The girls being very much absorbed in their gardens, Schillie and I took
a scramble one day round the point she had wished to go when we
commenced building our hut. We privately told the servants if we were
not at home to dinner, to explain the cause, and not to expect us until
tea-time.
It was very hard work, but when we had accomplished it, we came to
another bay, not so pretty as ours, but much more extensive. There were
scarcely any cliffs, but the great trees came bending down to the
water's edge in many places. Here Schillie gave full scope to her
enquiring mind, and we progressed at the rate of twenty yards every half
hour, while she exhausted herself in vain conjectures without end. Going
over the rocks, among the caverns and crevices we found a curious
creeping plant, the stems trailing two or three feet long, the leaves
were rather oval, of a bright green, and the flowers large beautiful
white ones, each composed of four petals tinged with red. At last from
the unopened buds being so like capers, we tasted them, and they were so
sharp and as acid as we could wish. So we decided they were, or rather
it was the caper plant, and while Schillie felicitated herself upon
having settled that matter satisfactorily, she groaned over the notion
of our having no boiled mutton.
The next thing we discovered was a bright green shrub, apparently an
evergreen, with bunches of white flowers, which were sweet scented.
There being no seeds formed, we were sometime in making it out to be the
coffee tree, but Schillie remembered once seeing a coffee plant at
Chatsworth. So she was in high spirits until we came to another shrub
with purple and white flowers. Some of the green leaves were exceedingly
light, and some nearly black, and they almost seemed to be turning
colour, as we looked at them.
We wasted a whole hour over this shrub and a tree close by rather small
with foliage like a birch. It had fruit somewhat like a hop, only very
much larger.
We now came to an immense Banana tree, out of which flew a cloud of
blueish pigeons. The leaves of this Banana looked six or seven feet long
and about one wide; the fruit was hanging in every direction, looking
like large misshapen cucumbers. Benjie had taught us not to cut it
crossways, but from end to end, as it tasted better when cut wrong. But
it was curious when cut wrong what an exact cross was pictured in the
middle. Twined in the Banana tree was an immense gourd plant. At this
minute I shuddered with horror. We had been so secure, so careless, so
utterly unmindful of any danger that I was quite unnerved at seeing a
huge thing three or four feet long drop from the Banana, close between
us. "Keep back, keep back," said Schillie, "I have got my hatchet." But
she never could bear to kill anything, so we looked on the creature, and
it on us. It was very ugly and formidable to look at, but it had a quiet
eye, and after a little while it crawled gently away, and commenced
trying to get up the tree again. "I think it must be an iguana," said I
at last.
"Whatever it is I admire its civility," said Schillie.
"If it is they are quite harmless, though he looks very horrible," said
I.
"He does not intend to harm us, it appears, so we will go on," said
Schillie, "because I begin to feel very hungry, and we had better look
out for a comfortable spot on which to dine."
"I have been hungry more than an hour, but you were so absorbed in your
discoveries you would not listen to my hints. I should like to go to
that little knoll, in which those four cocoa-nut trees stand, we shall
have a little air then, and can see any danger all round, and, perchance
find a cocoa-nut."
"Which you may have all to yourself, June, for I think them unwholesome
things."
After a dinner and a successful nutting, I proposed a siesta, as it was
impossible to move during the sultry noon, which Schillie agreed to
provided I went to sleep first, whilst she watched for an hour, then
she was to waken me, and I was to watch in my turn.
After a profound sleep of some duration I awoke, and found my guard in a
helpless state of somnambulism, which was so very deep I did not like to
disturb her; neither could I move, as the better to guard me she was
lying half over me, I, therefore, though anxious about the time we had
been sleeping, decided to sit still and wait until she showed some signs
of waking. She had the watch round her neck, and I could not look at it
without disturbing her, so I amused myself with watching the curious and
strange things around me. I noticed some black things in the water,
which came nearer and nearer, and I gave a start of pleasure when I
perceived that they must be turtle; at last one landed and crawled in
the most extraordinary manner some way up the sands. After spending what
I thought was half an hour in the oddest movements and vagaries for such
an unwieldy thing as a turtle to indulge in, it returned to the sea, and
was the only one that landed. The sleeper at last moved, and I roused
her up. At first she declared she had not been asleep at all, but when
time and circumstances made that assertion untenable, she fell back upon
the excuse that it was so dull sitting there with no one to talk to, and
nothing to do, and, besides, her thoughts were very melancholy.
_June._--"Your thoughts melancholy! That's the first time, then, since I
have known you."
_Schillie._--"I was thinking of my poor little children, and how wrong I
was to go and leave them all."
_June._--"But you have not yet been away from them half the time, or,
indeed, one-third of what was originally intended, when we left
England."
_Schillie._--"I know that quite well, but, if you will go to sleep, and
leave me to my own dull thoughts, how can I help thinking of my being so
ill-behaved as to leave them for such a period."
_June._--"It was you that made me go to sleep first. But, however, I
must comfort you, and remind you how kind your father is to them, and
how your mother's sole business in life is to see that they have double
as much as they ought to have. And how your sister, that best of
Kittie's, is more than a mother to them; indeed most strangers take her
for their mother, and you for an unnatural sort of aunt."
_Schillie._--"Well, that may be true, June, but you should not upbraid me
with it now I am so sad; I don't pretend to be a fond mother, but I hope
I am a good one."
_June._--"Come! don't be so horribly pathetic; it does not suit you at
all, but, if you are really very unhappy, the captain will be here in
ten days or so, and then we will all go home."
_Schillie._--"But, how do I know if we may not all be drowned in going
home, or have a fire at sea, or something should occur which will
prevent me ever seeing my little chicks again," and the great tears
rolled one by one down her round blooming cheeks.
This was getting a most serious business, so I said in an angry manner
as it were, "You are too absurd! just as if every day when at home you
don't put your life into imminent danger, riding that frangy beast, who
every ten yards has either his heels or his toes in the air."
_Schillie._--"Heels and toes! Whoever heard a horse spoken of in such
terms? And after all the pains I have taken with your equine education,
to talk in such terms of a little playfulness! I would not give
two-pence to ride a horse that goes straight along."
_June._--"I should not call that playful riding to come home with one's
hands all blistered from holding the animal in. For my part, I never saw
you go down the carriage road, on that beast Staunton, with his tail
flying and his legs anywhere but on the road, without preparing my
nerves for seeing your mangled remains brought home on a shutter."
_Schillie._--"Mangled fiddlesticks! Did you ever see such a butterfly?
Don't catch it; you'll hurt it. There, it is settled now. I wonder what
his name is?"
So her thoughts being diverted we wandered on, the heat dried the big
tears, and we made many grand discoveries; amongst others, that the
rocks were wholly composed of coral.
But, before we left the spot, without telling her that I had seen the
turtle, we went to the place I had seen it throwing up the sand, and,
upon examination, found a great quantity of eggs. For some time
Schillie would not believe that I had seen a turtle, or that these were
turtle's eggs. However we kept our eyes on the black specks on the
water, and, turning a corner of the bay, we came upon a whole colony of
turtles, all on shore. I was afraid at first to run after them and turn
them, and Schillie could not manage it by herself, so that ere I had
conquered my reluctance they all got away from her but one, which we
turned over all right, and nothing was more ridiculous than to see the
poor hideous creature sprawling and straggling with ineffectual efforts.
But we could not lift it by any means, and Schillie felt half inclined
to let it go again, as it would be exposed so many hours to the broiling
sun, ere we could come back with the others to despatch it. So we
covered it over with Banana leaves, fastening them safe over the poor
beast with bits of wood stuck through the leaves into the sand; and
there we left it, making our way homewards over the rocks. The moment we
appeared on the top seemed the signal for a general commotion amongst
our people, and they all came running round the bay to meet us; Gatty
reached us first, followed closely by Serena. They could not speak, they
were so completely out of breath; but the first thing Gatty could say
was a vehement reproach for leaving them all day. They had been so dull,
and, coming out of school they had rushed immediately to join the two
Mothers, and had found none; and the dinner was so stupid, and the
lessons had been so tiresome, and Madame had been so particular, and it
had been so hot; in fact, all had gone wrong.
But we were soon very merry at tea, all except Madame, who looked a
little stately; and, after tea, she said she had a complaint to make
against a certain person, for misconduct during my absence.
She was interrupted by Gatty's jumping up, and saying. "Oh yes! yes!
such a glorious thing happened, it was so killing!--"
"Gertrude, you shock me," said Madame, "to talk of so grave a
misdemeanour, in such terms."
"Indeed! Madame, I cannot help it. I never laughed so much in my life.
Did you, Sib? Did you, Serena?"
Whereupon all the girls, big and little, tittered and laughed according
to their different natures, and I felt relieved. But I was convinced
that Felix was the culprit he was so red, and, while his brother rolled
on the sand with merriment, he said nothing.
But Madame was so very grave, and seemed really so annoyed, that the
laughing ceased, except when Gatty burst into a fresh fit, though she
was cramming her handkerchief into her mouth, and that set Oscar off
too.
"The young gentlemen came to their lessons in very good time," proceeded
Madame, "and Master Oscar immediately proceeded to learn his Latin
declensions and to little Felix I gave a short lesson in French, out of
that small book which, as you know, Madam, contained a page or two of
first French lessons for young beginners." I nodded as much as to say I
knew the book. "And then, Madam, as he was so giddy and volatile, I put
him under the table to learn it, with the cloth all round him, that his
attention might be distracted by nothing that he saw."
Here the tittering was vehement. "He was I must acknowledge, very quiet
and good, so much so, that perhaps it was half an hour ere I called him
to say it." Here Gatty became convulsed. Oscar in a similar state, and
not all Madame's gravity could restrain the others.
"You may imagine my surprise, Madam, when I found the book gone, he had
it not. In vain I made him look for it, nay, I acknowledge that I went
down on my knees under the table to look for it also, thinking he must
be telling an untruth, in saying it was not there. I could find it
nowhere, neither can I find it now, and though I have made him confess
what he did with it, yet, I assure you, Madam, the matter seems so
extraordinary to me, I beg you will ask him yourself." In spite of the
laughter, I called Felix, and with a half impudent air, emboldened by
his companion's merriment, half frightened at what I might say. He said
in a low clear voice, "Mama, I ate it!"
_Mother._--"Ate it, child!"
_Felix._--"Yes, Mama, I ate it every bit."
Madame sat down in triumph; the young ones made the air sound with their
laughter; Jenny looked appealingly to me. Schillie said, "What a nasty
boy." I exclaimed in horror and wonder, "Good heavens! suppose it
disagrees with him." This frightful notion spread; Jenny took to
tears--Madame was quite affected--Schillie recommended an
emetic--Hargrave rushed to put it in force--and Felix was overwhelmed
with questions as to what he felt; had he a pain?--where was his
pain?--did he feel odd?--was he sure he felt nothing?--and it was nearly
an hour ere he was suffered to go to bed, with no other remedy than a
good fright, and the next day he appeared as pert as ever, recommending
those that did not like certain lesson books to eat them up, for, after
all, he added, "books are not so nasty to eat as to learn."