Bevis: The Story of a Boy
Page 7
moon-daisies, nor goldenbuttercups, nor red sorrel. There were stalks and flowers, but theplants of the mowing-grass, in which he had no business to be walking,had very little leaf. He tried to see if the flowers turned more oneway than the other, or bowed their heads to the north, as men seem todo, taking that pole as their guide, but none did so. They leaned inany direction, as the wind had left them, or as the sun happened to bewhen they burst their green bonds and came forth to the light.
The wind came past as he looked and stroked everything the way it went,shaking white pollen from the bluish tops of the tall grasses. The windwent on and left him and the grasses to themselves. How should I knewwhich was the north or the south or the west from these? Bevis askedhimself, without framing any words to his question. There was noknowing. Then he walked to the hedge to see if the moss grew more onone side of the elms than the other, or if the bark was thicker androugher.
After he had looked at twenty trees he could not see much difference;those in the hedge had the moss thickest on the eastern side (he knewwhich was east very well himself, and wanted to see if the moss knew),and those in the lane just through it had the moss thickest on theirwestern side, which was clearly because of the shadow. The trees werereally in a double row, running north and south, and the coolest shadowwas in between them, and so the moss grew there most. Nor were theboughs any longer or bigger any side more than the other, it varied asthe tree was closely surrounded with other trees, for each tree repelledits neighbour. None of the trees, nor the moss, nor grasses caredanything at all about north or south.
Bevis sat down in the mowing-grass, though he knew the Bailiff wouldhave been angry at such a hole being made in it; and when he was sittingon the ground it rose as high as his head. He could see nothing but thesky, and while he sat there looking up he saw that the clouds alldrifted one way, towards his house. Presently a starling came past,also flying straight for the house, and after a while another. Nextthree bees went over as straight as a line, all going one after anotherthat way. The bees went because they had gathered as much honey as theycould carry, and were hastening home without looking to the right or tothe left. The starlings went because they had young in their nests in ahole of the roof by the chimney, and they had found some food for theirfledglings. So now he could find his way home across the pathlessprairie by going the same way as the clouds, the bees, and thestarlings.
But when he had reached home he recollected that he ought to know thelatitude, and that there were Arabs or some other people in Africa whofound out the latitude of the place they were in by gazing at the sunthrough a tube. Bevis considered a little, and then went to therick-yard, where there was a large elder bush, and cut a straight branchbetween the knots with his knife. He peeled it, and then forced out thepith, and thus made a tube. Next he took a thin board, and scratched acircle on it with the point of the compasses, and divided it intodegrees. Round the tube he bent a piece of wire, and put the endsthrough a gimlet-hole in the centre of the board. The ends were openedapart, so as to fasten the tube to the board, allowing it to rotateround the circle. Two gimlet-holes were bored at the top corners of theboard, and string passed through so that the instrument could beattached to a tree or post.
He was tying it to one of the young walnut-trees as an upright againstwhich to work his astrolabe, when Mark arrived, and everything had to beexplained to him. After they had glanced through the tube, and decidedthat the raft was at least ten degrees distant, it was clearly of no useto go to it to-day, as they could not reach it under a week's travel.The best thing, Mark thought, would be to continue their expedition insome other direction.
"Let's go round the Longpond," said Bevis; "we have never been quiteround it."
"So we will," said Mark. "But we shall not be back to dinner."
"As if travellers ever thought of dinner! Of course we shall take ourprovisions with us."
"Let's go and get our spears," said Mark.
"Let's take Pan," said Bevis.
"Where is your old compass?" said Mark.
"O, I know--and I must make a map; wait a minute. We ought to have amedicine-chest; the savages will worry us for physic: and very likely weshall have dreadful fevers."
"So we shall, of course; but perhaps there are wonderful plants to cureus, and we know them and the savages don't--there's sorrel."
"Of course, and we can nibble some hawthorn leaf."
"Or a stalk of wheat."
"Or some watercress."
"Or some nuts."
"No, certainly not; they're not ripe," said Bevis, "and unripe fruit isvery dangerous in tropical countries."
"We ought to keep a diary," said Mark. "When we go to sleep who shallwatch first, you or I?"
"We'll light a fire," said Bevis. "That will frighten the lions; theywill glare at us, but they can't stand fire--you hit them on the headwith a burning stick."
So they went in, and loaded their pockets with huge double slices ofbread-and-butter done up in paper, apples, and the leg of a roast duckfrom the pantry. Then came the compass, an old one in a brass case;Mark broke his nails opening the case, which was tarnished, and the cardat once swung round to the north, pointing to the elms across the roadfrom the window of the sitting-room. Bevis took the bow and threearrows, made of the young wands of hazel which grow straight, and Markwas armed with a spear, a long ash rod with sharpened end, which theythrust in the kitchen fire a few minutes to harden in the proper manner.
Besides which, there was Bevis's pocket-book for the diary, and a largesheet of brown paper for the map; you see travellers have not alwayseverything at command, but must make use of what they have. Pan racedbefore them up the footpath; the gate that led to the Longpond waslocked, and too high to be climbed easily, but they knew a gap, andcrept through on hands and knees.
"Take care there are no cobras or rattlesnakes among those dead leaves,"said Mark, when they were halfway through, and quite over-arched andhidden under brambles.
"Stick your spear into them," said Bevis, who was first, and Mark,putting his spear past him, stirred up the heap of leaves.
"All right," said he. "But look at that bough--is it a bough or asnake?"
There was an oak branch in the ditch, crooked and grey with lichen, halfconcealed by rushes; its curving shape and singular hue gave it someresemblance to a serpent. But when he stabbed at it with his spear itdid not move; and they crept through without hurt. As they stood up inthe field the other side they had an anxious consultation as to whatpiece of water it was they were going to discover; whether it was a lakein Central Africa, or one in America.
"I'm tired of lakes," said Mark. "They have found out such a lot oflakes, and the canoes are always upset, and there is such a lot of mud.Let's have a new sea altogether."
"So we will," said Bevis. "That's capital--we will find a new sea whereno one has ever been before. Look!"--for they had now advanced to wherethe gleam of the sunshine on the mere was visible through thehedge--"look! there it is; is it not wonderful?"
"Yes," said Mark, "write it down in the diary; here's my pencil. Bequick; put `Found a new sea'--be quick--there, come on--let's run--hurrah!"
They dashed open the gate, and ran down to the beach. It was a roughdescent over large stones, but they reached the edge in a minute, and asthey came there was a splashing in several places along the shore.Something was striving to escape, alarmed at their approach. Mark fellon his knees, and put his hand where two or three stones, half in andhalf out of water, formed a recess, and feeling about drew out tworoach, one of which slipped from his fingers; the other he held. Bevisrushed at another splashing, but he was not quick enough, for it wasdifficult to scramble over the stones, and the fish swam away just as hegot there. Mark's fish was covered with tiny slippery specks. Theroach had come up to leave their eggs under the stones. When they hadlooked at the fish they put it back in the water, and with a kind ofshake it dived down and made off. As they watched it swim out they nowsaw that thr
ee or four yards from the shore there were crowds uponcrowds of fish travelling to and fro, following the line of the land.
They were so many, that the water seemed thick with them, and some werequite large for roach. These had finished putting their eggs under thestones, and were now swimming up and down. Every now and then, as theysilently watched the roach--for they had never before seen suchcountless multitudes of fish--they could hear splashings further alongthe stones, where those that were up in the recesses were suddenlyseized with panic fear without cause, and struggled to get out, impedingeach other, and jammed together in the narrow entrances. For they couldnot forget their cruel enemies the jacks, and dreaded lest they shouldbe pounced upon while