Wild Life in the Land of the Giants: A Tale of Two Brothers
Page 23
things?" said Peter, helping me out.
"Yes, how--are you all at home?"
"Poor Jack!" said Peter. "Why they've knocked you a kind of silly.You'll be better when you've had a sleep."
They carried me to the boat. I remember the motion of it, and Iremember the bright moonlight on the water, but nothing else for anotherday.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
THE STORY OF OUR RESCUE--A DINNER AND A BALL--PETER AND DULZURA.
On our arrival at Sandy Point (_Puenta Arenas_) we, that is Jill and I,had been billeted at a pretty little bungalow belonging to a Chilian,and next morning early Peter came to see us, and tell us the story ofour rescue.
"First and foremost," he began, "let me tell you that I'm precious gladto see you again, Jack, and you too, Greenie; though, bother me if I'mnot beginning to think you're not half so green as you look, for the wayhe was fighting, Jack, when I landed to help you, was a caution tocodgers, I can tell you. Ha, ha! why, I laugh to think how he wasmaking the spear heads fly whenever a few of those Foogies made a thrustat him. How many Greenie killed I couldn't wager; but I'm prettycertain he has found the cannibals in food for a fortnight.
"And you too, Jack. I got a blink of you before you fell. You wereback to back, you two; and what with you being so precious like Jill,and Jill being so precious like you, I'm sure the Foogies werefrightened and took the two of you for one. And of course they're notfar wrong, though you're not fastened together like the Siamese twins bya bit of skin."
"How did you find us?"
"Ay," said Jill, "that's more to the point."
"Well, I'm going to tell you, Greenie, if you'll only give me time. I'dhave told you all about it yesterday, but you wouldn't spare a minuteaway from Jack.
"You see, then, when we got separated in that snow-squall, we did nottake much thought about you at first. We remembered you had a boatcompass, and that Ritchie was a good man, and naturally supposed youwould find your way here.
"The squally weather continued, but in the very thick of it we foundourselves alongside a steamer--the same saucy little Chilian man-o'-warthat so kindly went in search of you. And it isn't fun, I can tell you,to search all up and down among these coves and creeks and islands andforests and glens.
"Well, they took us on board, and made very much of us all the way toSandy Point, and Captain Coates and our little mother Coates, withLeila, are now living with the governor.
"We waited two days to see if you would show your noses. Then matterslooked serious, and as the captain of the gunboat had had several menkilled by the Foogies two summers ago, he all the more readily consentedto go to look for the missing boat.
"Well, we just looked till we found you. That is the long and the shortof it. We searched the wrong shore first. But really I had hoped youhad gone down in the squall; that your boat had foundered, and you hadbeen all drowned-dead, as Ritchie would say."
"But why, in the name of mystery, Peter, did you wish us drowned?"
"Why, because I imagined it would be death somehow; and, to tell you thetruth, I couldn't bear the thoughts of your being killed and eaten.
"Just fancy," continued Peter, looking mischievously at Jill, "justfancy Greenie here served up with parsley and butter sauce, or howeverthey do serve them up."
"Never mind, Peter," I said, laughing; "all's well that ends well."
"Yes, my boy, unless it ends better than well, and that's how it's goingto."
"How do you mean?" asked Jill. "Why, in a ball. And that's what isgoing to be given. There are two ships here, and I'm so glad, becausethere is a pretty Chilian girl that I'm half mad on, the daughter ofsomebody or another, and--and she'll be there. Do you see, Greenie?"
At little outlandish towns like Sandy Point it does not take a very longtime, when ships are alongside, to get up an entertainment of any kind,so in less than a week the ball came off.
It was preceded by a dinner on board the man-o'-war, at which I waspleased to note that Jill was the hero of the hour. I really felt proudof him, but Jill took it all as a matter of course.
The dinner was excellent of its kind, though I think even Captain Coatesmissed the big solid English joints. Here all was made dishes, dishesof surprise you might say. Peter and I sat pretty close together, Jillbeing stowed away among the ladies somewhere, so I knew what Peter did.On the whole I should say he did well, and I should think he must havechanged his plate about twenty times before dessert.
"My object was," he told me next morning, "to taste everything. Iwanted to improve the mind as well as the body. D'ye see?"
"Oh yes, we saw right enough." Peter never failed to be explicit whenhe talked. For the first time in my life, we tasted guanaco and ostrichmeat, and horseflesh; and the commander of the ship positivelyapologised because he had not been able to procure a fry of agouti and acurry of armadillo. I for one readily excused the gallant commander,and I suppose so did Peter; though I know this much, if steak of grampusand roast albatross had been placed before him, he would have felt ithis duty to eat of these dishes.
When talking grew fast and furious, which it did about the middle of theseventeenth course--"the seventeenth round" Peter afterwards styled it--I had time to look around me and note the peculiarities of my companionsat table.
The principal peculiarities of the foreign officers, I soon discovered,were excessive politeness and a gesticulatory method of talking, not byany means approaching to rudeness, but strange to an Englishman's eye.The commander was a short, stout, good-natured little fellow, veryround-faced, and cheerful in eye. I do not wonder at this, if he"fed"--the expression is Peter's--as well every day as we had now done.His officers were second editions of himself, only boiled down, as itwere. There were several gentlemen from the two merchant ships, and twoladies. One of the latter was a captain's wife, who, like our littlemother Coates, preferred to plough the stormy ocean with her husband tostaying at home on the dull shore.
The other lady was she on whom Peter had gone mad, as he told us. Ithink I am right in asserting that poor Peter had eyes for nobody andnothing at table except her. She really was a charming girl. I did notwonder at Peter's all too sensitive heart being smitten with her.Besides, you know, Peter was a sailor. He did not know her Christianname. He had simply given her one. He called her Dulzura, whichcertainly sounds very nice, and means "sweet," "suave," "pleasant,""pretty," and a whole regiment of other nice adjectives.
Near the head of the table sat Dulzura's father. I knew him for herfather at a glance. He was an exceedingly handsome man, butbold-looking as well as handsome, though most deferential andgentlemanly. His age might have been about fifty. I put him down atonce as a soldier, but found out afterwards that, though he had been inthe Chilian army, he was now, if anything, a sportsman and rover.
Well, after the dinner came the ball on the quarter-deck. There was nota great deal of room, certainly, but then our party was not large.
Senor Castizo, as Dulzura's father was called, opened the ball, leadingoff in a waltz with our little mother Coates. Poor little motherCoates! she felt much flattered, but soon got tired. _Darning_ was morein her way than _dancing_. But Castizo was not tired, and no sooner hadMrs Coates retired than, full of glee and delight, there rushed up tohim his daughter. He might have been her elder brother, so gracefullydid he waltz. The two were the admiration of all beholders, especiallyPeter. He was waiting to receive her, and I'll never forget the kindlyyet princely air with which her father handed the young lady over.
Peter led her away in triumph to breathe among the evergreens in theimprovised conservatory. I saw Peter soon after, and I never noticedhim look so happy before.
I saw him later on. He was out near the mainmast. I should have toldyou that the ball was on the upper deck, under an awning beautifullydecorated with flags and greenery. Yes, I saw Peter there, and with himwas Dulzura's father. A glance told me he was doing the agreeable.Both were smoking such huge cigars that really Peter looked small be
hindhis.
I next saw Peter among the musicians, playing on his clarionet. Hissoul seemed in it. His soul seemed more in it when asked by Dulzura toplay a solo. I shall never forget that I did not know before he couldplay so sweetly. Surely, I thought, Peter is inspired.
Well, as far as appearances went that night it was my brother Jill whowas the greater favourite with Dulzura. He could dance better thanPeter.
But next day, when Peter came to breakfast with us, he could speak aboutnothing else but the dinner and ball of the previous evening.
I was amused, too, at the way he spoke to Jill.
"I'm awfully obliged to you, Greenie," he said,