Swiss Family Robinson(fiscle part-3 of 2), Johann David Wyss [acx book reading .TXT] 📗

Fired,  My Mind Was Instantly Filled with

Ideas Of Malay Pirates,  For I Never Dreamed that You Could Be Here In

The Yacht,  So I Disguised myself As You Now See Me,  And Came Forth To

Reconnoitre. When You Addressed me In malay You Only Added to My

Terror,  For It Left Not A Doubt In my Mind That You Were Pirates.'

 

Having in our Turn Described to Him Our Adventure With The Cachalot

Whale,  I Asked him If He Knew Of A Suitable Spot For The Anchorage Of

The Yacht.

 

`Certainly,' He Replied,  Casting towards Me A Glance Full Of Meaning.

`I Can Lead You To An Island Where There Is Splendid Anchorage,  And

Which Is Itself Well Worth Seeing,  For It Contains All Sorts Of Strange

Things.' And After Removing the Stains From His Skin,  He Again Sprang

Into His Canoe And Piloted us To A Picturesque Little Island In the

Bay.

 

Now That There Could Be No Doubt As To The Success Of Fritz'S

Expedition,  I No Longer Hesitated to Give To My Wife An Account Of His

Project,  And To Prepare Her Mind For The Surprise Which Awaited her.

She Was Greatly Startled,  As I Expected,  And Seemed almost Overcome

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With Emotion At The Idea Of Seeing a Human Being,  And That Being one Of

Her Own Sex.

 

`But Why,' She Asked,  `Did You Not Tell Me Of This At First? Why Wait

Until The Last Moment With Such Joyful News?'

 

`I Was Unwilling,' I Replied,  `To Raise Hopes Which Might Never Be

Realized; But Now,  Thank Heaven,  He Has Succeeded,  And There Is No Need

For Concealment.'

 

The Boys Could Not At All Understand The Evident Air Of Mystery And

Suppressed excitement Which Neither Their Mother,  Fritz,  Nor I Could

Entirely Conceal. They Cast Glances Of The Greatest Curiosity Towards

The Island,  And As Soon As The Sails Were Furled and The Anchor

Dropped,  They Sprang Eagerly Ashore. In a Body We Followed fritz,

Maintaining perfect Silence.

 

Presently We Emerged from The Thicket Through Which We Were Passing,

And Saw Before Us A Hut Of Sheltering boughs,  At The Entrance Of Which

Burned a Cheerful Fire.

 

Into This Leafy Bower Fritz Dived,  Leaving his Brothers Without,  Mute

With Astonishment. In another Moment He Emerged,  Leading by The Hand A

Slight,  Handsome Youth,  By His Dress Apparently A Young English Naval

Officer. The Pair Advanced to Meet Us; And Fritz,  With A Countenance

Radiant With Joy,  Briefly Introduced his Companion As Edward Montrose.

 

`And,' He Continued,  Looking at His Mother And Me,  `Will You Not

Welcome Him As A Friend And A Brother To Our Family Circle?'

 

`That Will We,  Indeed!' I Exclaimed,  Advancing and Holding out My

Hands To The Fair Young Stranger. `Our Wild Life May Have Roughened our

Looks And Manners,  But It Has Not Hardened our Hearts,  I Trust.'

 

The Mother,  Too,  Embraced the Seeming youth Most Heartily. The Lads,

And Even The Dogs,  Were Not Behind-Hand In testifying their

Gratification At The Appearance Of Their New Friend--The Former

Delighted at The Idea Of A Fresh Companion,  And The Latter Won By Her

Sweet Voice And Appearance.

 

From The Expressions Made Use Of By Fritz I Perceived that The Girl

Wished her Sex To Remain Unrevealed to The Rest Of The Party Until My

Wife Could Obtain For Her A Costume More Suited to Her Real Character.

 

The Young Men Then Ran Down To The Yacht To Bring up What Was

Necessary For Supper,  As Well As To Make Preparations For A Camp In

Which We Might Spend The Night. This Done,  My Wife Hastened to Set

Before Us A Substantial Meal,  While The Boys,  Anxious To Make Their New

Acquaintance Feel At Home Amongst Them,  Were Doing their Best To Amuse

Her. She Herself,  After The First Feeling of Strangeness Had Worn Off,

Entered fully Into All Their Fun; And By The Time They Sat Down To

Supper Was Laughing and Chatting as Gaily As Any One Of The Rest. She

Admired the Various Dishes,  Tasted our Mead And,  Without Alluding once

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To Her Previous Life,  Kept Up A Lively Conversation.

 

The Mere Fact Of Meeting with Any Human Being after So Many Years Of

Isolation Was In itself Sufficient To Raise The Boys To The Greatest

State Of Excitement; But That This Being should Be One So Handsome; So

Gay,  So Perfectly Charming,  Seemed completely To Have Fumed their

Heads; And When I Gave The Sign For The Breaking-Up Of The Feast,  And

Their New Friend Was About To Be Led to The Night-Quarters Which Had

Been Prepared for Her On Board The Yacht,  The Health Of Edward Montrose

Was Proposed,  And Drunk In fragrant Mead,  Amidst The Cheers And

Acclamations Of All Hands.

 

When She Was Gone,  And Silence Had Been Restored,  Jack Exclaimed:

 

`Now,  Then,  Fritz,  If You Please,  Just Tell Me Where You Came Across

This Jolly Fellow. Did You Take Your Mysterious Voyage In search Of

Him,  Or Did You Meet Him By Chance? Out With Your Adventures,  While We

Sit Comfortably Round The Fire.'

 

So Saying,  Jack Cast More Wood Upon The Blazing pile,  And Throwing

Himself Down In his Usual Careless Fashion,  Prepared to Listen

Attentively.

 

Fritz,  After A Few Moments' Hesitation,  Began: `Perhaps You Remember,'

Said He,  `How,  When I Returned from My Expedition In the Cajack The

Other Day,  I Struck Down An Albatross. None But My Father At The Time

Knew,  However,  What Became Of The Wounded bird,  Or Even Thought More

About It. Yet It Was That Albatross Who Brought Me Notice Of The

Shipwrecked stranger; And He,  Too,  I Determined should Carry Back A

Message,  To Cheer And Encourage The Sender.

 

`I First,  As You Know,  Prepared my Cajack To Carry Two Persons; And

Then,  With A Heart Full Of Hope And Trust,  Left You And The Yacht,  And,

With Pounce Seated before Me,  Made For The Open Sea. For Several Hours

I Paddled steadily On,  Till,  The Wind Freshening,  I Thought It

Advisable To Keep In nearer Shore; That,  Should A Regular Storm Arise,

I Might Find Some Sheltered bay In which To Weather It.

 

`It Was Well I Did So; For,  Scarcely Had I Reached a Quiet Cove Which

Promised to Afford Me The Protection I Desired,  Than The Sea Appeared

One Mass Of Foam: Great Surging waves Arose; And Even In the

Comparative Calm Of The Bay I Felt That I Was In some Danger.

 

`I Passed the Night In my Cajack; And Next Morning,  After A Frugal Meal

Of Pemmican,  And A Draught Of Water From My Flask,  Once More Ventured

Forth. The Wind Had Subsided,  The Sea Was Tolerably Smooth; And,

Keeping my Eyes Busily Employed in seeking in every Direction To

Detect,  If Possible,  The Slightest Trace Of Smoke,  Or Other Sign Of

Human Life,  I Paddled on Till Noon.

 

`The Aspect Of The Coast Now Began To Change: The Shores Were Sandy,

While Further Inland Lay Dense Forests,  From Whose Gloomy Depths I

Could Ever And Anon Hear The Fierce Roar Of Beasts Of Prey,  The Yell Of

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Apes,  The Fiendish Laugh Of The Hyaena,  Or The Despairing death Cry Of

A Hapless Deer. Seldom Have I Experienced a Greater Feeling of Solitude

Than Whilst Listening to These Strange Sounds,  And Knowing that I In

This Frail Canoe Was The Only Human Being near. Giving myself Up To

Contemplation,  I Rested my Paddle,  And Allowed my Cajack To Drift

Slowly On.

 

`As I Neared the Shore,  I Noticed a Large Number Of Strange-Looking

Birds,  Who Would Sometimes Flutter Round Me,  And Then Dart Back Again

To The Border Of The Forest,  Where They Were Feeding on What Appeared

To Be The Pepper-Plant; They Seized the Berries In their Great

Ponderous Beaks,  Threw Them Up Into The Air And Then Dexterously Caught

Them In their Fall. Their Beaks Were Really Something extraordinary:

They Looked as Though They Must Give Their Owners A Perpetual Headache,

From Their Immense Weight. The Only Thing that Relieved the Extreme

Ugliness Of These Great Appendages Was Their Gorgeous Colour,  Which Was

Only Rivalled by The Gay Hue Of The Plumage.

 

`I Wish Now That I Had Brought Home A Specimen; But,  At The Time,  I Was

So Much Amused by Watching the Grotesque Antics Of The Birds,  That I

Did Not Think Of Obtaining one. When I Left The Spot,  I Settled in my

Own Mind That They Were Toucans: Was I Right,  Ernest?'

 

The `Professor',  Unwilling to Interrupt The Narrative,  Merely Gave An

Oracular Nod,  And Fritz Continued:

 

`For Some Hours After This I Paddled quickly On,  Sometimes Passing the

Mouth Of A Stream,  Sometimes That Of A Broad River. Had I Been Merely

On An Exploring expedition,  I Should Have Been Tempted,  Doubtless,  To

Cruise A Little Way Up One Of These Pathways Into The Forest; But Now

Such An Idea Did Not Enter My Head. On,  On,  On,  I Felt I Must Go,  Until

I Should Reach The Goal Of My Voyage.

 

`The Shades Of Night At Length Drew On And,  Finding a Sheltered cove,  I

Moored my Cajack,  And Stepped on Shore. You May Imagine How Pleasant It

Was To Stretch My Legs,  After Sitting for So Long In the Cramped

Position Which My Cajack Enforces.

 

It Would Not Do,  However,  To Sleep On Shore; So After Preparing and

Enjoying my Supper,  I Returned on Board,  And There Spent The Night.

 

`Next Morning pounce And I Again Landed for Breakfast. I Lit My Fire,

And Hung Before It A Plump Young Parrot To Roast. As I Was So Doing,  I

Heard A Slight Rustle Amongst The Long Grass Behind Me. I Glanced

Round,  And There,  With Glaring eyes,  And His Great Tail Swaying to And

Fro,  I Saw An Immense Tiger.

 

`In Another Moment His Spring would Have Been Made. I Should Have Been

No More,  And Our Young Guest Would Have Been Doomed to,  God Only Knows

How Many,  More Years Of Frightful Solitude!

 

`My Gun Was Lying by My Side. Before I Could Have Stooped to Pick It

Up,  The Monster Would Have Seized me.