"Give me the gun--I'll go in."
If the dog would not, he would hunt the creature from its lair himself.
"O! stop!" said Mark, catching hold of his arm, "don't--don't go in--youdon't know!"
"Let me go."
"I won't."
"I will go."
They struggled with each other.
"Shoot first," said Mark, finding he could not hold him. "Shoot anarrow--two arrows. Here--here's the bow."
Bevis seized the bow and fitted the arrow.
"Shoot where the path is," said Mark. "There--it's there,"--pointing.Bevis raised the bow. "Now shoot!"
"O!" cried a voice in the reeds, "don't shoot!"
Bevis instantly lowered the bow.
"What?" he said.
"Who's there?" said Mark.
"It's me--don't shoot me!"
"Who are you?"
"Me."
They rushed in and found Loo crouching behind the alder in thereed-grass; in her hand was a thick stick which she dropped.
"How dare you!" said Bevis.
"How did you get here?" said Mark. "Don't you be angry!" said Loo."But how dare you!"
"On our island!"
"Don't you--don't you!" repeated Loo. "You!"
"You!" One word but such intense wrath. "O!" cried Loo, beginning tosob. "You!"
"You!"
"O! Don't! He were so hungry." Sob, sob.
"Pooh!"
"Yah!"
"Yow--wow!" barked Pan. "He--he," sobbed Loo. "He--he--"
"He--what?"
"He were so hungry." Sob, sob. "Who?"
"Samson."
"Who's Samson?"
"My--y--lit--tle--brother."
"Then you took our things?" said Mark. "He--he--kept on crying."
"You had the damper--"
"And the potatoes--"
"And the bacon--"
"You didn't--didn't care for it," sobbed Loo. "Did you take therabbit-skin?" said Mark. "Yes--es."
"But Samson didn't eat that; did he?"
"I--I--sold it."
"What for?"
"Ha'-penny of jumbles for Samson." Jumbles are sweets.
"How did you get here?"
"I come."
"How?"
"I come."
"It's disgusting," said Bevis, turning to Mark; "spoiling our island."
"Not a tiger," said Mark. "Only a girl."
"It's not proper," said Bevis in a towering rage. "Tigers are proper,girls are not proper."
"No; that they're not."
"Girls are--Foo!--"
"Very--foo!" Contemptuous puffing. "It's not the stealing."
"No; it's the coming--"
"Where you're not wanted--"
"Horrible!"
"Hateful!"
"What shall we do?"
"Can't kill her."
"Nor torture her."
"Nor scalp her."
"Thing!"
"Creature!"
"Yow--wow!"
"Tie her up."
"If we were savages we'd cook you!"
"Limb at a time."
"What _can_ we do with her?"
"Let me stop," said Loo pleadingly. "Let _you_ stop! You!"
"I can cook and make tea and wash things."
"Stop a minute," said Mark. "Perhaps she's a native."
"Ah!" This was more proper. "She looks brown."
"Copper coloured."
"Are you a savage?"
"If you says so," said Loo penitently. "Are you very sorry?"
"You're sure you're a savage?"
"Will she do?"
"You're our slave."
"Ar-right," [all-right], said Loo her brown eyes beginning to sparklethrough her tears. "I'll be what you wants."
"Mind you're a slave."
"So I be."
"You'll be thrashed."
"Don't care. Let I bide here."
"I suppose we must have her."
"You're a great nuisance."
"Ar-right."
"Slave! Carry that." Mark gave her the axe. "And that." Bevis gaveher the bow. Loo took them proudly.
"You're to keep behind--Pan's to go before you."
"Dogs first, slaves next."
"Make her fetch the water."
"Chop the wood."
"Turn the spit."
"Capital; we wanted a slave!"
"Just the thing."
"Hurrah!"
"But it's not so nice as a tiger."
"O! No!"
"Nothing like."
They marched out of the reed-grass, Pan and the slave behind.
"But how did you get here?" said Bevis, stopping suddenly.
"I come, I told you."
"Can you swim?"
"No."
"There's no boat."
"Did you have a catamaran?"
"What be that?"
"Why don't you tell us how you got here?"
"I come--a-foot."
"Waded? You couldn't."
"I walked drough't,"--i.e. through it.
They would not believe her at first, but she adhered to her story, andoffered to wade back to the mainland to prove that it was possible. Shepointed out to them the way she had come by the shoals and sedge-grownbanks; the course she had taken curved like half a horse-shoe. First itwent straight a little way, then the route or ford led to the south andgradually turned back to the west, reaching the mainland within sixty orseventy yards of the place where they always disembarked from the raft.It took some time for Loo to explain how she had done it, and how shecame to know of it, but it was like this.
Once now and then in dry seasons the waters receded very much, and theywere further lowered by the drawing of hatches that the cattle might getwater to drink low down the valley, miles away. As the waters of theNew Sea receded the shallower upper, or southern end, became partly dry.Then a broad low bank of sand appeared stretching out in the shape ofhalf a horse-shoe the extremity of which being much higher was neversubmerged, but formed the island of New Formosa. At such times any onecould walk from the mainland out to New Formosa dryshod for weekstogether.
This was how the island became stocked with squirrels and kangaroos; andit was the existence of the rabbits in the burries at the knoll that hadoriginally led to Loo's knowledge of the place. Her father went thereonce when the water was low to ferret them, and she was sent with hisluncheon to and fro. That was some time since, but she had neverforgotten, and often playing about the shore, had no difficulty infinding the shoal. The route or ford was, moreover, marked to any onewho knew of its existence by the tops of sand-banks, and sedge-grownislets, which were in fact nothing but high parts of the same long,curved bank.
There was not more than a foot deep of water anywhere the wholedistance, and often not six inches. This was in August, in winter therewould be much more. Tucking up her dress she had waded through easily,feeling the bottom with a thick stick to guide her steps. The worstplace was close to the island, by the reed-grass, where she sunk alittle in the ooze, but it was only for a few yards.
At the hut the weapons were laid aside, and the slave put out the dinnerfor them. Bevis and Mark sat, one each side of the table, on theirstools of solid blocks, Pan sat beside Bevis on his haunches expectant;the slave knelt at the table.
She was bare-headed. Her black hair having escaped, fell to her waist,and her neck was tawny from the harvest sunshine. The torn brown frockloosely clung about her. Her white teeth gleamed; her naked feet weresandy like Pan's paws. Her brown eyes watched their every movement; shewas intent on them. They were full of their plans of the island; shewas intent on them.
She ate ravenously, more eagerly than the spaniel. Seeing this, Beviskept cutting the preserved tongue for her, and asked if Samson was sovery hungry. Loo said they were all hungry, but Samson was most hungry.He cried almost all day and all night, and woke himself up crying inthe morning. Very often she left him, and went a long way down
thehedge because she did not like to hear him.
"But," objected Bevis, "my governor pays your father money, and I'm suremy mamma sends