CHAPTER XX.
The Reservoir.--The Rains.--The Native Companion.--The Employments ofPrison Life.--The Unlucky Chase.--Jack's Tale of Trouble.--Black Peter'sTemptations.--The Release of the Eagle.--The Rescue Party.
The reservoir was six feet deep and ten feet in diameter, and was linedwith flat stones from the interior of the cave, where large slabs werescattered round. This was not completed in one day, and on the secondmorning, while Wilkins and Jack finished the work, and, after digging atrench, laid down a spout of bark between the ponds, Hugh and Geraldwent down to the wood below, to shoot birds. But before the end of theday the workmen were driven to shelter by the violent rain; and the twoboys returned, drenched to the skin, and laden with pheasants,cockatoos, and a wild turkey, as large as an English Christmas turkey,and resembling that bird so much, that the name was considered notinappropriate. They had, thus, a handsome dinner for themselves, andabundance of food for the hungry and somewhat tamed eagle.
They were seated at their late repast when the storm began in earnest;tremendous peals of thunder rolled through the immense hollows of themountain, and seemed to shake the very rocks from their foundation. Ruthscreamed and looked round in distraction, expecting the eruption of thevolcano was at hand; and even the proud eagle trembled to hear the voiceof the skies. Then the rain came down in torrents, showering throughthe leafy coverings of numerous apertures above them, and driving themback into the gloomy security of the solid rocks; grateful for even thatdismal retreat in the sudden storm.
"We need not remain in the dark, though we are in the crypt," said Hugh."Come, Gerald, let us light some flambeaux, and fix them on the walls;then, with all these trailing garlands suspended from above, we mayfancy ourselves in a ball-room."
The caverns were lighted up, and then every one found employment. Mr.Mayburn produced the head and neck of the turkey, which he contemplatedwith much interest.
"It certainly must be the bird described as the _Wattled Talegalla_,Arthur," said he, "and which is considered to represent the turkey inAustralia; the red skin of the head, bright orange wattle, and largedisproportionate feet, prove the fact; and I am gratified that you haveobtained a specimen of it."
"We are all gratified, papa," said Margaret, "for it is the most usefuland delicious bird we have yet found in this ornithological paradise."
The boys employed themselves in thrashing the wild oats, storing thegrain in bags, and then arranging the straw for mattrasses--a perfectluxury to them, after they had for so long slept on the bare ground.They had their knives and axes, and abundant material in the boughs andspare pieces of the tree that was cut down for the ladder; and, to fillup the time, Jack presided over a school of art, where the ingenious andactive employed heads and hands, and produced some articles of greatuse. Margaret took the opportunity to teach lessons of civilization andreligion to the lively little Nakinna, and, through the child, pouredthe words of truth into the heart of the mother. Wilkins, who wasmiserable when unemployed, good-naturedly assisted Jenny and Ruth invarious household matters, made a stone hearth for the fire, helped tocook, piled up the dry fuel, contrived a wattled niche for the fowls,and went out through the rain to bring in water, when needed.
Three or four days were thus passed in contented seclusion, the stormstill continuing unabated; then, though the rain fell incessantly, theprisoners began to be weary, and to have a great desire to visit theworld above. They engaged to bring in fresh provisions, if Jenny wouldprovide dry clothes for them on their return from their foragingexpedition; and with bows, arrows, axes, and game-bags, Wilkins, Jack,and the three boys set out, delighted to return to the light, and to thepure air of heaven, and enjoying even the cool rain.
"Do, Arthur, look at those tall birds with the crimson crest and hugewooden-looking beak," said Hugh. "One of them would be as useful as theturkey was, for a dinner dish. I suppose we must call them storks;though they are really, to us, among the anonymous creatures of thisstrange new world."
"Ye may find t' like of them all over," said Wilkins. "Folks down at t'colony calls 'em 'native companions;' they trust ye, poor rogues, as ifye were their brother; ye might just walk up to yon fellows, and wringtheir necks."
"Which I should certainly object to do, Wilkins," answered Hugh. "Icould not make up my mind to wring the neck, or to feed on, 'mine ownfamiliar friend.' We will be content to reduce the multitude of thenoisy impertinent cockatoos and parrots; or suppose, Arthur, we descendto the glade below, where we can cut more wood, and shoot some opossumsfor our aquiline guest. The skins will make us splendid cloaks to wearthis rainy season."
And, careless of the wet plunge, the joyous youths descended through thebrushwood, and reaching the verdant glade, they shot as many opossums asthey wished; filled some bags with ripe figs, and finally, after a longchase, and many a fall on the moist slippery ground, they secured awandering kangaroo of large size, which, in distress of weather, had bysome means found its way into this enclosed retreat.
Jack had in the mean time barked a tree of the _Eucalyptus_ species, andtying the cumbrous spoil with a rope, he drew it after him up themountain. Wilkins shouldered the kangaroo, and the rest, equally laden,toiled through the bushy, moist, sloping wood, and arrived safely at thecave, to diffuse amusement and contentment among their expectingfriends, and to furnish more employment for their enforced leisure time.They were all invested in dry garments; then Jack examined his prize,and said,--
"Just look at this bark, Mr. Arthur. I have seen none yet so firm andhard; it is completely an inch plank, fit for any sort of work. I couldmake a light wagon of it, if we had any animals to draw it; and, anyhow,I'll set about a table and some seats, directly, and then I'll try somebuckets, and dishes, and such-like things. Now's the time for work, whenthere's no walking."
For many days the ample supply of provisions, and the amusement ofoccupation, reconciled the young men to the gloomy seclusion of theirretreat. During this time a square piece of bark, flattened and smoothedwith sharp stones, was placed on four posts, for a table; long slipssimilarly supported, formed stools and benches. Trenchers, dishes,buckets, and bowls, certainly somewhat rude in form, were next finished,the gum which exuded from many trees near them supplying themplentifully with an admirable cement. There is a charm to civilizedminds in being surrounded with the appliances and arrangements ofdomestic life; and the women became reconciled, and even attached totheir monotonous existence--especially when an occasional cessation ofrain permitted them to live in the front portion of the cave, which wasrendered pleasant and cheerful by the subdued light through the foliage.
A day of fair weather tempted the young men to leave their confinement,and not only to descend to the enclosed glade below, but to venture tobreak through the charmed circle of the wood, and have a scamper overthe plains after the kangaroos and emus which frequented it. And on themargin of a chain of pools, newly filled by the recent rains, they oncemore saw the tall native companion, amid swarms of wild ducks; while,from among the wild oats whirred flocks of small beautiful birdsresembling the quail, but with an elegant crest.
They filled their game-bags with birds, and a troop of kangaroosappearing in sight, they were tempted to pursue them for a considerabletime. At last the animals sought refuge in a spreading thick wood, intowhich Wilkins and Jack, with axes and spears, followed them. The youngboys in the mean time were engaged in chasing a pair of emus; till,weary and unsuccessful, they turned away in disappointment, to join thekangaroo hunters. But just at that moment they were struck with thevexatious sound of the _coo-ee_ of the natives, which proceeded from thewood where the kangaroos had sheltered. This alarming cry decidedthem--especially as Arthur was without his rifle--to return withoutdelay, that they might close the tunnel entrance of their abode.
Keeping as much as possible under the shelter of the trees, they quicklymade their way over the plains to the Black Forest, Gerald frequentlylooking back; at last he said, "Jack and Wilkins are not yet in sight,shall I turn back to seek them
, Arthur, or must I give them a halloo?"
"Neither, my dear fellow," answered Arthur. "However unkind it may seem,we must not risk the discovery of our retreat by attracting the nativesto our heels. Wilkins and Jack must have heard the _coo-ee_ as well aswe; and have most likely hid themselves till the savages have passed andthey can return to us safely. We must keep open, but guard, the entrancetill we see them return. Now, go on, boys; take the game-bags to thecave, and then quietly bring away my rifle and cartridge-case, withoutsaying a word about this vexatious incident. Till you return I willconceal myself behind the bushes, and watch for the return of our twoabsentees."
The boys hastened to the cave, to fulfil their mission; and leavingtheir bags, which contained some of the pretty quails, to divert theattention of Mr. Mayburn and Margaret, they returned to watch silentlyand anxiously, ready to close the entrance as soon as their friendsreturned, or if they should be alarmed by the approach of the natives.Gerald climbed a tree, that he might command the plains moreeffectually, and, from this elevated situation, he startled Arthur bycrying out,--
"Oh, Arthur! he is killed! I know he is killed! Dear old fellow, weshall never see him more! There is only Jack."
"Who is killed? What do you see? Do speak plainly, Gerald," said Arthur,hastily.
"I see him coming by himself," answered the distracted boy. "I mean Isee Jack; not Wilkins. It's quite sure they must have killed him; Jacknever would have left him, if he was living."
The two boys below were now almost as much agitated as Gerald, for theyplainly saw Jack hurrying across the plain alone, and when he drew near,Arthur was quite sure, from his pale and sorrowful countenance, thatsome heavy misfortune had occurred. He plunged into the open tunnel, andthen said, "Close it directly if you please, Mr. Arthur; I am so bad, Ican do nothing."
"But Wilkins! where is Wilkins, Jack?" asked Hugh.
Jack burst into tears as he said, "Oh, Master Hugh! the bad rogues havegot him; and all I could think on, I couldn't help him."
"Are there any hopes? Do you think they will murder him?" asked Arthur,trembling.
"I think not, Mr. Arthur," answered Jack; "but I'll tell you all aboutit as soon as we've closed up this gap, and tried to keep them safe thatare left."
The distressed boys hastened to restore the barrier with particularcare; and then, as they slowly proceeded homeward, Jack related hismelancholy adventure.
"We had got quite into the thick of the wood after that unlucky caperingbeast, when all at once that queer call of the black fellows rung intoour ears. 'We're in for it now, and no mistake, my lad,' said Wilkins tome. 'Just you thrust yourself into that cover, and I'll listen a bit, tomake out their whereabouts.' I forced myself into a thicket, mattedtogether, for about six feet upwards, as thick as this wood round us.You had to fight for every inch of way; and I kept thinking all alongthat he was following me, but he was not. You know, Mr. Arthur, he is agood bit stouter than I am, and my fancy is that he had fought andrustled among the bushes till he'd been found out; for first I heard adog growl, and then I heard his voice, speaking such words as he hasnever said of late--an oath, Mr. Arthur; then followed such yells! and Iknew they had got him.
"Well, my first thought was to make my way out, that I might help him;but just then I got a sight of all the gang of them through the bushes.There could not be less than a hundred; and, worst of all, though he wasnaked, and painted like a savage, I made out at once that bad fellow,Black Peter, among them. Four men had hold of Wilkins. They had takenaway his knife and spears, and Peter was taunting him, as they pulledhim along. I heard him say, 'Thou wast a fool, Wilkins, to stop so longwith them preaching folks; I thought thou'd a bit more spirit--thou,that aimed to take a spell at bush-ranging, like a man. But thou'llcome along with us now, and thou'lt find we're a bit jollier than yonsmooth, long-faced dogs.'
"Then Wilkins spoke out and said, 'I reckon my comrades were somewhatbetter than thine, Peter. Anyhow, we managed to keep clothes to ourbacks.'
"The sly rogue tried to get round poor Wilkins then, and went on,'That's just to please those black rogues, Wilkins; but, man, we're offdown south just now, to pick up stock, and cash too. Then we'll get goodclothes; and as soon as we've done with them, we'll rid ourselves ofthese black fools, and have a grand jollification out of our money.There'll be some fun in that, man. And have these comrades of thine anycash or stuff worth lifting? I'd like that other gun they carried, and,anyhow, some powder and shot. I hav'n't a grain left--all blazed awayafter such game as that,'--and the good-for-nothing fellow pointed tothe poor black natives, that didn't understand a word he had beensaying.
"Wilkins muttered some words, very low, that I couldn't catch; but Ifancy he didn't tell truth, for Peter went on to say and swear that hewould soon be on our track, for we couldn't get far in these rains; andthat Wilkins needn't think to join us, for he would take care and keephim in a safe place--a snuggery, he called it.
"I made up my mind that I would see what and where this snuggery was;and when the men had passed on, and were out of hearing, I cautiouslytracked them to a place in the midst of the wood, which they had clearedby burning down the trees, for there lay the blackened stumps; and acrying sin it was, Mr. Arthur, to waste so much good timber. On oneside there was a great rock, into which they dragged poor Wilkins,through a small opening, and I saw no more of him; but I think theymeant to do him no harm, for there's little doubt Peter wants him to beuseful to him. Wilkins is a shrewd fellow, moreover; and I feel surehe'll try to get away from them. But if they have him, as it were, inprison, what do you say, Mr. Arthur, shouldn't we help him?"
"Certainly, I think we are bound to do so," said Arthur. "But we musthold a council, for we shall have to act with consideration and cautionif we venture to leave our fortress."
There was great distress in the family, and many tears were shed whenthe adventure was communicated to them; for, notwithstanding the formererrors of Wilkins, and his yet unsubdued passions, he was much belovedfor his kind nature and his attachment to his true friends. Mr. Mayburnhimself even gave his sanction to an expedition for the purpose ofattempting the rescue of Wilkins, if he did not return to them in a dayor two.
But for many days after this the rain fell so incessantly that it wasimpossible to leave their shelter, even though all their provisions wereexhausted except the valuable grain, and a scanty supply of eggs fromthe domestic fowls. To these they were able occasionally to add thefruit of a large tree which grew in the glade below, bearing huge pods;each pod contained several almond-shaped seeds, which were enclosed inshells. These nuts were now ripe; they tasted like filberts, and were avery agreeable and nutritious addition to their spare diet.
The wounded eagle, now quite sound, was an object of great interest tothe prisoners: its nature was so fierce, that Arthur despaired of itsever becoming tamed; but it submitted to their approach when theirobject was to bring it food--usually the entrails of the birds, whichhad been reserved for it. But seeing the untamable nature of the bird,and Margaret, especially, having great compassion on its mate, it wasagreed to restore it to liberty; though O'Brien declared the royal birdwould doubtless, before this, have chosen another queen. One morningthere was an intermission of rain; and the opportunity was taken torelease the captive from the bonds which secured its legs. The leafycovering was at the same time removed from the opening above, and theglorious light allowed to stream into the cave. The sight of the sky andthe sensation of freedom roused the energy of the bird, and, with ajoyous fluttering of the wings, it raised itself from the ground, soaredround the confined spot for a minute, then, bursting through theopening, rose proudly to a height above, and after some gyrations, as ifto test its recovered powers, it sailed away beyond the sight of itshospitable protectors, of whom two--Jenny and Ruth--rejoiced greatly atthe departure of a guest so voracious.
"My bonnie hens had to be pinched for that great ugly creature," saidRuth, "when now two are laying every day, and one has been sitting thisfortnight; and she's su
re to be lucky, Miss Marget, for I set her onthirteen eggs; two of 'em, to be sure, were not her own; Master Hughfetched 'em in to make up a lucky cletch."
"Yes," said Hugh, "I should think it was perhaps the first time that anEnglish hen has had the honor of hatching the eggs of the _CuculusPhasianus_."
In due time Ruth's chickens were hatched, to the great amusement of theinmates of the cave; they were carefully tended and out of reach ofdanger, and seemed likely to be reared prosperously, the English familyfraternizing with the Australian intruders most agreeably. A second dayof fair weather determined the anxious young men to set out in search ofpoor Wilkins, lest the savages should have left their fastnesses in therock, to follow their leader in his bush-ranging excursions. Day afterday they had mounted high trees to scan the plain, in hopes of seeingtheir lost companion, or observing the departure of his captors; but nohuman form was seen, and Arthur felt assured that if Wilkins hadeffected his escape, nothing would have prevented him from making hisway through the Black Forest to join them.
It was resolved to take the rifle, with sufficient ammunition todisperse the savages, and also all the weapons they possessed for, inall probability, it would be necessary to storm the fortress. Jack andthe three boys were intended to be the whole force; but Baldabella soearnestly entreated that she might accompany them that they were inducedto admit her into the train. She could throw a boomerang or spear betterthan any of them; her sympathy was excited for Wilkins, who had alwaysbeen her protector; and her knowledge of the habits and the language ofthe people might make her very useful to them.