Bevis: The Story of a Boy

by Richard Jefferies

kangaroos so much. "Then, it could not have been Pan."

  "And I don't see how rats could climb up, either," said Mark. "Theposts," (to which the shelf was fixed) "are upright--"

  "Mice can run up the leg of a chair," said Bevis.

  "That's only a short way; this is--let me see--why it's higher than yourshoulder."

  "If it was not Pan, nor rats, what could it be?" said Bevis.

  "Something's been here," said Mark; "Pan could smell it when he camein."

  "Something was up in the oak," said Bevis, "and now he's gone racinglight to the other end of the island."

  "Something took the bit of bacon on the ground."

  "And gnawed the jack's head."

  "And had the piece of damper."

  "And took the potatoes."

  "Took the potatoes twice--the cooked ones and the raw ones."

  "It's very curious."

  "I don't believe Pan could have jumped up--he would have shaken theother things off the shelf, too, if he had got his great paws on."

  "It must have been something," said Bevis; "things could not go off bythemselves."

  "There's something in the island we don't know," said Mark, nodding hishead up and down, as was his way at times when upset or full of an idea.

  "Lions!" said Bevis. "Lions could get up."

  "We should have heard them roar."

  "Tigers?"

  "They would have killed Pan."

  "But you think there's one in the reeds."

  "Yes, but he did not come here."

  "Boas?"

  "No."

  "Panthers?"

  "No."

  "Something out of the curious wave you saw?"

  "Perhaps. Well, it _is_ curious now, isn't it?" said Mark. "Justthink; first, Pan could not have had it, and then rats could not havehad it, but it's gone."

  "Pan, Pan," shouted Bevis sternly, as the spaniel came in at the gatewayhesitatingly; "come here." The spaniel crouched, knowing that he shouldhave a thrashing.

  "See if anything's bitten him," said Mark. "What have you been after,sir?"

  He examined Pan carefully; there were no signs of a fight on him--nothing but cleavers or the seeds of goose-grass clinging to his coat.Bang--thump--thump! yow! Pan had his thrashing, and crept after them toand fro, not even daring to curl himself up in a corner, but dragginghimself along on the ground behind them.

  "Think," said Mark, as he turned the mushrooms on the gridiron; "now,what was it?"

  "Not a fox?" said Bevis.

  "No; foxes would not swim out here; there are plenty of rabbits for themin the jungle on the mainland."

  "Nor eagles?"

  "No."

  "Might be a cat."

  "But there are no cats on the island, and, besides, cats would not takebacon when there were the two moorhens on the shelf."

  "No; Pan would have had the moorhens too, if it had been him."

  "So would anything, and that's why it's so curious."

  "Nobody could have come here, could they?" said Bevis. "The punt's atthe bottom, and the Pinta's chained up--"

  "And we must have seen them if they swam off."

  "Nobody can swim," said Bevis, "except you and me and the governor."

  "No," said Mark, "no more they can--not even Big Jack."

  "Nobody in all the place but us. It could not have been the governor,because if he found the hut he would have stopped to see who lived init."

  "Of course he would. And besides, he could not have come without ourknowing it; we are always about."

  "Always about," said Bevis, "and we should have seen footsteps."

  "Or heard a splashing."

  "And Pan would not bark at him," said Bevis. "No, it could not havebeen any one; it must have been something."

  "Something," repeated Mark.

  "And very likely out of your magic wave."

  "But what _could_ it be out of the wave?"

  "I can't think; something magic. It doesn't matter."

  They had dinner, and then, as usual, went up on the cliff to wait forCharlie's signal.

  "I shall try and catch some perch to-morrow," said Mark, "if there's anywind. We're always eating the same thing."

  "Every day," said Bevis, "and the cooking is the greatest hatefulnessever known."

  "Takes up so much time."

  "Makes you hot and horrid."

  "Vile."

  "It wants Frances, as I said."

  "No, thank you; I wish Jack would have her."

  Mark looked through the telescope for Charlie, and then swept the shoresof the New Sea.

  "How could anything get to our island?" he said. "Nothing could get toit."

  From the elevation of the cliff they saw and felt the isolation of theirNew Formosa.

  "It was out of your magic wave," said Bevis; "something magic."

  "But you put the wizard's foot on the gate?"

  "So I did, but perhaps I did not draw it quite right; I'll do it again.But rats are made to gnaw the lines off sometimes, and let magic thingsin."

  "Draw another in ink."

  "So I will. There's a sea-swallow."

  "There's two."

  "There's four or five."

  The white sea-swallows passed them, going down the water, coming fromthe south. They flew a few yards above the surface, in an irregularline--an easy flight, so easy they scarcely seemed to know where eachflap of the wing would carry them.

  "There will be a storm."

  "A tornado."

  "Not yet--the sky's clear."

  "But we must keep a watch, and be careful how we sail on the raft."

  The appearance of the sea-swallow or tern in inland waters is believed,like that of the gull, to indicate tempest, though the sea-swallowsusually come in the finest of weather.

  "There's Charlie. There are two--three," said Mark, snatching up thetelescope. "It's Val and Cecil. Charlie's waving his handkerchief."

  "There, it's all right," said Bevis.

  "They are pointing this way," said Mark. "They're talking about us.Can they see us?"

  "No, the brambles would not let them."

  "I dare say they're as cross as cross," said Mark.

  "They want to come. I don't know," said Bevis, as if considering.

  "Know what?" said Mark sharply.

  "That it's altogether nice of us."

  "Rubbish--as if they would have let _us_ come."

  "Still, we are not them, and we might if they would not."

  "Now, don't you be stupid," said Mark appealingly. "Don't _you_ gostupid."

  "No," said Bevis, laughing; "but they must come after we have done."

  "O! yes, of course. See, they're going towards the firs: there, they'regoing to cross the Nile. I know, don't you see, they're going round theNew Sea, like we did, to try and find us--"

  "Are they?" said Bevis. "They shan't find us," resentfully. The momenthe thought the rest were going to try and force themselves on his plans,his mind changed. "We won't go on the raft this afternoon."

  "No," said Mark; "nor too near the edge of the island."

  "We'll keep out of sight. Is there anything they could see?"

  "The raft."

  "Ah! No; you think, when they get opposite so as to be where they couldsee the raft, then Serendib is between."

  "So it is. No, there's nothing they can see; only we will not go toonear the shore."

  "No."

  "What shall we do this afternoon?" said Mark, as they went down to thehut. Pan was idly lying in the narrow shade of the fence.

  "We mustn't shoot," said Bevis, "and we can't go on the raft, becausethe savages are prowling round, and we mustn't play cards, nor do somechopping; let's go round the island and explore the interior."

  "First-rate," said Mark; "just the very thing; you take your bow andarrows--you need not shoot, but just in case of savages--and I'll takemy spear in case of the tiger in the reeds, or the something that comesout of the wave."

&n
bsp; "And a hatchet," said Bevis, "to blaze our way. That would not bechopping."

  "No, not proper chopping. Make Pan keep close. Perhaps we shall findsome footmarks of the Something--spoor, you know."

  "Come on. Down, sir." Pan accordingly walked behind.

  First they went and looked at the raft, which was moored to an alder,taking care not to expose themselves on the shore, but looking at itfrom behind the boughs. They said they would finish fitting it upto-morrow morning, and then tried to think of a name for it. Bevis saidthere was no name in the Odyssey for Ulysses' raft, but as Calypso gavehim the tools to make it, and wove the sail for him with her loom, theyagreed to call the raft the Calypso. Then they tried to find a shorterway in to the knoll, which they called Kangaroo Hill, but were stoppedby the impenetrable blackthorns.

  As these were "wait-a-bit" thorns, Mark thought the island could not befar from Africa. Skirting the "wait-a-bits," they found some more hazelbushes, and discovered that the nuts were ripe, and stopped and filledtheir pockets. After all their trouble they had to go round the old wayto get to Kangaroo Hill, and as they went between the trees Bevis cutoff a slice of bark from every other trunk, so that in future they couldwalk quickly guided by the blaze, which would show too in the dusk.

  From the knoll they walked across to the ivy-grown oak, and Bevis gaveMark a "bunt" up into it. Mark found a wood-pigeon's nest (empty, ofcourse), but nothing else. The oak was large and old, not very tall,and seemed decaying; indeed, there was a hollow into which he thrust hisspear, but did not rouse any creature from its lair. There was nothingin the oak. Bevis looked at the bark of the trunk, to see if any wildbeast had left the marks of its claws in climbing up, just as cats do,but there was no trace.

  They then went farther into the wood in the direction Pan had run awayfrom Bevis, and found it sometimes open and sometimes much encumberedwith undergrowth. Nothing appeared to them to be trampled, nor did theyfind any spoor. Pan showed no excitement, simply following, from whichthey supposed that whatever it had been it had gone.

  After awhile they found the trees thinner and the ground declined, andhere in a hollow ash, short and very much decayed within, there was ahive, or rather a nest of bees. There was a shrill hum round it as thebees continually went in and out, returning in straight lines, radiatingto all parts of the compass, so that they did not care to venture toonear. They appeared to be the hive-bees, not wild bees, but a swarmthat had wandered from the mainland.

  How to take the honey was not so easily settled, till they thought ofmaking a powder-monkey, and so smoking them out, or rather stupefyingthem in the same way as the hives were taken at home with the brimstonematch. By damping gunpowder and forming it into a cake it would burnslowly and send up dense fumes, which would answer the same as sulphur.Then they could chop a way into the honeycomb. Seeing a tomtit on abough watching for a chance to take a bee if one alighted before he wentin, they considered it a sign they were off the mainland of Africa, asthis was the honey-bird.

  Several tall spruce firs grew lower down, and under these they could seeover the New Sea to the south-east towards the unknown river. Here theysat down in the shade and cracked their nuts. One or two bees came to aburdock which flowered not far from their feet, but besides the hum asthey passed there was no sound, for the light south-east air, playing inthe tops of the firs, was too idle to sing. Yet the motion of the air,coming off the water, was just sufficient to cool them in the shade.Far away between the trunks they could see the jungle on the mainland.

  Just below, on the shore of the island, a large willow-tree had beenoverthrown by the tempest on the day of the battle, and lay prone in thewater, but still attached to the land by its roots. The nuts were juicyand sweet, but the day was so pleasant that Bevis presently put the nutsdown and extended himself on his back. High above hung the long browncones of the fir, and the dark green of its branches seemed to deepenthe blue of the sky. With half-closed eyes he gazed up into the azure,till Mark feared he would go to sleep.

  "Tell me a story," he said. "I'll tickle you, and you tell me a story.Here's a parrot's feather."

  It was a wood-pigeon's, knocked out as the bird struck a branch in hisrude haste. Mark tickled Bevis's face and neck. "Tell me a story," hesaid.

  "My grandpa is the man for stories," said Bevis. "If you ask him totell you the story of his walking-stick, he'll tell you all about it,and then two or three more; only you must be careful to ask him for thewalking-stick one first, and then he'll give you five shillings."

  "Regular moke," said Mark. "He stumped into London with the stick and abundle, didn't he, and made five millions of money?"

  "Heaps more than that."

  "Now tell me a story."

  "Tickle me then--very nicely."

  "Now go on."

  Volume Three, Chapter V.

  NEW FORMOSA--THE STORY OF THE OTHER SIDE.

  "Once upon a time," said Bevis, closing his eyes now, "there was a greattraveller who went sailing all round every sea--"

  "Except the New Sea," said Mark. "Yes, except the New Sea which wefound, and went riding over all the lands and countries, and climbing upall the mountains, and tramping through all the forests, and shootingthe elephants and Indians and sticking pigs, and skinningboa-constrictors, and finding magicians--"

  "What did the magicians do?"

  "O! they did nothing very particular, one turned himself into a tree andwas chopped up and burned in a bonfire and walked out of the smoke, andlittle things like that; and he went spying everywhere, and learnedeverything, and--"

  "Go on--what next?"

  "He went on till he said it was all no good, because if you went intothe biggest forest that ever was you walked through it in about threeyears--"

  "Like they did through Africa?"

  "Just like it; and if you climbed up a mountain, after a day or two yougot to the top; and if you sailed across the sea, if it was the greatestsea there ever was, you came to the other side in six months or so; sothat it did not matter what you did, there was always an end to it."

  "Very stupid."

  "Very stupid, very; and he got tired of it always coming to the otherside. He did so hate the other side, and he used to dawdle through theforests and lose his way, and he used to pull down the sails and let theship go anyhow, and never touch the helm. But it was no use he alwaysdawdled through the forest after awhile, and--"

  "The wind always took the ship somewhere."

  "Yes, to the hateful other side, and he got so miserable and what to dohe did not know, and he could not stop still very well--nobody can stopstill--and that's why people have got a way of spinning on their heelsin some countries, I forget their names--"

  "Dervishes?"

  "Dervishes of course; well, he became a Dervish, and used to spin roundand round furiously, but you know a top always runs down, and so he gotto the other side again."

  "Stupid."

  "Awful stupid. Now tell me what else he did and could not help comingto the other side?" said Bevis.

  "But it's you who are telling the story."

  "O! but you can put some of that in."

  "Well," said Mark, "if you walk across this island, you come to theother side, or sail down the New Sea in the Pinta, or if you swim out toSerendib, or if you climb up the fir-tree to the cones--"

  "Always the other side," continued Bevis, "and so he said that this wassuch a little world he hated it, you could go all round the earth andcome back to yourself and meet yourself in your own house at home in notime."

  "It's not very big, is it?" said Mark. "Nothing is very big that youcould go round like that."

  "No, and the quicker you get round the smaller it is, though it'sthousands and thousands of miles, so he said; and so he set out again tofind a place where he could wander and never get to the other side, andafter he had walked across Persia and Khorasan and Beloochistan--"

  "And Afghanistan?"

  "Yes, and crossed the Indus and Gange
s, and been over the Himalayas, andinquired at every temple and of all the wise men who live in caves andhang themselves up with hooks stuck through their backs--"

  "Fakirs."

  "At last a very old man took pity on him, seeing how miserable he was,and whispered to him where to go, and so he went on--"

  "Where?"

  "To Thibet."

  "But nobody is allowed to enter Thibet."

  "No; but he had the pass-word, which the aged man whispered to him, andso they let him come in, and then he wandered about again for a longwhile, and by this time he was getting very old himself and could notwalk so fast, so that it took longer and longer to get to the other sideeach time. Till at last, inquiring at all the temples as he