Stabiae

“ We’ll never let a Dutchman beat us!”
Is the whale asleep, that she lies so quietly? Nay, for now she scents the danger, and, lashing her tail madly skywards, is off; but not before the roar of the harpoon gun from the foremost boat has awakened the echoes of the Greenland sea.
“A fall! a fall! She is struck! she is struck!” Vainly now she dashes through the surging sea; another boat pulls around to intercept her, and again she is struck; the lines whirl over the gunwale of Frank’s boat till it smokes again. There is blood now in the great beast’s wake, and her way is not so swift ”

“ Centipeds—and in the forest the green-backed ones are quite as dangerous as{126} snakes—might crawl over their hands, and cockroaches in scores pass over their faces, but they would not heed even if they felt them. Serpents even might take a short cut over their bodies without awaking them, while the mournful cries of the night-birds in the adjoining forest but lulled them to dreamless slumber. It was very different with Tom though; he dared no more sleep in the open than in a tiger’s den.
“Señor, señor, awake!” It was Samaro’s voice, and he was swinging Tom’s hammock to arouse him. ”

“ A pitiful mew was heard, and on the lady opening the door, in rushed Czar the cat on three legs—he had left the other in a trap. Nothing could exceed the kindness of Whiskey to his wounded playmate. He threw himself down beside her on the rug whining and crying with grief, and gently [Pg 229] licked her bleeding stump. And every day for weeks did Whiskey apply hot fomentations, with his soft wee tongue to pussy’s leg, till it was entirely healed. But they had no more romping together in the fields and woods, for the Czar’s hunting-days were over—in this world at least. ”

“ Towards the horizon to-night there was a deep saffron or orange fading above into a kind of pure grey or opal hue, with over it all a light blush of red, and hurrying away to the south, impelled by some air-current not felt below, was a mighty host of little cloudlets of every colour, from darkest purple to golden-red and crimson.
There was now and then the bleating of sheep—sheep without a shepherd—and a slight tinkle-tinkle, as of a bell. It was in reality the voice of a strange bird, often to be found in the neighbourhood of creeks and pools. ”

“ I reply, “I feel sure there is, else why are you dressed so gaily? why have you cast aside your sombre hues and donned that crimson vest?”
Pop—I am at the right bush now, and out flies the modest wee female linnet. She had forgotten all her mate told her, she was so frightened she could not lie close. And now I lift a branch and keek in, and am well rewarded. A prettier sight than that little nest affords, to any one fond of birds, cannot easily be conceived. It is not a large one; the outside of it is built of knitted grass and withered weeds, and on the whole it is neat ”

“ Chops opened the basket. Here were all the morning scraps from the camp, enough to feed a thousand wild-birds, and down they now crowded, swaying and screaming around the maiden as she tossed the pieces in every direction of the compass, that all might have a share. Among them were many of her own particular favourites or pets, and they had special tit-bits which they took from her hands or shoulders and even from her lips. But not all sea-gulls were they, for a sprinkling of rooks flew amongst them, and even warty-headed old carrion-crows and hoodies. ”

“ Tom brought the edges together, and bound the arm up with leaves and grass cloth. At that moment Samaro himself entered.
“Quick, señor,” he said, “the Awheeshiries are returning. If they find us here we will have but small mercy.”
“Help me then to bear this lady to our camp, my good friend. Pray heaven she may live, for she knows Bernard’s story.”
Between them they carried the ayah princess out and away to the fortified sand-spit. And none too soon. Hardly had they entered when savages appeared from the bush, and a shower of poison darts fell pattering upon the stockade. ”

“ They reached a clearing at last, where the heather grew green all round, and where there were lichen-clad stones to sit upon. Here one or two large and lovely lizards were basking, and a splendid green speckled snake went gliding away at their approach. Tom, being a Highland lad, was not afraid of either snakes or lizards. Neither was ’Theena; for though she was only seven years old she had been in strange countries with her{50} papa, and had seen far bigger snakes and lizards too than any we have in Scotland. ”

“ Antonio was not half so weird-looking now that he had discharged that uncanny eye.
“In love,” cried Barclay; “I would not sweetheart one of those girls for all the gold in Queensland.”
“Oh,” continued Antonio, “that isn’t the kind of love they love you with. They want to broil and eat you, dearie.”
. . . . . .
Months went on; the sponges collected on the sea beach were tied to sticks in the sand at low water, in thousands. When the tide was high it washed them; when low, the sun bleached them; and so all the innumerable animalculæ that dwelt in their cells soon decayed and washed away. ”

“ In this case, the family had gone to the country for a month, leaving Tabby—as [Pg 342] affectionate a little cat as ever lived, and the constant pet and playmate of the young children—shut up in the house. The building was a new one; there were consequently no mice; so, when the family at length returned, almost the first thing that met their gaze was poor Tabby, lying stark and stiff on the parlour hearth. She was a perfect skeleton, while the sardonic grin on her mouth showed how much she must have suffered. Such a death, in that lonely house, almost makes one’s flesh creep to think of. ”

“ Like the brown Tabby of domesticity, they vary considerably in their markings; but they can never be mistaken for any other. As a rule, the ground colour is yellowish grey, with dark stripes—the markings being at times, as even and beautiful as those of the Bengal tiger. The tail is shorter, and more bushy than that of the domestic cat; and the head, if once seen, or the voice, if once heard, can never be forgotten. Those I have seen killed, were all anything but fat, or even in very good condition, showing, I think, that their life must be rather a hard and miserable one. ”

“ The joy of the Crusoes now knew no bounds. The dogs dashed about, Veevee barked "Wiff!" Briton barked "Wowff!" and Flossy frisked her tail and went off to fish.
The children now set out for a stroll, and saw many curious sights. Close to the lake, in several places, the earth seemed to have been ripped open, and, looking down as they stood hand in hand on the edge, they seemed to be gazing right into the world's dark depths.
Next day Tom took a long walk alone. ”

“ The face was very old-looking and wrinkled, but the scream it gave would have done honour to a mountain curlew. Then it swam to the side of the tank.
The scientists were shaking with dread.
'Se—se—send him d—d—down, Mr Lee. Have you no co—co—co—control over him?'
'Not a bit,' cried Biffins. 'Serve you right if you're frightened, I say.'
But Skeleton now rushed in with a live fish and threw it towards the water. The merman caught it and disappeared. Then the scientists stood there for ten whole minutes as if turned into stone, with their watches in their hands. ”

“ It was true that there was food enough for all on board the Walrus, and that during explorations, surveyings, and observation-taking all along the line of route, they would be able to catch enough fish to keep the bears and Yak dogs in good health and condition.
“With all my love for the creatures we are so fond of calling the lower animals,” said Captain Mayne Brace, “I must admit that bears and Yak dogs are not the very best shipmates one can possess. What say you, Mr. Milton?”
“No, sir; we found that out in bringing the beggars home. A bear doesn’t sleep so sweetly as a well-cared-for baby. ”

“ Stabber's braves and Lame Wolf's followers seemed bitterly at odds, for old hands in the fast-growing rifle pits pointed out on one side as many as half a dozen of the former's warriors whom they recognized and knew by sight, while Ray, studying the shifting concourse through his glasses, could easily see Stabber himself raging among them in violent altercation with a tall, superbly built and bedizened young brave, a sub-chief, apparently, who for his part, seemed giving Stabber as good as he got. ”

“ The wonder to me is how he manages to keep peace among them. He keeps a private witch, however, a tame puma, and a medicine man.”
“I don’t mind the witch much,” said Peter, “they are usually pretty tame; but the puma, mon ami, is it tame? Has he a dog licence? Does he keep it chained up?”
“Oh, no, but it is very affectionate. Don’t let it lick your hand, that is all, for its tongue is exceedingly rough, and if it tastes blood, it is like King Kaiso with rum, it wants more. Jill, my plate is empty.”
“And does this King Kaiso,” said Ritchie, “live far from here.” ”

“ A fox, a huge beast like a wolf, ran across our path.
“Hurrah!” Ossian seemed to cry, “Yowff, yowff. Come on, Bruce. Here’s a chance!”
Away went the two dogs like two birds. Away went Jill after his pets like a third bird, while I brought up the rear.
We heard Castizo order a halt, so we thought it would be all right, and rode heedlessly on after the dogs. We must have ridden fully two miles when we came up with Ossian. Poor Bruce was nowhere in it; near him lay the fox, dead. I speedily dismounted, and secured the tail, which I fastened to Jill’s saddle. ”

“ But sometimes Mr Crane would swallow a big water-beetle, and if this specimen had a will of its own, as beetles generally have, it would catch hold of the side of the gullet and hang on halfway down.
“I ain’t going another step,” the beetle would say; “it isn’t good enough. The road is too long and too dark.”
So this disobliging beetle would just stop there, making a kind of a mump in the poor Admiral’s neck.
When Ransey saw his droll pet stride out of the pool and walk solemnly towards a tree and lean his head against it, and close his eyes, the lad knew pretty well what was the matter. ”

“ He did not go far, for he soon got into a miry place. Here he almost trampled upon a gigantic eel creature—it could hardly have been a snake—it was slowly dragging its body through the slime.
While he was looking at it there was the sound of wings in the sky right above him. It was a great vulture of some kind: birds of this kind are scarcely ever a mile distant from a party of African travellers, and have the lion’s share of all that is killed. The flapping of wings was very loud and accompanied by a rustling noise ”

“ Wouldn't you, Ara?"
"But we could never climb up," sighed her sister.
The clever professor heard them, and lo and behold! the very next day he had a kind of easy-chair ready for them to go up in. He himself sat down in it with the children, and up they were hoisted, up and up. It was so fearsome that the girls shut their eyes and clung to Pete, but when they did open them what a sight they saw!
They were not far off the main pack, and as far as the eye could see was one vast field of snow-covered ice. Their eyes were dazzled in looking at it. ”

“ So loud does he laugh at times that his voice drowns every other sound in the forest.
“There is a bird eight feet high, partly cassowary, partly ostrich, that when attacked kicks like a horse, or more like a cow, because it kicks sideways. But if I were to sit here till our good ship reached the Cape, I could not tell you about half the curious, beautiful, and ridiculous creatures and things you will find in Australia if you move much about. I do think that that country beats all creation for the gorgeousness of its wild birds and wild flowers ”

“ When morning at length broke red across the brown sea, it was found that something strange had happened during the night, for there were no signs of the derelict, and all the birds had dispersed.
“No doubt,” said Antonio to Barclay, “the shaking of the ship by your men trampling about as they gathered the eggs had opened an old leak, kept shut before, perhaps, by weeds, and a rotten plank or two. She would then rapidly go down and sink.”
. . . . . .
A time came at last when death seemed but a measurable distance off—death by starvation. ”

“ The cocks might go on crowing, and the pigeons might preen their feathers and “coo-coo” as much as they pleased now. Rory heard no more until “Ur-ur—R-Rise, Ur-ur—R-Ralph and Rory,” roared the gong.
One particular morning Rory had opened his one eye just as usual, had his look at the clock, had rejoiced that it was still early, and had turned himself round to go off once more to the land of Nod, when, suddenly, there arose from beneath such an inexpressible row, such an indefinable din, as surely never before had been heard around the Castle of Arrandoon. ”

“ Everything was thus rendered nearly as bright as day. As far as his eye could reach, nothing was visible but the flowery prairie, the ogre’s legs, and the great beams supporting the universe. The view was bounded by flowery walls, which, he doubted not, was the end of the world, while far away in a corner, the well-pleased and foolishly-affectionate-looking face of his mamma looked up from her rug. She spied her son, even at that distance, and turned up the white of her breast to lure him down.
“The old idiot,” said Blinks to himself, “how can she be so ridiculous and unromantic? ”

“ I am a sailor, like yourself, and a naturalist. I have quite a menagerie up here, and was just coming to look for two mischievous rascals of baboons that have escaped."
"Baboons!" said the doctor, rubbing himself once more; "did you say baboons, sir?"
"Ah! there come the rascals."
Next moment two splendid specimens of the agile gibbon (Hylobates agilis) came bounding from a tree with screams of delight.
"Oo—ah—ee!" they cried.
They stood nearly four feet high, and their faces were a study of blended fun and mischief. Such droll-looking apes Dr. Reikie had never seen before. ”