The Sea Forest
Tandy had to call Samuel twice before he would come to breakfast and
when he finally did sit down, he was so busy preparing to explore the
sea forest he ate scarcely a bite.
"We'll take the jolly boat," he decided, making long notes in his
journal between his sips of coffee, "the small nets and knives and
baskets for cuttings and any specimens we may pick up and--"
"Why the jolly boat when we have a jolly sea-going hippopotamus?"
inquired Roger, elevating one eyebrow. "A jolly hippopotamus, I might
add, who runs under her own power and saves us the trouble of rowing!"
Roger was much annoyed because he had failed to catch a flying fish
before breakfast and instead of eating his hard-boiled eggs, kept
winging over to the open port to glare at his finny rivals. Tandy, like
the Captain, was too excited to eat, and even Ato downed his omelette
and fresh strawberries from the Peakenspire fruit vine with rare speed
and indifference.
"It's a lucky thing you're so enormous, Kobo," puffed the ship's cabin
boy, dropping down on the raft a few minutes later. "Ato's got his crab
nets and fishing lines, Samuel's bringing an aquarium, a couple of
baskets and a box. And I have this pail, my paints and a cage in case
Roger does manage to catch one of those flying fish." Kobo was staring
fixedly at her vegetable vine as Tandy dropped down beside her, and now
snapping off a whole bushel of beans, she turned round and, munching
contentedly, surveyed the excited boy at her side.
"Whatever you have can be hung to my harness," she assured him,
speaking a bit thickly through the beans. "But turn the point of that
scimiter up instead of down; you wouldn't want to carve old Kobo, now
would you? It will seem funny swimming through a forest, won't it,
little King? The further we go on this voyage the queerer everything
grows."
"But I like it queer," stated Tandy, climbing with a satisfied little
sigh on Nikobo's broad back.
"I, too, find it most interesting and jolly," agreed the hippopotamus,
fastening her eyes dreamily on the vegetable vine to see what was
coming up next. "I thought I might be on short rations when I came on
this voyage, Tandy, but I declare to goodness I've never had such a
rich and varied diet in my life. You, too, look fine and strong and
much happier than when we met in the jungle. But to get back to the
fare--why, today I've had a basket of biscuits, a bushel of beans--"
"And that makes it Bean and Biscuit Day, I suppose," giggled Tandy,
remembering Kobo's strange way of dividing up her week. "But look!
Listen! Here they come!"
"Ahoy below, Hip Hip OPOTOMUS, AHOY!" roared Samuel Salt jovially from
above. "All ready to cast off, my lass?"
"Aye, aye, sir!" grinned Kobo as Samuel and Ato came panting down the
rope ladders to the raft. "Move over, Tandy, and make room for the Cook
and the Captain!" It took nearly ten minutes to get all the gear and
crew aboard and Nikobo looked like some curious deep sea monster when
she finally shoved off. Two large baskets were slung from ropes across
her back. The pail and bird cage slapped up and down on one hip, the
aquarium on the other, and through her collar various fishing rods,
nets and poles were stuck like quills on a porcupine.
"Now whatever you do, don't submerge," warned Samuel, holding his tin
box for especially fragile specimens high above his chest to keep it
dry. "Just slow and steady, m'lass, so we'll have time to observe and
admire and make notes of any strange growths and creatures as we ride
along."
"Creatures!" exclaimed Tandy, twisting round. He was perched on
Nikobo's head, his paints held carefully in his lap. "Would there be
any wild animals in a sea forest, Master Salt?"
"Sea Lions, likely," predicted Samuel, peering round eagerly as Nikobo
paddled between two slippery barked sea trees into the murmuring forest
itself. Except for the fact that the floor of this curious sea wood was
the blue and restless sea, it might almost have been a forest ashore.
The trees, tall, straight and stately, towered up toward the sky.
Staring down into the clear green water, Tandy saw their trunks going
down, down, down as far as he could see.
"Rooted in the very ocean bed," marveled Samuel Salt, touching one
lovingly as they passed. "What splendid masts these would make, Mates!
Avast and belay, Nikobo, I believe I'll just take a cutting or two."
"Ha, ha!" roared Ato, peering over Samuel's shoulder. "So now we're
going to grow our own masts."
Samuel himself, leaning far out over Nikobo's back, severed three young
shoots from the sea tree and popped them happily into the aquarium.
Vines that were really of coral ringed the gigantic trunks like
bracelets, and the leaves of the trees were long ribbons of green and
silver that whipped and fluttered like banners in the morning breeze.
"What's that?" puzzled Ato as the hippopotamus made her way leisurely
between the trees. "Looks like mushrooms, Sammy! Wait, I'll just pick
me a few and see." Hooking his heels in Nikobo's harness, Ato began
vigorously cutting from the trunk of one of the trees the colored
fungus growths which sprouted in great profusion just above the
water line. Nikobo bravely offered to sample some, and after waiting
anxiously to see whether they would have any ill effects the ship's
cook decided they were harmless and joyfully filled one of the baskets.
The only specimens that really interested Ato were of the edible
variety. While he was thus employed, Tandy, an experienced climber
by now, scurried up to the top of one of the sea trees, breaking off
several branches so Samuel could press the curious leaves in his
album. High above his head Tandy could see Roger chasing angrily after
a flying fish, muttering with anger at his unsuccessful efforts to
overtake the nimble little sea bird. In our own southern waters there
are large flying fish that leap out of the water of the gulf stream,
but the flying fish in this Nonestic Sea Forest were small, and where
most fish have gills wore strong transparent wings. Their claws,
somewhat like a crab's, made it possible for them to perch jauntily in
the branches of the sea trees, and these strange little fellows could
swim and dive as well as fly. Pulling out his pad, Tandy made a lively
sketch of one in the tree opposite, for it did look as if Roger would
never succeed in catching one.
All morning Nikobo paddled calmly through the dreamy sea forest; Samuel
making notes, Tandy sketches, and Ato catching in his long-handled
nets plump little fish and crabs, and filling another basket with the
small delicious clams that clung like barnacles to the slippery bark
of the sea trees. In the shadowy center of the forest where the trees
pressed closer together and great flat rocks stuck their heads out of
the water, the explorers came upon several fierce sea lions. They were
not smooth and shiny like the seals of our own oceans, but yellow and
tawny with long yellow tusks, tufted tails and scaly manes. Their front
legs ended in sharp claws, their back legs were shorter and their feet
were webbed for swimming. Only the fact that Nikobo was larger and more
frightening to the sea lions than they were to her saved the party from
a savage attack by these malicious-looking monsters. As it was, they
retired sullenly into the deeper shadows, snarling and roaring defiance
as they backed away, but not before Tandy had made an effective sketch
of the whole group.
"'Tis a lucky thing for us that you're along!" grunted Ato, drawing
his feet up out of the water and looking with grim disfavor after the
snarling sea lions. "Likely as not, if you had not made that picture,
Samuel would have tried to drag one along by its tail, regardless of
our feelings or safety."
"A wild maned sea lion would be a valuable addition to any collection,"
sighed Samuel Salt, shaking his head regretfully. "But then--" he
grinned in his sudden pleasant way, "not much of a mascot at that."
The only other happening of note was Roger's capture of a monkey fish.
Unable to overtake a flying fish, the Read Bird had pounced on this
small combination of a land and water beast as it sat quietly sunning
itself on the limb of a tree. Screaming and chattering, he bore it
proudly down to the Captain, and Samuel was so pleased with the curious
little creature that when Nikobo suggested going back he made no
serious objection. And as the hippopotamus, rather weary from her
long swim, headed thankfully back for the ship Tandy and Samuel made
ambitious plans for the monkey fish's care and comfort.
Thrusting it into Tandy's bird cage, Samuel regarded it with increasing
enthusiasm and interest. "I'll rig up a wooden tree in one of the
aquariums, set the aquarium in one of the large cages so it'll have
both air and water, and call it 'Roger' after its discoverer," beamed
the former Pirate with a wink at Tandy.
"Don't you dare call that monkey fish after me," screeched the Read
Bird, flying round to have another look at his strange prize. "Why,
it's uglier than a blue monkey, looks like a regular goblin, if you ask
me." And to tell the truth, the monkey fish _was_ even uglier than a
goblin, shaped like a monkey but scaled all over, and with unpleasant
goggly eyes and three short spikes sticking out of its forehead.
"It does look like a goblin," agreed Tandy with an amused sniff. "But
let's call it Mo-fi, which is short for fish and monkey."
"Tip tops'ls!" approved Samuel Salt, taking out his note book. "Wonder
what it eats?"
"Great grandmothers, what would it eat?" moaned Ato, looking blankly at
Samuel. "Another mouth to feed and listen to! Dear, Dear and DEAR!"
"Oh, give it a box of animal crackers," put in Roger carelessly.
"No, I brought along some gold fish food for just such an emergency as
this," declared Samuel, making a little flourish with his pencil as he
wrote busily in his journal. "Gold fish food will be splendid for a
monkey fish."
"Well, don't forget the bananas--for remember it's a monkey, too,"
chirped Roger, settling on the Captain's shoulder to read what he had
written. So, laughing and joking and in the highest good humor the
exploring party returned to the _Crescent Moon_.
What with planting the slips from the sea tree, settling Mo-fi in his
aquarium cage, pressing the leaves from the marine forest, and making
copies and further notes about the sea lions in his journal, Samuel did
not get his ship under way till late afternoon.
Ramming into the sea tree, beyond scraping off some paint, had done
little damage, so singing boisterously, Samuel finally heaved up his
anchor. And soon, with Ato stirring up a huge clam chowder, Tandy
painting the sea forest on the chart and Roger scouring the hold for
Mo-fi's fish food, the _Crescent Moon_ again dipped adventurously into
the southeast swell.