I soon saw that my plan would succeed, though skill and considerable practise was necessary in the use of my patent bridle. It was difficult to remember that to check the courser's speed it was necessary to slacken rein, and that the tighter the reins were drawn, the faster he would fly. We at length, however, all learned to manage Master Hurricane, and the distance between Rockburg and Falconhurst was traversed in an almost incredibly short space of time. The marvellous speed of the bird again revived the dispute as to the ownership, and I was obliged to interfere.
`Jack shall retain the ostrich,' said I, `for it is most suited to him; he is a lighter weight than either of you his elder brothers, and Franz is not yet strong enough to manage such a fleet courser. But he is so far to be considered common property, that all may practise on him occasionally; and, in a case of necessity, anyone may mount him.'
Our field-work was by this time over. The land had been ploughed and sown with wheat, barley, and maize. On the other side of Jackal River we had planted potatoes and cassava roots, and all sorts of other seeds had been carefully sown.
We had not neglected the ostrich's eggs, and one day Fritz introduced me with great glee to three little ostriches. But alas, the little creatures were not destined to enjoy life for long. One died almost as soon as it was hatched, and the others, after tottering about on their stilt-like legs for a few days, followed its example.
I now found time to turn my attention to the bears' skins, which required preparation before they would be fit for use as leather. They had been salted and dried, and now required tanning. I had no tan, however. This was unfortunate; but not to be deterred from my purpose, I determined to use a mixture of honey and water in its place.
The experiment proved successful. When the skins were dried they remained flexible and free from smell, while the fur was soft and glossy.
This was not the only result of the experiment, for the honey-water which I boiled appeared so clear and tempting, that it struck me that I might prepare from it an excellent drink. I put by some of the liquid before making use of it as tan, and reboiled it with nutmeg and cinnamon. The preparation, which much resembled English mead, was pronounced delicious, and my wife begged me to brew a large supply. As our cellar was now well stocked with provisions for the winter, and our other preparations were completed, I was able to turn my attention to details of lesser importance.
The boys had been clamouring for hats, and as my success in so many trades had surprised me, I agreed to turn hatter for the nonce. With the rat-skins and a solution of india-rubber, I produced a kind of felt, which I dyed a brilliant red with cochineal, and stretching this on a wooden block I had prepared, I passed over it a hot iron, to smooth the nap, and by next morning had the satisfaction of presenting to my wife a neat little red Swiss cap, to be lined and finished by her for one of the boys.
My wife admired the production immensely, and lining it with silk, added yet more to its gay appearance, by adorning it with ribbons and ostrich feathers, and finally placed it upon the head of little Franz.
So delighted was everyone with the hat, that all were eager to be similarly provided, and begged me to manufacture more. I readily agreed to do so, as soon as they should furnish me with the necessary materials, and advised them to make half a dozen rat-traps, that they might secure the water rats with which the stream abounded, and whose rich glossy fur would serve admirably for felt.
Every fifth animal that they brought me I told them should be mine, that I might obtain material for a hat for myself and their mother. The boys at once agreed to this arrangement, and began the manufacture of the traps, which were all so made that they should kill the rats at once, for I could not bear the idea of animals being tortured or imprisoned.
While they were thus engaged I applied myself to the manufacture of porcelain. I first cleaned the pipe-clay and talc from all foreign substances, and made them ready to be beaten down with water into a soft mass, and then prepared my moulds of gypsum plaster. These preparations were at length made, and the moulds received a thin layer of the porcelain material. When this was partly baked, I sprinkled over it a powder of coloured glass beads which I had crushed, and which looked very pretty in patterns upon the transparent porcelain.
Some of my china vessels cracked with the heat of the stove, some were very ill-shaped; but, after many failures, I succeeded in producing a set of white cups and saucers, a cream-jug, a sugar-basin, and half a dozen small plates.
I must allow that my china was far from perfect; the shape of some of the vessels was faulty, and none were really transparent; nevertheless, the general appearance gave great satisfaction, and when the plates were filled with rosy and golden fruit resting on green leaves, and fragrant tea filled the cups, it greatly added to the appearance of the table.
Scarcely had I completed my pottery, when great black clouds and terrific storms heralded the approach of another winter. The rainy season having set in, we were compelled to give up our daily excursions.
Even in the spacious house which we now occupied, and with our varied and interesting employments, we yet found the time dragging heavily. The spirits of all were depressed, and even occasional rapid rides, during a partial cessation of the rain, failed permanently to arouse them. Fritz, as well as I, had perceived this, and he said to me:
`Why, father, should we not make a canoe, something swifter and more manageable than those vessels we as yet possess? I often long for a light skiff, in which I might skim over the surface of the water.' The idea delighted all hands, but my wife, who was never happy when we were on the sea, declared that our chances of drowning were, with the pinnace and canoe, already sufficiently great, and that there was not the slightest necessity for our adding to these chances by constructing another craft which would tempt us out upon the perfidious element.
Her fears were, however, speedily allayed, for I assured her that the boat I intended to construct should be no flimsy cockleshell, but as safe and stout a craft as ever floated upon the sea. The Greenlander's cajack I intended to be my model, and I resolved not only to occupy the children, but also to produce a strong and serviceable canoe—a masterpiece of art.
The boys were interested, and the boat-building was soon in operation. We constructed the skeleton of whalebone, using split bamboo canes to strengthen the sides and also to form the deck, which extended the whole length of the boat, leaving merely a square hole in which the occupant of the canoe might sit.
The work engrossed our attention most entirely, and by the time it was complete the rain had passed away and the glorious sun again shone brightly forth.
Our front door was just wide enough to admit of the egress of our boat, and we completed her construction in the open air. We quickly cased the sides and deck with seal-skin, making all the seams thoroughly watertight with caoutchouc.
The cajack was indeed a curious-looking craft, yet so light that she might be lifted easily with one hand, and when at length we launched her she bounded upon the water like an india-rubber ball. Fritz was unanimously voted her rightful owner, but before his mother would hear of his entering the frail-looking skiff she declared that she must contrive a swimming-dress, so that `should his boat receive a puncture from a sharp rock or the dorsal fin of a fish and collapse, he might yet have a chance of saving his life'.
Though I did not consider the cajack quite the soap bubble my wife imagined it, I yet willingly agreed to assist her in the construction of the dress.
The garment we produced was most curious in appearance, and I must own that I doubted its efficiency. It was like a double waistcoat, made of linen prepared with a solution of india-rubber, the seams being likewise coated with caoutchouc, and the whole rendered perfectly airtight. We so arranged it that one little hole was left, by means of which air could be forced into the space between the outer covering and the lining, and the dress inflated.
Meanwhile I perceived with pleasure the rapid vegetation the climate was producing. The seeds we had scattered had germinated, and were now promising magnificent crops. The verandah, too, was looking pleasant with its gay and sweet-scented creepers, which were already aspiring to the summit of the pillars. The air was full of birds, the earth seemed teeming with life.
The dress was at length completed and Fritz, one fine afternoon, offered publicly to prove it. We all assembled on the beach, the boy gravely donned and inflated the garment, and amidst roars of laughter from his brothers, entered the water. Quickly and easily he paddled himself across the bay towards Shark Island, whither we followed in one of our boats.
The experiment was most successful, and Ernest, Jack and Franz, in spite of their laughter at their brother's garment, begged their mother to make for each of them a similar dress.
While on the island we paid a visit to the colonists whom we had established there the previous autumn. All were well; we could perceive by the footprints that the antelopes had discovered and made use of the shelter we had erected for them, and feeling that we could do nothing more we scattered handfuls of maize and salt, and strolled across to the other side of the island.
The shore was covered with lovely shells, many of which, with beautiful pieces of delicate coral, the boys collected for their museum; strewn by the edge of the water too lay a great quantity of seaweed of various colours, and as the mother declared that much of it was of use, the boys assisted her to collect it and store it in the boat.
As we pulled back to the land I was surprised to see that my wife chose from among the seaweed a number of curious leaves with edges notched like a saw. When we reached home she carefully washed these and dried them in the oven. There was evidently something mysterious about this preparation and my curiosity at length prompted me to make an attempt to discover the secret.
`Are these leaves to form a substitute for tobacco?' said I. `Do you so long for its refreshing smell?'
My wife smiled, for her dislike of tobacco was well known, and she answered in the same jocular tone:
`Do you not think that a mattress stuffed with these leaves would be very cool in summer?'
The twinkle in her eyes showed me that my curiosity must still remain unsatisfied, but it nevertheless became greater than ever.
The boys and I had one day made a long and fatiguing expedition, and, tired out, we flung ourselves down in the verandah. As we lay there resting, we heard the mother's voice:
`Could any of you enjoy a little jelly?' She presently appeared, bearing a porcelain dish laden with most lovely transparent jelly. Cut with a spoon and laid before us it quivered and glittered in the light.
`Ambrosia!' exclaimed Fritz, tasting it. It was indeed delicious, and, still marvelling from whence my wife could have obtained a dish so rare, we disposed of all that she had set before us.
`Aha,' laughed my wife, `is not this an excellent substitute for tobacco, far more refreshing than the nasty weed itself. Behold the produce of my mysterious seaweed.'
`My dear wife,' exclaimed I, `this dish is indeed a masterpiece of culinary art, but where had you met with it? What put it into your head?'
`While staying with my Dutch friends at the Cape,' replied she,
`I often saw it, and at once recognized the leaves on Shark Island. Once knowing the secret, the preparation of the dish is extremely simple: the leaves are soaked in water, fresh every day, for a week, and then boiled for a few hours with orange juice, citron and sugar.'
We were all delighted with the delicacy, and thanked my wife for it most heartily, the boys declaring that they must at once go off again to the island to collect as many of the leaves as they could find. I agreed to accompany them, for I wished to examine the plantations we had made there.
All were flourishing, the palms and mangroves had shot up in a most marvellous manner, and many of the seeds which I had cast at random amongst the clefts in the rocks had germinated, and promised to clothe the nakedness of the frowning boulders.
A way up among the rocks too we discovered a bright sparkling spring of delicious water, at which, from the footprints around, we saw that the antelopes must have refreshed themselves.
Finding everything so satisfactory, we were naturally anxious to discover how our colony and plantations on Whale Island had fared. It was evident at a glance that the rabbits had increased, the young and tender shoots of the trees bore the marks of many greedy mischievous little teeth. The cocoanut palms alone had they spared.
Such depredations as these could not be allowed, and with the help of the boys I erected round each stem a hedge of prickly thorn, and then prepared again to embark; before we did so, however, I noticed that some of the seaweed had also been gnawed by the rabbits, and wondering what it could have been to tempt them, I collected some of it to examine more fully at home.
The skeleton of the whale, too, attracted our attention, for picked clean by the birds and bleached by sun and rain the bones had been purified to a most perfect whiteness. Thinking that the joints of the vertebrae might be made of use, I separated some ten or twelve, and rolled them down to the boat, and then returned to the shore, towing them after us.
A scheme now occupied my mind for the construction of a crushing machine which would prove of the greatest service to us. I knew that to make such a machine of stone was far beyond my power, but it had struck me that the vertebrae of the whale might serve my purpose.
I determined next morning to look out a tree from which I might cut the blocks of wood that I should require to raise my crushers.
My expedition was destined to be a solitary one, for when I went to the stables for a horse, I discovered that the boys had gone off by themselves with their guns and traps, and had left to me a choice between the bull and buffalo.
With Storm, therefore, I was fain to be content. I crossed the bridge, but as I reached the cassava field I noticed to my great annoyance that it had been overrun and laid waste by some mischievous animals. I examined the footprints, and seeing that they greatly resembled those of pigs, determined to follow the trail, and see who these invaders of our territory would prove to be.
The track led me on for some way until I almost lost sight of it near our old potato field. For some time I hunted backwards and forwards without seeing a sign of the animals; at length a loud barking from Floss and Bruno, who were with me, announced that they had been discovered.
The whole family of our old sow, and she herself, were standing at bay, showing their teeth and grunting so savagely, that the dogs feared to approach them.
I raised my gun and fired twice amongst the herd: two of the pigs fell, and the rest fled, followed by the dogs. I picked up the pigs, and calling back the pursuers, continued my way through the forest.
A tree suited to my purpose was soon found; I marked it, and returned home.
Ernest, who had remained at home, assisted me to flay the young porkers, and I handed them over to my wife to prepare for supper; by which time I hoped the other lads would have returned.
Late in the evening we heard the sounds of trampling hoofs, and presently Jack appeared, thundering along upon his two-legged steed, followed in the distance by Fritz and Franz. These latter carried upon their cruppers game-bags, the contents of which were speedily displayed: four birds, a kangaroo, twenty musk-rats, a monkey, two hares and half a dozen beaver rats, were laid before me. Besides these, Fritz threw down, without a word of explanation, a bundle of thistles.
The boys seemed almost wild with excitement at the success of their expedition, and presently Jack exclaimed:
`Oh, father, you can't think what grand fun hunting on an ostrich is; we flew along like the wind; sometimes I could scarcely breathe, we were going at such a rate, and I was obliged to shut my eyes because of the terrific rush of air; really, father, you must make me a mask with glass eyes to ride with, or I shall be blinded one of these fine days.'
`Indeed!' replied I, `I must do no such thing.' `Why not?' asked he, with a look of amazement upon his face.
`For two reasons: firstly, because I do not consider that I must do anything that you demand; and, secondly, because I think that you are very capable of doing it yourself. However, I must congratulate you upon your abundant supply of game; you must have indeed worked hard.
`Yet I wish that you would let me know when you intend starting on such a long expedition as this; you forget that though you yourselves know that you are quite safe, and that all is going on well, yet that we at home are kept in a constant state of anxiety. Now, off with you, and look to your animals, and then you may find supper ready.'
Presently the boys returned, and we prepared for a most appetizing meal which the mother set before us.
While we were discussing the roast pig, and washing it down with fragrant mead, Fritz described the day's expedition.
They had set their traps near Woodlands, and had there captured the musk-rats, attracting them with small carrots, while with other traps, baited with fish and earthworms, they had caught several beaver rats, and a duck-billed platypus. Hunting and fishing had occupied the rest of the day, and it was with immense pride that Jack displayed the kangaroo which he had run down with his swift courser.
Contributions to the garden had not been forgotten, and Fritz handed over to his mother several cuttings from cinnamon and sweet-apple trees. Finally, when all the other treasures had been displayed, Fritz begged me to examine his thistles which he had gathered, thinking, he said, that it was a plant used in the manufacture of wool.
He was perfectly right, for I recognized it at once as the `fuller's teazle', a plant whose sharp little thorns, which cover the stem and leaves, are used to raise the nap of cloth. We resolved to be up betimes the following morning, that we might attend to the preparation of the booty, and as I now noticed that the boys were all becoming extremely drowsy, I closed the day with evening devotions.
The number of the creatures we killed rendered the removal of their skins a matter of no little time and trouble. It was not an agreeable task at any time, and when I saw the array of animals the boys had brought me to flay, I determined to construct a machine which would considerably lessen the labour.
Amongst the ship's stores, in the surgeon's chest, I discovered a large syringe. This, with a few alterations, would serve my purpose admirably. Within the tube I first fitted a couple of valves, and then, perforating the stopper, I had in my possession a powerful air pump. The boys stared at me in blank amazement when, armed with this instrument, I took up the kangaroo, and declared myself ready to commence operations.
`Skin a kangaroo with a squirt?' said they, and a roar of laughter followed the remark.
I made no reply to the jests which followed, but silently hung the kangaroo by its hind legs to the branch of a tree. I then made a small incision in the skin, and inserting the mouth of the syringe forced air with all my might between the skin and the body of the animal. By degrees the hide of the kangaroo distended, altering the shape of the creature entirely.
Still I worked on, forcing in yet more air until it had become a mere shapeless mass, and I soon found that the skin was almost entirely separated from the carcase. A bold cut down the belly, and a few touches here and there where the ligatures still bound the hide to the body, and the animal was flayed.
`What a splendid plan!' cried the boys. `But why should it do it?'
`For a most simple and natural reason,' I replied. `Do you not know that the skin of an animal is attached to its flesh merely by slender and delicate fibres, and that between these exist thousands of little bladders or air chambers; by forcing air into these bladders the fibres are stretched, and at length, elastic as they are, cracked. The skin has now nothing to unite it to the body, and, consequently, may be drawn off with perfect ease.
`This scientific fact has been known for many years; the Greenlanders make constant use of it; when they have killed a seal or walrus they distend the skin that they may tow the animal more easily ashore, and then remove its hide at a moment's notice.' The remaining animals were subjected to the same treatment, and, to my great joy, in a couple of days the skins were all off, and being prepared for use.
I now summoned the boys to assist me in procuring blocks of wood for my crushing machine, and the following day we set forth with saws, ropes, axes and other tools. We soon reached the tree I had selected for my purpose, and I began by sending Fritz and Jack up into the tree with axes to cut off the larger of the high branches so that, when the tree fell, it might not injure its neighbours.
They then descended, and Fritz and I attacked the stem. As the easiest and most speedy method we used a saw, such as is employed by sawyers in a saw-pit and, Fritz taking one end and I the other, the tree was soon cut half through. We then adjusted ropes that we might guide its fall, and again began to cut. It was labourious work, but when I considered that the cut was sufficiently deep we took the ropes and pulled with our united strength. The trunk cracked, swayed, tottered, and fell with a crash.
The boughs were speedily lopped off, and the trunk sawed into blocks four feet long. To cut down and divide this tree had taken us a couple of days, and on the third we carted home four large and two small blocks, and with the vertebrae joints of the whale I, in a very short time, completed my machine.
While engaged on this undertaking I had paid little attention to our fields of grain, and, accordingly, great was my surprise when one evening the fowls returned, showing most evident indifference to their evening meal, and with their crops perfectly full. It suddenly struck me that these birds had come from the direction of our cornfield. I hurried off to see what damage they had done, and then found to my great joy that the grain was perfectly ripe.
The amount of work before us startled my wife. This unexpected harvest, which added reaping and threshing to the fishing, salting, and pickling already on hand, quite troubled her.
`Only think,' said she, `of my beloved potatoes and manioc roots! What is to become of them, I should like to know? It is time to take them up, and how to manage it, with all this press of work, I can't see.'
`Don't be downhearted, wife,' said I; `there is no immediate hurry about the manioc, and digging potatoes in this fine, light soil is easy work compared to what it is in Switzerland, while as to planting more, that will not be necessary if we leave the younger plants in the ground. The harvest we must conduct after the Italian fashion, which, although anything but economical, will save time and trouble, and as we are to have two crops in the year, we need not be too particular.'
Without further delay, I commenced leveling a large space of firm clayey ground to act as a threshing floor; it was well sprinkled with water, rolled, beaten, and stamped; as the sun dried the moisture it was watered anew, and the treatment continued until it became as flat, hard, and smooth as a threshing floor need be.
Our largest wicker basket was then slung between Storm and Grumble; we armed ourselves with reaping hooks, and went forth to gather in the corn in the simplest and most expeditious manner imaginable. I told my reapers not to concern themselves about the length of the straw, but to grasp the corn where it was convenient to them, without stooping; each was to wind a stalk around his own handful, and throw it into the basket; in this way great labour was saved.
The plan pleased the boys immensely, and in a short time the basket had been filled many times, and the field displayed a quantity of tall, headless stubble, which perfectly horrified the mother, so extravagant and untidy did she consider our work.
`This is dreadful!' cried she; `you have left numbers of ears growing on short stalks, and look at that splendid straw completely wasted! I don't approve of your Italian fashion at all.'
`It is not a bad plan, I can assure you, wife, and the Italians do not waste the straw by not cutting it with the grain; having more arable than pasture land, they use this high stubble for their cattle, letting them feed in it, and eat what grain is left; afterward, allowing the grass to grow up among it, they mow all together for winter fodder. And now for threshing, also in Italian fashion. We shall find it spares our arms and backs as much in that as in reaping.'
The little sheaves were laid in a large circle on the floor, the boys mounted Storm, Grumble, Lightfoot, and Hurry, starting off at a brisk trot, with many a merry jest, and round they went, trampling and stamping out the grain, while dust and chaff flew in clouds about them.
My wife and I were incessantly occupied with hayforks, by means of which we shook up and moved the sheaves over which the threshers rode, so as to throw them in the track.
From time to time the animals took mouthfuls of the tempting food they were beating out; we thought they well deserved it, and called to mind the command given to the Jews, `Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn.'
After threshing, we proceeded to winnowing: by simply throwing the threshed corn with shovels high in the air when the land or sea-breeze blew strong, the chaff and refuse was carried away by the wind and the grain fell to the ground.
During these operations our poultry paid the threshing-floor many visits, testifying a lively interest in the success of our labours, and gobbling up the grain at such a rate that my wife was obliged to keep them at a reasonable distance; but I would not have them altogether stinted in the midst of our plenty. I said, `Let them enjoy themselves; what we lose in grain, we gain in flesh. I anticipate delicious chicken-pie, roast goose, and boiled turkey!'
When our harvest stores were housed, we found that we had reaped sixty, eighty, even a hundred-fold what had been sown. Our garner was truly filled with all manner of store.
Expecting a second harvest, we were constrained to prepare the field for sowing again, and immediately therefore commenced mowing down the stubble. While engaged in this, flocks of quails and partridges came to glean among the scattered ears. We did not secure any great number, but resolved to be prepared for them next season, and by spreading nets, to catch them in large quantities.
My wife was satisfied when she saw the straw carried home and stacked; our crop of maize, which of course had not been threshed like the other corn, afforded soft leaves which were used for stuffing mattresses, while the stalks, when burnt, left ashes so rich in alkali as to be especially useful.
I changed the crops sown on the ground to rye, barley and oats, and hoped they would ripen before the rainy season.
The shoals of herring made their appearance just as we finished our agricultural operations. This year we pickled only two barrels of them; but we were not so merciful towards the seals, which arrived on the coast directly afterwards. We hunted them vigorously, requiring their skins for many purposes, more especially for the completion of the cajack. On the little deck of that tiny vessel I had made a kind of magazine, in which to store pistols, ammunition, water and provisions, and this I meant to cover with seal-skin, so as to be quite watertight. A couple of harpoons furnished with seal bladders were to be suspended alongside.
At last came the day when Fritz was to make his trial trip with the cajack. Completely equipped in swimming costume—trousers, and jacket and cap—it was most ludicrous to see him cower down in the canoe and puff and blow till he began to swell like the frog in the fable.
All trace of his original figure was speedily lost, and shouts of laughter greeted his comical appearance. Even his mother could not resist a smile, although the dress was her own invention.
I got the other boat out, that my wife might see we were ready to go to his assistance the moment it became necessary.
The cajack was launched from a convenient shelving point, and floated lightly on the sea-green ocean mirror. Fritz with his paddles then began to practise all manner of evolutions: darting along with arrowy swiftness, wheeling to the right, then to the left; and at last, flinging himself quite on his side, while his mother uttered a shriek of terror, he showed that the tiny craft would neither capsize nor sink. Then, recovering his balance, he sped securely on his further way.
Encouraged by our shouts of approbation, he now boldly ventured into the strong current of Jackal River, and was rapidly carried out to sea.
This being more than I had bargained for, I lost no time in giving chase in the boat, with Ernest and Jack; my wife, urging us to greater speed, and declaring that some accident could not fail to happen to `that horrid soap-bubble'.
We soon arrived outside the bay, at the rocks where formerly lay the wreck, and gazed in all directions for signs of the runaway.
After a time we saw, at a considerable distance, a faint puff of smoke, followed by the crack of a pistol. Upon this we fired a signal shot, which was presently answered by another, and, steering in the direction of the sound, we soon heard the boy's cheery halloo; the cajack darted from behind a point of land, and we quickly joined company.
`Come to this rocky beach,' cried Fritz, `I have something to show you.'
With blank amazement we beheld a fine well-grown young walrus, harpooned and quite dead.
`Did you kill this creature, my dear Fritz?' I exclaimed, looking round in some anxiety, and half expecting to see a naked savage come to claim the prize.
`To be sure, father! Don't you see my harpoon? Why do you doubt it?'
`Well, I scarcely know,' replied I, laughing, `but success so speedy, so unexpected, and so appropriate, to an amateur Greenlander, took me by surprise. I congratulate you, my boy! But I must tell you that you have alarmed us by making this long trip. You should not have gone out of the bay. I left your mother in grievous trouble.'
`Indeed, father, I had no idea of passing out of sight, but once in the current, I was carried along, and could not help myself. Then I came on a herd of walruses, and I did so long to make a prize of one that I forgot everything else, and made chase after them when beyond the influence of the current, until I got near enough to harpoon this fine fellow. He swam more slowly, and I struck him a second time; then he sought refuge among these rocks, and expired. I landed, and scrambled to where he lay; but I took care to give him the contents of my pistol before going close up, having a salutary recollection of the big serpent's parting fling at you, Jack.'
`You ran a very great risk,' said I. `The walrus is an inoffensive creature; but when attacked and wounded, it often becomes furious and, turning upon its pursuer, can destroy, with its long tusks, a strongly built whale boat. However, thank God for your safety! I value that above a thousand such creatures. Now what's to be done with him? He must be quite fourteen feet long, although not full grown.'
`I am very glad you followed me, father,' said Fritz, `but our united strength will not move this prodigious weight from among these rocks; only do let me carry away the head, with these grand snow-white tusks! I should so like to fasten it on the prow of the cajack, and name it the Sea-horse.'
`We must certainly carry away the beautiful ivory tusks,' said I, `but make haste! The air feels so excessively close and sultry, I think a storm is brewing.'
`But the head! The head! we must have the whole head,' cried Jack, `just think how splendid it will look on the cajack!'
`And how splendid it will smell too, when it begins to putrefy,' addedErnest. `What a treat for the steersman!'
`Oh, we will prepare for that,' said Fritz. `It shall be soaked and cleaned, and dried till it is as hard as a wooden model; it shall not offend your delicate nose in the least, Ernest!'
`I supposed the walrus to be an animal peculiar to the Arctic regions,' remarked Ernest.
`And so it is,' I replied, `though they may occasionally be seen elsewhere; these may have wandered from the Antarctic seas. I know that on the eastern coast of Africa is found a smaller species of walrus called the dugong: it has long incisor teeth, but not tusks; and certainly resembles a seal rather than a walrus.'
While thus speaking, we were actively engaged in the decapitation of the walrus, and in cutting off long strips of its skin. This took some time, as we had not the proper implements, and Fritz remarked, that in future the cajack must be provided with a hunting-knife and a hatchet; adding that he should like to have a small compass, in a box with a glass top, fixed in front of the hole where the steersman sits. I saw the necessity of this and I promised it should be done.
Our work being accomplished, we were ready to go, and I proposed to take Fritz and the canoe on board our boat, so that we might all arrive together; but I yielded to his earnest wish to return alone as he came; he longed to act as our avant-courier, and announce our approach to his mother; so he was soon skimming away over the surface of the water, while we followed at slower rate.
Black clouds meanwhile gathered thick and fast around us, and a tremendous storm came on. Fritz was out of sight and beyond our reach.
We buckled on the swimming belts, and firmly lashed ourselves to the boat, so that we might not be washed overboard by the towering seas which broke over it.
The horizon was shrouded in darkness, fearful gusts of wind lashed the ocean into foam, rain descended in torrents, while livid lightning glared athwart the gloom. Both my boys faced the danger nobly; and my feelings of alarm were mingled with hope on finding how well the boat behaved.
The tempest swept on its way, and the sky began to clear as suddenly as it had been overcast; yet the stormy waves continued for a long time to threaten our frail bark with destruction, in spite of its buoyancy and steadiness.
Yet I never lost hope for ourselves—all my fears were for Fritz; in fact I gave him up for lost, and my whole agonized heart arose in prayer for strength to say, `Thy will be done!'
At last we rounded the point, and once more entering Safety Bay, quickly drew near the little harbour.
What was our surprise—our overwhelming delight when there we saw the mother with Fritz, as well as her little boy, on their knees in prayer so earnest for our deliverance, that our approach was unperceived, until with cries of joy we attracted their notice.
Then indeed ensued a happy meeting, and we gave thanks together for the mercy which had spared our lives.
Returning joyfully to Rockburg, we changed our drenched garments for warm dry clothes; and, seated at a comfortable meal, considered and described at our ease the perils of the storm.
Afterwards, the head of the walrus was conveyed to our workshop; where it underwent such a skilful and thorough process of cleaning, embalming and drying, that ere long it was actually fixed on the prow of the cajack, and a most imposing appearance it presented!
The strips of hide, when well tanned and prepared, made valuable leather.
Much damage had been done by the late storm. The heavy rain had flooded all the streams, and injured crops which should have been housed and safe before the regular rainy season.
The bridge over Jackal River was partly broken down, and the water tanks and pipes all needed repair. So that our time was much occupied in restoring things to order.
On going to work one day near the cascade, we found a great number of dark-red berries, scattered on the ground; they were about the size of ordinary hazel-nuts, with small leafy coronets at the tip.
The boys thought them so inviting, that they tasted them at once, but angry exclamations and much spitting and spluttering followed the experiment; even Knips rejected them, and they would have been cast aside with contempt, had not the smell induced me to examine them. I decided that this was the fruit of the clove.
Some plants were immediately set in the nursery garden, and my wife was pleased to have this excellent spice wherewith to flavour her boiled rice and other dishes, in lieu of pepper—a very welcome variety to everyone.
Having a good supply of clay, brought from the bed near Falconhurst, I proposed to use it for making aqueducts; and, observing how much the recent rain had promoted the growth of our young corn, I determined to irrigate the fields with the drainage from our crushing-mill.
The fishing season was again successful. Large takes of salmon, sturgeon and herring rewarded our annual exertions, and our store-room again assumed a well-stocked appearance. Much as I wished that we could obtain a constant supply of these fish fresh, I was obliged to reject the naive proposal from Jack, that we should tether a shoal of salmon by the gills to the bottom of the bay as we had secured the turtles.
Many quiet uneventful days passed by and I perceived that the boys, wearied by the routine of farm work at Rockburg, were longing for a cruise in the yacht or an expedition into the woods, which would refresh both mind and body.
`Father,' said Fritz at length, `we want a quantity of hurdles, and have scarcely any more bamboos of which to make them. Had we not better get a supply from Woodlands? And you said, too, the other day, that you wished you had some more of the fine clay: we might visit the Gap at the same time.'
I had really no objection to propose; and it was shortly afterwards settled that Fritz, Jack, and Franz should start together; and that Ernest, who had no great desire to accompany his brothers, should remain with his mother and me, and assist in the construction of a sugar-mill, the erection of which I had long contemplated.
Before they started, Fritz begged some bear's meat from his mother, to make pemmican.
`And what may pemmican be?' she asked.
`It is food carried by the fur-traders of North America on their long journeys through the wild country they traverse; and consists of bear or deer's flesh, first cooked and then pounded or ground to powder. It is very portable, and nourishing.'
His mother consented `to humour him', as she said, although without much faith in the value of the preparation; and in the course of two days a stock of pemmican, sufficient for a Polar expedition, was fabricated by our enthusiastic son.
They were ready to start, when I observed Jack quietly slip a basket, containing several pigeons, under the packages in the cart.
`Oh, oh!' thought I, `the little fellow has his doubts about that pemmican, and thinks a tough old pigeon would be preferable.'
The weather was exquisite; and, with exhortations to prudence and caution from both me and their mother, the three lads started in the very highest spirits. Storm and Grumble, as usual, drew the cart, and were ridden by Fritz and Franz; while Hurry carried Jack swiftly across the bridge in advance of them; followed by Floss and Bruno, barking at his heels.
The sugar-mill occupied us for several days, and was made so much like our other mills that I need not now describe it.
On the evening of the first day, as we sat resting in the porch at Rockburg, we naturally talked of the absentees, wondering and guessing what they might be about.
Ernest looked rather mysterious, and hinted that he might have news of them next morning.
Just then a bird alighted on the dove-cot, and entered. I could not see, in the failing light, whether it was one of our own pigeons or an intruder. Ernest started up, and said he would see that all was right.
In a few minutes he returned with a scrap of paper in his hand. `News, father! The very latest news by pigeon-post, mother!'
`Well done, boys! What a capital idea!' said I, and taking the note I read:
`Dearest parents and Ernest,
`A brute of a hyaena has killed a ram and two lambs. The dogs seized it. Franz shot it. It is dead and skinned. The pemmican isn't worth much, but we are all right. Love to all.
`Fritz
`Woodlands, 15th instant
`A true hunter's letter!' laughed I. `But what exciting news. When does the next post come in, Ernest?'
`Tonight, I hope,' said he, while his mother sighed, and doubted the value of such glimpses into the scenes of danger through which her sons were passing, declaring she would much rather wait and hear all about it when she had them safe home again.
Thus the winged letter-carriers kept us informed from day to day of the outline of adventures which were afterwards more fully described.
On approaching the farm at Woodlands, the boys were startled by hearing, as they thought, human laughter, repeated again and again; while, to their astonishment, the oxen testified the greatest uneasiness, the dogs growled and drew close to their masters, and the ostrich fairly bolted with Jack into the rice swamp.
The laughter continued, and the beasts became unmanageable.
`Something is very far wrong!' cried Fritz. `I cannot leave the animals; but while I unharness them, do you, Franz, take the dogs, and advance cautiously to see what is the matter.'
Without a moment's hesitation, Franz made his way among the bushes with his gun, and closely followed by the dogs; until, through an opening in the thicket, he could see, at the distance of about forty paces, an enormous hyaena, in the most wonderful state of excitement; dancing round a lamb just killed, and uttering, from time to time, the ghastly hysterical laughter which had pealed through the forest.
The beast kept running backwards and forwards, rising on its hind legs, and then rapidly whirling round and round, nodding its head, and going through most frantic and ludicrous antics.
Franz kept his presence of mind very well; for he watched till, calming down, the hyaena began with horrid growls to tear its prey; and then, firing steadily both barrels, he broke its foreleg, and wounded it in the breast.
Meanwhile Fritz, having unyoked the oxen and secured them to trees, hurried to his brother's assistance. The dogs and the dying hyaena were by this time engaged in mortal strife; but the latter, although it severely wounded both Floss and Bruno, speedily succumbed, and was dead when the boys reached the spot.
They raised a shout of triumph, which guided Jack to the scene of action; and their first care was for the dogs, whose wounds they dressed before minutely examining the hyaena. It was as large as a wild boar; long stiff bristles formed a mane on its neck, its colour was grey marked with black, the teeth and jaws were of extraordinary strength, the thighs muscular and sinewy, the claws remarkably strong and sharp altogether. But for his wounds, he would certainly have been more than a match for the dogs.
After unloading the cart at the farm, the boys returned for the carcase of the tiger-wolf, as it is sometimes called, and occupied themselves in skinning it during the remainder of the day, when after dispatching the carrier-pigeon to Rockburg, they retired to rest on their bearskin rugs, to dream of adventures past and future.
The following day they devised no less a scheme than to survey the shores of Wood Lake, and place marks wherever the surrounding marsh was practicable and might be crossed either to reach the water or leave it.
Fritz in the cajack, and the boys on shore, carefully examined the ground together; and when they found firm footing to the water's edge, the spot was indicated by planting a tall bamboo, bearing on high a bundle of reeds and branches.
They succeeded in capturing three young black swans, after considerable resistance from the old ones. They were afterwards brought to Rockburg, and detained as ornaments to Safety Bay.
Presently a beautiful heron thrust his long neck from among the reeds, to ascertain what all the noise on the lake was about.
Before he could satisfy his curiosity, Fritz unhooded his eagle, and though vainly he flapped and struggled, his legs and wings were gently but firmly bound, and he had to own himself vanquished, and submit to the inspection of his delighted captors.
It was their turn to be alarmed next, for a large powerful animal came puffing with a curious whistling sound through the dense thicket of reeds, passing close by and sorely discomposing them by its sudden appearance. It was out of sight immediately, before they could summon the dogs, and from their description it must have been a tapir, the colour dark brown, and in form resembling a young rhinoceros, but with no horn on the nose, and the upper lip prolonged into a trunk something like that of an elephant on a smaller scale. It is a gentle creature, but when attacked becomes a fierce opponent, and can wound dogs dangerously with its powerful teeth. The tapir can swim and dive with perfect ease, and abounds in the densely wooded swamps and rivers of tropical America.
Fritz in his cajack followed for a time the direction in which the tapir proceeded, but saw no more of it. Meanwhile the other two boys returned to the farm by the rice-fields, and there fell in with a flock of cranes, five or six of which they caught alive, among them two demoiselle or Numidian cranes.
These birds they shot at with arrows arranged in a skilful and original way, with loops of cord dipped in birdlime attached to them, so that it often happened that the bird aimed at, was entangled and brought down uninjured.
The young hunters seemed to have lived very comfortably on peccary ham, cassava bread and fruit, and plenty of baked potatoes and milk.
One trial of the pemmican was sufficient, and it was handed over to the dogs. Fritz, however, determined again to attempt the manufacture, knowing its value when properly prepared.
After collecting a supply of rice and cotton, they took their way to Prospect Hill, `and,' said Fritz, as he afterwards vividly described the dreadful scene there enacted, `when we entered the pine wood, we found it in possession of troops of monkeys, who resolved to make our passage through it as disagreeable as possible, for they howled and chattered at us like demons, pelting us as hard as they could with pine cones.
`They became so unbearable, that at last we fired a few shots right and left among them; several bit the dust, the rest fled, and we continued our way in peace to Prospect Hill, but only to discover the havoc the wretches had made there.
`Would you believe it, father? The pleasant cottage had been overrun and ruined by apes just as Woodlands last summer! The most dreadful dirt and disorder met our eyes wherever we turned, and we had hard work to make the place fit for human habitation; and even then we preferred the tent. I felt quite at a loss how to guard the farm for the future; but seeing a bottle of the poisonous gum of the euphorbia in the tool chest, I devised a plan for the destruction of the apes which succeeded beyond my expectations.
`I mixed poison with milk, bruised millet and anything I thought the monkeys would eat, and put it in cocoanut shells, which I hung about in the trees, high enough to be out of reach of our own animals. The evening was calm and lovely; the sea murmured in the distance, and the rising moon shed a beauty over the landscape which we seemed never before to have so admired and enjoyed. The summer night closed around us in all its solemn stillness, and our deepest feelings were touched; when suddenly the spell was broken by an outburst of the most hideous and discordant noises.
`As by one consent, every beast of the forest seemed to arise from its den, and utter its wild nocturnal cry. Snorting, snarling and shrieking filled the woods beneath us.
`From the hills echoed the mournful howl of jackals, answered by Fangs in the yard, who was backed up by the barking and yelping of his friends Floss and Bruno. Far away beyond the rocky fastnesses of the Gap, sounded unearthly hollow snortings and neighings, reminding one of the strange cry of the hippopotamus; above these, occasional deep majestic roarings made our hearts quail with the conviction that we heard the voices of lions and elephants.
`Overawed and silent, we retired to rest, hoping to forget in sleep the terrors of the midnight forest; but ere long the most fearful cries in the adjoining woods gave notice that the apes were beginning to suffer from the poisoned repast prepared for them.
`As our dogs could not remain silent amid the uproar and din, we had not a wink of sleep until the morning. It was late, therefore, when we rose, and looked on the awful spectacle presented by the multitude of dead monkeys and baboons thickly strewn under the trees round the farm. I shall not tell you how many there were. I can only say I wished I had not found the poison, and we made all haste to clear away the dead bodies and the dangerous food, burying some deep in the earth, and, carrying the rest to the shore, we pitched them over the rocks into the sea. That day we travelled on to the Gap.'
The same evening that the boys reached the rocky pass, a messenger-pigeon arrived at Rockburg, bearing a note which concluded in the following words:
`The barricade at the Gap is broken down. Everything laid waste as far as the sugar-brake, where the hut is knocked to pieces, and the fields trampled over by huge footmarks. Come to us, father—we are safe, but feel we are no match for this unknown danger.'
I lost not an instant, but saddled Swift, late as it was, in order to ride to the assistance of our boys, desiring Ernest to prepare the small cart, and follow me with his mother at daybreak, bringing everything we should require for camping out for some days.
The bright moonlight favoured my journey, and my arrival at the Gap surprised and delighted the boys who did not expect me till next day. Early on the following morning I inspected the footprints and ravages of the great unknown. The cane-brake had, without doubt, been visited by an elephant. That great animal alone could have left such traces and committed such fearful ravages.
Thick posts in the barricade were snapped across like reeds; the trees in the vicinity, where we planned to build a cool summer-house, were stripped of leaves and branches to a great height, but the worst mischief was done among the young sugar-cane plants, which were all either devoured or trampled down and destroyed.
It seemed to me that not one elephant, but a troop must have invaded our grounds. The tracks were very numerous, and the footprints of various sizes; but, to my satisfaction, I saw that they could be traced not only from the Gap, but back to it in evidently equal numbers.
We did not, therefore, suppose that the mighty animals remained hidden in the woods of our territory; but concluded that, after this freebooting incursion, they had withdrawn to their native wilds, where, by greatly increasing the strength of our ramparts, we hoped henceforth to oblige them to remain.
In what manner to effect this we laid many plans, during the night of my arrival, when, sitting by an enormous watch-fire, I chatted with my boys, and heard details of their numerous adventures, so interesting for them to relate, and for me to hear, that everyone was more disposed to act sentinel than retire to sleep.
My wife and Ernest arrived next day, and she rejoiced to find all well, making light of trodden fields and trampled sugar-canes, since her sons were sound in life and limb.
A systematic scheme of defence was now elabourated, and the erection of the barricade occupied us for at least a month, as it was to be a firm and durable building, proof against all invasion.
As our little tent was unsuited to a long residence of this sort, I adopted Fritz's idea of a Kamschatkan dwelling and, to his great delight, forthwith carried it out.
Instead of planting four posts, on which to place a platform, we chose four trees of equal size, which, in a very suitable place, grew exactly in a square, twelve or fourteen feet apart. Between these, at about twenty feet from the ground, we laid a flooring of beams and bamboo, smoothly and strongly planked. From this rose, on all four sides, walls of cane; the frame of the roof was covered so effectually by large pieces of bark that no rain could penetrate. The staircase to this tree-cottage was simply a broad plank with bars nailed across it for steps. The flooring projected like a balcony in front of the entrance door, and underneath, on the ground, we fitted up sheds for cattle and fowls.
Various ornaments in Chinese or Japanese style were added to the roof and eaves, and a most convenient, cool and picturesque cottage, overhung and adorned by the graceful foliage of the trees, was the result of our ingenuity.
I was pleased to find that the various birds taken by the boys during this excursion seemed likely to thrive; they were the first inmates of the new sheds, and even the black swans and cranes soon became tame and sociable.
Constantly roaming through the woods, the children often made new discoveries.
Fritz brought one day, after an excursion to the opposite side of the stream beyond the Gap, a cluster of bananas, and also of cacao-beans, from which chocolate is made.
The banana, although valuable and nourishing food for the natives of the tropical countries where it grows, is not generally liked by Europeans, and probably this variety was even inferior to many others, for we found the fruit much like rotten pears, and almost uneatable.
The cacao seeds tasted exceedingly bitter, and it seemed wonderful that by preparation they should produce anything so delicious as chocolate.
My wife, who now fancied no manufacture beyond my skill, begged for plants, seeds, or cuttings to propagate in her nursery garden, already fancying herself in the enjoyment of chocolate for breakfast, and I promised to make a cacao plantation near home.
`Let me have bananas also,' said she, `for we may acquire a taste for that celebrated fruit, and, at all events, I am sure I can make it into an excellent preserve.'
The day before our return to Rockburg, Fritz went again to the inland region beyond the river to obtain a large supply of young banana-plants, and the cacao-fruit. He took the cajack, and a bundle of reeds to float behind him as a raft to carry the fruit, plants, and anything else he might wish to bring back.
In the evening he made his appearance, coming swiftly down stream. His brothers rushed to meet him, each eager to see and help to land his cargo. Ernest and Fritz were quickly running up the bank, with arms full of plants, branches and fruit, when Fritz handed to Jack a dripping wet bag which he had brought along partly under water. A curious pattering noise proceeded from this bag, but they kept the contents a secret for the present, Jack running with it behind a bush before peeping in, and I could just hear him exclaim:
`Hullo! I say, what monsters they are! It's enough to make a fellow's flesh creep to look at them!'
With that he hastily shut up the bag, and put it away safely out of sight in water.
Securing the cajack, Fritz sprang towards us, his handsome face radiant with pleasure, as he exhibited a beautiful water-fowl. Its plumage was rich purple, changing on the back to dark green; the legs, feet and a mark above the bill, bright red. This lovely bird I concluded to be the Sultan cock described by Buffon, and as it was gentle, we gladly received it among our domestic pets.
Fritz gave a stirring account of his exploring trip, having made his way far up the river, between fertile plains and majestic forests of lofty trees, where the cries of vast numbers of birds, parrots, peacocks, guinea-fowls and hundreds unknown to him, quite bewildered him and made him feel giddy.
`It was in the Buffalo Swamp,' continued he, `that I saw the splendid birds you call Sultan cocks, and I set my heart on catching one alive, which, as they seemed to have little fear of my approach, I managed by means of a wire snare. Farther on I saw a grove of mimosa trees, among which huge dark masses were moving in a deliberate way. Guess what they were!'
`Savages?' asked Franz timidly.
`Black bears, I bet!' cried Jack.
`Your words suggest to my mind the manner and appearance of elephants,' said Ernest.
`Right you are, Professor!' exclaimed Fritz gaily, the words producing quite a sensation on the whole attentive family. `From fifteen to twenty elephants were feeding peacefully on the leafy boughs, tearing down branches with their trunks and shoving them into their mouths with one jerk, or bathing in the deep waters of the marsh for refreshment in the great heat. You cannot imagine the wild grandeur of the scene! The river being very broad, I felt safe from wild animals, and more than once saw splendid jaguars crouched on the banks, their glossy skin glancing in the sunlight.
`While considering if it would be simply foolhardy to try a shot at one of these creatures, I was suddenly convinced that discretion is the better part of valour, and urging my canoe into the centre current, made a rapid retreat down the river. For just before me, in the calm deep water of a sheltered bay where I was quietly floating, there arose a violent boiling, bubbling commotion, and for an instant I thought a hot spring was going to burst forth—instead of that, up rose the hideous head and gaping jaws of a hippopotamus, who, with a hoarse terrific snort, seemed about to attack me.
`I can tell you I did not wait to see the rest of him! A glimpse of his enormous mouth and its array of white gleaming tusks was quite enough. "Right about face!" said I to myself, and shot down the stream like an arrow, never pausing till a bend in the river brought me within sight of the Gap, where I once more felt safe, and joyfully made my way back to you all.'
This narrative was of thrilling interest to us, proving the existence of tribes of the most formidable animals beyond the rocky barrier which defended, in so providential a manner, the small and fertile territory on which our lot was cast.
During the absence of the adventurer we had been busily engaged in making preparations for our departure—and everything was packed up and ready by the morning after his return.
After some hesitation I yielded to his great wish, which was to return by sea in his cajack round Cape Disappointment and so meet us at Rockburg.
He was much interested in examining the outlines of the coast, and the rugged precipices of the Cape. These were tenanted by vast flocks of sea-fowl and birds of prey; while many varieties of shrubs and plants, hitherto unknown to us, grew in the clefts and crevices of the rocks, some of them diffusing a strong aromatic odour. Among the specimens he brought I recognized the caper plant and, with still greater pleasure, a shrub which was, I felt sure, the tea-plant of China—it bore very pretty white flowers and the leaves resembled myrtle.
Our land journey was effected without accident or adventure of any kind.
Jack, mounted as usual on Hurry, the ostrich, carried the mysterious wet bag very carefully slung at his side, and when near home started off at a prodigious rate in advance of us.
He let fall the drawbridge, and we saw no more of him until, on reaching Rockburg, he appeared leisurely returning from the swamp, where apparently he had gone to deposit his `moist secret', as Franz called it.
We were all glad to take up our quarters once more in our large and convenient dwelling, and my first business was to provide for the great number of birds we now had on our hands, by establishing them in suitable localities, it being impossible to maintain them all in the poultry-yard. Some were, therefore, taken to the islands; and the black swans, the heron, the graceful demoiselle cranes, and our latest acquisition, the splendid Sultan cock, soon became perfectly at home in the swamp, greatly adding to the interest of the neighbourhood of Safety Bay.
The old bustards were the tamest of all our feathered pets, and never more so than at meal-times. They were unfailing in their attendance when we dined or supped in the open air.
Towards evening, as we sat in the verandah listening to Fritz's account of his trip round the Cape, an extraordinary hollow roaring noise sounded from the swamp, not unlike the angry bellowing of a bull.
The dogs barked and the family rose in excitement; but remarked a look of quiet humour in Fritz's eye, as he stood leaning against one of the verandah pillars, watching Jack, who, in some confusion, started off towards the marsh.
`Come back, you silly boy!' cried his mother. `The child has not so much as a pistol, and is rushing off alone to face he knows not what!'
`Perhaps,' said I, looking at Fritz, `this is not a case requiring the use of firearms. It may be only the booming of a bittern which we hear.'
`You need not be uneasy, mother,' said Fritz. `Jack knows what he is about, only this charming serenade took him by surprise, and I fancy he will have to exhibit his treasures before they reach perfection. Yes, here he comes!'
Lugging his `moist secret' along with him, Jack, flushed and breathless, came up to us, exclaiming:
`They were to grow as big as rabbits before you saw them! Such a shame! I never thought they would kick up a row like that. Now for it!'—and he turned out the bag. `This is "Grace", and this is "Beauty".'
Two immense frogs rolled clumsily on the ground, and recovering their feet, sat squat before us, swelling and buffing with a ludicrous air of insulted dignity, while peals of laughter greeted them on all sides.
`Ladies and gentlemen, these are two very handsome young specimens of the famous African bull-frog,' said Jack, pretending to be offended at the mingled disgust and amusement occasioned by their appearance; `they are but half-grown, and I hoped to maintain them in seclusion, until they reached full size, when I would have introduced them with proper eclat. But since their talent for music has brought them precociously into public notice, I must beg for your kind and indulgent patronage and—leave to take them back to the swamp.'
Great clapping of hands followed Jack's speech.
`Grace' and `Beauty' were examined, and commented on with much interest, and voted decidedly handsome `in their way'.
Their general colour was greenish-brown, mottled and spotted with reddish-brown, and yellow; the sides green and black; the underpart yellow, mottled with orange. The eyes were positively beautiful, of a rich chestnut hue, covered with golden white dots, which shone with a metallic lustre. The skin of the body was puckered into longitudinal folds.
By general consent they were remanded to the swamp. Shortly after our return to Rockburg, my wife drew my attention to the somewhat neglected state of our dear old summer residence at Falconhurst, begging me to devote some time to its restoration and embellishment.
This I most willingly undertook, and we removed thither, as soon as the boys had completed the arrangement of the artificial salt-lick to their satisfaction.
At Falconhurst things were quickly in good order, and we made a great improvement by completing the broad terrace supported on the arching roots of the trees—it was better floored—and rustic pillars and trellis-work sustained a bark roof which afforded pleasant shade.
After this was done, I was compelled to consent to a plan long cherished by Fritz, who wished to construct a watch-tower and mount a gun on Shark Island. After great exertion, both mental and bodily, this piece of military engineering was completed; and a flagstaff erected, on which the guard at this outpost could run up a white flag to signal the approach of anything harmless from the sea, while a red flag would be shown on the least appearance of danger.
To celebrate the completion of this great work, which occupied us during two months, we hoisted the white flag and fired a salute of six guns.