I could not move for a few moments, the terrible cry and the shrieks
that followed seemed to rob me of all power; but overcoming this
paralysing feeling at last, I ran towards where poor Jimmy lay, the
thought flashing upon my mind that the doctor must be performing some
operation to try and save the poor fellow's life.
I was quite right, as I found when I reached the spot, followed by all
the little camp: the doctor was performing an operation, and the
Australian was upon his knees now, his feet then, capering about, and
appealing for mercy.
For the instrument with which the doctor was performing his operation
was the stout cane I had previously seen in his hand, one that he had
cut in the jungle, and then sent me away so as to spare my feelings and
keep me from witnessing the painful sight.
To my utter astonishment Jimmy was apparently free from all traces of
his late ailment, and catching sight of me he bounded to me, getting
behind me to avoid the hail of blows that the doctor was showering upon
his unprotected person.
"Doctor!" I shouted.
"The dose to be repeated," he said, "when necessary," and he reached
round me with the cane, giving Jimmy two or three very sharp cuts. "See
how this takes down the swelling. For outward application only. One
dose nearly certain to cure."
"What are you doing?" I cried.
"Doing? Performing a wonderful cure. Hasn't Jimmy here been horribly
ill, and alarmed the whole camp?"
Every time he could he gave Jimmy a smart cut, and the black shrieked
with pain.
"How are you now, my man?" he said mockingly.
"Jimmy quite as well. Ever so better. All rightums. Tank you better,"
yelled the black, and he sheltered himself again behind my back.
"Doctor," I said, surprised and angry at what seemed horrible cruelty.
"Give him some more?" he said laughing. "Of course I will," and he
tried to reach round me, but I caught hold of the cane, and Jimmy took
advantage of the cessation of hostilities for a moment to run for some
distance and then climb up a tree, in one of the higher branches of
which he settled himself like a monkey, and sat rubbing himself and
looking down at the danger from which he had escaped.
"There, Joe," said the doctor, laughing; "it has made me hot. That's as
good a cure as the Queen's physician could have made."
"How could you be so brutal to the poor wretch?" I said indignantly.
"Brutal! Ha! ha! ha! My indignant young hero!" he cried. "Here are
you going to take up the cudgels in the rascal's behalf. Don't you see
there was nothing the matter with the artful black ruffian."
"Nothing the matter!" I said. "Why, wasn't he dangerously ill?"
"Dangerously full," said the doctor, clapping me on the shoulder. "I
was obliged to give him a lesson, Joe, and it will do him good for all
our trip. I suspected the rascal from the very first, but I have
studied medicine long enough to know how easy it is to be deceived by
appearances; so I gave Master Jimmy the benefit of the doubt, and
treated him as if he was really very ill, till I had made assurance
doubly sure, and then I thrashed him."
"What! do you really mean, doctor--" I began.
"It could not very well have happened with an Englishman, Joe. With
Master Jimmy there, it was different."
"But was he not very ill?"
"You saw him run and climb that tree; you heard how he yelled. Now what
do you think? Could a dying man do that?"
"N-no," I faltered. "What does it all mean, then?"
"Pig!" said the doctor, smiling; "the gluttonous dog ate till he could
not stir. He had as much as anybody else, and then waited his chance,
and when every one was lying down he began upon the store of dried
strips."
"Jimmy terribull sorry, Mass Joe," came from up the tree.
"He behaved like a boa constrictor, and then alarmed us all horribly
instead of confessing the truth. Why, my dear boy, do you suppose I
should have been so cruel to a sick man?"
"You black rascal!" I cried, looking up at Jimmy, who howled like a
dog.
"Jimmy come down now! Never do so no more."
"Only let me have a turn at you," I said, and he immediately began to
climb higher.
"Here, you come down, sir," I shouted.
For answer he climbed higher and higher till he was pretty well out of
sight among the small branches in the top of the tree.
"All right!" I said, "I can wait;" and I walked away with the doctor,
horribly annoyed at the waste of time, but wonderfully relieved at
matters being no worse.
I never knew, but I suspect that Jimmy stopped in the top of the tree
till it was dark and then slunk down and hid himself amongst the bushes
close up to the watch-fire.
At all events he was busy the next morning working away as if nothing
had been wrong overnight. He showed himself to be most active in
putting things straight, making up the loads, and every now and then
glancing furtively first at one of us and then at the other.
"Oh, I do like Jimmy, that I do," said Jack Penny to me, and then he
threw himself down and began to laugh heartily, shutting his eyes and
rolling himself gently to and fro till he declared that he felt better,
and got up.
"I don't care about laughing when I'm standing up," he said seriously,
"it waggles my back so."
When breakfast time came, for we had a seven or eight mile walk first in
the cool of the early morning, we made a halt and the rations were
served out by the doctor, who gave me a look and handed each black his
portion in turn, but omitted Jimmy.
The latter stood disconsolately looking on for some minutes in the hope
that he was to be remembered after all; but when he saw everybody busy
at work eating and himself utterly neglected, he walked slowly away some
distance from where we were seated and, laying his head against the
trunk of a tree, let out a series of the most unearthly howls.
"Oh, I say!" exclaimed Jack Penny.
"Pleasant," said the doctor, going on with his breakfast; and seeing
that he was observed, and that his howls were having some effect, Jimmy
displayed the utter childlike disposition of a savage by redoubling his
cries.
"If he don't stop directly I shall go and talk to him with this," I
said, snatching up a stick.
"How--aw--ooo!" cried Jimmy, and I jumped to my feet, when he became
silent, and I resumed my place.
Jimmy watched us eagerly for a few minutes, when, left half starved
himself, and unable to bear the neglect when others were
enjoying themselves, the howls burst out again followed by a
self-commiserating--"Poor Jimmy, Mass Joe not care poor Jimmy never
now."
No one took any notice, and we went on eating grilled turkey and damper
and drinking coffee, and all the time I was rather enjoying my
importance and the fact of being able to control, boy as I was, a stout
powerful fellow like Jimmy and make him as obedient as a dog.
"Poor old Jimmy cut handums. Ebber so sorry, poor Jimmy. Go and die
himself. Haw--ow!"
"I say," said Jack Penny, "he couldn't dye himself any blacker, could
he, Joe Carstairs?"
"Have some more coffee, Joe?" said the doctor aloud. "Here, give me a
piece more turkey."
"Poor Jimmy go starve a deff," was the next that met our ears, and it
had such an effect upon Jack Penny that some of his coffee got into his
windpipe and he choked and coughed and laughed till he was obliged to
lie down.
"If I was to cough much like that I should break my back," he said,
sitting up and wiping his eyes. "Poor old Jimmy? I do like him. He
_is_ a one."
Jimmy stood watching the disappearing food, then he sat down. Then he
lay at full length; but no one took the slightest notice, for the blacks
were selfishly busy, and we were keeping up the punishment for the false
alarm to which our follower had subjected us.
At last this attack upon Jimmy's tenderest part--his appetite--grew to
be more than he could bear, and he sat up in the squatting attitude so
much affected by savages.
"Ah!" he exclaimed dolefully, "poor black fellow--poor Jimmy!" and this
started Jack Penny off laughing once more, which so exasperated Jimmy
that he sprang up as sharply as if stung, and ran in a rage to where his
black companions were eating their food.
"Here, hi! you black fellow, Jimmy done wid him. Jimmy gib boomerang.
You no fro down wallaby."
He held out his curious hard-wood weapon to Ti-hi, who took it, gazing
at him wonderingly, while Jimmy glanced at us to see if we were about to
relent and give him some breakfast.
"Jimmy going," he said at last, loud enough for us to hear; but we paid
no heed.
"Jimmy going; nebber come back no more," he said in a louder voice; but
no one turned a head.
"Jimmy go jump river. Big bunyip crocodile come eat poor Jimmy. All um
very sorry. No see poor Jimmy not nev more."
He glanced at us again, but we were laughing over our breakfast, though
not so busy but that we were able to see the black fold his arms and
stalk away, evidently under the impression that we should start up and
arrest him; but no one moved.
"Big water bunyip glad get black fellow," he said, as loudly as he
could, and with a scornful look at us.
"Here, suppose we go," said the doctor, rising.
"Go?" said Jack, getting up slowly, "where to?"
"To see Jimmy feed the crocodiles. Come along, lads."
Jimmy stopped short with his jaw dropped, and nearly beside himself with
rage. He seemed to be completely staggered at our cool way of taking
things, and at last he ran off like the wind, rushed back again with his
eyes flashing, and slapping his legs as he darted upon Ti-hi, waddy in
hand.
"Gib boomerang Jimmy, black tief fellow," he roared. "Take a boomerang.
Jimmy boomerang. Tief fellow tole a boomerang."
Snatching it from Ti-hi's hand he made believe to strike him with the
curious weapon and then rushed off with it into the bush.
"Well, Joe," said the doctor, "do you think the crocodiles will dine on
blackbird?"