Lost in the Forest: Wandering Will's Adventures in South America by Ballantyne (best large ebook reader txt) đ
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- Author: Ballantyne
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The costume of these wanderers, like their small possessions, was varied. All wore white duck trousers and blue Guernsey or cotton shirts with souâ-westers or straw hats, but the coats and cravats differed. Larry wore a rough pilot-cloth coat, and, being eccentric on the point, a scarlet cotton neckerchief. Old Peter wore a blue jacket with a black tie, loosely fastened, sailor fashion, round his exposed throat. Muggins wore the dirty canvas jacket in which he had been engaged in scraping down the masts of the Rover when he left her. Will Osten happened to have on a dark blue cloth shooting-coat and a white straw hat, which was fortunate, for, being in reality the leader of the party, it was well that his costume should accord with that responsible and dignified position. They had no weapons of any kind, so their first care was to supply themselves with stout cudgels, which each cut in proportion to his notions of the uses and capacities of such implementsâthat of Larry OâHale being, of course, a genuine shillelah, while the weapon cut by Muggins was a close imitation of the club of Hercules, or of that used by the giant who was acquainted with the celebrated giant-killer named Jack!
âNow, boys, if weâre goinâ to ait and slaip, the sooner we set about it the better,â observed Larry, rising and commencing to collect sticks for a fire. The others immediately followed his example, and in a few minutes a bright blaze illuminated the dark recesses of the tangled forest, while myriads of sparks rose into and hung upon the leafy canopy overhead. There was something cheering as well as romantic in this. It caused the wanderers to continue their work with redoubled vigour. Soon a fire that would have roasted an ox whole roared and sent its forked tongues upwards. In the warm blaze of it they sat down to their uncommonly meagre supper of half a biscuit and a small bit of cheese eachâwhich was washed down by a draught from a neighbouring stream.
They had finished this, and were in the act of lighting their pipes, when a roar echoed through the woods which caused them to pause in their operations and glance uneasily at each other.
âSure, itâs a tiger!â exclaimed Larry.
âThereâs no tigers in them parts,â said Muggins.
âI donât know that, lad,â observed Old Peter.
âIâve hearâd that there are jaguars anâ critters oâ that sort, which is as big and as bad as tigers, anâ goes by the name, but pârapsââ
Old Peterâs observations were here cut short by the loud report of a gun close at hand. As if by instinct every man leaped away from the light of the fire and sheltered himself behind a tree. For some time they stood listening eagerly to every sound, but no foe appeared, nor was there a repetition of the shot. The longer they listened the more inclined were they to believe that their senses had deceived them, and Larry OâHaleâs heart was beginning to make a troublesome attack on his ribs, as he thought of ghostsâespecially foreign ghostsâwhen all eyes were attracted to a human form which appeared to flit to and fro among the tree stems in the distance, as if to avoid the strong light of the fire.
Knowing that one man with a gun could make certain of shooting the whole party if he chose, and that he would not be more likely to attempt violence if trust in his generosity were displayed, Will Osten, with characteristic impetuosity, suddenly walked into the full blaze of the firelight and made signals to the stranger to approach. Larry and the others, although they disapproved of the rashness of their young leader, were not the men to let him face danger alone. They at once joined him, and awaited the approach of the apparition.
It advanced slowly, taking advantage of every bush and tree, and keeping its piece always pointed towards the fire. They observed that it was black and partially naked.
Suddenly Muggins exclaimedâ âI do bâlieve itâsââ He paused.
âSure, itâs the niggerâoch! av it isnât Bunco!â cried Larry.
Bunco it was, sure enough, and the moment he perceived that he was recognised, he discarded all precaution, walked boldly into the encampment, and shook them all heartily by the hand.
âSure yer face is a sight for sore eyes, though it is black and ugly,â exclaimed Larry, as he wrung the hand of the good-humoured native, who grinned from ear to ear with delight at having found his friends.
âWot ever brought ye here?â inquired Muggins.
âMine legses,â replied Bunco, with a twinkle in his coal-black eyes.
âYer legses, eh?â repeated Muggins in a tone of sarcasmââso I supposes, for itâs on them that a man usually goeses; but what caused you for to desart the ship?â
ââCause I no want for be pyrit more nor yourself, Mister Mugglesââ
âMuggins, you lump of ebonyâdonât miscall me.â
âWell, dat be all sameâonly a litil bit more ogly,â retorted Bunco, with a grin, âanâ me no want to lose sight ob Doctor Osân here: me come for to show him how to go troo de forest.â
âThatâs right, my good fellow,â cried Will, with a laugh, slapping the native on the shoulder; âyou have just come in the nick of time to take care of us all, for, besides having utterly lost ourselves, we are quite ignorant of forest ways in this regionâno better than children, in fact.â
âTrue for ye, boy, riglar babes in the wood, as I said before,â added Larry OâHale.
âWell, that being the case,â continued Will, âyou had better take command at once, Bunco, and show us how to encamp, for we have finished our pipes and a very light supper, and would fain go to sleep. Itâs a pity you did not arrive sooner, my poor fellow, for we have not a scrap of food left for you, and your gun will be of no use till daylight.â
To this Bunco replied by displaying his teeth and giving vent to a low chuckle, while he lifted the flap of his pea-jacket and exhibited three fat birds hanging at the belt with which he supported his nether garments.
âHooray!â shouted Larry, seizing one of the birds and beginning to pluck it; âgood luck to your black mug, weâll ait it right off.â
âThatâs your sort,â cried Muggins, whose mouth watered at the thought of such a delightful addition to his poor supper. âHand me one of âem, Larry, and Iâll pluck it.â
Larry obeyed; Old Peter seized and operated on the last bird, and Bunco raked the embers of the fire together, while Will Osten looked on and laughed. In a very few minutes the three birds were plucked and cleaned, and Larry, in virtue of his office, was going to cook them, when Will suggested that he had better resign in favour of Bunco, who was doubtless better acquainted than himself with the best modes of forest cookery. To this Larry objected a little at first, but he was finally prevailed on to give in, and Bunco went to work in his own fashion. It was simple enough. First he cut three short sticks and pointed them at each end, then he split each bird open, and laying it flat, thrust a stick through it, and stuck it up before the glowing fire to roast. When one side was pretty well done he turned the other, and, while that was cooking, cut off a few scraps from the half-roasted side and tried them.
We need scarcely add that none of the party were particular. The birds were disposed of in an incredibly short time, and then the pipes were refilled for a second smoke.
âHow comes it,â inquired Will, when this process was going on, âthat you managed to escape and to bring a gun away with you? We would not have left the ship without you, but our own escape was a sudden affair; we scarcely expected to accomplish it at the time we did. I suppose you had a sharp run for it?â
âRun! ductor, no, me no runâme walk away quite comfrabil anâ tooked what me please; see here.â
As he spoke, Bunco opened a small canvas bag which no one had taken notice of up to that moment, and took from it a large quantity of broken biscuit, a lump of salt beef, several cocoa-nuts, a horn of gunpowder, and a bag of shot and ballâall of which he spread out in front of the fire with much ostentation. The satisfaction caused by this was very great, and even Muggins, in the fulness of his heart, declared that after all there were worse things than being lost in a forest.
âWell, and how did you manage to get away?â said Will, returning to the original question.
âGit away? why, dis here wos de way. When me did see the rincumcoshindy goinâ on ashore, me say, âNow, Bunco, you time come; look alive;â so, wâen de raskil called de fuss mate orders out de boat in great hurry, me slip into it like one fish. Then dey all land anâ go off like mad into de woods arter youâas you do knows. Ob coorse me stop to look arter de boat; you knows it would be very bad to go anâ leave de boat all by its lone, so wâen deys gone into de woods, me take the mateâs gun and poodair anâ shot anâ ebbery ting could carry offâall de grub, too, but der wornât too moche of datâand walk away in anoder dârection. Me is used to de woods, you sees, so kepâ clear oâ de stoopid seamans, who soon tires der legses, as me knows bery well; den come round in dis dârection; find you tracks; foller im up; shoots tree birds; sees a tiger; puts a ball in him skin, anâ sends him to bed wid a sore headâtoo dark for kill himâarter which me find you out, anâ here me is. Dere. Datâs all about it.â
âA most satisfactory account of yourself,â said Will Osten.
âAnâ purtily towld,â observed Larry; âwhere did ye larn English, boy, for ye have the brogue parfict, as me granâmother used to say to the pig when she got in her dotage (me granâmother, not the pig), âonly,â says she, âthe words isnât quite distincâ.â Couldnât ye give us a skitch oâ yer life, Bunco?â
Thus appealed to, the gratified native began without hesitation, and gave the following account of himself:â
âMe dun know when me was bornââ
âFaix, it wasnât yesterday,â said Larry, interrupting.
âNo, nor de day before to-morrow nother,â retorted Bunco; âbut it was in Callyforny, anyhow. Me fadder him wos a Injinââ
âOh! come!â interrupted Muggins in a remonstrative tone.
âYis, him wos a Injin,â repeated Bunco stoutly.
âWos he a steam-ingine?â inquired Muggins with a slight touch of sarcasm.
âHe means an Indian, Muggins,â explained Will.
âThen why donât he say wot he means?
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