King o' the Beach: A Tropic Tale

  CHAPTER TWELVE.

  Doctor Kingsmead said nothing about his adventures until he had made ahearty meal and grown cooler. Then he began to talk cheerily.

  "Something for you to cook, Bostock," he said; "they'll make a pleasantchange after so much tinned and salt meat."

  "Where did you shoot those?" asked Carey.

  "Up yonder in the open forest under one of the trees, not far from theriver. There are plenty of them about, and so tame that I feltsatisfied that there were no blacks near."

  "Then you've seen no signs of any, sir?" asked Bostock.

  "Not a sign."

  "That's good, sir, but it don't mean much, for we might have a visitfrom a big canoe-full at any time."

  "How far did you go?" asked Carey.

  "To where the little river glides out of a lake up yonder in the hills.I fancy it must have been the crater of a volcano, for I kicked againstpieces of obsidian and slag. The volcanic glass broke up with edges assharp as a razor."

  "But how far was it to the lake?" asked Carey.

  "Ah, that I can't tell you in miles. In time it was two hours and ahalf hard walking. Coming back, one hour and a half. I was away justabout four hours."

  "Did you get a good view from the lake, sir?"

  "No, but I climbed a peak close by it, and from there I could see allround the island."

  "Round the island!" grunted Bostock, nodding.

  "Yes, round the island; and nearly all round it at a distance are reefsof coral, with the rollers breaking upon them in white foam."

  "Then it's only a little place," said Carey.

  "Yes, only a few miles across."

  "And all ours. Doctor Kingsmead, we ought to take possession of thisplace for our own. But I say, did you see anything wonderful?"

  "N-no. Plenty of beautifully coloured birds; lovely flowers inabundance. Beetles and butterflies as beautiful as I ever saw."

  "Any snakes?"

  "I saw none, and I should hardly think there would be any; but I saw twocrocodiles."

  "Did you?" cried Carey. "Where--up in the lake?"

  "No, directly after I started, in the little river. Monsters."

  "Any fish in the lake?"

  "I could not tell. Most likely there would be. But I'm tired with mywalk. I'll tell you more as I think of what I saw."

  "Just one thing, sir," said Bostock, apologetically. "When you was upatop of the peak, could you see land anywheres?"

  "I could not be quite sure, but I think so, in three differentdirections. I certainly saw reefs with the breaking water in severalplaces as far as I could see. I ought to have taken a glass with me.Next time I go up I will. Well, what have you been about?"

  Carey eagerly related how they had passed the morning, not forgettingthe fishing and the pearls.

  "Well," said the doctor, "we shall not starve. Pearl shell and pearls,eh? We must collect and save all we can, and I should think that wecould collect enough cocoanuts to be very valuable, so that when thetime comes for us to leave this place we shall not go empty away."

  The rest of the afternoon was spent leisurely strolling about the shore,for the most part in the shade of the cocoanut grove, a couple of thenuts being cleverly knocked down by throws with the hatchet, usedboomerang fashion, fortunately for the throwers without its displayingany of that weapon's returning qualities.

  They strolled on as far as the mouth of the river, where it glided as ashallow stream into the sea, not without result--a satisfactory one toCarey, who was well in advance, threading his way amongst the masses ofbleached coral which here encumbered the shore.

  Bostock was about to close up with the lad, but the doctor checked him.

  "Let him have the satisfaction of saying that he was the first todiscover the mouth of the river," he said; but the words were hardly outof his lips when they saw the boy begin to stalk something, for hestopped and crept behind a mass of rock, and then after peeringcautiously round it he crept to another and another till he was hiddenfrom the lookers-on.

  But directly after he re-appeared about a couple of hundred yards away,and signed to them to approach cautiously.

  "Look to your gun, sir," whispered Bostock, cocking the one he carried."He's seen a canoe."

  "Think so?" said the doctor, rather excitedly, following the oldsailor's example.

  "I just do, sir, for there's nothing else he's likely to see. Therearen't no wild beasts and things in an island like this. Better lookout."

  Following out Carey's tactics, they crept from rock to rock till theyreached the mass which sheltered Carey, who waited till they were closeup, and then whispered, "Quick! look round that side drawn out on thesands by the water."

  "Then it is," said the doctor to himself, and troubles with a canoe-loadof blacks rose before his eyes as he advanced to the rock, peered roundone side, while Bostock as cautiously peered round the other, eachoccupying some time, Carey anxiously eager to follow their example, butunable to do so without being seen.

  Quite a couple of minutes had elapsed before the pair drew back, lookedat each other, and then turned to Carey.

  "Well," he whispered, impatiently, "can't you see it?"

  "See what?" whispered back the doctor. "Is that a canoe full ofblacks?"

  "No!" cried Carey, in a voice full of disgust; "an enormous crocodile,sleeping in the sun."

  Both looked round the side of the sheltering rock again, and Bostock'shead popped back.

  "There!" said Carey, eagerly.

  "Where?" said Bostock. "There aren't nothing but some bits o' stone andseaweed."

  "Nonsense!" cried Carey, impatiently. "You can see it, can't you,doctor?"

  "No, I see nothing," was the reply.

  "Here, let me look again," cried Carey, and the doctor made way.

  "Oh!" ejaculated the boy, in a disappointed tone; "it's gone!"

  Bostock shook his head solemnly.

  "You're a-getting better, young gen'leman," he said.

  "Of course I am," said Carey; "but what do you mean?"

  "You shouldn't, sir. There was a young chap once as kep' sheep, andhe'd got a larky sort o' sperrit, and every now and then he used tobegin running, and--"

  "Yes, yes, I know," cried Carey, indignantly; "and cry `wolf! wolf!'But do you think--"

  "He's been gammoning on us, sir," said Bostock to the doctor.

  "I haven't! I wouldn't play such a trick," cried Carey, indignantly."There was a great crocodile that looked five-and-twenty or thirty feetlong lying close to the water when I signed to you both to come. Itwasn't twenty feet away."

  "Where 'bouts were it, then, sir?" growled the old fellow, onlyhalf-convinced.

  "Come and see," cried Carey, and he hurried round the rock, followed byhis companions; but there was apparently no sign of any reptile, tillthe doctor pointed to a great groove in the soft dry sand.

  "Yes, that's where he was," cried Carey. "Ah! and look here. You cansee the marks of his paws."

  "I see," cried the doctor. "Yes, Carey, it must have been a monster."

  "Pst! pst!" whispered Bostock, raising his gun, and pointing away totheir right.

  "Don't fire," said the doctor, hurriedly; "those small shot cartridgesare of no use. See it, Carey?"

  "No! Where?"

  "Yonder, floating and looking this way. You can only see the monster'seyes."

  "Where--where? Ah, I see; those two knobs close together?"

  "Yes; the brute must have taken alarm, and glided back into the river.It is evidently watching us."

  "Beg your pardon, Master Carey. I thought it was games. Well, sir,it's a good job you see that chap. We know he harnts the place. Whoknows but what you might ha' took a fancy to bathe there some day?"

  "I was thinking what a beautiful place it would be, because there'd beno fear of sharks in such a shallow place."

  "No sharks perhaps, sir, but they're innocent babies to a thing likethat. Why, he might have swept you in with his tail befo
re you'dundressed yourself. You and clothes and all."

  "What are you going to do?" said the doctor, as the old sailor handedCarey the gun and stooped to pick up a piece of coral as big as achild's head.

  "On'y going to show him, cunning as he is, thinking that he's snugly hidunder water, that we can see him, and that we know what's the meaning oftwo knobs on the water."

  The doctor nodded and looked on, Carey feeling an intense longing tofollow the old sailor's example, but feeling that it would be some timebefore he could throw a heavy stone.

  Meanwhile Bostock walked slowly to the edge of the water, and then alongtowards the sea, reducing the distance till he was not abovefive-and-twenty yards from the floating reptile, when he stopped shortand pitched the lump of coral with pretty good aim; but as it describedan arc and was still in the air, there was a tremendous wallow, a waverose on the surface, and they could trace the course taken by themonster, which, with one tremendous stroke of its powerful tail, glidedright away towards the sea.

  "Wish it had made a dint in his skull," said Bostock. "Beasts! how I dohate 'em! Dessay there's lots more, so we shall have to take care."

  "How big was it, Bob?" said Carey, triumphantly.

  "Oh, I wouldn't like to say, sir. I've seen a lot of 'em in my time--Africa, Indy, and in Chinee waters, as well as off the east coastyonder; but I should think this must be all you said. P'raps more."

  Satisfied with the day's adventures, they now made for the raft, andwere soon after sailing slowly across to the stranded vessel, where thatevening Bostock was in his glory with the cook's stove sending up acloud of black smoke, and saucepan and frying-pan were well occupied inthe preparation of soup and fish.

  "The pigeons'll have to stay till to-morrow, Master Carey," he said,confidentially. "But I say, sir, don't say as that hyster soup aren'tgood."

  The lad did not. In fact he was helped twice, while the doctor sent athrill of pride through the old sailor as he made comparisons between itand turtle.

  "Well, no, sir," said the old fellow, modestly, "not so good as that. Idessay, though, we shall find some turtle floating in this lagoon. Ifwe do we must get one, and then you shall see the difference."

  "Do you think they are likely to be about these shores?"

  "Sure to be, sir. We shall see one, I dessay, floating on the water,fast asleep; and I dessay we shall find something else, Master Carey,and if we do, look out."

  "What for?"

  "Sea-serpents, sir. I've seen 'em."

  "What! have you seen the sea-serpent?" said Carey, laughing.

  "Ah, I mean the black and yaller ones as basks in the calm sea 'boutthese parts, six, eight, and ten foot long, and as poisonous as any o'them on land; so be on the look-out, sir; I knowed one man as died froma bite."