Gascoyne, the Sandal-Wood Trader

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

  REMARKABLE DOINGS OF POOPY--EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF RESUSCITATION.

  It is time now to return to our unfortunate friends, Corrie, Alice, andPoopy, who have been left long enough exposed on the summit of thecliffs, from which they had expected to be tossed by the savages, whenthe guns of the _Talisman_ so opportunely saved them.

  The reader will observe, that these incidents, which have taken so longto narrate, were enacted in a very brief space of time. Only a fewhours elapsed between the firing of the broadside already referred to,and the anchoring of the _Talisman_ in the bay, where the _Foam_ hadcast anchor some time before her; yet in this short space of time manythings occurred on the island which are worthy of particular notice.

  As we have already remarked, Corrie and his two companions in misfortunehad been bound; and, in this condition, were left by the savages totheir fate. Their respective positions were by no means enviable. PoorAlice lay near the edge of the cliff, with her wrists and ankles sosecurely tied that no effort of which she was capable could set herfree. Poopy lay about ten yards farther up the cliff, flat on her sableback, with her hands tied behind her, and her ankles also secured; sothat she could by no means attain to a sitting position, although shemade violent and extraordinary efforts to do so. We say extraordinary,because Poopy, being ingenious, hit upon many devices of an unheard ofnature to accomplish her object. Among others, she attempted to turnheels over head, hoping thus to get upon her knees; and there is nodoubt whatever that she would have succeeded in this, had not theformation of the ground been exceedingly unfavourable for such amanoeuvre.

  Corrie had shewn such an amount of desperate vindictiveness, in the wayof kicking, hitting, biting, scratching, and pinching, when the savageswere securing him, that they gave him five or six extra coils of therope of cocoa-nut fibre with which they bound him. Consequently hecould not move any of his limbs, and he now lay on his side betweenAlice and Poopy, gazing with much earnestness and no little astonishmentat the peculiar contortions of the latter.

  "You'll never manage it, Poopy," he remarked in a sad tone of voice, onbeholding the poor girl balanced on the small of her back, preparatoryto making a spring that might have reminded one of the leaps of a troutwhen thrown from its native element upon the bank of a river. "Andyou'll break your neck if you go on like that," he added, on observingthat, having failed in these attempts, she recurred to theheels-over-head process--but all in vain.

  "Oh, me!" sighed Poopy, as she fell back in a fit of exhaustion. "It'sbe all hup wid us."

  "Don't say that, you goose," whispered Corrie, "you'll frighten Alice,you will."

  "Will me?" whispered Poopy, in a tone of self-reproach; then in a loudvoice, "Oh, no! it not all hup yet, Miss Alice. See, me go at it agin."

  And "go at it" she did in a way that actually alarmed her companions.At any other time Corrie would have exploded with laughter, but the poorboy was thoroughly overwhelmed by the suddenness and the extent of hismisfortune. The image of Bumpus, disappearing headlong over thatterrible cliff, had filled his heart with a feeling of horror whichnothing could allay, and grave thoughts at the desperate case of poorlittle Alice (for he neither thought of nor cared for Poopy or himself)sank like a weight of lead upon his spirit.

  "Don't try it any more, dear Poopy," said Alice, entreatingly, "you'llonly hurt yourself and tear your frock. I feel _sure_ that some onewill be sent to deliver us. Don't _you_, Corrie?"

  The tone in which this question was put shewed that the poor child didnot feel quite so certain of the arrival of succour as her wordsimplied. Corrie perceived this at once, and, with the heroism of a truelover, he crushed back the feelings of anxiety and alarm which werecreeping over his own stout little heart in spite of his brave words,and gave utterance to encouraging expressions and even to slightlyjovial sentiments, which tended very much to comfort Alice, and Poopytoo.

  "Sure?" he exclaimed, rolling on his other side to obtain a view of thechild, (for, owing to his position and his fettered condition he had toturn on his right side when he wished to look at Poopy, and on his leftwhen he addressed himself to Alice.) "Sure? why, of course I'm sure.D'ye think your father would leave you lying out in the cold all night?"

  "No, that I am certain he would not," cried Alice, enthusiastically;"but, then, he does not know we are here, and will never think oflooking for us in such an unlikely place."

  "Humph! that only shews your ignorance," said Corrie.

  "Well, I dare say I _am_ very ignorant," replied Alice, meekly.

  "No, no! I don't mean _that_," cried Corrie, with a feeling ofself-reproach. "I don't mean to say that you're ignorant in a generalway, you know, but only about what men are likely to do, d'ye see, whenthey're hard put to it, you understand. _Our_ feelings are so differentfrom yours, you know, and--and--"

  Here Corrie broke down, and in order to change the subject abruptly herolled round towards Poopy, and cried with considerable asperity--

  "What on earth d'ye mean, Kickup, by wriggling about your black body inthat fashion? If you don't stop it you'll fetch way down the hill, andgo slap over the precipice, carrying Alice and me along with you. Giveit up now, d'ye hear?"

  "No, me won't," cried Poopy, with great passion, while tears sprang fromher large eyes, and coursed over her sable cheeks. "Me _will_ bu'st demropes."

  "More likely to do that to yourself if you go on like that," returnedCorrie. "But, I say, Alice, cheer up," (here he rolled round on hisother side,) "I've been pondering a plan all this time to set us free,and now I'm going to try it. The only bother about it is that theserascally savages have dropt me beside a pool of half soft mud that Ican't help sticking my head into if I try to move."

  "Oh! then, don't move, dear Corrie," said Alice, in an imploring tone ofvoice; "we can lie here quite comfortably till papa comes."

  "Ah! yes," said Corrie, "that reminds me that I was saying we men feeland act so different from you women. Now it strikes me that your fatherwill go to all the most _unlikely_ parts of the island first; knowin'very well that niggers don't hide in _likely_ places. But as it may bea long time before he finds us"--(he sighed deeply here, not feelingmuch confidence in the success of the missionary's search)--"I shalltell you my plan, and then try to carry it out." (Here he sighed again,more deeply than before, not feeling by any means confident of thesuccess of his own efforts.)

  "And what is your plan?" inquired Alice, eagerly, for the child hadunbounded belief in Corrie's ability to do almost anything he chose toattempt, and Corrie knew this, and was proud as a peacock inconsequence.

  "I'll get up on my knees," said he, "and then, once on them, I caneasily rise to my feet and hop to you, and free you."

  On this explanation of his elaborate and difficult plan, Alice made noobservation for some time, because even to _her_ faculties, (which wereobtuse enough on mechanical matters,) it was abundantly evident that,the boy's hands being tied firmly behind his back, he could neither cutthe ropes that bound her, nor untie them.

  "What d'ye think, Alice?"

  "I fear it won't do, your hands are tied, Corrie."

  "Oh! that's nothing. The only difficulty is how to get on my knees."

  "Surely that cannot be _very_ difficult, when you talk of getting onyour feet."

  "Ha! that shews you're a--I mean, d'ye see, that the difficulty lieshere, my elbows are lashed so fast to my side that I can't use them toprop me up, but if Poopy will roll down the hill to my side, and shoveher pretty shoulder under my back when I raise it, perhaps I may succeedin getting up. What say you, Kickup?"

  "Hee! hee!" laughed the girl, "dat's fuss rate. Look out!"

  Poopy, although sluggish by nature, was rather abrupt and violent in herimpulses at times. Without further warning than the above briefexclamation, she rolled herself towards Corrie with such good-will thatshe went quite over him, and would certainly have passed onward to whereAlice lay--perhaps over the cliff altogether--had not the boy caught
hersleeve with his teeth, and held her fast.

  The plan was eminently successful. By a series of jerks on the part ofCorrie, and proppings on the part of Poopy, the former was enabled toattain to a kneeling position, not, however, without a few failures, inone of which he fell forward on his face, and left a deep impression ofhis fat little nose in the mud.

  Having risen to his feet, Corrie at once hopped towards Alice, after thefashion of those country wights who indulge in sack races, and, goingdown on his knees beside her, began diligently to gnaw the rope thatbound her with his teeth. This was by no means an easy or a quickprocess. He gnawed and bit at it long before the tough rope gave way.At length Alice was freed, and she immediately set to work to undo thefastenings of the other two, but her delicate fingers were not wellsuited to such rough work, and a considerable time elapsed before thethree were finally at large.

  The instant they were so, Corrie said, "Now we must go down to the footof the cliff and look for poor Bumpus. Oh! dear me, I doubt he iskilled."

  The look of horror which all three cast over the stupendous precipiceshewed that they had little hope of ever again seeing their ruggedfriend alive. But, without wasting time in idle remarks, they at oncehastened to the foot of the cliff by the shortest route they could find.Here, after a short time, they discovered the object of theirsolicitude lying, apparently dead, on his back among the rocks.

  When Bumpus struck the water, after being tossed over the cliff, hishead was fortunately downward, and his skull, being the thickest andhardest bone in his body, had withstood the terrible shock to which ithad been subjected without damage, though the brain within was, for atime, incapacitated from doing duty. When John rose again to thesurface, after a descent into unfathomable water, he floated there in astate of insensibility. Fortunately the wind and tide combined to washhim to the shore, where a higher swell than usual launched him among thecoral rocks, and left him there, with only his feet in the water.

  "Oh! here he is, hurrah!" shouted Corrie, on catching sight of theprostrate form of the seaman. But the boy's manner changed the instanthe observed the colour of the man's face, from which all the blood hadbeen driven, leaving it like a piece of brown leather.

  "He's dead," said Alice, wringing her hands in despair.

  "P'rhaps not," suggested Poopy, with a look of deep wisdom, as she gazedon the upturned face.

  "Anyhow, we must haul him out of the water," said Corrie, whose chestheaved with the effort he made to repress his tears.

  Catching up one of Bumpus's huge hands, the boy ordered Alice to graspthe other. Poopy, without waiting for orders, seized hold of the hairof his head, and all three began to haul with might and main. But theymight as well have tried to pull a line-of-battle ship up on the shore.The man's bulky form was immovable. Seeing this, they changed theirplan, and, all three grasping his legs, slewed him partially round, andthus drew his feet out of the water.

  "Now, we must warm him," said Corrie, eagerly, for, the first shock ofthe discovery of the supposed dead body of his friend being over, thesanguine boy began to entertain hopes of resuscitating him. "I've heardthat the best thing for drowned people is to warm them; so, Alice, doyou take one hand and arm, Poopy will take the other, and I will takehis feet, and we'll all rub away till we bring him too--for we must, we_shall_ bring him round."

  Corrie said this with a fierce look and a hysterical sob. Without morewords he drew out his clasp-knife, and, ripping up the cuffs of theman's coat, laid bare his muscular arm. Meanwhile Alice untied hisneckcloth, and Poopy tore open his Guernsey frock and exposed his broadbrown chest.

  "We must warm that at once," said Corrie, beginning to take off hisjacket, which he meant to spread over the seaman's breast.

  "Stay, my petticoat is warmer," cried Alice, hastily divesting herselfof a flannel garment of bright scarlet, the brilliant beauty of whichhad long been the admiration of the entire population of Sandy Cove.The child spread it over the seaman's chest, and tucked it carefullydown at his sides, between his body and the wet garments. Then thethree sat down beside him, and, each seizing a limb, began to rub andchafe with a degree of energy that nothing could resist! At any rate itput life into John Bumpus, for that hardy mariner gradually began toexhibit signs of returning vitality.

  "There he comes," cried Corrie, eagerly.

  "Eh!" exclaimed Poopy, in alarm.

  "Who? where?" inquired Alice, who thought that the boy referred to someone who had unexpectedly appeared on the scene.

  "I saw him wink with his left eye--look!" All three suspended theirlabour of love, and, stretching forward their heads, gazed withbreathless anxiety at the clay-coloured face of Jo.

  "I must have been mistaken," said Corrie, shaking his head.

  "Go at him agin," cried Poopy, recommencing her work on the right armwith so much energy that it seemed marvellous how she escaped skinningthat limb from fingers to shoulder.

  Poor Alice did her best, but her soft little hands had not much effecton the huge mass of brown flesh they manipulated.

  "There he comes again!" shouted Corrie. Once more there was an abruptpause in the process, and the three heads were bent eagerly forwardwatching for symptoms of returning life. Corrie was right. Theseaman's left eye quivered for a moment, causing the hearts of the threechildren to beat high with hope. Presently the other eye also quivered;then the broad chest rose almost imperceptibly, and a faint sigh camefeebly and broken from the cold blue lips.

  To say that the three children were delighted at this would be to givebut a feeble idea of the state of their feelings. Corrie had, even inthe short time yet afforded him of knowing Bumpus, entertained for himfeelings of the deepest admiration and love. Alice and Poopy, out ofsheer sympathy, had fallen in love with him too, at first sight, so thathis horrible death, (as they had supposed,) coupled with his unexpectedrestoration and revival through their unaided exertions, drew them stillcloser to him, and created within them a sort of feeling that he must,in common reason and justice, regard himself as their special propertyin all future time. When, therefore, they saw him wink and heard himsigh, the gush of emotion that filled their respective bosoms was quiteoverpowering. Corrie gasped in his effort not to break down; Alice weptwith silent joy as she continued to chafe the man's limbs; and Poopywent off into a violent fit of hysterical laughter, in which her "hee,hees!" resounded with terrible shrillness among the surrounding cliffs.

  "Now, then, let's to work again with a will," said Corrie; "what d'yesay to try punching him?"

  This question he put gravely, and with the uncertain air of a man whofeels that he is treading on new and possibly dangerous ground.

  "What is punching?" inquired Alice.

  "Why, _that_," replied the boy, giving a practical and by no meansgentle illustration on his own fat thigh.

  "Wouldn't it hurt him?" said Alice, dubiously.

  "Hurt him! hurt the Grampus!" cried Corrie, with a look of surprise,"you might as well talk of hurting a hippopotamus. Come, I'll try."

  Accordingly, Corrie tried. He began to bake the seaman, as it were,with his fists. As the process went on he warmed to the work, and didit so energetically, in his mingled anxiety and hope, that it assumedthe character of hitting rather than punching--to the dismay of Alice,who thought it impossible that any human being could stand such dreadfultreatment.

  Whether it was to this process, or to the action of nature, or to thecombined efforts of nature and his friends, that Bumpus owed hisrecovery, we cannot pretend to say; but certain it is that, on Corriemaking a severer dab than usual into the pit of the seaman's stomach, hegave a gasp and a sneeze, the latter of which almost overturned Poopy,who chanced to be gazing wildly into his countenance at the moment. Atthe same time he involuntarily threw up his right arm, and fetchedCorrie such a tremendous backhander on the chest that our young hero waslaid flat on his back--half stunned by the violence of his fall, yetshouting with delight that his rugged friend still lived to strikeanother blow. />
  Having achieved this easy though unintentional victory, Bumpus sighedagain, shook his legs in the air, and sat up, gazing before him with abewildered air, and gasping from time to time in a quiet way.

  "Wot's to do?" were the first words with which the restored seamangreeted his friends.

  "Hurrah!" screamed Corrie, his visage blazing with delight, as he dancedin front of him.

  "Werry good," said Bumpus, whose intellects were not yet thoroughlyrestored, "try it again."

  "Oh! how cold your cheeks are," said Alice, placing her hands on them,and chafing them gently; then, perceiving that she did not communicatemuch warmth in that way, she placed her own fair soft cheek against thatof the sailor. Suddenly throwing both arms round his neck, she huggedhim, and burst into tears.

  Bumpus was somewhat taken aback by this unexpected explosion, but, beingan affectionate man as well as a rugged one, he had no objectionwhatever to the peculiar treatment. He allowed the child to sob on hisneck as long as she chose, while Corrie stood by with his hands in hispockets, sailor-fashion, and looked on admiringly. As for Poopy, shesat down on a rock a short way off, and began to smile and talk toherself in a manner so utterly idiotical that an ignorant observer wouldcertainly have judged her to be insane.

  They were thus agreeably employed when an event occurred which changedthe current of their thoughts, and led to consequences of a somewhatserious nature. This event, however, was in itself insignificant. Itwas nothing more than the sudden appearance of a wild-pig among thebushes close at hand.