Foul Play

  CHAPTER XLII.

  HAZEL had risen an hour before dawn for reasons well known to himself. Heput on his worst clothes, and a leathern belt, his little bags round hisneck, and took his bundle of rushes in his hand. He also provided himselfwith some pieces of raw fish and fresh oyster; and, thus equipped, wentup through Terrapin Wood, and got to the neighborhood of the lagoonbefore daybreak.

  There was a heavy steam on the water, and nothing else to be seen. He putthe hoop over his head, and walked into the water, not without aninternal shudder, it looked so cold.

  But instead of that, it was very warm, unaccountably warm. He walked inup to his middle, and tied his iron hoop to his belt, so as to prevent itsinking too deep. This done, he waited motionless, and seemed a littlebed of rushes. The sun rose, and the steam gradually cleared away, andHazel, peering through a hole or two he had made expressly in his bed ofrushes, saw several ducks floating about, and one in particular, allpurple, without a speck but his amber eye. He contrived to detach a pieceof fish, that soon floated to the surface near him. But no duck movedtoward it. He tried another, and another; then a mallard he had notobserved swam up from behind him, and was soon busy pecking at it withina yard of him. His heart beat; he glided slowly and cautiously forwardtill the bird was close to the rushes.

  Hazel stretched out his hand with the utmost care, caught hold of thebird's feet, and dragged him sharply under the water, and brought him upwithin the circle of the rushes. He quacked and struggled. Hazel sousedhim under directly, and so quenched the sound; then he glided slowly tothe bank, so slowly that the rushes merely seemed to drift ashore. Thishe did not to create suspicion, and so spoil the next attempt. As heglided, he gave his duck air every now and then, and soon got on terrafirma. By this time he had taught the duck not to quack, or he would getsoused and held under. He now took the long gut-end and tied it tightround the bird's leg, and so fastened the bag to him.

  Even while he was effecting this, a posse of ducks rose at the west endof the marsh, and took their flight from the island. As they passed,Hazel threw his captive up in the air; and such was the force of example,aided, perhaps, by the fright the captive had received, that Hazel's birdinstantly joined these travelers, rose with them into the high currents,and away, bearing the news eastward upon the wings of the wind. ThenHazel returned to the pool, and twice more he was so fortunate as tosecure a bird, and launch him into space.

  So hard is it to measure the wit of man, and to define his resources. Theproblem was solved; the aerial messengers were on the wing, diffusingover hundreds of leagues of water the intelligence that an English ladyhad been wrecked on an unknown island, in longitude 103 deg. 30 min., andbetween the 33d and 26th parallels of south latitude; and calling goodmen and ships to her rescue for the love of God.