rock, pounding
the skull into small fragments with a big stone which he held in both
hands, and the fleshless body of the Doubter sitting opposite to him,
slowly waving the little finger of his left hand at him in the same
incredulous and taunting manner as before. And thus ended the dream.