Bevis: The Story of a Boy
by the midges as they danced over the water, touching it now andthen.
"Did you hear that?" It was the sound of a distant gun shorn of thesmartness of the report by the trees.
"The savages have matchlocks," said Bevis. "They must be ever so muchmore dangerous than we thought."
"Perhaps we'd better go," said Mark, casting off the beech bough.
The current slowly drifted the raft out into the bay, and then they tooktheir poles, and returned along the channel between the reeds and sedgebanks. It took some time to reach New Formosa.
"I wonder if the creature out of the wave has been," said Mark."Suppose we go very quietly and see what it is."
"So we will."
Keeping Pan close at their heels, they stole along the path to thestockade, then crept up behind it to the gateway, and suddenly burst in."Ah!"
"Here he is."
"Yow-wow!"
"O! it's the pheasant!"
"Only the pheasant!"
The pheasant, flying straight out to sea for the cornfields, halted onNew Formosa, attracted by the glimpse he caught of the fence and hut.The enclosure seemed so much like that in which he had been bred, and inwhich he had enjoyed so much food, that he came down and rambled aboutinside, visiting even the cave, and stepping on the table.
When they came in so unexpectedly on him, he rose up rocket-like, and atfirst made towards the jungle, but in a minute, recovering himself, heswept round and went to the mainland by the Waste. He did not want toreturn to the preserves--anywhere else in preference.
While the dinner was preparing, Mark got out his fishing-rod, and fittedup the spinning tackle for pike, for he meant to angle round the island,and also some hooks for trimmers, if he could catch any bait, and hooksfor nightlines, in case there should be eels. These trimmers andnightlines put them in mind of traps for kangaroos, they had no traps,but determined to set up some wires at a good distance from the knoll,so as not, in any case, to interfere with their shooting.
After dinner, as Mark wanted to go fishing, Bevis watched for Charlie,and looking through the telescope, saw the herd of buffaloes on thegreen hill under the sycamore-trees. One cow held her head low, and afriend licked her poll. A flock of rooks were on the slope, and had henot known, he could have told which way the wind blew, as they all facedin one direction, and always walk to meet the breeze. When they flew uphe knew Charlie was approaching. Charlie did not stay after making thesignal, so Bevis went down and walked round the island till he foundMark.
As yet, Mark had had no success, but he had fixed on a spot to set thenightlines. Returning along the other shore, fishing as he went, Beviswith him, they remembered that that night the letter must be taken toLoo to post, and thought they had better have a look at the channelthrough the weeds, or else by moonlight they might not get to themainland so easily.
The best tree to climb was a larch which grew apart from the wood, androse up to a great height, balanced each side with its long slenderbranches. The larch, when growing alone, is a beautiful tree. It istoo often crowded into plantations which to it are like the `Black Hole'of Calcutta to human beings. Up they went, Mark first, as quickly assailors up the ratlins, for the branches, at regular intervals, hadgrown on purpose for climbing, only they had to jam their hats on, andnot look higher than the bough they were on, because of the dust of thebark they shook down.
"There's the reapers," said Mark; "what a lot they have cut."
They could see the sheaves stacked, and the stubble, which was of alighter hue than the standing wheat. Every now and then dark dots cameto the golden surface of the wheat like seals to breathe. These dotswere the reapers' heads.
"There's the pheasant," said Bevis, pointing to the Waste. The bird wasmaking his way zigzag round the green ant-hills, towards the stubble.Sometimes he walked, sometimes he ran, now and then he gave a jump inhis run. They lost sight of him behind a great grey boulder-stone,whose top was visible above the brambles and rush-bunches whichsurrounded its base.
"Jack's busy now up in the hills," said Mark, looking the other waytowards the Downs. "He might just as well let us have the rifle whilehe's busy with the harvest."
"Just as well. I say, let's explore the Waste to-morrow. It is awilderness--you don't know what you may not find in a wilderness."
"Grey stones," said Mark. "They're tombs--genii live in them."
"Serpents guarding treasures, and lamps burning; they have been burningthese ages and ages--"
"Awful claps of thunder underground."
"We will go and see to-morrow--I believe there are heaps of kangaroosout there."
"There's the channel."
They could trace its windings from the tree, and marked it in theirminds. At that height the breeze came cool and delicious; they satthere a long while silent, soothed by the rustle and the gentle sway ofthe branches. They could feel the mast-like stem vibrate--it did notmove sufficiently to be said to bend, or even sway--so slight was themotion the eye could not trace it. But it did move as they could feelwith their hands as the wind came now with more and now with less force.
When they descended, Mark continued fishing till they came to the raft.They embarked and poled it round the island to the other side ready tostart in the evening. Then Bevis wrote the letter dating it from Jack'shouse up in the hills. It was very short. He said they were very well,and jolly, and should not come back for a little while yet, but wouldnot be very long--this was in case any one should go up to see them.But when he came to read it through for mistakes, the deceit he waspractising on dear mamma stood out before him like the black ink on thepage.
"I don't like it," he said. "It's not nice."
"No; it's not nice," said Mark, who was sitting by him. "But still--"
"But still," repeated Bevis, and so the letter was put in an envelopeand addressed. In the evening as the sun sank Mark tried for bait andsucceeded in catching some, these were for the trimmers. Then they laidout the night-line for eels far down the island where the edge lookedmore muddy. To fill up the time till it was quite moonlight, theyworked at a mast for the raft, and also cut some sedges and flags forthe roof of the open shed, which was to be put up in place of theawning.
They supposed it to be about half-past nine when they pushed off on theraft, taking with them the letter, a list of things to be got from thetown to save the labour of cooking, and the flag-basket. The trimmerswere dropped in as they went. Mark was going to wait by the raft tillBevis returned under the original plan, but they agreed that it would bemuch more pleasant to go together, the raft would be perfectly safe.They found the channel without difficulty, the raft grounded among thesedges, and they stepped out, the first time they had landed on themainland.
As they walked they saw a fern owl floating along the hedge by thestubble. The beetles hummed by and came so heedlessly over the hedge asto become entangled in the leaves. They walked close to the hedgebecause they knew that the very brightest moonlight is not like the day.By moonlight an object standing apart can be seen a long distance, butanything with a background of hedge cannot be distinguished for certainacross one wide field. That something is moving there may beascertained, but its exact character cannot be determined.
As they had to travel beside the hedges and so to make frequent detours,it occupied some time to reach the cottage, which they approached overthe field at the back. When they were near enough, Bevis whistled--thesame notes with which he and Mark called and signalled to each other.In an instant they saw Loo come through the window, so quickly that shemust have been sleeping with her dress on; she slipped down a lean-to orlittle shed under it, scrambled through a gap in the thin hedge, and ranto them.
She had sat and watched and listened for that whistle night after nightin vain. At last she drew her cot (in which her little brother alsoslept) across under the window, and left the window open. Her mind solong expecting the whistle responded in a moment to the sound when itreached her dreaming ear. She took the letter (wi
th a penny for thestamp) and the list and basket, and promised to have the things readyfor them on the following evening.
"And remember," said Bevis, "remember you don't say anything. Therewill be a shilling for you if you don't tell--"
"I shouldn't tell if there wurdn't no shilling," said Loo.
"You mind you do not say a word," added Mark. "Nobody is to know thatyou have seen us."
"Good-night," said Bevis, and away they went. Loo watched them tillthey were lost against the dark background of the hedge, and thenreturned to her cot, scrambling up the roof of the shed and in at thewindow.
They got back to the island without any difficulty, and felt quitecertain that no one had seen them.