HOUSEKEEPING IN A CAVE
SHE heard Kadok's voice and called to him excitedly, "Oh, Kadok, come
quick! I am so frightened!"
"What matter, little Missa?" asked Kadok as he parted the bushes and
looked at her with anxious face.
"Oh, a strange Black looked at me and ran away!" she said, bursting into
tears.
"Little Missa not cry," said Kadok. "Brought little Missa meat for
supper. What did black man say?"
"A strange word something like curry curry," she said. "He looked
frightened too."
"That good," said Kadok. "He think little Missa not real child. Golden
child. Think him not come again. Kadok glad, for we must stay here one,
two days."
"Oh, Kadok, why? Can't we go to Mother to-morrow?" her voice was full of
tears and the boy's face clouded.
"Kadok very sorry for little Missa," he said. "But no can help. Kadok
got bad hurt on foot. No can walk one, two days. Little Missa help Kadok
get well?"
"Oh, Kadok, how did you hurt yourself?" she asked, as she saw that his
foot was covered with blood.
"Hurt in the scrub," said Kadok, who did not want to tell her the truth,
that he had met a Black who had thrown his _nulla-nulla_[17] and struck
him on the foot, though the boy had managed to get away from him.
"Let me tie it up for you," said Jean. "I've often seen mother dress
Fergus' wounds, for he was always doing things to himself. He always had
at least one finger tied up in a rag."
"Little Missa good," said Kadok as he sat wearily down beside her. He
was worn out and even his brave spirit sank at this new trouble. It
would be several days before he could walk well, he knew, and if the
Black who had wounded him had discovered Jean he would certainly come
back. Would they be safe even for a few hours, he wondered? His chief
hope lay in the fact that if the Black had thought her a vision, he
would fear to return.
Jean scooped up water which stood in a pool at the door of the cave,
washed her pocket-handkerchief and tore it into strips, then bathed
Kadok's foot and tied it up as she had seen her mother do.
"Thank little Missa," said Kadok. "Feel better, make eat now."
"No, I shall make supper to-night," said Jean. "It is time I tried to do
something for you."
She gathered up sticks and bits of bark and laid the fire, which Kadok
carefully lighted, taking one from a box of matches which he had in his
swag, and which he kept tied up in the skin of an animal to keep them
from getting damp. He had brought back a _yopolo_[18] from his hunt in
the forest, and wild bee's honey, and he said to Jean,
"Better not make damper to-night. Save meal for some day we have not
meat."
"I am tired of damper anyway," said Jean. "How shall I cook the meat?"
"Put leaves over hot stones, set yopolo on, all in his skin, cover him
over with earth and he cook very tender," said Kadok, and she followed
his receipt. There was only a little water left in the water-hole, and
that not fresh.
"Where do you get water, Kadok?" asked Jean.
"From the spring," he answered. "Not far, just ten steps in the bushes,
straight ahead from cave, but not safe for little Missa go."
"Why not? We are both so thirsty," she pleaded.
"Little Missa's shoes make tracks. Bad Black come long, see tracks, know
white child here, steal little Missa away."
"Oh, if that's the trouble I can take my shoes off," she said, laughing,
as she pulled off shoes and stockings. "I will be right back. I can find
it, for you said it was only ten steps away," and she picked up the
billy and hurried out of the cave in spite of Kadok's "Little Missa not
go. Debil-debil get her!"
She was back before Kadok thought she could have found the spring,
saying brightly,
"Now we have fresh water for our supper, afterwards I can tie up your
foot again."
"Kadok found cup for little Missa," he said, pulling from his belt a
battered tin cup. "Think white man drop it, little Missa can have
honey-water to drink." He cut a piece of the honeycomb and put it in the
cup of water. Jean drank the sweet drink and almost smacked her lips.
"It is ever so nice, Kadok," she said. "It tastes like the sugar-water
the American children's black mammy used to give us."
"Who was that?" he asked curiously.
"There were three children of America came to stay at my uncle's place,
oh, a long time ago before we came to Australia. They had a nurse, a
black woman. She was ever so black, not brown like you, Kadok, and so
good and nice. I used to like her very much. That was the reason I was
not afraid, when the black man told me to come and see the gin who was
sick. I thought he would be good like Dinah and bring me right back."
"Black people very much like white people," said Kadok. "Some black face
white heart, some black all way through. Some white face very black
heart," and the boy shook his head.
"Think yopolo cooked. Him smell fine," he said, sniffing the scent
which came from the fire.
The yopolo was indeed done and delicious. It was very tender and tasted
like spring chicken. It was a queer supper for the little Scotch girl,
seated cross-legged on the floor of the cave, as she drank honey-water
and cut off bits of meat for herself and Kadok.
The little housekeeper enjoyed her supper thoroughly. Having finished,
she put fresh green wood on the fire that the smoke might keep off the
mosquitos, and wrapped the rest of the meat in leaves to keep for
breakfast. She bathed Kadok's foot, which was swollen and painful, and
tied it up, and then, under the boy's directions, cut down some leafy
branches and moss to make herself a bed, and wrapped herself in her
blanket to sleep.
When morning came it seemed as if the mother's desire that the little
girl should have experiences to make her less childish was to be
fulfilled, for Kadok's foot was so painful that he could not even drag
himself about the cave and Jean had to wait on him as well as to care
for herself. She made breakfast and gathered fresh leaves and branches
and brought water enough to last all day. Then she made fresh damper and
cut strips of the yopolo meat, drying it in the sun and smoke under
Kadok's directions. There were provisions enough to last a day or two
and she tried not to worry about things, but she wished she had
something else to do.
Kadok saw she was growing restless and tried to talk to her, afraid that
she would cry. "Little Missa not see cave before, not have at home. Tell
about home."
"Oh, it's not at all like this," she said. "It's very cold, and the
mountains are high and beautiful and there are no snakes nor wild
things. It's all farms and sheep and not wild like Australia. And in the
winter the snow is lovely."
"What is snow?" asked Kadok.
"Don't you know what snow is?" she laughed. "I hardly know how to tell
you. It looks like soft, white feathers and it floats down from the sky
when it's very cold and covers up the ground like a white blanket. Then
it is lovely, but when the sun comes out and melts it, it's not nice.
Didn't you ever see snow?"
"Never did," said Kadok.
"Oh, Kadok, what's that?" exclaimed Jean, as a mournful sound came
through the forest.
"That messenger of Muuruup, _Debill-debill_," said Kadok with a frown.
"Muuruup lives under the ground. He make evil. He makes lightning and
spoils trees and kills people. No like hear owl bird. Bring bad storm or
bad luck."
"Oh, I hope he won't bring a storm," said Jean. "We had storm enough
yesterday to last for awhile. How does _Debil-debil_ make lightning?"
"Don't know," said Kadok. "Old chief say he not make. Say Great Baiame
make. He want to smoke big pipe up in sky, strike match to light pipe,
throw match down to earth, while smoke--match make lightning."
"If we are going to have another storm I am going to bring water from
the spring while I can go out of the cave." She was getting very tired
of sitting still.
"Kadok not like little Missa to run round by herself," said Kadok, but
Jean said wilfully,
"I must go by myself if there is no one to go with me, mustn't I? We've
got to have water," and she picked up the billy and started for the
spring.
It was cool and pleasant in the woods. She filled her billy and stopped
to gather a handful of leaves which grew near-by and looked shiny and
pretty, then went back to Kadok.
"You see nothing happens to me," she said.
"You go once too often. You not good little Missa. You not mind Kadok,"
he grumbled.
"I will be good, but really I can't sit still all day," she said. "See
what pretty leaves."
"Very good leaves," said Kadok. "When little Missa have no water, chew
these, not be thirsty. White men call them hibiscus."
"I'll remember that," said Jean. "Kadok, tell me a story about when you
were a little boy. What did you used to do at home?"
"Not do very much in wuuries,"[19] he said with a broad grin. "Blacks
not have much home like white people. Like woods better than wuuries.
Like hunt. Make many fine hunt, sometimes hunt animals, sometimes hunt
other Blacks. Very good eat, before white man comes," he hastened to add
as he saw Jean's expression of terror. "Not eat people now."
"I should hope not," cried the child.
"Little Missa keep quiet," said Kadok, raising himself on his elbow,
grasping a stick he had and peering through the bushes. "Something
coming. Think not black man. Don't move!" They sat so quiet it seemed to
Jean that she could hear her heart beat, but heard nothing more. Just as
she was about to speak, Kadok raised his stick quickly and brought it
down with great force and Jean saw something black whirl and twist at
the opening of the cave.
"Missa help quick. This hard to hold," cried Kadok. "Take stick, hold
very tight here," and he gave her the handle of the forked stick which,
to her horror, she saw held down by its neck a large snake. She shut her
eyes tight, but held the stick bearing down with all her might while
Kadok struck the snake over and over with his stick.
"Good Missa, let go stick, snake very dead now," and she looked with a
shudder at the dead body of the serpent.
"Him tree-python," said Kadok, calmly. "Him make very good supper for
Missa."
"Oh, I couldn't eat snake, really, I couldn't," she said, but Kadok
laughed.
"Make very good eat for black boy, save yopolo for Missa," he said.
"Think dinner time now, Missa eat meat, Kadok eat snake."
It made Jean feel very queer to see him cut off a piece of the tail,
roast it and eat with great enjoyment, but before night she was to look
upon the snake as her greatest friend.
She dropped asleep after eating and did not waken until almost time for
supper, when she found that Kadok had been sleeping too.
"Foot very much better, think we go find Mother to-morrow," he said, as
she sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Little Missa not cry, be good Missa. We
be all right. Time to eat again."
"I'm not very hungry," she said, "but I want some fresh water to drink."
"Little Missa not go to the spring. Kadok not like," he said so
earnestly that she said,
"Well, never mind, I can drink the old water and chew some hibiscus
leaves."
"Think I can go for Missa," said Kadok as he rose and tried his foot.
"Not very bad."
"Oh, never mind," she said, but he took the billy and his stick and
limped through the bushes. He was gone only a moment or two when she
felt a strange feeling as of some one looking at her, and she raised her
head to see, staring through the bushes, the same savage eyes which had
frightened her the day before.
"Kadok!" she screamed, but the Black reached forth a long arm and tried
to catch her. She drew back into the cave and screamed again. She had no
weapon, but she grasped the dead snake by the tail and with all the
strength she could muster threw it straight into the Black's face. The
man gave a loud "Wouf!" as the reptile struck his face, and darted back
just as Kadok came up behind and struck him on the head with his waddy.
Attacked before and behind, the black man thought his enemies were many
and he fled through the bushes as fast as he could go. Fear lent him
wings and he did not stop until far from the scene of his terror. Kadok
limped into the cave.
"Little Missa hurt?" he asked anxiously.
"No, but I was dreadfully frightened. It was the same Black I saw
yesterday."
"What little Missa do?" asked the boy.
"I hadn't anything else, so I hit him with your snake and he ran away,"
she said simply. The boy looked at her in astonishment and then laughed
loud and long.
"Baiame teach little Missa to be good Bush girl," he said. "One thing
very much scare Black is snake in the face. Missa do just right thing."
"I didn't know just what to do, but I had to do something," she said.
"What shall we do now, Kadok?"
"Not know," he said, frowning. "Think best eat, rest to-night. Go long
early in morning before Black come back. Missa make eat, then sleep. Not
be afraid. Kadok watch."
FOOTNOTES:
[17] Big stick, like a shillalah.
[18] Small animal.
[19] Huts.