Biretta

“ Continuing his descent, my friend soon joined the Indian.
Lucien's impatience was extreme; he was enchanted with this aerial route.
"Now it's your turn," said I, as soon as I had drawn up the lasso.
"Are you going to tie me?" he asked in a disappointed tone.
"How did you suppose you would descend?"
"By holding on to the lasso, like l'Encuerado and M. Sumichrast," answered the boy.
"The grasp of your hands is not firm enough; you must not think of it; I have no wish to risk your neck."
"Oh! dear father! do let me try." ”

“ Without a cry (Heaven be praised!) he fell. Nor could I (having thrown my whole might on him) help but fall with him; so down I went, heels over head through the hatchway, but happily by the incline of the steps below, and striking on the negro's carcase when I got to the bottom, I escaped this bout with no more injury than a scraped shin and a bruised elbow. My chief concern was that the noise of our fall had alarmed some of the ship's company; and getting quickly on my feet I listened for a minute in terrible suspense.
Then from above I heard Lady Biddy whisper, anxiously, "Benet! Benet!" ”

“ The bank to the right was covered with cranes, and that to the left with spoonbills, with delicate pink plumage, one of which Lucien shot.
"Oh, what beautiful birds!" said he.
"What a curious beak!" he further exclaimed, examining his victim, which Gringalet had just brought him.
"Yes, that is why this bird is called a spoonbill."
"Is it good to eat?"
"It is rather tough; but when any one is hungry—"
Sumichrast put his finger to his lips to enjoin silence; two smaller waders made their appearance and settled close to us. ”

“ Then, glancing along the side, I saw my poor Lady Biddy kneeling beside a tree with her face hid in her hands, to shut out the sight of that horrid black, which did stir my entrails with hatred of him.
Yet I saw full well that I must not discover myself till I was got on firm ground, for a man up to his neck is powerless—though he have the heart of a lion—against another whose limbs are free to act. With a blow of an oar Tonga might have settled my business; and, knowing this, I kept still hid from him under the gunwale of the boat until he leapt out on to the sand. ”

“ I again examined the landscape round us. There was nothing whatever which betrayed the vicinity of man. Everywhere the cacti spread out their variously-shaped flowers, which were nearly all yellowish or pink. Above us was a fiery sky, in which nothing seemed to move but a few vultures; on the ground there were hundreds of lizards in constant motion.
The Indian led the way, followed by Lucien.
"A footpath!" the boy suddenly cried out.
"A mimosa!" exclaimed Sumichrast, whose great height towered over us all.
"A hut!" murmured l'Encuerado, stopping and holding his finger to his lips. ”

“ The male bird, in particular, was magnificent; the feathers on the head and back seemed to be "shot" with a golden green, while the edges of the wings and the belly were tinted with the purest crimson, shaded off into two black lines, which extended as far as the tail.
"Shall we find many of these birds in the forest, M. Sumichrast?" asked Lucien.
"No, Master 'Sunbeam;' they are rather rare; so we must take great care of the skins of these we have shot."
"Is their flesh good to eat?" he asked. ”

“ I only wanted to show them to Chanito. Good-bye, Señor Huitzitzilin! you are a brave bird, and it's I, l'Encuerado, who tells you so!"
And the Indian went away, saluting the valiant mother with so many waves of his hat that the poor bird must have thought her last hour had come.
"What do these beautiful little birds feed upon, M. Sumichrast?"
"On the juices of flowers and small insects. Look! there is one hovering, and its wings are moving too fast for us to see them. Don't stir! I see a branch so covered with blue flowers that it can hardly fail to attract the bird. ”

“ She fell in love with duke Grondibert, whose wounds she assisted her father to heal. Birtha, "in love unpractised and unread," is the beau-ideal of innocence and purity of mind. Grondibert had just plighted his love to her when he was summoned to court, for king Aribert had proclaimed him his successor and future son-in-law. Gondibert assured Birtha he would remain true to her, and gave her an emerald ring which he told her would lose its lustre if he proved untrue. ”

“ Having uttered this remonstrance, I turned on my heel, for it was no use trying to have the last word with l'Encuerado. I was, however, quite sure that he would not renew the exploit which had displeased me, and that was all I wished.
At supper-time, Gringalet did not show any repugnance to the flesh of the armadillo, the taste of which reminded Lucien of sucking-pig.
"Are armadillos very scarce?" he asked; "they are never sold in the market."
"Just the contrary," replied Sumichrast; "they are very common, and the Indians never fail to feast on them when they can procure them." ”

“ L'Encuerado, after tossing his head several times, and shrugging his shoulders, at last stopped, and could not refrain from answering them.
"Come and carry it yourselves!" he cried; "come and carry it yourselves, and prove that you are stronger than a man!"
"What are you asking the birds to do?" demanded Lucien.
"They are making fun of my load, Chanito; a set of lazy fellows, who all of them together would not be able to move it!"
Sumichrast made his way into the forest, cutting away the creepers with his machete in order to clear a passage. ”

“ The little animal, doubtless dazzled by the light, allowed itself to be caught, and then suddenly bending down its head, bit the boy's finger, who at once dropped it. L'Encuerado soon caught the runaway.
"Didn't you know that lizards were harmless?" asked Sumichrast of Lucien.
"That is why they bite, I suppose," replied the boy, shaking his head.
"Yes," said the naturalist, "but you needn't be afraid; its bite is not venomous.
"'This brute is surely not disposed to strife,
But you attack it, it'll defend its life.'"
Night came on. ”

“ Englishmen they are not, I will vow."
"Nor pirates," says Lady Biddy, as much as to tell me that all Englishmen are not angels.
"No," says I; "but they may be no better than pirates. In a word, I do fear they may turn out to be friends of Rodrigues from that town he spoke of."
"As you will, Benet," says she; "but," she adds, with a sigh, "they look very civil, pretty little fellows." ”

“ But how to penetrate the thicket of brambles, lianas, ground-pines, agaves, and other prickly shrubs that did hedge the land beyond the sea-sands, where the ground rose towards the woods, I knew not; for though I should not have hesitated to plunge into this growth being by myself, albeit the flesh of my legs would have paid dearly, yet could I attempt no such thing with Lady Biddy, whose skirts had been torn from her body and her tender limbs lacerated cruelly at the very outset, and she eventually been held a prisoner in the bonds of those thorny vines. ”

“ By the time I had finished this business my Lady Biddy awoke, and coming down to where I stood looking at my handiwork, she says, "Why, what is that for, Benet?"
"To keep the sun from your back as we go down the river," says I, "and the sun out of my eyes."
"And the soft grass is a cushion for me to sit on," says she; "sure, no one in the world is so ingenious and thoughtful as you."
But I had another purpose in view for this screen, as I put in practice that night when we could go no further, and I anchored our canoe in a little shallow. ”

“ I wished to lighten his burden; but he heroically refused, and proportioned his pace to that of l'Encuerado. Gringalet was continually sitting down, and hanging out his tongue to a most enormous length; it was, doubtless, his way of testifying that he moved an amendment against the length of the journey.
"We were quite wrong in finding fault with the shade," said Sumichrast; "for in this unsheltered spot the heat is more insupportable than under the trees. The sun seems to dart into us as if its rays were needles' points."
"Don't drink, Chanito! don't drink!" cried l'Encuerado to Lucien. ”

“ Lucien rushed to the assistance of his faithful friend, and at last induced the Mistec to let him go. Not the least convinced of l'Encuerado's kind intentions towards him, Gringalet seemed to bear malice towards the Indian, and for three days was very shy of coming near him.
After this scene the preparations for dinner occupied our attention. If our guns had been more successful, we should have had fat to fry our fish in. While we were deploring our ill-luck, I noticed a flock of birds like ducks flying high up in the air; they made a wide circle and settled down on the top of a tree. ”

“ Night came on, and Lucien was still teaching the birds to say "Hortense" and "Emile." To our great astonishment, Gringalet went and stretched himself close to Master Job, who, without hesitation, commenced freeing him from the vermin which were lodged among his hair; then the two friends went to sleep side by side. About nine o'clock, when I was making up the fire before going to rest myself, Janet opened one of her eyes and chattered a short sentence; but l'Encuerado was much too fast asleep to answer her. ”

“ I slipped my right hand behind me lest she should see the black patch which, even in that faint light, I perceived the negro's blood had stained my hand with. Then, to turn her thoughts, I asked her if any notice had been taken by the watch of the noise made by my falling down the hatchway.
"No," says she; and then after a few minutes' silence, "Oh, Benet, I wish it were all over."
"Courage, Lady Biddy, courage," says I. "You are not used to give way in the face of danger."
"No," says she; "'tis when the danger is past my courage sinks." ”

“ CHAPTER XXXI. WE THINK THE WORST OF OUR TROUBLES ARE OVER; BUT THEY ARE NOT.
Before we departed from that place I wounded the milk-tree in divers places, and, with Lady Biddy's help, drew off nigh upon half a gallon of juice, with which we filled a small keg which, as luck would have it, the seamen had left in the locker. Also I cut a fan-shaped palmetto-leaf with a long stem for Lady Biddy to protect her head, and likewise I got a leaf for my own crown, tying it under my chin with that sling I had in my pocket, for though the sun was now sinking this heat was prodigious. ”

“ Presently those men who had gone below returned, bringing with them the boy and the negro. And this man was fearful to look on because of the mess of dried blood upon him, an open wound in his shoulder, and the sickness of fear in his face as he was haled before Rodrigues. Yet, for all his fear, there was rage of passion in his eye as he caught sight of Lady Biddy, and also when he looked at the boy, who shrank away from him in dread. ”

“ Then Sir Bartlemy spying me, and how my face was white and the cold sweat standing in beads on my brow, perceived that I was sick. So he brought me a mug of ale and some meat, which was his remedy for all ills. But what did comfort more than these victuals was the kindness that filled Lady Biddy's heart when she saw my case. No angel could have been more tender. ”

“ My first thought was of Lady Biddy, and casting my eye up and down the deck to see if her fair face and dainty figure were there, my limbs shook and my teeth chattered together with the intensity of my desire. But she was nowhere visible.
"Well, Benet, what the plague has brought you from your ship?" asks my uncle roughly, as he comes to my side. "What do you fear, that you are spying up and down, your cheeks pale, and your lips on a quiver?" ”

“ And it was angels that baptized her and that gave her the name of Brigit, that is a Fiery Arrow. She grew up to be a serving girl the same as her mother. And all the food she used was the milk of a white red-eared cow that was set apart for her by a druid. And everything she put her hand to used to increase, and it was she wove the first piece of cloth in Ireland, and she put the white threads in the loom that have a power of healing in them to this day. She bettered the sheep and she satisfied the birds and she fed the poor. ”

“ Baretti's assailants tried hard to push him into the puddle, and at last in self-defence he drew his pocket-knife, a knife he kept, as he afterwards declared, to carve fruit and sweetmeats, and not to kill his fellow creatures with. Being hard pushed, "in great horror, having such bad eyes," lest he should run against some, and his pursuers constantly at him, jostling and beating him, Baretti "made a quick blow" at one who had knocked off his hat with his fist; the mob cried, "Murder, he has a knife out," and gave way. ”

“ When Lady Biddy had translated this to me, she says, in a tone of terror:
"If he does not expect his men to save their lives in returning to the town, how may we hope to escape? We can not return thither. Oh, Benet, what shall we do?"
I was myself prodigiously taken aback, and not a little scared, by this new turn of affairs; yet, seeing how my dear lady was upset, I tried to calm her mind by making light of the matter.
"Be of good cheer," says I; "we will for certain not go back to this Castello Lagos, for if the Portugal will not venture his carcase there, I will assuredly not risk mine. ”

“ One of Birdie's shoes is loose, and not a nail is to be got here, or can be got till I have ridden for ten miles up the Pass. Birdie amuses every one with her funny ways. She always follows me closely, and to-day got quite into a house and pushed the parlor door open. She walks after me with her head laid on my shoulder, licking my face and teasing me for sugar, and sometimes, when any one else takes hold of her, she rears and kicks, and the vicious bronco soul comes into her eyes. ”