about a foot and a half long, waswound round the handle of the stock, and the end brought forward throughthe spiral of the hammer. Mark struck a match and lit it.
"What shall we shoot at?" said Bevis, as they went out at the door. Panrushed before and disappeared in the bramble bushes, startling a pair ofturtle-doves from a hawthorn.
"Parrakeets," said Mark. "They're smaller than parrots; you can't shootflying with a matchlock. There's a beech; shoot at that."
The sunshine fell on one side of the trunk of a beech, lighting up thesmooth bark. They walked up till they thought they were near enough,and planted the staff or rest in the ground. Bevis put the matchlock onit, pushed the lid of the pan open with his thumb, and aimed at thetree. He pulled the trigger; the match descended on the powder in thepan, which went puff! The report followed directly.
"Never kicked a bit," said Bevis, as the sulphury smoke rose; the barrelwas too heavy to kick.
"Hit!" shouted Mark, who had run to the tree. "Forty dozen shotseverywhere."
Bevis came with the gun, and saw the bark dotted all over with shot. Hemeasured the distance back to the rest left standing in the ground, bypacing steadily.
"Thirty-two yards."
"My turn," said Mark.
The explosion had extinguished the match, so shutting the pan-lid theyloaded the gun again. Before Mark shot, Bevis went to the tree, andfastened a small piece of paper to the bark with a pin. Mark fired andput three shots through the paper. Pan raced and circled round to findthe game, and returned with his back covered with cleavers which stuckto his coat. After shooting three times each they thought they wouldtry bullets, but with ball they could do nothing. Four times they eachfired at the beech and missed it, though every time they took a morecareful aim.
"The staff's too high," said Mark, "I'm sure that's it. We ought tokneel, then it would be steadier."
Bevis cut the staff shorter, not without some difficulty, for the oldblack oak was hard like iron. The next was Mark's turn. He knelt onone knee, aimed deliberately, and the ball scored the trunk, making agroove along the bark. Bevis tried but missed, so did Mark next time;then again Bevis fired, and missed.
"That's enough," said Bevis; "I shan't have any more shooting withbullets."
"But I hit it once."
"But you didn't hit it twice."
"You never hit it once."
"It wants a top-sight," said Bevis, not very well pleased. "Nobody canshoot ball without a sight."
"You can't put one," said Mark.
"I don't know." The sight was the only defect of the weapon; how tofasten that on they did not know.
"I hit it without a sight," said Mark.
"Chance."
"That it wasn't."
"It's time to have dinner, I'm sure," said Bevis. "The gun is to be putaway now. I'll take it in; you get some sticks for the fire."
"O! very well," said Mark shortly. "But there's plenty of sticks insidethe stockade!"
He followed Bevis and began to make a pile in their enclosed courtyard.Bevis having left the gun in the hut came out and helped him silently.
"It's very hot here."
"Awful!"
"Tropics."
"The sun's overhead."
"Sun-stroke."
"The fire ought to be made in the shadow."
"There's no shadow here."
"Let us go into the wood then."
"Very well--under the beech."
They went out, and collected a heap of sticks in the shade of the beechat which they had been shooting. Mark lit the fire; Bevis sat down bythe beech and watched the flame rise.
"Pot," he said.
"Pot--what?" said Mark, still sulky.
"Fetch the water."
"What?"
"Fetch the water."
"O! I'm not Polly."
"But I'm captain."
"Hum!"
However, Mark fetched the pot, filled it at the shore, and presentlycame back with it, and put it on. Then he sat down too in the shade.
"You've not finished," said Bevis.
"What else?"
"What else; why the bacon."
"Get it yourself."
"Aren't you going?"
"No."
Bevis went to the hut, cut off a slice of bacon, and put it on.
Mark went to the hut, fetched a handful of biscuits and two apples, andbegan to eat them.
"You never brought me any," said Bevis.
"You never ordered me, captain."
"Why can't you be agreeable?"
"Why can't you ask anybody, and do something yourself, too."
"Don't be a stupe," said Bevis, "so I will. But get me a biscuit, nowdo." At this Mark fetched the bag for him.
"We shall have to wait a long time for our dinner," he said. "They'rejust having a jolly one at home."
"While they're at home and comfortable we're on an island seven thousandmiles from anywhere."
"Savages all round."
"Magic things."
"If they only knew, wouldn't they be in a state."
"Ships fitted out to find us. But they would not know which way tosail."
"No charts."
"Nothing."
"Never find us. I say, get a fork and try the bacon."
"Don't look done."
"Put some more sticks on. I say; we forgot the potatoes."
"O! bother. It's hot; don't let's have any. Let's sit still."
"Right."
Pan looked from one to the other, ran round and came back, went into theunderwood and came out again, but finding that it was of no use, andthat the gun was really put aside, he presently settled down like themin the shade, and far enough from the fire not to feel any heat from it.
"Oaks are banyans, aren't they?" said Mark. "They used to be, youknow," remembering the exploration of the wood.
"Banyans," said Bevis.
"What are beeches?"
"O! teak."
"That's China; aren't we far from China?"
"Ask me presently when I've got the astrolabe."
"What are elms? Stop, now I remember; there are no elms!"
"How do you know?"
"Didn't I go round the island one day? Besides, you could see them ifthere were, from the cliff."
"So we could; there are no elms. That shows how different this countryis from any other country ever found."
"Poplars?" said Mark in an interrogative tone.
"Palms, of course. You can see them miles away like palms in a desert."
"Pictures," said Mark. "Yes, that's it. You always see the sun goingdown, camels with long shadows, and palm-trees. Then I suppose it'sAfrica?"
"You must wait till we have taken an observation. We shall see too bythe stars."
"Firs?" said Mark. "They're cedars, of course."
"Of course. Willows are blue gums."
"Then it's near Australia. I expect it is; because, don't you know,there were no animals in Australia except kangaroos, and there are nonehere at all. So it's that sort of country."
"But there are tigers in the reeds."
"Ah, I forgot them."
"Huge boa-constrictors. One of them would reach from here to Serendib.Did you hear that rustling? Most likely that was one."
"Do elephants swim? They might come off here."
"Hippopotami."
"A black rhinoceros; they're rogues."
"Hyenas."
"Giraffes. They can nibble half-way up the palm-trees."
"Pumas."
"Panthers."
"'Possums."
"Yaks."
"Grizzlies."
"Scorpions."
"Heaps of things on your bed and crawling on the ceiling."
"Jolly!"
"Fork up the bacon."
Mark forked it up.
"It looks queer," he said, dropping it in again. "Ought the pot to beon the ashes?"
"There's an iron rod for the kettle to swing
on," said Bevis. "It'ssomewhere in the store-room. Is it eight bells yet?"
"I expect so," said Mark. "Rations are late. A mutton chop now, or afowl--"
"Don't grow here," said Bevis. "You cut steaks from buffaloes
Bevis: The Story of a Boy Page 57