I have often thought since what a wild journey ours was, and how
ignorant we must have been to plunge recklessly and in such a haphazard
way into a country that, though an island, is a long way on towards
being large enough to be called a continent.
Still we made the venture, and somehow as soon as a peril was passed we
all looked upon it as belonging to yesterday, and troubled ourselves
about it no more.
I had risen on the morning after our nocturnal adventure feeling
despondent and sleepy; but the bright sunshine and the tempting odour of
roasting bird stuck on a stick close to the flame, soon made me forget
the troubles of the night, and an hour later, with every one in the best
of spirits, we made a fresh start, keeping near the river, but beneath
the shade of the trees, for the sun seemed to be showering down burning
arrows, and wherever we had to journey across the open the heat was
intense.
In the shady parts the green of the undergrowth looked delicate and
pale, but in the sunshine it was of the most vivid green; and bathing in
it, as it were, flies and beetles hummed and buzzed, and beat their
gauzy wings, so that they seemed invisible, while wherever there was a
bare patch of stony or rocky earth lizards were hurrying in and out, and
now and then a drab-looking little serpent lay twisted up into a knot.
The bearers stepped along lightly enough beneath their loads, and I
observed that they never looked to right or left, or seemed to admire
anything before them, their eyes being always fixed upon the earth where
they were about to plant their feet.
Ti-hi in particular tried to warn me to be on the look-out, pointing
over and over again to the spade-headed little serpents we saw now and
then gliding in amongst the grass.
"Killum," said Jimmy upon one of these occasions, and he suited the word
to the action by striking one of these little reptiles with his spear
and breaking its back. After this he spat viciously at the little
creature, picking it up by its tail and jerking it right away amongst
the trees.
"No killum kill all a body," said Jimmy nodding; and he went through a
sort of pantomime, showing the consequences of being bitten by a viper,
beginning with drowsiness, continuing through violent sickness, which it
seemed was followed by a fall upon the earth, a few kicks and struggles,
and lastly by death, for the black ended his performance by stretching
himself out stiffly and closing his eyes, saying:
"Jimmy dead; black fellow dig big hole and put um in de ground. Poor
old Jimmy!"
Then he jumped up and laughed, saying: "Killum all um snake! No good!
No!"
"I say, Joe Carstairs," said Jack Penny, who had watched the performance
with a good deal of interest; "don't that chap ever get tired?"
"Oh yes; and goes to sleep every time he gets a chance," I said.
"Yes! but don't his back ache? Mine does, horrid, every day, without
banging about like that;" and as if he felt his trouble then Jack Penny
turned his rueful-looking boy's face to me and began softly rubbing his
long man's back just across the loins.
It was very funny, too, when Jack was speaking earnestly. In an
ordinary conversation he would go on drawl, drawl, drawl in a bass
voice; but whenever he grew excited he began to squeak and talk in a
high-pitched treble like a boy, till he noticed it himself, and then he
would begin to growl again in almost an angry tone; and this was the
case now.
"Here, you're laughing!" he said savagely. "I can't help being tall and
thin, and having a gruff voice like a man, when I'm only a boy. I don't
try to be big and tall! I grew so. And I don't try to talk gruff."
"Oh yes! you do, Jack," I said.
"Well, p'r'aps I do; but I don't try to talk thin, like I do sometimes."
"I couldn't help laughing, Jack," I said, holding out my hand. "I did
not mean to ridicule you."
He gave my hand quite an angry slap and turned away, but only to come
back directly.
"Here, I say; I beg your pardon, Joe Carstairs," he said, holding out
his hand, which I shook heartily. "I wish I hadn't got such a beastly
bad temper. I do try not to show it, but it makes me wild when people
laugh at me."
"Well, I won't laugh at you any more, Jack," I said earnestly.
"No, don't; there's a good chap," he said, with the tears in his eyes.
"It's partly why I came away from home, you know. I wanted to come and
find the professor, of course, and I like coming for the change; but
it's principally that."
"Principally _that_!" I said. "I don't understand you, Jack."
"Why, I mean about being laughed at! Everybody has always been laughing
at me, because I grew so thin and long and weak-looking, and I got tired
of it at last, and was precious glad to come out to New Guinea to stop
till I had grown thicker. For I said to myself, I don't s'pose the
savage chaps will laugh at me, and if they do I can drop on 'em and they
won't do it again."
"It must have been unpleasant, Jack," I said.
"It's horrid, old fellow," he said confidentially; "and all the more
because you are obliged to laugh at it all when you feel as if you'd
like to double 'em up and jump on 'em."
"Well, there, Jack; I give you my word I won't laugh at you again."
"Will you?" cried Jack, with his face beaming, and looking quite
pleasant. "Well, that is kind of you. If the doctor wouldn't laugh
either I should be as happy as the day's long."
"I'll ask him not to," I said.
"Oh, no; don't do that!" he cried quickly then; "he'd leave off laughing
at me just out of pity, and I'd rather he laughed at me than pitied me,
you know. Don't ask him not."
"All right!" I said. "I will not."
"I'd rather he laughed at me," said Jack again thoughtfully; "for I like
the doctor; he's such a brave chap. I say, Joe Carstairs, I wish I
could grow into a big broad-chested brave chap with a great beard, like
the doctor."
"So you will some day."
"Tchah!" he cried impatiently. "Look there--there's long thin arms!
There's a pair of legs! And see what a body I've got. I ain't got no
looking-glass here, but last time I looked at myself my head and face
looked like a small knob on the top of a thin pump."
"You let yourself alone, and don't grumble at your shape," I said
sturdily, and to tell the truth rather surprising myself, for I had no
idea that I was such a philosopher. "Your legs are right enough. They
only want flesh and muscle, and it's the same with your arms. Wait a
bit and it will all come, just as beards do when people grow to be men."
"I sha'n't never have any beard," said Jack, dolefully; "my face is as
smooth as a girl's!"
"I daresay the doctor was only a little smooth soft baby once," I said;
"and now see what he is."
"Ah! ain't he a fine fellow?" said Jack. "I'm going to try and do as he
does, and I want to have plenty of pluck; but no sooner do I get into a
scrape than I turn cowardly, same as I did over that little humbug of a
crocodile."
"Don't talk nonsense, Jack!" I said.
"'Tisn't nonsense! Why, if I'd had as much courage as a wallaby I
should have kicked that thing out of the water; and all I did was to lay
hold of a bough and holler murder!"
"I didn't hear you," I said.
"Well, _help_! then. I know I hollered something."
"And enough to make you. The doctor said he is sure he should not have
borne it so bravely as you."
"No: did he? When?"
"To be sure he did, when we were sitting watching last night."
"Bah! it was only his fun. He was laughing at me again."
"He was not," I said decidedly. "He was in real earnest."
"Oh!" said Jack softly; and there was once more the pleasant light in
his countenance that quite brightened it up.
I was going to say something else, but he made a motion with his hand as
if asking me to be silent; and he walked on to the front to go behind
Ti-hi, who was first man, while I went and marched beside the doctor,
and chatted with him about the country and our future prospects.
"It seems, almost too lovely," I said; "and it worries me because I feel
as if I ought to be sad and unhappy, while all the time everything seems
so beautiful that I can't help enjoying it."
"In spite of perils and dangers, Joe, eh?" he said smiling; and then we
went on threading our way amongst the magnificent trees, and every now
and then coming upon one standing all alone, its position having allowed
of its growing into a perfect state.
Again we came upon one of these, literally alive with parrots; and, as I
stopped to admire them, I could see that when they opened their vivid
green wings the inner parts were of a brilliant flame colour, and there
was a ruddy orange patch upon the little feathers at the inset of their
tails.
Then we came upon monkeys again, quite a family of them, and instead of
running away and leaping from branch to branch they began to chatter and
shriek and dash about in the greatest excitement, just as if they were
scolding us for coming among them, chattering among themselves directly
after as if meditating an attack.
Before another hour had passed, after noting the beauty of the
butterflies, which seemed to increase in number as we penetrated farther
into the interior, we came next upon an enormous tree full of
gaudily-tinted parroquets, which were nearly as numerous as the parrots
of an hour before.
"We sha'n't want for food, Joe," the doctor said, "so long as we have
plenty of powder; parroquets and parrots are fruit birds, and splendid
eating. Look there."
As he spoke he raised his gun, fired, and directly the report had struck
my ears I saw Jimmy and Gyp set off at full speed.
They returned both at odds, the one growling, the other calling his
rival a bad bunyip dog, but both holding tightly by a large bird, Gyp
having its head, Jimmy the legs.
It proved to be something between a turkey and a pheasant, and from its
look it promised to be good eating, for which purpose it was handed over
to Ti-hi's care.
The leader now bore off a little to our left, the result being that we
once more struck the river, to find it a large swift stream, but not an
attractive place for travellers, since from that one spot where we stood
beneath the shelter of some trees I counted at least twenty crocodiles
floating slowly down, with the protuberances above their eyes just
visible, and here and there at least thirty more lying about on the
muddy banks.
Towards evening, as we were journeying slowly on, Jimmy came running
back to fetch me, and catching me by the hand he led me through some
bushes to where a thickly wooded park-like stretch of land began, and
motioning me to be silent and follow him he crept from tree to tree,
till, having reached what he considered to be a satisfactory position,
he pointed upward, and from behind the tree where we were ensconced I
looked among the branches far overhead, and for the first time saw one
of those wonderfully plumaged creatures--the birds of paradise.
I could have stopped there for long, gazing at the beautiful creatures
with their fountain-like plumage of pale gold, but time would not permit
of my lagging behind, and to Jimmy's great disgust I hurried back, and
determined that no object should lead me away from the great aim of our
journey.
The turkey was ample as a meal for us, but we wanted food for our
followers, so as to husband our flour and biscuits. Birds were all very
well, but we wanted to kill something more substantial, and for a long
time past we had seen no sign of deer, though traces of buffalo were
pretty frequent in spots where they had made a peculiar track down to
the river, evidently going regularly to quench their thirst.
The sight of the buffalo tracks formed the subject of a discussion.
Fresh meat was wanted for our followers, who made very light of birds,
and one of these animals would have been invaluable to us just then; but
the doctor decided that it would not be prudent to follow them, they
being rather dangerous beasts, and therefore, though the meat would have
been so useful both for present use and to dry in the sun, we gave up
the idea of trying to obtain any, preferring to trust to finding deer,
and continued our journey.
We had gone very little farther, and I was just about to propose to the
doctor that we should venture as far as the river and try for some fish,
when there was an alarm given by the native who was leading, and in an
instant loads were thrown down and every man sought refuge in a tree.
We did not understand the natives' words, but their actions were easy
enough to read, and all followed their example, the doctor and I getting
up into the same tree, one which forked very low down, and we were just
in safety when we heard a cry, and saw that Jack Penny was in
difficulties. He too had climbed part of the way into a tree, when he
had slipped, and in spite of all his efforts he could not at first
contrive to get back; and this was just as a rushing noise was heard,
that I thought must be a herd of buffalo, but, directly after, a drove
of small wild pig came furiously charging down.
My attention was divided between the sight of the pigs and Jack Penny,
whose long legs kept dropping down, and then being spasmodically
snatched up.
I burst into a roar of laughter, and Jimmy, who was standing, spear in
hand, upon a branch, holding on by another, danced with excitement and
delight.
"Pull yourself right up, Jack," I shouted, and I had hard work to make
my voice heard above the grunting and squealing.
"I can't," he yelled back.
"Then kick out at the little brutes," I shouted; and just then he
lowered himself to the full length of his arms, swung to and fro, and
half-a-dozen pigs rushed at him, but he had gained impetus, and just as
they made a dash at him he swung his legs up, and clung with them to a
branch.
"Hurrah!" I shouted; and then a sharp squeal uttered by one unfortunate
pig as Jimmy drove his spear through it as it passed beneath his feet,
and the sharp report of the doctor's piece, brought me to my senses.
The scene had been so comical, especially as regarded Jack Penny, that I
had forgotten that I was letting several good dinners slip away, and I
had just time to get a quick shot at one of the pigs which was stamping
his hoof and grunting defiantly at Jack Penny, before the whole drove,
including one that had received an arrow from Ti-hi's bow, swept by us
as hurriedly as they came, and were gone.
"Not hurt, are you, Jack?" I said, preparing to jump.
"Keep your place," cried the doctor; "they may come back."
"Well, I shall have a better shot at them," I said.
"You foolish boy!" cried the doctor. "Why, the boars would rip you to
pieces."
I returned to my place at this, and it was fortunate that I did so, for
directly after, as if in the wildest of haste, the pig drove came
dashing back, to stop as hastily as they came up, and stand snapping,
tossing their heads, grunting, squealing, and at times literally barking
at us.
A couple of shots which laid low one of their party seemed, however, to
scare them, and they dashed on once more, and hardly had they gone
twenty yards before there was a loud thud and Jack Penny fell from the
branch, where he had been clinging, flat upon his back.
"Oh my!" he cried, as he sat up and looked about. "I couldn't hold on
any longer. It's lucky they are gone."
"Look out!" I cried, swinging myself down, dropping my gun, and pulling
my hatchet from my belt; but Jack would have fared badly if he had
depended on me.
For the little boar that had been wounded by an arrow, had dropped,
apparently dying, when its companions swept by the second time, but it
had fierce life enough left in it to take advantage of Jack Penny's
helpless condition, and leaping up it charged at him, its tusks
glistening, and the foam tossed from its snapping jaws falling upon its
sides.
A bullet would have given the fierce beast its quietus, but the doctor
would not fire for fear of hitting Jack, and he sat with his gun raised
waiting for an opportunity.
Jack saw his danger and rolled himself over, trying vainly the while to
drag his axe from his belt. Then just as the furious little boar was
dashing at him, I saw something black dart down from above; there was a
rush, a squeal, and the boar was literally pinned to the earth, while
Jimmy stood grinning and staring from the doctor to me and back, as if
asking to be complimented upon his feat. For it really was a feat. He
had jumped fully ten feet to the ground spear in hand, and literally
thrown himself upon the little boar.
"A magnificent jump, Jimmy," I cried.
"Jimmy de boy to jump," he said, complacently. "Pig, pig kill Mass Jack
Penny, Jimmy no spear um."
"Yes, I 'spect I should have ketched it pretty warmly," said Jack,
gathering himself up. "Oh, I say, I did come down such a bump, Joe
Carstairs. It seemed to shake my back joints all to pieces."
"Jimmy spear um lil pig, pig," said the black.
"Yes, and I'll give you my knife for it," said Jack, taking out his
great clasp-knife. "It's a real good one, Jimmy, and I wouldn't have
parted with it for a deal."
"Jimmy got knife," said the black, with a contemptuous look. "Jimmy
don't want knife."
"Well, then, what shall I give you?" said Jack.
"Tickpence," said he, grinning; "give Jimmy tickpence."
"Why, what for?" I cried. "What are you going to do with _tick_
pence?"
"Spend um," said Jimmy; "black fellow spend money, money. Give Jimmy
all a tickpence."
"But there's nowhere to spend it," I said.
"Nev mind, Jimmy spend tickpence all a same. Give Jimmy tickpence."
Jack had not a single coin about him, neither had I, but fortunately the
doctor had one, which he handed to Jack, who gave it to the delighted
black, and it was forthwith thrust into the pocket of the curtailed
trousers, after which he strutted about, leaving the other blacks to
perform the duty of dressing the pigs.