Bunyip Land: A Story of Adventure in New Guinea

  CHAPTER THREE.

  HOW I MADE MY FIRST CHARGE WITH A LANCE.

  We had not been a day at sea before our black follower was in trouble.As a matter of course the men began joking and teasing him about theawkward manner in which he wore his sailor's suit, asking him if itwouldn't be better to have a coat of white paint over him instead, asbeing cooler and less trouble, and the like.

  All this Jimmy took with the greatest of equanimity, grasping the men'smeaning very well, and very often throwing himself flat on the deck andsquirming about, which was his way of showing his delight. But it wasabsolutely necessary that all this banter should come from theEnglishmen. If one of the Malay sailors attempted such a familiarity,Jimmy was furious.

  "Hi--wup--wup!" he exclaimed to me after one of these bouts; "dirtyfellow, brown fellow no good. Not white fellow, not black fellow. Badfor nothing."

  One afternoon the doctor and I were sitting forward watching thebeautiful heaving waves, and talking over the plans we intended tofollow when we landed, and we had agreed that a small party was far morelikely to succeed than a large one, being more suitable for passingunnoticed through the country. We had just arrived at the point ofdetermining that we would engage six natives at a friendly shore villageto carry our baggage and act as guides, when the noise of some troubleaft arose, and we turned to see a Malay sailor lying upon the deck, andJimmy showing his teeth fiercely, waddy in hand, after having given theman what he afterwards called "a topper on de headums."

  We ran up, fearing more mischief, for Jimmy could fight fiercely whenroused; and we were just in time, for as the doctor reached the Malaythe man had scrambled up, drawn his knife, and rushed at the black. Butbefore he could strike, the doctor showed me what wonderful strength ofarm he possessed, by seizing the Malay by the waistband and arm andliterally swinging him over the low bulwark into the sea.

  "That will cool his passion," said the doctor, smiling. "I'm sorry Idid it though, captain," he said the next minute; "these men are veryrevengeful."

  "Too late to say that," cried the captain roughly. "Here, hi! manoverboard! Never mind the boat: he swims like a fish."

  This was plain enough, for the Malay was making his way swiftly throughthe water, and the captain ran aft with a coil of rope to throw to himfrom the stern.

  I ran too, and could see that as the man struck the water in a peculiarfashion, he held his knife open in his hand, and was thinking whether hewould use it when the captain threw the rope, the light rings uncoilingas they flew through the air and splashed the water.

  "Here, look out!" cried the captain; but the man did not heed, but beganto beat the water furiously, uttering a strange gasping cry.

  "Look, doctor!" I cried, pointing, and leaning forward.

  A low hiss escaped his lips as he, too, saw a dull, indistinct somethingrising through the transparent sea.

  "Yah, hi! Bunyip debble fis!" shouted Jimmy excitedly. "Bite sailor,brown fellow. Hoo. Bite!"

  The black gave a snap and a shake of the head, and then taking the longsharp knife the doctor had given him from his belt, he tore off hisshirt and, it seemed to me, jumped out of his trousers. Then the sunseemed to flash from his shiny black skin for an instant, and he plungedinto the sea.

  The exciting incidents of that scene are as plain before me now I writeas if they had taken place yesterday. I saw the body of the blackstrike up a foam of white water, and then glide down in a curve in thesunlit sea, plainly crossing the course of the great fish, which hadaltered its course on becoming aware of the second splash.

  The Malay knew what he was doing, for ignoring the help of the rope heallowed himself to drift astern, seeing as he did that the shark'sattention had been drawn to the black.

  "He knows what he's about," said the captain. "If he laid hold of thatthere rope, and we tried to draw him aboard, that snipperjack would takehim like a perch does a worm in the old ponds at home. Here, lower awaythat boat, and I'll go and get the whale lance."

  Away went the skipper, while the men lowered the boat; and I was sointent upon the movements of the great fish that I started as the boatkissed the water with a splash.

  The shark was about ten feet long and unusually thick; and as it keptjust below the surface the doctor and I could watch its every movement,guided by the strange but slow wave of the long, curiously-lobed tail.

  "Now, you brown fellow, you come on. Knife, knife!"

  As Jimmy shouted out these words he raised himself in the water andcurved over like a porpoise, diving right down, and at the same momentthe shark gave a sweep with its tail, the combined disturbance making sogreat an eddy that it was impossible to see what took place beneath thesurface. Then all at once there was a horrible discoloration in thesea, and I drew back, holding on by the bulwarks with both hands to keepmyself from falling. For, as the water grew discoloured, so did the airseem to glow before my eyes. I was sick and dizzy; the deck seemed torise in waves, and a curious kind of singing noise in my ears madeeverything sound distant and strange. There was a strange despairingfeeling, too, in my heart, and my breath came thick and short, till Iwas brought partly to myself by hearing a voice shouting for a rope, andthen the mist gradually cleared away, and I became aware of the factthat the boat was moving before me, and that the round, shiny black faceof Jimmy was close at hand.

  A few minutes later both Jimmy and the Malay were aboard, the formerthrowing himself flat on his back to rest, for he was panting heavilyafter his exertions.

  "Big bunyip debble, Mass Joe," he sputtered; "swim more stronger Jimmy,but no got knife. Tick black fellow knife in um lot o' time. Tick itin him frontums, tick it in ums back ums tight, and make um dibe downand take Jimmy much long ways."

  "Why didn't you leave go of the knife, my man?" said the doctor.

  "Leave go dat big noo knife?" cried Jimmy sharply. "Let bunyip fis havedat noo knife?"

  Jimmy did not finish, but shook his head from side to side, so thatfirst one black ear went into the puddle of water on the deck, then theother, while his lips parted in a tremendously long grin, which seemedto say, "Black fellow knows better than to do such a stupid thing asthat."

  Then, as if made of india-rubber, Jimmy drew his heels in, gave aspring, and leaped to his feet, running to the side, and then throwingup his arms with delight.

  "Dere um is, Mass Joe; turn up him under frontums like fis on hook an'line."

  For there was the monster making an effort to keep in its normalposition, as it swam slowly round and round, but always rolling back,and rising helplessly every time it tried to dive.

  "Jimmy sorry for you," cried the black. "Plenty good to eat like muchmuttons. Go down boat bring him board."

  "Well, I don't know about good meat, blackee, but we may as well havehis head to boil out his jaws," said the captain, who was standinglooking on, whale lance in hand.

  "Go down and put him out of his misery, captain," I said, "and take metoo."

  "Oh! all right, my lad," he said, laughing. "You may do the job if youlike."

  "May I?"

  "To be sure," he said; and I jumped down into the boat, after he hadlowered himself, bear fashion, on to one of the thwarts.

  "Here, send out one of the sailors," said the doctor. "I'll go too."

  One of the men returned to the deck, looking rather glum, and the doctortook his place, while I sympathised with that sailor and wished that thedoctor had not spoken, for I felt sure that he had come down into theboat to take care of me, and it made me feel young and childish.

  But I did not show my annoyance, I am glad to say; and a minute laterthe men gave way, and the boat glided slowly towards where the shark haddrifted--I all the while standing up in the bows, lance in hand, full ofthe desire to make use of it, and feeling a cruel, half savage sensationthat it would be exceedingly pleasant to drive that lance right home.

  "Now my water Saint George the Second," cried the doctor banteringly;"mind you slay the sea-dragon."

  "M
ind what you're after, youngster," said the captain. "Give it himclose below the gills; a good dig and then draw back sharp."

  "All right!" I cried back to the captain, for I was offended by thedoctor's chaff; it made me feel small before the men. Then, recallingwhat I had read that a harpooner would do under such circumstances, Ishouted: "Give way, boys!"

  I'd have given something to have been back on board the schooner justthen, for a roar of laughter greeted my command, and I felt that I wasvery young, and had made myself rather ridiculous, while to add to mydiscomfiture the men obeyed my order with such energy that the boat gavea jerk, and I was nearly sent back in a sitting position on the foremostman.

  There was another laugh at this, and the doctor said drily:

  "No, no, my lad; the lance is for the shark, not for us."

  I recovered my balance without a word, and planting my feet firmly wideapart, remained silent and looking very red, while I held my weaponready.

  It was an old rusty affair, with a stiff pole about eight feet long, andwas used by the captain for killing those curious creatures which nodoubt gave rise to the idea of there being such things as tritons ormermen--I mean the manatees or dugongs that in those days used to swarmin the warmer waters of the Eastern Australian coast.

  "Keep it up, my lads; pull!" said the captain, who had an oar over thestern to steer. "We must get back soon."

  I thought this was because the shark, which had ceased to swim round andround, was now laboriously making its way with the current at the rateof pretty well two miles an hour; but as the captain spoke I could seethat he was scanning the horizon, and I heard the doctor ask if anythingwas wrong.

  "Looks dirty," he growled; and I remember wondering half-laughinglywhether a good shower would not wash it clean, when the skipper went on:"Gets one o' them storms now and then 'bout here. Now, my lads; with awill!"

  The water surged and rattled beneath my feet, and I was forgetting myannoyance and beginning to enjoy the excitement of my ride; and all themore that the shark had once more stopped in its steady flight, and wasshowing its white under parts some fifty yards away.

  "Ready, my lad!" cried the captain. "I'll steer you close in. Give ithim deep, and draw back sharp."

  I nodded, and held the lance ready poised as we drew nearer and nearer,and I was ready with set teeth and every nerve tingling to deliver thethrust, when _whish_! _splash_! the brute gave its tail a tremendouslash, and darted away, swimming along with its back fin ploughing thewater, and apparently as strong as ever.

  "Only his flurry, my lad. Pull away, boys; we'll soon have him now."

  The men rowed hard, and the boat danced over the swell, rising up oneslope, gliding down another, or so it seemed to me.

  "He'll turn up the white directly," cried the captain. "Take it coollyand you'll have him. I'll put you close alongside, and don't you miss."

  "Not I, sir," I shouted without turning my head, for it seemed such avery easy task; and away we went once more, getting nearer and nearer,till the back fin went out of sight, came up again, went out of sightthe other way, and then there was the shining white skin glistening inthe sun.

  There was another swirl and the shark made a fresh effort, but this timeit was weaker and the boat gained upon it fast.

  "Now, boys, pull hard, and when I say `In oars,' stop, and we'll runclose up without scaring the beggar. Pull--pull--pull--pull! Now! Inoars!"

  The men ceased rowing, the boat glided on from the impetus previouslygiven, and I was just about to deliver a thrust when the woundedcreature saw its enemy, and as if its strength had been renewed, wentoff again with a dart.

  "Look at that," cried the captain. "Never mind, he's not going to getaway. We'll have him yet."

  "We seem to be getting a long way from the schooner," I heard the doctorsay, and I turned round upon him quite angrily.

  "Oh!" I cried, "don't stop. We nearly had him that time."

  "Well, you shall have another try, my boy," said the captain. "Pullaway."

  We were going pretty fast all the time, and again and again we drewnear, but always to be disappointed, and I stamped my foot with anger,as, every time, the brute darted off, leaving us easily behind.

  "Better let me have the lance, Joe," said the doctor smiling.

  "No, no," I cried. "I must have a try now."

  "Let him be," growled the captain; "nobody couldn't have lanced him ifhe'd tried. Now look out, lad! Steady, boys! In oars! Let's go upmore softly. That's the style. We shall have him this time. Now youhave him, lad; give it him--deep."

  All these words came in a low tone of voice as the boat glided nearerand nearer to where the shark was swimming slowly and wavering to andfro, and in my excitement I drew back, raising the lance high, and justas the monster was about to dash off in a fresh direction I threw myselfforward, driving the point of the lance right into the soft flesh,forgetful of my instructions about a sharp thrust and return, for thekeen lance point must have gone right through, and before I realisedwhat was the matter I was snatched out of the boat; there was a splash,the noise of water thundering, a strangling sensation in my nostrils andthroat, and I was being carried down with a fierce rush into the depthsof the sea.