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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13290 ***
+
+                             MARTIN RATTLER
+
+                            BY R M BALLANTYNE
+
+                                  1858
+
+
+
+
+EDITOR'S NOTE
+
+
+"MARTIN RATTLER" was one of, Robert Michael Ballantyne's early books.
+Born at Edinburgh in 1825,[1] he was sent to Rupert's Land as a
+trading-clerk in the Hudson Bay Fur Company's service when he left
+school, a boy of sixteen. There, to relieve his home-sickness, he first
+practised his pen in long letters home to his mother. Soon after his
+return to Scotland in 1848 he published a first book on Hudson's Bay.
+Then he passed some years in a Scottish publisher's office; and in 1855 a
+chance suggestion from another publisher led to his writing his first
+book for boys--"Snowflakes and Sunbeams, or The Young Fur Traders." That
+story showed he had found his vocation, and he poured forth its
+successors to the tune in all of some fourscore volumes. "Martin Rattler"
+appeared in 1858. In his "Personal Reminiscences" Ballantyne wrote: "How
+many thousands of lads have an intense liking for the idea of a sailor's
+life!" and he pointed out there the other side of the romantic picture:
+the long watches "in dirty unromantic weather," and the hard work of
+holystoning the decks, scraping down the masts and cleaning out the
+coal-hole. But though his books show something of this reverse side too,
+there is no doubt they have helped to set many boys dreaming of
+
+"Wrecks, buccaneers, black flags, and desert lands
+On which, alone, the second Crusoe stands."
+
+[Footnote 1: See Note to "The Coral Island" in this series.]
+
+Among these persuasions to the life of adventure "Martin Rattler" is
+still one of the favourite among all his books. Ballantyne himself was
+fated to die on foreign soil in 1894, at Rome, where he lies buried in
+the English Protestant cemetery.
+
+The following is a list of Ballantyne's chief romances, tales of
+adventure, and descriptive works:--
+
+"Hudson's Bay, or Every-day Life in the Wilds of North America," etc.,
+1848; "Snowflakes and Sunbeams, or the Young Fur Traders," 1856. In 1857
+and 1858 appeared, under the pseudonym of "Comus": "The Butterfly's Ball
+and the Grasshopper's Feast" (in verse by Roscoe), ed. with music,
+coloured illustrations, and a prose version; "Mister Fox"; "My Mother";
+"The Robber Kitten" (by the author of "Three Little Kittens"). "The Coral
+Island, a Tale of the Pacific Ocean" (with a preface subscribed "Ralph
+Rover"), 1858 (1857); "Ungava, a Tale of Esquimaux Land," 1858 (1857);
+"Martin Rattler, or a Boy's Adventures in the Forests of Brazil," 1858;
+"Ships, the _Great Eastern_ and lesser Craft" (with illustrations), 1859;
+"Mee-a-ow! or Good Advice to Cats and Kittens," 1859; "The World of Ice,
+or Adventures in the Polar Regions," 1860 (1859); "The Dog Crusoe, a Tale
+of the Western Prairies," 1861 (1860); "The Golden Dream, or Adventures
+in the Far West," 1861 (1860); "The Gorilla Hunters, a Tale of the Wilds
+of Africa," 1861; "The Red Eric, or the Whaler's Last Cruise," 1861; "Man
+on the Ocean, a Book for Boys," 1863 (1862); "The Wild Man of the West, a
+Tale of the Rocky Mountains," 1863 (1862); "Gascoyne, the Sandal-wood
+Trader, a Tale of the Pacific," 1864 (1863); "The Lifeboat, a Tale of our
+Coast Heroes," 1864; "Freaks on the Fells, or Three Months' Rustication,"
+and "Why I did not become a Sailor," etc., 1865 (1861); "The Lighthouse,
+being the Story of a Great Fight between Man and the Sea," etc., 1865;
+"Shifting Winds, a Tough Yarn," etc., 1866; "Silver Lake, or Lost in the
+Snow," 1867; "A Rescue in the Rocky Mountains," 1867; "Fighting the
+Flames, a Tale of the London Fire Brigade," 1868; "Away in the
+Wilderness, or Life among the Red Indians and Fur Traders of North
+America," 1869; "Erling the Bold, a Tale of the Norse Sea-kings," with
+illustrations by the author, 1869; "Deep Down, a Tale of the Cornish
+Mines," 1869; "The Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands," with
+illustrations by the author, 1870; "The Iron Horse, or Life on the Line,
+a Tale of the Grand National Trunk Railway," 1871; "The Norsemen in the
+West, or America before Columbus," 1872; "The Pioneers, a Tale of the
+Western Wilderness, illustrative of the Adventures and Discoveries
+of Sir A. Mackenzie," 1872; "Black Ivory, a Tale of Adventure among
+the Slaves of East Africa," 1873; "Life in the Red Brigade, a Story
+for Boys," 1873; "The Ocean and its Wonders," 1874; "The Pirate
+City, an Algerine Tale," 1875; "Under the Waves, or Diving in Deep
+Waters," 1876; "Rivers of Ice, a Tale illustrative of Alpine
+Adventure and Glacier Action," 1876; "The Settler and the Savage, a
+Tale of Peace and War in South Africa," 1877; "Jarwin and Cuffy"
+(Incident and Adventure Library), 1878; "In the Track of the
+Troops, a Tale of Modern War," 1878; "Six Months at the Cape, or
+Letters to Periwinkle from South Africa," 1879 (1878); "Post
+Haste, a Tale of Her Majesty's Mails," 1880 (1879); "The Red Man's
+Revenge, a Tale of the Red River Flood," 1880; "Philosopher Jack, a
+Tale of the Southern Seas," 1880; "The Lonely Island, or the Refuge
+of the Mutineers," 1880; "The Robber Kitten" (in volume of tales by
+two or three authors), 1880; "The Collected Works of Ensign Sopht,
+late of the Volunteers, illustrated by himself," 1881; "My Doggie
+and I," etc., 1881; "The Giant of the North, or Pokings round the
+Pole," 1882 (1881); "The Kitten Pilgrims, or Great Battles and
+Grand Victories," 1882; "The Madman and the Pirate," 1883; "The
+Battery and the Boiler, or Adventures in the Laying of Submarine
+Cables," etc., 1883; "Battles with the Sea, or Heroes of the
+Lifeboat and Rocket," 1883; "Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished, a
+Tale of City-arab Life and Adventure," 1884 (1862); "Twice Bought, a Tale
+of the Oregon Gold-fields," 1885 (1863); "The Island Queen, a Tale of the
+Southern Hemisphere," etc., 1885; "The Rover of the Andes, a Tale of
+Adventure in South America," 1885; "Red Rooney, or the Last of the Crew,"
+1886; "The Big Otter, a Tale of the Great Nor'-West," 1887 (1864); "The
+Middy of the Moors, an Algerine Story," 1888; "Blue Lights, or Hot Work
+in the Soudan, a Tale of Soldier Life," 1888; "The Crew of the _Water
+Wagtail_, a Story of Newfoundland," 1889; "A Gallant Rescue" (stories
+jolly, stories new, etc.), 1889; "The Fight on the Green" (Miles'
+Fifty-two Stories for Boys), 1889; "Charlie to the Rescue, a Tale of the
+Sea and the Rockies," with illustrations by the author, 1890; "The Garret
+and the Garden..., or the Young Coast-guardsman," 1890; "The Coxswain's
+Bride, or the Rising Tide, and other Tales," with illustrations by the
+author, 1891; "The Hot Swamp, a Romance of Old Albion," 1892; "Hunted and
+Harried, a Tale of the Scottish Covenanters," 1892; "The Walrus Hunters,
+a Romance of the Realms of Ice," 1893.
+
+Ballantyne's Miscellany was started in 1863.
+
+
+
+
+MY DEAR YOUNG READERS,
+
+In presenting this book to you I have only to repeat what I have said in
+the prefaces of my former works,--namely, that all the important points
+and anecdotes are true; only the minor and unimportant ones being
+mingled with fiction. With this single remark I commit my work to your
+hands, and wish you a pleasant ramble, in spirit, through the romantic
+forests of Brazil.
+
+Yours affectionately,
+
+R.M. BALLANTYNE.
+
+[October, 1858.]
+
+
+
+
+MARTIN RATTLER
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE HERO AND HIS ONLY RELATIVE
+
+
+Martin Rattler was a very bad boy. At least his aunt, Mrs. Dorothy
+Grumbit, said so; and certainly she ought to have known, if anybody
+should, for Martin lived with her, and was, as she herself expressed it,
+"the bane of her existence,--the very torment of her life." No doubt of
+it whatever, according to Aunt Dorothy Grumbit's showing, Martin Rattler
+was "a remarkably bad boy."
+
+It is a curious fact, however, that, although most of the people in the
+village of Ashford seemed to agree with Mrs. Grumbit in her opinion of
+Martin, there were very few of them who did not smile cheerfully on the
+child when they met him, and say, "Good day, lad!" as heartily as if they
+thought him the best boy in the place. No one seemed to bear Martin
+Rattler ill-will, notwithstanding his alleged badness. Men laughed when
+they said he was a bad boy, as if they did not quite believe their own
+assertion. The vicar, an old whiteheaded man, with a kind, hearty
+countenance, said that the child was full of mischief, full of mischief;
+but he would improve as he grew older, he was quite certain of that. And
+the vicar was a good judge, for he had five boys of his own, besides
+three other boys, the sons of a distant relative, who boarded with him;
+and he had lived forty years in a parish overflowing with boys, and he
+was particularly fond of boys in general. Not so the doctor, a pursy
+little man with a terrific frown, who hated boys, especially little ones,
+with a very powerful hatred. The doctor said that Martin was a scamp.
+
+And yet Martin had not the appearance of a scamp. He had fat rosy cheeks,
+a round rosy mouth, a straight delicately-formed nose, a firm massive
+chin, and a broad forehead. But the latter was seldom visible, owing to
+the thickly-clustering fair curls that overhung it. When asleep Martin's
+face was the perfection of gentle innocence. But the instant he opened
+his dark-brown eyes, a thousand dimples and wrinkles played over his
+visage, chiefly at the corners of his mouth and round his eyes; as if the
+spirit of fun and the spirit of mischief had got entire possession of the
+boy, and were determined to make the most of him. When deeply interested
+in anything, Martin was as grave and serious as a philosopher.
+
+Aunt Dorothy Grumbit had a turned-up nose,--a very much turned-up nose;
+so much so, indeed, that it presented a front view of the nostrils! It
+was an aggravating nose, too for the old lady's spectacles refused to
+rest on any part of it except the extreme point. Mrs. Grumbit invariably
+placed them on the right part of her nose, and they as invariably slid
+down the curved slope until they were brought up by the little hillock at
+the end. There they condescended to repose in peace.
+
+Mrs. Grumbit was mild, and gentle, and little, and thin, and
+old,--perhaps seventy-five; but no one knew her age for certain, not even
+herself. She wore an old-fashioned, high-crowned cap, and a gown of
+bed-curtain chintz, with flowers on it the size of a saucer. It was a
+curious gown, and very cheap, for Mrs. Grumbit was poor. No one knew the
+extent of her poverty, any more than they did her age; but she herself
+knew it, and felt it deeply,--never so deeply, perhaps, as when her
+orphan nephew Martin grew old enough to be put to school, and she had not
+wherewithal to send him. But love is quick-witted and resolute. A
+residence of six years in Germany had taught her to knit stockings at a
+rate that cannot be described, neither conceived unless seen. She knitted
+two dozen pairs. The vicar took one dozen, the doctor took the other. The
+fact soon became known. Shops were not numerous in the village in those
+days; and the wares they supplied were only second rate. Orders came
+pouring in, Mrs. Grumbit's knitting wires clicked, and her little old
+hands wagged with incomprehensible rapidity and unflagging
+regularity,--and Martin Rattler was sent to school.
+
+While occupied with her knitting, she sat in a high-backed chair in a
+very small deep window, through which the sun streamed nearly the whole
+day; and out of which there was the most charming imaginable view of the
+gardens and orchards of the villagers, with a little dancing brook in the
+midst, and the green fields of the farmers beyond, studded with sheep and
+cattle and knolls of woodland, and bounded in the far distance by the
+bright blue sea. It was a lovely scene, such an one as causes the eye to
+brighten and the heart to melt as we gaze upon it, and think, perchance,
+of its Creator.
+
+Yes, it was a scene worth looking at; but Mrs. Grumbit never looked at
+it, for the simple reason that she could not have seen it if she had.
+Half way across her own little parlour was the extent of her natural
+vision. By the aid of spectacles and a steady concentrated effort, she
+could see the fire-place at the other end of the room; and the portrait
+of her deceased husband, who had been a sea-captain; and the white kitten
+that usually sat on the rug before the fire. To be sure she saw them very
+indistinctly. The picture was a hazy blue patch, which was the captain's
+coat; with a white patch down the middle of it, which was his waistcoat;
+and a yellow ball on the top of it, which was his head. It was rather an
+indistinct and generalized view, no doubt; but she _saw_ it, and that was
+a great comfort.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+IN DISGRACE
+
+
+Fire was the cause of Martin's getting into disgrace at school for the
+first time; and this is how it happened.
+
+"Go and poke the fire, Martin Rattler," said the school-master, "and put
+on a bit of coal, and see that you don't send the sparks flying about
+the floor."
+
+Martin sprang with alacrity to obey; for he was standing up with the
+class at the time, and was glad of the temporary relaxation. He stirred
+the fire with great care, and put on several pieces of coal very slowly,
+and rearranged them two or three times; after which he stirred the fire a
+little more, and examined it carefully to see that it was all right; but
+he did not seem quite satisfied, and was proceeding to re-adjust the
+coals when Bob Croaker, one of the big boys, who was a bullying,
+ill-tempered fellow, and had a spite against Martin, called out,--
+
+"Please, sir, Rattler's playin' at the fire."
+
+"Come back to your place, sir!" cried the master, sternly.
+
+Martin returned in haste, and resumed his position in the class. As he
+did so he observed that his fore-finger was covered with soot.
+Immediately a smile of glee overspread his features; and, while the
+master was busy with one of the boys, he drew his black finger gently
+down the forehead and nose of the boy next to him.
+
+"What part of the earth was peopled by the descendants of Ham?" cried the
+master, pointing to the dux.
+
+"Shem!" shrieked a small boy near the foot of the class.
+
+"Silence!" thundered the master, with a frown that caused the small boy
+to quake down to the points of his toes.
+
+"Asia!" answered dux.
+
+"Next?"
+
+"Turkey!"
+
+"Next, next, next? Hallo! John Ward," cried the master, starting up in
+anger from his seat, "what do you mean by that, sir?"
+
+"What, sir?" said John Ward, tremulously, while a suppressed titter ran
+round the class.
+
+"Your face, sir! Who blacked your face, eh?"
+
+"I--I--don't know," said the boy, drawing his sleeve across his face,
+which had the effect of covering it with sooty streaks.
+
+An uncontrollable shout of laughter burst from the whole school, which
+was instantly followed by a silence so awful and profound that a pin
+might have been heard to fall.
+
+"Martin Rattler, you did that! I know you did,--I see the marks on your
+fingers. Come here, sir! Now tell me; _did_ you do it?"
+
+Martin Rattler never told falsehoods. His old aunt had laboured to
+impress upon him from infancy that to lie was to commit a sin which is
+abhorred by God and scorned by man; and her teaching had not been in
+vain. The child would have suffered any punishment rather than have told
+a deliberate lie. He looked straight in the master's face and said, "Yes,
+sir, I did it."
+
+"Very well, go to your seat, and remain in school during the play-hour."
+
+With a heavy heart Martin obeyed; and soon after the school was
+dismissed.
+
+"I say, Rattler," whispered Bob Croaker, as he passed, "I'm going to
+teach your white kitten to swim just now. Won't you come and see it?"
+
+The malicious laugh with which the boy accompanied this remark convinced
+Martin that he intended to put his threat in execution. For a moment he
+thought of rushing out after him to protect his pet kitten; but a glance
+at the stern brow of the master, as he sat at his desk reading,
+restrained him; so, crushing down his feelings of mingled fear and anger,
+he endeavoured to while away the time by watching the boys as they played
+in the fields before the windows of the school.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE GREAT FIGHT
+
+
+"Martin!" said the school-master, in a severe tone, looking up from the
+book with which he was engaged, "don't look out at the window, sir; turn
+your back to it."
+
+"Please, sir, I can't help it," replied the boy, trembling with eagerness
+as he stared across the fields.
+
+"Turn your back on it, I say!" reiterated the master in a loud tone, at
+the same time striking the desk violently with his cane.
+
+"Oh, sir, let me out! There's Bob Croaker with my kitten. He's going to
+drown it. I know he is,--he said he would; and if he does aunty will die,
+for she loves it next to me; and I _must_ save it, and--and, if you
+_don't_ let me out--you'll be a murderer!"
+
+At this concluding burst, Martin sprang forward and stood before his
+master with clenched fists and a face blazing with excitement. The
+schoolmaster's gaze of astonishment gradually gave place to a dark frown
+strangely mingled with a smile, and, when the boy concluded, he said
+quietly--"You may go."
+
+No second bidding was needed. The door flew open with a bang; and the
+gravel of the play-ground, spurned right and left, dashed against the
+window panes as Martin flew across it. The paling that fenced it off from
+the fields beyond was low, but too high for a jump. Never a boy in all
+the school had crossed that paling at a spring, without laying his hands
+upon it; but Martin did. We do not mean to say that he did anything
+superhuman; but he rushed at it like a charge of cavalry, sprang from the
+ground like a deer, kicked away the top bar, tumbled completely over,
+landed on his head, and rolled down the slope on the other side as fast
+as he could have run down,--perhaps faster.
+
+It would have required sharper eyes than yours or mine to have observed
+how Martin got on his legs again, but he did it in a twinkling, and was
+half across the field almost before you could wink, and panting on the
+heels of Bob Croaker. Bob saw him coming and instantly started off at a
+hard run, followed by the whole school. A few minutes brought them to the
+banks of the stream, where Bob Croaker halted, and, turning round, held
+the white kitten up by the nape of the neck.
+
+"O spare it! spare it, Bob!--don't do it--please don't, don't do it!"
+gasped Martin, as he strove in vain to run faster.
+
+"There you go!" shouted Bob, with a coarse laugh, sending the kitten high
+into the air, whence it fell with a loud splash into the water.
+
+It was a dreadful shock to feline nerves, no doubt, but that white kitten
+was no ordinary animal. Its little heart beat bravely when it rose to the
+surface, and, before its young master came up, it had regained the bank.
+But, alas! what a change! It went into the stream a fat, round,
+comfortable ball of eider-down. It came out--a scraggy blotch of white
+paint, with its black eyes glaring like two great glass beads! No sooner
+did it crawl out of the water than Bob Croaker seized it, and whirled it
+round his head, amid suppressed cries of "Shame!" intending to throw it
+in again; but at that instant Martin Rattler seized Bob by the collar of
+his coat with both hands, and, letting himself drop suddenly, dragged the
+cruel boy to the ground, while the kitten crept humbly away and hid
+itself in a thick tuft of grass.
+
+A moment sufficed to enable Bob Croaker, who was nearly twice Martin's
+weight, to free himself from the grasp of his panting antagonist, whom he
+threw on his back, and doubled his fist, intending to strike Martin on
+the face; but a general rush of the boys prevented this.
+
+"Shame, shame, fair play!" cried several; "don't hit him when he's down!"
+
+"Then let him rise up and come on!" cried Bob, fiercely, as he sprang up
+and released Martin.
+
+"Ay, that's fair. Now then, Martin, remember the kitten!"
+
+"Strike men of your own size!" cried several of the bigger boys, as they
+interposed to prevent Martin from rushing into the unequal contest.
+
+"So I will," cried Bob Croaker, glaring round with passion. "Come on any
+of you that likes. I don't care a button for the biggest of you."
+
+No one accepted this challenge, for Bob was the oldest and the strongest
+boy in the school, although, as is usually the case with bullies, by no
+means the bravest.
+
+Seeing that no one intended to fight with him, and that a crowd of boys
+strove to hold Martin Rattler back, while they assured him that he had
+not the smallest chance in the world, Bob turned towards the kitten,
+which was quietly and busily employed in licking itself dry, and said,
+"Now, Martin, you coward, I'll give it another swim for your impudence."
+
+"Stop, stop!" cried Martin earnestly. "Bob Croaker, I would rather do
+anything than fight. I would give you everything I have to save my
+kitten; but if you won't spare it unless I fight, I'll do it. If you
+throw it in before you fight me, you're the greatest coward that ever
+walked. Just give me five minutes to breathe and a drink of water, and
+I'll fight you as long as I can stand."
+
+Bob looked at his little foe in surprise. "Well, that's fair. I'm your
+man; but if you don't lick me I'll drown the kitten, that's all." Having
+said this, he quietly divested himself of his jacket and neckcloth, while
+several boys assisted Martin to do the same, and brought him a draught of
+water in the crown of one of their caps. In five minutes all was ready,
+and the two boys stood face to face and foot to foot, with their fists
+doubled and revolving, and a ring of boys around them.
+
+Just at this moment the kitten, having found the process of licking
+itself dry more fatiguing than it had expected, gave vent to a faint mew
+of distress. It was all that was wanting to set Martin's indignant heart
+into a blaze of inexpressible fury. Bob Croaker's visage instantly
+received a shower of sharp, stinging blows, that had the double effect of
+taking that youth by surprise and throwing him down upon the green sward.
+But Martin could not hope to do this a second time. Bob now knew the
+vigour of his assailant, and braced himself warily to the combat,
+commencing operations by giving Martin a tremendous blow on the point of
+his nose, and another on the chest. These had the effect of tempering
+Martin's rage with a salutary degree of caution, and of eliciting from
+the spectators sundry cries of warning on the one hand, and admiration on
+the other, while the young champions revolved warily round each other,
+and panted vehemently.
+
+The battle that was fought that day was one of a thousand. It created as
+great a sensation in the village school as did the battle of Waterloo in
+England. It was a notable fight; such as had not taken place within the
+memory of the oldest boy in the village, and from which, in after years,
+events of juvenile history were dated,--especially pugilistic events, of
+which, when a good one came off, it used to be said that "such a battle
+had not taken place since the year of the _Great Fight_" Bob Croaker was
+a noted fighter. Martin Rattler was, up to this date, an untried hero.
+Although fond of rough play and boisterous mischief, he had an
+unconquerable aversion to _earnest_ fighting, and very rarely indeed
+returned home with a black eye,--much to the satisfaction of Aunt Dorothy
+Grumbit, who objected to all fighting from principle, and frequently
+asserted, in gentle tones, that there should be no soldiers or sailors
+(fighting sailors, she meant) at all, but that people ought all to settle
+everything the best way they could without fighting, and live peaceably
+with one another, as the Bible told them to do. They would be far happier
+and better off, she was sure of that; and if everybody was of her way of
+thinking, there would be neither swords, nor guns, nor pistols, nor
+squibs, nor anything else at all! Dear old lady. It would indeed be a
+blessing if her principles could be carried out in this warring and
+jarring world. But as this is rather difficult, what we ought to be
+careful about is, that we never fight except in a good cause and with a
+clear conscience.
+
+It was well for Martin Rattler, on that great day, that the formation of
+the ground favoured him. The spot on which the fight took place was
+uneven, and covered with little hillocks and hollows, over which Bob
+Croaker stumbled, and into which he fell,--being a clumsy boy on his
+legs,--and did himself considerable damage; while Martin, who was firmly
+knit and active as a kitten, scarcely ever fell, or, if he did, sprang up
+again like an India-rubber ball. Fair-play was embedded deep in the
+centre of Martin's heart, so that he scorned to hit his adversary when he
+was down or in the act of rising; but the thought of the fate that
+awaited the white kitten if he were conquered, acted like lightning in
+his veins, and scarcely had Bob time to double his fists after a fall,
+when he was knocked back again into the hollow out of which he had risen.
+There were no _rounds_ in this fight,--no pausing to recover breath.
+Martin's anger rose with every blow, whether given or received; and
+although he was knocked down flat four or five times, he rose again, and,
+without a second's delay, rushed headlong at his enemy. Feeling that he
+was too little and light to make much impression on Bob Croaker by means
+of mere blows, he endeavoured as much as possible to throw his weight
+against him at each assault; but Bob stood his ground well, and after a
+time seemed even to be recovering strength a little.
+
+Suddenly he made a rush at Martin, and, dealing him a successful blow on
+the forehead, knocked him down; at the same time he himself tripped over
+a molehill and fell upon his face. Both were on their legs in an instant.
+Martin grew desperate. The white kitten swimming for its life seemed to
+rise before him, and new energy was infused into his frame. He retreated
+a step or two, and then darted forward like an arrow from a bow. Uttering
+a loud cry, he sprang completely in the air and plunged--head and fists
+together, as if he were taking a dive--into Bob Croaker's bosom! The
+effect was tremendous. Bob went down like a shock of grain before the
+sickle; and having, in their prolonged movements, approached close to the
+brink of the stream, both he and Martin went with a sounding splash into
+the deep pool and disappeared. It was but for a moment, however, Martin's
+head emerged first, with eyes and mouth distended to the utmost.
+Instantly, on finding bottom, he turned to deal his opponent another
+blow; but it was not needed. When Bob Croaker's head rose to the surface
+there was no motion in the features, and the eyes were closed. The
+intended blow was changed into a friendly grasp; and, exerting himself to
+the utmost, Martin dragged his insensible school-fellow to the bank,
+where, in a few minutes, he recovered sufficiently to declare in a sulky
+tone that he would fight no more!
+
+"Bob Croaker," said Martin, holding out his hand, "I'm sorry we've had to
+fight. I wouldn't have done it, but to save my kitten. You compelled me
+to do it, you know that. Come, let's be friends again."
+
+Bob made no reply, but slowly and with some difficulty put on his vest
+and jacket.
+
+"I'm sure," continued Martin, "there's no reason in bearing me ill-will.
+I've done nothing unfair, and I'm very sorry we've had to fight. Won't
+you shake hands?"
+
+Bob was silent.
+
+"Come, come, Bob!" cried several of the bigger boys, "don't be sulky,
+man; shake hands and be friends. Martin has licked you this time, and
+you'll lick him next time, no doubt, and that's all about it."
+
+"Arrah, then, ye're out there, intirely. Bob Croaker'll niver lick Martin
+Rattler though he wos to live to the age of the great M'Thuselah!'" said
+a deep-toned voice close to the spot where the fight had taken place.
+
+All eyes were instantly turned in the direction whence it proceeded, and
+the boys now became aware, for the first time, that the combat had been
+witnessed by a sailor, who, with a smile of approval beaming on his
+good-humoured countenance, sat under the shade of a neighbouring tree
+smoking a pipe of that excessive shortness and blackness that seems to be
+peculiarly beloved by Irishmen in the humbler ranks of life. The man was
+very tall and broad-shouldered, and carried himself with a free-and-easy
+swagger, as he rose and approached the group of boys.
+
+"He'll niver bate ye, Martin, avic, as long as there's two timbers of ye
+houldin' togither."
+
+The seaman patted Martin on the head as he spoke; and, turning to Bob
+Croaker, continued: "Ye ought to be proud, ye spalpeen, o' bein' wopped
+by sich a young hero as this. Come here and shake hands with him: d'ye
+hear? Troth an' it's besmearin' ye with too much honour that same. There,
+that'll do. Don't say ye're sorry now, for it's lies ye'd be tellin' if
+ye did. Come along, Martin, an' I'll convarse with ye as ye go home.
+Ye'll be a man yet, as sure as my name is Barney O'Flannagan."
+
+Martin took the white kitten in his arms and thrust its wet little body
+into his equally wet bosom, where the warmth began soon to exercise a
+soothing influence on the kitten's depressed spirits, so that, ere long,
+it began to purr. He then walked with the sailor towards the village,
+with his face black and blue, and swelled and covered with blood, while
+Bob Croaker and his companions returned to the school.
+
+The distance to Martin's residence was not great, but it was sufficient
+to enable the voluble Irishman to recount a series of the most wonderful
+adventures and stories of foreign lands, that set Martin's heart on fire
+with desire to go to sea,--a desire which was by no means new to him, and
+which recurred violently every time he paid a visit to the small sea-port
+of Bilton, which lay about five miles to the southward of his native
+village. Moreover, Barney suggested that it was time Martin should be
+doing for himself (he was now ten years old), and said that if he would
+join his ship, he could get him a berth, for he was much in want of an
+active lad to help him with the coppers. But Martin Rattler sighed
+deeply, and said that, although his heart was set upon going to sea, he
+did not see how it was to be managed, for his aunt would not let him go.
+
+Before they separated, however, it was arranged that Martin should pay
+the sailor's ship a visit, when he would hear a good deal more about
+foreign lands; and that, in the meantime, he should make another attempt
+to induce Aunt Dorothy Grumbit to give her consent to his going to sea.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+A LESSON TO ALL STOCKING-KNITTERS--MARTIN'S PROSPECTS BEGIN TO OPEN UP
+
+
+In the small sea-port of Bilton, before mentioned, there dwelt an old and
+wealthy merchant and ship-owner, who devoted a small portion of his time
+to business, and a very large portion of it to what is usually termed
+"doing good," This old gentleman was short, and stout, and rosy, and
+bald, and active, and sharp as a needle.
+
+In the short time that Mr. Arthur Jollyboy devoted to business, he
+accomplished as much as most men do in the course of a long day. There
+was not a benevolent society in the town, of which Arthur Jollyboy,
+Esquire, of the Old Hulk (as he styled his cottage), was not a member,
+director, secretary, and treasurer, all in one, and all at once! If it
+had been possible for man to be ubiquitous, Mr. Jollyboy would have been
+so naturally; or, if not naturally, he would have made himself so by
+force of will. Yet he made no talk about it. His step was quiet, though
+quick; and his voice was gentle, though rapid; and he was chiefly famous
+for _talking_ little and _doing_ much.
+
+Some time after the opening of our tale, Mr. Jollyboy had received
+information of Mrs. Grumbit's stocking movement. That same afternoon he
+put on his broad-brimmed white hat, and, walking out to the village in
+which she lived, called upon the vicar, who was a particular and intimate
+friend of his. Having ascertained from the vicar that Mrs. Grumbit would
+not accept of charity, he said abruptly,--
+
+"And why not,--is she too proud?"
+
+"By no means," replied the vicar. "She says that she would think shame to
+take money from friends as long as she can work, because every penny that
+she would thus get would be so much less to go to the helpless poor; of
+whom, she says, with much truth, there are enough and to spare. And I
+quite agree with her as regards her principle; but it does not apply
+fully to her, for she cannot work so as to procure a sufficient
+livelihood without injury to her health."
+
+"Is she clever?" inquired Mr. Jollyboy.
+
+"Why, no, not particularly. In fact, she does not often exert her
+reasoning faculties, except in the common-place matters of ordinary and
+every-day routine."
+
+"Then she's cleverer than most people," said Mr. Jollyboy, shortly. "Is
+she obstinate?"
+
+"No, not in the least," returned the vicar with a puzzled smile.
+
+"Ah, well, good-bye, good-bye; that's all I want to know."
+
+Mr. Jollyboy rose, and hurrying through the village, tapped at the
+cottage door, and was soon closeted with Mrs. Dorothy Grumbit. In the
+course of half an hour, Mr. Jollyboy drew from Mrs. Grumbit as much about
+her private affairs as he could, without appearing rude. But he found the
+old lady very close and sensitive on that point. Not so, however, when he
+got her upon the subject of her nephew. She had enough, and more than
+enough, to say about him. It is true she began by remarking, sadly, that
+he was a very bad boy; but, as she continued to talk about him, she
+somehow or other gave her visitor the impression that he was a very
+_good_ boy! They had a wonderfully long and confidential talk about
+Martin, during which Mr. Jollyboy struck Mrs. Grumbit nearly dumb with
+horror by stating positively what he would do for the boy,--he would send
+him to sea! Then, seeing that he had hit the wrongest possible nail on
+the head, he said that he would make the lad a clerk in his office, where
+he would be sure to rise to a place of trust; whereat Mrs. Grumbit
+danced, if we may so speak, into herself for joy.
+
+"And now, ma'am, about these stockings. I want two thousand pairs as soon
+as I can get them!"
+
+"Sir?" said Mrs. Grumbit.
+
+"Of course, not for my own use, ma'am; nor for the use of my family, for
+I have no family; and if I had, that would be an unnecessarily large
+supply. The fact is, Mrs. Grumbit, I am a merchant, and I send very large
+supplies of home-made articles to foreign lands, and two thousand pairs
+of socks are a mere driblet. Of course I do not expect you to make them
+all for me, but I wish you to make as many pairs as you can."
+
+"I shall be very happy--" began Mrs. Grumbit.
+
+"But, Mrs. Grumbit, there is a peculiar formation which I require in my
+socks that will give you extra trouble, I fear; but I must have it,
+whatever the additional expense may be. What is your charge for the pair
+you are now making?"
+
+"Three shillings," said Mrs. Grumbit.
+
+"Ah! very good. Now, take up the wires if you please, ma'am, and do what
+I tell you. Now, drop that stitch,--good; and take up this one,--capital;
+and pull this one across that way,--so; and that one across this
+way,--exactly. Now, what is the result?"
+
+The result was a complicated knot; and Mrs. Grumbit, after staring a few
+seconds at the old gentleman in surprise, said so, and begged to know
+what use it was of.
+
+"Oh, never mind, never mind. We merchants have strange fancies, and
+foreigners have curious tastes now and then. Please to make all my
+socks with a hitch like that in them all round, just above the ankle.
+It will form an ornamental ring. I'm sorry to put you to the trouble,
+but of course I pay extra for fancy-work. Will six shillings a pair do
+for these?"
+
+"My dear sir," said Mrs. Grumbit, "it is no additional--"
+
+"Well, well, never mind," said Mr. Jollyboy. "Two thousand pairs,
+remember, as soon as possible,--close knitted, plain stitch, rather
+coarse worsted; and don't forget the hitch, Mrs. Grumbit, don't forget
+the hitch."
+
+Ah! reader, there are many Mrs. Grumbits in this world, requiring
+_hitches_ to be made in their stockings!
+
+At this moment the door burst open. Mrs. Dorothy Grumbit uttered a
+piercing scream, Mr. Jollyboy dropped his spectacles and sat down on
+his hat, and Martin Rattler stood before them with the white kitten
+in his arms.
+
+For a few seconds there was a dead silence, while an expression of
+puzzled disappointment passed over Mr. Jollyboy's ruddy countenance. At
+last he said,--
+
+"Is this, madam, the nephew who, you told me a little ago, is not
+addicted to fighting?"
+
+"Yes," answered the old lady faintly, and covering her eyes with her
+hands, "that is Martin."
+
+"If my aunt told you that, sir, she told you the truth," said Martin,
+setting down the blood-stained white kitten, which forthwith began to
+stretch its limbs and lick itself dry. "I don't ever fight if I can help
+it, but I couldn't help it to-day."
+
+With a great deal of energy, and a revival of much of his former
+indignation, when he spoke of the kitten's sufferings, Martin recounted
+all the circumstances of the fight; during the recital of which Mrs.
+Dorothy Grumbit took his hand in hers and patted it, gazing the while
+into his swelled visage, and weeping plentifully, but very silently. When
+he had finished, Mr. Jollyboy shook hands with him, and said he was a
+trump, at the same time recommending him to go and wash his face. Then he
+whispered a few words in Mrs. Grumbit's ear, which seemed to give that
+excellent lady much pleasure; after which he endeavoured to straighten
+his crushed hat; in which attempt he failed, took his leave, promised to
+call again very soon, and went back to the Old Hulk--chuckling.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+MARTIN, BEING WILLING TO GO TO SEA, GOES TO SEA AGAINST HIS WILL
+
+
+Four years rolled away, casting chequered light and shadow over the
+little village of Ashford in their silent passage,--whitening the
+forelocks of the aged, and strengthening the muscles of the young. Death,
+too, touched a hearth here and there, and carried desolation to a home;
+for four years cannot wing their flight without enforcing on us the
+lesson--which we are so often taught, and yet take so long to learn--that
+this is not our rest,--that here we have no abiding city. Did we but
+ponder this lesson more frequently and earnestly, instead of making us
+sad, it would nerve our hearts and hands to fight and work more
+diligently,--to work in the cause of our Redeemer,--the only cause that
+is worth the life-long energy of immortal beings,--the great cause that
+includes all others; and it would teach us to remember that our little
+day of opportunity will soon be spent, and that the night is at hand in
+which no man can work.
+
+Four years rolled away, and during this time Martin, having failed to
+obtain his aunt's consent to his going to sea, continued at school, doing
+his best to curb the roving spirit that strove within him. Martin was not
+particularly bright at the dead languages; to the rules of grammar he
+entertained a rooted aversion; and at history he was inclined to yawn,
+except when it happened to touch upon the names and deeds of such men as
+Vasco di Gama and Columbus. But in geography he was perfect; and in
+arithmetic and book-keeping he was quite a proficient, to the delight of
+Mrs. Dorothy Grumbit, whose household books he summed up; and to the
+satisfaction of his fast friend, Mr. Arthur Jollyboy, whose ledgers he
+was--in that old gentleman's secret resolves--destined to keep.
+
+Martin was now fourteen, broad and strong, and tall for his age. He was
+the idol of the school,--dashing, daring, reckless, and good-natured.
+There was almost nothing that he would not attempt, and there were very
+few things that he could not do. He never fought, however--from
+principle; and his strength and size often saved him from the necessity.
+But he often prevented other boys from fighting, except when he thought
+there was good reason for it; then he stood by and saw fair play. There
+was a strange mixture of philosophical gravity, too, in Martin. As he
+grew older he became more enthusiastic and less boisterous.
+
+Bob Croaker was still at the school, and was, from prudential motives, a
+fast friend of Martin. But he bore him a secret grudge, for he could not
+forget the great fight.
+
+One day Bob took Martin by the arm, and said, "I say, Rattler, come with
+me to Bilton, and have some fun among the shipping."
+
+"Well, I don't mind if I do," said Martin. "I'm just in the mood for a
+ramble, and I'm not expected home till bed-time."
+
+In little more than an hour the two boys were wandering about the
+dock-yards of the sea-port town, and deeply engaged in examining the
+complicated rigging of the ships. While thus occupied, the clanking of a
+windlass and the merry "Yo heave O! and away she goes," of the sailors,
+attracted their attention.
+
+"Hallo! there goes the _Firefly_, bound for the South Seas," cried Bob
+Croaker; "come, let's see her start. I say, Martin, isn't your friend,
+Barney O'Flannagan, on board?"
+
+"Yes, he is. He tries to get me to go out every voyage, and I wish I
+could. Come quickly; I want to say good-bye to him before he starts."
+
+"Why don't you run away, Rattler?" inquired Bob, as they hurried round
+the docks to where the vessel was warping out.
+
+"Because I don't need to. My aunt has given me leave to go if I like; but
+she says it would break her heart if I do; and I would rather be screwed
+down to a desk for ever than do that, Bob Croaker."
+
+The vessel, upon the deck of which the two boys now leaped, was a large,
+heavy-built barque. Her sails were hanging loose, and the captain was
+giving orders to the men, who had their attention divided between their
+duties on board and their mothers, wives, and sisters, who still lingered
+to take a last farewell.
+
+"Now, then, those who don't want to go to sea had better go ashore,"
+roared the captain.
+
+There was an immediate rush to the side.
+
+"I say, Martin," whispered Barney, as he hurried past, "jump down below
+for'ard; you can go out o' the harbour mouth with us and get ashore in
+one o' the shore-boats alongside. They'll not cast off till we're well
+out. I want to speak to you--"
+
+"Man the fore top-sail halyards," shouted the first mate.
+
+"Ay ay, sir-r-r," and the men sprang to obey. Just then the ship
+touched on the bar at the mouth of the harbour, and in another moment
+she was aground.
+
+"There, now, she's hard and fast!" roared the captain, as he stormed
+about the deck in a paroxysm of rage. But man's rage could avail nothing.
+They had missed the passage by a few feet, and now they had to wait the
+fall and rise again of the tide ere they could hope to get off.
+
+In the confusion that followed, Bob Croaker suggested that Martin and he
+should take one of the punts, or small boats which hovered round the
+vessel, and put out to sea, where they might spend the day pleasantly in
+rowing and fishing.
+
+"Capital!" exclaimed Martin. "Let's go at once. Yonder's a little fellow
+who will let us have his punt for a few pence. I know him. Hallo, Tom!"
+
+"Ay, ay," squeaked a boy who was so small that he could scarcely lift the
+oar, light though it was, with which he sculled his punt cleverly along.
+
+"Shove alongside, like a good fellow; we want your boat for a little to
+row out a bit."
+
+"It's a-blowin' too hard," squeaked the small boy, as he ranged
+alongside. "I'm afeared you'll be blowed out."
+
+"Nonsense!" cried Bob Croaker, grasping the rope which the boy threw to
+him. "Jump on board, younker; we don't want you to help us, and you're
+too heavy for ballast. Slip down the side, Martin, and get in while I
+hold on to the rope. All right? now I'll follow. Here, shrimp, hold the
+rope till I'm in, and then cast off. Look alive!"
+
+As Bob spoke, he handed the rope to the little boy; but, in doing so, let
+it accidentally slip out of his hand.
+
+"Catch hold o' the main chains, Martin,--quick!"
+
+But Martin was too late. The current that swept out of the harbour
+whirled the light punt away from the ship's side, and carried it out
+seaward. Martin instantly sprang to the oar, and turned the boat's head
+round. He was a stout and expert rower, and would soon have regained the
+ship; but the wind increased at the moment, and blew in a squall off
+shore, which carried him further out despite his utmost efforts. Seeing
+that all further attempts were useless, Martin stood up and waved his
+hand to Bob Croaker, shouting as he did so, "Never mind, Bob, I'll make
+for the South Point. Run round and meet me, and we'll row back together."
+
+The South Point was a low cape of land which stretched a considerable
+distance out to sea, about three miles to the southward of Bilton
+harbour. It formed a large bay, across which, in ordinary weather, a
+small boat might be rowed in safety. Martin Rattler was well known at the
+sea-port as a strong and fearless boy, so that no apprehension was
+entertained for his safety by those who saw him blown away. Bob Croaker
+immediately started for the Point on foot, a distance of about four miles
+by land; and the crew of the _Firefly_ were so busied with their stranded
+vessel that they took no notice of the doings of the boys.
+
+But the weather now became more and more stormy. Thick clouds gathered on
+the horizon. The wind began to blow with steady violence, and shifted a
+couple of points to the southward; so that Martin found it impossible to
+keep straight for the Point. Still he worked perseveringly at his single
+oar, and sculled rapidly over the sea; but, as he approached the Point,
+he soon perceived that no effort of which he was capable could enable him
+to gain it. But Martin's heart was stout. He strove with all the energy
+of hope, until the Point was passed; and then, turning the head of his
+little boat towards it, he strove with all the energy of despair, until
+he fell down exhausted. The wind and tide swept him rapidly out to sea;
+and when his terrified comrade reached the Point, the little boat was but
+a speck on the seaward horizon.
+
+Well was it then for Martin Rattler that a friendly heart beat for him on
+board the _Firefly_, Bob Croaker carried the news to the town; but no one
+was found daring enough to risk his life out in a boat on that stormy
+evening. The little punt had been long out of sight ere the news reached
+them, and the wind had increased to a gale. But Barney O'Flannagan
+questioned Bob Croaker closely, and took particular note of the point of
+the compass at which Martin had disappeared; and when the _Firefly_ at
+length got under weigh, he climbed to the fore-top cross-trees, and stood
+there scanning the horizon with an anxious eye.
+
+It was getting dark, and a feeling of despair began to creep over
+the seaman's heart as he gazed round the wide expanse of water, on
+which nothing was to be seen except the white foam that crested the
+rising billows.
+
+"Starboard, hard!" he shouted suddenly.
+
+"Starboard it is!" replied the man at the wheel, with prompt obedience.
+
+In another moment Barney slid down the back-stay and stood on the deck,
+while the ship rounded to and narrowly missed striking a small boat that
+floated keel up on the water. There was no cry from the boat; and it
+might have been passed as a mere wreck, had not the lynx eye of Barney
+noticed a dark object clinging to it.
+
+"Lower away a boat, lads," cried the Irishman, springing overboard;
+and the words had scarcely passed his lips when the water closed
+over his head.
+
+The _Firefly_ was hove to, a boat was lowered and rowed towards Barney,
+whose strong voice guided his shipmates towards him. In less than a
+quarter of an hour the bold sailor and his young friend Martin Rattler
+were safe on board, and the ship's head was again turned out to sea.
+
+It was full half an hour before Martin was restored to consciousness in
+the forecastle, to which his deliverer had conveyed him.
+
+"Musha, lad, but ye're booked for the blue wather now, an' no mistake!"
+said Barney, looking with an expression of deep sympathy at the poor boy,
+who sat staring before him quite speechless. "The capting'll not let ye
+out o' this ship till ye git to the gould coast, or some sich place. He
+couldn't turn back av he wanted iver so much; but he doesn't want to, for
+he needs a smart lad like you, an' he'll keep you now, for sartin."
+
+Barney sat down by Martin's side and stroked his fair curls, as he sought
+in his own quaint fashion to console him. But in vain. Martin grew quite
+desperate as he thought of the misery into which poor Aunt Dorothy
+Grumbit would be plunged, on learning that he had been swept out to sea
+in a little boat, and drowned, as she would naturally suppose. In his
+frenzy he entreated and implored the captain to send him back in the
+boat, and even threatened to knock out his brains with a handspike if he
+did not; but the captain smiled and told him that it was his own fault.
+He had no business to be putting to sea in a small boat in rough weather,
+and he might be thankful he wasn't drowned. He wouldn't turn back now for
+fifty pounds twice told.
+
+At length Martin became convinced that all hope of returning home was
+gone. He went quietly below, threw himself into one of the sailor's
+berths, turned his face to the wall, and wept long and bitterly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE VOYAGE, A PIRATE, CHASE, WRECK, AND ESCAPE
+
+
+Time reconciles a man to almost anything. In the course of time Martin
+Rattler became reconciled to his fate, and went about the ordinary duties
+of a cabin-boy on board the _Firefly_ just as if he had been appointed to
+that office in the ordinary way,--with the consent of the owners and by
+the advice of his friends. The captain, Skinflint by name, and as surly
+an old fellow as ever walked a quarter-deck, agreed to pay him wages "if
+he behaved well." The steward, under whose immediate authority he was
+placed, turned out to be a hearty, good-natured young fellow, and was
+very kind to him. But Martin's great friend was Barney O'Flannagan, the
+cook, with whom he spent many an hour in the night watches, talking over
+plans, and prospects, and retrospects, and foreign lands.
+
+As Martin had no clothes except those on his back, which fortunately
+happened to be new and good, Barney gave him a couple of blue striped
+shirts, and made him a jacket, pantaloons, and slippers of canvas; and,
+what was of much greater importance, taught him how to make and mend the
+same for himself.
+
+"Ye see, Martin, lad," he said, while thus employed one day, many weeks
+after leaving port, "it's a great thing, intirely, to be able to help
+yerself. For my part, I niver travel without my work-box in my pocket."
+
+"Your work-box!" said Martin, laughing.
+
+"Jist so. An' it consists of wan sail-maker's needle, a ball o' twine,
+and a clasp-knife. Set me down with these before a roll o' canvas and
+I'll make you a'most anything."
+
+"You seem to have a turn for everything, Barney," said Martin. "How came
+you to be a cook?"
+
+"That's more nor I can tell ye, lad. As far as I remimber, I began with
+murphies, when I was two feet high, in my father's cabin in ould Ireland.
+But that was on my own account intirely, and not as a purfession; and a
+sorrowful time I had of it, too, for I was for iver burnin' my fingers
+promiskiously, and fallin' into the fire ivery day more or less--"
+
+"Stand by to hoist top-gallant-sails," shouted the captain. "How's
+her head?"
+
+"South and by east, sir," answered the man at the wheel.
+
+"Keep her away two points. Look alive lads. Hand me the glass, Martin."
+
+The ship was close hauled when these abrupt orders were given, battling
+in the teeth of a stiff breeze, off the coast of South America. About
+this time, several piratical vessels had succeeded in cutting off a
+number of merchantmen near the coast of Brazil. They had not only taken
+the valuable parts of their cargoes, but had murdered the crews under
+circumstances of great cruelty; and ships trading to these regions were,
+consequently, exceedingly careful to avoid all suspicious craft as much
+as possible. It was, therefore, with some anxiety that the men watched
+the captain's face as he examined the strange sail through the telescope.
+
+"A Spanish schooner," muttered the captain, as he shut up the glass with
+a bang. "I won't trust her. Up with the royals and rig out stun'-sails,
+Mr. Wilson, (to the mate). Let her fall away, keep her head nor'-west,
+d'ye hear?"
+
+"Ay, ay, sir."
+
+"Let go the lee braces and square the yards. Look sharp, now, lads. If
+that blackguard gets hold of us ye'll have to walk the plank, every
+man of ye."
+
+In a few minutes the ship's course was completely altered; a cloud of
+canvas spread out from the yards, and the _Firefly_ bounded on her course
+like a fresh race-horse. But it soon became evident that the heavy barque
+was no match for the schooner, which crowded sail and bore down at a rate
+that bade fair to overhaul them in a few hours. The chase continued till
+evening, when suddenly the look-out at the mast-head shouted, "Land, ho!"
+
+"Where away?" cried the captain.
+
+"Right ahead," sang out the man.
+
+"I'll run her ashore sooner than be taken," muttered the captain, with an
+angry scowl at the schooner, which was now almost within range on the
+weather quarter, with the dreaded black flag flying at her peak. In a few
+minutes breakers were descried ahead.
+
+"D'ye see anything like a passage?" shouted the captain.
+
+"Yes, sir; two points on the weather bow."
+
+At this moment a white cloud burst from the schooner's bow, and a shot,
+evidently from a heavy gun, came ricochetting over the sea. It was well
+aimed, for it cut right through the barque's main-mast, just below the
+yard, and brought the main-top-mast, with all the yards, sails, and
+gearing above it, down upon the deck. The weight of the wreck, also,
+carried away the fore-top-mast, and, in a single instant, the _Firefly_
+was completely disabled.
+
+"Lower away the boats," cried the captain; "look alive, now; we'll give
+them the slip yet. It'll be dark in two minutes."
+
+The captain was right. In tropical regions there is little or no
+twilight. Night succeeds day almost instantaneously. Before the boats
+were lowered and the men embarked it was becoming quite dark. The
+schooner observed the movement, however, and, as she did not dare to
+venture through the reef in the dark, her boats were also lowered and the
+chase was recommenced.
+
+The reef was passed in safety, and now a hard struggle took place, for
+the shore was still far distant. As it chanced to be cloudy weather the
+darkness became intense, and progress could only be guessed at by the
+sound of the oars; but these soon told too plainly that the boats of the
+schooner were overtaking those of the barque.
+
+"Pull with a will, lads," cried the captain; "we can't be more than half
+a mile from shore; give way, my hearties."
+
+"Surely, captain, we can fight them, we've most of us got pistols and
+cutlasses," said one of the men in a sulky tone.
+
+"Fight them!" cried the captain, "they're four times our number, and
+every man armed to the teeth. If ye don't fancy walking the plank or
+dancing on nothing at the yard-arm, ye'd better pull away and hold
+your jaw."
+
+By this time they could just see the schooner's boats in the dim light,
+about half-musket range astern.
+
+"Back you' oars," shouted a stern voice in broken English, "or I blow you
+out de watter in one oder moment,--black-yards!"
+
+This order was enforced by a musket shot, which whizzed over the boat
+within an inch of the captain's head. The men ceased rowing and the boats
+of the pirate ranged close up.
+
+"Now then, Martin," whispered Barney O'Flannagan, who sat at the bow oar,
+"I'm goin' to swim ashore; jist you slip arter me as quiet as ye can."
+
+"But the sharks!" suggested Martin.
+
+"Bad luck to them," said Barney as he slipped over the side, "they're
+welcome to me. Til take my chance. They'll find me mortial tough, anyhow.
+Come along, lad, look sharp!"
+
+Without a moment's hesitation Martin slid over the gunwale into the sea,
+and, just as the pirate boats grappled with those of the barque, he and
+Barney found themselves gliding as silently as otters towards the shore.
+So quietly had the manoeuvre been accomplished, that the men in their own
+boat were ignorant of their absence. In a few minutes they were beyond
+the chance of detection.
+
+"Keep close to me, lad," whispered the Irishman. "If we separate in the
+darkness we'll niver forgather again. Catch hould o; my shoulder if ye
+get blowed, and splutter as much as ye like. They can't hear us now, and
+it'll help to frighten the sharks."
+
+"All right," replied Martin; "I can swim like a cork in such warm water
+as this. Just go a little slower and I'll do famously."
+
+Thus encouraging each other, and keeping close together, lest they should
+get separated in the thick darkness of the night, the two friends struck
+out bravely for the shore.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+MARTIN AND BARNEY GET LOST IN A GREAT FOREST, WHERE THEY SEE STRANGE AND
+TERRIBLE THINGS
+
+
+On gaining the beach, the first thing that Barney did, after shaking
+himself like a huge Newfoundland dog, was to ascertain that his pistol
+and cutlass were safe; for, although the former could be of no use in its
+present condition, still, as he sagaciously remarked, "it was a good
+thing to have, for they might chance to git powder wan day or other, and
+the flint would make fire, anyhow." Fortunately the weather was extremely
+warm; so they were enabled to take off and wring their clothes without
+much inconvenience, except that in a short time a few adventurous
+mosquitoes--probably sea-faring ones--came down out of the woods and
+attacked their bare bodies so vigorously that they were fain to hurry on
+their clothes again before they were quite dry.
+
+The clouds began to clear away soon after they landed, and the brilliant
+light of the southern constellations revealed to them dimly the
+appearance of the coast. It was a low sandy beach skirting the sea and
+extending back for about a quarter of a mile in the form of a grassy
+plain, dotted here and there with scrubby underwood. Beyond this was a
+dark line of forest. The light was not sufficient to enable them to
+ascertain the appearance of the interior. Barney and Martin now cast
+about in their minds how they were to spend the night.
+
+"Ye see," said the Irishman, "it's of no use goin' to look for houses,
+because there's maybe none at all on this coast; an' there's no sayin'
+but we may fall in with savages--for them parts swarms with them; so we'd
+better go into the woods an'--"
+
+Barney was interrupted here by a low howl, which proceeded from the woods
+referred to, and was most unlike any cry they had ever heard before.
+
+"Och, but I'll think better of it. P'raps it'll be as well _not_ to go
+into the woods, but to camp where we are."
+
+"I think so too," said Martin, searching about for small twigs and
+drift-wood with which to make a fire. "There is no saying what sort of
+wild beasts may be in the forest, so we had better wait till daylight."
+
+A fire was quickly lighted by means of the pistol-flint and a little dry
+grass, which, when well bruised and put into the pan, caught a spark
+after one or two attempts, and was soon blown into a flame. But no wood
+large enough to keep the fire burning for any length of time could be
+found; so Barney said he would go up to the forest and fetch some. "I'll
+lave my shoes and socks, Martin, to dry at the fire. See ye don't let
+them burn."
+
+Traversing the meadow with hasty strides, the bold sailor quickly reached
+the edge of the forest, where he began to lop off several dead branches
+from the trees with his cutlass. While thus engaged the howl which had
+formerly startled him was repeated. "Av I only knowed what ye was,"
+muttered Barney in a serious tone, "it would be some sort o' comfort."
+
+A loud cry of a different kind here interrupted his soliloquy, and soon
+after the first cry was repeated louder than before.
+
+Clenching his teeth and knitting his brows the perplexed Irishman resumed
+his work with a desperate resolve not to be again interrupted. But he had
+miscalculated the strength of his nerves. Albeit as brave a man as ever
+stepped, when his enemy was before him, Barney was, nevertheless,
+strongly imbued with superstitious feelings; and the conflict between his
+physical courage and his mental cowardice produced a species of wild
+exasperation, which, he often asserted, was very hard to bear. Scarcely
+had he resumed his work when a bat of enormous size brushed past his nose
+so noiselessly that it seemed more like a phantom than a reality. Barney
+had never seen anything of the sort before, and a cold perspiration broke
+out upon him, when he fancied it might be a ghost. Again the bat swept
+past close to his eyes.
+
+"Musha, but I'll kill ye, ghost or no ghost," he ejaculated, gazing all
+round into the gloomy depths of the woods with his cutlass uplifted.
+Instead of flying again in front of him, as he had expected, the bat flew
+with a whirring noise past his ear. Down came the cutlass with a sudden
+thwack, cutting deep into the trunk of a small tree, which trembled under
+the shock and sent a shower of ripe nuts of a large size down upon the
+sailor's head. Startled as he was, he sprang backward with a wild cry;
+then, half ashamed of his groundless fears, he collected the wood he had
+cut, threw it hastily on his shoulder and went with a quick step out of
+the woods. In doing so he put his foot upon the head of a small snake,
+which wriggled up round his ankle and leg. If there was anything on earth
+that Barney abhorred and dreaded it was a snake. No sooner did he feel
+its cold form writhing under his foot, than he uttered a tremendous yell
+of terror, dropped his bundle of sticks, and fled precipitately to the
+beach, where he did not hall till he found himself knee-deep in the sea.
+
+"Och, Martin, boy," gasped the affrighted sailor, "it's my belafe that
+all the evil spirits on arth live in yonder wood; indeed I do."
+
+"Nonsense, Barney," said Martin, laughing; "there are no such things as
+ghosts; at any rate I'm resolved to face them, for if we don't get some
+sticks the fire will go out and leave us very comfortless. Come, I'll go
+up with you."
+
+"Put on yer shoes then, avic, for the sarpints are no ghosts, anyhow, and
+I'm tould they're pisonous sometimes."
+
+They soon found the bundle of dry sticks that Barney had thrown down, and
+returning with it to the beach, they speedily kindled a roaring fire,
+which made them feel quite cheerful. True, they had nothing to eat; but
+having had a good dinner on board the barque late that afternoon, they
+were not much in want of food. While they sat thus on the sand of the
+sea-shore, spreading their hands before the blaze and talking over their
+strange position, a low rumbling of distant thunder was heard. Barney's
+countenance instantly fell.
+
+"What's the matter, Barney?" inquired Martin, as he observed his
+companion gaze anxiously up at the sky.
+
+"Och, it's comin', sure enough."
+
+"And what though it does come?" returned Martin; "we can creep under one
+of these thick bushes till the shower is past."
+
+"Did ye iver see a thunder-storm in the tropics?" inquired Barney.
+
+"No, never," replied Martin.
+
+"Then if ye don't want to feel and see it both at wance, come with me as
+quick as iver ye can."
+
+Barney started up as he spoke, stuck his cutlass and pistol into his
+belt, and set off towards the woods at a sharp run, followed closely by
+his wondering companion.
+
+Their haste was by no means unnecessary. Great black clouds rushed up
+towards the zenith from all points of the compass, and, just as they
+reached the woods, darkness so thick that it might almost be felt
+overspread the scene. Then there was a flash of lightning so vivid that
+it seemed as if a bright day had been created and extinguished in a
+moment, leaving the darkness ten times more oppressive. It was followed
+instantaneously by a crash and a prolonged rattle, that sounded as if a
+universe of solid worlds were rushing into contact overhead and bursting
+into atoms. The flash was so far useful to the fugitives, that it enabled
+them to observe a many-stemmed tree with dense and heavy foliage, under
+which they darted. They were just in time, and had scarcely seated
+themselves among its branches when the rain came down in a way not only
+that Martin had never seen, but that he had never conceived of before. It
+fell, as it were, in broad heavy sheets, and its sound was a loud,
+continuous roar.
+
+The wind soon after burst upon the forest and added to the hideous shriek
+of elements. The trees bent before it; the rain was whirled and dashed
+about in water-spouts; and huge limbs were rent from some of the larger
+trees with a crash like thunder, and swept far away into the forest. The
+very earth trembled and seemed terrified at the dreadful conflict going
+on above. It seemed to the two friends as if the end of the world were
+come; and they could do nothing but cower among the branches of the tree
+and watch the storm in silence; while they felt, in a way they had never
+before experienced, how utterly helpless they were and unable to foresee
+or avert the many dangers by which they were surrounded, and how
+absolutely dependent they were on God for protection.
+
+For several hours the storm continued. Then it ceased as suddenly as it
+had begun, and the bright stars again shone down upon a peaceful scene.
+
+When it was over, Martin and his comrade descended the tree and
+endeavoured to find their way back to the beach. But this was no easy
+matter. The haste with which they had run into the woods, and the
+confusion of the storm, had made them uncertain in which direction it
+lay; and the more they tried to get out, the deeper they penetrated into
+the forest. At length, wearied with fruitless wandering and stumbling
+about in the dark, they resolved to spend the night where they were.
+Coming to a place which was more open than usual, and where they could
+see a portion of the starry sky overhead, they sat down on a dry spot
+under the shelter of a spreading tree, and, leaning their backs against
+the trunk, very soon fell sound asleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+AN ENCHANTING LAND--AN UNCOMFORTABLE BED AND A QUEER BREAKFAST--MANY
+SURPRISES AND A FEW FRIGHTS, TOGETHER WITH A NOTABLE DISCOVERY
+
+
+"I've woked in paradise!"
+
+Such was the exclamation that aroused Martin Rattler on the morning after
+his landing on the coast of South America. It was uttered by Barney
+O'Flannagan, who lay at full length on his back, his head propped up by a
+root of the tree under which they had slept, and his eyes staring right
+before him with an expression of concentrated amazement. When Martin
+opened his eyes, he too was struck dumb with surprise. And well might
+they gaze with astonishment; for the last ray of departing daylight on
+the night before had flickered over the open sea, and now the first gleam
+of returning sunshine revealed to them the magnificent forests of Brazil.
+
+Yes, well might they gaze and gaze again in boundless admiration; for
+the tropical sun shone down on a scene of dazzling and luxuriant
+vegetation, so resplendent that it seemed to them the realization of a
+fairy tale. Plants and shrubs and flowers were there, of the most
+curious and brilliant description, and of which they neither knew the
+uses nor the names. Majestic trees were there, with foliage of every
+shape and size and hue; some with stems twenty feet in circumference;
+others more slender in form, straight and tall; and some twisted in a
+bunch together and rising upwards like fluted pillars: a few had
+buttresses, or natural planks, several feet broad, ranged all round
+their trunks, as if to support them; while many bent gracefully beneath
+the load of their clustering fruit and heavy foliage. Orange-trees with
+their ripe fruit shone in the sunbeams like gold. Stately palms rose
+above the surrounding trees and waved their feathery plumes in the air,
+and bananas with broad enormous leaves rustled in the breeze and cast a
+cool shadow on the ground.
+
+Well might they gaze in great surprise; for all these curious and
+beautiful trees were surrounded by and entwined in the embrace of
+luxuriant and remarkable climbing plants. The parasitic vanilla with its
+star-like blossoms crept up their trunks and along their branches, where
+it hung in graceful festoons, or drooped back again almost to the ground.
+So rich and numerous were these creepers, that in many cases they killed
+the strong giants whom they embraced so lovingly. Some of them hung from
+the tree-tops like stays from the masts of a ship, and many of them
+mingled their brilliant flowers so closely with the leaves, that the
+climbing-plants and their supporters could not be distinguished from each
+other, and it seemed as though the trees themselves had become gigantic
+flowering shrubs.
+
+Birds, too, were there in myriads,--and such birds! Their feathers were
+green and gold and scarlet and yellow and blue--fresh and bright and
+brilliant as the sky beneath which they were nurtured. The great toucan,
+with a beak nearly as big as his body, flew clumsily from stem to stem.
+The tiny, delicate humming-birds, scarce larger than bees, fluttered from
+flower to flower and spray to spray, like points of brilliant green. But
+they were irritable, passionate little creatures, these lovely things,
+and quarrelled with each other and fought like very wasps! Enormous
+butterflies, with wings of deep metallic blue, shot past or hovered in
+the air like gleams of light; and green paroquets swooped from tree to
+tree and chattered joyfully over their morning meal.
+
+Well might they gaze with wonder, and smile too with extreme merriment,
+for monkeys stared at them from between the leaves with expressions of
+undisguised amazement, and bounded away shrieking and chattering in
+consternation, swinging from branch to branch with incredible speed, and
+not scrupling to use each other's tails to swing by when occasion
+offered. Some were big and red and ugly,--as ugly as you can possibly
+imagine, with blue faces and fiercely grinning teeth; others were
+delicately formed and sad of countenance, as if they were for ever
+bewailing the loss of near and dear relations, and could by no means come
+at consolation; and some were small and pretty, with faces no bigger than
+a halfpenny. As a general rule, it seemed to Barney, the smaller the
+monkey the longer the tail.
+
+Yes, well might they gaze and gaze again in surprise and in excessive
+admiration; and well might Barney O'Flannagan--under the circumstances,
+with such sights and sounds around him, and the delightful odours of
+myrtle trees arid orange blossoms and the Cape jessamine stealing up his
+nostrils--deem himself the tenant of another world, and evince his
+conviction of the fact in that memorable expression--"I've woked in
+paradise!"
+
+But Barney began to find "paradise" not quite so comfortable as it ought
+to be; for when he tried to get up he found his bones pained and stiff
+from sleeping in damp clothes; and moreover, his face was very much
+swelled, owing to the myriads of mosquitoes which had supped of it during
+the night.
+
+"Arrah, then, _won't_ ye be done!" he cried, angrily, giving his face a
+slap that killed at least two or three hundred of his tormentors. But
+thousands more attacked him instantly, and he soon found out,--what every
+one finds out sooner or later in hot climates,--that _patience_ is one of
+the best remedies for mosquito bites. He also discovered shortly
+afterwards that smoke is not a bad remedy, in connection with patience.
+
+"What are we to have for breakfast, Barney?" inquired Martin as he rose
+and yawned and stretched his limbs.
+
+"Help yersilf to what ye plase," said Barney, with a polite bow, waving
+his hand round him, as if the forest were his private property and Martin
+Rattler his honoured guest.
+
+"Well, I vote for oranges," said Martin, going towards a tree which was
+laden with ripe fruit.
+
+"An' I'll try plums, by way of variety," added his companion.
+
+In a few minutes several kinds of fruit and nuts were gathered and
+spread at the foot of the tree under which they had reposed. Then
+Barney proceeded to kindle a fire,--not that he had anything to cook,
+but he said it looked sociable-like, and the smoke would keep off the
+flies. The operation, however, was by no means easy. Everything had
+been soaked by the rain of the previous night, and a bit of dry grass
+could scarcely be found. At length he procured a little; and by rubbing
+it in the damp gunpowder which he had extracted from his pistol, and
+drying it in the sun, he formed a sort of tinder that caught fire after
+much persevering effort.
+
+Some of the fruits they found to be good,--others bad. The good they
+ate,--the bad they threw away. After their frugal fare they felt much
+refreshed, and then began to talk of what they should do.
+
+"We can't live here with parrots and monkeys, you know," said Martin; "we
+must try to find a village or town of some sort; or get to the coast, and
+then we shall perhaps meet with a ship."
+
+"True, lad," replied Barney, knitting his brows and looking extremely
+sagacious; "the fact is, since neither of us knows nothing about
+anything, or the way to any place, my advice is to walk straight for'ard
+till we come to something."
+
+"So think I," replied Martin; "therefore the sooner we set off the
+better."
+
+Having no luggage to pack and no arrangements of any kind to make, the
+two friends rose from their primitive breakfast-table, and walked away
+straight before them into the forest.
+
+All that day they travelled patiently forward, conversing pleasantly
+about the various and wonderful trees, and flowers, and animals they met
+with by the way; but no signs were discovered that indicated the presence
+of man. Towards evening, however, they fell upon a track or
+foot-path,--which discovery rejoiced them much; and here, before
+proceeding further, they sat down to eat a little more fruit,--which,
+indeed, they had done several times during the day. They walked nearly
+thirty miles that day without seeing a human being; but they met with
+many strange and beautiful birds and beasts,--some of which were of so
+fierce an aspect that they would have been very glad to have had guns to
+defend themselves with. Fortunately, however, all the animals seemed to
+be much more afraid of them than they were of the animals; so they
+travelled in safety. Several times during the course of the day they saw
+snakes and serpents, which glided away into the jungle on their approach,
+and could not be overtaken, although Barney made repeated darts at them,
+intending to attack them with his cutlass; which assaults always proved
+fruitless.
+
+Once they were charged by a herd of peccaries,--a species of pig or wild
+hog,--from which they escaped by jumping actively to one side; but the
+peccaries turned and rushed at them again, and it was only by springing
+up the branches of a neighbouring tree that they escaped their fury.
+These peccaries are the fiercest and most dauntless animals in the
+forests of Brazil. They do not know what fear is,--they will rush in the
+face of anything; and, unlike all other animals, are quite indifferent to
+the report of fire-arms. Their bodies are covered with long bristles,
+resembling very much the quills of the porcupine.
+
+As the evening drew on, the birds and beasts and the innumerable insects,
+that had kept up a perpetual noise during the day, retired to rest; and
+then the nocturnal animals began to creep out of their holes and go
+about. Huge vampire-bats, one of which had given Barney such a fright the
+night before, flew silently past them; and the wild howlings commenced
+again. They now discovered that one of the most dismal of the howls
+proceeded from a species of monkey: at which discovery Martin laughed
+very much, and rallied his companion on being so easily frightened; but
+Barney gladly joined in the laugh against himself, for, to say truth, he
+felt quite relieved and light-hearted at discovering that his ghosts were
+converted into bats and monkeys!
+
+There was one roar, however, which, when they heard it ever and anon,
+gave them considerable uneasiness.
+
+"D'ye think there's lions in them parts?" inquired Barney, glancing with
+an expression of regret at his empty pistol, and laying his hand on the
+hilt of his cutlass.
+
+"I think not," replied Martin, in a low tone of voice. "I have read in
+my school geography that there are tigers of some sort,--jaguars, or
+ounces, I think they are called,--but there are no--"
+
+Martin's speech was cut short by a terrific roar, which rang through the
+woods, and the next instant a magnificent jaguar, or South American
+tiger, bounded on to the track a few yards in advance, and, wheeling
+round, glared fiercely at the travellers. It seemed, in the uncertain
+light, as if his eyes were two balls of living fire. Though not so large
+as the royal Bengal tiger of India, this animal was nevertheless of
+immense size, and had a very ferocious aspect. His roar was so sudden and
+awful, and his appearance so unexpected, that the blood was sent
+thrilling back into the hearts of the travellers, who stood rooted to the
+spot, absolutely unable to move. This was the first large animal of the
+cat kind that either of them had seen in all the terrible majesty of its
+wild condition; and, for the first time, Martin and his friend felt that
+awful sensation of dread that will assail even the bravest heart when a
+new species of imminent danger is suddenly presented. It is said that no
+animal can withstand the steady gaze of a human eye; and many travellers
+in wild countries have proved this to be a fact. On the present occasion
+our adventurers stared long and steadily at the wild creature before
+them, from a mingled feeling of surprise and horror. In a few seconds the
+jaguar showed signs of being disconcerted. It turned its head from side
+to side slightly, and dropped its eyes, as if to avoid their gaze. Then
+turning slowly and stealthily round, it sprang with a magnificent bound
+into the jungle, and disappeared.
+
+Both Martin and Barney heaved a deep sigh of relief.
+
+"What a mercy it did not attack us!" said the former, wiping the cold
+perspiration from his forehead. "We should have had no chance against
+such a terrible beast with a cutlass, I fear."
+
+"True, boy, true," replied his friend, gravely; "it would have been
+little better than a penknife in the ribs o' sich a cratur. I niver
+thought that it was in the power o' man or baste to put me in sich a
+fright; but the longer we live we learn, boy."
+
+Barney's disposition to make light of everything was thoroughly subdued
+by this incident, and he felt none of his usual inclination to regard all
+that he saw in the Brazilian forests with a comical eye. The danger they
+had escaped was too real and terrible, and their almost unarmed condition
+too serious, to be lightly esteemed. For the next hour or two he
+continued to walk by Martin's side either in total silence, or in
+earnest, grave conversation; but by degrees these feelings wore off, and
+his buoyant spirits gradually returned.
+
+The country over which they had passed during the day was of a mingled
+character. At one time they traversed a portion of dark forest, heavy and
+choked up with the dense and gigantic foliage peculiar to those countries
+that lie near to the equator; then they emerged from this upon what to
+their eyes seemed most beautiful scenery,--mingled plain and
+woodland,--where the excessive brilliancy and beauty of the tropical
+vegetation was brought to perfection by exposure to the light of the blue
+sky and the warm rays of the sun. In such lovely spots they travelled
+more slowly and rested more frequently, enjoying to the full the sight of
+the gaily-coloured birds and insects that fluttered busily around them,
+and the delicious perfume of the flowers that decked the ground and
+clambered up the trees. At other times they came to plains, or _campos_,
+as they are termed, where there were no trees at all, and few shrubs, and
+where the grass was burned brown and dry by the sun. Over such they
+hurried as quickly as they could; and fortunately, where they chanced to
+travel, such places were neither numerous nor extensive, although in some
+districts of Brazil there are campos hundreds of miles in extent.
+
+A small stream meandered through the forest, and enabled them to refresh
+themselves frequently; which was very fortunate, for the heat, especially
+towards noon, became extremely intense, and they could not have existed
+without water. So great, indeed, was the heat about mid-day, that, by
+mutual consent, they resolved to seek the cool shade of a spreading tree,
+and try to sleep if possible. At this time they learned, to their
+surprise, that all animated nature did likewise, and sought repose at
+noon. God had implanted in the breast of every bird and insect in that
+mighty forest an instinct which taught it to rest and find refreshment
+during the excessive heat of mid-day; so that, during the space of two or
+three hours, not a thing with life was seen, and not a sound was heard.
+Even the troublesome mosquitoes, so active at all other times, day and
+night, were silent now. The change was very great and striking, and
+difficult for those who have not observed it to comprehend. All the
+forenoon, screams, and cries, and croaks, and grunts, and whistles, ring
+out through the woods incessantly; while, if you listen attentively, you
+hear the low, deep, and never-ending buzz and hum of millions upon
+millions of insects, that dance in the air and creep on every leaf and
+blade upon the ground. About noon all this is hushed. The hot rays of the
+sun beat perpendicularly down upon what seems a vast untenanted solitude,
+and not a single chirp breaks the death-like stillness of the great
+forest, with the solitary exception of the metallic note of the uruponga,
+or bell-bird, which seems to mount guard when all the rest of the world
+has gone to sleep. As the afternoon approaches they all wake up,
+refreshed by their siesta, active and lively as fairies, and ready for
+another spell of work and another deep-toned noisy chorus.
+
+The country through which our adventurers travelled, as evening
+approached, became gradually more hilly, and their march consequently
+more toilsome. They were just about to give up all thought of proceeding
+further that night, when, on reaching the summit of a little hill, they
+beheld a bright red light shining at a considerable distance in the
+valley beyond. With light steps and hearts full of hope they descended
+the hill and hastened towards it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE HERMIT
+
+
+It was now quite dark, and the whole country seemed alive with
+fire-flies. These beautiful little insects sat upon the trees and bushes,
+spangling them as with living diamonds, and flew about in the air like
+little wandering stars. Barney had seen them before, in the West Indies,
+but Martin had only heard of them; and his delight and amazement at their
+extreme brilliancy were very great. Although he was naturally anxious to
+reach the light in the valley, in the hope that it might prove to proceed
+from some cottage, he could not refrain from stopping once or twice to
+catch these lovely creatures; and when he succeeded in doing so, and
+placed one on the palm of his hand, the light emitted from it was more
+brilliant than that of a small taper, and much more beautiful, for it was
+of a bluish colour, and very intense,--more like the light reflected from
+a jewel than a flame of fire. He could have read a book by means of it
+quite easily.
+
+In half an hour they drew near to the light, which they found proceeded
+from the window of a small cottage or hut.
+
+"Whist, Martin," whispered Barney, as they approached the hut on tiptoe;
+"there may be savages into it, an' there's no sayin' what sort o' craturs
+they are in them parts."
+
+When about fifty yards distant, they could see through the open window
+into the room where the light burned; and what they beheld there was well
+calculated to fill them with surprise. On a rude wooden chair, at a rough
+unpainted table, a man was seated, with his head resting on his hand, and
+his eyes fixed intently on a book. Owing to the distance, and the few
+leaves and branches that intervened between them and the hut, they could
+not observe him very distinctly. But it was evident that he was a large
+and strong man, a little past the prime of life. The hair of his head and
+beard was black and bushy, and streaked with silver-grey. His face was
+massive, and of a dark olive complexion, with an expression of sadness on
+it, strangely mingled with stern gravity. His broad shoulders--and,
+indeed, his whole person--were enveloped in the coarse folds of a long
+gown or robe, gathered in at the waist with a broad band of leather.
+
+The room in which he sat--or rather the hut, for there was but one room
+in it--was destitute of all furniture, except that already mentioned,
+besides one or two roughly-formed stools; but the walls were completely
+covered with strange-looking implements and trophies of the chase; and
+in a corner lay a confused pile of books, some of which were, from
+their appearance, extremely ancient. All this the benighted wanderers
+observed as they continued to approach cautiously on tiptoe. So
+cautious did they become as they drew near, and came within the light
+of the lamp, that Barney at length attempted to step over his own
+shadow for fear of making a noise; and, in doing so, tripped and fell
+with considerable noise through a hedge of prickly shrubs that
+encircled the strange man's dwelling.
+
+The hermit--for such he appeared to be--betrayed no symptom of surprise
+or fear at the sudden sound; but, rising quietly though quickly from his
+seat, took down a musket that hung on the wall, and, stepping to the open
+door, demanded sternly, in the Portuguese language, "Who goes there?"
+
+"Arrah, then, if ye'd help a fellow-cratur to rise, instead o' talkin'
+gibberish like that, it would be more to your credit!" exclaimed the
+Irishman, as he scrambled to his feet and presented himself, along with
+Martin, at the hermit's door.
+
+A peculiar smile lighted up the man's features as he retreated into the
+hut, and invited the strangers to enter.
+
+"Come in," said he, in good English, although with a slightly foreign
+accent. "I am most happy to see you. You are English. I know the voice
+and the language very well. Lived among them once, but long time past
+now--very long. Have not seen one of you for many years."
+
+With many such speeches, and much expression of good-will, the hospitable
+hermit invited Martin and his companion to sit down at his rude table, on
+which he quickly spread several plates of ripe and dried fruits, a few
+cakes, and a jar of excellent honey, with a stone bottle of cool water.
+When they were busily engaged with these viands, he began to make
+inquiries as to where his visitors had come from.
+
+"We've comed from the sae," replied Barney, as he devoted himself to a
+magnificent pineapple. "Och but yer victuals is mighty good,
+Mister--what's yer name?--'ticklerly to them that's a'most starvin'."
+
+"The fact is," said Martin, "our ship has been taken by pirates, and we
+two swam ashore, and lost ourselves in the woods; and now we have
+stumbled upon your dwelling, friend, which is a great comfort."
+
+"Hoigh, an' that's true," sighed Barney, as he finished the last slice of
+the pineapple.
+
+They now explained to their entertainer all the circumstances attending
+the capture of the _Firefly_, and their subsequent adventures and
+vicissitudes in the forest; all of which Barney detailed in a most
+graphic manner, and to all of which their new friend listened with grave
+attention and unbroken silence. When they had concluded he said,--
+
+"Very good. You have seen much in very short time. Perhaps you shall see
+more by-and-by. For the present you will go to rest, for you must be
+fatigued. I will _think_ to-night,--to-morrow I will _speak_"
+
+"An', if I may make so bould," said Barney, glancing with a somewhat
+rueful expression round the hard earthen floor of the hut, "where-abouts
+may I take the liberty of sleepin'?"
+
+The hermit replied by going to a corner, whence, from beneath a heap of
+rubbish, he dragged two hammocks, curiously wrought in a sort of light
+net-work. These he slung across the hut, at one end, from wall to wall,
+and, throwing a sheet or coverlet into each, he turned with a smile to
+his visitors,--
+
+"Behold your beds! I wish you a very good sleep,--adios!"
+
+So saying, this strange individual sat down at the table, and was soon as
+deeply engaged with his large book as if he had suffered no interruption;
+while Martin and Barney, having gazed gravely and abstractedly at him for
+five minutes, turned and smiled to each other, jumped into their
+hammocks, and were soon buried in deep slumber.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+AN ENEMY IN THE NIGHT--THE VAMPIRE BAT--THE HERMIT DISCOURSES ON STRANGE,
+AND CURIOUS, AND INTERESTING THINGS
+
+
+Next morning Martin Rattler awoke with a feeling of lightness in his
+head, and a sensation of extreme weakness pervading his entire frame.
+Turning his head round to the right he observed that a third hammock was
+slung across the further end of the hut; which was, no doubt, that in
+which the hermit had passed the night. But it was empty now. Martin did
+not require to turn his head to the other side to see if Barney
+O'Flannagan was there, for that worthy individual made his presence
+known, for a distance of at least sixty yards all round the outside of
+the hut, by means of his nose, which he was in the habit of using as a
+trumpet when asleep. It was as well that Martin did not require to look
+round; for he found, to his surprise, that he had scarcely strength to do
+so. While he was wondering in a dreamy sort of manner what could be the
+matter with him, the hermit entered the hut bearing a small deer upon his
+shoulders. Resting his gun in a corner of the room, he advanced to
+Martin's hammock.
+
+"My boy," he exclaimed, in surprise, "what is wrong with you?"
+
+"I'm sure I don't know," said Martin, faintly; "I think there is
+something wet about my feet."
+
+Turning up the sheet, he found that Martin's feet were covered with
+blood! For a few seconds the hermit growled forth a number of apparently
+very pithy sentences in Portuguese, in a deep guttural voice, which
+awakened Barney with a start. Springing from his hammock with a bound
+like a tiger, he exclaimed, "Och! ye blackguard, would ye murther the boy
+before me very nose?" and seizing the hermit in his powerful grasp, he
+would infallibly have hurled him, big though he was, through his own
+doorway, had not Martin cried out, "Stop, stop, Barney. It's all right;
+he's done nothing:" on hearing which the Irishman loosened his hold, and
+turned towards his friend.
+
+"What's the matter, honey?" said Barney, in a soothing tone of voice, as
+a mother might address her infant son. The hermit, whose composure had
+not been in the slightest degree disturbed, here said--
+
+"The poor child has been sucked by a vampire bat."
+
+"Ochone!" groaned Barney, sitting down on the table, and looking at his
+host with a face of horror.
+
+"Yes, these are the worst animals in Brazil for sucking the blood of
+men and cattle. I find it quite impossible to keep my mules alive, they
+are so bad."
+
+Barney groaned.
+
+"They have killed two cows which I tried to keep here, and one young
+horse--a foal you call him, I think; and now I have no cattle remaining,
+they are so bad."
+
+Barney groaned again, and the hermit went on to enumerate the wicked
+deeds of the vampire bats, while he applied poultices of certain herbs to
+Martin's toe, in order to check the bleeding, and then bandaged it up;
+after which he sat down to relate to his visitors the manner in which the
+bat carries on its bloody operations. He explained, first of all, that
+the vampire bats are so large and ferocious that they often kill horses
+and cattle by sucking their blood out. Of course they cannot do this at
+one meal, but they attack the poor animals again and again, and the blood
+continues to flow from the wounds they make long afterwards, so that the
+creatures attacked soon grow weak and die. They attack men, too,--as
+Martin knew to his cost; and they usually fix upon the toes and other
+extremities. So gentle are they in their operations, that sleepers
+frequently do not feel the puncture, which they make, it is supposed,
+with the sharp hooked nail of their thumb; and the unconscious victim
+knows nothing of the enemy who has been draining his blood until he
+awakens, faint and exhausted, in the morning.
+
+Moreover, the hermit told them that these vampire bats have very sharp,
+carnivorous teeth, besides a tongue which is furnished with the curious
+organs by which they suck the life-blood of their fellow-creatures; that
+they have a peculiar, leaf-like, overhanging lip; and that he had a
+stuffed specimen of a bat that measured no less than two feet across the
+expanded wings, from tip to tip,
+
+"Och, the blood-thirsty spalpeen!" exclaimed Barney, as he rose and
+crossed the room to examine the bat in question, which was nailed against
+the wall. "Bad luck to them, they've ruined Martin intirely."
+
+"O no," remarked the hermit with a smile. "It will do the boy much good
+the loss of the blood; much good, and he will not be sick at all
+to-morrow."
+
+"I'm glad to hear you say so," said Martin, "for it would be a great bore
+to be obliged to lie here when I've so many things to see. In fact I feel
+better already, and if you will be so kind as to give me a little
+breakfast I shall be quite well,"
+
+While Martin was speaking, the obliging hermit,--who, by the way, was now
+habited in a loose short hunting-coat of brown cotton,--spread a
+plentiful repast upon his table; to which, having assisted Martin to get
+out of his hammock, they all proceeded to do ample justice: for the
+travellers were very hungry after the fatigue of the previous day; and as
+for the hermit, he looked like a man whose appetite was always sharp set
+and whose food agreed with him.
+
+They had cold meat of several kinds, and a hot steak of venison just
+killed that morning, which the hermit cooked while his guests were
+engaged with the other viands. There was also excellent coffee, and
+superb cream, besides cakes made of a species of coarse flour or meal,
+fruits of various kinds, arid very fine honey.
+
+"Arrah! ye've the hoith o' livin' here!" cried Barney, smacking his lips
+as he held out his plate for another supply of a species of meat which
+resembled chicken in tenderness and flavour. "What sort o' bird or baste
+may that be, now, av' I may ask ye, Mister--what's yer name?"
+
+"My name is Carlos," replied the hermit, gravely; "and this is the flesh
+of the Armadillo."
+
+"Arma--what--o?" inquired Barney.
+
+"Arma_dillo_," repeated the hermit. "He is very good to eat, but very
+difficult to catch. He digs down so fast we cannot catch him, and must
+smoke him out of his hole."
+
+"Have you many cows?" inquired Martin, as he replenished his cup
+with coffee.
+
+"Cows?" echoed the hermit, "I have got no cows."
+
+"Where do you get such capital cream, then?" asked Martin in surprise.
+
+The hermit smiled. "Ah! my friends, that cream has come from a very
+curious cow. It is from a cow that grows in the ground."
+
+"Grows!" ejaculated his guests.
+
+"Yes, he grows. I will show him to you one day."
+
+The hermit's broad shoulders shook with a quiet internal laugh. "I will
+explain a little of that you behold on my table.
+
+"The coffee I get from the trees. There are plenty of them here. Much
+money is made in Brazil by the export of coffee,--very much. The cakes
+are made from the mandioca-root, which I grow near my house. The root is
+dried and ground into flour, which, under the general _name farina_, is
+used all over the country. It is almost the only food used by the Indians
+and Negroes."
+
+"Then there are Injins and Niggers here, are there?" inquired Barney.
+
+"Yes, a great many. Most of the Negroes are slaves; some of the Indians
+too; and the people who are descended from the Portuguese who came and
+took the country long ago, they are the masters.--Well, the honey I get
+in holes in the trees. There are different kinds of honey here; some of
+it is _sour_ honey. And the fruits and roots, the plantains, and
+bananas, and yams, and cocoa-nuts, and oranges, and plums, all grow in
+the forest, and much more besides, which you will see for yourselves if
+you stay long here."
+
+"It's a quare country, intirely," remarked Barney, as he wiped his mouth
+and heaved a sigh of contentment. Then, drawing his hand over his chin,
+he looked earnestly in the hermit's face, and, with a peculiar twinkle in
+his eye, said--
+
+"I s'pose ye couldn't favour me with the lind of a raazor, could ye?"
+
+"No, my friend; I never use that foolish weapon."
+
+"Ah, well, as there's only monkeys and jaguars, and sich like to see me,
+it don't much signify; but my mustaches is gitin' mighty long, for I've
+been two weeks already without a shave."
+
+Martin laughed heartily at the grave, anxious expression of his
+comrade's face. "Never mind, Barney," he said, "a beard and moustache
+will improve you vastly. Besides, they will be a great protection
+against mosquitoes; for you are such a hairy monster, that when they
+grow nothing of your face will be exposed except your eyes and
+cheek-bones. And now," continued Martin, climbing into his hammock again
+and addressing the hermit, "since you won't allow me to go out a-hunting
+to-day, I would like very much if you would tell me something more about
+this strange country."
+
+"An' may be," suggested Barney, modestly, "ye won't object to tell us
+something about yersilf,--how you came for to live in this quare,
+solitary kind of a way."
+
+The hermit looked gravely from one to the other, and stroked his beard.
+Drawing his rude chair towards the door of the hut, he folded his arms,
+and crossed his legs, and gazed dreamily forth upon the rich landscape.
+Then, glancing again at his guests, he said, slowly: "Yes, I will do what
+you ask,--I will tell you my story."
+
+"An', if I might make so bould as to inquire," said Barney, with a
+deprecatory smile, while he drew a short black pipe from his pocket,
+"have ye got such a thing as 'baccy in them parts?"
+
+The hermit rose, and going to a small box which stood in a corner,
+returned with a quantity of cut tobacco in one hand, and a cigar not far
+short of a foot long in the other! In a few seconds the cigar was going
+in full force, like a factory chimney; and the short black pipe glowed
+like a miniature furnace, while its owner seated himself on a low stool,
+crossed his arms on his breast, leaned his back against the door-post,
+and smiled,--as only an Irishman can smile under such circumstances. The
+smoke soon formed a thick cloud, which effectually drove the mosquitoes
+out of the hut, and through which Martin, lying in his hammock, gazed out
+upon the sunlit orange and coffee trees, and tall palms with their rich
+festoons of creeping plants, and sweet-scented flowers, that clambered
+over and round the hut and peeped in at the open door and windows, while
+he listened to the hermit, who continued for at least ten minutes to
+murmur slowly, between the puffs of his cigar, "Yes, I will do it; I will
+tell you my story."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE HERMIT'S STORY
+
+
+"My ancestors," began the hermit, "were among the first to land upon
+Brazil, after the country was taken possession of in the name of the King
+of Portugal, in the year 1500. In the first year of the century, Vincent
+Yanez Pinçon, a companion of the famed Columbus, discovered Brazil; and
+in the next year, Pedro Alvarez Cabral, a Portuguese commander, took
+possession of it in the name of the King of Portugal. In 1503, Americus
+Vespucius discovered the Bay of All Saints, and took home a cargo of
+Brazil-wood, monkeys and parrots; but no permanent settlement was
+effected upon the shores of the new continent, and the rich treasures of
+this great country remained for some years longer buried and unknown to
+man,--for the wild Indians who lived here knew not their value.
+
+"It was on a dark and stormy night in the year 1510. A group of swarthy
+and naked savages encircled a small fire on the edge of the forest on the
+east coast of Brazil. The spot where their watchfire was kindled is now
+covered by the flourishing city of Bahia. At that time it was a
+wilderness. Before them stretched the noble bay which is now termed
+_Bahia de Todos Santos,_--All Saints' Bay.
+
+"The savages talked earnestly and with excited looks as they stood upon
+the shore, for the memory of the wondrous ships of the white men that
+had visited them a few years before was deeply engraven on their minds;
+and now, in the midst of the howling storm, another ship was seen
+approaching their land. It was a small vessel, shattered and
+tempest-tossed, that drove into the Bahia de Todos Santos on that stormy
+night. Long had it battled with the waves of the Atlantic, and the brave
+hearts that manned it had remained stanch to duty and strong in hope,
+remembering the recent glorious example of Columbus. But the storm was
+fierce and the bark was frail. The top-masts were broken and the sails
+rent; and worst of all, just as land hove in sight and cheered the
+drooping spirits of the crew, a tremendous wave dashed upon the ship's
+stern and carried away the rudder.
+
+"As they drove helplessly before the gale towards the shore, the naked
+savages crowded down upon the beach and gazed in awe and astonishment at
+the mysterious ship. A few of them had seen the vessels of Americus
+Vespucius and Cabral. The rumour of the white men and their floating
+castle had been wafted far and wide along the coast and into the interior
+of Brazil, and with breathless wonder the natives had listened to the
+strange account. But now the vision was before them in reality. On came
+the floating castle, the white foam dashing from her bows and the torn
+sails and ropes flying from her masts as she surged over the billows and
+loomed through the driving spray.
+
+"It was a grand sight to see that ship dashing straight towards the shore
+at fearful speed; and those who looked on seemed to be impressed with a
+vague feeling that she had power to spring upon the strand and continue
+her swift career through the forest, as she had hitherto cleft her
+passage through the sea. As she approached, the savages shrank back in
+fear. Suddenly her frame trembled with a mighty shock. A terrible cry was
+borne to land by the gale, and all her masts went overboard. A huge wave
+lifted the vessel on its crest and flung her further on the shore, where
+she remained firmly fixed, while the waves dashed in foam around her and
+soon began to break her up. Ere this happened, however, a rope was thrown
+ashore and fastened to a rock by the natives. By means of this the crew
+were saved. But it would have been well for these bold navigators of
+Portugal if they had perished in the stormy sea, for they were spared by
+the ocean only to be murdered by the wild savages on whose shore they had
+been cast.
+
+"All were slain save one,--Diego Alvarez Carreo, the captain of the ship.
+Before grasping the rope by which he reached the shore, he thrust several
+cartridges into his bosom and caught up a loaded musket. Wrapping the
+lock in several folds of cloth to keep it dry, he slid along the rope and
+gained the beach in safety. Here he was seized by the natives, and would
+no doubt have been barbarously slain with his unfortunate companions;
+but, being a very powerful man, he dashed aside the foremost, and,
+breaking through their ranks, rushed towards the wood. The fleet savages,
+however, overtook him in an instant, and were about to seize him when a
+young Indian woman interposed between them and their victim. This girl
+was the chiefs daughter, and respect for her rank induced them to
+hesitate for a moment; but in another instant the Portuguese captain was
+surrounded. In the scuffle that ensued his musket exploded, but
+fortunately wounded no one. Instantly the horrified savages fled in all
+directions leaving Carreo alone!
+
+"The captain was quick-witted. He knew that among hundreds of savages it
+was madness to attempt either to fight or fly, and the happy effect of
+the musket explosion induced him to adopt another course of action. He
+drew himself up proudly to his full height, and beckoned the savages to
+return. This they did, casting many glances of fear at the dreaded
+musket. Going up to one who, from his bearing and ornaments, seemed to be
+a chief, Carreo laid his musket on the sand, and, stepping over it so
+that he left it behind him, held out his hand frankly to the chief. The
+savage looked at him in surprise, and suffered the captain to take his
+hand and pat it; after which he began to examine the stranger's dress
+with much curiosity. Seeing that their chief was friendly to the white
+man, the other savages hurried him to the campfire, where he soon
+stripped off his wet clothes and ate the food which they put before him.
+Thus Diego Carreo was spared.
+
+"Next day, the Indians lined the beach and collected the stores of the
+wrecked vessel. While thus employed, Carreo shot a gull with his musket;
+which so astonished the natives that they regarded him with fear and
+respect amounting almost to veneration. A considerable quantity of powder
+and shot was saved from the wreck, so that the captain was enabled to
+keep his ascendency over the ignorant natives; and at length he became a
+man of great importance in the tribe, and married the daughter of the
+chief. He went by the name of _Caramuru_,--'The man of fire.' This man
+founded the city of Bahia.
+
+"The coasts of Brazil began soon after this to be settled in various
+places by the Portuguese; who, however, were much annoyed by the
+Spaniards, who claimed a share in the rich prize. The Dutch and English
+also formed settlements; but the Portuguese still retained possession of
+the country, and continued to prosper. Meanwhile Diego Caramuru, 'the man
+of fire,' had a son who in course of time became a prosperous settler;
+and as his sons grew up he trained them to become cultivators of the soil
+and traders in the valuable products of the New World. He took a piece of
+ground, far removed from the spot where his father had been cast ashore,
+and a short distance in the interior of the country. Here the eldest sons
+of the family dwelt, laboured, and died, for many generations.
+
+"In the year 1808 Portugal was invaded by Napoleon Buonaparte, and the
+sovereign of that kingdom, John VI., fled to Brazil, accompanied by his
+court and a large body of emigrants. The king was warmly received by the
+Brazilians, and immediately set about improving the condition of the
+country. He threw open its ports to all nations; freed the land from all
+marks of colonial dependence; established newspapers; made the press
+free, and did everything to promote education and industry. But although
+much was done, the good was greatly hindered, especially in the inland
+districts, by the vice, ignorance, and stupidity of many of the Roman
+Catholic priests, who totally neglected their duties,--which, indeed,
+they were incompetent to perform,--and in many instances, were no better
+than miscreants in disguise, teaching the people vice instead of virtue.
+
+"Foremost among the priests who opposed advancement was a descendant of
+the 'man of fire,' Padre Caramuru dwelt for some years with an English
+merchant in the capital of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. The padre was not an
+immoral man, but he was a fiery bigot, and fiercely opposed everything
+that tended to advance the education of the people. This he did, firmly
+believing that education was dangerous to the lower orders. His church
+taught him, too, that the Bible was a dangerous book; and whenever a copy
+fell into his hands he immediately destroyed it. During the disturbances
+that took place after the time of King John's departure for Portugal, and
+just before Brazil became an independent state under his son, the Emperor
+Don Pedro I., Padre Caramuru lost a beloved and only brother. He was
+quite a youth, and had joined the army only a few months previously, at
+the desire of his elder brother the padre, who was so overwhelmed by the
+blow that he ceased to take an active part in church or political affairs
+and buried himself in a retired part of his native valley. Here he sought
+relief and comfort in the study of the beauties of Nature by which he was
+surrounded, but found none. Then he turned his mind to the doctrines of
+his church, and took pleasure in verifying them from the Bible. But as he
+proceeded he found, to his great surprise, that these doctrines were,
+many of them, not to be found there; nay, further, that some of them were
+absolutely contradicted by the word of God.
+
+"Padre Caramuru had been in the habit of commanding his people not to
+listen to the Bible when any one offered to read it; but in the Bible
+itself he found these words, 'Search the Scriptures.' He had been in the
+habit of praying to the Virgin Mary, and begging her to intercede with
+God for him; but in the Bible he found these words: 'There is one
+mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.' These things
+perplexed him much. But while he was thus searching, as it were, for
+silver, the ignorant padre found gold! He found that he did not require
+to _work_ for salvation, but to _ask_ for it. He discovered that the
+atonement had been made once for all by Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God;
+and he read with a thrilling heart these words: 'God so loved the world,
+that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
+should not perish, but have everlasting life.'
+
+"Long and earnestly did the padre ponder these words and pray over them;
+and gradually the Holy Spirit enlightened his mind, and he saw how
+hateful that system was which could forbid or discourage the reading of
+the blessed word of God. He soon resolved to forsake the priesthood. But
+when he had done so, he knew not what to turn his hand to. He had no one
+like-minded to consult with, and he felt that it was wrong to eat the
+bread of idleness. Being thus uncertain what to do, he resolved in the
+meantime to carry goods into the interior of the country, and offer them
+for sale. The land round his dwelling and his own gun would supply him
+with food; and for the rest, he would spend his time in the study of the
+Bible, and seek for more light and direction from God.
+
+"Such," continued the hermit, "is a slight sketch of the history of my
+country and of myself."
+
+"Yourself?" exclaimed Martin.
+
+"Yes. I am the Padre Caramuru, or rather I _was_. I am Padre no longer,
+but Senhor Carlos Caramuru, a merchant. Yet I know not what to do. When I
+look round upon my country, and see how they know not the precious word
+of God, my heart burns in me, and I sometimes think that it is my duty to
+go forth and preach."
+
+"No doubt ye are right," said Barney. "I've always bin of opinion that
+when a man feels very strong in his heart on any partic'lar subject, it's
+a sure sign that the Almighty intends him to have something more to do
+with that subject than other men who don't feel about it at all."
+
+The hermit remained silent for a few minutes. "I think you are right,
+friend," he said; "but I am very ignorant yet. I have no one to explain
+difficulties to me; and I fear to go about preaching, lest I should
+preach what is not true. I will study yet for a time, and pray. After
+that, perhaps, I may go forth."
+
+"But you have told us nothing yet about the trade of the country," said
+Martin, "or its size, or anything of that sort."
+
+"I will soon tell you of that when I have lighted another cigar. This one
+does not draw well. Have you got a full pipe still, my friend?"
+
+"All right, Mr. Carrymooroo," replied Barney, knocking out the ashes.
+"I'll jist load wance more, and then,--fire away."
+
+In a few minutes the big cigar and short pipe were in full play, and the
+hermit continued:--
+
+"This country is very large and very rich, but it is not well worked. The
+people are lazy, many of them, and have not much enterprise. Much is
+done, no doubt; but very much more _might_ be done.
+
+"The empire of Brazil occupies nearly one-half of the whole continent of
+South America. It is 2600 miles long, and 2500 miles broad; which, as you
+know perhaps, is a little larger than all Europe. The surface of the
+country is beautiful and varied. The hilly regions are very wild,
+although none of the mountains are very high, and the woods are
+magnificent; but a great part of the land consists of vast grassy plains,
+which are called llanos, or campos, or silvas. The campos along the banks
+of the River Amazon are equal to six times the size of France; and there
+is one great plain which lies between the Sierra Ibiapaba and the River
+Tocantins which is 600 miles long by 400 miles broad. There are very few
+lakes in Brazil, and only one worth speaking of--the Lagoa dos
+Platos--which is 150 miles long. But our rivers are the finest in the
+whole world, being so long, and wide, and deep, and free from falls, that
+they afford splendid communication with the interior of the land. But,
+alas! there are few ships on these rivers yet, very few. The rivers in
+the north part of Brazil are so numerous and interlaced that they are
+much like the veins in the human body; and the great River Amazon and a
+few of its chief tributaries resemble the arteries.
+
+"Then as to our produce," continued the hermit, "who can tell it all? We
+export sugar, and coffee, and cotton, and gold, silver, lead, zinc,
+quicksilver, and amethysts, and we have diamond mines--"
+
+"Di'mond mines!" echoed Barney; "och but I would like for to see them.
+Sure they would sparkle most beautiful. Are they far off, Mr.
+Carrymooroo?"
+
+"Yes, very far off. Then we export dye-woods, and cabinet-woods, and
+drugs, and gums, and hides,--a great many hides, for the campos are full
+of wild cattle, and men hunt them on horseback, and catch them with a
+long rope called the _lasso_."
+
+"How I should like to have a gallop over these great plains,"
+murmured Martin.
+
+"Then we have," continued the hermit, "rice, tapioca, cocoa, maize,
+wheat, mandioca, beans, bananas, pepper, cinnamon, oranges, figs, ginger,
+pineapples, yams, lemons, mangoes, and many other fruits and vegetables.
+The mandioca you have eaten in the shape of farina. It is very good food;
+one acre gives as much nutriment as six acres of wheat.
+
+"Of the trees you have seen something. There are thousands of kinds, and
+most magnificent. Some of them are more than thirty feet round about.
+There are two hundred different kinds of palms, and so thick stand the
+giant trees in many places, with creeping plants growing between, that it
+is not possible for man to cut his way through the forests in some parts.
+Language cannot describe the grandeur and glory of the Brazilian forests.
+
+"We have numbers of wild horses, and hogs, and goats; and in the woods
+are tiger-cats, jaguars, tapirs, hyenas, sloths, porcupines, and--but you
+have seen many things already. If you live you will see more. I need not
+tell you of these things; very soon I will show you some.
+
+"The population of my country consists of the descendants of Portuguese
+settlers, native Indians, and Negroes. Of the latter, some are free, some
+slaves. The Indians go about nearly naked. Most of them are in a savage
+state: they paint their skins, and wear gaudy ornaments. The religion of
+the country is Roman Catholic, but all religions are tolerated; and I
+have much hope for the future of Brazil, in spite of the priests."
+
+"And do ye git much out o' the di'mond mines?" inquired Barney, whose
+mind was running on this subject.
+
+"O yes, a great deal. Every year many are got, and Government gets
+one-fifth of the value of all the gold and diamonds found in the country.
+One diamond was found a short time ago which was worth £40,000."
+
+"Ye don't say so!" exclaimed Barney in great surprise, as he blew an
+immense cloud of smoke from his lips. "Now, that's extror'nary. Why don't
+everybody go to the mines and dig up their fortin at wance?"
+
+"Because men cannot _eat_ diamonds," replied the hermit gravely.
+
+"Troth, I niver thought o' that; ye're right."
+
+Martin laughed heartily as he lay in his hammock and watched his friend's
+expression while pondering this weighty subject.
+
+"Moreover," resumed the hermit, "you will be surprised to hear that
+diamond and gold finding is not the most profitable employment in
+this country.
+
+"The man who cultivates the ground is better off than anybody. It is a
+fact, a very great fact, a fact that you should get firmly fixed in your
+memory--that in less than _two years_ the exports of sugar and coffee
+amounted to more than the value of all the diamonds found in _eighty_
+years. Yes, that is true. But the people of Brazil are not well off. They
+have everything that is necessary to make a great nation; but we are not
+a great nation, far from it." The hermit sighed deeply as he ceased
+speaking, and fell into an abstracted frame of mind.
+
+"It's a great country intirely," said Barney, knocking the ashes out of
+his pipe, and placing that much-loved implement carefully in his pocket;
+"a great country, but there's a tremendous big screw loose somewhere."
+
+"It seems curious to me," said Martin, in a ruminating tone of voice,
+"that people should not get on better in a country in which there is
+everything that man can desire to make him rich and happy. I wonder what
+it wants; perhaps it's too hot, and the people want energy of character."
+
+"Want energy!" shouted the hermit, leaping from his seat, and regarding
+his guests for a few moments with a stern expression of countenance;
+then, stretching forth his hand, he continued, in an excited tone:
+"Brazil does not want energy; it has only one want,--it wants the Bible!
+When a country is sunk down in superstition and ignorance and moral
+depravity, so that the people know not right from wrong, there is only
+one cure for her,--the Bible. Religion here is a mockery and a shame;
+such as, if it were better known, would make the heathen laugh in scorn.
+The priests are a curse to the land, not a blessing. Perhaps they are
+better in other lands,--I know not; but well I know they are many of
+them false and wicked here. No truth is taught to the people,--no Bible
+is read in their ears; religion is not taught,--even morality is not
+taught; men follow the devices and desires of their own hearts, and
+there is no voice raised to say, 'You are doing wrong.' My country is
+sunk very low; and she cannot hope to rise, for the word of her Maker is
+not in her hand. True, there are a few, a very few Bibles in the great
+cities; but that is all: that cannot save her hundreds of towns and
+villages. Thousands of her people are slaves in body,--all, all are
+slaves in soul; and yet you ask me what she wants. Ha! she wants
+_truth_,--she wants to be purged of falsehood. She has bones and
+muscles, and arteries and veins,--everything to make a strong and
+healthy nation; but she wants blood,--she has no vital stream; yes,
+Brazil, my country, wants the Bible!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+A HUNTING EXPEDITION, IN WHICH ARE SEEN STONES THAT CAN RUN, AND COWS
+THAT REQUIRE NO FOOD--BESIDES A DESPERATE ENCOUNTER WITH A JAGUAR, AND
+OTHER STRANGE THINGS
+
+
+For many weeks Martin Rattler and his friend Barney O'Flannagan continued
+to dwell with the hermit in his forest-home, enjoying his entertaining
+and instructive discourse, and joining with him in the hunting
+expeditions which he undertook for the purpose of procuring fresh food
+for his table. In these rambles they made constant discoveries of
+something new and surprising, both in reference to the vegetables and
+animals of that extraordinary region of the earth. They also had many
+adventures,--some amusing and some terrible,--which we cannot enlarge on
+here, for they would fill ten volumes such as this, were they to be all
+recorded in detail.
+
+One day the hermit roused them earlier than usual and told them to get
+ready, as he intended to go a considerable distance that day, and he
+wished to reach a particular spot before the heat of noon. So Martin and
+Barney despatched breakfast in as short a time as possible, and the
+hermit read them a chapter out of his large and well-thumbed Bible, after
+which they equipped themselves for the chase.
+
+When Martin and his friend escaped from the pirates and landed on the
+coast of Brazil, they were clothed in sailor-like costume, namely, white
+duck trousers, coloured flannel shirts, blue jackets, round straw hats,
+and strong shoes. This costume was not very suitable for the warm climate
+in which they now found themselves, so their hospitable friend the hermit
+gave them two loose light cotton coats or jackets, of a blue colour, and
+broad brimmed straw hats similar to his own. He also gave them two
+curious garments called _ponchos_. The poncho serves the purpose of cloak
+and blanket. It is simply a square dark-coloured blanket with a hole in
+the middle of it, through which the head is thrust in rainy weather, and
+the garment hangs down all round. At night the poncho is useful as a
+covering. The hermit wore a loose open hunting coat, and underneath it a
+girdle, in which was a long sharp knife and a brace of pistols. His
+trousers were of blue-striped cotton. He usually carried a
+double-barrelled gun over his shoulder, and a powder-horn and bullet-bag
+were slung round his neck. Barney now procured from this hospitable man a
+supply of powder and shot for his large brass-mounted cavalry pistol. The
+hermit also made him a present of a long hunting-knife; and he gave one
+of a smaller size to Martin. As Martin had no weapon, the hermit
+manufactured for him a stout bow and quiver full of arrows; with which,
+after some practice, he became reasonably expert.
+
+Thus armed they sallied forth, and, following the foot-path that
+conducted from the door of the hut to the brow of the hill opposite, they
+were soon buried in the shades of the great forest. On this particular
+morning Barney observed that the hermit carried with him a stout spear,
+which he was not usually in the habit of doing. Being of an inquisitive
+disposition, he inquired the reason of his taking it.
+
+"I expect to find a jaguar to-day," answered the hermit. "I saw him
+yesterday go down into the small valley in which my cows grow. I will
+show you my cows soon, Martin."
+
+The hermit stopped short suddenly as he spoke, and pointed to a large
+bird, about fifty yards in advance of them. It seemed to bear a
+particular ill-will to a round rough stone which it pecked most
+energetically. After a few minutes the bird ceased its attacks and flew
+off; whereupon the rough stone opened itself out, and, running quickly
+away, burrowed into a little hole and disappeared!
+
+"That is an armadillo," remarked the hermit, continuing to lead the way
+through the woods; "it is covered with a coat of mail, as you see; and
+when enemies come it rolls itself up like a ball and lies like a hard
+stone till they go away. But it has four little legs, and with them it
+burrows so quickly that we cannot dig it up, and must smoke it out of
+its hole,--which I do often, because it is very good to eat, as you very
+well know."
+
+While they continued thus to walk through the woods conversing, Martin
+and Barney were again interested and amused by the immense number of
+brilliant parrots and toucans which swooped about, chattering from tree
+to tree, in large flocks. Sometimes thirty or forty of the latter would
+come screaming through the woods and settle upon the dark-green foliage
+of a coffee-tree; the effect of which was to give the tree the appearance
+of having been suddenly loaded with ripe golden fruit. Then the birds
+would catch sight of the travellers and fly screaming away, leaving the
+tree dark-green and fruitless as before. The little green parrots were
+the most outrageously noisy things that ever lived. Not content with
+screaming when they flew, they continued to shriek, apparently with
+delight, while they devoured the seeds of the gorgeous sun-flowers: and
+more than once Martin was prompted to scatter a handful of stones among
+them, as a hint to be less noisy; but this only made them worse,--like a
+bad baby, which, the more you tell it to be quiet, sets to work the more
+earnestly to increase and add to the vigour of its roaring. So Martin
+wisely let the parrots alone. They also startled, in passing through
+swampy places, several large blue herons, and long-legged cranes; and on
+many of the trees they observed the curious hanging nests of a bird,
+which the hermit told them was the large oriole. These nests hung in long
+strings from the tops of the palm-trees, and the birds were very actively
+employed moving about and chattering round their swinging villages: on
+seeing which Martin could not help remarking that it would astonish the
+colony not a little, if the top house were to give way and let all the
+mansions below come tumbling to the ground!
+
+They were disappointed, however, in not seeing monkeys gambolling among
+the trees, as they had expected.
+
+"Ah! my friends," said the hermit, "travellers in my country are very
+often disappointed. They come here expecting to see everything all at
+once; but although there are jaguars, and serpents, and bears, and
+monkeys, plenty of them, as your ears can tell you, these creatures keep
+out of the sight of man as much as possible. They won't come out of the
+woods and show themselves to please travellers! You have been very lucky
+since you arrived. Many travellers go about for months together and do
+not see half so much as you."
+
+"That's thrue," observed Barney, with his head a little on one side, and
+his eyes cast up in a sort of meditative frown, as if he were engaged in
+subjecting the hermit's remarks to a process of severe philosophical
+contemplation; "but I would be very well plazed av the wild bastes would
+show themselves now and then, for--"
+
+Martin Rattler burst into a loud laugh, for Barney's upward glance of
+contemplation was suddenly transformed into a gaze of intense
+astonishment, as he beheld the blue countenance of a large red monkey
+staring down upon him from amid the branches of an overhanging tree. The
+monkey's face expressed, if possible, greater surprise than that of the
+Irishman, and its mouth was partially open and thrust forward in a sort
+of threatening and inquiring manner. There seemed to be some bond of
+sympathy between the monkey and the man, for while _its_ mouth opened
+_his_ mouth opened too.
+
+"A-a-a-a-a--ah!" exclaimed the monkey.
+
+A facetious smile overspread Barney's face--"Och! be all manes; the same
+to you, kindly," said he, taking off his hat and making a low bow.
+
+The civility did not seem to be appreciated, however; for the monkey put
+on a most indignant frown and displayed a terrific double-row of long
+brilliant teeth and red gums, while it uttered a shriek of passion,
+twisted its long tail round a branch, and hurled itself, with a motion
+more like that of a bird than a beast, into the midst of the tree and
+disappeared, leaving Martin and Barney and the hermit each with a very
+broad grin on his countenance.
+
+The hunters now arrived at an open space where there were several large
+umbrageous trees, and as it was approaching mid-day they resolved to rest
+here for a couple of hours. Birds and insects were gradually becoming
+more and more silent, and soon afterwards the only sounds that broke upon
+their ears were the curious metallic notes of the urupongas, or
+bell-birds; which were so like to the rapid beating of a smith's hammer
+on an anvil, that it was with the greatest difficulty Barney was
+restrained from going off by himself in search of the "smiddy." Indeed he
+began to suspect that the worthy hermit was deceiving him, and was only
+fully convinced at last when he saw one of the birds. It was pure white,
+about the size of a thrush, and had a curious horn or fleshy tubercle
+upon its head.
+
+Having rested and refreshed themselves, they resumed their journey a
+short time before the noisy inhabitants of the woods recommenced their
+active afternoon operations.
+
+"Hallo! what's that?" cried Barney, starting back and drawing his pistol,
+while Martin hastily fitted an arrow to his bow.
+
+Not ten paces in front of them a frightful monster ran across their path,
+which seemed so hideous to Martin that his mind instantly reverted to the
+fable of St. George and the Dragon, and he almost expected to see fire
+issuing from its mouth. It was a huge lizard, with a body about three
+feet long, covered with bright scales. It had a long, thick tail. Its
+head was clumsy and misshapen, and altogether its aspect was very
+horrible. Before either Martin or Barney could fire, the hermit dropped
+his gun and spear, sprang quickly forward, caught the animal by the tail,
+and, putting forth his great strength to the utmost, swung it round his
+head and dashed its brains out against a tree.
+
+Barney and Martin could only stare with amazement.
+
+"This we call an iguana," said the hermit, as he piled a number of heavy
+stones on the carcase to preserve it from other animals. "It is very good
+to eat,--as good as chicken. This is not a very big one; they are
+sometimes five feet long, but almost quite harmless,--not venomous at
+all; and the only means he has to defend himself is the tail, which is
+very powerful, and gives a tremendously hard blow; but, as you see, if
+you catch him quick he can do nothing."
+
+"It's all very well for you, or even Barney here, to talk of catching him
+by the tail," said Martin, smiling; "but it would have puzzled me to
+swing that fellow round my head."
+
+"Arrah! ye're right, boy; I doubt if I could have done it mesilf,"
+said Barney.
+
+"No fear," said the hermit, patting Martin's broad shoulders as he passed
+him and led the way; "you will be strong enough for that very soon,--as
+strong as me in a year or two."
+
+They now proceeded down into a somewhat dark and closely wooded valley,
+through which meandered a small rivulet. Here they had some difficulty in
+forcing their way through the dense underwood and broad leaves, most of
+which seemed very strange to Martin and his comrade, being so gigantic.
+There were also many kinds of ferns, which sometimes arched over their
+heads and completely shut out the view, while some of them crept up the
+trees like climbing-plants. Emerging from this, they came upon a more
+open space, in the midst of which grew a number of majestic trees.
+
+"There are my cows!" said the hermit, pausing as he spoke, and pointing
+towards a group of tall straight-stemmed trees that were the noblest in
+appearance they had yet seen. "Good cows they are," he continued, going
+up to one and making a notch in the bark with his axe: "they need no
+feeding or looking after, yet, as you see, they are always ready to give
+me cream."
+
+While he spoke, a thick white liquid flowed from the notch in the bark
+into a cocoa-nut drinking-cup, which the hermit always carried at his
+girdle. In a few minutes he presented his visitors with a draught of what
+they declared was most excellent cream.
+
+The masseranduba, or milk-tree, as it is called, is indeed one of the
+most wonderful of all the extraordinary trees in the forests of Brazil,
+and is one among many instances of the bountiful manner in which God
+provides for the wants of His creatures. No doubt this might with equal
+truth be said of all the gifts that a beneficent Creator bestows upon
+mankind; but when, as in the case of this milk-tree, the provision for
+our wants comes in a singular and striking manner, it seems fitting and
+appropriate that we should specially acknowledge the gift as coming from
+the hand of Him who giveth us all things liberally to enjoy.
+
+The milk-tree rises with a straight stem to an enormous height, and the
+fruit, about the size of a small apple, is full of rich and juicy pulp,
+and is very good. The timber, also, is hard, fine-grained, and
+durable,--particularly adapted for such works as are exposed to the
+weather. But its most remarkable peculiarity is the rich vegetable milk
+which flows in abundance from it when the bark is cut. This milk is so
+like to that of the cow in taste, that it can scarcely be distinguished
+from it, having only a very slight peculiarity of flavour, which is
+rather agreeable than otherwise. In tea and coffee it has the same effect
+as rich cream, and, indeed, is so thick that it requires to be diluted
+with water before being used. This milk is also employed as glue. It
+hardens when exposed to the air, and becomes very tough and slightly
+elastic, and is said to be quite as good and useful as ordinary glue.
+
+Having partaken of as much milk as they desired, they continued their
+journey a little further, when they came to a spur of the sierra, or
+mountain range, that cuts through that part of the country. Here the
+ground became more rugged, but still densely covered with wood, and rocks
+lay piled about in many places, forming several dark and gloomy caverns.
+The hermit now unslung his gun and advanced to the foot of a cliff, near
+the further end of which there were several caves, the mouths of which
+were partially closed with long ferns and masses of luxuriant vegetation.
+
+"Now we must be prepared," said the hermit, feeling the point of his
+spear. "I think there is a jaguar here. I saw him yesterday, and I am
+quite sure he will not go away till he tries to do some mischief. He
+little knows that there is nothing here to hurt but me." The hermit
+chuckled as he said this, and resting his gun against the cliff near the
+entrance to the first cave, which was a small one, he passed on to the
+next. Holding the spear in his left hand, he threw a stone violently into
+the cavern. Barney and Martin listened and gazed in silent expectation;
+but they only heard the hollow sound of the falling stone as it dashed
+against the sides of the cave; then all was still.
+
+"Och, then, he's off," cried Barney.
+
+"Hush," said Martin; "don't speak till he has tried the other cave."
+
+Without taking notice of their remarks, the hermit repeated the
+experiment at the mouths of two caverns further on, with the like result.
+
+"Maybe the spalpeen's hidin' in the little cave where ye laid down yer
+gun," suggested Barney, going towards the place as he spoke. "Och, then,
+come here, friend; sure it must be the mouth of a mine, for there's two
+o' the beautifulest di'monds I iver--"
+
+Barney's speech was cut short by a low peculiar sound, that seemed like
+the muttering of far-distant thunder. At the same moment the hermit
+pulled him violently back, and, placing himself in a firm attitude full
+in front of the cavern, held the point of the spear advanced before him.
+
+"Martin," he whispered, "shoot an arrow straight into that hole,--quick!"
+
+Martin obeyed, and the arrow whizzed through the aperture. Instantly
+there issued from it a savage and tremendous roar, so awful that it
+seemed as if the very mountain were bellowing and that the cavern were
+its mouth. But not a muscle of the hermit's figure moved. He stood like a
+bronze statue,--his head thrown back and his chest advanced, with one
+foot planted firmly before him and the spear pointing towards the cave.
+It seemed strange to Martin that a man should face what appeared to him
+unknown danger so boldly and calmly; but he did not consider that the
+hermit knew exactly the amount of danger before him. He knew precisely
+the manner in which it would assail him, and he knew just what was
+necessary to be done in order to avert it; and in the strength of that
+knowledge he stood unmoved, with a slight smile upon his tightly
+compressed lips.
+
+Scarcely had the roar ceased when it was repeated with tenfold
+fierceness; the bushes and fern leaves shook violently, and an enormous
+and beautifully spotted jaguar shot through the air as if it had been
+discharged from a cannon's mouth. The hermit's eye wavered not; he bent
+forward a hair's-breadth; the glittering spear-point touched the animal's
+breast, pierced through it, and came out at its side below the ribs. But
+the force of the bound was too great for the strength of the weapon: the
+handle snapped in twain, and the transfixed jaguar struck down the hermit
+and fell writhing upon him!
+
+In the excitement of the moment Barney drew his pistol from his belt and
+snapped it at the animal. It was well for the hermit at that moment that
+Barney had forgotten to prime his weapon; for, although he aimed at the
+jaguar's skull, there is no doubt whatever that he would have blown out
+the hermit's brains. Before he could make a second attempt, Martin sprang
+towards the gun which leaned against the cliff, and, running quickly up,
+he placed the muzzle close to the jaguar's ear and lodged a bullet in its
+brain. All this was done in a few seconds, and the hermit regained his
+legs just as the animal fell dead. Fortunately he was not hurt, having
+adroitly avoided the sharp claws of his enemy.
+
+"Arrah! Mister Hermit," said Barney, wiping the perspiration from his
+forehead, "it's yersilf that was well-nigh done for this time, an' no
+mistake. Did iver I see sich a spring! an' ye stud the charge jist like a
+stone wall,--niver moved a fut!"
+
+"Are you not hurt?" inquired Martin, somewhat anxiously; "your face is
+all covered with blood."
+
+"Yes, boy, but it is the blood of the jaguar; thanks to you for your
+quick hand, I am not hurt at all."
+
+The hermit washed his face in the neighbouring brook, and then proceeded
+to skin the jaguar, the carcase being worthless. After which they
+retraced their steps through the woods as quickly as possible, for the
+day was now far spent, and the twilight, as we have before remarked, is
+so short in tropical latitudes that travellers require to make sure of
+reaching the end of the day's journey towards evening, unless they choose
+to risk losing their way, and spending the night in the forest.
+
+They picked up the iguana in passing; and, on reaching the spot where the
+armadillo had burrowed, the hermit paused and kindled a small fire over
+the hole, by means of his flint, steel, and tinder-box. He thus contrived
+to render the creature's habitation so uncomfortable that it rushed
+hurriedly out; then, observing that its enemies were waiting, it doubled
+its head and tail together, and became the image of a rough stone.
+
+"Poor thing," said Martin, as the hermit killed it, "that reminds me of
+the ostrich of the desert, which, I'm told, when it is chased over the
+plains by men on horseback, and finds that it cannot escape, thrusts its
+head into a bush, and fancies, no doubt, that it cannot be seen, although
+its great body is visible a mile off!"
+
+"Martin," said Barney, "this arth is full o' quare craturs intirely."
+
+"That's true, Barney; and not the least 'quare' among them is an
+Irishman, a particular friend of mine."
+
+"Hould yer tongue, ye spalpeen, or I'll put yer head in the wather!"
+
+"I wish ye would, Barney, for it is terribly hot and mosquito-bitten, and
+you couldn't have suggested anything more delightful. But here we are
+once more at our forest home; and now for a magnificent cup of coffee and
+a mandioca-cake."
+
+"Not to mintion," added Barney, "a juicy steak of Igu Anny, an' a tender
+chop o' Army Dillo."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+MARTIN AND BARNEY CONTINUE THEIR TRAVELS, AND SEE STRANGE
+THINGS--AMONG OTHERS, THEY SEE LIVING JEWELS--THEY GO TO SEE A
+FESTA--THEY FIGHT AND RUN AWAY
+
+
+Martin Rattler and Barney O'Flannagan soon after this began to entertain
+a desire to travel further into the interior of Brazil, and behold with
+their own eyes the wonders of which they had heard so much from their
+kind and hospitable friend the hermit. Martin was especially anxious to
+see the great river Amazon, about which he entertained the most romantic
+ideas,--as well he might, for there is not such another river in the
+world for size, and for the many curious things connected with its waters
+and its banks. Barney, too, was smitten with an intense desire to visit
+the diamond mines, which he fancied must be the most brilliant and
+beautiful sight in the whole world; and when Martin asked him what sort
+of place he expected to see, he used to say that he "pictur'd in his mind
+a great many deep and lofty caverns, windin' in an' out an' round about,
+with the sides and the floors and the ceilin's all of a blaze with
+glittering di'monds, an' top'zes, an' purls, an' what not; with Naiggurs
+be the dozen picking them up in handfuls. An' sure," he would add, "if we
+was wance there, we could fill our pockets in no time, an' then, hooray
+for ould Ireland! an' live like Imperors for ivermore."
+
+"But you forget, Barney, the account the hermit has given us of the
+mines. He evidently does not think that much is to be made of them."
+
+"Och! niver mind the hermit. There's always good luck attends Barney
+O'Flanngan; an' sure if nobody wint for fear they would git nothing, all
+the di'monds that iver came out o' the mines would be lyin' there still;
+an' didn't he tell us there was wan got only a short time since, worth I
+don't know how many thousand pounds? Arrah! if I don't go to the mines
+an' git one the size o' me head, I'll let ye rig me out with a long tail
+an' set me adrift in the woods for a blue-faced monkey."
+
+It so happened that this was the time when the hermit was in the habit of
+setting out on one of his trading trips; and when Martin told him of the
+desire that he and Barney entertained to visit the interior, he told them
+that he would be happy to take them along with him, provided they would
+act the part of muleteers. To this they readily agreed, being only too
+glad of an opportunity of making some return to their friend, who refused
+to accept any payment for his hospitality, although Barney earnestly
+begged of him to accept of his watch, which was the only object of value
+he was possessed of,--and that wasn't worth much, being made of
+pinch-beck, and utterly incapable of going! Moreover, he relieved their
+minds, by telling them that they would easily obtain employment as
+canoe-men on the Amazon, for men were very difficult to be got on that
+river to man the boats; and if they could stand the heat, and were
+willing to work like Indians, they might travel as far as they pleased.
+To which Martin replied, in his ignorance, that he thought he could stand
+anything; and Barney roundly asserted that, having been burnt to a cinder
+long ago in the "East Injies," it was impossible to overdo him any more.
+
+Under these circumstances, therefore, they started three weeks later to
+visit a populous town about twenty miles off, from which they set out on
+their travels, with a string of heavily laden mules, crossed the low
+countries or campos lying near to the sea, and began to ascend the
+sierras that divide this portion of Brazil from the country which is
+watered by the innumerable rivers that flow into the mighty Amazon.
+
+The cavalcade consisted of ten mules, each with two goodly sized bales of
+merchandise on its back. They were driven and attended to by Negroes,
+whose costume consisted of a light cotton shirt with short sleeves, and a
+pair of loose cotton drawers reaching down to the knee. With the
+exception of a straw hat this was all they wore. Martin, and Barney, and
+the hermit each bestrode a mule, with a small bale slung on either side;
+over the front of which their legs dangled comfortably. They had ponchos
+with them, strapped to the mules' backs, and each carried a clumsy
+umbrella to shield him from the fierce rays of the sun; but our two
+adventurers soon became so hardened and used to the climate, that they
+dispensed with the umbrellas altogether.
+
+The sierra, or mountain range, over which they passed was about thirty
+miles in extent, being in some places quite level and open, but in others
+somewhat rugged and covered with large but thinly scattered trees, the
+most common of which had fine dark-green glossy leaves, with spikes of
+bright yellow flowers terminating the branchlets. There were also many
+peculiar shrubs and flowering plants, of a sort that the travellers had
+never seen the like of in their native land.
+
+"How I wish," said Martin with a sigh, as he rode along beside his friend
+Barney, "that I knew something of botany."
+
+Barney opened his eyes in surprise. "Arrah! it's too much of a
+philosopher ye are already, lad. What good would it do ye to know all the
+hard names that men have given to the flowers? Sure I wance wint after
+the doctor o' a ship, to carry his box for him when he wint on what he
+called botanical excursions; and the poor cratur used to be pokin' his
+nose for iver down at the ground, an' peerin' through his green
+spectacles at miserable bits o' plants, an' niver seemin' to enjoy
+anything; when all the time _I_ was lookin' far fornint me, an' all
+around me, an' up at the sky, seem' ivery beautiful thing, and snifterin'
+up the sweet smells, an' in fact enjoyin' the whole univarse--an my pipe
+to boot--like an intelligent cratur." Barney looked round as he spoke,
+with a bland, self-satisfied expression of countenance, as if he felt
+that he had given a lucid definition of the very highest style of
+philosophy, and proved that he, Barney O'Flannagan, was possessed of the
+same in no common degree.
+
+"Well, Barney," rejoined Martin, "since you give me credit for being a
+philosopher, I must continue to talk philosophically. Your botanical
+friend took a _microscopic_ view of nature, while you took a _telescopic_
+view of it. Each view is good, but both views are better; and I can't
+help wishing that I were more of a philosopher than I am, especially in
+reference to botany."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated Barney, who seemed not quite to understand his young
+friend, "yer observations are remarkably thrue, and do ye great credit,
+for yer years. Ah! Mr. Hermit, good luck to ye! I'm glad to see that
+ye've got some consideration for man and baste. I'm quite ready for my
+victuals, and so's my mule; aren't you, avic?"
+
+Barney's latter remark was addressed to his patient charger, from whose
+back he sprang as he spoke, and slackened its girths.
+
+It was now approaching mid-day, and the hermit had pitched upon a large
+tree as a fitting spot for rest and refreshment. Water had been brought
+up the mountain in a huge calabash; but they did not require to use it,
+as they found a quantity in the hollow stump of a tree. There were
+several frogs swimming about in this miniature lake; but it was found to
+be fresh and clear and good notwithstanding.
+
+Towards evening they passed a string of mules going towards the town
+which they had just left. They were driven by Negroes, most of whom were
+slaves, and nearly quite naked. A Brazilian merchant, wearing a
+picturesque broad-brimmed, high-crowned straw-hat, a poncho, and brown
+leather boots armed at the heels with large sharp spurs, rode at the
+head, and gave the strangers a surly nod of his head as they passed. Soon
+after, they descended into the plain, and came to a halt at a sort of
+roadside public-house, where there was no sleeping accommodation, but
+where they found an open shed in which travellers placed their goods, and
+slung their hammocks, and attended to themselves. At the venda, close
+beside it, they purchased a large bag of farina, being short of that
+necessary article of food, and then set to work to prepare supper in the
+open air; while the merry Negroes, who seemed to enjoy life most
+thoroughly, laughed and sang as they removed the bales from the mules'
+backs and cooked their simple fare.
+
+Barney's cooking propensities now came into full play; and, with the
+variety of fruits and vegetables which the country afforded, he exercised
+his ingenuity, and produced several dishes of so savoury a nature that
+the hermit was compelled to open his eyes in amazement, and smack his
+lips with satisfaction, being quite unable to express his sentiments in
+words. While thus busily and agreeably employed, they were told by the
+owner of the venda that a festa was being celebrated at a village about a
+league distant from where they stood.
+
+"I should like to see it above all things," said Martin eagerly; "could
+we not go?"
+
+The hermit frowned. "Yes, we can go, but it will be to behold
+folly. Perhaps it will be a good lesson, from which much may be
+learned. We will go."
+
+"It's not a step that I'll budge till I've finished me pipe," said
+Barney, pulling away at that bosom friend with unexampled energy. "To
+smoke," he continued, winking gently with one eye, "is the first law of
+nature; jist give me ten minutes more, an' _I'm_ your man for anything,"
+
+Being a fine evening, they proceeded on foot. In about an hour after
+setting out they approached the village, which lay in a beautiful valley
+below them. Sounds of mirth and music rose like a distant murmur on the
+air, and mingled with the songs of birds and insects. Then the sun went
+down, and in a few minutes it grew dark, while the brilliant fire-flies
+began their nocturnal gambols. Suddenly a bright flame burst over the
+village, and a flight of magnificent rockets shot up into the sky, and
+burst in a hundred bright and variously-coloured stars, which paled for a
+few seconds the lights of nature. But they vanished in a moment, and the
+clear stars shed abroad their undying lustre,--seeming, in their quiet,
+unfading beauty, a gentle satire on the short-lived and gairish
+productions of man.
+
+"Mighty purty, no doubt," exclaimed Barney. "Is this the Imperor's
+birth-day?"
+
+"No," replied the hermit, shaking his head; "that is the way in which the
+false priests amuse the people. The poor Indian and the Negro, and,
+indeed, the ignorant Brazilian, thinks it very grand; and the priests let
+them think it is pleasing to the God of heaven. Ah! here comes an old
+Negro; we will ask him."
+
+Several country people, in varied and picturesque costumes, hurried past
+the travellers towards the village; and as they came to a foot-path that
+joined the road, an old Negro approached them. Saluting him in the
+Portuguese language, the hermit said, "Friend, why do they let off
+rockets to-night?"
+
+"For Dios" (for God), answered the old man, looking and pointing upwards
+with grave solemnity. Without vouchsafing another word, he hurried away.
+
+"So they think," said the hermit, "and so they are taught by the priests.
+Music, noise, and fire-works please these ignorant people; and so the
+priests, who are mostly as ignorant as the people, tell them it is a good
+part of religious ceremony."
+
+Presently a band of young girls came laughing and singing along the road.
+They were dressed in pure white, their rich black tresses being uncovered
+and ornamented with flowers, and what appeared to be bright jewels.
+
+"Hallo!" exclaimed Martin, gazing after them; "what splendid jewels!
+surely these must be the daughters of very rich people."
+
+"Och, but they've been at the di'mond mines for certain! Did iver ye sae
+the like?"
+
+The girls did indeed seem to blaze with jewels, which not only sparkled
+in their hair, but fringed their white robes, and were worked round the
+edges of their slippers; so that a positive light shone around their
+persons, and fell upon the path like a halo, giving them more the
+appearance of lovely supernatural beings than the daughters of earth.
+
+"These jewels," said the hermit, "were never polished by the hands of
+men. They are fire-flies."
+
+"Fire-flies!" exclaimed Martin and Barney simultaneously.
+
+"Yes, they are living fire-flies. The girls very often catch them and tie
+them up in little bits of gauze, and put them, as you see, on their
+dresses and in their hair. To my mind they seem more beautiful far than
+diamonds. Sometimes the Indians, when they travel at night, fix
+fire-flies to their feet, and so have good lamps to their path."
+
+While Barney was expressing his surprise at this information, in very
+racy language, they entered the village; and, mingling with the throng of
+holiday-keepers, followed the stream towards the grand square.
+
+The church, which seemed to be a centre of attraction, and was
+brilliantly illuminated, was a neat wooden building with two towers. The
+streets of the village were broad and straggling; and so luxuriant was
+the vegetation, and so lazy the nature of the inhabitants, that it seemed
+as if the whole place were overgrown with gigantic weeds. Shrubs and
+creeping-plants grew in the neglected gardens, climbed over the palings,
+and straggled about the streets. Plants grew on the tops of the houses,
+ferns peeped out under the eaves; and, in short, on looking at it one had
+the feeling that ere long the whole place, people and all, must be
+smothered in superabundant vegetation!
+
+The houses were all painted white or yellow, with the doors and windows
+bright green,--just like grown-up toys; and sounds of revelry, with now
+and then the noise of disputation, issued from many of them.
+
+It is impossible to describe minutely the appearance of the motley crowd
+through which our adventurers elbowed their way, gazing curiously on the
+strange scene, which seemed to them more like a dream than reality, after
+their long sojourn in the solitudes of the forest. Processions headed by
+long-robed priests with flambeaux and crucifixes; young girls in light
+costumes and long white cotton shawls, selling sweet cakes of mandioca
+flour, and bonbons; swarthy Brazilians, some in white jackets, loose
+cotton drawers, and straw hats, others in brown leather boots and
+ponchos; Negroes in short white drawers and shirts, besides many without
+any clothing above their waists; Indians from the interior,
+copper-coloured, and some of them, fine-looking men, having only a strip
+of cloth about their loins;--such were the strange crew whose loud voices
+added to the whiz of rockets, squibs, crackers, guns, and musical
+instruments, created a deafening noise.
+
+In the midst of the village there was a tree of such enormous size that
+it quite took our travellers by surprise. It was a wild fig-tree, capable
+of sheltering a thousand persons under its shadow! Here a spirited
+fandango was going on, and they stood for some time watching the
+movements of the performers. Growing tired of this, they wandered about
+until they came to a less crowded part of the village, and entered a
+pleasant grove of trees skirting the road by which they had arrived.
+While sauntering here, enjoying the cool night breeze and delicious
+perfume of flowers, a woman uttered a piercing shriek near to them. It
+was instantly followed by loud voices in altercation. Ever ready to fly
+to the help of womankind, and, generally, to assist in a "row," Barney
+darted through the bushes, and came upon the scene of action just in time
+to see the white skirt of a female's dress disappear down an avenue, and
+to behold two Brazilians savagely writhing in mortal strife. At the
+moment he came up, one of the combatants had overcome the other, and a
+fierce smile of triumph crossed his swarthy countenance as he raised his
+gleaming knife.
+
+"Och, ye murtherer! would ye attimpt that same?" cried Barney, catching
+the man by the wrist and hurling him on his back. The other sprang up on
+being thus unexpectedly freed, and darted away, while the thwarted man
+uttered a yell of disappointment and sprang like a tiger at Barney's
+throat. A blow, however, from the Irishman's fist, quietly delivered, and
+straight between the eyes, stretched the Brazilian on the ground. At the
+same moment a party of men, attracted by the cries, burst through the
+bushes and surrounded the successful champion. Seeing their countryman
+apparently dead upon the ground, they rushed upon Barney in a body; but
+the first who came within reach was floored in an instant, and the others
+were checked in their career by the sudden appearance of the hermit and
+Martin Rattler. The noise of many voices, as of people hastening towards
+them, was heard at the same time.
+
+"We have no time to lose, do as I bid you," whispered the hermit.
+Whirling a heavy stick round his head the hermit shouted the single word
+"Charge!" and dashed forward.
+
+Barney and Martin obeyed. Three Brazilians went down like ninepins; the
+rest turned and fled precipitately.
+
+"Now, run for life!" cried the hermit, setting the example. Barney
+hesitated to follow what he deemed a cowardly flight, but the yells of
+the natives returning in strong force decided the question. He and Martin
+took to their heels with right good will, and in a few minutes the three
+friends were far on the road which led to their night bivouac; while the
+villagers, finding pursuit hopeless, returned to the village, and
+continued the wild orgies of their festa.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+COGITATIONS AND CANOEING ON THE AMAZON--BARNEY'S EXPLOIT WITH AN
+ALLIGATOR--STUBBORN FACTS--REMARKABLE MODE OF SLEEPING
+
+
+It is pleasant, when the sun is bright, and the trees are green, and when
+flowering shrubs and sweet-smelling tropical trees scent the balmy
+atmosphere at eventide, to lie extended at full length in a canoe, and
+drop easily, silently, yet quickly, down the current of a noble river,
+under the grateful shadow of overhanging foliage; and to look lazily up
+at the bright blue sky which appears in broken patches among the verdant
+leaves; or down at the river in which that bright sky and those green
+leaves are reflected; or aside at the mud-banks where greedy vultures are
+searching for prey, and lazy alligators are basking in the sun; and to
+listen, the while, to the innumerable cries and notes of monkeys,
+toucans, parrots, orioles, bemtevi or fly-catchers, white-winged and blue
+chatterers, and all the myriads of birds and beasts that cause the
+forests of Brazil, above all other forests in the world probably, to
+resound with the gleeful songs of animated nature!
+
+It is pleasant to be thus situated, especially when a cool breeze blows
+the mosquitoes and other insects off the water, and relieves you for a
+time from their incessant attacks. Martin Rattler found it pleasant, as
+he thus lay on his back with his diminutive pet marmoset monkey seated on
+his breast quietly picking the kernel out of a nut. And Barney
+O'Flannagan found it pleasant, as he lay extended in the bow of the canoe
+with his head leaning over the edge gazing abstractedly at his own
+reflected visage, while his hands trailed through the cool water, and his
+young dog--a shaggy indescribable beast with a bluff nose and a bushy
+tail--watched him intently, as a mother might watch an only child in a
+dangerous situation. And the old sun-dried, and storm-battered, and
+time-shrivelled mulatto trader, in those canoe they were embarked and
+whose servants they had become, found it pleasant, as he sat there
+perched in his little montaria, like an exceedingly ancient and overgrown
+monkey, guiding it safely down the waters of the great river of the
+Tocantins.
+
+Some months have passed since we last parted from our daring adventurers.
+During that period they had crossed an immense tract of country, and
+reached the head waters of one of the many streams that carry the surplus
+moisture of central Brazil into the Amazon. Here they found an old
+trader, a free mulatto, whose crew of Indians had deserted him,--a common
+thing in that country,--and who gladly accepted their services, agreeing
+to pay them a small wage. And here they sorrowfully, and with many
+expressions of good-will, parted from their kind friend and entertainer
+the hermit. His last gift to Martin was the wonderfully small marmoset
+monkey before mentioned; and his parting souvenir to Barney was the
+bluff-nosed dog that watched over him with maternal care, and loved him
+next to itself;--as well it might; for if everybody had been of the same
+spirit as Barney O'Flannagan, the Act for the prevention of cruelty to
+animals would never have been passed in Britain.
+
+It was a peculiar and remarkable and altogether extraordinary monkey,
+that tiny marmoset. There was a sort of romance connected with it, too;
+for it had been the mother of an indescribably small infant-monkey,
+which was killed at the time of its mother's capture. It drank coffee,
+too, like--like a Frenchman; and would by no means retire to rest at
+night until it had had its usual allowance. Then it would fold its
+delicate little hands on its bosom, and close its eyes with an
+expression of solemn grief, as if, having had its last earthly wish
+gratified, it now resigned itself to--sleep. Martin loved it deeply, but
+his love was unrequited; for, strange to say, that small monkey lavished
+all its affection on Barney's shaggy dog. And the dog knew it, and was
+evidently proud of it, and made no objection whatever to the monkey
+sitting on his back, or his head, or his nose, or doing, in fact,
+whatever it chose whenever it pleased. When in the canoe, the marmoset
+played with Grampus, as the dog was named; and when on shore it
+invariably travelled on his back.
+
+Martin used to lie in the canoe half asleep and watch the little face of
+the marmoset, until, by some unaccountable mental process, he came to
+think of Aunt Dorothy Grumbit. Often did poor Martin dream of his dear
+old aunt, while sleeping under the shelter of these strange-leaved
+tropical trees and surrounded by the wild sounds of that distant land,
+until he dreamed himself back again in the old village. Then he would
+rush to the well-known school, and find all the boys there except Bob
+Croaker, who he felt certain must be away drowning the white kitten; and
+off he would go and catch him, sure enough, in the very act, and would
+give him the old thrashing over again, with all the additional vigour
+acquired during his rambles abroad thrown into it. Then he would run home
+in eager haste, and find old Mrs. Grumbit hard at the one thousand nine
+hundred and ninety-ninth pair of worsted socks; and fat Mr. Arthur
+Jollyboy sitting opposite to her, dressed in the old lady's bed-curtain
+chintz and high-crowned cap, with the white kitten in his arms and his
+spectacles on his chin, watching the process with intense interest, and
+cautioning her not to forget the "hitch" by any means; whereupon the
+kitten would fly up in his face, and Mr. Jollyboy would dash through the
+window with a loud howl, and Mrs. Grumbit's face would turn blue; and,
+uncoiling an enormous tail, she would bound shrieking after him in among
+the trees and disappear! Martin usually wakened at this point, and found
+the marmoset gazing in his face with an expression of sorrowful
+solemnity, and the old sun-dried trader staring vacantly before him as he
+steered his light craft down the broad stream of the Tocantins.
+
+The trader could speak little more English than sufficed to enable him to
+say "yes" and "no"; Barney could speak about as much Portuguese as
+enabled him to say "no" and "yes"; while Martin, by means of a slight
+smattering of that language, which he had picked up by ear during the
+last few months, mixed now and then with a word or two of Latin, and
+helped out by a clever use of the language of signs, succeeded in
+becoming the link of communication between the two.
+
+For many weeks they continued to descend the river; paddling
+energetically when the stream was sluggish, and resting comfortably when
+the stream was strong, and sometimes dragging their canoe over rocks and
+sand-banks to avoid rapids--passing many villages and plantations of the
+natives by the way--till at last they swept out upon the bosom of the
+great Amazon River.
+
+The very first thing they saw upon entering it was an enormous alligator,
+fully eighteen feet long, sound asleep on a mud-bank.
+
+"Och! put ashore, ye Naygur," cried Barney, seizing his pistol and rising
+up in the bow of the canoe. The old man complied quickly, for his spirit
+was high and easily roused.
+
+"Look out now, Martin, an' hould back the dog for fear he wakes him up,"
+said Barney, in a hoarse whisper, as he stepped ashore and hastened
+stealthily towards the sleeping monster; catching up a handful of gravel
+as he went, and ramming it down the barrel of his pistol. It was a
+wonderful pistol that--an Irish one by birth, and absolutely incapable of
+bursting, else assuredly it would have gone, as its owner said, to
+"smithereens" long ago.
+
+Barney was not a good stalker. The alligator awoke and made for the water
+as fast as it could waddle. The Irishman rushed forward close up, as it
+plunged into the river, and discharged the compound of lead and stones
+right against the back of its head. He might as well have fired at the
+boiler of a steam-engine. The entire body of an alligator--back and
+belly, head and tail--is so completely covered with thick hard scales,
+that shot has no effect on it; and even a bullet cannot pierce its coat
+of mail, except in one or two vulnerable places. Nevertheless the shot
+had been fired so close to it that the animal was stunned, and rolled
+over on its back in the water. Seeing this, the old trader rushed in up
+to his chin, and caught it by the tail; but at the same moment the
+monster recovered, and, turning round, displayed its terrific rows of
+teeth. The old man uttered a dreadful roar, and struggled to the land as
+fast as he could; while the alligator, equally frightened, no doubt, gave
+a magnificent flourish and splash with its tail, and dived to the bottom
+of the river.
+
+The travellers returned disgusted to their canoe, and resumed their
+journey up the Amazon in silence.
+
+The vulnerable places about an alligator are the soft parts under the
+throat and the joints of the legs. This is well known to the jaguar, its
+mortal foe, which attacks it on land, and fastening on these soft parts,
+soon succeeds in killing it; but should the alligator get the jaguar into
+its powerful jaws or catch it in the water, it is certain to come off the
+conqueror.
+
+The Amazon, at its mouth, is more like a wide lake or arm of the sea than
+a river. Mention has been already made of this noble stream in the
+Hermit's Story; but it is worthy of more particular notice, for truly the
+Amazon is in many respects a wonderful river. It is the largest, though
+not quite the longest, in the world. Taking its rise among the rocky
+solitudes of the great mountain range of the Andes, it flows through
+nearly four thousand miles of the continent in an easterly direction,
+trending northward towards its mouth, and entering the Atlantic Ocean on
+the northern coast of South America, directly under the Equator. In its
+course it receives the waters of nearly all the great rivers of central
+South America, and thousands of smaller tributaries; so that when it
+reaches the ocean its volume of water is enormous. Some idea may be
+formed of its majestic size, from the fact that one of its
+tributaries--the Rio Negro--is fifteen hundred miles long, and varying in
+breadth; being a mile wide not far from its mouth, while higher up it
+spreads out in some places into sheets of ten miles in width. The
+Madeira, another tributary, is also a river of the largest size. The
+Amazon is divided into two branches at its mouth by the island of Marajo,
+the larger branch being ninety-six miles in width. About two thousand
+miles from its mouth it is upwards of a mile wide. So great is the force
+of this flood of water, that it flows into the sea unmixed for nearly two
+hundred miles. The tide affects the river to a distance of about four
+hundred miles inland; and it is navigable from the sea for a distance of
+three thousand miles inland.
+
+On the north bank of the Amazon there are ranges of low hills, partly
+bare and partly covered with thickets. These hills vary from three
+hundred to a thousand feet high, and extend about two hundred miles
+inland. Beyond them the shores of the river are low and flat for more
+than two thousand miles, till the spurs of the Andes are reached.
+
+During the rainy season the Amazon overflows all its banks, like the
+Nile, for many hundreds of miles; during which season, as Martin Rattler
+truly remarked, the natives may be appropriately called aquatic animals.
+Towns and villages, and plantations belonging to Brazilians, foreign
+settlers, and half-civilized Indians, occur at intervals throughout the
+whole course of the river; and a little trade in dye-woods, India-rubber,
+medicinal drugs, Brazil nuts, coffee, &c., is done; but nothing to what
+might and ought to be, and perhaps would be, were this splendid country
+in the hands of an enterprising people. But the Amazonians are lazy, and
+the greater part of the resources of one of the richest countries in the
+world is totally neglected.
+
+"Arrah!" said Barney, scratching his head and wrinkling his forehead
+intensely, as all that we have just written, and a great deal more, was
+told to him by a Scotch settler whom he found superintending a cattle
+estate and a saw-mill on the banks of the Amazon--"Faix, then, I'm jist
+as wise now as before ye begun to spake. I've no head for fagures
+whatsumdiver; an' to tell me that the strame is ninety-six miles long and
+three thousand miles broad at the mouth, and sich like calcerlations, is
+o' no manner o' use, and jist goes in at wan ear an' out at the tother."
+
+Whereupon the Scotch settler smiled and said, "Well, then, if ye can
+remember that the Amazon is longer than all Europe is broad; that it
+opens up to the ocean not less than ten thousand miles of the interior
+of Brazil; and that, _comparatively_ speaking, no use is made of it
+whatever, ye'll remember enough to think about with profit for some
+time to come."
+
+And Barney did think about it, and ponder it, and revolve it in his mind,
+for many days after, while he worked with Martin and the old trader at
+the paddles of their montaria. They found the work of canoeing easier
+than had been anticipated; for during the summer months the wind blows
+steadily up the river, and they were enabled to hoist their mat-sail, and
+bowl along before it against the stream.
+
+Hotels and inns there were none; for Brazil does not boast of many such
+conveniences, except in the chief towns; so they were obliged, in
+travelling, to make use of an empty hut or shed, when they chanced to
+stop at a village, and to cook their own victuals. More frequently,
+however, they preferred to encamp in the woods--slinging their hammocks
+between the stems of the trees, and making a fire sometimes, to frighten
+away the jaguars, which, although seldom seen, were often heard at
+night. They met large canoes and montarias occasionally coming down the
+stream, and saw them hauled up on shore, while their owners were cooking
+their breakfast in the woods; and once they came upon a solitary old
+Indian in a very curious position. They had entered a small stream in
+order to procure a few turtles' eggs, of which there were many in that
+place buried in the sand-banks. On turning a point where the stream was
+narrow and overhung with bushes and trees, they beheld a canoe tied to
+the stem of a tree, and a hammock slung between two branches overhanging
+the water. In this an old Indian lay extended, quite naked and fast
+asleep! The old fellow had grown weary with paddling his little canoe;
+and, finding the thicket along the river's banks so impenetrable that he
+could not land, he slung his hammock over the water, and thus quietly
+took his siesta. A flock of paroquets were screaming like little green
+demons just above him, and several alligators gave him a passing glance
+as they floundered heavily in the water below; but the red man cared not
+for such trifles. Almost involuntarily Martin began to hum the popular
+nursery rhyme--
+
+"Hushy ba, baby, on the tree top;
+When the wind blows the cradle will rock."
+
+"Arrah, if he was only two foot lower, its thirty pair o' long teeth
+would be stuck into his flank in wan minute, or I'm no prophet," said
+Barney, with a broad grin.
+
+"Suppose we give him a touch with the paddle in passing,"
+suggested Martin.
+
+At this moment Barney started up, shaded his eyes with his hand, and,
+after gazing for a few seconds at some object ahead of the canoe, he gave
+utterance to an exclamation of mingled surprise and consternation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE GREAT ANACONDA'S DINNER--BARNEY GETS A FRIGHT--TURTLES' EGGS, OMELETS
+AND ALLIGATORS' TAILS--SENHOR ANTONIO'S PLANTATION--PREPARATIONS FOR A
+GREAT HUNT
+
+
+The object which called forth the cry from our Irish friend, as related
+in the last chapter, was neither more nor less than a serpent of
+dimensions more enormous than Barney had ever before conceived of. It was
+upwards of sixteen feet long, and nearly as thick as a man's body; but
+about the neck it was three times that size. This serpent was not,
+indeed, of the largest size. In South America they grow to nearly forty
+feet in length. But it was fabulously gigantic in the eyes of our
+adventurers, who had never seen a serpent of any kind before.
+
+"Oh!" cried Martin, eagerly, "that must be an anaconda. Is it not?" he
+inquired, turning to the old trader.
+
+"Yees; it dead," was the short reply.
+
+"So it is!" cried Martin, who, on a nearer approach, observed that the
+brute's body was cut in two just below the swelling at the neck.
+
+"Now, did ye iver," cried Barney with increased surprise, "see a sarpint
+with a cow's horns growin' out at its mouth? Put ashore, old boy; we must
+have a Vestigation o' this remarkable cratur."
+
+The canoe was soon aground, and in another minute the three travellers
+busily engaged in turning over the carcass of the huge reptile, which
+they found, to the amazement of Martin and Barney, had actually
+swallowed an ox whole, with the exception of the horns, which protruded
+from its mouth!
+
+After much questioning, in bad Portuguese, broken English, and remarkable
+signs, Martin succeeded in drawing from the old trader the information
+that anacondas of a large size are often in the habit of thus bolting
+horses and oxen at a mouthful.
+
+There is not the slightest exaggeration in this fact. Readers who are
+inclined to disbelieve it may refer to the works of Wallace and Gardner
+on Brazil,--authorities which cannot be doubted.
+
+The reptile commences by patiently watching until an unfortunate animal
+strays near to where it is lying, when it darts upon it, encircles it in
+its massive coils, and crushes it to death in an instant. Then it
+squeezes the body and broken bones into a shapeless mass; after which it
+licks the carcass all over, and covers it with a thick coating of saliva.
+Having thus prepared its mouthful, the andaconda begins at the tail and
+gradually engulfs its victim, while its elastic jaws, and throat, and
+stomach are distended sufficiently to let it in; after which it lies in a
+torpid state for many weeks, till the morsel is digested, when it is
+ready for another meal. A horse goes down entire, but a cow sticks at the
+horns, which the anaconda cannot swallow. They are allowed to protrude
+from its mouth until they decay and drop off.
+
+They were at a loss at first to account for the creature being killed;
+but the old trader suggested that it had been found in a torpid state,
+and slain by the Indian whom they had seen a short time ago enjoying his
+siesta among the trees.
+
+Having cut it open, in order to convince themselves beyond a doubt that
+it had swallowed an entire ox, Martin and the old trader re-embarked in
+the canoe, and Barney was on the point of joining them when the bushes
+close beside him were slightly stirred. Looking quickly round, he beheld
+the head and the glittering eyes of another anaconda, apparently as large
+as the dead one, ready to dart upon him,--at least so he fancied; but he
+did not wait to give it a chance. He fled instantly, and sprang towards
+the boat, which he nearly upset as he leaped into it, and pushed out into
+the stream. On reaching the middle of the river they looked back, but the
+anaconda was gone.
+
+Soon after this they came to a long sandbank, where the old trader said
+they should find as many turtles' eggs as they wished for, although to
+Barney and Martin there seemed to be nothing on the bank at all. The
+fresh-water turtle of the Amazon, of which there are various species, is
+one of the most useful of reptiles. Its flesh supplies abundance of good
+food; and the eggs, besides being eaten, afford an excellent oil. The
+largest species grow to the length of three feet, and have a flattish
+oval shell of a dark colour, and quite smooth. Turtles lay their eggs
+about the beginning of September, when the sand-banks begin to be
+uncovered. They scrape deep holes for them, and cover them carefully
+over, beating down the sand quite flat, and walking across the place
+several times, for the purpose of concealment. The eggs are then left to
+be hatched by the heat of the sun. But, alas for the poor turtles! men
+are too clever for them. The eggs are collected by the natives in
+thousands, and, when oil is to be made of them, they are thrown into a
+canoe, smashed and mixed up together, and left to stand, when the oil
+rises to the top, and is skimmed off and boiled. It keeps well, and is
+used both for lamps and cooking. Very few of the millions of eggs that
+are annually laid arrive at maturity.
+
+When the young turtles issue forth and run to the water, there are many
+enemies watching for them. Great alligators open their jaws and swallow
+them by hundreds; jaguars come out of the forests and feed upon them;
+eagles and buzzards and wood ibises are there, too, to claim their share
+of the feast; and, if they are fortunate enough to escape all these,
+there are many large and ravenous fishes ready to seize them in the
+stream. It seems a marvel that any escape at all.
+
+In a few minutes the old trader scraped up about a hundred eggs, to the
+immense satisfaction of Martin and Barney. Then he took a bow and arrow
+from the bottom of the montaria and shot a large turtle in the water,
+while his companions kindled a fire, intending to dine. Only the nose of
+the turtle was visible above water; but the old man was so expert in the
+use of the bow, that he succeeded in transfixing the soft part of the
+animal's neck with an arrow, although that part was under water. It was a
+large turtle, and very fat and heavy, so that it was with difficulty the
+trader lifted it upon his old shoulders and bore it in triumph to the
+spot where his companions were busily engaged with their cooking
+operations. Turtles are frequently shot with the arrow by the natives;
+they are also taken in great numbers with the hook and the net.
+
+Dinner was soon ready. Barney concocted an immense and savoury omelet,
+and the old trader cooked an excellent turtle-steak, while Martin
+prepared a junk of jaguar meat, which he roasted, being curious to taste
+it, as he had been told that the Indians like it very much. It was pretty
+good, but not equal to the turtle-eggs. The shell of the egg is leathery,
+and the yolk only is eaten. The Indians sometimes cat them raw, mixed
+with farina. Cakes of farina, and excellent coffee, concluded their
+repast; and Barney declared he had never had such a satisfactory "blow
+out" in his life; a sentiment with which Martin entirely agreed, and the
+old trader--if one might judge from the expression of his black
+countenance--sympathized.
+
+For many weeks our adventurers continued to ascend the Amazon, sometimes
+sailing before the wind; at other times, when it fell calm, pushing the
+montaria up the current by means of long poles, or advancing more easily
+with the paddles. Occasionally they halted for a day at the residence of
+a wealthy cacao planter, in order to sell him some merchandise; for which
+purpose the canoe was unloaded, and the bales were opened out for his
+inspection. Most of these planters were Brazilians, a few were Yankee
+adventurers, and one or two were Scotch and English; but nearly all had
+married Brazilian ladies, who, with their daughters, proved good
+customers to the old trader. Some of these ladies were extremely "purty
+craturs," as Barney expressed it; but most of them were totally
+uneducated and very ignorant,--not knowing half so much as a child of
+seven or eight years old in more favoured lands. They were very fond of
+fine dresses and ornaments, of which considerable supplies were sent to
+them from Europe and the United States, in exchange for the valuable
+produce of their country. But, although their dresses were fine and
+themselves elegant, their houses were generally very poor affairs--made
+of wood and thatched with broad leaves; and it was no uncommon thing to
+see a lady, who seemed from her gay dress to be fitted for a
+drawing-room, seated on an earthen floor. But there were all sorts of
+extremes in this strange land; for at the next place they came to,
+perhaps, they found a population of Negroes and Indians, and most of the
+grown-up people were half naked, while all the children were entirely so.
+
+At one plantation, where they resolved to spend a few days, the owner had
+a pond which was much frequented by alligators. These he was in the habit
+of hunting periodically, for the sake of their fat, which he converted
+into oil. At the time of their arrival, he was on the eve of starting on
+a hunting expedition to the lake, which was about eight miles distant; so
+Barney and Martin determined to go and "see the fun," as the latter said.
+
+"Martin, lad," remarked Barney, as they followed the Negro slave who had
+been sent by Senhor Antonio, the planter, to conduct them to the lake,
+while he remained behind for an hour or two to examine the bales of the
+old trader; "this is the quarest country, I believe, that iver was made;
+what with bastes, and varmints, and riptiles, and traes, and bushes, and
+rivers, it bates all creation."
+
+"Certainly it does, Barney; and it is a pity there are so few people in
+it who know how to make use of the things that are scattered all around
+them. I'm inclined to think the hermit was right when he said that they
+wanted the Bible. They are too far sunk in laziness and idleness to be
+raised up by anything else. Just look," continued Martin, glancing round,
+"what a wonderful place this is! It seems as if all the birds and curious
+trees in Brazil had congregated here to meet us."
+
+"So't does," said Barney, stopping to gaze on the scene through which
+they were passing, with an expression of perplexity on his face, as if he
+found the sight rather too much even for _his_ comprehension. Besides the
+parrots and scarlet and yellow macaws, and other strange-looking birds
+which we have elsewhere mentioned, there were long-tailed light-coloured
+cuckoos flying about from tree to tree, not calling like the cuckoo of
+Europe at all, but giving forth a sound like the creaking of a rusty
+hinge; there were hawks and buzzards of many different kinds, and
+red-breasted orioles in the bushes, and black vultures flying overhead,
+and Muscovy ducks sweeping past with whizzing wings, and flocks of the
+great wood-ibis sailing in the air on noiseless pinions, and hundreds of
+other birds that it would require an ornithologist to name; and myriads
+of insects,--especially ants and spiders, great and small,--that no
+entomologist could chronicle in a lifetime; all these were heard and seen
+at once; while of the animals that were heard, but not so often seen,
+there were black and spotted jaguars, and pacas, and cotias, and
+armadillos, and deer, and many others, that would take _pages_ to
+enumerate and whole books to describe. But the noise was the great point.
+That was the thing that took Martin and Barney quite aback, although it
+was by no means new to them; but they could not get used to it. And no
+wonder! Ten thousand paroquets shrieking passionately, like a hundred
+knife-grinders at work, is no joke; especially when their melodies are
+mingled with the discordant cries of herons, and bitterns, and cranes,
+and the ceaseless buzz and hum of insects, like the bagpipe's drone, and
+the dismal croaking of boat-bills and frogs,--one kind of which latter,
+by the way, doesn't croak at all, but _whistles_, ay, better than many a
+bird! The universal hubbub is tremendous! I tell you, reader, that you
+_don't_ understand it, and you _can't_ understand it; and if, after I had
+used the utmost excess of exaggerated language to convey a correct
+impression of the reality, you were to imagine that you really _did_
+understand it, you would be very lamentably mistaken--that's all!
+
+Nevertheless, you must not run away with the idea that the whole empire
+of Brazil is like this. There are dark thick solitudes in these vast
+forests, which are solemn and silent enough at times; and there are wide
+grassy campos, and great sandy plains, where such sounds are absent. Yet
+there are also thousands of such spots as I have just described, where
+all nature, in earth, air, and water, is instinct with noisy animal life.
+
+After two hours' walk, Martin and his companion reached the lake, and
+here active preparations were making for the alligator hunt.
+
+"Is that the only place ye have to spind the night in, Sambo?" said
+Barney to their conductor, as he pointed to a wooden shed near which some
+fifteen or twenty Negro slaves were overhauling the fishing tackle.
+
+"Yis, massa," answered the black, showing his white teeth; "dat is de
+bottle of dis great city." Sambo could speak a little English, having
+wrought for several years on the coffee plantation of a Yankee settler.
+He was a bit of a wag, too, much to the indignation of his grave master,
+the Senhor Antonio, who abhorred jesting.
+
+"Ye're too cliver, avic," said Barney, with a patronizing smile; "take
+care ye don't use up yer intellect too fast. It hurts the constitution in
+the long-run."
+
+"I say, Barney," cried Martin, who had gone ahead of his companions,
+"come here, man, and just look at this pond. It's literally crammed full
+of alligators."
+
+"Musha, but there's more alligators than wather, I belave!"
+exclaimed Barney.
+
+The pond was indeed swarming with these ferocious reptiles, which were
+constantly thrusting their ugly snouts above the surface and then
+disappearing with a flourish of their powerful tails. During the rainy
+season this lake was much larger, and afforded ample room for its
+inhabitants; but at the height of the dry season, which it was at this
+time, there was little water, and it was much overstocked. When
+alligators are thus put upon short allowance of water, they frequently
+bury themselves in the wet mud, and lie dormant for a long time, while
+the water continues to retire and leaves them buried. But when the first
+shower of the rainy season falls, they burst open their tomb and drag
+their dry bodies to the lake or river on whose margin they went to sleep.
+
+An hour or two later the Senhor Antonio arrived; but as it was getting
+dark, nothing could be done until the following morning; so they slung
+their hammocks under the wooden shed on the margin of the lake, and, in
+order to save themselves as much as possible from the bites of the
+tormenting mosquitoes, went to sleep with their heads tied up in their
+handkerchiefs, and their hands thrust into their breeches pockets! The
+occasional splash and snort of contending alligators, about twenty yards
+off, varied the monotony of the hours of darkness, while the frogs and
+cranes and jaguars sang their lullaby.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+AN ALLIGATOR HUNT--REMARKABLE EXPLOSIONS--THE RAINY SEASON USHERED IN BY
+AN AWFUL RESURRECTION
+
+
+At sunrise an expressive shout in Portuguese set the black slaves on
+their feet; and, after a hasty breakfast of alligator-tail and farina,
+they commenced operations. Alligator-tail is by no means bad food, and
+after the first mouthful,--taken with hesitation and swallowed with
+difficulty,--Martin and Barney both pronounced it "capital." Sambo, who
+had cooked the delicate morsel, and stood watching them, smacked his lips
+and added, "Fuss rate."
+
+All being now ready for the hunt, a number of Negroes entered the
+water, which was nowhere very deep, with long poles in their hands.
+This appeared to Martin and Barney a very reckless and dangerous thing
+to do, as no doubt it was. Nevertheless accidents, they were told, very
+rarely happened.
+
+Sambo, who was the overseer of the party, was the first to dash up to the
+middle in the water. "Hi," exclaimed that dingy individual, making a
+torrent of remarks in Portuguese, while he darted his long pole hither
+and thither; then, observing that Martin and Barney were gazing at him
+open mouthed, he shouted, "Look out, boys! here Jim comes! Take care, ole
+feller, or he jump right down you' throat! hi-i-i!"
+
+As he spoke, a large alligator, having been rudely stirred up from his
+muddy bed, floundered on the surface of the lake and Sambo instantly
+gave it a thump over the back and a blow under the ribs; which had the
+effect of driving it in the direction of the shore. Here a number of
+Negroes were ready for him; and the moment he came within reach, a coil
+of rope with a noose on the end of it, called a lasso, was adroitly
+thrown over the reptile's head: ten or twelve men then hauled the lasso
+and dragged it ashore amid shouts of triumph. This alligator was twenty
+feet long, with an enormous misshapen head and fearful rows of teeth
+that were terrible to behold. The monster did not submit to be captured,
+however, without a struggle; and the Negroes grew wild with excitement
+as they yelled and leaped madly about seeking to avoid its dangerous
+jaws and the blows of its powerful tail. After some trouble, a second
+lasso was thrown over the tail, which was thus somewhat restrained in
+its movements; and Sambo, approaching cautiously with an axe, cut a deep
+gash just at the root of that formidable appendage, which rendered it
+harmless. "Hi-i," shouted Sambo in triumph, as he sprang towards the
+animal's head, and inflicted a similar gash in the neck; "dare, you
+quite finish, ole feller."
+
+"Musha but that's thrue!" ejaculated Barney, who stood staring at the
+whole proceeding like one in a trance. "Did ye iver git a bite, Sambo?"
+
+Barney received no answer, for his sable friend was already up to his
+waist in the water with five or six of his brethren, who were flourishing
+their long poles and driving the snorting alligators towards the shore,
+where their comrades, with lassos and harpoons, awaited them. Sometimes
+they harpooned the alligators, and then, fastening lassos to their heads
+and tails, or to a hind leg, dragged them ashore; at other times they
+threw the lasso over their heads at once, without taking the trouble to
+harpoon them. It was a terrible and a wonderful sight to witness the
+Negroes in the very midst of a shoal of these creatures, any one of which
+could have taken a man into his jaws quite easily,--whence, once between
+these long saw-like rows of teeth, no man could have escaped to tell how
+sharp they were. The creatures were so numerous that it was impossible to
+thrust a pole into the mud without stirring up one of them; but they were
+so terrified at the sudden attack and the shouts of the Negroes, that
+they thought only of escape.
+
+Suddenly there arose a great cry. One of the lassos had snapt, and the
+alligator was floundering back into the water, when Sambo rushed in up to
+the arm-pits, and caught the end of the rope. At the same moment two
+alligators made at the Negro with open jaws. It is probable that the
+animals went in his direction by mere accident, and would have brushed
+past him in blind haste; but to Martin and Barney it seemed as if the
+poor man's fate were sealed, and they uttered a loud shout of horror as
+they bounded simultaneously into the water, not knowing what to do, but
+being unable to restrain the impulse to spring to Sambo's aid.
+Fortunately, however, one of the other Negroes was near Sambo. He sprang
+forward, and dealt the alligators two tremendous blows with his pole on
+their snouts, right and left, which turned them off. Then other Negroes
+came up, laid hold of Sambo, who would not let go his hold and was being
+dragged into deep water, caught the end of the rope, and in ten minutes
+hauled their victim to the shore, when it was quickly despatched in the
+usual manner.
+
+By this time about a dozen alligators, varying from ten to twenty feet in
+length, had been captured; and Barney at length became so bold that he
+requested to be allowed to try his hand at throwing the lasso, the
+dexterous use of which by the Negroes had filled him with admiration. A
+loud burst of laughter greeted this proposal, and Sambo showed a set of
+teeth that might have made even the alligators envious, as he handed the
+Irishman a coil of line.
+
+"Now don't miss, Barney," cried Martin, laughing heartily, as his comrade
+advanced to the edge of the lake and watched his opportunity. "Mind, your
+credit as an expert hunter is at stake."
+
+The Senhor Antonio stood close behind the Irishman, with his arms folded
+and a sarcastic smile on his countenance.
+
+"Don't send it down him's throat," yelled Sambo. "Hi-i; dat's de vay to
+swing urn round. Stir um up, boys!--poke um up, villains, hi!"
+
+The Negroes in the water obeyed with frantic glee, and the terrified
+monsters surged about in all directions, so that Barney found it almost
+impossible to fix his attention on any particular individual. At length
+he made up his mind, whirled the coil round his head, discharged the
+noose, caught the Senhor Antonio round the neck, and jerked him violently
+to the ground!
+
+There was a simultaneous pause of horror among the slaves; but it was too
+much for their risible faculties to withstand; with one accord they
+rushed howling into the water to conceal their laughter, and began to
+stir up and belabour the alligators with their poles, until the surface
+of the lake was a sheet of foam.
+
+Meanwhile the Senhor Antonio sprang to his feet and began to bluster
+considerably in Portuguese; but poor Barney seemed awfully crest-fallen,
+arid the deep concern which wrinkled his face, and the genuine regret
+that sounded in the tones of his voice, at length soothed the indignant
+Brazilian, who frowned gravely, and waving his hand, as if to signify
+that Barney had his forgiveness, he stalked up to the shed, lighted a
+cigarito, and lay down in his hammock.
+
+"Well!" said Martin, in an under-tone, "you did it that time, Barney.
+I verily thought the old fellow was hanged. He became quite livid in
+the face."
+
+"Och! bad luck to the lasso, say I. May I niver more see the swate groves
+o' Killarney if iver I meddle with wan again."
+
+"Hi-i; you is fuss rate," said Sambo, as he and his comrades returned and
+busied themselves in cutting up the dead alligators. "You beat de Niggers
+all to not'ing. Not any of dis yere chiles eber lasso Sen'or Antonio yet;
+no, neber!"
+
+It was some time before the Negroes could effectually subdue their
+merriment, but at length they succeeded, and applied themselves
+vigorously to the work of cutting out the fat. The alligators were all
+cut open,--a work of no small difficulty, owing to the hard scales
+which covered them as with coats of mail; then the fat, which
+accumulates in large quantities about the intestines, was cut out and
+made up into packets in the skins of the smaller ones, which were taken
+off for this purpose.
+
+These packets were afterwards carried to the Senhor's dwelling, and the
+fat melted down into oil, which served for burning in lamps quite as well
+as train oil. The flesh of a smaller species of alligator, some of which
+were also taken, is considered excellent food; and, while the Negroes
+were engaged in their work, Barney made himself useful by kindling a
+large fire and preparing a savoury dish for "all hands," plentifully
+seasoned with salt and pepper, with which condiments the country is well
+supplied, and of which the people are exceedingly fond.
+
+There was also caught in this lake a large species of fish called
+pirarucu, which, strangely enough, found it possible to exist in spite of
+alligators. They were splendid creatures, from five to six feet long, and
+covered with large scales more than an inch in diameter, which were
+beautifully marked and spotted with red. These fish were most delicately
+flavoured, and Barney exerted his talents to the utmost in order to do
+them justice. Martin also did his best to prove himself a willing and
+efficient assistant, and cleaned and washed the pirarucu steaks and the
+junks of alligator-tail to admiration. In short, the exertions of the two
+strangers in this way quite won the hearts of the Negroes, and after
+dinner the Senhor Antonio had quite recovered his good humour.
+
+While staying at this place Martin had an opportunity of seeing a great
+variety of the curious fish with which the Amazon is stocked. These are
+so numerous that sometimes, when sailing up stream with a fair wind, they
+were seen leaping all round the canoe in shoals, so that it was only
+necessary to strike the water with the paddles in order to kill a few.
+
+The peixe boi, or cow-fish, is one of the most curious of the inhabitants
+of the Amazon. It is about six feet long, and no less than five feet in
+circumference at its thickest part. It is a perfectly smooth, and what we
+may call _dumpy_ fish, of a leaden colour, with a semi-circular flat
+tail, and a large mouth with thick fleshy lips resembling those of a cow.
+There are stiff bristles on the lips, and a few scattered hairs over the
+body. It has two fins just behind the head; and below these, in the
+females, there are two breasts, from which good white milk flows when
+pressure is applied. The cow-fish feeds on grass at the borders of rivers
+and lakes; and when suckling its young it carries it in its fins or
+flippers, and clasps the little one to its breast, just as a mother
+clasps her baby! It is harpooned and taken for the sake of its fat, from
+which oil is made. The flesh is also very good, resembling beef in
+quality, and it was much relished by Martin and Barney, who frequently
+dined on beef-steaks cut from this remarkable cow-fish.
+
+There was also another fish which surprised our adventurers not a little
+the first time they met with it. One evening Senhor Antonio had ordered
+a net to be thrown into the river, being desirous of procuring a few
+fresh fish for the use of his establishment. The Indians and Negroes
+soon after commenced dragging, and in a few minutes afterwards the sandy
+bank of the river was strewn with an immense variety of small fish,
+among which were a few of a larger kind. Martin and Barney became
+excited as they saw them leaping and spluttering about, and ran in
+amongst them to assist in gathering them into baskets. But scarcely had
+the latter advanced a few steps when there was a loud report, as if a
+pistol had gone off under his feet.
+
+"Hallo!" exclaimed the Irishman, leaping two feet into the air. On his
+reaching the ground again, a similar explosion occurred, and Barney
+dashed aside, overturning Martin in his haste. Martin's heel caught on a
+stone, and he fell flat on the ground, when instantly there was a report
+as if he had fallen upon and burst an inflated paper bag. The natives
+laughed loud and long, while the unfortunate couple sprang up the bank,
+half inclined to think that an earthquake was about to take place. The
+cause of their fright was then pointed out. It was a species of small
+fish which has the power of inflating the fore part of its body into a
+complete ball, and which, when stamped upon, explodes with a loud noise.
+There were great numbers of these scattered among the other fish, and
+also large quantities of a little fish armed with long spines, which
+inflict a serious wound when trodden upon.
+
+At this place adventures on a small scale crowded upon our travellers
+so thickly that Martin began to look upon sudden surprises as a
+necessary of life, and Barney said that "if it wint on any longer he
+feared his eye-brows would get fixed near the top of his head, and
+niver more come down,"
+
+One evening, soon after their departure from the residence of Senhor
+Antonio, the old trader was sitting steering in the stern of his canoe,
+which was running up before a pretty stiff breeze. Martin was lying on
+his back, as was his wont in such easy circumstances, amusing himself
+with Marmoset; and Barney was reclining in the bow talking solemnly to
+Grampus; when suddenly the wind ceased, and it became a dead calm. The
+current was so strong that they could scarcely paddle against it, so they
+resolved to go no further that night, and ran the canoe ashore on a low
+point of mud, intending to encamp under the trees, no human habitation
+being near them. The mud bank was hard and dry, and cracked with the
+heat; for it was now the end of the dry season, and the river had long
+since retired from it.
+
+"Not a very comfortable place, Barney," said Martin, looking round, as he
+threw down one of the bales which he had just carried up from the canoe.
+"Hallo! there's a hut, I declare. Come, that's a comfort anyhow."
+
+As he spoke Martin pointed to one of the solitary and rudely constructed
+huts or sheds which the natives of the banks of the Amazon sometimes
+erect during the dry season, and forsake when the river overflows its
+banks. The hut was a very old one, and had evidently been inundated, for
+the floor was a mass of dry, solid mud, and the palm-leaf roof was much
+damaged. However, it was better than nothing, so they slung their
+hammocks under it, kindled a fire, and prepared supper. While they were
+busy discussing this meal, a few dark and ominous clouds gathered in the
+sky, and the old trader, glancing uneasily about him, gave them to
+understand that he feared the rainy season was going to begin.
+
+"Well then," said Barney, lighting his pipe and stretching himself at
+full length in his hammock, with a leg swinging to and fro over one side
+and his head leaning over the other, as was his wont when he felt
+particularly comfortable in mind and body; "Well then, avic, let it
+begin. If we're sure to have it anyhow, the sooner it begins the better,
+to my thinkin'."
+
+"I don't know that," said Martin, who was seated on a large stone beside
+the fire sipping a can of coffee, which he shared equally with Marmoset.
+The monkey sat on his shoulder gazing anxiously into his face, with an
+expression that seemed as if the creature were mentally exclaiming, "Now
+me, now you; now me, now you," during the whole process. "It would be
+better, I think, if we were in a more sheltered position before it
+begins. Ha! there it comes though, in earnest."
+
+A smart shower began to fall as he spoke, and, percolating through the
+old roof, descended rather copiously on the mud floor. In a few minutes
+there was a heaving of the ground under their feet!
+
+"Ochone!" cried Barney, taking his pipe out of his mouth and looking down
+with a disturbed expression, "there's an arthquake, I do belave."
+
+For a few seconds there was a dead silence.
+
+"Nonsense," whispered Martin uneasily.
+
+"It's dramin' I must have been," sighed Barney, resuming his pipe.
+
+Again the ground heaved and cracked, and Martin and the old trader had
+just time to spring to their feet when the mud floor of the hut burst
+upwards and a huge dried-up-looking alligator crawled forth, as if from
+the bowels of the earth! It glanced up at Barney; opened its tremendous
+jaws, and made as if it would run at the terrified old trader; then,
+observing the doorway, it waddled out, and, trundling down the bank,
+plunged into the river and disappeared.
+
+Barney could find no words to express his feelings, but continued to gaze
+with an unbelieving expression down into the hole out of which the
+monster had come, and in which it had buried itself many weeks before,
+when the whole country was covered with soft mud. At that time it had
+probably regarded the shelter of the inundated hut as of some advantage,
+and had lain down to repose. The water retiring had left it there buried,
+and--as we have already mentioned in reference to alligators--when the
+first shower of the rainy season fell it was led by instinct to burst its
+earthy prison, and seek its native element.
+
+Before Barney or his companions could recover from their surprise, they
+had other and more urgent matters to think about. The dark clouds burst
+overhead, and the rain descended like a continued water-spout,--not in
+drops but in heavy sheets and masses; the roof of the hut gave way in
+several places, driving them into a corner for shelter; the river began
+to rise rapidly, soon flooding the hut; and, when darkness overspread the
+land, they found themselves drenched to the skin and suspended in their
+hammocks over a running stream of water!
+
+This event brought about an entire change in the aspect of nature, and
+was the cause of a sad and momentous era in the adventures of Martin
+Rattler and his companion.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+THE CAPO--INTERRUPTIONS--GRAMPUS AND MARMOSET--CANOEING IN THE WOODS--A
+NIGHT ON A FLOATING ISLAND
+
+
+There is a peculiar and very striking feature in the character of the
+great Amazon, which affects the distinctive appearance of that river and
+materially alters the manners and customs of those who dwell beside it.
+This peculiarity is the periodical overflow of its low banks; and the
+part thus overflowed is called the _Gapo_. It extends from a little above
+the town of San-tarem up to the confines of Peru, a distance of about
+seventeen hundred miles; and varies in width from one to twenty miles: so
+that the country when inundated assumes in many places the appearance of
+an extensive lake with forest trees growing out of the water; and
+travellers may proceed many hundreds of miles in their canoes without
+once entering the main stream of the river. At this time the natives
+become almost aquatic animals. Several tribes of Indians inhabit the
+Gapo; such as the Purupurus, Muras; and others. They build small movable
+huts on the sandy shores during the dry season, and on rafts in the wet
+They subsist on turtle, cow-fish, and the other fish with which the river
+abounds, and live almost entirely in their canoes; while at night they
+frequently sling their hammocks between the branches of trees and sleep
+suspended over the deep water.
+
+Some of the animals found in the Gapo are peculiar to it, being attracted
+by the fruit-trees which are found growing only there. The Indians assert
+that every tree that grows in the Gapo is distinct from all those that
+grow in other districts; and when we consider that these trees are
+submerged for six months every year, till they are tall enough to rise
+above the highest water-level, we may well believe their constitution is
+somewhat different from those that are reared on ordinary ground. The
+Indians are wonderfully expert in finding their way among the trackless
+mazes of the Gapo, being guided by the broken twigs and scraped bark that
+indicate the route followed by previous travellers.
+
+Owing to this sudden commencement of the rainy season, the old trader
+resolved to return to a small village and there spend several months.
+Martin and Barney were much annoyed at this; for the former was impatient
+to penetrate further into the interior, and the latter had firmly made up
+his mind to visit the diamond mines, about which he entertained the most
+extravagant notions. He did not, indeed, know in the least how to get to
+these mines, nor even in which direction they lay; but he had a strong
+impression that as long as he continued travelling he was approaching
+gradually nearer to them, and he had no doubt whatever that he would get
+to them at last. It was, therefore, with no small degree of impatience
+that they awaited the pleasure of their sable master, who explained to
+them that when the waters reached their height he would proceed.
+
+Everything comes to an end, even a long story. After many weeks had
+passed slowly by, their sojourn in this village came to an end too. It
+was a dull place, very dull, and they had nothing to do; and the few
+poor people who lived there seemed to have very little or nothing to do.
+We will, therefore, pass it over, and resume our narrative at the point
+when the old trader announced to Barney that the flood was at its height
+and they would now continue their journey. They embarked once more in
+their old canoe with their goods and chattels, not forgetting Marmoset
+and Grampus, whose friendship during their inactive life had become more
+close than ever. This friendship was evidenced chiefly by the
+matter-of-course way in which Grampus permitted the monkey to mount his
+back and ride about the village and through the woods, where dry places
+could be found, as long as she pleased. Marmoset was fonder of riding
+than walking, so that Grampus had enough to do; but he did not put
+himself much about. He trotted, walked, galloped, and lay down, when,
+and where, and as often as he chose, without any reference to the small
+monkey; and Marmoset held on through thick and thin, and nibbled nuts or
+whatever else it picked up, utterly regardless of where it was going to
+or the pace at which it went. It was sharp, though, that small monkey,
+sharp as a needle, and had its little black eyes glancing on all sides;
+so that when Grampus dashed through underwood, and the branches
+threatened to sweep it off, it ducked its head; or, lying flat down,
+shut its eyes and held on with all its teeth and four hands like a
+limpet to a rock. Marmoset was not careful as to her attitude on
+dog-back. She sat with her face to the front or rear, just as her fancy
+or convenience dictated.
+
+After leaving the village they travelled for many days and nights through
+the Gapo. Although afloat on the waters of the Amazon, they never entered
+the main river after the first few days, but wound their way, in a
+creeping, serpentine sort of fashion, through small streams and lakes and
+swamps, from which the light was partially excluded by the thick foliage
+of the forest. It was a strange scene that illimitable watery waste, and
+aroused new sensations in the breasts of our travellers. As Barney said,
+it made him "feel quite solemn-like and eerie to travel through the woods
+by wather."
+
+The canoe was forced under branches and among dense bushes, till they got
+into a part where the trees were loftier and a deep gloom prevailed. Here
+the lowest branches were on a level with the surface of the water, and
+many of them were putting forth beautiful flowers. On one occasion they
+came to a grove of small palms, which were so deep in the water that the
+leaves were only a few feet above the surface. Indeed they were so low
+that one of them caught Martin's straw-hat and swept it overboard.
+
+"Hallo! stop!" cried Martin, interrupting the silence so suddenly
+that Grampus sprang up with a growl, under the impression that game
+was in view; and Marmoset scampered off behind a packing-box with an
+angry shriek.
+
+"What's wrong, lad?" inquired Barney.
+
+"Back water, quick! my hat's overboard, and there's an alligator going to
+snap it up. Look alive, man!"
+
+In a few seconds the canoe was backed and the straw-hat rescued from its
+perilous position.
+
+"It's an ill wind that blows nae guid, as the Scotch say," remarked
+Barney, rising in the canoe and reaching towards something among the
+overhanging branches. "Here's wan o' them trees that old black-face calls
+a maraja, with some splendid bunches o' fruit on it. Hould yer hat,
+Martin; there's more nor enough for supper anyhow,"
+
+As he spoke a rustling in the leaves told that monkeys were watching us,
+and Marmoset kept peeping up as if she half expected they might be
+relations. But the moment the travellers caught sight of them they
+bounded away screaming.
+
+Having gathered as much fruit as they required, they continued their
+voyage, and presently emerged into the pleasant sunshine in a large
+grassy lake, which was filled with lilies and beautiful water-plants,
+little yellow bladder-worts, with several other plants of which they knew
+not the names; especially one with a thick swollen stalk, curious leaves,
+and bright blue flowers. This lake was soon passed, and they again
+entered into the gloomy forest, and paddled among the lofty trunks of the
+trees, which rose like massive columns out of the deep water. There was
+enough of animal life there, however, to amuse and interest them. The
+constant plash of falling fruit showed that birds were feeding overhead.
+Sometimes a flock of parrots or bright blue chatterers swept from tree to
+tree, or atrogon swooped at a falling bunch of fruit and caught it ere it
+reached the water; while ungainly toucans plumped clumsily down upon the
+branches, and sat, in striking contrast, beside the lovely pompadours,
+with their claret-coloured plumage and delicate white wings.
+
+Vieing with these birds in splendour were several large bright-yellow
+flowers of the creeping-plants, which twined round the trees. Some of
+these plants had white, spotted, and purple blossoms; and there was one
+splendid species, called by the natives the flor de Santa Anna--the
+flower of St. Ann--which emitted a delightful odour and was four inches
+in diameter.
+
+Having traversed this part of the wood, they once more emerged upon the
+main stream of the Amazon. It was covered with water-fowl. Large logs of
+trees and numerous floating islands of grass were sailing down; and on
+these sat hundreds of white gulls, demurely and comfortably voyaging to
+the ocean; for the sea would be their final resting-place if they sat on
+these logs and islands until they descended several hundreds of miles of
+the great river.
+
+"I wish," said Martin, after a long silence, during which the travellers
+had been gazing on the watery waste as they paddled up stream--"I wish
+that we could fall in with solid land, where we might have something
+cooked. I'm desperately hungry now; but I don't see a spot of earth large
+enough for a mosquito to rest his foot on."
+
+"We'll jist have to take to farhina and wather," remarked Barney, laying
+down his paddle and proceeding leisurely to light his pipe. "It's a
+blissin' we've got baccy, any how. Tis mesilf that could niver git on
+without it."
+
+"I wish you joy of it, Barney. It may fill your mouth, but it can't stop
+your hunger."
+
+"Och, boy, it's little ye know! Sure it stops the cravin's o' hunger, and
+kapes yer stumick from callin' out for iver, till ye fall in with
+somethin' to ate."
+
+"It does not seem to stop the mouth then, Barney, for you call out for
+grub oftener than I do; and then you say that you couldn't get on without
+it; so you're a slave to it, old boy. I wouldn't be a slave to anything
+if I could help it."
+
+"Martin, lad, ye're gittin' deep. Take care now, or ye'll be in
+mettlefeesics soon. I say, ould black-face,"--Barney was not on ceremony
+with the old trader,--"is there no land in thim parts at all?"
+
+"No, not dis night,"
+
+"Och, then, we'll have to git up a tree and try to cook somethin' there;
+for I'm not goin' to work on flour and wather. Hallo! hould on! There's
+an island, or the portrait o' wan! Port your helm, Naygur! hard aport!
+D'ye hear?"
+
+The old man heard, but, as usual, paid no attention to the Irishman's
+remarks; and the canoe would have passed straight on, had not Barney used
+his bow-paddle so energetically that he managed to steer her, as he
+expressed it, by the nose, and ran her against a mass of floating logs
+which had caught firmly in a thicket, and were so covered with grass and
+broken twigs as to have very much the appearance of a real island. Here
+they landed, so to speak, kindled a small fire, made some coffee, roasted
+a few fish, baked several cakes, and were soon as happy and comfortable
+as hungry and wearied men usually are when they obtain rest and food.
+
+"This is what I call jolly," remarked Barney.
+
+"What's jolly?" inquired Martin.
+
+"Why _this_, to be sure,--grub to begin with, and a smoke and a
+convanient snooze in prospect,"
+
+The hopes which Barney cherished, however, were destined to be blighted,
+at least in part. To the victuals he did ample justice; the pipe was
+delightful, and in good working order; but when they lay down to repose,
+they were attacked by swarms of stinging ants, which the heat of the fire
+had driven out of the old logs. These and mosquitoes effectually banished
+sleep from their eye-lids, and caused them to reflect very seriously, and
+to state to each other more than once very impressively, that, with all
+their beauties and wonders, tropical lands had their disadvantages, and
+there was no place like the "ould country," after all.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+THE SAD AND MOMENTOUS ERA REFERRED TO AT THE CLOSE OF THE CHAPTER
+PRECEDING THE LAST
+
+
+One sultry evening, many weeks after our travellers had passed the
+uncomfortable night on the floating island in the Gapo, they came to a
+place where the banks of the river rose boldly up in rugged rocks and
+hemmed in the waters of the Amazon, which were by this time somewhat
+abated. Here they put ashore, intending to kindle their fire and encamp
+for the night, having been up and hard at work since daybreak.
+
+The evening was calm and beautiful, and the troublesome insects not so
+numerous as usual,--probably owing to the nature of the ground. One or
+two monkeys showed themselves for a moment, as if to enquire who was
+there, and then ran away screaming; a porcupine also crossed their
+path, and several small bright snakes, of a harmless species, glided
+over the rocks, and sought refuge among the small bushes; but beyond
+these there were few of the sights and sounds that were wont to greet
+them in the forest.
+
+"I think things look well to-night," remarked Martin as he threw down a
+bundle of sticks which he had gathered for the fire; "we shall have a
+comfortable snooze for certain, if the mosquitoes don't wake up."
+
+"I'm not so sure of that," replied Barney, striking a light with flint
+and steel and stooping to puff the smouldering spark into a flame. "I've
+larned by exparience that ye niver can be--puff--sure o' nothin' in
+this--puff--remarkable country. Jist look at Darkey now," continued the
+Irishman, sitting down on a stone before the fire, which now began to
+kindle up, and stuffing the tobacco into his pipe with his little finger.
+"There he is, a livin' Naygur, aliftin' of the provision-bag out o' the
+canoe. Well, if he was all of a suddent to turn into Marmoset an' swaller
+himself, an' then jump down the throat of Grampus, and the whole consarn,
+canoe and all, to disappear, I don't think that I would be much
+surprised."
+
+"Would you not, Barney? I suspect that I should be, a little, under the
+circumstances; perhaps the old Nigger would be more so."
+
+"Niver a taste," continued Barney. "Ye see, if that was to happen, I
+would then know that it was all a drame. I've more than wance expected to
+wake up since I comed into furrin parts; the only thing that kapes me in
+doubt about it is the baccy."
+
+"How so, Barney?"
+
+"Why, bekase it tastes so rael, good luck to it! that I can't git myself
+to think it's only a drame. Jist look, now," he continued, in the same
+tone of voice; "if it wasn't a drame, how could I see sich a thing as
+that standin' on the rock over there?"
+
+Martin glanced towards the spot pointed out by his friend, and
+immediately started up with surprise.
+
+"Hallo! Barney, that's no dream, I'll vouch for it. He's an Indian, and a
+very ugly one too, I declare. I say, old fellow, do you know what sort of
+savage that is?"
+
+"Not know," answered the trader, glancing uneasily at the stranger.
+
+"He might have the dacency to put on more close, anyhow," muttered
+Barney, as he gazed inquiringly at the savage.
+
+The being who had thus appeared so suddenly before the travellers
+belonged to one of the numerous tribes of Indians inhabiting the country
+near the head-waters of some of the chief tributaries of the Amazon. He
+was almost entirely naked, having merely a scanty covering on his loins;
+and carried a small quiver full of arrows at his back, and what appeared
+to be a long spear in his hand. His figure was strongly but not well
+formed; and his face, which was of a dark copper hue, was disfigured in a
+most remarkable manner. A mass of coarse black hair formed the only
+covering to his head. His cheeks were painted with curious marks of jet
+black. But the most remarkable points about him were the huge pieces of
+wood which formed ornaments in his ears and under lip. They were round
+and flat like the wooden wheel of a toy-cart, about half an inch thick,
+and larger than an old-fashioned watch. These were fitted into enormous
+slits made in the ears and under lip, and the latter projected more than
+two inches from his mouth! Indeed, the cut that had been made to receive
+this ornament was so large that the lip had been almost cut off
+altogether, and merely hung by each corner of his mouth! The aspect of
+the man was very hideous, and it was by no means improved when, having
+recovered from his surprise at unexpectedly encountering strangers, he
+opened his mouth to the full extent and uttered a savage yell.
+
+The cry was answered immediately. In a few minutes a troop of upwards of
+thirty savages sprang from the woods, and, ascending the rock on which
+their comrade stood, gazed down on the travellers in surprise, and, by
+their movements, seemed to be making hasty preparations for an attack.
+
+By this time Barney had recovered his self-possession, and became
+thoroughly convinced of the reality of the apparition before him. Drawing
+his pistol hastily from his belt, he caught up a handful of gravel,
+wherewith he loaded it to the muzzle, ramming down the charge with a bit
+of mandioca-cake in lieu of a wad; then drawing his cutlass he handed it
+to Martin, exclaiming, "Come, lad, we're in for it now. Take you the
+cutlass and Til try their skulls with the butt o' my pistol: it has done
+good work before now in that way. If there's no more o' the blackguards
+in the background we'll bate them aisy."
+
+Martin instinctively grasped the cutlass, and there is no doubt that,
+under the impulse of that remarkable quality, British valour, which
+utterly despises odds, they would have hurled themselves recklessly upon
+the savages, when the horrified old trader threw himself on Barney's neck
+and implored him not to fight; for if he did they would all be killed,
+and if he only kept quiet the savages would perhaps do them no harm. At
+the same moment about fifty additional Indians arrived upon the scene of
+action. This, and the old man's earnest entreaties, induced them to
+hesitate for an instant, and, before they could determine what to do,
+they were surprised by some of the savages, who rushed upon them from
+behind and took them prisoners. Barney struggled long and fiercely, but
+he was at length overpowered by numbers. The pistol, which missed fire,
+was wrenched from his grasp, and his hands were speedily bound behind his
+back. Martin was likewise disarmed and secured; not, however, before he
+made a desperate slash at one of the savages, which narrowly missed his
+skull, and cut away his lip ornament.
+
+As for the old trader, he made no resistance at all, but submitted
+quietly to his fate. The savages did not seem to think it worth their
+while to bind him. Grampus bounced and barked round the party savagely,
+but did not attack; and Marmoset slept in the canoe in blissful ignorance
+of the whole transaction.
+
+The hands of the two prisoners being firmly bound, they were allowed to
+do as they pleased; so they sat down on a rock in gloomy silence, and
+watched the naked savages as they rifled the canoe and danced joyfully
+round the treasures which their active knives and fingers soon exposed to
+view. The old trader took things philosophically. Knowing that it was
+absolutely impossible to escape, he sat quietly down on a stone, rested
+his chin on his hands, heaved one or two deep sighs, and thereafter
+seemed to be nothing more than an ebony statue.
+
+The ransacking of the canoe and appropriating of its contents occupied
+the savages but a short time, after which they packed everything up in
+small bundles, which they strapped upon their backs. Then, making signs
+to their prisoners to rise, they all marched away into the forest. Just
+as they were departing, Marmoset, observing that she was about to be left
+behind, uttered a frantic cry, which brought Grampus gambolling to her
+side. With an active bound the monkey mounted its charger, and away they
+went into the forest in the track of the band of savages.
+
+During the first part of their march Martin and Barney were permitted to
+walk beside each other, and they conversed in low, anxious tones.
+
+"Surely," said Barney, as they marched along surrounded by Indians,
+"thim long poles the savages have got are not spears; I don't see no
+point to them."
+
+"And what's more remarkable," added Martin, "is that they all carry
+quivers full of arrows, but none of them have bows."
+
+"There's a raison for iverything," said Barney, pointing to one of the
+Indians in advance; "that fellow explains the mystery."
+
+As he spoke, the savage referred to lowered the pole, which seemed to be
+about thirteen feet long, and pushing an arrow into a hole in the end of
+it, applied it to his mouth. In another moment the arrow flew through the
+air and grazed a bird that was sitting on a branch hard by.
+
+"Tis a blow-pipe, and no mistake!" cried Barney.
+
+"And a poisoned arrow, I'm quite sure," added Martin; "for it only
+ruffled the bird's feathers, and see, it has fallen to the ground."
+
+"Och, then, but we'd have stood a bad chance in a fight, if thim's the
+wipons they use. Och, the dirty spalpeens! Martin, dear, we're done for.
+There's no chance for us at all."
+
+This impression seemed to take such deep hold of Barney's mind, that his
+usually reckless and half jesting disposition was completely subdued, and
+he walked along in gloomy silence, while a feeling of deep dejection
+filled the heart of his young companion.
+
+The blow-pipe which these Indians use is an ingeniously contrived weapon.
+It is made from a species of palm-tree. When an Indian wants one, he goes
+into the woods and selects a tree with a long slender stem of less than
+an inch in diameter; he extracts the pith out of this, and then cuts
+another stem, so much larger than the first that he can push the small
+tube into the bore of the large one,--thus the slight bend in one is
+counteracted by the other, and a perfectly straight pipe is formed. The
+mouthpiece is afterwards neatly finished off. The arrows used are very
+short, having a little ball of cotton at the end to fill the tube of the
+blow-pipe. The points are dipped in a peculiar poison, which has the
+effect of producing death when introduced into the blood by a mere
+scratch of the skin. The Indians can send these arrows an immense
+distance, and with unerring aim, as Martin and Barney had many an
+opportunity of witnessing during their long and weary journey on foot to
+the forest-home of the savages.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+WORSE AND WORSE--EVERYTHING SEEMS TO GO WRONG TOGETHER
+
+
+Although the Indians did not maltreat the unfortunate strangers who had
+thus fallen into their hands, they made them proceed by forced marches
+through the wilderness; and as neither Barney nor Martin had been of late
+much used to long walks, they felt the journey very severely. The old
+trader had been accustomed to everything wretched and unfortunate and
+uncomfortable from his childhood, so he plodded onward in silent
+indifference.
+
+The country through which they passed became every day more and more
+rugged, until at length it assumed the character of a wild mountainous
+district. Sometimes they wound their way in a zigzag manner up the
+mountain sides, by paths so narrow that they could scarcely find a
+foot-hold. At other times they descended into narrow valleys where they
+saw great numbers of wild animals of various kinds, some of which the
+Indians killed for food. After they reached the mountain district they
+loosed the hands of their prisoners, in order to enable them to climb
+more easily. Indeed in many places they had to scramble so carefully that
+it would have been impossible for any one to climb with his hands tied
+behind his back. But the Indians knew full well that they ran no risk of
+losing their prisoners; for if they had attempted to escape, dozens of
+their number were on the watch, before, behind, and on either side, ready
+to dart away in pursuit. Moreover, Barney had a feeling of horror at the
+bare idea of the poisoned arrows, that effectually prevented him from
+making the smallest attempt at escape. With a cutlass or a heavy stick he
+would have attacked the whole tribe single-handed, and have fought till
+his brains were knocked out; but when he thought of the small arrows that
+would pour upon him in hundreds if he made a dash for the woods, and the
+certain death that would follow the slightest scratch, he discarded all
+idea of rebellion.
+
+One of the animals killed by the Indians at this time was a black
+jaguar,--a magnificent animal, and very fierce. He was discovered
+crouching in a thicket backed by a precipice, from which he could only
+escape by charging through the ranks of his enemies. He did it nobly.
+With a roar that rebounded from the face of the high cliff and echoed
+through the valley like a peal of thunder, he sprang out and rushed at
+the savages in front, who scattered like chaff right and left. But at the
+same instant fifty blow-pipes sent their poisoned shafts into his body,
+and, after a few convulsive bounds, the splendid monarch of the American
+forests fell dead on the ground. The black jaguar is a somewhat rare
+animal, and is very seldom seen. This one was therefore hailed as a great
+prize, and the skin and claws were carefully preserved.
+
+On the afternoon of the same day the party came to a broad stream, over
+which they, or some other of the numerous tribes in the country, had
+constructed a very simple and curious bridge. It was a single rope
+attached to an immense mass of rock on one side and to the stem of a
+large tree on the other. On this tight-rope was fastened a simple loop of
+cord, so constructed that it could encircle the waist of a man and at the
+same time traverse from one end of the tight-rope to the other. Barney
+put on a comical frown when he came to this and saw the leader of the
+party rest his weight in the loop, and, in clinging with hands and legs
+to the long rope, work himself slowly across.
+
+"Arrah! it's well for us, Martin, that we're used to goin' aloft," said
+he, "or that same bridge would try our narves a little."
+
+"So it would, Barney. I've seldom seen a more uncomfortable-looking
+contrivance. If we lost our hold we should first be dashed to pieces on
+the rocks, and then be drowned in the river."
+
+Difficult though the passage seemed, however? it was soon accomplished by
+the active savages in safety. The only one of the party likely to be left
+behind was Grampus; whom his master, after much entreaty in dumb-show,
+was permitted to carry over by tying him firmly to his shoulders.
+Marmoset crossed over walking, like a tight-rope dancer, being quite _au
+fait_ at such work. Soon after they came to another curious bridge over a
+ravine. It had been constructed by simply felling two tall trees on the
+edge of it in such a manner that they fell across. They were bound
+together with the supple vines that grew there in profusion. Nature had
+soon covered the whole over with climbing plants and luxuriant verdure;
+and the bridge had become a broad and solid structure over which the
+whole party marched with perfect ease. Several such bridges were crossed,
+and also a few of the rope kind, during the journey.
+
+After many weeks' constant travelling, the Indians came to a beautiful
+valley one evening just about sunset, and began to make the usual
+preparations for encamping. The spot they selected was a singular one. It
+was at the foot of a rocky gorge, up which might be seen trees and bushes
+mingled with jagged rocks and dark caverns, with a lofty sierra or
+mountain range in the background. In front was the beautiful valley which
+they had just crossed. On a huge rock there grew a tree of considerable
+size, the roots of which projected beyond the rock several yards, and
+then, bending downwards, struck into the ground. Creeping plants had
+twined thickly among the roots, and thus formed a sort of lattice-work
+which enclosed a large space of ground. In this natural arbour the chiefs
+of the Indians took up their quarters and kindled their fire in the
+centre of it, while the main body of the party pitched their camp
+outside. The three prisoners were allotted a corner in the arbour; and,
+after having supped, they spread their ponchos on a pile of ferns, and
+found themselves very snug indeed.
+
+"Martin," said Barney, gravely, as he smoked his pipe and patted the head
+of his dog, "d'ye know I'm beginning to feel tired o' the company o' thim
+naked rascals, and I've been revolvin' in my mind what we should do to
+escape. Moreover, I've corned to a conclusion."
+
+"And what's that?" inquired Martin.
+
+"That it's unposs'ble to escape at all, and I don't know what to do."
+
+"That's not a satisfactory conclusion, Barney. I, too, have been
+cogitating a good deal about these Indians, and it is my opinion that
+they have been on a war expedition, for I've noticed that several of
+them have been wounded; and, besides, I cannot fancy what else could
+take them so far from home."
+
+"True, Martin, true. I wonder what they intind to do with us. They don't
+mean to kill us, anyhow; for if they did they would niver take the
+trouble to bring us here. Ochone! me heart's beginnin' to go down
+altogether; for we are miles and miles away from anywrhere now, and I
+don't know the direction o' no place whatsumdiver."
+
+"Never mind, Barney, cheer up," said Martin with a smile; "if they don't
+kill us that's all we need care about. I'm sure we shall manage to escape
+somehow or other in the long-run."
+
+While they thus conversed the old trader spread his poncho over himself
+and was soon sound asleep; while the Indians, after finishing supper,
+held an animated conversation. At times they seemed to be disputing, and
+spoke angrily and with violent gesticulations, glancing now and then at
+the corner where their prisoners lay.
+
+"It's my belafe," whispered Barney, "that they're spakin' about us. I'm
+afeard they don't mean us any good. Och, but if I wance had my pistol and
+the ould cutlass. Well, well, it's of no manner o' use frettin'.
+Good-night, Martin, good-night!"
+
+The Irishman knocked the ashes out of his pipe, turned his face to the
+wall, and, heaving a deep sigh, speedily forgot his cares in sleep. The
+Indians also lay down, the camp-fires died slowly out; and the deep
+breathing of the savages alone betokened the presence of man in that lone
+wilderness.
+
+Barney's forebodings proved to be only too well founded; for next
+morning, instead of pursuing their way together, as usual, the savages
+divided their forces into two separate bands, placing the Irishman and
+the old trader in the midst of one, and Martin Rattler with the other.
+
+"Surely they're niver goin' to part us, Martin," said Barney with a
+care-worn expression on his honest countenance that indicated the anxious
+suspicions in his heart.
+
+"I fear it much," replied Martin with a startled look, as he watched the
+proceedings of the Indians. "We must fight now, Barney, if we should die
+for it. We _must_ not be separated."
+
+Martin spoke with intense fervour and gazed anxiously in the face of his
+friend. A dark frown had gathered there. The sudden prospect of being
+forcibly torn from his young companion, whom he regarded with almost a
+mother's tenderness, stirred his enthusiastic and fiery temperament to
+its centre, and he gazed wildly about, as if for some weapon. But the
+savages anticipated his intention; ere he could grasp any offensive
+weapon two of their number leaped upon him, and at the same moment
+Martin's arms were pinioned in a powerful grasp.
+
+"Och, ye murderin' blackguards!" cried Barney, hitting out right and left
+and knocking down a savage at each blow. "Now or niver! come on, ye
+kangaroos!"
+
+A general rush was made upon the Irishman, who was fairly overturned by
+the mass of men. Martin struggled fiercely to free himself, and would
+have succeeded had not two powerful Indians hastened to the help of the
+one who had first seized him. Despite his frantic efforts, he was dragged
+forcibly up the mountain gorge, the echoes of which rang with his cries
+as he shouted despairingly the name of his friend. Barney fought like a
+tiger; but he could make no impression on such numbers. Although at least
+a dozen Indians lay around him bleeding and stunned by the savage blows
+of his fists,--a species of warfare which was entirely new to
+them,--fresh savages crowded round. But they did not wish to kill him,
+and numerous though they were, they found it no easy matter to secure so
+powerful a man; and when Martin turned a last despairing glance towards
+the camp, ere a turn in the path shut it out from view, the hammer-like
+fists of his comrade were still smashing down the naked creatures who
+danced like monkeys round him, and the war-like shouts of his stentorian
+voice reverberated among the cliffs and caverns of the mountain pass long
+after he was hid from view.
+
+Thus Martin and Barney were separated in the wild regions near the Sierra
+dos Parecis of Brazil.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+MARTIN REFLECTS MUCH, AND FORMS A FIRM RESOLVE--THE INDIAN VILLAGE
+
+
+When the mind has been overwhelmed by some sudden and terrible calamity,
+it is long ere it again recovers its wonted elasticity. An aching void
+seems to exist in the heart, and a dead weight appears to press upon the
+brain, so that ordinary objects make but little impression, and the soul
+seems to turn inwards and brood drearily upon itself. The spirit of fun
+arid frolick, that had filled Martin Rattler's heart ever since he landed
+in Brazil, was now so thoroughly and rudely crushed, that he felt as if
+it were utterly impossible that he should ever smile again.
+
+He had no conception of the strength of his affection for the rough,
+hearty sailor, who had until now been the faithful and good-humoured
+companion of his wanderings. As Barney had himself said on a former
+occasion, his life up till this period had been a pleasant and exciting
+dream. But he was now awakened rudely to the terrible reality of his
+forlorn position; and the more he thought of it the more hopeless and
+terrible it appeared to be.
+
+He knew not in what part of Brazil he was; he was being hurried
+apparently deeper into these vast solitudes by savages who were certainly
+not friendly, and of whose language he knew not a word; and worst of all,
+he was separated perhaps for ever from the friend on whom, all
+unconsciously to himself, he had so long leaned for support in all their
+difficulties and dangers. Even though he and Barney should succeed in
+escaping from the Indians, he felt--and his heart was overwhelmed at the
+thought--that in such a vast country there was not the shadow of a chance
+that they should find each other. Under the deep depression produced by
+these thoughts Martin wandered on wearily, as if in a dream--taking no
+interest in anything that occurred by the way. At length, after several
+days fatiguing journey over mountains and plains, they arrived at the
+Indian village.
+
+Here the warriors were received with the utmost joy by the wives and
+children whom they had left behind, and for a long time Martin was left
+almost entirely to do as he pleased. A few days before, his bonds had
+been removed, and once or twice he thought of attempting to escape; but
+whenever he wandered a little further than usual into the woods, he found
+that he was watched and followed by a tall and powerful savage, whose
+duty it evidently was to see that the prisoner did not escape. The
+fearful idea now entered Martin's mind that he was reserved for torture,
+and perhaps a lingering death; for he had read that many savage nations
+treated their prisoners in this cruel manner, for the gratification of
+the women who had lost relations in the war. But as no violence was
+offered to him in the meantime, and he had as much farina and fruit to
+eat as he could use, his mind gradually became relieved, and he
+endeavoured as much as possible to dismiss the terrible thought
+altogether.
+
+The Indian village occupied a lovely situation at the base of a gentle
+hill or rising ground, the summit of which was clothed with luxuriant
+trees and shrubs. The huts were of various shapes and sizes, and very
+simple in construction. They were built upon the bare ground; some were
+supported by four corner posts, twelve or fifteen feet high, and from
+thirty to forty feet long, the walls being made of thin laths connected
+with wicker-work and plastered with clay. The doors were made of
+palm-leaves, and the roofs were covered with the same material, or with
+maize straw. Other huts were made almost entirely of palm-leaves and
+tent-shaped in form; and, while a few were enclosed by walls, the most of
+the square ones had one or more sides entirely open. In the large huts
+several families dwelt together, and each family had a hearth and a
+portion of the floor allotted to it. The smoke from their fires was
+allowed to find its way out by the doors and chinks in the roofs, as no
+chimneys were constructed for its egress.
+
+The furniture of each hut was very simple. It consisted of a few earthen
+pots; baskets made of palm-leaves, which were filled with Spanish
+potatoes, maize, mandioca roots, and various kinds of wild fruits; one or
+two drinking vessels; the hollow trunk of a tree, used for pounding maize
+in; and several dishes which contained the colours used by the Indians in
+painting their naked bodies,--a custom which was very prevalent amongst
+them. Besides these things, there were bows, arrows, spears, and
+blow-pipes in abundance; and hammocks hung from various posts, elevated
+about a foot from the ground. These hammocks were made of cotton cords,
+and served the purpose of tables, chairs, and beds.
+
+The ground in the immediate neighbourhood of the village was laid out in
+patches, in which were cultivated mandioca roots, maize, and other plants
+useful for domestic purposes. In front of the village there was an
+extensive valley, through which a small river gurgled with a pleasant
+sound. It was hemmed in on all sides by wooded mountains, and was so
+beautifully diversified by scattered clusters of palms, and irregular
+patches of undulating grassy plains all covered with a rich profusion of
+tropical flowers and climbing plants, that it seemed to Martin more like
+a magnificent garden than the uncultivated forest,--only far more rich
+and lovely and picturesque than any artificial garden could possibly be.
+When the sun shone in full splendour on this valley--as it almost always
+did--it seemed as if the whole landscape were on the point of bursting
+into flames of red and blue, and green and gold; and when Martin sat
+under the shade of a tamarind-tree and gazed long upon the enchanting
+scene, his memory often reverted to the Eden of which he used to read in
+the Bible at home, and he used to wonder if it were possible that the sun
+and flowers and trees _could_ be more lovely in the time when Adam walked
+with God in Paradise.
+
+Martin was young then, and he did not consider, although he afterwards
+came to know, that it was not the beauty of natural objects, but the
+presence and favour of God and the absence of sin, that rendered the
+Garden of Eden a paradise. But these thoughts always carried him back to
+dear old Aunt Dorothy and the sweet village of Ashford; and the Brazilian
+paradise was not unfrequently obliterated in tears while he gazed, and
+turned into a vale of weeping. Ay, he would have given that magnificent
+valley,--had it been his own,--ten times over, in exchange for one more
+glance at the loved faces and the green fields of home.
+
+Soon after his arrival at the Indian village Martin was given to
+understand, by signs, that he was to reside with a particular family, and
+work every day in the maize and mandioca fields, besides doing a great
+deal of the drudgery of the hut; so that he now knew he was regarded as a
+slave by the tribe into whose hands he had fallen. It is impossible to
+express the bitterness of his feelings at this discovery, and for many
+weeks he went about his work scarcely knowing what he did, and caring
+little, when the hot sun beat on him so fiercely that he could hardly
+stand, whether he lived or died. At length, however, he made up his mind
+firmly to attempt his escape. He was sitting beneath the shade of his
+favourite resort, the tamarind-tree, when he made this resolve. Longing
+thoughts of home had been strong upon him all that day, and desire for
+the companionship of Barney had filled his heart to bursting; so that the
+sweet evening sunshine and the beautiful vale over which his eyes
+wandered, instead of affording him pleasure, seemed but to mock his
+misery. It was a lesson that all must learn sooner or later, and one we
+would do well to think upon before we learn it, that sunshine in the soul
+is not dependent on the sunshine of this world, and when once the clouds
+descend, the brightest beams of all that earth contains cannot pierce
+them,--God alone can touch these dark clouds with the finger of love and
+mercy, and say again, as He said of old, "Let there be light." A firm
+purpose, formed with heart and will, is cheering and invigorating to a
+depressed mind. No sooner did the firm determination to escape or die
+enter into Martin's heart, than he sprang from his seat, and, falling on
+his knees, prayed to God, in the name of our Redeemer, for help and
+guidance. He had not the least idea of how he was to effect his escape,
+or of what he intended to do. All he knew was that he had _made up his
+mind_ to do so, _if God would help him_. And under the strength of that
+resolve he soon recovered much of his former cheerfulness of disposition,
+and did his work among the savages with a degree of energy that filled
+them with surprise and respect. From that day forth he never ceased to
+revolve in his mind every imaginable and unimaginable plan of escape, and
+to watch every event or circumstance, no matter how trifling, that seemed
+likely to aid him in his purpose.
+
+Seeing that he was a very strong and active fellow, and that he had
+become remarkably expert in the use of the bow and the blow-pipe, the
+Indians now permitted Martin to accompany them frequently on their
+short hunting expeditions, so that he had many opportunities of seeing
+more of the wonderful animals and plants of the Brazilian forests, in
+the studying of which he experienced great delight. Moreover, in the
+course of a few months he began to acquire a smattering of the Indian
+language, and was not compelled to live in constant silence, as had
+been the case at first. But he carefully avoided the formation of any
+friendships with the youths of the tribe, although many of them seemed
+to desire it, considering that his doing so might in some way or other
+interfere with the execution of his great purpose. He was civil and
+kind to them all, however, though reserved; and, as time wore away, he
+enjoyed much more liberty than was the case at first. Still, however,
+he was watched by the tall savage, who was a surly, silent fellow, and
+would not be drawn into conversation. Indeed he did not walk with
+Martin, but followed him wherever he went, during his hours of leisure,
+at a distance of a few hundred yards, moving when his prisoner moved,
+and stopping when he halted, so that Martin at last began to regard him
+more as a shadow than a man.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+SAVAGE FEASTS AND ORNAMENTS--MARTIN GROWS DESPERATE, AND MAKES A BOLD
+ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE
+
+
+Hunting and feasting were the chief occupations of the men of the tribe
+with whom Martin sojourned. One day Martin was told that a great feast
+was to take place, and he was permitted to attend. Accordingly, a little
+before the appointed time he hastened to the large hut in and around
+which the festivities were to take place, in order to witness the
+preparations.
+
+The first thing that struck him was that there seemed to be no
+preparations making for eating; and on inquiry he was told that they did
+not meet to eat, they met to drink and dance,--those who were hungry
+might eat at home.
+
+The preparations for drinking were made on an extensive scale by the
+women, a number of whom stood round a large caldron, preparing its
+contents for use. These women wore very little clothing, and their
+bodies, besides being painted in a fantastic style, were also decorated
+with flowers and feathers. Martin could not help feeling that, however
+absurd the idea of painting the body was, it had at least the good effect
+of doing away to some extent with the idea of nakedness; for the curious
+patterns and devices gave to the Indians the appearance of being clothed
+in tights,--and, at any rate, he argued mentally, paint was better than
+nothing. Some of the flowers were artificially constructed out of
+beetles' wings, shells, fish-scales, and feathers, and were exquisitely
+beautiful as well as gorgeous.
+
+One of the younger women struck Martin as being ultra-fashionable in her
+paint. Her black shining hair hung like a cloak over her reddish-brown
+shoulders, and various strange drawings and figures ornamented her face
+and breast. On each cheek she had a circle, and over that two strokes;
+under the nose were four red spots; from the corners of her mouth to the
+middle of each cheek were two parallel lines, and below these several
+upright stripes; on various parts of her back and shoulders were
+curiously entwined circles, and the form of a snake was depicted in
+vermilion down each arm. Unlike the others, she wore no ornament except a
+simple necklace of monkeys' teeth. This beauty was particularly active in
+manufacturing the intoxicating drink, which is prepared thus:--A quantity
+of maize was pounded in the hollow trunk of a tree and put into an
+earthen pot, where it was boiled in a large quantity of water. Then the
+woman took the coarsely ground and boiled flour out of the water, chewed
+it in their mouths for a little, and put it into the pot again! By this
+means the decoction began to ferment and became intoxicating. It was a
+very disgusting method, yet it is practised by many Indian tribes in
+America; and, strange to say, also by some of the South Sea islanders,
+who, of course, could not have learned it from these Indians.
+
+When this beverage was ready, the chief, a tall, broad-shouldered man,
+whose painted costume and ornaments were most elaborate, stepped up to
+the pot and began a strange series of incantations, which he accompanied
+by rattling a small wooden instrument in his hand; staring all the time
+at the earthen pot, as if he half expected it to run away; and dancing
+slowly round it, as if to prevent such a catastrophe from taking place.
+The oftener the song was repeated the more solemn and earnest became the
+expression of his face and the tones of his voice. The rest of the
+Indians, who were assembled to the number of several hundreds, stood
+motionless round the pot, staring at him intently without speaking, and
+only now and then, when the voice and actions of the chief became much
+excited, they gave vent to a sympathetic howl.
+
+After this had gone on for some time, the chief seized a drinking-cup,
+or cuja, which he gravely dipped into the pot and took a sip. Then the
+shaking of the rattle and the monotonous song began again. The chief
+next took a good pull at the cup and emptied it; after which he
+presented it to his companions, who helped themselves at pleasure; and
+the dance and monotonous music became more furious and noisy the longer
+the cup went round.
+
+When the cup had circulated pretty freely among them, their dances and
+music became more lively; but they were by no means attractive. After he
+had watched them a short time, Martin left the festive scene with a
+feeling of pity for the poor savages; and as he thought upon their low
+and debased condition he recalled to mind the remark of his old friend
+the hermit,--"They want the Bible in Brazil."
+
+During his frequent rambles in the neighbourhood of the Indian village,
+Martin discovered many beautiful and retired spots, to which he was in
+the habit of going in the evenings after his daily labours were
+accomplished, accompanied, as usual, at a respectful distance, by his
+vigilant friend the tall savage. One of his favourite resting-places was
+at the foot of a banana-tree which grew on the brow of a stupendous cliff
+about a mile distant from the hut in which he dwelt. From this spot he
+had a commanding view of the noble valley and the distant mountains.
+These mountains now seemed to the poor boy to be the ponderous gates of
+his beautiful prison; for he had been told by one of his Indian friends
+that on the other side of them were great campos and forests, beyond
+which dwelt many Portuguese, while still further on was a great lake
+without shores, which was the end of the world. This, Martin was
+convinced, must be the Atlantic Ocean; for, upon inquiry, he found that
+many months of travel must be undergone ere it could be reached.
+Moreover, he knew that it could not be the Pacific, because the sun rose
+in that direction.
+
+Sauntering away to his favourite cliff, one fine evening towards sunset,
+he seated himself beneath the banana-tree and gazed longingly at the
+distant mountains, whose sharp summits glittered in the ruddy glow. He
+had long racked his brain in order to devise some method of escape, but
+hitherto without success. Wherever he went the "shadow" followed him,
+armed with the deadly blow-pipe; and he knew that even if he did succeed
+in eluding his vigilance and escaping into the woods, hundreds of
+savages would turn out and track him, with unerring certainty, to any
+hiding-place. Still the strength of his stern determination sustained
+him; and, at each failure in his efforts to devise some means of
+effecting his purpose, he threw off regret with a deep sigh, and
+returned to his labour with a firmer step, assured that he should
+eventually succeed.
+
+As he sat there on the edge of the precipice, he said, half aloud, "What
+prevents me from darting suddenly on that fellow and knocking him down?"
+
+This was a question that might have been easily answered. No doubt he was
+physically capable of coping with the man, for he had now been upwards of
+a year in the wilderness, and was in his sixteenth year, besides being
+unusually tall and robust for his age. Indeed he looked more like a
+full-grown man than a stripling; for hard, incessant toil had developed
+his muscles and enlarged his frame, and his stirring life, combined
+latterly with anxiety, had stamped a few of the lines of manhood on his
+sunburnt countenance. But, although he could have easily overcome the
+Indian, he knew that he would be instantly missed; and, from what he had
+seen of the powers of the savages in tracking wild animals to their dens
+in the mountains, he felt that he could not possibly elude them except by
+stratagem.
+
+Perplexed and wearied with unavailing thought and anxiety, Martin pressed
+his hands to his forehead and gazed down the perpendicular cliff, which
+was elevated fully a hundred feet above the plain below. Suddenly he
+started and clasped his hands upon his eyes, as if to shut out some
+terrible object from his sight. Then, creeping cautiously towards the
+edge of the cliff, he gazed down, while an expression of stern resolution
+settled upon his pale face.
+
+And well might Martin's cheek blanch, for he had hit upon a plan of
+escape which, to be successful, required that he should twice turn a
+bold, unflinching face on death. The precipice, as before mentioned, was
+fully a hundred feet high, and quite perpendicular. At the foot of it
+there flowed a deep and pretty wide stream, which, just under the spot
+where Martin stood, collected in a deep black pool, where it rested for a
+moment ere it rushed on its rapid course down the valley. Over the cliff
+and into that pool Martin made up his mind to plunge, and so give the
+impression that he had fallen over and been drowned. The risk he ran in
+taking such a tremendous leap was very great indeed, but that was only
+half the danger he must encounter.
+
+The river was one of a remarkable kind, of which there are one or two
+instances in South America. It flowed down the valley between high
+rocks, and, a few hundred yards below the pool, it ran straight against
+the face of a precipice and there terminated to all appearance; but a
+gurgling vortex in the deep water at the base of the cliff, and the
+disappearance of everything that entered it, showed that the stream
+found a subterranean passage. There was no sign of its reappearance,
+however, in all the country round. In short, the river was lost in the
+bowels of the earth.
+
+From the pool to the cliff where the river was engulfed the water ran
+like a mill-race, and there was no spot on either bank where any one
+could land, or even grasp with his hand, except one. It was a narrow,
+sharp rock, that jutted out about two feet from the bank, quite close to
+the vortex of the whirlpool. This rock was Martin's only hope. To miss it
+would be certain destruction. But if he should gain a footing on it he
+knew that he could climb by a narrow fissure into a wild, cavernous spot,
+which it was exceedingly difficult to reach from any other point. A bend
+in the river concealed this rock and the vortex from the place whereon he
+stood, so that he hoped to be able to reach the point of escape before
+the savage could descend the slope and gain the summit of the cliff from
+whence it could be seen.
+
+Of all this Martin was well aware, for he had been often at the place
+before, and knew every inch of the ground. His chief difficulty would be
+to leap over the precipice in such a manner as to cause the Indian to
+believe he had fallen over accidentally. If he could accomplish this,
+then he felt assured the savages would suppose he had been drowned, and
+so make no search for him at all. Fortunately the ground favoured this.
+About five feet below the edge of the precipice there was a projecting
+ledge of rock nearly four feet broad and covered with shrubs. Upon this
+it was necessary to allow himself to fall. The expedient was a desperate
+one, and he grew sick at heart as he glanced down the awful cliff, which
+seemed to him three times higher than it really was, as all heights do
+when seen from above.
+
+Glancing round, he observed his savage guardian gazing contemplatively at
+the distant prospect. Martin's heart beat audibly as he rose and walked
+with an affectation of carelessness to the edge of the cliff. As he gazed
+down, a feeling of horror seized him; he gasped for breath, and almost
+fainted. Then the idea of perpetual slavery flashed across his mind, and
+the thought of freedom and home nerved him: He clenched his hands,
+staggered convulsively forward and fell, with a loud and genuine shriek
+of terror, upon the shrubs that covered the rocky ledge. Instantly he
+arose, ground his teeth together, raised his eyes for one moment to
+heaven, and sprang into the air. For one instant he swept through empty
+space; the next he was deep down in the waters of the dark pool, and when
+the horrified Indian reached the edge of the precipice, he beheld his
+prisoner struggling on the surface for a moment, ere he was swept by the
+rapid stream round the point and out of view.
+
+Bounding down the slope, the savage sped like a hunted antelope across
+the intervening space between the two cliffs, and quickly gained the brow
+of the lower precipice, which he reached just in time to see Martin
+Rattler's straw hat dance for a moment on the troubled waters of the
+vortex and disappear in the awful abyss. But Martin saw it, too, from the
+cleft in the frowning rock.
+
+On reaching the surface after his leap he dashed the water from his eyes
+and looked with intense earnestness in the direction of the projecting
+rock towards which he was hurried. Down he came upon it with such speed
+that he felt no power of man could resist. But there was a small eddy
+just below it, into which he was whirled as he stretched forth his hands
+and clutched the rock with the energy of despair. He was instantly torn
+away. But another small point projected two feet below it. This he
+seized. The water swung his feet to and fro as it gushed into the vortex,
+but the eddy saved him. In a moment his breast was on the rock, then his
+foot, and he sprang into the sheltering cleft just a moment before the
+Indian came in view of the scene of his supposed death.
+
+Martin flung himself with his face to the ground, and thought rather than
+uttered a heartfelt thanksgiving for his deliverance. The savage carried
+the news of his death to his friends in the Indian village, and recounted
+with deep solemnity the particulars of his awful fate to crowds of
+wondering,--in many cases sorrowing,--listeners; and for many a day after
+that, the poor savages were wont to visit the terrible cliff and gaze
+with awe on the mysterious vortex that had swallowed up, as they
+believed, the fair-haired boy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+THE ESCAPE--ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS--FIGHT BETWEEN A JAGUAR AND AN
+ALLIGATOR--MARTIN ENCOUNTERS STRANGE AND TERRIBLE CREATURES
+
+
+Freedom can be fully appreciated only by those who have been for a long
+period deprived of liberty. It is impossible to comprehend the feelings
+of joy that welled up in Martin's bosom as he clambered up the rugged
+cliffs among which he had found shelter, and looked round upon the
+beautiful valley, now lying in the shadow of the mountain range behind
+which the sun had just set. He sat down on a rock, regardless of the wet
+condition of his clothes, and pondered long and earnestly over his
+position, which was still one of some danger; but a sensation of
+light-hearted recklessness made the prospect before him seem very bright.
+He soon made up his mind what to do. The weather was extremely warm, so
+that after wringing the water out of his linen clothes he experienced
+little discomfort; but he felt that there would not only be discomfort
+but no little danger in travelling in such a country without arms,
+covering, or provisions. He therefore determined on the bold expedient of
+revisiting the Indian village during the darkness of the night in order
+to procure what he required. He ran great risk of being retaken, but his
+necessity was urgent, and he was aware that several families were absent
+on a hunting expedition at that time whose huts were pretty certain to be
+unoccupied.
+
+Accordingly, when two or three hours of the night had passed, he
+clambered with much difficulty down the precipitous rock and reached the
+level plain, over which he quickly ran, and soon reached the outskirts of
+the village. The Indians were all asleep, and no sound disturbed the
+solemn stillness of the night. Going stealthily towards a hut he peeped
+in at the open window, but could see and hear nothing. Just as he was
+about to enter, however, a long-drawn breath proved that it was occupied.
+He shrank hastily back into the deep shade of the bushes. In a few
+minutes he recovered from the agitation into which he had been thrown and
+advanced cautiously towards another hut. This one seemed to be
+untenanted, so he opened the palm-leaf door gently and entered. No time
+was to be lost now. He found an empty sack or bag, into which he hastily
+threw as much farina as he could carry without inconvenience. Besides
+this, he appropriated a long knife; a small hatchet; a flint and steel,
+to enable him to make a fire; and a stout bow with a quiver full of
+arrows. It was so dark that it was with difficulty he found these things.
+But as he was on the point of leaving he observed a white object in a
+corner. This turned out to be a light hammock, which he seized eagerly,
+and, rolling it up into a small bundle, placed it in the sack. He also
+sought for, and fortunately found, an old straw-hat, which he put on.
+
+Martin had now obtained all that he required, and was about to quit the
+hut when he became suddenly rooted to the spot with horror on observing
+the dark countenance of an Indian gazing at him with distended eyeballs
+over the edge of a hammock. His eyes, unaccustomed to the darkness of the
+room, had not at first observed that an Indian was sleeping there. He now
+felt that he was lost. The savage evidently knew him. Dreadful thoughts
+flashed through his brain. He thought of the knife in his belt, and how
+easily he could despatch the Indian in a moment as he lay; but then the
+idea of imbruing his hands in human blood seemed so awful that he could
+not bring himself to do it.
+
+As he looked steadily at the savage he observed that his gaze was one of
+intense horror, and it suddenly occurred to him that the Indian supposed
+he was a ghost! Acting upon this supposition, Martin advanced his face
+slowly towards that of the Indian, put on a dark frown, and stood for a
+few seconds without uttering a word. The savage shrank back and shuddered
+from head to foot. Then, with a noiseless step, Martin retreated slowly
+backward towards the door and passed out like a spectre--never for a
+moment taking his eyes off those of the savage until he was lost in
+darkness. On gaining the forest he fled with a beating heart to his
+former retreat; but his fears were groundless, for the Indian firmly
+believed that Martin's spirit had visited his hut and carried away
+provisions for his journey to the land of spirits.
+
+Without waiting to rest, Martin no sooner reached the scene of his
+adventurous leap than he fastened his bag firmly on his shoulders and
+struck across the valley in the direction of the blue mountains that
+hemmed it in. Four or five hours' hard walking brought him to their base,
+and long before the rising sun shone down upon his recent home he was
+over the hills and far away, trudging onward with a weary foot, but with
+a light heart, in what he believed to be the direction of the east coast
+of Brazil. He did not dare to rest until the rugged peaks of the mountain
+range were between him and the savages; but, when he had left these far
+behind him, he halted about mid-day to breakfast and repose by the margin
+of a delightfully cool mountain stream.
+
+"I'm safe now!" said Martin aloud, as he threw down his bundle beneath a
+spreading tree and commenced to prepare breakfast. "O! my friend Barney,
+I wish that you were here to keep me company." The solitary youth looked
+round as if he half expected to see the rough visage and hear the
+gladsome voice of his friend; but no voice replied to his, and the only
+living creature he saw was a large monkey, which peered inquisitively
+clown at him from among the branches of a neighbouring bush. This
+reminded him that he had left his pet Marmoset in the Indian village, and
+a feeling of deep self-reproach filled his heart In the haste and anxiety
+of his flight he had totally forgotten his little friend. But regret was
+now unavailing. Marmoset was lost to him for ever.
+
+Having kindled a small fire, Martin kneaded a large quantity of farina in
+the hollow of a smooth stone, and baked a number of flat cakes, which
+were soon fired and spread out upon the ground. While thus engaged, a
+snake of about six feet long and as thick as a man's arm glided past him.
+Martin started convulsively, for he had never seen one of the kind
+before, and he knew that the bite of some of the snakes is deadly.
+Fortunately his axe was at hand. Grasping it quickly, he killed the
+reptile with a single blow. Two or three mandioca cakes, a few wild
+fruits, and a draught of water from the stream, formed the wanderer's
+simple breakfast. After it was finished, he slung his hammock between two
+trees, and jumping in, fell into a deep, untroubled slumber, in which he
+continued all that day and until daybreak the following morning.
+
+After partaking of a hearty breakfast, Martin took up his bundle and
+resumed his travels. That day he descended into the level and wooded
+country that succeeded the mountain range; and that night he was obliged
+to encamp in a swampy place near a stagnant lake in which several
+alligators were swimming, and where the mosquitoes were so numerous that
+he found it absolutely impossible to sleep. At last, in despair, he
+sprang into the branches of the tree to which his hammock was slung and
+ascended to the top. Here, to his satisfaction, he found that there were
+scarcely any mosquitoes, while a cool breeze fanned his fevered brow; so
+he determined to spend the night in the tree.
+
+By binding several branches together he formed a rude sort of couch, on
+which he lay down comfortably, placing his knife and bow beside him, and
+using the hammock rolled up as a pillow. As the sun was setting, and
+while he leaned on his elbow looking down through the leaves with much
+interest at the alligators that gambolled in the reedy lake, his
+attention was attracted to a slight rustling in the bushes near the foot
+of the tree. Looking down, he perceived a large jaguar gliding through
+the underwood with cat-like stealth. Martin now observed that a huge
+alligator had crawled out of the lake, and was lying on the bank asleep a
+few yards from the margin. When the jaguar reached the edge of the bushes
+it paused, and then, with one tremendous spring, seized the alligator by
+the soft part beneath its tail. The huge monster struggled for a few
+seconds, endeavouring to reach the water, and then lay still, while the
+jaguar worried and tore at its tough hide with savage fury. Martin was
+much surprised at the passive conduct of the alligator. That it could not
+turn its stiff body, so as to catch the jaguar in its jaws, did not,
+indeed, surprise him; but he wondered very much to see the great reptile
+suffer pain so quietly. It seemed to be quite paralyzed. In a few minutes
+the jaguar retired a short distance. Then the alligator made a rush for
+the water; but the jaguar darted back and caught it again; and Martin now
+saw that the jaguar was actually playing with the alligator as a cat
+plays with a mouse before she kills it! During one of the cessations of
+the combat, if we may call it by that name, the alligator almost gained
+the water, and in the short struggle that ensued both animals rolled down
+the bank and fell into the lake. The tables were now turned. The jaguar
+made for the shore; but before it could reach it the alligator wheeled
+round, opened its tremendous jaws and caught its enemy by the middle.
+There was one loud splash in the water, as the alligator's powerful tail
+dashed it into foam; and one awful roar of agony, which was cut suddenly
+short and stifled as the monster dived to the bottom with its prey; then
+all was silent as the grave, and a few ripples on the surface were all
+that remained to tell of the battle that had been fought there.
+
+Martin remained motionless on the tree top, brooding over the fight which
+he had just witnessed, until the deepening shadows warned him that it was
+time to seek repose. Turning on his side he laid his head on his pillow,
+while a soft breeze swayed the tree gently to and fro and rocked him
+sound asleep.
+
+Thus, day after day, and week after week, did Martin Rattler wander alone
+through the great forests, sometimes pleasantly, and at other times with
+more or less discomfort; subsisting on game which he shot with his
+arrows, and on wild fruits. He met with many strange adventures by the
+way, which would fill numerous volumes were they to be written every one;
+but we must pass over many of these in silence that we may recount those
+that were most interesting.
+
+One evening as he was walking through a very beautiful country, in which
+were numerous small lakes and streams, he was suddenly arrested by a
+crashing sound in the underwood, as if some large animal were coming
+towards him; and he had barely time to fit an arrow to his bow when the
+bushes in front of him were thrust aside, and the most hideous monster
+that he had ever seen appeared before his eyes. It was a tapir; but
+Martin had never heard of or seen such creatures before, although there
+are a good many in some parts of Brazil.
+
+The tapir is a very large animal,--about five or six feet long and three
+or four feet high. It is in appearance something between an elephant and
+a hog. Its nose is very long, and extends into a short proboscis; but
+there is no finger at the end of it like that of the elephant. Its
+colour is a deep brownish black, its tough hide is covered with a thin
+sprinkling of strong hairs, and its mane is thick and bristly. So thick
+is its hide that a bullet can scarcely penetrate it; and it can crush
+its way through thickets and bushes, however dense, without receiving a
+scratch. Although a very terrific animal to look at, it is fortunately
+of a very peaceable and timid disposition, so that it flees from danger
+and is very quick in discovering the presence of an enemy. Sometimes it
+is attacked by the jaguar, which springs suddenly upon it and fastens
+its claws in its back; but the tapir's tough hide is not easily torn,
+and he gets rid of his enemy by bouncing into the tangled bushes and
+bursting through them, so that the jaguar is very soon _scraped_ off his
+back! The tapir lives as much in the water as on the land, and delights
+to wallow like a pig in muddy pools. It is, in fact, very similar in
+many of its habits to the great hippopotamus of Africa, but is not quite
+so large. It feeds entirely on vegetables, buds, fruits, and the tender
+shoots of trees, and always at night. During the day time it sleeps. The
+Indians of Brazil are fond of its flesh, and they hunt it with spears
+and poisoned arrows.
+
+But Martin knew nothing of all this, and fully expected that the dreadful
+creature before him would attack and kill him; for, when he observed its
+coarse, tough-looking hide, and thought of the slender arrows with which
+he was armed, he felt that he had no chance, and there did not happen to
+be a tree near him at the time up which he could climb.
+
+With the energy of despair he let fly an arrow with all his force; but
+the weak shaft glanced from the tapir's side without doing it the
+slightest damage. Then Martin turned to fly, but at the same moment the
+tapir did the same, to his great delight and surprise. It wheeled round
+with a snort, and went off crashing through the stout underwood as if it
+had been grass, leaving a broad track behind it.
+
+On another occasion he met with a formidable-looking but comparatively
+harmless animal, called the great ant-eater. This remarkable creature is
+about six feet in length, with very short legs and very long strong
+claws; a short curly tail, and a sharp snout, out of which it thrusts a
+long narrow tongue. It can roll itself up like a hedgehog, and when in
+this position might be easily mistaken for a bundle of coarse hay. It
+lives chiefly if not entirely upon ants.
+
+When Martin discovered the great ant-eater, it was about to begin its
+supper; so he watched it. The plain was covered with ant-hills, somewhat
+pillar-like in shape. At the foot of one of these the animal made an
+attack, tearing up earth and sticks with its enormously strong claws,
+until it made a large hole in the hard materials of which the hill was
+composed. Into this hole it thrust its long tongue, and immediately the
+ants swarmed upon it. The creature let its tongue rest till it was
+completely covered over with thousands of ants, then it drew it into its
+mouth and engulfed them all!
+
+As Martin had no reason in the world for attempting to shoot the great
+ant-eater, and as he was, moreover, by no means sure that he could kill
+it if he were to try, he passed on quietly and left this curious animal
+to finish its supper in peace.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+MARTIN MEETS WITH FRIENDS AND VISITS THE DIAMOND MINES
+
+
+One day, after Martin had spent many weeks in wandering alone through the
+forest, during the course of which he was sometimes tempted to despair of
+seeing the face of man again, he discovered a beaten track; at the sight
+of which his heart bounded with delight. It was a Saturday afternoon when
+he made this discovery, and he spent the Sabbath-day in rest beside it.
+For Martin had more than once called to remembrance the words which good
+Aunt Dorothy used to hear him repeat out of the Bible "Remember the
+Sabbath-day, to keep it holy." He had many long, earnest, and serious
+meditations in that silent forest, such as a youth would be very unlikely
+to have in almost any other circumstances, except, perhaps, on a
+sick-bed; and among other things he had been led to consider that if he
+made no difference between Saturday and Sunday, he must certainly be
+breaking that commandment; so he resolved thenceforth to rest on the
+Sabbath-day; and he found much benefit, both to mind and body, from this
+arrangement. During this particular Sabbath he rested beside the beaten
+track, and often did he walk up and down it a short way, wondering where
+it would lead him to; and several times he prayed that he might be led by
+it to the habitations of civilized men.
+
+Next day after breakfast he prepared to set out; but now he was much
+perplexed as to which way he ought to go, for the track did not run in
+the direction in which he had been travelling, but at right angles to
+that way. While he still hesitated the sound of voices struck on his ear,
+and he almost fainted with excitement; for, besides the hope that he
+might now meet with friends, there was also the fear that those
+approaching might be enemies; and the sudden sound of the human voice,
+which he had not heard for so long, tended to create conflicting and
+almost overwhelming feelings in his breast. Hiding quickly behind a tree,
+he awaited the passing of the cavalcade; for the sounds of horses' hoofs
+were now audible.
+
+In a few minutes a string of laden mules approached, and then six
+horsemen appeared, whose bronzed olive complexions, straw-hats and
+ponchos, betokened them Brazilians. As they passed, Martin hailed them in
+an unsteady voice. They pulled up suddenly and drew pistols from their
+holsters; but on seeing only a fair youth armed with a bow, they replaced
+their weapons, and with a look of surprise rode up and assailed him with
+a volley of unintelligible Portuguese.
+
+"Do any of you speak English?" inquired Martin, advancing.
+
+One of the horsemen replied, "Yees, I spok one leet. Ver' smoll. Where
+you be com?"
+
+"I have escaped from the Indians who live in the mountains far away over
+yonder. I have been wandering now for many weeks in the forest, and I
+wish to get to the sea-coast or to some town where I may get something to
+do, that I may be enabled to return home."
+
+"Ho!" said the horseman, gravely. "You com vid us. Ve go vid goods to de
+Diamond Mines. Git vork dere, yees. Put you body on dat hoss."
+
+As the Brazilian spoke he pointed to a spare horse, which was led, along
+with several others, by a Negro. Thanking him for his politeness Martin
+seized the horse by the mane and vaulted into the saddle, if the rude
+contrivance on its back might be so designated. The string of mules then
+moved on, and Martin rode with a light heart beside this obliging
+stranger, conversing with much animation.
+
+In a very short time he learned, through the medium of his own bad
+Portuguese and the Brazilian's worse English, that he was not more than a
+day's ride from one of the diamond mines of that province of Brazil which
+is named Minas Geraes; that he was still many leagues distant from the
+sea; and that he would be sure to get work at the mines if he wished it,
+for the chief overseer, the Baron Fagoni, was an amiable man and very
+fond of the English,--but he could not speak their language at all, and
+required an interpreter. "And," said the Brazilian, with a look of great
+dignity, "I hab de honour for be de 'terpreter."
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed Martin, "then I am in good fortune, for I shall have a
+friend at court."
+
+The interpreter smiled slightly and bowed, after which they proceeded for
+some time in silence.
+
+Next evening they arrived at the mines; and, after seeing to the comfort
+of his horse, and inquiring rather hastily as to the welfare of his
+family, the interpreter conducted Martin to the overseer's house in order
+to introduce him.
+
+The Baron Fagoni stood smoking in the doorway of his dwelling as they
+approached; and the first impression that Martin received of him was
+anything but agreeable.
+
+He was a large, powerful man, with an enormous red beard and moustache,
+and a sombrero-like hat that concealed nearly the whole of his face. He
+seemed an irritable man, too; for he jerked his arms about and stamped in
+a violent manner as they drew near, and instead of waiting to receive
+them, he entered the house hastily and shut the door in their faces!
+
+"The Baron would do well to take lessons in civility," said Martin,
+colouring, as he turned to the interpreter.
+
+"Ah, he be a leet pecoolair, sometime! Nev'r mind. Ve vill go to him,"
+
+So saying, the interpreter opened the door and entered the hall where
+the overseer was seated at a desk writing as if in violent haste. Seeing
+that he did not mean to take notice of them, the interpreter spoke to
+him in Portuguese; but he was soon interrupted by a sharp reply, uttered
+in a harsh, grating voice, by the overseer, who did not look up or cease
+from his work.
+
+Again the interpreter spoke as if in some surprise; but he was cut short
+by the overseer uttering, in a deep, stern voice, the single word "Obey."
+
+With a low bow the interpreter turned away, and taking Martin by the arm
+led him into an inner apartment, where, having securely fastened the
+window, he said to him, "De Baron say you be von blackguard tief; go bout
+contrie for steal diamonds. He make prisoner ov you. Adios."
+
+So saying, the interpreter made his bow and retired, locking the door
+behind him and leaving Martin standing in the middle of the room staring
+before him in speechless amazement.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+THE DIAMOND MINES--MORE AND MORE ASTONISHING!
+
+
+If Martin Rattler was amazed at the treatment he experienced at the hands
+of his new acquaintances on arriving, he had occasion to be very much
+more surprised at what occurred three hours after his incarceration.
+
+It was getting dark when he was locked up, and for upwards of two hours
+he was left in total darkness. Moreover, he began to feel very hungry,
+having eaten nothing since mid-day. He was deeply engaged in devising
+plans for his escape when he was interrupted by the door being unlocked
+and a Negro slave entering with four magnificent candles, made of
+beeswax, which he placed upon the table. Then he returned to the door,
+where another slave handed him a tray containing dishes, knives and
+forks, and, in short, all the requisites for laying out a supper-table.
+Having spread a clean linen cloth on the board, he arranged covers for
+two, and going to the door placed his head to one side and regarded his
+arrangements with much complacency and without paying the slightest
+attention to Martin, who pinched himself in order to make sure he was
+not dreaming.
+
+In a few minutes the second Negro returned with an enormous tray, on
+which were dishes of all sizes, from under whose covers came the most
+savoury odours imaginable. Having placed these symmetrically on the
+board, both slaves retired and relocked the door without saying a word.
+
+At last it began to dawn on Martin's Imagination that the overseer must
+be an eccentric individual, who found pleasure in taking his visitors by
+surprise. But although this seemed a possible solution of the difficulty,
+he did not feel satisfied with it. He could with difficulty resist the
+temptation to attack the viands, however, and was beginning to think of
+doing this, regardless of all consequences, when the door again opened
+and the Baron Fagoni entered, relocked the door, put the key in his
+pocket, and, standing before his prisoner with folded arms, gazed at him
+intently from beneath his sombrero.
+
+Martin could not stand this. "Sir," said he, starting up, "if this is a
+joke you have carried it far enough; and if you really detain me here a
+prisoner, every feeling of honour ought to deter you from adding insult
+to injury."
+
+To this sternly delivered speech the Baron made no reply, but, springing
+suddenly upon Martin, he grasped him in his powerful arms and crushed him
+to his broad breast till he almost broke every bone in his body.
+
+"Och! cushla, bliss yer young face! sure it's yersilf, an' no mistake!
+Kape still, Martin dear. Let me look at ye, darlint! Ah! then, isn't it
+my heart that's been broken for months an' months past about ye?"
+
+Reader, it would be utterly in vain for me to attempt to describe either
+the words that flowed from the lips of Martin Rattler and Barney
+O'Flannagan on this happy occasion, or the feelings that filled their
+swelling hearts. The speechless amazement of Martin, the ejaculatory
+exclamations of the Baron Fagoni, the rapid questions and brief replies,
+are all totally indescribable. Suffice it to say that for full quarter of
+an hour they exclaimed, shouted, and danced round each other, without
+coming to any satisfactory knowledge of how each had got to the same
+place, except that Barney at last discovered that Martin had travelled
+there by chance, and he had reached the mines by "intuition." Having
+settled this point, they sobered down a little.
+
+"Now, Martin darlint," cried the Irishman, throwing aside his hat for the
+first time, and displaying his well-known jolly visage, of which the
+forehead, eyes, and nose alone survived the general inundation of red
+hair, "ye'll be hungry, I've small doubt, so sit ye down, lad, to supper,
+and you'll tell me yer story as ye go along, and afther that I'll tell ye
+mine, while I smoke my pipe,--the ould cutty, boy, that has corned
+through fire and wather, sound as a bell and blacker than iver!"
+
+The Baron held up the well-known instrument of fumigation, as he spoke,
+in triumph.
+
+Supper was superb. There were venison steaks, armadillo cutlets, tapir
+hash, iguana pie, and an immense variety of fruits and vegetables, that
+would have served a dozen men, besides cakes and splendid coffee.
+
+"You live well here, Barney--I beg pardon--Baron Fagoni," said
+Martin, during a pause in their meal; "how in the world did you come
+by that name?"
+
+Barney winked expressively. "Ah, boy, I wish I may niver have a worse. Ye
+see, when I first corned here, about four months ago, I found that the
+mine was owned by an Irish gintleman; an', like all the race, he's a
+trump. He took to me at wance when he hear'd my voice, and then he took
+more to me when he corned to know me character; and says he to me wan
+day, 'Barney,' says he, 'I'm gittin' tired o' this kind o' life now, and
+if ye'll agree to stop here as overseer, and sind me the proceeds o' the
+mine to Rio Janeiro, a great city on the sea-coast, an' the capital o'
+Brazil, I'll give ye a good share o' the profits. But,' says he, 'ye'll
+need to pretind ye're a Roosian, or a Pole, or somethin' o' that kind;
+for the fellows in thim parts are great rascals, and there's a few
+Englishmen among them who would soon find out that ye're only a jack-tar
+before the mast, and would chate ye at no allowance; but if ye could
+spake no language under the sun but the gibberish pecooliar to the
+unbeknown provinces o' Siberia, ye could escape detection as far as yer
+voice is consarned; and by lettin' yer beard grow as long as possible,
+and dressin' yersilf properly, ye might pass, and be as dignified as the
+great Mogul.'
+
+"'Musha!' said I, 'but if I don't spake me own tongue I'll have to be
+dumb altogither.'
+
+"'No fear,' says he; 'I'll tache ye enough Portuguese in a month or two
+to begin with, an' ye'll pick it up aisy after that.' And sure enough I
+began, tooth and nail, and, by hard workin', got on faster than I
+expected; for I can spake as much o' the lingo now as tides me over
+needcessities, and I understand most o' what's said to me. Anyhow, I
+ginerally see what they're drivin' at."
+
+"So, then, you're actually in charge of the mine?" said Martin, in
+surprise.
+
+"Jist so, boy; but I'm tired of it already; it's by no means so pleasant
+as I expected it would be; so I'm thinkin' o' lavin' it, and takin' to
+the say again. I'm longin' dreadful to see the salt wather wance more."
+
+"But what will the owner say, Barney: won't he have cause to complain of
+your breaking your engagement?"
+
+"Niver a bit, boy. He tould me, before we parted, that if I wanted to
+quit I was to hand over the consarn to the interpreter, who is an
+honest fellow, I belave; so I'm jist goin' to pocket a di'mond or two,
+and ask lave to take them home wid me. I'll be off in a week, if all
+goes well. An' now, Martin, fill yer glass; ye'll find the wine is not
+bad, after wan or two glasses; an' I'll tell ye about my adventures
+since I saw ye last."
+
+"But you have not explained about your name," said Martin.
+
+"Och! the fact is, that when I corned here I fortunately fell in with the
+owner first, and we spoke almost intirely in Irish, so nobody understood
+where I corned from; and the interpreter hear'd the master call me by my
+name; so he wint off and said to the people that a great Barono Flanagoni
+had come, and was up at the house wid the master. But we corrected him
+afterward, and gave him to understand that I was the Baron Fagoni. I had
+some trouble with the people at first, after the owner left; but I
+pounded wan or two o' the biggest o' them, to such a extint that their
+own friends hardly knew them; an' iver since they've been mighty civil."
+
+Having carefully filled the black pipe, and involved himself in his own
+favourite atmosphere, the Baron Fagoni then proceeded to relate his
+adventures, and dilated upon them to such an extent that five or six
+pipes were filled and finished ere the story came to a close. Martin also
+related his adventures; to which his companion listened with such
+breathless attention and earnestness that his pipe was constantly
+going-out; and the two friends did not retire to rest till near daybreak.
+
+The substance of the Baron's narrative was as follows:--
+
+At the time that he had been so suddenly separated from his friend,
+Barney had overcome many of his opponents, but at length he was
+overpowered by numbers, and his arms were firmly bound; after which he
+was roughly driven before them through the woods for several days, and
+was at length taken to their village among the mountains. Here he
+remained a close prisoner for three weeks, shut up in a small hut and
+bound by a strong rope to a post. Food was taken to him by an old Indian
+woman, who paid no attention at first to what he said to her, for the
+good reason that she did not understand a word of English. The persuasive
+eloquence of her prisoner's tones, however, or perhaps his brogue, seemed
+in the course of a few days to have made an impression on her; for she
+condescended to smile at the unintelligible compliments which Barney
+lavished upon her in the hope of securing her good-will.
+
+During all this time the Irishman's heart was torn with conflicting
+feelings, and although, from the mere force of habit, he could jest with
+the old woman when she paid her daily visits, there was no feeling of fun
+in his bosom, but, on the contrary, a deep and overwhelming sorrow, which
+showed itself very evidently on his expressive face. He groaned aloud
+when he thought of Martin, whom he never expected again to see; and he
+dreaded every hour the approach of his savage captors, who, he fully
+expected, retained him in order to put him to death.
+
+One day, while he was sitting in a very disconsolate mood, the Indian
+woman entered with his usual dinner--a plate of thick soup and a coarse
+cake. Barney smiled upon her as usual, and then letting his eyes fall on
+the ground, sighed deeply,--for his heart was heavier than usual that
+day. As the woman was about to go, he looked earnestly and gravely in her
+face, and putting his large hand gently on her head, patted her grey
+hairs. This tender action seemed to affect the old woman more than usual.
+She laid her hand on Barney's arm, and looked as if she wished to speak.
+Then turning suddenly from him, she drew a small knife from her girdle
+and dropped it on the ground, as if accidentally, while she left the hut
+and re-fastened the door. Barney's heart leaped. He seized the knife and
+concealed it hastily in his bosom, and then ate his dinner with more than
+ordinary zest; for now he possessed the means of cutting the strong rope
+that bound him.
+
+He waited with much impatience until night closed over the Indian
+village, and then cutting his bonds, he tore down the rude and rather
+feeble fastenings of the door. In another instant he was dashing along at
+full speed through the forest, without hat or coat, and with the knife
+clutched in his right hand! Presently he heard cries behind him, and
+redoubled his speed; for now he knew that the savages had discovered his
+escape and were in pursuit. But, although a good runner, Barney was no
+match for the lithe and naked Indians. They rapidly gained on him, and he
+was about to turn at bay and fight for his life, when he observed water
+gleaming through the foliage on his left. Dashing down a glade he came to
+the edge of a broad river with a rapid current. Into this he sprang
+recklessly, intending to swim with the stream; but ere he lost his
+footing he heard the low deep thunder of a cataract a short distance
+below! Drawing back in terror, he regained the bank, and waded up a
+considerable distance in the shallow water, so as to leave no trace of
+his footsteps. Then he leaped upon a rock, and, catching hold of the
+lower branches of a large tree, drew himself up among the dense foliage,
+just as the yelling savages rushed with wild tumult to the water's edge.
+Here they paused, as if baffled. They spoke in rapid, vehement tones for
+a few seconds, and then one party hastened down the banks of the stream
+towards the fall, while another band searched the banks above.
+
+Barney's heart fell as he sat panting in the tree, for he knew that they
+would soon discover him. But he soon resolved on a bold expedient.
+Slipping down from the tree, he ran deliberately back towards the
+village; and, as he drew near, he followed the regular beaten track that
+led towards it. On the way he encountered one or two savages hastening
+after the pursuing party; but he leaped lightly into the bushes, and lay
+still till they were past. Then he ran on, skirted round the village, and
+pushed into the woods in an entirely opposite direction from the one in
+which he had first set out. Keeping by one of the numerous tracks that
+radiated from the village into the forest, he held on at top speed, until
+his progress was suddenly arrested by a stream about twenty yards broad.
+It was very deep, and he was about to plunge in, in order to swim across,
+when he observed a small montaria, or canoe, lying on the bank. This he
+launched quickly, and observing that the river took a bend a little
+further down, and appeared to proceed in the direction he wished to
+pursue,--namely, away from the Indian village,--he paddled down the rapid
+stream as fast as he could. The current was very strong, so that his
+little bark flew down it like an arrow, and on more than one occasion
+narrowly missed being dashed to pieces on the rocks which here and there
+rose above the stream.
+
+In about two hours Barney came to a place where the stream took another
+bend to the left, and soon after the canoe swept out upon the broad river
+into which he had at first so nearly plunged. He was a long way below the
+fall now, for its sound was inaudible; but it was no time to abate his
+exertions. The Indians might be still in pursuit; so he continued to
+paddle all that night, and did not take rest until daybreak. Then he
+slept for two hours, ate a few wild fruits, and continued his journey.
+
+In the course of the next day, to his great joy, he overtook a trading
+canoe, which had been up another tributary of this river, and was
+descending with part of a cargo of India-rubber shoes. None of the men,
+of whom there were four, could speak English; but they easily saw from
+the Irishman's condition that he had escaped from enemies and was in
+distress; so they took him on board, and were glad to avail themselves of
+his services: for, as we have before mentioned, men are not easily
+procured for voyaging in those parts of Brazil. Three weeks after this
+they arrived at a small town, where the natives were busily engaged in
+the manufacture of shoes, bottles, and other articles of India-rubber;
+and here Barney found employment for a short time.
+
+The seringa, or India-rubber-tree, grows plentifully in some parts of
+Brazil, and many hundreds of the inhabitants are employed in the
+manufacture of shoes. The India-rubber is the juice of the tree, and
+flows from it when an incision is made. This juice is poured into moulds
+and left to harden. It is of a yellowish colour naturally, and is
+blackened in the course of preparation. Barney did not stay long here.
+Shoe-making, he declared, was not his calling by any means; so he seized
+the first opportunity he had of joining a party of traders going into the
+interior, in the direction of the diamond districts. The journey was long
+and varied. Sometimes by canoe and sometimes on the backs of mules and
+horses, and many extraordinary adventures did he go through ere he
+reached the diamond mines. And when at length he did so, great was his
+disappointment. Instead of the glittering caves which his vivid
+imagination had pictured, he found that there were no caves at all; that
+the diamonds were found by washing in the muddy soil; and worst of all,
+that when found they were dim and unpolished, so that they seemed no
+better than any other stone. However, he resolved to continue there for a
+short time, in order to make a little money; but now that Martin had
+arrived he thought that they could not do better than make their way to
+the coast as fast as possible, and go to sea.
+
+"The only thing I have to regret," he said, at the conclusion of his
+narrative, "is that I left Grampus behind me. But arrah! I came off
+from the savages in such a hurry that I had no time at all to tell him
+I was goin'!"
+
+Having sat till daybreak, the two friends went to bed to dream of each
+other and of home.
+
+Next morning Barney took Martin to visit the diamond mines. On the way
+they passed a band of Negro slaves who encircled a large fire, the
+weather being very cold. It was at that time about the end of July, which
+is one of the coldest months in the year. In this part of Brazil summer
+and winter are reversed,--the coldest months being May, June, and July;
+the hottest, November, December, January, and February.
+
+Minas Geraes, the diamond district, is one of the richest provinces of
+Brazil. The inhabitants are almost entirely occupied in mining or in
+supplying the miners with the necessaries of life. Diggers and
+shopkeepers are the two principal classes, and of these the latter are
+best off; for their trade is steady and lucrative, while the success of
+the miners is very uncertain. Frequently a large sum of money and much
+time are expended in mining without any adequate result; but the
+merchants always find a ready sale for their merchandise, and, as they
+take diamonds and gold-dust in exchange, they generally realize large
+profits and soon become rich. The poor miner is like the gambler. He
+digs on in hope; sometimes finding barely enough to supply his
+wants,--at other times making a fortune suddenly; but never giving up
+in despair, because he knows that at every handful of earth he turns up
+he may perhaps find a diamond worth hundreds, or, it may be, thousands
+of pounds.
+
+Cidade Diamantina,--the City of Diamonds,--is the capital of the
+province. It is a large city, with many fine churches and buildings; and
+the whole population, consisting of more than 6000 souls, are engaged,
+directly or indirectly, in mining. Every one who owns a few slaves
+employs them in washing the earth for gold and diamonds.
+
+The mine of which Barney had so unexpectedly become overseer, was a small
+one, in a remote part of the district, situated among the mountains, and
+far distant from the City of Diamonds. There were only a few huts, rudely
+built and roofed with palm leaves, besides a larger building, or cottage,
+in which the Baron Fagoni resided.
+
+"Tis a strange life they lead here," said Barney, as he led Martin down a
+gorge of the mountains towards a small spot of level ground on which the
+slaves were at work; "a strange life, and by no means a pleasant wan; for
+the feedin' is none o' the best and the work very sevare."
+
+"Why, Barney, if I may judge from last night's supper, the feeding seems
+to be excellent."
+
+"Thrue, boy, the Baron Fagoni feeds well, bekase he's the cock o' the
+roost; but the poor Naygurs are not overly well fed, and the critters are
+up to their knees in wather all day, washing di'monds; so they suffer
+much from rheumatiz and colds. Och, but it's murther entirely; an' I've
+more than wance felt inclined to fill their pockets with di'monds and set
+them all free! Jist look, now, there they are, hard at it."
+
+As he spoke they arrived at the mine. The ground in the vicinity was all
+cut up and dug out to a considerable depth, and a dozen Negroes were
+standing under a shed washing the earth, while others were engaged in the
+holes excavating the material. While Martin watched them his friend
+explained the process.
+
+The different kinds of soil through which it is necessary to cut before
+reaching the diamond deposit are, first, about twenty feet of reddish
+sandy soil; then about eight feet of a tough yellowish clay; beneath this
+lies a layer of coarse reddish sand, below which is the peculiar soil in
+which diamonds are found. It is called by the miners the _cascalho_, and
+consists of loose gravel, the pebbles of which are rounded and polished,
+having at some previous era been subject to the action of running water.
+The bed varies in thickness from one to four feet, and the pebbles are of
+various kinds; but when there are many of a species called
+_Esmerilopreto_, the cascalho is considered to be rich in diamonds.
+
+Taking Martin round to the back of the shed, Barney showed him a row of
+troughs, about three feet square, close to the edge of a pond of water.
+These troughs are called _bacos_. In front of each stood a Negro slave up
+to his knees in water. Each had a wooden plate, with which he dashed
+water upon the rough cascalho as it was thrown into the trough by another
+slave. By this means, and by stirring it with a small hoe, the earth and
+sand are washed away. Two overseers were closely watching the process;
+for it is during this part of the operation that the largest diamonds are
+found. These overseers were seated on elevated seats, each being armed
+with a long leathern whip, to keep a sharp look out, for the slaves are
+expert thieves.
+
+After the cascalho had been thus purified it was carefully removed to the
+shed to be finally washed.
+
+Here seven slaves were seated on the side of a small canal, about four
+feet broad, with their legs in the water nearly up to their knees. The
+canal is called the _lavadeira_. Each man had a small wooden platter,
+into which another slave, who stood behind him, put a shovelful of
+purified cascalho. The _bateia_, or platter, was then filled with water
+and washed with the utmost care several times, being closely examined
+after each washing, and the diamonds picked out. Sometimes many platefuls
+were examined but nothing found; at other times several diamonds were
+found in one plate. While Martin was looking on with much curiosity and
+interest, one of the slaves uttered an exclamation and held up a minute
+stone between his finger and thumb.
+
+"Ah! good luck to ye, lad!" said Barney, advancing and taking the diamond
+which had been discovered. "See here, Martin; there's the thing, lad,
+that sparkles on the brow o' beauty, and gives the Naygurs rheumatiz--"
+
+"Not to mention their usefulness in providing the great Baron Fagoni with
+a livelihood," added Martin, with a smile.
+
+Barney laughed, and going up to the place where the two overseers were
+seated, dropped the precious gem into a plate of water placed between
+them for the purpose of receiving the diamonds as they were found.
+
+"They git fifteen or twinty a day sometimes," said Barney, as they
+retraced their steps to the cottage; "and I've hear'd o' them getting
+stones worth many thousands o' pounds; but the biggest they iver found
+since I corned here was not worth more than four hundred."
+
+"And what do you do with them, Barney, when they are found?"
+inquired Martin.
+
+"Sind them to Rio Janeiro, lad, where my employer sells them. I don't
+know how much he makes a year by it; but the thing must pay, for he's
+very liberal with his cash, and niver forgits to pay wages. There's
+always a lot o' gould-dust found in the bottom o' the bateia after each
+washing, and that is carefully collected and sold. But, arrah! I wouldn't
+give wan snifter o' the say-breezes for all the di'monds in Brazil!"
+
+As Barney said this he entered his cottage and flung down his hat with
+the air of a man who was resolved to stand it no longer.
+
+"But why don't you wash on your own account?" cried Martin. "What
+say you; shall we begin together? We may make our fortune the first
+week, perhaps!"
+
+Barney shook his head. "No, no, boy; I've no faith in my luck with the
+di'monds or gould. Nevertheless I have hear'd o' men makin' an awful
+heap o' money that way; partiklarly wan man that made his fortin with
+wan stone."
+
+"Who was that lucky dog?" asked Martin.
+
+"Well, ye see, it happened this way: There's a custom hereaway that
+slaves are allowed to work on Sundays and holidays on their own account;
+but when the mines was a government consarn this was not allowed, and the
+slaves were the most awful thieves livin', and often made off with some
+o' the largest diamonds. Well, there was a man named Juiz de Paz, who
+owned a small shop, and used to go down now and then to Rio de Janeiro to
+buy goods. Wan evenin' he returned from wan o' his long journeys, and,
+being rather tired, wint to bed. He was jist goin' off into a comfortable
+doze when there came a terrible bumpin' at the door.
+
+"'Hallo!' cried Juiz, growlin' angrily in the Portugee tongue; 'what
+d'ye want?'
+
+"There was no answer but another bumpin' at the door. So up he jumps,
+and, takin' down a big blunderbuss that hung over his bed, opened the
+door, an' seized a Naygur be the hair o' the head!
+
+"'Oh, massa! oh, massa! let him go! Got di'mond for to sell!'
+
+"On hearin' this, Juiz let go, and found that the slave had come to
+offer for sale a large di'mond, which weighed about two penny-weights
+and a third.
+
+"'What d'ye ask for it?' said Juiz, with sparklin' eyes.
+
+"'Six hundred mil-reis,' answered the Naygur.
+
+"This was about equal to £180 Stirling. Without more words about it, he
+paid down the money; and the slave went away. Juiz lost his sleep that
+night. He went and tould the neighbours he had forgot a piece of
+important business in Rio and must go back at wance. So back he went, and
+stayed some time in the city, tryin' to git his di'mond safely sold; for
+it was such a big wan that he feared the government fellows might hear
+o't; in which case he would have got tin years transportation to Angola
+on the coast of Africa. At last, however, he got rid of it for 20,000
+mil-reis, which is about £6000. It was all paid to him in hard dollars;
+and he nearly went out o' his wits for joy. But he was brought down a peg
+nixt day, when he found that the same di'mond was sold for nearly twice
+as much as he had got for it. Howiver, he had made a pretty considerable
+fortin; an' he's now the richest di'mond and gould merchant in the
+district."
+
+"A lucky fellow certainly," said Martin. "But I must say I have no taste
+for such chance work; so I'm quite ready to start for the sea-coast
+whenever it suits the Baron Fagoni's convenience."
+
+While they were speaking they were attracted by voices outside the
+cottage, which sounded as if in altercation. In another minute the door
+burst open, and a man entered hurriedly, followed by the interpreter.
+
+"Your overseer is impertinent!" exclaimed the man, who was a tall swarthy
+Brazilian. "I wish to buy a horse or a good mule, and he won't let me
+have one. I am not a beggar; I offer to pay."
+
+The man spoke in Portuguese, and Barney replied in the same language.
+
+"You can have a horse _if you pay for it_."
+
+The Brazilian replied by throwing a heavy bag of dollars on the table.
+
+"All right," said Barney, turning to his interpreter and conversing with
+him in an under-tone. "Give him what he requires." So saying he bowed the
+Brazilian out of the room, and returned to the enjoyment of his black
+pipe, which had been interrupted by the incident.
+
+"That man seems in a hurry," said Martin.
+
+"So he is. My interpreter tells me that he is quite like one o' the
+blackguards that sometimes go about the mines doin' mischief, and he's in
+hot haste to be away. I should not wonder if the spalpeen has been
+stealin' gould or di'monds and wants to escape. But of course I've
+nothin' to do with that, unless I was sure of it; and I've a horse or two
+to sell, and he has money to pay for it; so he's welcome. He says he is
+makin' straight for the say-coast; and with your lave, Martin, my boy,
+you and I will be doin' that same in a week after this, and say good-bye
+to the di'mond mines."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+NEW SCENES AND PLEASANT TRAVELLING
+
+
+A new and agreeable sensation is a pleasant thing. It was on as bright an
+evening as ever shone upon Brazil, and in as fair a scene as one could
+wish to behold, that Martin Rattler and his friend Barney experienced a
+new sensation. On the wide campos, on the flower-bedecked and grassy
+plains, they each bestrode a fiery charger; and, in the exultation of
+health, and strength, and liberty, they swept over the green sward of the
+undulating campos, as light as the soft wind that fanned their bronzed
+cheeks, as gay in heart as the buzzing insects that hovered above the
+brilliant flowers.
+
+"Oh, this is best of all!" shouted Martin, turning his sparkling eyes to
+Barney, as he reined up his steed after a gallop that caused its nostril
+to expand and its eye to dilate. "There's nothing like it! A fiery
+charger that can't and _won't_ tire, and a glorious sweep of plain like
+that! Huzza! whoop!" And loosening the rein of his willing horse, away he
+went again in a wild headlong career.
+
+"Och, boy, pull up, or ye'll kill the baste!" cried Barney, who thundered
+along at Martin's side enjoying to the full the spring of his powerful
+horse; for Barney had spent the last farthing of his salary on the two
+best steeds the country could produce, being determined, as he said, to
+make the last overland voyage on clipper-built animals, which, he wisely
+concluded, would fetch a good price at the end of the journey. "Pull up!
+d'ye hear? They can't stand goin' at that pace. Back yer topsails, ye
+young rascal, or I'll board ye in a jiffy."
+
+"How can I pull up with _that_ before me?" cried Martin, pointing to
+a wide ditch or gully that lay in front of them. "I must go over
+that first."
+
+"Go over that!" cried Barney, endeavouring to rein in his horse, and
+looking with an anxious expression at the chasm. "It's all very well for
+you to talk o' goin' over, ye feather; but fifteen stun--Ah, then,
+_won't_ ye stop? Bad luck to him, he's got the bit in his teeth! Oh then,
+ye ugly baste, go, and my blissin' go with ye!"
+
+The leap was inevitable. Martin went over like a deer. Barney shut his
+eyes, seized the pommel of the saddle, and went at it like a
+thunder-bolt In the excitement of the moment he shouted, in a stentorian
+voice, "Clap on all sail! d'ye hear? Stu'n-sails and sky-scrapers! Kape
+her steady! Hooray!"
+
+It was well for Barney that he had seized the saddle. Even as it was he
+received a tremendous blow from the horse's head as it took the leap,
+and was thrown back on its haunches when it cleared the ditch, which it
+did nobly.
+
+"Hallo! old boy, not hurt, I hope," said Martin, suppressing his laughter
+as his comrade scrambled on to the saddle. "You travel about on the back
+of your horse at full gallop like a circus rider."
+
+"Whist, darlint, I do belave he has damaged my faygurhead. What a nose
+I've got! Sure I can see it mesilf without squintin'."
+
+"So you have, Barney. It's a little swelled, but never mind. We must all
+learn by experience, you know. So come along."
+
+"Hould on, ye spalpeen, till I git my wind!"
+
+But Martin was off again at full speed; and Barney's horse, scorning to
+be left behind, took the bit again in its teeth and went--as he himself
+expressed it,--"screamin' before the wind."
+
+A new sensation is not always and necessarily an agreeable thing. Martin
+and Barney found it so on the evening of that same day, as they reclined
+(they could not sit) by the side of their fire on the campo under the
+shelter of one of the small trees which grew here and there at wide
+intervals on the plain. They had left the diamond mine early that
+morning, and their first day on horseback proved to them that there are
+shadows as well as lights in equestrian life. Their only baggage was a
+single change of apparel and a small bag of diamonds,--the latter being
+the product of the mine during the Baron Fagoni's reign, and which that
+worthy was conveying faithfully to his employer. During the first part of
+the day they had ridden through a hilly and woody country, and towards
+evening they emerged upon one of the smaller campos, which occur here and
+there in the district.
+
+"Martin," said Barney, as he lay smoking his pipe, "'tis a pity that
+there's no pleasure in this world without _something_ cross-grained
+into it. My own feelin's is as if I had been lately passed through a
+stamping machine."
+
+"Wrong, Barney, as usual," said Martin, who was busily engaged concluding
+supper with an orange. "If we had pleasures without discomforts we
+wouldn't half enjoy them. We need lights and shadows in life--what are
+you grinning at, Barney?"
+
+"Oh! nothin', only ye're a remarkable philosopher, when ye're in
+the vein."
+
+"Tis always in vain to talk philosophy to you, Barney, so good-night t'
+ye. Oh, dear me, I wish I could sit down! but there's no
+alternative,--either bolt upright or quite flat."
+
+In a quarter of an hour they both forgot pleasures and sorrows alike in
+sleep. Next day the sun rose on the edge of the campo as it does out of
+the ocean, streaming across its grassy billows, and tipping the ridges as
+with ruddy gold. At first Martin and Barney did not enjoy the lovely
+scene, for they felt stiff and sore; but after half an hour's ride they
+began to recover; and when the sun rose in all its glory on the wide
+plain, the feelings of joyous bounding freedom that such scenes always
+engender obtained the mastery, and they coursed along in silent delight.
+
+The campo was hard, composed chiefly of a stiff red clay soil and covered
+with short grass in most places; but here and there were rank bushes of
+long hairy grasses, around and amongst which grew a multitude of the most
+exquisitely beautiful flowerets and plants of elegant forms. Wherever
+these flowers flourished very luxuriantly there were single trees of
+stunted growth and thick bark, which seldom rose above fifteen or twenty
+feet. Besides these there were rich flowering myrtles, and here and there
+a grotesque cactus or two.
+
+Under one of these trees they reined up after a ride of two hours, and
+piqueting their horses, prepared breakfast. It was soon despatched, and
+then remounting, away they went once more over the beautiful plains.
+
+About mid-day, as they were hasting towards the shelter of a grove which
+appeared opportunely on the horizon, Barney said suddenly,--
+
+"Martin, lad, we're lost! We're out of our course, for sartin."
+
+"I've been thinking that for some time, Barney," replied Martin; "but you
+have your compass, and we can surely make the coast by dead
+reckoning--eh?"
+
+"True, lad, we can; but it'll cost us a dale o' tackin' to make up for
+lee-way. Ah, good luck to ye! here's a friend 'll help us."
+
+As he spoke a herd of wild cattle dashed out of the grove and scampered
+over the plain, followed by a herdsman on horseback. Seeing that he was
+in eager pursuit of an animal which he wished to lasso, they followed him
+quietly and watched his movements. Whirling the noose round his head, he
+threw it adroitly in such a manner that the bull put one of its legs
+within the coil. Then he reined up suddenly, and the animal was thrown on
+its back. At the same moment the lasso broke, and the bull recovered its
+feet and continued its wild flight.
+
+"Good-day, friend," said Barney, galloping towards the disappointed
+herdsman and addressing him in Portuguese, "could you show us the road to
+Rio? We've lost it intirely."
+
+The man pointed sulkily in the direction in which they were going, and,
+having mended his lasso, he wheeled about and galloped after the herd
+of cattle.
+
+"Bad luck to yer manners!" said Barney, as he gazed after him. "But what
+can ye expect from the poor critter? He niver larned better Come along,
+Martin, we'll rest here a while."
+
+They were soon under the shelter of the trees, and having fastened their
+horses to one of them, they proceeded to search for water. While thus
+employed, Barney shouted to his companion, "Come here, lad; look here."
+
+There was something in the tone of the Irishman's voice that startled
+Martin, and he sprang hastily towards him. Barney was standing with his
+arms crossed upon his chest and his head bowed forward, as he gazed with
+a solemn expression on the figure of a man at his feet.
+
+"Is he ill?" inquired Martin, stooping and lifting his hand. Starting
+back as he dropped it, he exclaimed, "Dead!"
+
+"Ah, boy, he has gone to his last account. Look at him again, Martin. It
+was he who came to the mine a week ago to buy a horse, and now--" Barney
+sighed as he stooped and turned the body over in order to ascertain
+whether he had been murdered; but there were no marks of violence to be
+seen. There was bread too in his wallet; so they could come to no other
+conclusion than that the unhappy man had been seized with fatal illness
+in the lonesome wood and died there.
+
+As they searched his clothes they found a small leathern bag, which, to
+their amazement, was filled with gold-dust; and in the midst of the gold
+was another smaller bag containing several small diamonds.
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Martin, "that explains his hurry. No doubt he had made
+off with these, and was anxious to avoid pursuit."
+
+"No doubt of it," said Barney. "Well, thief or no thief, we must give the
+poor cratur' dacent burial. There's not a scrap o' paper to tell who he
+is or where he came from,--a sure sign that he wasn't what he should ha'
+been. Ah! Martin, what will we not do for the sake o' money! and, after
+all, we can't keep it long. May the Almighty niver let you or me set our
+hearts on it."
+
+They dug a shallow grave with their hands in a sandy spot where the soil
+was loose, in which they deposited the body of the unfortunate man; and
+then remounting their horses, rode away and left him in his lonely
+resting-place.
+
+For many days did Martin and Barney travel through the land on horseback,
+now galloping over open campos, anon threading their way through the
+forest, and sometimes toiling slowly up the mountain sides. The aspect of
+the country varied continually as they advanced, and the feelings of
+excessive hilarity with which they commenced the journey began to subside
+as they became accustomed to it.
+
+One evening they were toiling slowly up a steep range of hills which had
+been the prospect in front of them the whole of that day. As they neared
+the summit of the range Martin halted at a stream to drink, and Barney
+advanced alone. Suddenly Martin was startled by a loud cry, and looking
+up he saw Barney on his knees with his hands clasped before him! Rushing
+up the hill, Martin found his comrade with his face flushed and the tears
+coursing down his cheeks as he stared before him!
+
+"Look at it, Martin, dear!" he cried, starting up and flinging his cap in
+the air, and shouting like a madman. "The say! my own native illiment!
+the beautiful ocean! Och, darlint, my blessing on ye! Little did I think
+to see you more,--hooray!"
+
+Barney sang and danced till he sank down on the grass exhausted; and, to
+say truth, Martin felt much difficulty in restraining himself from doing
+likewise, for before him was spread out the bright ocean, gleaming in the
+light of the sinking sun, and calm and placid as a mirror. It was indeed
+a glorious sight to these two sailors, who had not seen the sea for
+nearly two years. It was like coming suddenly face to face--after a long
+absence--with an old and much loved friend.
+
+Although visible, the sea, however, was still a long way off from the
+Serra dos Orgos on which they stood. But their steeds were good, and it
+was not long ere they were both rolling like dolphins in the beautiful
+bay of Rio de Janeiro.
+
+Here Barney delivered up the gold and diamonds to his employer, who paid
+him liberally for his services and entertained them both hospitably while
+they remained in the city. The bag of gold and diamonds which had been
+found on the body of the dead man they appropriated, as it was absolutely
+impossible to discover the rightful owner. Barney's friend bought it of
+them at full price; and when they embarked, soon after, on board a
+homeward bound ship, each had four hundred pounds in his pocket!
+
+As they sailed out of the noble harbour Martin sat on the poop gazing at
+the receding shore while thick-coming memories crowded on his brain.
+
+His imagination flew back to the day when he first landed on the coast
+and escaped with his friend Barney from the pirates,--to the hermit's
+cottage in the lonely valley, where he first made acquaintance with
+monkeys, iguanas, jaguars, armadillos, and all the wonderful, beautiful,
+and curious birds, beasts, and reptiles, plants, trees, and flowers, that
+live and flourish in that romantic country. Once more, in fancy, he was
+sailing up the mighty Amazon, shooting alligators on its banks, spearing
+fish in its waters, paddling through its curious gapo, and swinging in
+his hammock under its luxuriant forests. Once again he was a prisoner
+among the wild Indians, and he started convulsively as he thought of the
+terrible leap over the precipice into the stream that flowed into the
+heart of the earth. Then he wandered in the lonely forest. Suddenly the
+diamond mines were before him, and Barney's jovial voice rang in his
+ears; and he replied to it with energy, for now he was bounding on a
+fiery steed over the grassy campos. With a deep sigh he awoke from his
+reverie to find himself surrounded by the great wide sea.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+THE RETURN
+
+
+Arthur Jollyboy, Esquire, of the Old Hulk, sat on the top of a tall
+three-legged stool in his own snug little office in the sea-port town of
+Bilton, with his legs swinging to and fro; his socks displayed a
+considerable way above the tops of his gaiters; his hands thrust deep
+into his breeches pockets; his spectacles high on his bald forehead, and
+his eyes looking through the open letter that lay before him; through the
+desk underneath it; through the plank floor, cellars and foundations of
+the edifice; and through the entire world into the distant future beyond.
+
+"Four thousand pair of socks," he murmured, pulling down his spectacles
+and consulting the open letter for the tenth time; "four thousand pair of
+socks, with the hitch, same as last bale, but a very little coarser in
+material."
+
+"Four thousand pair! and who's to make them, I wonder. If poor Mrs.
+Dorothy Grumbit were here--ah! well, she's gone, so it can't be helped.
+Four thousand!--dear me who _will_ make them. Do _you_ know?"
+
+This question was addressed to his youngest clerk, who sat on the
+opposite side of the desk staring at Mr. Jollyboy with that open
+impudence of expression peculiar to young puppy-dogs whose masters are
+unusually indulgent.
+
+"No, sir, I don't," said the clerk with a broad grin.
+
+Before the perplexed merchant could come at any conclusion on this knotty
+subject the door opened and Martin Rattler entered the room, followed by
+his friend Barney O'Flannagan.
+
+"You've come to the wrong room, friends," said Mr. Jollyboy with a
+benignant smile. "My principal clerk engages men and pays wages. His
+office is just opposite; first door in the passage."
+
+"We don't want to engage," said Martin; "we wish to speak with you, sir."
+
+"Oh, beg pardon!" cried Mr. Jollyboy, leaping off the stool with
+surprising agility for a man of his years. "Come in this way. Pray be
+seated--Eh! ah, surely I've seen you before, my good fellow?"
+
+"Yis, sir, that ye have. I've sailed aboard your ships many a time. My
+name's Barney O'Flannagan, at yer sarvice."
+
+"Ah! I recollect; and a good man you are, I've been told, Barney; but I
+have lost sight of you for some years. Been on a long voyage, I suppose?"
+
+"Well, not 'xactly; but I've been on a long cruise, an' no mistake, in
+the woods o' Brazil. I wos wrecked on the coast there, in the _Firefly_."
+
+"Ah! to be sure. I remember. And your young messmate here, was he
+with you?"
+
+"Yes, sir, I was," said Martin, answering for himself; "and I had once
+the pleasure of your acquaintance. Perhaps if you look steadily in my
+face you may--"
+
+"Ah, then! don't try to bamboozle him. He might as well look at a bit o'
+mahogany as at your faygurhead. Tell him at wance, Martin dear."
+
+"Martin?" exclaimed the puzzled old gentleman, seizing the young sailor
+by the shoulders and gazing intently into his face. "Martin! Martin!
+Surely not--yes! eh? Martin Rattler?"
+
+"Ay that am I, dear Mr. Jollyboy, safe and sound, and--"
+
+Martin's speech was cut short in consequence of his being violently
+throttled by Mr. Jollyboy, who flung his arms round his neck and
+staggered recklessly about the office with him! This was the great point
+which Barney had expected; it was the climax to which he had been looking
+forward all the morning: and it did not come short of his anticipations;
+for Mr. Jollyboy danced round Martin and embraced him for at least ten
+minutes, asking him at the same time a shower of questions which he gave
+him no time to answer. In the excess of his delight Barney smote his
+thigh with his broad hand so forcibly that it burst upon the startled
+clerk like a pistol-shot, and caused him to spring off his stool!
+
+"Don't be afeared, young un," said Barney, winking and poking the small
+clerk jocosely in the ribs with his thumb. "Isn't it beautiful to see
+them. Arrah, now! isn't it purty?"
+
+"Keep your thumbs to yourself, you sea monster," said the small clerk,
+angrily, and laying his hand on the ruler. But Barney minded him not, and
+continued to smite his thigh and rub his hands, while he performed a sort
+of gigantic war-dance round Mr. Jollyboy and Martin.
+
+In a few minutes the old gentleman subsided sufficiently to understand
+questions.
+
+"But, my aunt," said Martin, anxiously; "you have said nothing about Aunt
+Dorothy. How is she? where is she? is she well?"
+
+To these questions Mr. Jollyboy returned no answer, but sitting suddenly
+down on a chair, he covered his face with his hands.
+
+"She is not ill?" inquired Martin in a husky voice, while his heart beat
+violently. "Speak, Mr. Jollyboy, is she--is she--"
+
+"No, she's not ill," returned the old gentleman; "but she's--"
+
+"She is dead!" said Martin, in a tone so deep and sorrowful that the old
+gentleman started up.
+
+"No, no, not dead, my dear boy; I did not mean that. Forgive my
+stupidity, Martin. Aunt Dorothy is gone,--left the village a year ago;
+and I have never seen or heard of her since."
+
+Terrible though this news was, Martin felt a slight degree of relief to
+know that she was not dead;--at least there was reason to hope that she
+might be still alive.
+
+"But when did she go? and why? and where?"
+
+"She went about twelve months ago," replied Mr. Jollyboy. "You see,
+Martin, after she lost you she seemed to lose all hope and all spirit;
+and at last she gave up making socks for me, and did little but moan in
+her seat in the window and look out towards the sea. So I got a pleasant
+young girl to take care of her; and she did not want for any of the
+comforts of life. One day the little girl came to me here, having run all
+the way from the village, to say that Mrs. Grumbit had packed up a bundle
+of clothes and gone off to Liverpool by the coach. She took the
+opportunity of the girl's absence on some errand to escape; and we should
+never have known it, had not some boys of the village seen her get into
+the coach and tell the guard that she was going to make inquiries after
+Martin. I instantly set out for Liverpool; but long before I arrived the
+coach had discharged its passengers, and the coachman, not suspecting
+that anything was wrong, had taken no notice of her after arriving. From
+that day to this I have not ceased to advertise and make all possible
+inquiries, but without success."
+
+Martin heard the narrative in silence, and when it was finished he sat a
+few minutes gazing vacantly before him, like one in a dream. Then
+starting up suddenly, he wrung Mr. Jollyboy's hand, "Good-bye, my dear
+friend; good-bye. I shall go to Liverpool. We shall meet again."
+
+"Stay, Martin, stay--"
+
+But Martin had rushed from the room, followed by his faithful friend, and
+in less than half an hour they were in the village of Ashford. The coach
+was to pass in twenty minutes, so, bidding Barney engage two outside
+seats, he hastened round by the road towards the cottage. There it stood,
+quaint, time-worn, and old-fashioned, as when he had last seen it,--the
+little garden in which he had so often played,--the bower in which, on
+fine weather, Aunt Dorothy used to sit, and the door-step on which the
+white kitten used to gambol. But the shutters were closed, and the door
+was locked, and there was an air of desolation and a deep silence
+brooding over the place, that sank more poignantly into Martin's heart
+than if he had come and found every vestige of the home of his childhood
+swept away. It was like the body without the soul. The flowers, and
+stones, and well-known forms were there; but she who had given animation
+to the whole was gone. Sitting down on the door-step, Martin buried his
+face in his hands and wept.
+
+He was quickly aroused by the bugle of the approaching coach. Springing
+up, he dashed the tears away and hurried towards the high-road. In a few
+minutes Barney and he were seated on the top of the coach, and dashing,
+at the rate of ten miles an hour, along the road to Liverpool.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+THE OLD GARRET
+
+
+Days, and weeks, and months, passed away, and Martin had searched every
+nook and corner of the great sea-port without discovering his old aunt,
+or obtaining the slightest information regarding her. At first he and
+Barney went about the search together, but after a time he sent his old
+companion forcibly away to visit his own relatives, who dwelt not far
+from Bilton, at the same time promising that if he had any good news to
+tell he would immediately write and let him know.
+
+One morning, as Martin was sitting beside the little fire in his lodging,
+a tap came to the door, and the servant girl told him that a policeman
+wished to see him.
+
+"Show him in," said Martin, who was not in the least surprised, for he
+had had much intercourse with these guardians of the public peace during
+the course of his unavailing search.
+
+"I think, sir," said the man on entering, "that we've got scent of an old
+woman w'ich is as like the one that you're arter as hanythink."
+
+Martin rose in haste. "Have you, my man? Are you sure?"
+
+"'Bout as sure as a man can be who never seed her. But it won't take you
+long to walk. You'd better come and see for yourself."
+
+Without uttering another word, Martin put on his hat and followed the
+policeman. They passed through several streets and lanes, and at length
+came to one of the poorest districts of the city, not far distant from
+the shipping. Turning down a narrow alley, and crossing a low
+dirty-looking court, Martin's guide stopped before a door, which he
+pushed open and mounted by a flight of rickety wooden stairs to a garret.
+He opened the door and entered.
+
+"There she is," said the man in a tone of pity, as he pointed to a corner
+of the apartment, "an' I'm afeer'd she's goin' fast."
+
+Martin stepped towards a low truckle-bed on which lay the emaciated form
+of a woman covered with a scanty and ragged quilt. The corner of it was
+drawn across her face, and so gentle was her breathing that it seemed as
+if she were already dead. Martin removed the covering, and one glance at
+that gentle, care-worn countenance sufficed to convince him that his old
+aunt lay before him! His first impulse was to seize her in his strong
+arms, but another look at the frail and attenuated form caused him to
+shrink back in fear.
+
+"Leave me," he said, rising hastily and slipping half a sovereign into
+the policeman's hand; "this is she. I wish to be alone with her."
+
+The man touched his hat and retired, closing the door behind him; while
+Martin, sitting down on the bed, took one of his aunt's thin hands in
+his. The action was tenderly performed, but it awoke her. For the first
+time it flashed across Martin's mind that the sudden joy at seeing him
+might be too much for one so feeble as Aunt Dorothy seemed to be. He
+turned his back hastily to the light, and with a violent effort
+suppressed his feelings while he asked how she did.
+
+"Well, very well," said Aunt Dorothy, in a faint voice. "Are you the
+missionary that was here long ago? Oh! I've been longing for you. Why did
+you not come to read to me oftener about Jesus? But I have had Him here
+although you did not come. He has been saying 'Come unto me, ye that
+labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' Yes, I have found
+rest in Him." She ceased and seemed to fall asleep again; but in a few
+seconds she opened her eyes and said, "Martin, too, has been to see me;
+but he does not come so often now. The darling boy used always to come to
+me in my dreams. But he never brings me food. Why does no one ever bring
+me food? I am hungry."
+
+"Should you like food now, if I brought it to you?" said Martin in a
+low voice.
+
+"Yes, yes; bring me food,--I am dying."
+
+Martin released her hand and glided gently out of the room. In a few
+minutes he returned with a can of warm soup and a roll; of which Aunt
+Dorothy partook with an avidity that showed she had been in urgent need.
+Immediately after, she went to sleep; and Martin sat upon the bed holding
+her hand in both of his till she awoke, which she did in an hour after,
+and again ate a little food. While she was thus engaged the door opened
+and a young man entered, who stated that he was a doctor, and had been
+sent there by a policeman.
+
+"There is no hope," he said in a whisper, after feeling her pulse; "the
+system is quite exhausted."
+
+"Doctor," whispered Martin, seizing the young man by the arm, "can
+nothing save her? I have money, and can command _anything_ that may do
+her good."
+
+The doctor shook his head. "You may give her a little wine. It will
+strengthen her for a time, but I fear there is no hope. I will send in a
+bottle if you wish it."
+
+Martin gave him the requisite sum, and in a few minutes the wine was
+brought up by a boy.
+
+The effect of the wine was wonderful. Aunt Dorothy's eyes sparkled as
+they used to do in days of old, and she spoke with unwonted energy.
+
+"You are kind to me, young man," she said, looking earnestly into
+Martin's face, which, however, he kept carefully in shadow. "May our Lord
+reward you."
+
+"Would you like me to talk to you of your nephew?" said Martin; "I have
+seen him abroad."
+
+"Seen my boy! Is he not dead?"
+
+"No; he is alive, and in this country, too."
+
+Aunt Dorothy turned pale, but did not reply for a few minutes, during
+which she grasped his hand convulsively.
+
+"Turn your face to the light," she said faintly.
+
+Martin obeyed, and bending over her whispered, "He is here; I am Martin,
+my dear, dear aunt--"
+
+No expression of surprise escaped from Aunt Dorothy as she folded her
+arms round his neck and pressed his head upon her bosom. His hot tears
+fell upon her neck while she held him, but she spoke not. It was evident
+that as the strength infused by the wine abated her faculties became
+confused. At length she whispered,--
+
+"It is good of you to come to see me, darling boy. You have often come to
+me in my dreams. But do not leave me so soon; stay a very little longer,"
+
+"This is no dream, dearest aunt," whispered Martin, while his tears
+flowed faster; "I am really here."
+
+"Ay, so you always say, my darling child; but you always go away and
+leave me. This is a dream, no doubt, like all the rest; but oh, it seems
+very very real! You never _wept_ before, although you often smiled.
+Surely this is the best and brightest dream I ever had!"
+
+Continuing to murmur his name while she clasped him tightly to her bosom,
+Aunt Dorothy gently fell asleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+CONCLUSION
+
+
+Aunt Dorothy Grumbit did _not_ die! Her gentle spirit had nearly fled;
+but Martin's return and Martin's tender nursing brought her round, and
+she gradually regained all her former strength and vigour. Yes, to the
+unutterable joy of Martin, to the inexpressible delight of Mr. Arthur
+Jollyboy and Barney, and to the surprise and complete discomfiture of the
+young doctor who shook his head and said "There is no hope," Aunt Dorothy
+Grumbit recovered? and was brought back in health and in triumph to her
+old cottage at Ashford!
+
+Moreover, she was arrayed again in the old bed-curtain chintz with the
+flowers as big as saucers, and the old high-crowned cap. A white kitten
+was got, too, so like the one that used to be Martin's playmate, that no
+one could discover a hair of difference. So remarkable was this, that
+Martin made inquiry, and found that it was actually the grand-daughter of
+the old kitten, which was still alive and well; so he brought it back
+too, and formally installed it in the cottage along with its grandchild.
+
+There was a great house-warming on the night of the day in which Aunt
+Dorothy Grumbit was brought back. Mr. Arthur Jollyboy was there--of
+course; and the vicar was there; and the pursy doctor who used to call
+Martin "a scamp;" and the school-master; and last, though not least,
+Barney O'Flannagan was there. And they all had tea, during which dear
+Aunt Dorothy smiled sweetly on everybody and said nothing,--and, indeed,
+did nothing, except that once or twice she put additional sugar and cream
+into Martin's cup when he was not looking, and stroked one of his hands
+continually. After tea Martin related his adventures in Brazil, and
+Barney helped him; and these two talked more that night than any one
+could have believed it possible for human beings to do, without the aid
+of steam lungs! And the doctor listened, and the vicar and school-master
+questioned, and old Mr. Jollyboy roared and laughed till he became purple
+in the face--particularly at the sallies of Barney. As for old Aunt
+Dorothy Grumbit, she listened when Martin spoke. When Martin was silent
+she became stone deaf!
+
+In the course of time Mr. Jollyboy made Martin his head clerk; and then,
+becoming impatient, he made him his partner off-hand. Then he made Barney
+O'Flannagan an overseer in the warehouses; and when the duties of the day
+were over, the versatile Irishman became his confidential servant, and
+went to sup and sleep at the Old Hulk; which, he used to remark, was
+quite a natural and proper and decidedly comfortable place to come to an
+anchor in.
+
+Martin became the stay and comfort of his aunt in her old age; and the
+joy which he was the means of giving to her heart was like a deep and
+placid river which never ceases to flow. Ah! there is a rich blessing in
+store for those who tenderly nurse and comfort the aged, when called upon
+to do so; and assuredly there is a sharp thorn prepared for those who
+neglect this sacred duty. Martin read the Bible to her night and morning;
+and she did nothing but watch for him at the window while he was out. As
+Martin afterwards became an active member of the benevolent societies
+with which his partner was connected, he learned from sweet experience
+that "it is more blessed to give than to receive," and that "it is
+_better_ to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of
+feasting." Dear young reader, do not imagine that we plead in favour of
+moroseness or gloom. Laugh if you will, and feast if you will, and
+remember, too, that "a merry heart is a continual feast;" but we pray you
+not to forget that God himself has said that a visit to the house of
+mourning is _better_ than a visit to the house of feasting: and, strange
+to say, it is productive of greater joy; for to do good is better than to
+get good, as surely as sympathy is better than selfishness.
+
+Martin visited the poor and read the Bible to them; and in watering
+others he was himself watered, for he found the "Pearl of Great Price,"
+even Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world.
+
+Business prospered in the hands of Martin Rattler, too, and he became a
+man of substance. Naturally, too, he became a man of great importance in
+the town of Bilton. The quantity of work that Martin and Mr. Jollyboy and
+Barney used to get through was quite marvellous; and the number of
+engagements they had during the course of a day was quite bewildering.
+
+In the existence of all men, who are not born to unmitigated misery,
+there are times and seasons of peculiar enjoyment. The happiest hour of
+all the twenty-four to Martin Rattler was the hour of seven in the
+evening; for then it was that he found himself seated before the blazing
+fire in the parlour of the Old Hulk, to which Aunt Dorothy Grumbit had
+consented to be removed, and in which she _was_ now a fixture. Then it
+was that old Mr. Jollyboy beamed with benevolence, until the old lady
+sometimes thought the fire was going to melt him; then it was that the
+tea-kettle sang on the hob like a canary; and then it was that Barney
+bustled about the room preparing the evening meal, and talking all the
+time with the most perfect freedom to any one who chose to listen to him.
+Yes, seven p.m. was Martin's great hour, and Aunt Dorothy's great hour,
+and old Mr. Jollyboy's great hour, and Barney's too; for each knew that
+the labours of the day were done, and that the front door was locked for
+the night, and that a great talk was brewing. They had a tremendous talk
+every night, sometimes on one subject, sometimes on another; but the
+subject of all others that they talked oftenest about was their travels.
+And many a time and oft, when the winter storms howled round the Old
+Hulk, Barney was invited to draw in his chair, and Martin and he plunged
+again vigorously into the great old forests of South America, and spoke
+so feelingly about them that Aunt Dorothy and Mr. Jollyboy almost fancied
+themselves transported into the midst of tropical scenes, and felt as if
+they were surrounded by parrots, and monkeys, and jaguars, and
+alligators, and anacondas, and all the wonderful birds, beasts, reptiles,
+and fishes, that inhabit the woods and waters of Brazil.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Martin Rattler, by Robert Michael Ballantyne
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13290 ***
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #13290 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13290)
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Martin Rattler, by Robert Michael Ballantyne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Martin Rattler
+
+Author: Robert Michael Ballantyne
+
+Release Date: August 25, 2004 [EBook #13290]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTIN RATTLER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                             MARTIN RATTLER
+
+                            BY R M BALLANTYNE
+
+                                  1858
+
+
+
+
+EDITOR'S NOTE
+
+
+"MARTIN RATTLER" was one of, Robert Michael Ballantyne's early books.
+Born at Edinburgh in 1825,[1] he was sent to Rupert's Land as a
+trading-clerk in the Hudson Bay Fur Company's service when he left
+school, a boy of sixteen. There, to relieve his home-sickness, he first
+practised his pen in long letters home to his mother. Soon after his
+return to Scotland in 1848 he published a first book on Hudson's Bay.
+Then he passed some years in a Scottish publisher's office; and in 1855 a
+chance suggestion from another publisher led to his writing his first
+book for boys--"Snowflakes and Sunbeams, or The Young Fur Traders." That
+story showed he had found his vocation, and he poured forth its
+successors to the tune in all of some fourscore volumes. "Martin Rattler"
+appeared in 1858. In his "Personal Reminiscences" Ballantyne wrote: "How
+many thousands of lads have an intense liking for the idea of a sailor's
+life!" and he pointed out there the other side of the romantic picture:
+the long watches "in dirty unromantic weather," and the hard work of
+holystoning the decks, scraping down the masts and cleaning out the
+coal-hole. But though his books show something of this reverse side too,
+there is no doubt they have helped to set many boys dreaming of
+
+"Wrecks, buccaneers, black flags, and desert lands
+On which, alone, the second Crusoe stands."
+
+[Footnote 1: See Note to "The Coral Island" in this series.]
+
+Among these persuasions to the life of adventure "Martin Rattler" is
+still one of the favourite among all his books. Ballantyne himself was
+fated to die on foreign soil in 1894, at Rome, where he lies buried in
+the English Protestant cemetery.
+
+The following is a list of Ballantyne's chief romances, tales of
+adventure, and descriptive works:--
+
+"Hudson's Bay, or Every-day Life in the Wilds of North America," etc.,
+1848; "Snowflakes and Sunbeams, or the Young Fur Traders," 1856. In 1857
+and 1858 appeared, under the pseudonym of "Comus": "The Butterfly's Ball
+and the Grasshopper's Feast" (in verse by Roscoe), ed. with music,
+coloured illustrations, and a prose version; "Mister Fox"; "My Mother";
+"The Robber Kitten" (by the author of "Three Little Kittens"). "The Coral
+Island, a Tale of the Pacific Ocean" (with a preface subscribed "Ralph
+Rover"), 1858 (1857); "Ungava, a Tale of Esquimaux Land," 1858 (1857);
+"Martin Rattler, or a Boy's Adventures in the Forests of Brazil," 1858;
+"Ships, the _Great Eastern_ and lesser Craft" (with illustrations), 1859;
+"Mee-a-ow! or Good Advice to Cats and Kittens," 1859; "The World of Ice,
+or Adventures in the Polar Regions," 1860 (1859); "The Dog Crusoe, a Tale
+of the Western Prairies," 1861 (1860); "The Golden Dream, or Adventures
+in the Far West," 1861 (1860); "The Gorilla Hunters, a Tale of the Wilds
+of Africa," 1861; "The Red Eric, or the Whaler's Last Cruise," 1861; "Man
+on the Ocean, a Book for Boys," 1863 (1862); "The Wild Man of the West, a
+Tale of the Rocky Mountains," 1863 (1862); "Gascoyne, the Sandal-wood
+Trader, a Tale of the Pacific," 1864 (1863); "The Lifeboat, a Tale of our
+Coast Heroes," 1864; "Freaks on the Fells, or Three Months' Rustication,"
+and "Why I did not become a Sailor," etc., 1865 (1861); "The Lighthouse,
+being the Story of a Great Fight between Man and the Sea," etc., 1865;
+"Shifting Winds, a Tough Yarn," etc., 1866; "Silver Lake, or Lost in the
+Snow," 1867; "A Rescue in the Rocky Mountains," 1867; "Fighting the
+Flames, a Tale of the London Fire Brigade," 1868; "Away in the
+Wilderness, or Life among the Red Indians and Fur Traders of North
+America," 1869; "Erling the Bold, a Tale of the Norse Sea-kings," with
+illustrations by the author, 1869; "Deep Down, a Tale of the Cornish
+Mines," 1869; "The Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands," with
+illustrations by the author, 1870; "The Iron Horse, or Life on the Line,
+a Tale of the Grand National Trunk Railway," 1871; "The Norsemen in the
+West, or America before Columbus," 1872; "The Pioneers, a Tale of the
+Western Wilderness, illustrative of the Adventures and Discoveries
+of Sir A. Mackenzie," 1872; "Black Ivory, a Tale of Adventure among
+the Slaves of East Africa," 1873; "Life in the Red Brigade, a Story
+for Boys," 1873; "The Ocean and its Wonders," 1874; "The Pirate
+City, an Algerine Tale," 1875; "Under the Waves, or Diving in Deep
+Waters," 1876; "Rivers of Ice, a Tale illustrative of Alpine
+Adventure and Glacier Action," 1876; "The Settler and the Savage, a
+Tale of Peace and War in South Africa," 1877; "Jarwin and Cuffy"
+(Incident and Adventure Library), 1878; "In the Track of the
+Troops, a Tale of Modern War," 1878; "Six Months at the Cape, or
+Letters to Periwinkle from South Africa," 1879 (1878); "Post
+Haste, a Tale of Her Majesty's Mails," 1880 (1879); "The Red Man's
+Revenge, a Tale of the Red River Flood," 1880; "Philosopher Jack, a
+Tale of the Southern Seas," 1880; "The Lonely Island, or the Refuge
+of the Mutineers," 1880; "The Robber Kitten" (in volume of tales by
+two or three authors), 1880; "The Collected Works of Ensign Sopht,
+late of the Volunteers, illustrated by himself," 1881; "My Doggie
+and I," etc., 1881; "The Giant of the North, or Pokings round the
+Pole," 1882 (1881); "The Kitten Pilgrims, or Great Battles and
+Grand Victories," 1882; "The Madman and the Pirate," 1883; "The
+Battery and the Boiler, or Adventures in the Laying of Submarine
+Cables," etc., 1883; "Battles with the Sea, or Heroes of the
+Lifeboat and Rocket," 1883; "Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished, a
+Tale of City-arab Life and Adventure," 1884 (1862); "Twice Bought, a Tale
+of the Oregon Gold-fields," 1885 (1863); "The Island Queen, a Tale of the
+Southern Hemisphere," etc., 1885; "The Rover of the Andes, a Tale of
+Adventure in South America," 1885; "Red Rooney, or the Last of the Crew,"
+1886; "The Big Otter, a Tale of the Great Nor'-West," 1887 (1864); "The
+Middy of the Moors, an Algerine Story," 1888; "Blue Lights, or Hot Work
+in the Soudan, a Tale of Soldier Life," 1888; "The Crew of the _Water
+Wagtail_, a Story of Newfoundland," 1889; "A Gallant Rescue" (stories
+jolly, stories new, etc.), 1889; "The Fight on the Green" (Miles'
+Fifty-two Stories for Boys), 1889; "Charlie to the Rescue, a Tale of the
+Sea and the Rockies," with illustrations by the author, 1890; "The Garret
+and the Garden..., or the Young Coast-guardsman," 1890; "The Coxswain's
+Bride, or the Rising Tide, and other Tales," with illustrations by the
+author, 1891; "The Hot Swamp, a Romance of Old Albion," 1892; "Hunted and
+Harried, a Tale of the Scottish Covenanters," 1892; "The Walrus Hunters,
+a Romance of the Realms of Ice," 1893.
+
+Ballantyne's Miscellany was started in 1863.
+
+
+
+
+MY DEAR YOUNG READERS,
+
+In presenting this book to you I have only to repeat what I have said in
+the prefaces of my former works,--namely, that all the important points
+and anecdotes are true; only the minor and unimportant ones being
+mingled with fiction. With this single remark I commit my work to your
+hands, and wish you a pleasant ramble, in spirit, through the romantic
+forests of Brazil.
+
+Yours affectionately,
+
+R.M. BALLANTYNE.
+
+[October, 1858.]
+
+
+
+
+MARTIN RATTLER
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE HERO AND HIS ONLY RELATIVE
+
+
+Martin Rattler was a very bad boy. At least his aunt, Mrs. Dorothy
+Grumbit, said so; and certainly she ought to have known, if anybody
+should, for Martin lived with her, and was, as she herself expressed it,
+"the bane of her existence,--the very torment of her life." No doubt of
+it whatever, according to Aunt Dorothy Grumbit's showing, Martin Rattler
+was "a remarkably bad boy."
+
+It is a curious fact, however, that, although most of the people in the
+village of Ashford seemed to agree with Mrs. Grumbit in her opinion of
+Martin, there were very few of them who did not smile cheerfully on the
+child when they met him, and say, "Good day, lad!" as heartily as if they
+thought him the best boy in the place. No one seemed to bear Martin
+Rattler ill-will, notwithstanding his alleged badness. Men laughed when
+they said he was a bad boy, as if they did not quite believe their own
+assertion. The vicar, an old whiteheaded man, with a kind, hearty
+countenance, said that the child was full of mischief, full of mischief;
+but he would improve as he grew older, he was quite certain of that. And
+the vicar was a good judge, for he had five boys of his own, besides
+three other boys, the sons of a distant relative, who boarded with him;
+and he had lived forty years in a parish overflowing with boys, and he
+was particularly fond of boys in general. Not so the doctor, a pursy
+little man with a terrific frown, who hated boys, especially little ones,
+with a very powerful hatred. The doctor said that Martin was a scamp.
+
+And yet Martin had not the appearance of a scamp. He had fat rosy cheeks,
+a round rosy mouth, a straight delicately-formed nose, a firm massive
+chin, and a broad forehead. But the latter was seldom visible, owing to
+the thickly-clustering fair curls that overhung it. When asleep Martin's
+face was the perfection of gentle innocence. But the instant he opened
+his dark-brown eyes, a thousand dimples and wrinkles played over his
+visage, chiefly at the corners of his mouth and round his eyes; as if the
+spirit of fun and the spirit of mischief had got entire possession of the
+boy, and were determined to make the most of him. When deeply interested
+in anything, Martin was as grave and serious as a philosopher.
+
+Aunt Dorothy Grumbit had a turned-up nose,--a very much turned-up nose;
+so much so, indeed, that it presented a front view of the nostrils! It
+was an aggravating nose, too for the old lady's spectacles refused to
+rest on any part of it except the extreme point. Mrs. Grumbit invariably
+placed them on the right part of her nose, and they as invariably slid
+down the curved slope until they were brought up by the little hillock at
+the end. There they condescended to repose in peace.
+
+Mrs. Grumbit was mild, and gentle, and little, and thin, and
+old,--perhaps seventy-five; but no one knew her age for certain, not even
+herself. She wore an old-fashioned, high-crowned cap, and a gown of
+bed-curtain chintz, with flowers on it the size of a saucer. It was a
+curious gown, and very cheap, for Mrs. Grumbit was poor. No one knew the
+extent of her poverty, any more than they did her age; but she herself
+knew it, and felt it deeply,--never so deeply, perhaps, as when her
+orphan nephew Martin grew old enough to be put to school, and she had not
+wherewithal to send him. But love is quick-witted and resolute. A
+residence of six years in Germany had taught her to knit stockings at a
+rate that cannot be described, neither conceived unless seen. She knitted
+two dozen pairs. The vicar took one dozen, the doctor took the other. The
+fact soon became known. Shops were not numerous in the village in those
+days; and the wares they supplied were only second rate. Orders came
+pouring in, Mrs. Grumbit's knitting wires clicked, and her little old
+hands wagged with incomprehensible rapidity and unflagging
+regularity,--and Martin Rattler was sent to school.
+
+While occupied with her knitting, she sat in a high-backed chair in a
+very small deep window, through which the sun streamed nearly the whole
+day; and out of which there was the most charming imaginable view of the
+gardens and orchards of the villagers, with a little dancing brook in the
+midst, and the green fields of the farmers beyond, studded with sheep and
+cattle and knolls of woodland, and bounded in the far distance by the
+bright blue sea. It was a lovely scene, such an one as causes the eye to
+brighten and the heart to melt as we gaze upon it, and think, perchance,
+of its Creator.
+
+Yes, it was a scene worth looking at; but Mrs. Grumbit never looked at
+it, for the simple reason that she could not have seen it if she had.
+Half way across her own little parlour was the extent of her natural
+vision. By the aid of spectacles and a steady concentrated effort, she
+could see the fire-place at the other end of the room; and the portrait
+of her deceased husband, who had been a sea-captain; and the white kitten
+that usually sat on the rug before the fire. To be sure she saw them very
+indistinctly. The picture was a hazy blue patch, which was the captain's
+coat; with a white patch down the middle of it, which was his waistcoat;
+and a yellow ball on the top of it, which was his head. It was rather an
+indistinct and generalized view, no doubt; but she _saw_ it, and that was
+a great comfort.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+IN DISGRACE
+
+
+Fire was the cause of Martin's getting into disgrace at school for the
+first time; and this is how it happened.
+
+"Go and poke the fire, Martin Rattler," said the school-master, "and put
+on a bit of coal, and see that you don't send the sparks flying about
+the floor."
+
+Martin sprang with alacrity to obey; for he was standing up with the
+class at the time, and was glad of the temporary relaxation. He stirred
+the fire with great care, and put on several pieces of coal very slowly,
+and rearranged them two or three times; after which he stirred the fire a
+little more, and examined it carefully to see that it was all right; but
+he did not seem quite satisfied, and was proceeding to re-adjust the
+coals when Bob Croaker, one of the big boys, who was a bullying,
+ill-tempered fellow, and had a spite against Martin, called out,--
+
+"Please, sir, Rattler's playin' at the fire."
+
+"Come back to your place, sir!" cried the master, sternly.
+
+Martin returned in haste, and resumed his position in the class. As he
+did so he observed that his fore-finger was covered with soot.
+Immediately a smile of glee overspread his features; and, while the
+master was busy with one of the boys, he drew his black finger gently
+down the forehead and nose of the boy next to him.
+
+"What part of the earth was peopled by the descendants of Ham?" cried the
+master, pointing to the dux.
+
+"Shem!" shrieked a small boy near the foot of the class.
+
+"Silence!" thundered the master, with a frown that caused the small boy
+to quake down to the points of his toes.
+
+"Asia!" answered dux.
+
+"Next?"
+
+"Turkey!"
+
+"Next, next, next? Hallo! John Ward," cried the master, starting up in
+anger from his seat, "what do you mean by that, sir?"
+
+"What, sir?" said John Ward, tremulously, while a suppressed titter ran
+round the class.
+
+"Your face, sir! Who blacked your face, eh?"
+
+"I--I--don't know," said the boy, drawing his sleeve across his face,
+which had the effect of covering it with sooty streaks.
+
+An uncontrollable shout of laughter burst from the whole school, which
+was instantly followed by a silence so awful and profound that a pin
+might have been heard to fall.
+
+"Martin Rattler, you did that! I know you did,--I see the marks on your
+fingers. Come here, sir! Now tell me; _did_ you do it?"
+
+Martin Rattler never told falsehoods. His old aunt had laboured to
+impress upon him from infancy that to lie was to commit a sin which is
+abhorred by God and scorned by man; and her teaching had not been in
+vain. The child would have suffered any punishment rather than have told
+a deliberate lie. He looked straight in the master's face and said, "Yes,
+sir, I did it."
+
+"Very well, go to your seat, and remain in school during the play-hour."
+
+With a heavy heart Martin obeyed; and soon after the school was
+dismissed.
+
+"I say, Rattler," whispered Bob Croaker, as he passed, "I'm going to
+teach your white kitten to swim just now. Won't you come and see it?"
+
+The malicious laugh with which the boy accompanied this remark convinced
+Martin that he intended to put his threat in execution. For a moment he
+thought of rushing out after him to protect his pet kitten; but a glance
+at the stern brow of the master, as he sat at his desk reading,
+restrained him; so, crushing down his feelings of mingled fear and anger,
+he endeavoured to while away the time by watching the boys as they played
+in the fields before the windows of the school.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE GREAT FIGHT
+
+
+"Martin!" said the school-master, in a severe tone, looking up from the
+book with which he was engaged, "don't look out at the window, sir; turn
+your back to it."
+
+"Please, sir, I can't help it," replied the boy, trembling with eagerness
+as he stared across the fields.
+
+"Turn your back on it, I say!" reiterated the master in a loud tone, at
+the same time striking the desk violently with his cane.
+
+"Oh, sir, let me out! There's Bob Croaker with my kitten. He's going to
+drown it. I know he is,--he said he would; and if he does aunty will die,
+for she loves it next to me; and I _must_ save it, and--and, if you
+_don't_ let me out--you'll be a murderer!"
+
+At this concluding burst, Martin sprang forward and stood before his
+master with clenched fists and a face blazing with excitement. The
+schoolmaster's gaze of astonishment gradually gave place to a dark frown
+strangely mingled with a smile, and, when the boy concluded, he said
+quietly--"You may go."
+
+No second bidding was needed. The door flew open with a bang; and the
+gravel of the play-ground, spurned right and left, dashed against the
+window panes as Martin flew across it. The paling that fenced it off from
+the fields beyond was low, but too high for a jump. Never a boy in all
+the school had crossed that paling at a spring, without laying his hands
+upon it; but Martin did. We do not mean to say that he did anything
+superhuman; but he rushed at it like a charge of cavalry, sprang from the
+ground like a deer, kicked away the top bar, tumbled completely over,
+landed on his head, and rolled down the slope on the other side as fast
+as he could have run down,--perhaps faster.
+
+It would have required sharper eyes than yours or mine to have observed
+how Martin got on his legs again, but he did it in a twinkling, and was
+half across the field almost before you could wink, and panting on the
+heels of Bob Croaker. Bob saw him coming and instantly started off at a
+hard run, followed by the whole school. A few minutes brought them to the
+banks of the stream, where Bob Croaker halted, and, turning round, held
+the white kitten up by the nape of the neck.
+
+"O spare it! spare it, Bob!--don't do it--please don't, don't do it!"
+gasped Martin, as he strove in vain to run faster.
+
+"There you go!" shouted Bob, with a coarse laugh, sending the kitten high
+into the air, whence it fell with a loud splash into the water.
+
+It was a dreadful shock to feline nerves, no doubt, but that white kitten
+was no ordinary animal. Its little heart beat bravely when it rose to the
+surface, and, before its young master came up, it had regained the bank.
+But, alas! what a change! It went into the stream a fat, round,
+comfortable ball of eider-down. It came out--a scraggy blotch of white
+paint, with its black eyes glaring like two great glass beads! No sooner
+did it crawl out of the water than Bob Croaker seized it, and whirled it
+round his head, amid suppressed cries of "Shame!" intending to throw it
+in again; but at that instant Martin Rattler seized Bob by the collar of
+his coat with both hands, and, letting himself drop suddenly, dragged the
+cruel boy to the ground, while the kitten crept humbly away and hid
+itself in a thick tuft of grass.
+
+A moment sufficed to enable Bob Croaker, who was nearly twice Martin's
+weight, to free himself from the grasp of his panting antagonist, whom he
+threw on his back, and doubled his fist, intending to strike Martin on
+the face; but a general rush of the boys prevented this.
+
+"Shame, shame, fair play!" cried several; "don't hit him when he's down!"
+
+"Then let him rise up and come on!" cried Bob, fiercely, as he sprang up
+and released Martin.
+
+"Ay, that's fair. Now then, Martin, remember the kitten!"
+
+"Strike men of your own size!" cried several of the bigger boys, as they
+interposed to prevent Martin from rushing into the unequal contest.
+
+"So I will," cried Bob Croaker, glaring round with passion. "Come on any
+of you that likes. I don't care a button for the biggest of you."
+
+No one accepted this challenge, for Bob was the oldest and the strongest
+boy in the school, although, as is usually the case with bullies, by no
+means the bravest.
+
+Seeing that no one intended to fight with him, and that a crowd of boys
+strove to hold Martin Rattler back, while they assured him that he had
+not the smallest chance in the world, Bob turned towards the kitten,
+which was quietly and busily employed in licking itself dry, and said,
+"Now, Martin, you coward, I'll give it another swim for your impudence."
+
+"Stop, stop!" cried Martin earnestly. "Bob Croaker, I would rather do
+anything than fight. I would give you everything I have to save my
+kitten; but if you won't spare it unless I fight, I'll do it. If you
+throw it in before you fight me, you're the greatest coward that ever
+walked. Just give me five minutes to breathe and a drink of water, and
+I'll fight you as long as I can stand."
+
+Bob looked at his little foe in surprise. "Well, that's fair. I'm your
+man; but if you don't lick me I'll drown the kitten, that's all." Having
+said this, he quietly divested himself of his jacket and neckcloth, while
+several boys assisted Martin to do the same, and brought him a draught of
+water in the crown of one of their caps. In five minutes all was ready,
+and the two boys stood face to face and foot to foot, with their fists
+doubled and revolving, and a ring of boys around them.
+
+Just at this moment the kitten, having found the process of licking
+itself dry more fatiguing than it had expected, gave vent to a faint mew
+of distress. It was all that was wanting to set Martin's indignant heart
+into a blaze of inexpressible fury. Bob Croaker's visage instantly
+received a shower of sharp, stinging blows, that had the double effect of
+taking that youth by surprise and throwing him down upon the green sward.
+But Martin could not hope to do this a second time. Bob now knew the
+vigour of his assailant, and braced himself warily to the combat,
+commencing operations by giving Martin a tremendous blow on the point of
+his nose, and another on the chest. These had the effect of tempering
+Martin's rage with a salutary degree of caution, and of eliciting from
+the spectators sundry cries of warning on the one hand, and admiration on
+the other, while the young champions revolved warily round each other,
+and panted vehemently.
+
+The battle that was fought that day was one of a thousand. It created as
+great a sensation in the village school as did the battle of Waterloo in
+England. It was a notable fight; such as had not taken place within the
+memory of the oldest boy in the village, and from which, in after years,
+events of juvenile history were dated,--especially pugilistic events, of
+which, when a good one came off, it used to be said that "such a battle
+had not taken place since the year of the _Great Fight_" Bob Croaker was
+a noted fighter. Martin Rattler was, up to this date, an untried hero.
+Although fond of rough play and boisterous mischief, he had an
+unconquerable aversion to _earnest_ fighting, and very rarely indeed
+returned home with a black eye,--much to the satisfaction of Aunt Dorothy
+Grumbit, who objected to all fighting from principle, and frequently
+asserted, in gentle tones, that there should be no soldiers or sailors
+(fighting sailors, she meant) at all, but that people ought all to settle
+everything the best way they could without fighting, and live peaceably
+with one another, as the Bible told them to do. They would be far happier
+and better off, she was sure of that; and if everybody was of her way of
+thinking, there would be neither swords, nor guns, nor pistols, nor
+squibs, nor anything else at all! Dear old lady. It would indeed be a
+blessing if her principles could be carried out in this warring and
+jarring world. But as this is rather difficult, what we ought to be
+careful about is, that we never fight except in a good cause and with a
+clear conscience.
+
+It was well for Martin Rattler, on that great day, that the formation of
+the ground favoured him. The spot on which the fight took place was
+uneven, and covered with little hillocks and hollows, over which Bob
+Croaker stumbled, and into which he fell,--being a clumsy boy on his
+legs,--and did himself considerable damage; while Martin, who was firmly
+knit and active as a kitten, scarcely ever fell, or, if he did, sprang up
+again like an India-rubber ball. Fair-play was embedded deep in the
+centre of Martin's heart, so that he scorned to hit his adversary when he
+was down or in the act of rising; but the thought of the fate that
+awaited the white kitten if he were conquered, acted like lightning in
+his veins, and scarcely had Bob time to double his fists after a fall,
+when he was knocked back again into the hollow out of which he had risen.
+There were no _rounds_ in this fight,--no pausing to recover breath.
+Martin's anger rose with every blow, whether given or received; and
+although he was knocked down flat four or five times, he rose again, and,
+without a second's delay, rushed headlong at his enemy. Feeling that he
+was too little and light to make much impression on Bob Croaker by means
+of mere blows, he endeavoured as much as possible to throw his weight
+against him at each assault; but Bob stood his ground well, and after a
+time seemed even to be recovering strength a little.
+
+Suddenly he made a rush at Martin, and, dealing him a successful blow on
+the forehead, knocked him down; at the same time he himself tripped over
+a molehill and fell upon his face. Both were on their legs in an instant.
+Martin grew desperate. The white kitten swimming for its life seemed to
+rise before him, and new energy was infused into his frame. He retreated
+a step or two, and then darted forward like an arrow from a bow. Uttering
+a loud cry, he sprang completely in the air and plunged--head and fists
+together, as if he were taking a dive--into Bob Croaker's bosom! The
+effect was tremendous. Bob went down like a shock of grain before the
+sickle; and having, in their prolonged movements, approached close to the
+brink of the stream, both he and Martin went with a sounding splash into
+the deep pool and disappeared. It was but for a moment, however, Martin's
+head emerged first, with eyes and mouth distended to the utmost.
+Instantly, on finding bottom, he turned to deal his opponent another
+blow; but it was not needed. When Bob Croaker's head rose to the surface
+there was no motion in the features, and the eyes were closed. The
+intended blow was changed into a friendly grasp; and, exerting himself to
+the utmost, Martin dragged his insensible school-fellow to the bank,
+where, in a few minutes, he recovered sufficiently to declare in a sulky
+tone that he would fight no more!
+
+"Bob Croaker," said Martin, holding out his hand, "I'm sorry we've had to
+fight. I wouldn't have done it, but to save my kitten. You compelled me
+to do it, you know that. Come, let's be friends again."
+
+Bob made no reply, but slowly and with some difficulty put on his vest
+and jacket.
+
+"I'm sure," continued Martin, "there's no reason in bearing me ill-will.
+I've done nothing unfair, and I'm very sorry we've had to fight. Won't
+you shake hands?"
+
+Bob was silent.
+
+"Come, come, Bob!" cried several of the bigger boys, "don't be sulky,
+man; shake hands and be friends. Martin has licked you this time, and
+you'll lick him next time, no doubt, and that's all about it."
+
+"Arrah, then, ye're out there, intirely. Bob Croaker'll niver lick Martin
+Rattler though he wos to live to the age of the great M'Thuselah!'" said
+a deep-toned voice close to the spot where the fight had taken place.
+
+All eyes were instantly turned in the direction whence it proceeded, and
+the boys now became aware, for the first time, that the combat had been
+witnessed by a sailor, who, with a smile of approval beaming on his
+good-humoured countenance, sat under the shade of a neighbouring tree
+smoking a pipe of that excessive shortness and blackness that seems to be
+peculiarly beloved by Irishmen in the humbler ranks of life. The man was
+very tall and broad-shouldered, and carried himself with a free-and-easy
+swagger, as he rose and approached the group of boys.
+
+"He'll niver bate ye, Martin, avic, as long as there's two timbers of ye
+houldin' togither."
+
+The seaman patted Martin on the head as he spoke; and, turning to Bob
+Croaker, continued: "Ye ought to be proud, ye spalpeen, o' bein' wopped
+by sich a young hero as this. Come here and shake hands with him: d'ye
+hear? Troth an' it's besmearin' ye with too much honour that same. There,
+that'll do. Don't say ye're sorry now, for it's lies ye'd be tellin' if
+ye did. Come along, Martin, an' I'll convarse with ye as ye go home.
+Ye'll be a man yet, as sure as my name is Barney O'Flannagan."
+
+Martin took the white kitten in his arms and thrust its wet little body
+into his equally wet bosom, where the warmth began soon to exercise a
+soothing influence on the kitten's depressed spirits, so that, ere long,
+it began to purr. He then walked with the sailor towards the village,
+with his face black and blue, and swelled and covered with blood, while
+Bob Croaker and his companions returned to the school.
+
+The distance to Martin's residence was not great, but it was sufficient
+to enable the voluble Irishman to recount a series of the most wonderful
+adventures and stories of foreign lands, that set Martin's heart on fire
+with desire to go to sea,--a desire which was by no means new to him, and
+which recurred violently every time he paid a visit to the small sea-port
+of Bilton, which lay about five miles to the southward of his native
+village. Moreover, Barney suggested that it was time Martin should be
+doing for himself (he was now ten years old), and said that if he would
+join his ship, he could get him a berth, for he was much in want of an
+active lad to help him with the coppers. But Martin Rattler sighed
+deeply, and said that, although his heart was set upon going to sea, he
+did not see how it was to be managed, for his aunt would not let him go.
+
+Before they separated, however, it was arranged that Martin should pay
+the sailor's ship a visit, when he would hear a good deal more about
+foreign lands; and that, in the meantime, he should make another attempt
+to induce Aunt Dorothy Grumbit to give her consent to his going to sea.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+A LESSON TO ALL STOCKING-KNITTERS--MARTIN'S PROSPECTS BEGIN TO OPEN UP
+
+
+In the small sea-port of Bilton, before mentioned, there dwelt an old and
+wealthy merchant and ship-owner, who devoted a small portion of his time
+to business, and a very large portion of it to what is usually termed
+"doing good," This old gentleman was short, and stout, and rosy, and
+bald, and active, and sharp as a needle.
+
+In the short time that Mr. Arthur Jollyboy devoted to business, he
+accomplished as much as most men do in the course of a long day. There
+was not a benevolent society in the town, of which Arthur Jollyboy,
+Esquire, of the Old Hulk (as he styled his cottage), was not a member,
+director, secretary, and treasurer, all in one, and all at once! If it
+had been possible for man to be ubiquitous, Mr. Jollyboy would have been
+so naturally; or, if not naturally, he would have made himself so by
+force of will. Yet he made no talk about it. His step was quiet, though
+quick; and his voice was gentle, though rapid; and he was chiefly famous
+for _talking_ little and _doing_ much.
+
+Some time after the opening of our tale, Mr. Jollyboy had received
+information of Mrs. Grumbit's stocking movement. That same afternoon he
+put on his broad-brimmed white hat, and, walking out to the village in
+which she lived, called upon the vicar, who was a particular and intimate
+friend of his. Having ascertained from the vicar that Mrs. Grumbit would
+not accept of charity, he said abruptly,--
+
+"And why not,--is she too proud?"
+
+"By no means," replied the vicar. "She says that she would think shame to
+take money from friends as long as she can work, because every penny that
+she would thus get would be so much less to go to the helpless poor; of
+whom, she says, with much truth, there are enough and to spare. And I
+quite agree with her as regards her principle; but it does not apply
+fully to her, for she cannot work so as to procure a sufficient
+livelihood without injury to her health."
+
+"Is she clever?" inquired Mr. Jollyboy.
+
+"Why, no, not particularly. In fact, she does not often exert her
+reasoning faculties, except in the common-place matters of ordinary and
+every-day routine."
+
+"Then she's cleverer than most people," said Mr. Jollyboy, shortly. "Is
+she obstinate?"
+
+"No, not in the least," returned the vicar with a puzzled smile.
+
+"Ah, well, good-bye, good-bye; that's all I want to know."
+
+Mr. Jollyboy rose, and hurrying through the village, tapped at the
+cottage door, and was soon closeted with Mrs. Dorothy Grumbit. In the
+course of half an hour, Mr. Jollyboy drew from Mrs. Grumbit as much about
+her private affairs as he could, without appearing rude. But he found the
+old lady very close and sensitive on that point. Not so, however, when he
+got her upon the subject of her nephew. She had enough, and more than
+enough, to say about him. It is true she began by remarking, sadly, that
+he was a very bad boy; but, as she continued to talk about him, she
+somehow or other gave her visitor the impression that he was a very
+_good_ boy! They had a wonderfully long and confidential talk about
+Martin, during which Mr. Jollyboy struck Mrs. Grumbit nearly dumb with
+horror by stating positively what he would do for the boy,--he would send
+him to sea! Then, seeing that he had hit the wrongest possible nail on
+the head, he said that he would make the lad a clerk in his office, where
+he would be sure to rise to a place of trust; whereat Mrs. Grumbit
+danced, if we may so speak, into herself for joy.
+
+"And now, ma'am, about these stockings. I want two thousand pairs as soon
+as I can get them!"
+
+"Sir?" said Mrs. Grumbit.
+
+"Of course, not for my own use, ma'am; nor for the use of my family, for
+I have no family; and if I had, that would be an unnecessarily large
+supply. The fact is, Mrs. Grumbit, I am a merchant, and I send very large
+supplies of home-made articles to foreign lands, and two thousand pairs
+of socks are a mere driblet. Of course I do not expect you to make them
+all for me, but I wish you to make as many pairs as you can."
+
+"I shall be very happy--" began Mrs. Grumbit.
+
+"But, Mrs. Grumbit, there is a peculiar formation which I require in my
+socks that will give you extra trouble, I fear; but I must have it,
+whatever the additional expense may be. What is your charge for the pair
+you are now making?"
+
+"Three shillings," said Mrs. Grumbit.
+
+"Ah! very good. Now, take up the wires if you please, ma'am, and do what
+I tell you. Now, drop that stitch,--good; and take up this one,--capital;
+and pull this one across that way,--so; and that one across this
+way,--exactly. Now, what is the result?"
+
+The result was a complicated knot; and Mrs. Grumbit, after staring a few
+seconds at the old gentleman in surprise, said so, and begged to know
+what use it was of.
+
+"Oh, never mind, never mind. We merchants have strange fancies, and
+foreigners have curious tastes now and then. Please to make all my
+socks with a hitch like that in them all round, just above the ankle.
+It will form an ornamental ring. I'm sorry to put you to the trouble,
+but of course I pay extra for fancy-work. Will six shillings a pair do
+for these?"
+
+"My dear sir," said Mrs. Grumbit, "it is no additional--"
+
+"Well, well, never mind," said Mr. Jollyboy. "Two thousand pairs,
+remember, as soon as possible,--close knitted, plain stitch, rather
+coarse worsted; and don't forget the hitch, Mrs. Grumbit, don't forget
+the hitch."
+
+Ah! reader, there are many Mrs. Grumbits in this world, requiring
+_hitches_ to be made in their stockings!
+
+At this moment the door burst open. Mrs. Dorothy Grumbit uttered a
+piercing scream, Mr. Jollyboy dropped his spectacles and sat down on
+his hat, and Martin Rattler stood before them with the white kitten
+in his arms.
+
+For a few seconds there was a dead silence, while an expression of
+puzzled disappointment passed over Mr. Jollyboy's ruddy countenance. At
+last he said,--
+
+"Is this, madam, the nephew who, you told me a little ago, is not
+addicted to fighting?"
+
+"Yes," answered the old lady faintly, and covering her eyes with her
+hands, "that is Martin."
+
+"If my aunt told you that, sir, she told you the truth," said Martin,
+setting down the blood-stained white kitten, which forthwith began to
+stretch its limbs and lick itself dry. "I don't ever fight if I can help
+it, but I couldn't help it to-day."
+
+With a great deal of energy, and a revival of much of his former
+indignation, when he spoke of the kitten's sufferings, Martin recounted
+all the circumstances of the fight; during the recital of which Mrs.
+Dorothy Grumbit took his hand in hers and patted it, gazing the while
+into his swelled visage, and weeping plentifully, but very silently. When
+he had finished, Mr. Jollyboy shook hands with him, and said he was a
+trump, at the same time recommending him to go and wash his face. Then he
+whispered a few words in Mrs. Grumbit's ear, which seemed to give that
+excellent lady much pleasure; after which he endeavoured to straighten
+his crushed hat; in which attempt he failed, took his leave, promised to
+call again very soon, and went back to the Old Hulk--chuckling.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+MARTIN, BEING WILLING TO GO TO SEA, GOES TO SEA AGAINST HIS WILL
+
+
+Four years rolled away, casting chequered light and shadow over the
+little village of Ashford in their silent passage,--whitening the
+forelocks of the aged, and strengthening the muscles of the young. Death,
+too, touched a hearth here and there, and carried desolation to a home;
+for four years cannot wing their flight without enforcing on us the
+lesson--which we are so often taught, and yet take so long to learn--that
+this is not our rest,--that here we have no abiding city. Did we but
+ponder this lesson more frequently and earnestly, instead of making us
+sad, it would nerve our hearts and hands to fight and work more
+diligently,--to work in the cause of our Redeemer,--the only cause that
+is worth the life-long energy of immortal beings,--the great cause that
+includes all others; and it would teach us to remember that our little
+day of opportunity will soon be spent, and that the night is at hand in
+which no man can work.
+
+Four years rolled away, and during this time Martin, having failed to
+obtain his aunt's consent to his going to sea, continued at school, doing
+his best to curb the roving spirit that strove within him. Martin was not
+particularly bright at the dead languages; to the rules of grammar he
+entertained a rooted aversion; and at history he was inclined to yawn,
+except when it happened to touch upon the names and deeds of such men as
+Vasco di Gama and Columbus. But in geography he was perfect; and in
+arithmetic and book-keeping he was quite a proficient, to the delight of
+Mrs. Dorothy Grumbit, whose household books he summed up; and to the
+satisfaction of his fast friend, Mr. Arthur Jollyboy, whose ledgers he
+was--in that old gentleman's secret resolves--destined to keep.
+
+Martin was now fourteen, broad and strong, and tall for his age. He was
+the idol of the school,--dashing, daring, reckless, and good-natured.
+There was almost nothing that he would not attempt, and there were very
+few things that he could not do. He never fought, however--from
+principle; and his strength and size often saved him from the necessity.
+But he often prevented other boys from fighting, except when he thought
+there was good reason for it; then he stood by and saw fair play. There
+was a strange mixture of philosophical gravity, too, in Martin. As he
+grew older he became more enthusiastic and less boisterous.
+
+Bob Croaker was still at the school, and was, from prudential motives, a
+fast friend of Martin. But he bore him a secret grudge, for he could not
+forget the great fight.
+
+One day Bob took Martin by the arm, and said, "I say, Rattler, come with
+me to Bilton, and have some fun among the shipping."
+
+"Well, I don't mind if I do," said Martin. "I'm just in the mood for a
+ramble, and I'm not expected home till bed-time."
+
+In little more than an hour the two boys were wandering about the
+dock-yards of the sea-port town, and deeply engaged in examining the
+complicated rigging of the ships. While thus occupied, the clanking of a
+windlass and the merry "Yo heave O! and away she goes," of the sailors,
+attracted their attention.
+
+"Hallo! there goes the _Firefly_, bound for the South Seas," cried Bob
+Croaker; "come, let's see her start. I say, Martin, isn't your friend,
+Barney O'Flannagan, on board?"
+
+"Yes, he is. He tries to get me to go out every voyage, and I wish I
+could. Come quickly; I want to say good-bye to him before he starts."
+
+"Why don't you run away, Rattler?" inquired Bob, as they hurried round
+the docks to where the vessel was warping out.
+
+"Because I don't need to. My aunt has given me leave to go if I like; but
+she says it would break her heart if I do; and I would rather be screwed
+down to a desk for ever than do that, Bob Croaker."
+
+The vessel, upon the deck of which the two boys now leaped, was a large,
+heavy-built barque. Her sails were hanging loose, and the captain was
+giving orders to the men, who had their attention divided between their
+duties on board and their mothers, wives, and sisters, who still lingered
+to take a last farewell.
+
+"Now, then, those who don't want to go to sea had better go ashore,"
+roared the captain.
+
+There was an immediate rush to the side.
+
+"I say, Martin," whispered Barney, as he hurried past, "jump down below
+for'ard; you can go out o' the harbour mouth with us and get ashore in
+one o' the shore-boats alongside. They'll not cast off till we're well
+out. I want to speak to you--"
+
+"Man the fore top-sail halyards," shouted the first mate.
+
+"Ay ay, sir-r-r," and the men sprang to obey. Just then the ship
+touched on the bar at the mouth of the harbour, and in another moment
+she was aground.
+
+"There, now, she's hard and fast!" roared the captain, as he stormed
+about the deck in a paroxysm of rage. But man's rage could avail nothing.
+They had missed the passage by a few feet, and now they had to wait the
+fall and rise again of the tide ere they could hope to get off.
+
+In the confusion that followed, Bob Croaker suggested that Martin and he
+should take one of the punts, or small boats which hovered round the
+vessel, and put out to sea, where they might spend the day pleasantly in
+rowing and fishing.
+
+"Capital!" exclaimed Martin. "Let's go at once. Yonder's a little fellow
+who will let us have his punt for a few pence. I know him. Hallo, Tom!"
+
+"Ay, ay," squeaked a boy who was so small that he could scarcely lift the
+oar, light though it was, with which he sculled his punt cleverly along.
+
+"Shove alongside, like a good fellow; we want your boat for a little to
+row out a bit."
+
+"It's a-blowin' too hard," squeaked the small boy, as he ranged
+alongside. "I'm afeared you'll be blowed out."
+
+"Nonsense!" cried Bob Croaker, grasping the rope which the boy threw to
+him. "Jump on board, younker; we don't want you to help us, and you're
+too heavy for ballast. Slip down the side, Martin, and get in while I
+hold on to the rope. All right? now I'll follow. Here, shrimp, hold the
+rope till I'm in, and then cast off. Look alive!"
+
+As Bob spoke, he handed the rope to the little boy; but, in doing so, let
+it accidentally slip out of his hand.
+
+"Catch hold o' the main chains, Martin,--quick!"
+
+But Martin was too late. The current that swept out of the harbour
+whirled the light punt away from the ship's side, and carried it out
+seaward. Martin instantly sprang to the oar, and turned the boat's head
+round. He was a stout and expert rower, and would soon have regained the
+ship; but the wind increased at the moment, and blew in a squall off
+shore, which carried him further out despite his utmost efforts. Seeing
+that all further attempts were useless, Martin stood up and waved his
+hand to Bob Croaker, shouting as he did so, "Never mind, Bob, I'll make
+for the South Point. Run round and meet me, and we'll row back together."
+
+The South Point was a low cape of land which stretched a considerable
+distance out to sea, about three miles to the southward of Bilton
+harbour. It formed a large bay, across which, in ordinary weather, a
+small boat might be rowed in safety. Martin Rattler was well known at the
+sea-port as a strong and fearless boy, so that no apprehension was
+entertained for his safety by those who saw him blown away. Bob Croaker
+immediately started for the Point on foot, a distance of about four miles
+by land; and the crew of the _Firefly_ were so busied with their stranded
+vessel that they took no notice of the doings of the boys.
+
+But the weather now became more and more stormy. Thick clouds gathered on
+the horizon. The wind began to blow with steady violence, and shifted a
+couple of points to the southward; so that Martin found it impossible to
+keep straight for the Point. Still he worked perseveringly at his single
+oar, and sculled rapidly over the sea; but, as he approached the Point,
+he soon perceived that no effort of which he was capable could enable him
+to gain it. But Martin's heart was stout. He strove with all the energy
+of hope, until the Point was passed; and then, turning the head of his
+little boat towards it, he strove with all the energy of despair, until
+he fell down exhausted. The wind and tide swept him rapidly out to sea;
+and when his terrified comrade reached the Point, the little boat was but
+a speck on the seaward horizon.
+
+Well was it then for Martin Rattler that a friendly heart beat for him on
+board the _Firefly_, Bob Croaker carried the news to the town; but no one
+was found daring enough to risk his life out in a boat on that stormy
+evening. The little punt had been long out of sight ere the news reached
+them, and the wind had increased to a gale. But Barney O'Flannagan
+questioned Bob Croaker closely, and took particular note of the point of
+the compass at which Martin had disappeared; and when the _Firefly_ at
+length got under weigh, he climbed to the fore-top cross-trees, and stood
+there scanning the horizon with an anxious eye.
+
+It was getting dark, and a feeling of despair began to creep over
+the seaman's heart as he gazed round the wide expanse of water, on
+which nothing was to be seen except the white foam that crested the
+rising billows.
+
+"Starboard, hard!" he shouted suddenly.
+
+"Starboard it is!" replied the man at the wheel, with prompt obedience.
+
+In another moment Barney slid down the back-stay and stood on the deck,
+while the ship rounded to and narrowly missed striking a small boat that
+floated keel up on the water. There was no cry from the boat; and it
+might have been passed as a mere wreck, had not the lynx eye of Barney
+noticed a dark object clinging to it.
+
+"Lower away a boat, lads," cried the Irishman, springing overboard;
+and the words had scarcely passed his lips when the water closed
+over his head.
+
+The _Firefly_ was hove to, a boat was lowered and rowed towards Barney,
+whose strong voice guided his shipmates towards him. In less than a
+quarter of an hour the bold sailor and his young friend Martin Rattler
+were safe on board, and the ship's head was again turned out to sea.
+
+It was full half an hour before Martin was restored to consciousness in
+the forecastle, to which his deliverer had conveyed him.
+
+"Musha, lad, but ye're booked for the blue wather now, an' no mistake!"
+said Barney, looking with an expression of deep sympathy at the poor boy,
+who sat staring before him quite speechless. "The capting'll not let ye
+out o' this ship till ye git to the gould coast, or some sich place. He
+couldn't turn back av he wanted iver so much; but he doesn't want to, for
+he needs a smart lad like you, an' he'll keep you now, for sartin."
+
+Barney sat down by Martin's side and stroked his fair curls, as he sought
+in his own quaint fashion to console him. But in vain. Martin grew quite
+desperate as he thought of the misery into which poor Aunt Dorothy
+Grumbit would be plunged, on learning that he had been swept out to sea
+in a little boat, and drowned, as she would naturally suppose. In his
+frenzy he entreated and implored the captain to send him back in the
+boat, and even threatened to knock out his brains with a handspike if he
+did not; but the captain smiled and told him that it was his own fault.
+He had no business to be putting to sea in a small boat in rough weather,
+and he might be thankful he wasn't drowned. He wouldn't turn back now for
+fifty pounds twice told.
+
+At length Martin became convinced that all hope of returning home was
+gone. He went quietly below, threw himself into one of the sailor's
+berths, turned his face to the wall, and wept long and bitterly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE VOYAGE, A PIRATE, CHASE, WRECK, AND ESCAPE
+
+
+Time reconciles a man to almost anything. In the course of time Martin
+Rattler became reconciled to his fate, and went about the ordinary duties
+of a cabin-boy on board the _Firefly_ just as if he had been appointed to
+that office in the ordinary way,--with the consent of the owners and by
+the advice of his friends. The captain, Skinflint by name, and as surly
+an old fellow as ever walked a quarter-deck, agreed to pay him wages "if
+he behaved well." The steward, under whose immediate authority he was
+placed, turned out to be a hearty, good-natured young fellow, and was
+very kind to him. But Martin's great friend was Barney O'Flannagan, the
+cook, with whom he spent many an hour in the night watches, talking over
+plans, and prospects, and retrospects, and foreign lands.
+
+As Martin had no clothes except those on his back, which fortunately
+happened to be new and good, Barney gave him a couple of blue striped
+shirts, and made him a jacket, pantaloons, and slippers of canvas; and,
+what was of much greater importance, taught him how to make and mend the
+same for himself.
+
+"Ye see, Martin, lad," he said, while thus employed one day, many weeks
+after leaving port, "it's a great thing, intirely, to be able to help
+yerself. For my part, I niver travel without my work-box in my pocket."
+
+"Your work-box!" said Martin, laughing.
+
+"Jist so. An' it consists of wan sail-maker's needle, a ball o' twine,
+and a clasp-knife. Set me down with these before a roll o' canvas and
+I'll make you a'most anything."
+
+"You seem to have a turn for everything, Barney," said Martin. "How came
+you to be a cook?"
+
+"That's more nor I can tell ye, lad. As far as I remimber, I began with
+murphies, when I was two feet high, in my father's cabin in ould Ireland.
+But that was on my own account intirely, and not as a purfession; and a
+sorrowful time I had of it, too, for I was for iver burnin' my fingers
+promiskiously, and fallin' into the fire ivery day more or less--"
+
+"Stand by to hoist top-gallant-sails," shouted the captain. "How's
+her head?"
+
+"South and by east, sir," answered the man at the wheel.
+
+"Keep her away two points. Look alive lads. Hand me the glass, Martin."
+
+The ship was close hauled when these abrupt orders were given, battling
+in the teeth of a stiff breeze, off the coast of South America. About
+this time, several piratical vessels had succeeded in cutting off a
+number of merchantmen near the coast of Brazil. They had not only taken
+the valuable parts of their cargoes, but had murdered the crews under
+circumstances of great cruelty; and ships trading to these regions were,
+consequently, exceedingly careful to avoid all suspicious craft as much
+as possible. It was, therefore, with some anxiety that the men watched
+the captain's face as he examined the strange sail through the telescope.
+
+"A Spanish schooner," muttered the captain, as he shut up the glass with
+a bang. "I won't trust her. Up with the royals and rig out stun'-sails,
+Mr. Wilson, (to the mate). Let her fall away, keep her head nor'-west,
+d'ye hear?"
+
+"Ay, ay, sir."
+
+"Let go the lee braces and square the yards. Look sharp, now, lads. If
+that blackguard gets hold of us ye'll have to walk the plank, every
+man of ye."
+
+In a few minutes the ship's course was completely altered; a cloud of
+canvas spread out from the yards, and the _Firefly_ bounded on her course
+like a fresh race-horse. But it soon became evident that the heavy barque
+was no match for the schooner, which crowded sail and bore down at a rate
+that bade fair to overhaul them in a few hours. The chase continued till
+evening, when suddenly the look-out at the mast-head shouted, "Land, ho!"
+
+"Where away?" cried the captain.
+
+"Right ahead," sang out the man.
+
+"I'll run her ashore sooner than be taken," muttered the captain, with an
+angry scowl at the schooner, which was now almost within range on the
+weather quarter, with the dreaded black flag flying at her peak. In a few
+minutes breakers were descried ahead.
+
+"D'ye see anything like a passage?" shouted the captain.
+
+"Yes, sir; two points on the weather bow."
+
+At this moment a white cloud burst from the schooner's bow, and a shot,
+evidently from a heavy gun, came ricochetting over the sea. It was well
+aimed, for it cut right through the barque's main-mast, just below the
+yard, and brought the main-top-mast, with all the yards, sails, and
+gearing above it, down upon the deck. The weight of the wreck, also,
+carried away the fore-top-mast, and, in a single instant, the _Firefly_
+was completely disabled.
+
+"Lower away the boats," cried the captain; "look alive, now; we'll give
+them the slip yet. It'll be dark in two minutes."
+
+The captain was right. In tropical regions there is little or no
+twilight. Night succeeds day almost instantaneously. Before the boats
+were lowered and the men embarked it was becoming quite dark. The
+schooner observed the movement, however, and, as she did not dare to
+venture through the reef in the dark, her boats were also lowered and the
+chase was recommenced.
+
+The reef was passed in safety, and now a hard struggle took place, for
+the shore was still far distant. As it chanced to be cloudy weather the
+darkness became intense, and progress could only be guessed at by the
+sound of the oars; but these soon told too plainly that the boats of the
+schooner were overtaking those of the barque.
+
+"Pull with a will, lads," cried the captain; "we can't be more than half
+a mile from shore; give way, my hearties."
+
+"Surely, captain, we can fight them, we've most of us got pistols and
+cutlasses," said one of the men in a sulky tone.
+
+"Fight them!" cried the captain, "they're four times our number, and
+every man armed to the teeth. If ye don't fancy walking the plank or
+dancing on nothing at the yard-arm, ye'd better pull away and hold
+your jaw."
+
+By this time they could just see the schooner's boats in the dim light,
+about half-musket range astern.
+
+"Back you' oars," shouted a stern voice in broken English, "or I blow you
+out de watter in one oder moment,--black-yards!"
+
+This order was enforced by a musket shot, which whizzed over the boat
+within an inch of the captain's head. The men ceased rowing and the boats
+of the pirate ranged close up.
+
+"Now then, Martin," whispered Barney O'Flannagan, who sat at the bow oar,
+"I'm goin' to swim ashore; jist you slip arter me as quiet as ye can."
+
+"But the sharks!" suggested Martin.
+
+"Bad luck to them," said Barney as he slipped over the side, "they're
+welcome to me. Til take my chance. They'll find me mortial tough, anyhow.
+Come along, lad, look sharp!"
+
+Without a moment's hesitation Martin slid over the gunwale into the sea,
+and, just as the pirate boats grappled with those of the barque, he and
+Barney found themselves gliding as silently as otters towards the shore.
+So quietly had the manoeuvre been accomplished, that the men in their own
+boat were ignorant of their absence. In a few minutes they were beyond
+the chance of detection.
+
+"Keep close to me, lad," whispered the Irishman. "If we separate in the
+darkness we'll niver forgather again. Catch hould o; my shoulder if ye
+get blowed, and splutter as much as ye like. They can't hear us now, and
+it'll help to frighten the sharks."
+
+"All right," replied Martin; "I can swim like a cork in such warm water
+as this. Just go a little slower and I'll do famously."
+
+Thus encouraging each other, and keeping close together, lest they should
+get separated in the thick darkness of the night, the two friends struck
+out bravely for the shore.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+MARTIN AND BARNEY GET LOST IN A GREAT FOREST, WHERE THEY SEE STRANGE AND
+TERRIBLE THINGS
+
+
+On gaining the beach, the first thing that Barney did, after shaking
+himself like a huge Newfoundland dog, was to ascertain that his pistol
+and cutlass were safe; for, although the former could be of no use in its
+present condition, still, as he sagaciously remarked, "it was a good
+thing to have, for they might chance to git powder wan day or other, and
+the flint would make fire, anyhow." Fortunately the weather was extremely
+warm; so they were enabled to take off and wring their clothes without
+much inconvenience, except that in a short time a few adventurous
+mosquitoes--probably sea-faring ones--came down out of the woods and
+attacked their bare bodies so vigorously that they were fain to hurry on
+their clothes again before they were quite dry.
+
+The clouds began to clear away soon after they landed, and the brilliant
+light of the southern constellations revealed to them dimly the
+appearance of the coast. It was a low sandy beach skirting the sea and
+extending back for about a quarter of a mile in the form of a grassy
+plain, dotted here and there with scrubby underwood. Beyond this was a
+dark line of forest. The light was not sufficient to enable them to
+ascertain the appearance of the interior. Barney and Martin now cast
+about in their minds how they were to spend the night.
+
+"Ye see," said the Irishman, "it's of no use goin' to look for houses,
+because there's maybe none at all on this coast; an' there's no sayin'
+but we may fall in with savages--for them parts swarms with them; so we'd
+better go into the woods an'--"
+
+Barney was interrupted here by a low howl, which proceeded from the woods
+referred to, and was most unlike any cry they had ever heard before.
+
+"Och, but I'll think better of it. P'raps it'll be as well _not_ to go
+into the woods, but to camp where we are."
+
+"I think so too," said Martin, searching about for small twigs and
+drift-wood with which to make a fire. "There is no saying what sort of
+wild beasts may be in the forest, so we had better wait till daylight."
+
+A fire was quickly lighted by means of the pistol-flint and a little dry
+grass, which, when well bruised and put into the pan, caught a spark
+after one or two attempts, and was soon blown into a flame. But no wood
+large enough to keep the fire burning for any length of time could be
+found; so Barney said he would go up to the forest and fetch some. "I'll
+lave my shoes and socks, Martin, to dry at the fire. See ye don't let
+them burn."
+
+Traversing the meadow with hasty strides, the bold sailor quickly reached
+the edge of the forest, where he began to lop off several dead branches
+from the trees with his cutlass. While thus engaged the howl which had
+formerly startled him was repeated. "Av I only knowed what ye was,"
+muttered Barney in a serious tone, "it would be some sort o' comfort."
+
+A loud cry of a different kind here interrupted his soliloquy, and soon
+after the first cry was repeated louder than before.
+
+Clenching his teeth and knitting his brows the perplexed Irishman resumed
+his work with a desperate resolve not to be again interrupted. But he had
+miscalculated the strength of his nerves. Albeit as brave a man as ever
+stepped, when his enemy was before him, Barney was, nevertheless,
+strongly imbued with superstitious feelings; and the conflict between his
+physical courage and his mental cowardice produced a species of wild
+exasperation, which, he often asserted, was very hard to bear. Scarcely
+had he resumed his work when a bat of enormous size brushed past his nose
+so noiselessly that it seemed more like a phantom than a reality. Barney
+had never seen anything of the sort before, and a cold perspiration broke
+out upon him, when he fancied it might be a ghost. Again the bat swept
+past close to his eyes.
+
+"Musha, but I'll kill ye, ghost or no ghost," he ejaculated, gazing all
+round into the gloomy depths of the woods with his cutlass uplifted.
+Instead of flying again in front of him, as he had expected, the bat flew
+with a whirring noise past his ear. Down came the cutlass with a sudden
+thwack, cutting deep into the trunk of a small tree, which trembled under
+the shock and sent a shower of ripe nuts of a large size down upon the
+sailor's head. Startled as he was, he sprang backward with a wild cry;
+then, half ashamed of his groundless fears, he collected the wood he had
+cut, threw it hastily on his shoulder and went with a quick step out of
+the woods. In doing so he put his foot upon the head of a small snake,
+which wriggled up round his ankle and leg. If there was anything on earth
+that Barney abhorred and dreaded it was a snake. No sooner did he feel
+its cold form writhing under his foot, than he uttered a tremendous yell
+of terror, dropped his bundle of sticks, and fled precipitately to the
+beach, where he did not hall till he found himself knee-deep in the sea.
+
+"Och, Martin, boy," gasped the affrighted sailor, "it's my belafe that
+all the evil spirits on arth live in yonder wood; indeed I do."
+
+"Nonsense, Barney," said Martin, laughing; "there are no such things as
+ghosts; at any rate I'm resolved to face them, for if we don't get some
+sticks the fire will go out and leave us very comfortless. Come, I'll go
+up with you."
+
+"Put on yer shoes then, avic, for the sarpints are no ghosts, anyhow, and
+I'm tould they're pisonous sometimes."
+
+They soon found the bundle of dry sticks that Barney had thrown down, and
+returning with it to the beach, they speedily kindled a roaring fire,
+which made them feel quite cheerful. True, they had nothing to eat; but
+having had a good dinner on board the barque late that afternoon, they
+were not much in want of food. While they sat thus on the sand of the
+sea-shore, spreading their hands before the blaze and talking over their
+strange position, a low rumbling of distant thunder was heard. Barney's
+countenance instantly fell.
+
+"What's the matter, Barney?" inquired Martin, as he observed his
+companion gaze anxiously up at the sky.
+
+"Och, it's comin', sure enough."
+
+"And what though it does come?" returned Martin; "we can creep under one
+of these thick bushes till the shower is past."
+
+"Did ye iver see a thunder-storm in the tropics?" inquired Barney.
+
+"No, never," replied Martin.
+
+"Then if ye don't want to feel and see it both at wance, come with me as
+quick as iver ye can."
+
+Barney started up as he spoke, stuck his cutlass and pistol into his
+belt, and set off towards the woods at a sharp run, followed closely by
+his wondering companion.
+
+Their haste was by no means unnecessary. Great black clouds rushed up
+towards the zenith from all points of the compass, and, just as they
+reached the woods, darkness so thick that it might almost be felt
+overspread the scene. Then there was a flash of lightning so vivid that
+it seemed as if a bright day had been created and extinguished in a
+moment, leaving the darkness ten times more oppressive. It was followed
+instantaneously by a crash and a prolonged rattle, that sounded as if a
+universe of solid worlds were rushing into contact overhead and bursting
+into atoms. The flash was so far useful to the fugitives, that it enabled
+them to observe a many-stemmed tree with dense and heavy foliage, under
+which they darted. They were just in time, and had scarcely seated
+themselves among its branches when the rain came down in a way not only
+that Martin had never seen, but that he had never conceived of before. It
+fell, as it were, in broad heavy sheets, and its sound was a loud,
+continuous roar.
+
+The wind soon after burst upon the forest and added to the hideous shriek
+of elements. The trees bent before it; the rain was whirled and dashed
+about in water-spouts; and huge limbs were rent from some of the larger
+trees with a crash like thunder, and swept far away into the forest. The
+very earth trembled and seemed terrified at the dreadful conflict going
+on above. It seemed to the two friends as if the end of the world were
+come; and they could do nothing but cower among the branches of the tree
+and watch the storm in silence; while they felt, in a way they had never
+before experienced, how utterly helpless they were and unable to foresee
+or avert the many dangers by which they were surrounded, and how
+absolutely dependent they were on God for protection.
+
+For several hours the storm continued. Then it ceased as suddenly as it
+had begun, and the bright stars again shone down upon a peaceful scene.
+
+When it was over, Martin and his comrade descended the tree and
+endeavoured to find their way back to the beach. But this was no easy
+matter. The haste with which they had run into the woods, and the
+confusion of the storm, had made them uncertain in which direction it
+lay; and the more they tried to get out, the deeper they penetrated into
+the forest. At length, wearied with fruitless wandering and stumbling
+about in the dark, they resolved to spend the night where they were.
+Coming to a place which was more open than usual, and where they could
+see a portion of the starry sky overhead, they sat down on a dry spot
+under the shelter of a spreading tree, and, leaning their backs against
+the trunk, very soon fell sound asleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+AN ENCHANTING LAND--AN UNCOMFORTABLE BED AND A QUEER BREAKFAST--MANY
+SURPRISES AND A FEW FRIGHTS, TOGETHER WITH A NOTABLE DISCOVERY
+
+
+"I've woked in paradise!"
+
+Such was the exclamation that aroused Martin Rattler on the morning after
+his landing on the coast of South America. It was uttered by Barney
+O'Flannagan, who lay at full length on his back, his head propped up by a
+root of the tree under which they had slept, and his eyes staring right
+before him with an expression of concentrated amazement. When Martin
+opened his eyes, he too was struck dumb with surprise. And well might
+they gaze with astonishment; for the last ray of departing daylight on
+the night before had flickered over the open sea, and now the first gleam
+of returning sunshine revealed to them the magnificent forests of Brazil.
+
+Yes, well might they gaze and gaze again in boundless admiration; for
+the tropical sun shone down on a scene of dazzling and luxuriant
+vegetation, so resplendent that it seemed to them the realization of a
+fairy tale. Plants and shrubs and flowers were there, of the most
+curious and brilliant description, and of which they neither knew the
+uses nor the names. Majestic trees were there, with foliage of every
+shape and size and hue; some with stems twenty feet in circumference;
+others more slender in form, straight and tall; and some twisted in a
+bunch together and rising upwards like fluted pillars: a few had
+buttresses, or natural planks, several feet broad, ranged all round
+their trunks, as if to support them; while many bent gracefully beneath
+the load of their clustering fruit and heavy foliage. Orange-trees with
+their ripe fruit shone in the sunbeams like gold. Stately palms rose
+above the surrounding trees and waved their feathery plumes in the air,
+and bananas with broad enormous leaves rustled in the breeze and cast a
+cool shadow on the ground.
+
+Well might they gaze in great surprise; for all these curious and
+beautiful trees were surrounded by and entwined in the embrace of
+luxuriant and remarkable climbing plants. The parasitic vanilla with its
+star-like blossoms crept up their trunks and along their branches, where
+it hung in graceful festoons, or drooped back again almost to the ground.
+So rich and numerous were these creepers, that in many cases they killed
+the strong giants whom they embraced so lovingly. Some of them hung from
+the tree-tops like stays from the masts of a ship, and many of them
+mingled their brilliant flowers so closely with the leaves, that the
+climbing-plants and their supporters could not be distinguished from each
+other, and it seemed as though the trees themselves had become gigantic
+flowering shrubs.
+
+Birds, too, were there in myriads,--and such birds! Their feathers were
+green and gold and scarlet and yellow and blue--fresh and bright and
+brilliant as the sky beneath which they were nurtured. The great toucan,
+with a beak nearly as big as his body, flew clumsily from stem to stem.
+The tiny, delicate humming-birds, scarce larger than bees, fluttered from
+flower to flower and spray to spray, like points of brilliant green. But
+they were irritable, passionate little creatures, these lovely things,
+and quarrelled with each other and fought like very wasps! Enormous
+butterflies, with wings of deep metallic blue, shot past or hovered in
+the air like gleams of light; and green paroquets swooped from tree to
+tree and chattered joyfully over their morning meal.
+
+Well might they gaze with wonder, and smile too with extreme merriment,
+for monkeys stared at them from between the leaves with expressions of
+undisguised amazement, and bounded away shrieking and chattering in
+consternation, swinging from branch to branch with incredible speed, and
+not scrupling to use each other's tails to swing by when occasion
+offered. Some were big and red and ugly,--as ugly as you can possibly
+imagine, with blue faces and fiercely grinning teeth; others were
+delicately formed and sad of countenance, as if they were for ever
+bewailing the loss of near and dear relations, and could by no means come
+at consolation; and some were small and pretty, with faces no bigger than
+a halfpenny. As a general rule, it seemed to Barney, the smaller the
+monkey the longer the tail.
+
+Yes, well might they gaze and gaze again in surprise and in excessive
+admiration; and well might Barney O'Flannagan--under the circumstances,
+with such sights and sounds around him, and the delightful odours of
+myrtle trees arid orange blossoms and the Cape jessamine stealing up his
+nostrils--deem himself the tenant of another world, and evince his
+conviction of the fact in that memorable expression--"I've woked in
+paradise!"
+
+But Barney began to find "paradise" not quite so comfortable as it ought
+to be; for when he tried to get up he found his bones pained and stiff
+from sleeping in damp clothes; and moreover, his face was very much
+swelled, owing to the myriads of mosquitoes which had supped of it during
+the night.
+
+"Arrah, then, _won't_ ye be done!" he cried, angrily, giving his face a
+slap that killed at least two or three hundred of his tormentors. But
+thousands more attacked him instantly, and he soon found out,--what every
+one finds out sooner or later in hot climates,--that _patience_ is one of
+the best remedies for mosquito bites. He also discovered shortly
+afterwards that smoke is not a bad remedy, in connection with patience.
+
+"What are we to have for breakfast, Barney?" inquired Martin as he rose
+and yawned and stretched his limbs.
+
+"Help yersilf to what ye plase," said Barney, with a polite bow, waving
+his hand round him, as if the forest were his private property and Martin
+Rattler his honoured guest.
+
+"Well, I vote for oranges," said Martin, going towards a tree which was
+laden with ripe fruit.
+
+"An' I'll try plums, by way of variety," added his companion.
+
+In a few minutes several kinds of fruit and nuts were gathered and
+spread at the foot of the tree under which they had reposed. Then
+Barney proceeded to kindle a fire,--not that he had anything to cook,
+but he said it looked sociable-like, and the smoke would keep off the
+flies. The operation, however, was by no means easy. Everything had
+been soaked by the rain of the previous night, and a bit of dry grass
+could scarcely be found. At length he procured a little; and by rubbing
+it in the damp gunpowder which he had extracted from his pistol, and
+drying it in the sun, he formed a sort of tinder that caught fire after
+much persevering effort.
+
+Some of the fruits they found to be good,--others bad. The good they
+ate,--the bad they threw away. After their frugal fare they felt much
+refreshed, and then began to talk of what they should do.
+
+"We can't live here with parrots and monkeys, you know," said Martin; "we
+must try to find a village or town of some sort; or get to the coast, and
+then we shall perhaps meet with a ship."
+
+"True, lad," replied Barney, knitting his brows and looking extremely
+sagacious; "the fact is, since neither of us knows nothing about
+anything, or the way to any place, my advice is to walk straight for'ard
+till we come to something."
+
+"So think I," replied Martin; "therefore the sooner we set off the
+better."
+
+Having no luggage to pack and no arrangements of any kind to make, the
+two friends rose from their primitive breakfast-table, and walked away
+straight before them into the forest.
+
+All that day they travelled patiently forward, conversing pleasantly
+about the various and wonderful trees, and flowers, and animals they met
+with by the way; but no signs were discovered that indicated the presence
+of man. Towards evening, however, they fell upon a track or
+foot-path,--which discovery rejoiced them much; and here, before
+proceeding further, they sat down to eat a little more fruit,--which,
+indeed, they had done several times during the day. They walked nearly
+thirty miles that day without seeing a human being; but they met with
+many strange and beautiful birds and beasts,--some of which were of so
+fierce an aspect that they would have been very glad to have had guns to
+defend themselves with. Fortunately, however, all the animals seemed to
+be much more afraid of them than they were of the animals; so they
+travelled in safety. Several times during the course of the day they saw
+snakes and serpents, which glided away into the jungle on their approach,
+and could not be overtaken, although Barney made repeated darts at them,
+intending to attack them with his cutlass; which assaults always proved
+fruitless.
+
+Once they were charged by a herd of peccaries,--a species of pig or wild
+hog,--from which they escaped by jumping actively to one side; but the
+peccaries turned and rushed at them again, and it was only by springing
+up the branches of a neighbouring tree that they escaped their fury.
+These peccaries are the fiercest and most dauntless animals in the
+forests of Brazil. They do not know what fear is,--they will rush in the
+face of anything; and, unlike all other animals, are quite indifferent to
+the report of fire-arms. Their bodies are covered with long bristles,
+resembling very much the quills of the porcupine.
+
+As the evening drew on, the birds and beasts and the innumerable insects,
+that had kept up a perpetual noise during the day, retired to rest; and
+then the nocturnal animals began to creep out of their holes and go
+about. Huge vampire-bats, one of which had given Barney such a fright the
+night before, flew silently past them; and the wild howlings commenced
+again. They now discovered that one of the most dismal of the howls
+proceeded from a species of monkey: at which discovery Martin laughed
+very much, and rallied his companion on being so easily frightened; but
+Barney gladly joined in the laugh against himself, for, to say truth, he
+felt quite relieved and light-hearted at discovering that his ghosts were
+converted into bats and monkeys!
+
+There was one roar, however, which, when they heard it ever and anon,
+gave them considerable uneasiness.
+
+"D'ye think there's lions in them parts?" inquired Barney, glancing with
+an expression of regret at his empty pistol, and laying his hand on the
+hilt of his cutlass.
+
+"I think not," replied Martin, in a low tone of voice. "I have read in
+my school geography that there are tigers of some sort,--jaguars, or
+ounces, I think they are called,--but there are no--"
+
+Martin's speech was cut short by a terrific roar, which rang through the
+woods, and the next instant a magnificent jaguar, or South American
+tiger, bounded on to the track a few yards in advance, and, wheeling
+round, glared fiercely at the travellers. It seemed, in the uncertain
+light, as if his eyes were two balls of living fire. Though not so large
+as the royal Bengal tiger of India, this animal was nevertheless of
+immense size, and had a very ferocious aspect. His roar was so sudden and
+awful, and his appearance so unexpected, that the blood was sent
+thrilling back into the hearts of the travellers, who stood rooted to the
+spot, absolutely unable to move. This was the first large animal of the
+cat kind that either of them had seen in all the terrible majesty of its
+wild condition; and, for the first time, Martin and his friend felt that
+awful sensation of dread that will assail even the bravest heart when a
+new species of imminent danger is suddenly presented. It is said that no
+animal can withstand the steady gaze of a human eye; and many travellers
+in wild countries have proved this to be a fact. On the present occasion
+our adventurers stared long and steadily at the wild creature before
+them, from a mingled feeling of surprise and horror. In a few seconds the
+jaguar showed signs of being disconcerted. It turned its head from side
+to side slightly, and dropped its eyes, as if to avoid their gaze. Then
+turning slowly and stealthily round, it sprang with a magnificent bound
+into the jungle, and disappeared.
+
+Both Martin and Barney heaved a deep sigh of relief.
+
+"What a mercy it did not attack us!" said the former, wiping the cold
+perspiration from his forehead. "We should have had no chance against
+such a terrible beast with a cutlass, I fear."
+
+"True, boy, true," replied his friend, gravely; "it would have been
+little better than a penknife in the ribs o' sich a cratur. I niver
+thought that it was in the power o' man or baste to put me in sich a
+fright; but the longer we live we learn, boy."
+
+Barney's disposition to make light of everything was thoroughly subdued
+by this incident, and he felt none of his usual inclination to regard all
+that he saw in the Brazilian forests with a comical eye. The danger they
+had escaped was too real and terrible, and their almost unarmed condition
+too serious, to be lightly esteemed. For the next hour or two he
+continued to walk by Martin's side either in total silence, or in
+earnest, grave conversation; but by degrees these feelings wore off, and
+his buoyant spirits gradually returned.
+
+The country over which they had passed during the day was of a mingled
+character. At one time they traversed a portion of dark forest, heavy and
+choked up with the dense and gigantic foliage peculiar to those countries
+that lie near to the equator; then they emerged from this upon what to
+their eyes seemed most beautiful scenery,--mingled plain and
+woodland,--where the excessive brilliancy and beauty of the tropical
+vegetation was brought to perfection by exposure to the light of the blue
+sky and the warm rays of the sun. In such lovely spots they travelled
+more slowly and rested more frequently, enjoying to the full the sight of
+the gaily-coloured birds and insects that fluttered busily around them,
+and the delicious perfume of the flowers that decked the ground and
+clambered up the trees. At other times they came to plains, or _campos_,
+as they are termed, where there were no trees at all, and few shrubs, and
+where the grass was burned brown and dry by the sun. Over such they
+hurried as quickly as they could; and fortunately, where they chanced to
+travel, such places were neither numerous nor extensive, although in some
+districts of Brazil there are campos hundreds of miles in extent.
+
+A small stream meandered through the forest, and enabled them to refresh
+themselves frequently; which was very fortunate, for the heat, especially
+towards noon, became extremely intense, and they could not have existed
+without water. So great, indeed, was the heat about mid-day, that, by
+mutual consent, they resolved to seek the cool shade of a spreading tree,
+and try to sleep if possible. At this time they learned, to their
+surprise, that all animated nature did likewise, and sought repose at
+noon. God had implanted in the breast of every bird and insect in that
+mighty forest an instinct which taught it to rest and find refreshment
+during the excessive heat of mid-day; so that, during the space of two or
+three hours, not a thing with life was seen, and not a sound was heard.
+Even the troublesome mosquitoes, so active at all other times, day and
+night, were silent now. The change was very great and striking, and
+difficult for those who have not observed it to comprehend. All the
+forenoon, screams, and cries, and croaks, and grunts, and whistles, ring
+out through the woods incessantly; while, if you listen attentively, you
+hear the low, deep, and never-ending buzz and hum of millions upon
+millions of insects, that dance in the air and creep on every leaf and
+blade upon the ground. About noon all this is hushed. The hot rays of the
+sun beat perpendicularly down upon what seems a vast untenanted solitude,
+and not a single chirp breaks the death-like stillness of the great
+forest, with the solitary exception of the metallic note of the uruponga,
+or bell-bird, which seems to mount guard when all the rest of the world
+has gone to sleep. As the afternoon approaches they all wake up,
+refreshed by their siesta, active and lively as fairies, and ready for
+another spell of work and another deep-toned noisy chorus.
+
+The country through which our adventurers travelled, as evening
+approached, became gradually more hilly, and their march consequently
+more toilsome. They were just about to give up all thought of proceeding
+further that night, when, on reaching the summit of a little hill, they
+beheld a bright red light shining at a considerable distance in the
+valley beyond. With light steps and hearts full of hope they descended
+the hill and hastened towards it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE HERMIT
+
+
+It was now quite dark, and the whole country seemed alive with
+fire-flies. These beautiful little insects sat upon the trees and bushes,
+spangling them as with living diamonds, and flew about in the air like
+little wandering stars. Barney had seen them before, in the West Indies,
+but Martin had only heard of them; and his delight and amazement at their
+extreme brilliancy were very great. Although he was naturally anxious to
+reach the light in the valley, in the hope that it might prove to proceed
+from some cottage, he could not refrain from stopping once or twice to
+catch these lovely creatures; and when he succeeded in doing so, and
+placed one on the palm of his hand, the light emitted from it was more
+brilliant than that of a small taper, and much more beautiful, for it was
+of a bluish colour, and very intense,--more like the light reflected from
+a jewel than a flame of fire. He could have read a book by means of it
+quite easily.
+
+In half an hour they drew near to the light, which they found proceeded
+from the window of a small cottage or hut.
+
+"Whist, Martin," whispered Barney, as they approached the hut on tiptoe;
+"there may be savages into it, an' there's no sayin' what sort o' craturs
+they are in them parts."
+
+When about fifty yards distant, they could see through the open window
+into the room where the light burned; and what they beheld there was well
+calculated to fill them with surprise. On a rude wooden chair, at a rough
+unpainted table, a man was seated, with his head resting on his hand, and
+his eyes fixed intently on a book. Owing to the distance, and the few
+leaves and branches that intervened between them and the hut, they could
+not observe him very distinctly. But it was evident that he was a large
+and strong man, a little past the prime of life. The hair of his head and
+beard was black and bushy, and streaked with silver-grey. His face was
+massive, and of a dark olive complexion, with an expression of sadness on
+it, strangely mingled with stern gravity. His broad shoulders--and,
+indeed, his whole person--were enveloped in the coarse folds of a long
+gown or robe, gathered in at the waist with a broad band of leather.
+
+The room in which he sat--or rather the hut, for there was but one room
+in it--was destitute of all furniture, except that already mentioned,
+besides one or two roughly-formed stools; but the walls were completely
+covered with strange-looking implements and trophies of the chase; and
+in a corner lay a confused pile of books, some of which were, from
+their appearance, extremely ancient. All this the benighted wanderers
+observed as they continued to approach cautiously on tiptoe. So
+cautious did they become as they drew near, and came within the light
+of the lamp, that Barney at length attempted to step over his own
+shadow for fear of making a noise; and, in doing so, tripped and fell
+with considerable noise through a hedge of prickly shrubs that
+encircled the strange man's dwelling.
+
+The hermit--for such he appeared to be--betrayed no symptom of surprise
+or fear at the sudden sound; but, rising quietly though quickly from his
+seat, took down a musket that hung on the wall, and, stepping to the open
+door, demanded sternly, in the Portuguese language, "Who goes there?"
+
+"Arrah, then, if ye'd help a fellow-cratur to rise, instead o' talkin'
+gibberish like that, it would be more to your credit!" exclaimed the
+Irishman, as he scrambled to his feet and presented himself, along with
+Martin, at the hermit's door.
+
+A peculiar smile lighted up the man's features as he retreated into the
+hut, and invited the strangers to enter.
+
+"Come in," said he, in good English, although with a slightly foreign
+accent. "I am most happy to see you. You are English. I know the voice
+and the language very well. Lived among them once, but long time past
+now--very long. Have not seen one of you for many years."
+
+With many such speeches, and much expression of good-will, the hospitable
+hermit invited Martin and his companion to sit down at his rude table, on
+which he quickly spread several plates of ripe and dried fruits, a few
+cakes, and a jar of excellent honey, with a stone bottle of cool water.
+When they were busily engaged with these viands, he began to make
+inquiries as to where his visitors had come from.
+
+"We've comed from the sae," replied Barney, as he devoted himself to a
+magnificent pineapple. "Och but yer victuals is mighty good,
+Mister--what's yer name?--'ticklerly to them that's a'most starvin'."
+
+"The fact is," said Martin, "our ship has been taken by pirates, and we
+two swam ashore, and lost ourselves in the woods; and now we have
+stumbled upon your dwelling, friend, which is a great comfort."
+
+"Hoigh, an' that's true," sighed Barney, as he finished the last slice of
+the pineapple.
+
+They now explained to their entertainer all the circumstances attending
+the capture of the _Firefly_, and their subsequent adventures and
+vicissitudes in the forest; all of which Barney detailed in a most
+graphic manner, and to all of which their new friend listened with grave
+attention and unbroken silence. When they had concluded he said,--
+
+"Very good. You have seen much in very short time. Perhaps you shall see
+more by-and-by. For the present you will go to rest, for you must be
+fatigued. I will _think_ to-night,--to-morrow I will _speak_"
+
+"An', if I may make so bould," said Barney, glancing with a somewhat
+rueful expression round the hard earthen floor of the hut, "where-abouts
+may I take the liberty of sleepin'?"
+
+The hermit replied by going to a corner, whence, from beneath a heap of
+rubbish, he dragged two hammocks, curiously wrought in a sort of light
+net-work. These he slung across the hut, at one end, from wall to wall,
+and, throwing a sheet or coverlet into each, he turned with a smile to
+his visitors,--
+
+"Behold your beds! I wish you a very good sleep,--adios!"
+
+So saying, this strange individual sat down at the table, and was soon as
+deeply engaged with his large book as if he had suffered no interruption;
+while Martin and Barney, having gazed gravely and abstractedly at him for
+five minutes, turned and smiled to each other, jumped into their
+hammocks, and were soon buried in deep slumber.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+AN ENEMY IN THE NIGHT--THE VAMPIRE BAT--THE HERMIT DISCOURSES ON STRANGE,
+AND CURIOUS, AND INTERESTING THINGS
+
+
+Next morning Martin Rattler awoke with a feeling of lightness in his
+head, and a sensation of extreme weakness pervading his entire frame.
+Turning his head round to the right he observed that a third hammock was
+slung across the further end of the hut; which was, no doubt, that in
+which the hermit had passed the night. But it was empty now. Martin did
+not require to turn his head to the other side to see if Barney
+O'Flannagan was there, for that worthy individual made his presence
+known, for a distance of at least sixty yards all round the outside of
+the hut, by means of his nose, which he was in the habit of using as a
+trumpet when asleep. It was as well that Martin did not require to look
+round; for he found, to his surprise, that he had scarcely strength to do
+so. While he was wondering in a dreamy sort of manner what could be the
+matter with him, the hermit entered the hut bearing a small deer upon his
+shoulders. Resting his gun in a corner of the room, he advanced to
+Martin's hammock.
+
+"My boy," he exclaimed, in surprise, "what is wrong with you?"
+
+"I'm sure I don't know," said Martin, faintly; "I think there is
+something wet about my feet."
+
+Turning up the sheet, he found that Martin's feet were covered with
+blood! For a few seconds the hermit growled forth a number of apparently
+very pithy sentences in Portuguese, in a deep guttural voice, which
+awakened Barney with a start. Springing from his hammock with a bound
+like a tiger, he exclaimed, "Och! ye blackguard, would ye murther the boy
+before me very nose?" and seizing the hermit in his powerful grasp, he
+would infallibly have hurled him, big though he was, through his own
+doorway, had not Martin cried out, "Stop, stop, Barney. It's all right;
+he's done nothing:" on hearing which the Irishman loosened his hold, and
+turned towards his friend.
+
+"What's the matter, honey?" said Barney, in a soothing tone of voice, as
+a mother might address her infant son. The hermit, whose composure had
+not been in the slightest degree disturbed, here said--
+
+"The poor child has been sucked by a vampire bat."
+
+"Ochone!" groaned Barney, sitting down on the table, and looking at his
+host with a face of horror.
+
+"Yes, these are the worst animals in Brazil for sucking the blood of
+men and cattle. I find it quite impossible to keep my mules alive, they
+are so bad."
+
+Barney groaned.
+
+"They have killed two cows which I tried to keep here, and one young
+horse--a foal you call him, I think; and now I have no cattle remaining,
+they are so bad."
+
+Barney groaned again, and the hermit went on to enumerate the wicked
+deeds of the vampire bats, while he applied poultices of certain herbs to
+Martin's toe, in order to check the bleeding, and then bandaged it up;
+after which he sat down to relate to his visitors the manner in which the
+bat carries on its bloody operations. He explained, first of all, that
+the vampire bats are so large and ferocious that they often kill horses
+and cattle by sucking their blood out. Of course they cannot do this at
+one meal, but they attack the poor animals again and again, and the blood
+continues to flow from the wounds they make long afterwards, so that the
+creatures attacked soon grow weak and die. They attack men, too,--as
+Martin knew to his cost; and they usually fix upon the toes and other
+extremities. So gentle are they in their operations, that sleepers
+frequently do not feel the puncture, which they make, it is supposed,
+with the sharp hooked nail of their thumb; and the unconscious victim
+knows nothing of the enemy who has been draining his blood until he
+awakens, faint and exhausted, in the morning.
+
+Moreover, the hermit told them that these vampire bats have very sharp,
+carnivorous teeth, besides a tongue which is furnished with the curious
+organs by which they suck the life-blood of their fellow-creatures; that
+they have a peculiar, leaf-like, overhanging lip; and that he had a
+stuffed specimen of a bat that measured no less than two feet across the
+expanded wings, from tip to tip,
+
+"Och, the blood-thirsty spalpeen!" exclaimed Barney, as he rose and
+crossed the room to examine the bat in question, which was nailed against
+the wall. "Bad luck to them, they've ruined Martin intirely."
+
+"O no," remarked the hermit with a smile. "It will do the boy much good
+the loss of the blood; much good, and he will not be sick at all
+to-morrow."
+
+"I'm glad to hear you say so," said Martin, "for it would be a great bore
+to be obliged to lie here when I've so many things to see. In fact I feel
+better already, and if you will be so kind as to give me a little
+breakfast I shall be quite well,"
+
+While Martin was speaking, the obliging hermit,--who, by the way, was now
+habited in a loose short hunting-coat of brown cotton,--spread a
+plentiful repast upon his table; to which, having assisted Martin to get
+out of his hammock, they all proceeded to do ample justice: for the
+travellers were very hungry after the fatigue of the previous day; and as
+for the hermit, he looked like a man whose appetite was always sharp set
+and whose food agreed with him.
+
+They had cold meat of several kinds, and a hot steak of venison just
+killed that morning, which the hermit cooked while his guests were
+engaged with the other viands. There was also excellent coffee, and
+superb cream, besides cakes made of a species of coarse flour or meal,
+fruits of various kinds, arid very fine honey.
+
+"Arrah! ye've the hoith o' livin' here!" cried Barney, smacking his lips
+as he held out his plate for another supply of a species of meat which
+resembled chicken in tenderness and flavour. "What sort o' bird or baste
+may that be, now, av' I may ask ye, Mister--what's yer name?"
+
+"My name is Carlos," replied the hermit, gravely; "and this is the flesh
+of the Armadillo."
+
+"Arma--what--o?" inquired Barney.
+
+"Arma_dillo_," repeated the hermit. "He is very good to eat, but very
+difficult to catch. He digs down so fast we cannot catch him, and must
+smoke him out of his hole."
+
+"Have you many cows?" inquired Martin, as he replenished his cup
+with coffee.
+
+"Cows?" echoed the hermit, "I have got no cows."
+
+"Where do you get such capital cream, then?" asked Martin in surprise.
+
+The hermit smiled. "Ah! my friends, that cream has come from a very
+curious cow. It is from a cow that grows in the ground."
+
+"Grows!" ejaculated his guests.
+
+"Yes, he grows. I will show him to you one day."
+
+The hermit's broad shoulders shook with a quiet internal laugh. "I will
+explain a little of that you behold on my table.
+
+"The coffee I get from the trees. There are plenty of them here. Much
+money is made in Brazil by the export of coffee,--very much. The cakes
+are made from the mandioca-root, which I grow near my house. The root is
+dried and ground into flour, which, under the general _name farina_, is
+used all over the country. It is almost the only food used by the Indians
+and Negroes."
+
+"Then there are Injins and Niggers here, are there?" inquired Barney.
+
+"Yes, a great many. Most of the Negroes are slaves; some of the Indians
+too; and the people who are descended from the Portuguese who came and
+took the country long ago, they are the masters.--Well, the honey I get
+in holes in the trees. There are different kinds of honey here; some of
+it is _sour_ honey. And the fruits and roots, the plantains, and
+bananas, and yams, and cocoa-nuts, and oranges, and plums, all grow in
+the forest, and much more besides, which you will see for yourselves if
+you stay long here."
+
+"It's a quare country, intirely," remarked Barney, as he wiped his mouth
+and heaved a sigh of contentment. Then, drawing his hand over his chin,
+he looked earnestly in the hermit's face, and, with a peculiar twinkle in
+his eye, said--
+
+"I s'pose ye couldn't favour me with the lind of a raazor, could ye?"
+
+"No, my friend; I never use that foolish weapon."
+
+"Ah, well, as there's only monkeys and jaguars, and sich like to see me,
+it don't much signify; but my mustaches is gitin' mighty long, for I've
+been two weeks already without a shave."
+
+Martin laughed heartily at the grave, anxious expression of his
+comrade's face. "Never mind, Barney," he said, "a beard and moustache
+will improve you vastly. Besides, they will be a great protection
+against mosquitoes; for you are such a hairy monster, that when they
+grow nothing of your face will be exposed except your eyes and
+cheek-bones. And now," continued Martin, climbing into his hammock again
+and addressing the hermit, "since you won't allow me to go out a-hunting
+to-day, I would like very much if you would tell me something more about
+this strange country."
+
+"An' may be," suggested Barney, modestly, "ye won't object to tell us
+something about yersilf,--how you came for to live in this quare,
+solitary kind of a way."
+
+The hermit looked gravely from one to the other, and stroked his beard.
+Drawing his rude chair towards the door of the hut, he folded his arms,
+and crossed his legs, and gazed dreamily forth upon the rich landscape.
+Then, glancing again at his guests, he said, slowly: "Yes, I will do what
+you ask,--I will tell you my story."
+
+"An', if I might make so bould as to inquire," said Barney, with a
+deprecatory smile, while he drew a short black pipe from his pocket,
+"have ye got such a thing as 'baccy in them parts?"
+
+The hermit rose, and going to a small box which stood in a corner,
+returned with a quantity of cut tobacco in one hand, and a cigar not far
+short of a foot long in the other! In a few seconds the cigar was going
+in full force, like a factory chimney; and the short black pipe glowed
+like a miniature furnace, while its owner seated himself on a low stool,
+crossed his arms on his breast, leaned his back against the door-post,
+and smiled,--as only an Irishman can smile under such circumstances. The
+smoke soon formed a thick cloud, which effectually drove the mosquitoes
+out of the hut, and through which Martin, lying in his hammock, gazed out
+upon the sunlit orange and coffee trees, and tall palms with their rich
+festoons of creeping plants, and sweet-scented flowers, that clambered
+over and round the hut and peeped in at the open door and windows, while
+he listened to the hermit, who continued for at least ten minutes to
+murmur slowly, between the puffs of his cigar, "Yes, I will do it; I will
+tell you my story."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE HERMIT'S STORY
+
+
+"My ancestors," began the hermit, "were among the first to land upon
+Brazil, after the country was taken possession of in the name of the King
+of Portugal, in the year 1500. In the first year of the century, Vincent
+Yanez Pinçon, a companion of the famed Columbus, discovered Brazil; and
+in the next year, Pedro Alvarez Cabral, a Portuguese commander, took
+possession of it in the name of the King of Portugal. In 1503, Americus
+Vespucius discovered the Bay of All Saints, and took home a cargo of
+Brazil-wood, monkeys and parrots; but no permanent settlement was
+effected upon the shores of the new continent, and the rich treasures of
+this great country remained for some years longer buried and unknown to
+man,--for the wild Indians who lived here knew not their value.
+
+"It was on a dark and stormy night in the year 1510. A group of swarthy
+and naked savages encircled a small fire on the edge of the forest on the
+east coast of Brazil. The spot where their watchfire was kindled is now
+covered by the flourishing city of Bahia. At that time it was a
+wilderness. Before them stretched the noble bay which is now termed
+_Bahia de Todos Santos,_--All Saints' Bay.
+
+"The savages talked earnestly and with excited looks as they stood upon
+the shore, for the memory of the wondrous ships of the white men that
+had visited them a few years before was deeply engraven on their minds;
+and now, in the midst of the howling storm, another ship was seen
+approaching their land. It was a small vessel, shattered and
+tempest-tossed, that drove into the Bahia de Todos Santos on that stormy
+night. Long had it battled with the waves of the Atlantic, and the brave
+hearts that manned it had remained stanch to duty and strong in hope,
+remembering the recent glorious example of Columbus. But the storm was
+fierce and the bark was frail. The top-masts were broken and the sails
+rent; and worst of all, just as land hove in sight and cheered the
+drooping spirits of the crew, a tremendous wave dashed upon the ship's
+stern and carried away the rudder.
+
+"As they drove helplessly before the gale towards the shore, the naked
+savages crowded down upon the beach and gazed in awe and astonishment at
+the mysterious ship. A few of them had seen the vessels of Americus
+Vespucius and Cabral. The rumour of the white men and their floating
+castle had been wafted far and wide along the coast and into the interior
+of Brazil, and with breathless wonder the natives had listened to the
+strange account. But now the vision was before them in reality. On came
+the floating castle, the white foam dashing from her bows and the torn
+sails and ropes flying from her masts as she surged over the billows and
+loomed through the driving spray.
+
+"It was a grand sight to see that ship dashing straight towards the shore
+at fearful speed; and those who looked on seemed to be impressed with a
+vague feeling that she had power to spring upon the strand and continue
+her swift career through the forest, as she had hitherto cleft her
+passage through the sea. As she approached, the savages shrank back in
+fear. Suddenly her frame trembled with a mighty shock. A terrible cry was
+borne to land by the gale, and all her masts went overboard. A huge wave
+lifted the vessel on its crest and flung her further on the shore, where
+she remained firmly fixed, while the waves dashed in foam around her and
+soon began to break her up. Ere this happened, however, a rope was thrown
+ashore and fastened to a rock by the natives. By means of this the crew
+were saved. But it would have been well for these bold navigators of
+Portugal if they had perished in the stormy sea, for they were spared by
+the ocean only to be murdered by the wild savages on whose shore they had
+been cast.
+
+"All were slain save one,--Diego Alvarez Carreo, the captain of the ship.
+Before grasping the rope by which he reached the shore, he thrust several
+cartridges into his bosom and caught up a loaded musket. Wrapping the
+lock in several folds of cloth to keep it dry, he slid along the rope and
+gained the beach in safety. Here he was seized by the natives, and would
+no doubt have been barbarously slain with his unfortunate companions;
+but, being a very powerful man, he dashed aside the foremost, and,
+breaking through their ranks, rushed towards the wood. The fleet savages,
+however, overtook him in an instant, and were about to seize him when a
+young Indian woman interposed between them and their victim. This girl
+was the chiefs daughter, and respect for her rank induced them to
+hesitate for a moment; but in another instant the Portuguese captain was
+surrounded. In the scuffle that ensued his musket exploded, but
+fortunately wounded no one. Instantly the horrified savages fled in all
+directions leaving Carreo alone!
+
+"The captain was quick-witted. He knew that among hundreds of savages it
+was madness to attempt either to fight or fly, and the happy effect of
+the musket explosion induced him to adopt another course of action. He
+drew himself up proudly to his full height, and beckoned the savages to
+return. This they did, casting many glances of fear at the dreaded
+musket. Going up to one who, from his bearing and ornaments, seemed to be
+a chief, Carreo laid his musket on the sand, and, stepping over it so
+that he left it behind him, held out his hand frankly to the chief. The
+savage looked at him in surprise, and suffered the captain to take his
+hand and pat it; after which he began to examine the stranger's dress
+with much curiosity. Seeing that their chief was friendly to the white
+man, the other savages hurried him to the campfire, where he soon
+stripped off his wet clothes and ate the food which they put before him.
+Thus Diego Carreo was spared.
+
+"Next day, the Indians lined the beach and collected the stores of the
+wrecked vessel. While thus employed, Carreo shot a gull with his musket;
+which so astonished the natives that they regarded him with fear and
+respect amounting almost to veneration. A considerable quantity of powder
+and shot was saved from the wreck, so that the captain was enabled to
+keep his ascendency over the ignorant natives; and at length he became a
+man of great importance in the tribe, and married the daughter of the
+chief. He went by the name of _Caramuru_,--'The man of fire.' This man
+founded the city of Bahia.
+
+"The coasts of Brazil began soon after this to be settled in various
+places by the Portuguese; who, however, were much annoyed by the
+Spaniards, who claimed a share in the rich prize. The Dutch and English
+also formed settlements; but the Portuguese still retained possession of
+the country, and continued to prosper. Meanwhile Diego Caramuru, 'the man
+of fire,' had a son who in course of time became a prosperous settler;
+and as his sons grew up he trained them to become cultivators of the soil
+and traders in the valuable products of the New World. He took a piece of
+ground, far removed from the spot where his father had been cast ashore,
+and a short distance in the interior of the country. Here the eldest sons
+of the family dwelt, laboured, and died, for many generations.
+
+"In the year 1808 Portugal was invaded by Napoleon Buonaparte, and the
+sovereign of that kingdom, John VI., fled to Brazil, accompanied by his
+court and a large body of emigrants. The king was warmly received by the
+Brazilians, and immediately set about improving the condition of the
+country. He threw open its ports to all nations; freed the land from all
+marks of colonial dependence; established newspapers; made the press
+free, and did everything to promote education and industry. But although
+much was done, the good was greatly hindered, especially in the inland
+districts, by the vice, ignorance, and stupidity of many of the Roman
+Catholic priests, who totally neglected their duties,--which, indeed,
+they were incompetent to perform,--and in many instances, were no better
+than miscreants in disguise, teaching the people vice instead of virtue.
+
+"Foremost among the priests who opposed advancement was a descendant of
+the 'man of fire,' Padre Caramuru dwelt for some years with an English
+merchant in the capital of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. The padre was not an
+immoral man, but he was a fiery bigot, and fiercely opposed everything
+that tended to advance the education of the people. This he did, firmly
+believing that education was dangerous to the lower orders. His church
+taught him, too, that the Bible was a dangerous book; and whenever a copy
+fell into his hands he immediately destroyed it. During the disturbances
+that took place after the time of King John's departure for Portugal, and
+just before Brazil became an independent state under his son, the Emperor
+Don Pedro I., Padre Caramuru lost a beloved and only brother. He was
+quite a youth, and had joined the army only a few months previously, at
+the desire of his elder brother the padre, who was so overwhelmed by the
+blow that he ceased to take an active part in church or political affairs
+and buried himself in a retired part of his native valley. Here he sought
+relief and comfort in the study of the beauties of Nature by which he was
+surrounded, but found none. Then he turned his mind to the doctrines of
+his church, and took pleasure in verifying them from the Bible. But as he
+proceeded he found, to his great surprise, that these doctrines were,
+many of them, not to be found there; nay, further, that some of them were
+absolutely contradicted by the word of God.
+
+"Padre Caramuru had been in the habit of commanding his people not to
+listen to the Bible when any one offered to read it; but in the Bible
+itself he found these words, 'Search the Scriptures.' He had been in the
+habit of praying to the Virgin Mary, and begging her to intercede with
+God for him; but in the Bible he found these words: 'There is one
+mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.' These things
+perplexed him much. But while he was thus searching, as it were, for
+silver, the ignorant padre found gold! He found that he did not require
+to _work_ for salvation, but to _ask_ for it. He discovered that the
+atonement had been made once for all by Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God;
+and he read with a thrilling heart these words: 'God so loved the world,
+that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
+should not perish, but have everlasting life.'
+
+"Long and earnestly did the padre ponder these words and pray over them;
+and gradually the Holy Spirit enlightened his mind, and he saw how
+hateful that system was which could forbid or discourage the reading of
+the blessed word of God. He soon resolved to forsake the priesthood. But
+when he had done so, he knew not what to turn his hand to. He had no one
+like-minded to consult with, and he felt that it was wrong to eat the
+bread of idleness. Being thus uncertain what to do, he resolved in the
+meantime to carry goods into the interior of the country, and offer them
+for sale. The land round his dwelling and his own gun would supply him
+with food; and for the rest, he would spend his time in the study of the
+Bible, and seek for more light and direction from God.
+
+"Such," continued the hermit, "is a slight sketch of the history of my
+country and of myself."
+
+"Yourself?" exclaimed Martin.
+
+"Yes. I am the Padre Caramuru, or rather I _was_. I am Padre no longer,
+but Senhor Carlos Caramuru, a merchant. Yet I know not what to do. When I
+look round upon my country, and see how they know not the precious word
+of God, my heart burns in me, and I sometimes think that it is my duty to
+go forth and preach."
+
+"No doubt ye are right," said Barney. "I've always bin of opinion that
+when a man feels very strong in his heart on any partic'lar subject, it's
+a sure sign that the Almighty intends him to have something more to do
+with that subject than other men who don't feel about it at all."
+
+The hermit remained silent for a few minutes. "I think you are right,
+friend," he said; "but I am very ignorant yet. I have no one to explain
+difficulties to me; and I fear to go about preaching, lest I should
+preach what is not true. I will study yet for a time, and pray. After
+that, perhaps, I may go forth."
+
+"But you have told us nothing yet about the trade of the country," said
+Martin, "or its size, or anything of that sort."
+
+"I will soon tell you of that when I have lighted another cigar. This one
+does not draw well. Have you got a full pipe still, my friend?"
+
+"All right, Mr. Carrymooroo," replied Barney, knocking out the ashes.
+"I'll jist load wance more, and then,--fire away."
+
+In a few minutes the big cigar and short pipe were in full play, and the
+hermit continued:--
+
+"This country is very large and very rich, but it is not well worked. The
+people are lazy, many of them, and have not much enterprise. Much is
+done, no doubt; but very much more _might_ be done.
+
+"The empire of Brazil occupies nearly one-half of the whole continent of
+South America. It is 2600 miles long, and 2500 miles broad; which, as you
+know perhaps, is a little larger than all Europe. The surface of the
+country is beautiful and varied. The hilly regions are very wild,
+although none of the mountains are very high, and the woods are
+magnificent; but a great part of the land consists of vast grassy plains,
+which are called llanos, or campos, or silvas. The campos along the banks
+of the River Amazon are equal to six times the size of France; and there
+is one great plain which lies between the Sierra Ibiapaba and the River
+Tocantins which is 600 miles long by 400 miles broad. There are very few
+lakes in Brazil, and only one worth speaking of--the Lagoa dos
+Platos--which is 150 miles long. But our rivers are the finest in the
+whole world, being so long, and wide, and deep, and free from falls, that
+they afford splendid communication with the interior of the land. But,
+alas! there are few ships on these rivers yet, very few. The rivers in
+the north part of Brazil are so numerous and interlaced that they are
+much like the veins in the human body; and the great River Amazon and a
+few of its chief tributaries resemble the arteries.
+
+"Then as to our produce," continued the hermit, "who can tell it all? We
+export sugar, and coffee, and cotton, and gold, silver, lead, zinc,
+quicksilver, and amethysts, and we have diamond mines--"
+
+"Di'mond mines!" echoed Barney; "och but I would like for to see them.
+Sure they would sparkle most beautiful. Are they far off, Mr.
+Carrymooroo?"
+
+"Yes, very far off. Then we export dye-woods, and cabinet-woods, and
+drugs, and gums, and hides,--a great many hides, for the campos are full
+of wild cattle, and men hunt them on horseback, and catch them with a
+long rope called the _lasso_."
+
+"How I should like to have a gallop over these great plains,"
+murmured Martin.
+
+"Then we have," continued the hermit, "rice, tapioca, cocoa, maize,
+wheat, mandioca, beans, bananas, pepper, cinnamon, oranges, figs, ginger,
+pineapples, yams, lemons, mangoes, and many other fruits and vegetables.
+The mandioca you have eaten in the shape of farina. It is very good food;
+one acre gives as much nutriment as six acres of wheat.
+
+"Of the trees you have seen something. There are thousands of kinds, and
+most magnificent. Some of them are more than thirty feet round about.
+There are two hundred different kinds of palms, and so thick stand the
+giant trees in many places, with creeping plants growing between, that it
+is not possible for man to cut his way through the forests in some parts.
+Language cannot describe the grandeur and glory of the Brazilian forests.
+
+"We have numbers of wild horses, and hogs, and goats; and in the woods
+are tiger-cats, jaguars, tapirs, hyenas, sloths, porcupines, and--but you
+have seen many things already. If you live you will see more. I need not
+tell you of these things; very soon I will show you some.
+
+"The population of my country consists of the descendants of Portuguese
+settlers, native Indians, and Negroes. Of the latter, some are free, some
+slaves. The Indians go about nearly naked. Most of them are in a savage
+state: they paint their skins, and wear gaudy ornaments. The religion of
+the country is Roman Catholic, but all religions are tolerated; and I
+have much hope for the future of Brazil, in spite of the priests."
+
+"And do ye git much out o' the di'mond mines?" inquired Barney, whose
+mind was running on this subject.
+
+"O yes, a great deal. Every year many are got, and Government gets
+one-fifth of the value of all the gold and diamonds found in the country.
+One diamond was found a short time ago which was worth £40,000."
+
+"Ye don't say so!" exclaimed Barney in great surprise, as he blew an
+immense cloud of smoke from his lips. "Now, that's extror'nary. Why don't
+everybody go to the mines and dig up their fortin at wance?"
+
+"Because men cannot _eat_ diamonds," replied the hermit gravely.
+
+"Troth, I niver thought o' that; ye're right."
+
+Martin laughed heartily as he lay in his hammock and watched his friend's
+expression while pondering this weighty subject.
+
+"Moreover," resumed the hermit, "you will be surprised to hear that
+diamond and gold finding is not the most profitable employment in
+this country.
+
+"The man who cultivates the ground is better off than anybody. It is a
+fact, a very great fact, a fact that you should get firmly fixed in your
+memory--that in less than _two years_ the exports of sugar and coffee
+amounted to more than the value of all the diamonds found in _eighty_
+years. Yes, that is true. But the people of Brazil are not well off. They
+have everything that is necessary to make a great nation; but we are not
+a great nation, far from it." The hermit sighed deeply as he ceased
+speaking, and fell into an abstracted frame of mind.
+
+"It's a great country intirely," said Barney, knocking the ashes out of
+his pipe, and placing that much-loved implement carefully in his pocket;
+"a great country, but there's a tremendous big screw loose somewhere."
+
+"It seems curious to me," said Martin, in a ruminating tone of voice,
+"that people should not get on better in a country in which there is
+everything that man can desire to make him rich and happy. I wonder what
+it wants; perhaps it's too hot, and the people want energy of character."
+
+"Want energy!" shouted the hermit, leaping from his seat, and regarding
+his guests for a few moments with a stern expression of countenance;
+then, stretching forth his hand, he continued, in an excited tone:
+"Brazil does not want energy; it has only one want,--it wants the Bible!
+When a country is sunk down in superstition and ignorance and moral
+depravity, so that the people know not right from wrong, there is only
+one cure for her,--the Bible. Religion here is a mockery and a shame;
+such as, if it were better known, would make the heathen laugh in scorn.
+The priests are a curse to the land, not a blessing. Perhaps they are
+better in other lands,--I know not; but well I know they are many of
+them false and wicked here. No truth is taught to the people,--no Bible
+is read in their ears; religion is not taught,--even morality is not
+taught; men follow the devices and desires of their own hearts, and
+there is no voice raised to say, 'You are doing wrong.' My country is
+sunk very low; and she cannot hope to rise, for the word of her Maker is
+not in her hand. True, there are a few, a very few Bibles in the great
+cities; but that is all: that cannot save her hundreds of towns and
+villages. Thousands of her people are slaves in body,--all, all are
+slaves in soul; and yet you ask me what she wants. Ha! she wants
+_truth_,--she wants to be purged of falsehood. She has bones and
+muscles, and arteries and veins,--everything to make a strong and
+healthy nation; but she wants blood,--she has no vital stream; yes,
+Brazil, my country, wants the Bible!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+A HUNTING EXPEDITION, IN WHICH ARE SEEN STONES THAT CAN RUN, AND COWS
+THAT REQUIRE NO FOOD--BESIDES A DESPERATE ENCOUNTER WITH A JAGUAR, AND
+OTHER STRANGE THINGS
+
+
+For many weeks Martin Rattler and his friend Barney O'Flannagan continued
+to dwell with the hermit in his forest-home, enjoying his entertaining
+and instructive discourse, and joining with him in the hunting
+expeditions which he undertook for the purpose of procuring fresh food
+for his table. In these rambles they made constant discoveries of
+something new and surprising, both in reference to the vegetables and
+animals of that extraordinary region of the earth. They also had many
+adventures,--some amusing and some terrible,--which we cannot enlarge on
+here, for they would fill ten volumes such as this, were they to be all
+recorded in detail.
+
+One day the hermit roused them earlier than usual and told them to get
+ready, as he intended to go a considerable distance that day, and he
+wished to reach a particular spot before the heat of noon. So Martin and
+Barney despatched breakfast in as short a time as possible, and the
+hermit read them a chapter out of his large and well-thumbed Bible, after
+which they equipped themselves for the chase.
+
+When Martin and his friend escaped from the pirates and landed on the
+coast of Brazil, they were clothed in sailor-like costume, namely, white
+duck trousers, coloured flannel shirts, blue jackets, round straw hats,
+and strong shoes. This costume was not very suitable for the warm climate
+in which they now found themselves, so their hospitable friend the hermit
+gave them two loose light cotton coats or jackets, of a blue colour, and
+broad brimmed straw hats similar to his own. He also gave them two
+curious garments called _ponchos_. The poncho serves the purpose of cloak
+and blanket. It is simply a square dark-coloured blanket with a hole in
+the middle of it, through which the head is thrust in rainy weather, and
+the garment hangs down all round. At night the poncho is useful as a
+covering. The hermit wore a loose open hunting coat, and underneath it a
+girdle, in which was a long sharp knife and a brace of pistols. His
+trousers were of blue-striped cotton. He usually carried a
+double-barrelled gun over his shoulder, and a powder-horn and bullet-bag
+were slung round his neck. Barney now procured from this hospitable man a
+supply of powder and shot for his large brass-mounted cavalry pistol. The
+hermit also made him a present of a long hunting-knife; and he gave one
+of a smaller size to Martin. As Martin had no weapon, the hermit
+manufactured for him a stout bow and quiver full of arrows; with which,
+after some practice, he became reasonably expert.
+
+Thus armed they sallied forth, and, following the foot-path that
+conducted from the door of the hut to the brow of the hill opposite, they
+were soon buried in the shades of the great forest. On this particular
+morning Barney observed that the hermit carried with him a stout spear,
+which he was not usually in the habit of doing. Being of an inquisitive
+disposition, he inquired the reason of his taking it.
+
+"I expect to find a jaguar to-day," answered the hermit. "I saw him
+yesterday go down into the small valley in which my cows grow. I will
+show you my cows soon, Martin."
+
+The hermit stopped short suddenly as he spoke, and pointed to a large
+bird, about fifty yards in advance of them. It seemed to bear a
+particular ill-will to a round rough stone which it pecked most
+energetically. After a few minutes the bird ceased its attacks and flew
+off; whereupon the rough stone opened itself out, and, running quickly
+away, burrowed into a little hole and disappeared!
+
+"That is an armadillo," remarked the hermit, continuing to lead the way
+through the woods; "it is covered with a coat of mail, as you see; and
+when enemies come it rolls itself up like a ball and lies like a hard
+stone till they go away. But it has four little legs, and with them it
+burrows so quickly that we cannot dig it up, and must smoke it out of
+its hole,--which I do often, because it is very good to eat, as you very
+well know."
+
+While they continued thus to walk through the woods conversing, Martin
+and Barney were again interested and amused by the immense number of
+brilliant parrots and toucans which swooped about, chattering from tree
+to tree, in large flocks. Sometimes thirty or forty of the latter would
+come screaming through the woods and settle upon the dark-green foliage
+of a coffee-tree; the effect of which was to give the tree the appearance
+of having been suddenly loaded with ripe golden fruit. Then the birds
+would catch sight of the travellers and fly screaming away, leaving the
+tree dark-green and fruitless as before. The little green parrots were
+the most outrageously noisy things that ever lived. Not content with
+screaming when they flew, they continued to shriek, apparently with
+delight, while they devoured the seeds of the gorgeous sun-flowers: and
+more than once Martin was prompted to scatter a handful of stones among
+them, as a hint to be less noisy; but this only made them worse,--like a
+bad baby, which, the more you tell it to be quiet, sets to work the more
+earnestly to increase and add to the vigour of its roaring. So Martin
+wisely let the parrots alone. They also startled, in passing through
+swampy places, several large blue herons, and long-legged cranes; and on
+many of the trees they observed the curious hanging nests of a bird,
+which the hermit told them was the large oriole. These nests hung in long
+strings from the tops of the palm-trees, and the birds were very actively
+employed moving about and chattering round their swinging villages: on
+seeing which Martin could not help remarking that it would astonish the
+colony not a little, if the top house were to give way and let all the
+mansions below come tumbling to the ground!
+
+They were disappointed, however, in not seeing monkeys gambolling among
+the trees, as they had expected.
+
+"Ah! my friends," said the hermit, "travellers in my country are very
+often disappointed. They come here expecting to see everything all at
+once; but although there are jaguars, and serpents, and bears, and
+monkeys, plenty of them, as your ears can tell you, these creatures keep
+out of the sight of man as much as possible. They won't come out of the
+woods and show themselves to please travellers! You have been very lucky
+since you arrived. Many travellers go about for months together and do
+not see half so much as you."
+
+"That's thrue," observed Barney, with his head a little on one side, and
+his eyes cast up in a sort of meditative frown, as if he were engaged in
+subjecting the hermit's remarks to a process of severe philosophical
+contemplation; "but I would be very well plazed av the wild bastes would
+show themselves now and then, for--"
+
+Martin Rattler burst into a loud laugh, for Barney's upward glance of
+contemplation was suddenly transformed into a gaze of intense
+astonishment, as he beheld the blue countenance of a large red monkey
+staring down upon him from amid the branches of an overhanging tree. The
+monkey's face expressed, if possible, greater surprise than that of the
+Irishman, and its mouth was partially open and thrust forward in a sort
+of threatening and inquiring manner. There seemed to be some bond of
+sympathy between the monkey and the man, for while _its_ mouth opened
+_his_ mouth opened too.
+
+"A-a-a-a-a--ah!" exclaimed the monkey.
+
+A facetious smile overspread Barney's face--"Och! be all manes; the same
+to you, kindly," said he, taking off his hat and making a low bow.
+
+The civility did not seem to be appreciated, however; for the monkey put
+on a most indignant frown and displayed a terrific double-row of long
+brilliant teeth and red gums, while it uttered a shriek of passion,
+twisted its long tail round a branch, and hurled itself, with a motion
+more like that of a bird than a beast, into the midst of the tree and
+disappeared, leaving Martin and Barney and the hermit each with a very
+broad grin on his countenance.
+
+The hunters now arrived at an open space where there were several large
+umbrageous trees, and as it was approaching mid-day they resolved to rest
+here for a couple of hours. Birds and insects were gradually becoming
+more and more silent, and soon afterwards the only sounds that broke upon
+their ears were the curious metallic notes of the urupongas, or
+bell-birds; which were so like to the rapid beating of a smith's hammer
+on an anvil, that it was with the greatest difficulty Barney was
+restrained from going off by himself in search of the "smiddy." Indeed he
+began to suspect that the worthy hermit was deceiving him, and was only
+fully convinced at last when he saw one of the birds. It was pure white,
+about the size of a thrush, and had a curious horn or fleshy tubercle
+upon its head.
+
+Having rested and refreshed themselves, they resumed their journey a
+short time before the noisy inhabitants of the woods recommenced their
+active afternoon operations.
+
+"Hallo! what's that?" cried Barney, starting back and drawing his pistol,
+while Martin hastily fitted an arrow to his bow.
+
+Not ten paces in front of them a frightful monster ran across their path,
+which seemed so hideous to Martin that his mind instantly reverted to the
+fable of St. George and the Dragon, and he almost expected to see fire
+issuing from its mouth. It was a huge lizard, with a body about three
+feet long, covered with bright scales. It had a long, thick tail. Its
+head was clumsy and misshapen, and altogether its aspect was very
+horrible. Before either Martin or Barney could fire, the hermit dropped
+his gun and spear, sprang quickly forward, caught the animal by the tail,
+and, putting forth his great strength to the utmost, swung it round his
+head and dashed its brains out against a tree.
+
+Barney and Martin could only stare with amazement.
+
+"This we call an iguana," said the hermit, as he piled a number of heavy
+stones on the carcase to preserve it from other animals. "It is very good
+to eat,--as good as chicken. This is not a very big one; they are
+sometimes five feet long, but almost quite harmless,--not venomous at
+all; and the only means he has to defend himself is the tail, which is
+very powerful, and gives a tremendously hard blow; but, as you see, if
+you catch him quick he can do nothing."
+
+"It's all very well for you, or even Barney here, to talk of catching him
+by the tail," said Martin, smiling; "but it would have puzzled me to
+swing that fellow round my head."
+
+"Arrah! ye're right, boy; I doubt if I could have done it mesilf,"
+said Barney.
+
+"No fear," said the hermit, patting Martin's broad shoulders as he passed
+him and led the way; "you will be strong enough for that very soon,--as
+strong as me in a year or two."
+
+They now proceeded down into a somewhat dark and closely wooded valley,
+through which meandered a small rivulet. Here they had some difficulty in
+forcing their way through the dense underwood and broad leaves, most of
+which seemed very strange to Martin and his comrade, being so gigantic.
+There were also many kinds of ferns, which sometimes arched over their
+heads and completely shut out the view, while some of them crept up the
+trees like climbing-plants. Emerging from this, they came upon a more
+open space, in the midst of which grew a number of majestic trees.
+
+"There are my cows!" said the hermit, pausing as he spoke, and pointing
+towards a group of tall straight-stemmed trees that were the noblest in
+appearance they had yet seen. "Good cows they are," he continued, going
+up to one and making a notch in the bark with his axe: "they need no
+feeding or looking after, yet, as you see, they are always ready to give
+me cream."
+
+While he spoke, a thick white liquid flowed from the notch in the bark
+into a cocoa-nut drinking-cup, which the hermit always carried at his
+girdle. In a few minutes he presented his visitors with a draught of what
+they declared was most excellent cream.
+
+The masseranduba, or milk-tree, as it is called, is indeed one of the
+most wonderful of all the extraordinary trees in the forests of Brazil,
+and is one among many instances of the bountiful manner in which God
+provides for the wants of His creatures. No doubt this might with equal
+truth be said of all the gifts that a beneficent Creator bestows upon
+mankind; but when, as in the case of this milk-tree, the provision for
+our wants comes in a singular and striking manner, it seems fitting and
+appropriate that we should specially acknowledge the gift as coming from
+the hand of Him who giveth us all things liberally to enjoy.
+
+The milk-tree rises with a straight stem to an enormous height, and the
+fruit, about the size of a small apple, is full of rich and juicy pulp,
+and is very good. The timber, also, is hard, fine-grained, and
+durable,--particularly adapted for such works as are exposed to the
+weather. But its most remarkable peculiarity is the rich vegetable milk
+which flows in abundance from it when the bark is cut. This milk is so
+like to that of the cow in taste, that it can scarcely be distinguished
+from it, having only a very slight peculiarity of flavour, which is
+rather agreeable than otherwise. In tea and coffee it has the same effect
+as rich cream, and, indeed, is so thick that it requires to be diluted
+with water before being used. This milk is also employed as glue. It
+hardens when exposed to the air, and becomes very tough and slightly
+elastic, and is said to be quite as good and useful as ordinary glue.
+
+Having partaken of as much milk as they desired, they continued their
+journey a little further, when they came to a spur of the sierra, or
+mountain range, that cuts through that part of the country. Here the
+ground became more rugged, but still densely covered with wood, and rocks
+lay piled about in many places, forming several dark and gloomy caverns.
+The hermit now unslung his gun and advanced to the foot of a cliff, near
+the further end of which there were several caves, the mouths of which
+were partially closed with long ferns and masses of luxuriant vegetation.
+
+"Now we must be prepared," said the hermit, feeling the point of his
+spear. "I think there is a jaguar here. I saw him yesterday, and I am
+quite sure he will not go away till he tries to do some mischief. He
+little knows that there is nothing here to hurt but me." The hermit
+chuckled as he said this, and resting his gun against the cliff near the
+entrance to the first cave, which was a small one, he passed on to the
+next. Holding the spear in his left hand, he threw a stone violently into
+the cavern. Barney and Martin listened and gazed in silent expectation;
+but they only heard the hollow sound of the falling stone as it dashed
+against the sides of the cave; then all was still.
+
+"Och, then, he's off," cried Barney.
+
+"Hush," said Martin; "don't speak till he has tried the other cave."
+
+Without taking notice of their remarks, the hermit repeated the
+experiment at the mouths of two caverns further on, with the like result.
+
+"Maybe the spalpeen's hidin' in the little cave where ye laid down yer
+gun," suggested Barney, going towards the place as he spoke. "Och, then,
+come here, friend; sure it must be the mouth of a mine, for there's two
+o' the beautifulest di'monds I iver--"
+
+Barney's speech was cut short by a low peculiar sound, that seemed like
+the muttering of far-distant thunder. At the same moment the hermit
+pulled him violently back, and, placing himself in a firm attitude full
+in front of the cavern, held the point of the spear advanced before him.
+
+"Martin," he whispered, "shoot an arrow straight into that hole,--quick!"
+
+Martin obeyed, and the arrow whizzed through the aperture. Instantly
+there issued from it a savage and tremendous roar, so awful that it
+seemed as if the very mountain were bellowing and that the cavern were
+its mouth. But not a muscle of the hermit's figure moved. He stood like a
+bronze statue,--his head thrown back and his chest advanced, with one
+foot planted firmly before him and the spear pointing towards the cave.
+It seemed strange to Martin that a man should face what appeared to him
+unknown danger so boldly and calmly; but he did not consider that the
+hermit knew exactly the amount of danger before him. He knew precisely
+the manner in which it would assail him, and he knew just what was
+necessary to be done in order to avert it; and in the strength of that
+knowledge he stood unmoved, with a slight smile upon his tightly
+compressed lips.
+
+Scarcely had the roar ceased when it was repeated with tenfold
+fierceness; the bushes and fern leaves shook violently, and an enormous
+and beautifully spotted jaguar shot through the air as if it had been
+discharged from a cannon's mouth. The hermit's eye wavered not; he bent
+forward a hair's-breadth; the glittering spear-point touched the animal's
+breast, pierced through it, and came out at its side below the ribs. But
+the force of the bound was too great for the strength of the weapon: the
+handle snapped in twain, and the transfixed jaguar struck down the hermit
+and fell writhing upon him!
+
+In the excitement of the moment Barney drew his pistol from his belt and
+snapped it at the animal. It was well for the hermit at that moment that
+Barney had forgotten to prime his weapon; for, although he aimed at the
+jaguar's skull, there is no doubt whatever that he would have blown out
+the hermit's brains. Before he could make a second attempt, Martin sprang
+towards the gun which leaned against the cliff, and, running quickly up,
+he placed the muzzle close to the jaguar's ear and lodged a bullet in its
+brain. All this was done in a few seconds, and the hermit regained his
+legs just as the animal fell dead. Fortunately he was not hurt, having
+adroitly avoided the sharp claws of his enemy.
+
+"Arrah! Mister Hermit," said Barney, wiping the perspiration from his
+forehead, "it's yersilf that was well-nigh done for this time, an' no
+mistake. Did iver I see sich a spring! an' ye stud the charge jist like a
+stone wall,--niver moved a fut!"
+
+"Are you not hurt?" inquired Martin, somewhat anxiously; "your face is
+all covered with blood."
+
+"Yes, boy, but it is the blood of the jaguar; thanks to you for your
+quick hand, I am not hurt at all."
+
+The hermit washed his face in the neighbouring brook, and then proceeded
+to skin the jaguar, the carcase being worthless. After which they
+retraced their steps through the woods as quickly as possible, for the
+day was now far spent, and the twilight, as we have before remarked, is
+so short in tropical latitudes that travellers require to make sure of
+reaching the end of the day's journey towards evening, unless they choose
+to risk losing their way, and spending the night in the forest.
+
+They picked up the iguana in passing; and, on reaching the spot where the
+armadillo had burrowed, the hermit paused and kindled a small fire over
+the hole, by means of his flint, steel, and tinder-box. He thus contrived
+to render the creature's habitation so uncomfortable that it rushed
+hurriedly out; then, observing that its enemies were waiting, it doubled
+its head and tail together, and became the image of a rough stone.
+
+"Poor thing," said Martin, as the hermit killed it, "that reminds me of
+the ostrich of the desert, which, I'm told, when it is chased over the
+plains by men on horseback, and finds that it cannot escape, thrusts its
+head into a bush, and fancies, no doubt, that it cannot be seen, although
+its great body is visible a mile off!"
+
+"Martin," said Barney, "this arth is full o' quare craturs intirely."
+
+"That's true, Barney; and not the least 'quare' among them is an
+Irishman, a particular friend of mine."
+
+"Hould yer tongue, ye spalpeen, or I'll put yer head in the wather!"
+
+"I wish ye would, Barney, for it is terribly hot and mosquito-bitten, and
+you couldn't have suggested anything more delightful. But here we are
+once more at our forest home; and now for a magnificent cup of coffee and
+a mandioca-cake."
+
+"Not to mintion," added Barney, "a juicy steak of Igu Anny, an' a tender
+chop o' Army Dillo."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+MARTIN AND BARNEY CONTINUE THEIR TRAVELS, AND SEE STRANGE
+THINGS--AMONG OTHERS, THEY SEE LIVING JEWELS--THEY GO TO SEE A
+FESTA--THEY FIGHT AND RUN AWAY
+
+
+Martin Rattler and Barney O'Flannagan soon after this began to entertain
+a desire to travel further into the interior of Brazil, and behold with
+their own eyes the wonders of which they had heard so much from their
+kind and hospitable friend the hermit. Martin was especially anxious to
+see the great river Amazon, about which he entertained the most romantic
+ideas,--as well he might, for there is not such another river in the
+world for size, and for the many curious things connected with its waters
+and its banks. Barney, too, was smitten with an intense desire to visit
+the diamond mines, which he fancied must be the most brilliant and
+beautiful sight in the whole world; and when Martin asked him what sort
+of place he expected to see, he used to say that he "pictur'd in his mind
+a great many deep and lofty caverns, windin' in an' out an' round about,
+with the sides and the floors and the ceilin's all of a blaze with
+glittering di'monds, an' top'zes, an' purls, an' what not; with Naiggurs
+be the dozen picking them up in handfuls. An' sure," he would add, "if we
+was wance there, we could fill our pockets in no time, an' then, hooray
+for ould Ireland! an' live like Imperors for ivermore."
+
+"But you forget, Barney, the account the hermit has given us of the
+mines. He evidently does not think that much is to be made of them."
+
+"Och! niver mind the hermit. There's always good luck attends Barney
+O'Flanngan; an' sure if nobody wint for fear they would git nothing, all
+the di'monds that iver came out o' the mines would be lyin' there still;
+an' didn't he tell us there was wan got only a short time since, worth I
+don't know how many thousand pounds? Arrah! if I don't go to the mines
+an' git one the size o' me head, I'll let ye rig me out with a long tail
+an' set me adrift in the woods for a blue-faced monkey."
+
+It so happened that this was the time when the hermit was in the habit of
+setting out on one of his trading trips; and when Martin told him of the
+desire that he and Barney entertained to visit the interior, he told them
+that he would be happy to take them along with him, provided they would
+act the part of muleteers. To this they readily agreed, being only too
+glad of an opportunity of making some return to their friend, who refused
+to accept any payment for his hospitality, although Barney earnestly
+begged of him to accept of his watch, which was the only object of value
+he was possessed of,--and that wasn't worth much, being made of
+pinch-beck, and utterly incapable of going! Moreover, he relieved their
+minds, by telling them that they would easily obtain employment as
+canoe-men on the Amazon, for men were very difficult to be got on that
+river to man the boats; and if they could stand the heat, and were
+willing to work like Indians, they might travel as far as they pleased.
+To which Martin replied, in his ignorance, that he thought he could stand
+anything; and Barney roundly asserted that, having been burnt to a cinder
+long ago in the "East Injies," it was impossible to overdo him any more.
+
+Under these circumstances, therefore, they started three weeks later to
+visit a populous town about twenty miles off, from which they set out on
+their travels, with a string of heavily laden mules, crossed the low
+countries or campos lying near to the sea, and began to ascend the
+sierras that divide this portion of Brazil from the country which is
+watered by the innumerable rivers that flow into the mighty Amazon.
+
+The cavalcade consisted of ten mules, each with two goodly sized bales of
+merchandise on its back. They were driven and attended to by Negroes,
+whose costume consisted of a light cotton shirt with short sleeves, and a
+pair of loose cotton drawers reaching down to the knee. With the
+exception of a straw hat this was all they wore. Martin, and Barney, and
+the hermit each bestrode a mule, with a small bale slung on either side;
+over the front of which their legs dangled comfortably. They had ponchos
+with them, strapped to the mules' backs, and each carried a clumsy
+umbrella to shield him from the fierce rays of the sun; but our two
+adventurers soon became so hardened and used to the climate, that they
+dispensed with the umbrellas altogether.
+
+The sierra, or mountain range, over which they passed was about thirty
+miles in extent, being in some places quite level and open, but in others
+somewhat rugged and covered with large but thinly scattered trees, the
+most common of which had fine dark-green glossy leaves, with spikes of
+bright yellow flowers terminating the branchlets. There were also many
+peculiar shrubs and flowering plants, of a sort that the travellers had
+never seen the like of in their native land.
+
+"How I wish," said Martin with a sigh, as he rode along beside his friend
+Barney, "that I knew something of botany."
+
+Barney opened his eyes in surprise. "Arrah! it's too much of a
+philosopher ye are already, lad. What good would it do ye to know all the
+hard names that men have given to the flowers? Sure I wance wint after
+the doctor o' a ship, to carry his box for him when he wint on what he
+called botanical excursions; and the poor cratur used to be pokin' his
+nose for iver down at the ground, an' peerin' through his green
+spectacles at miserable bits o' plants, an' niver seemin' to enjoy
+anything; when all the time _I_ was lookin' far fornint me, an' all
+around me, an' up at the sky, seem' ivery beautiful thing, and snifterin'
+up the sweet smells, an' in fact enjoyin' the whole univarse--an my pipe
+to boot--like an intelligent cratur." Barney looked round as he spoke,
+with a bland, self-satisfied expression of countenance, as if he felt
+that he had given a lucid definition of the very highest style of
+philosophy, and proved that he, Barney O'Flannagan, was possessed of the
+same in no common degree.
+
+"Well, Barney," rejoined Martin, "since you give me credit for being a
+philosopher, I must continue to talk philosophically. Your botanical
+friend took a _microscopic_ view of nature, while you took a _telescopic_
+view of it. Each view is good, but both views are better; and I can't
+help wishing that I were more of a philosopher than I am, especially in
+reference to botany."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated Barney, who seemed not quite to understand his young
+friend, "yer observations are remarkably thrue, and do ye great credit,
+for yer years. Ah! Mr. Hermit, good luck to ye! I'm glad to see that
+ye've got some consideration for man and baste. I'm quite ready for my
+victuals, and so's my mule; aren't you, avic?"
+
+Barney's latter remark was addressed to his patient charger, from whose
+back he sprang as he spoke, and slackened its girths.
+
+It was now approaching mid-day, and the hermit had pitched upon a large
+tree as a fitting spot for rest and refreshment. Water had been brought
+up the mountain in a huge calabash; but they did not require to use it,
+as they found a quantity in the hollow stump of a tree. There were
+several frogs swimming about in this miniature lake; but it was found to
+be fresh and clear and good notwithstanding.
+
+Towards evening they passed a string of mules going towards the town
+which they had just left. They were driven by Negroes, most of whom were
+slaves, and nearly quite naked. A Brazilian merchant, wearing a
+picturesque broad-brimmed, high-crowned straw-hat, a poncho, and brown
+leather boots armed at the heels with large sharp spurs, rode at the
+head, and gave the strangers a surly nod of his head as they passed. Soon
+after, they descended into the plain, and came to a halt at a sort of
+roadside public-house, where there was no sleeping accommodation, but
+where they found an open shed in which travellers placed their goods, and
+slung their hammocks, and attended to themselves. At the venda, close
+beside it, they purchased a large bag of farina, being short of that
+necessary article of food, and then set to work to prepare supper in the
+open air; while the merry Negroes, who seemed to enjoy life most
+thoroughly, laughed and sang as they removed the bales from the mules'
+backs and cooked their simple fare.
+
+Barney's cooking propensities now came into full play; and, with the
+variety of fruits and vegetables which the country afforded, he exercised
+his ingenuity, and produced several dishes of so savoury a nature that
+the hermit was compelled to open his eyes in amazement, and smack his
+lips with satisfaction, being quite unable to express his sentiments in
+words. While thus busily and agreeably employed, they were told by the
+owner of the venda that a festa was being celebrated at a village about a
+league distant from where they stood.
+
+"I should like to see it above all things," said Martin eagerly; "could
+we not go?"
+
+The hermit frowned. "Yes, we can go, but it will be to behold
+folly. Perhaps it will be a good lesson, from which much may be
+learned. We will go."
+
+"It's not a step that I'll budge till I've finished me pipe," said
+Barney, pulling away at that bosom friend with unexampled energy. "To
+smoke," he continued, winking gently with one eye, "is the first law of
+nature; jist give me ten minutes more, an' _I'm_ your man for anything,"
+
+Being a fine evening, they proceeded on foot. In about an hour after
+setting out they approached the village, which lay in a beautiful valley
+below them. Sounds of mirth and music rose like a distant murmur on the
+air, and mingled with the songs of birds and insects. Then the sun went
+down, and in a few minutes it grew dark, while the brilliant fire-flies
+began their nocturnal gambols. Suddenly a bright flame burst over the
+village, and a flight of magnificent rockets shot up into the sky, and
+burst in a hundred bright and variously-coloured stars, which paled for a
+few seconds the lights of nature. But they vanished in a moment, and the
+clear stars shed abroad their undying lustre,--seeming, in their quiet,
+unfading beauty, a gentle satire on the short-lived and gairish
+productions of man.
+
+"Mighty purty, no doubt," exclaimed Barney. "Is this the Imperor's
+birth-day?"
+
+"No," replied the hermit, shaking his head; "that is the way in which the
+false priests amuse the people. The poor Indian and the Negro, and,
+indeed, the ignorant Brazilian, thinks it very grand; and the priests let
+them think it is pleasing to the God of heaven. Ah! here comes an old
+Negro; we will ask him."
+
+Several country people, in varied and picturesque costumes, hurried past
+the travellers towards the village; and as they came to a foot-path that
+joined the road, an old Negro approached them. Saluting him in the
+Portuguese language, the hermit said, "Friend, why do they let off
+rockets to-night?"
+
+"For Dios" (for God), answered the old man, looking and pointing upwards
+with grave solemnity. Without vouchsafing another word, he hurried away.
+
+"So they think," said the hermit, "and so they are taught by the priests.
+Music, noise, and fire-works please these ignorant people; and so the
+priests, who are mostly as ignorant as the people, tell them it is a good
+part of religious ceremony."
+
+Presently a band of young girls came laughing and singing along the road.
+They were dressed in pure white, their rich black tresses being uncovered
+and ornamented with flowers, and what appeared to be bright jewels.
+
+"Hallo!" exclaimed Martin, gazing after them; "what splendid jewels!
+surely these must be the daughters of very rich people."
+
+"Och, but they've been at the di'mond mines for certain! Did iver ye sae
+the like?"
+
+The girls did indeed seem to blaze with jewels, which not only sparkled
+in their hair, but fringed their white robes, and were worked round the
+edges of their slippers; so that a positive light shone around their
+persons, and fell upon the path like a halo, giving them more the
+appearance of lovely supernatural beings than the daughters of earth.
+
+"These jewels," said the hermit, "were never polished by the hands of
+men. They are fire-flies."
+
+"Fire-flies!" exclaimed Martin and Barney simultaneously.
+
+"Yes, they are living fire-flies. The girls very often catch them and tie
+them up in little bits of gauze, and put them, as you see, on their
+dresses and in their hair. To my mind they seem more beautiful far than
+diamonds. Sometimes the Indians, when they travel at night, fix
+fire-flies to their feet, and so have good lamps to their path."
+
+While Barney was expressing his surprise at this information, in very
+racy language, they entered the village; and, mingling with the throng of
+holiday-keepers, followed the stream towards the grand square.
+
+The church, which seemed to be a centre of attraction, and was
+brilliantly illuminated, was a neat wooden building with two towers. The
+streets of the village were broad and straggling; and so luxuriant was
+the vegetation, and so lazy the nature of the inhabitants, that it seemed
+as if the whole place were overgrown with gigantic weeds. Shrubs and
+creeping-plants grew in the neglected gardens, climbed over the palings,
+and straggled about the streets. Plants grew on the tops of the houses,
+ferns peeped out under the eaves; and, in short, on looking at it one had
+the feeling that ere long the whole place, people and all, must be
+smothered in superabundant vegetation!
+
+The houses were all painted white or yellow, with the doors and windows
+bright green,--just like grown-up toys; and sounds of revelry, with now
+and then the noise of disputation, issued from many of them.
+
+It is impossible to describe minutely the appearance of the motley crowd
+through which our adventurers elbowed their way, gazing curiously on the
+strange scene, which seemed to them more like a dream than reality, after
+their long sojourn in the solitudes of the forest. Processions headed by
+long-robed priests with flambeaux and crucifixes; young girls in light
+costumes and long white cotton shawls, selling sweet cakes of mandioca
+flour, and bonbons; swarthy Brazilians, some in white jackets, loose
+cotton drawers, and straw hats, others in brown leather boots and
+ponchos; Negroes in short white drawers and shirts, besides many without
+any clothing above their waists; Indians from the interior,
+copper-coloured, and some of them, fine-looking men, having only a strip
+of cloth about their loins;--such were the strange crew whose loud voices
+added to the whiz of rockets, squibs, crackers, guns, and musical
+instruments, created a deafening noise.
+
+In the midst of the village there was a tree of such enormous size that
+it quite took our travellers by surprise. It was a wild fig-tree, capable
+of sheltering a thousand persons under its shadow! Here a spirited
+fandango was going on, and they stood for some time watching the
+movements of the performers. Growing tired of this, they wandered about
+until they came to a less crowded part of the village, and entered a
+pleasant grove of trees skirting the road by which they had arrived.
+While sauntering here, enjoying the cool night breeze and delicious
+perfume of flowers, a woman uttered a piercing shriek near to them. It
+was instantly followed by loud voices in altercation. Ever ready to fly
+to the help of womankind, and, generally, to assist in a "row," Barney
+darted through the bushes, and came upon the scene of action just in time
+to see the white skirt of a female's dress disappear down an avenue, and
+to behold two Brazilians savagely writhing in mortal strife. At the
+moment he came up, one of the combatants had overcome the other, and a
+fierce smile of triumph crossed his swarthy countenance as he raised his
+gleaming knife.
+
+"Och, ye murtherer! would ye attimpt that same?" cried Barney, catching
+the man by the wrist and hurling him on his back. The other sprang up on
+being thus unexpectedly freed, and darted away, while the thwarted man
+uttered a yell of disappointment and sprang like a tiger at Barney's
+throat. A blow, however, from the Irishman's fist, quietly delivered, and
+straight between the eyes, stretched the Brazilian on the ground. At the
+same moment a party of men, attracted by the cries, burst through the
+bushes and surrounded the successful champion. Seeing their countryman
+apparently dead upon the ground, they rushed upon Barney in a body; but
+the first who came within reach was floored in an instant, and the others
+were checked in their career by the sudden appearance of the hermit and
+Martin Rattler. The noise of many voices, as of people hastening towards
+them, was heard at the same time.
+
+"We have no time to lose, do as I bid you," whispered the hermit.
+Whirling a heavy stick round his head the hermit shouted the single word
+"Charge!" and dashed forward.
+
+Barney and Martin obeyed. Three Brazilians went down like ninepins; the
+rest turned and fled precipitately.
+
+"Now, run for life!" cried the hermit, setting the example. Barney
+hesitated to follow what he deemed a cowardly flight, but the yells of
+the natives returning in strong force decided the question. He and Martin
+took to their heels with right good will, and in a few minutes the three
+friends were far on the road which led to their night bivouac; while the
+villagers, finding pursuit hopeless, returned to the village, and
+continued the wild orgies of their festa.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+COGITATIONS AND CANOEING ON THE AMAZON--BARNEY'S EXPLOIT WITH AN
+ALLIGATOR--STUBBORN FACTS--REMARKABLE MODE OF SLEEPING
+
+
+It is pleasant, when the sun is bright, and the trees are green, and when
+flowering shrubs and sweet-smelling tropical trees scent the balmy
+atmosphere at eventide, to lie extended at full length in a canoe, and
+drop easily, silently, yet quickly, down the current of a noble river,
+under the grateful shadow of overhanging foliage; and to look lazily up
+at the bright blue sky which appears in broken patches among the verdant
+leaves; or down at the river in which that bright sky and those green
+leaves are reflected; or aside at the mud-banks where greedy vultures are
+searching for prey, and lazy alligators are basking in the sun; and to
+listen, the while, to the innumerable cries and notes of monkeys,
+toucans, parrots, orioles, bemtevi or fly-catchers, white-winged and blue
+chatterers, and all the myriads of birds and beasts that cause the
+forests of Brazil, above all other forests in the world probably, to
+resound with the gleeful songs of animated nature!
+
+It is pleasant to be thus situated, especially when a cool breeze blows
+the mosquitoes and other insects off the water, and relieves you for a
+time from their incessant attacks. Martin Rattler found it pleasant, as
+he thus lay on his back with his diminutive pet marmoset monkey seated on
+his breast quietly picking the kernel out of a nut. And Barney
+O'Flannagan found it pleasant, as he lay extended in the bow of the canoe
+with his head leaning over the edge gazing abstractedly at his own
+reflected visage, while his hands trailed through the cool water, and his
+young dog--a shaggy indescribable beast with a bluff nose and a bushy
+tail--watched him intently, as a mother might watch an only child in a
+dangerous situation. And the old sun-dried, and storm-battered, and
+time-shrivelled mulatto trader, in those canoe they were embarked and
+whose servants they had become, found it pleasant, as he sat there
+perched in his little montaria, like an exceedingly ancient and overgrown
+monkey, guiding it safely down the waters of the great river of the
+Tocantins.
+
+Some months have passed since we last parted from our daring adventurers.
+During that period they had crossed an immense tract of country, and
+reached the head waters of one of the many streams that carry the surplus
+moisture of central Brazil into the Amazon. Here they found an old
+trader, a free mulatto, whose crew of Indians had deserted him,--a common
+thing in that country,--and who gladly accepted their services, agreeing
+to pay them a small wage. And here they sorrowfully, and with many
+expressions of good-will, parted from their kind friend and entertainer
+the hermit. His last gift to Martin was the wonderfully small marmoset
+monkey before mentioned; and his parting souvenir to Barney was the
+bluff-nosed dog that watched over him with maternal care, and loved him
+next to itself;--as well it might; for if everybody had been of the same
+spirit as Barney O'Flannagan, the Act for the prevention of cruelty to
+animals would never have been passed in Britain.
+
+It was a peculiar and remarkable and altogether extraordinary monkey,
+that tiny marmoset. There was a sort of romance connected with it, too;
+for it had been the mother of an indescribably small infant-monkey,
+which was killed at the time of its mother's capture. It drank coffee,
+too, like--like a Frenchman; and would by no means retire to rest at
+night until it had had its usual allowance. Then it would fold its
+delicate little hands on its bosom, and close its eyes with an
+expression of solemn grief, as if, having had its last earthly wish
+gratified, it now resigned itself to--sleep. Martin loved it deeply, but
+his love was unrequited; for, strange to say, that small monkey lavished
+all its affection on Barney's shaggy dog. And the dog knew it, and was
+evidently proud of it, and made no objection whatever to the monkey
+sitting on his back, or his head, or his nose, or doing, in fact,
+whatever it chose whenever it pleased. When in the canoe, the marmoset
+played with Grampus, as the dog was named; and when on shore it
+invariably travelled on his back.
+
+Martin used to lie in the canoe half asleep and watch the little face of
+the marmoset, until, by some unaccountable mental process, he came to
+think of Aunt Dorothy Grumbit. Often did poor Martin dream of his dear
+old aunt, while sleeping under the shelter of these strange-leaved
+tropical trees and surrounded by the wild sounds of that distant land,
+until he dreamed himself back again in the old village. Then he would
+rush to the well-known school, and find all the boys there except Bob
+Croaker, who he felt certain must be away drowning the white kitten; and
+off he would go and catch him, sure enough, in the very act, and would
+give him the old thrashing over again, with all the additional vigour
+acquired during his rambles abroad thrown into it. Then he would run home
+in eager haste, and find old Mrs. Grumbit hard at the one thousand nine
+hundred and ninety-ninth pair of worsted socks; and fat Mr. Arthur
+Jollyboy sitting opposite to her, dressed in the old lady's bed-curtain
+chintz and high-crowned cap, with the white kitten in his arms and his
+spectacles on his chin, watching the process with intense interest, and
+cautioning her not to forget the "hitch" by any means; whereupon the
+kitten would fly up in his face, and Mr. Jollyboy would dash through the
+window with a loud howl, and Mrs. Grumbit's face would turn blue; and,
+uncoiling an enormous tail, she would bound shrieking after him in among
+the trees and disappear! Martin usually wakened at this point, and found
+the marmoset gazing in his face with an expression of sorrowful
+solemnity, and the old sun-dried trader staring vacantly before him as he
+steered his light craft down the broad stream of the Tocantins.
+
+The trader could speak little more English than sufficed to enable him to
+say "yes" and "no"; Barney could speak about as much Portuguese as
+enabled him to say "no" and "yes"; while Martin, by means of a slight
+smattering of that language, which he had picked up by ear during the
+last few months, mixed now and then with a word or two of Latin, and
+helped out by a clever use of the language of signs, succeeded in
+becoming the link of communication between the two.
+
+For many weeks they continued to descend the river; paddling
+energetically when the stream was sluggish, and resting comfortably when
+the stream was strong, and sometimes dragging their canoe over rocks and
+sand-banks to avoid rapids--passing many villages and plantations of the
+natives by the way--till at last they swept out upon the bosom of the
+great Amazon River.
+
+The very first thing they saw upon entering it was an enormous alligator,
+fully eighteen feet long, sound asleep on a mud-bank.
+
+"Och! put ashore, ye Naygur," cried Barney, seizing his pistol and rising
+up in the bow of the canoe. The old man complied quickly, for his spirit
+was high and easily roused.
+
+"Look out now, Martin, an' hould back the dog for fear he wakes him up,"
+said Barney, in a hoarse whisper, as he stepped ashore and hastened
+stealthily towards the sleeping monster; catching up a handful of gravel
+as he went, and ramming it down the barrel of his pistol. It was a
+wonderful pistol that--an Irish one by birth, and absolutely incapable of
+bursting, else assuredly it would have gone, as its owner said, to
+"smithereens" long ago.
+
+Barney was not a good stalker. The alligator awoke and made for the water
+as fast as it could waddle. The Irishman rushed forward close up, as it
+plunged into the river, and discharged the compound of lead and stones
+right against the back of its head. He might as well have fired at the
+boiler of a steam-engine. The entire body of an alligator--back and
+belly, head and tail--is so completely covered with thick hard scales,
+that shot has no effect on it; and even a bullet cannot pierce its coat
+of mail, except in one or two vulnerable places. Nevertheless the shot
+had been fired so close to it that the animal was stunned, and rolled
+over on its back in the water. Seeing this, the old trader rushed in up
+to his chin, and caught it by the tail; but at the same moment the
+monster recovered, and, turning round, displayed its terrific rows of
+teeth. The old man uttered a dreadful roar, and struggled to the land as
+fast as he could; while the alligator, equally frightened, no doubt, gave
+a magnificent flourish and splash with its tail, and dived to the bottom
+of the river.
+
+The travellers returned disgusted to their canoe, and resumed their
+journey up the Amazon in silence.
+
+The vulnerable places about an alligator are the soft parts under the
+throat and the joints of the legs. This is well known to the jaguar, its
+mortal foe, which attacks it on land, and fastening on these soft parts,
+soon succeeds in killing it; but should the alligator get the jaguar into
+its powerful jaws or catch it in the water, it is certain to come off the
+conqueror.
+
+The Amazon, at its mouth, is more like a wide lake or arm of the sea than
+a river. Mention has been already made of this noble stream in the
+Hermit's Story; but it is worthy of more particular notice, for truly the
+Amazon is in many respects a wonderful river. It is the largest, though
+not quite the longest, in the world. Taking its rise among the rocky
+solitudes of the great mountain range of the Andes, it flows through
+nearly four thousand miles of the continent in an easterly direction,
+trending northward towards its mouth, and entering the Atlantic Ocean on
+the northern coast of South America, directly under the Equator. In its
+course it receives the waters of nearly all the great rivers of central
+South America, and thousands of smaller tributaries; so that when it
+reaches the ocean its volume of water is enormous. Some idea may be
+formed of its majestic size, from the fact that one of its
+tributaries--the Rio Negro--is fifteen hundred miles long, and varying in
+breadth; being a mile wide not far from its mouth, while higher up it
+spreads out in some places into sheets of ten miles in width. The
+Madeira, another tributary, is also a river of the largest size. The
+Amazon is divided into two branches at its mouth by the island of Marajo,
+the larger branch being ninety-six miles in width. About two thousand
+miles from its mouth it is upwards of a mile wide. So great is the force
+of this flood of water, that it flows into the sea unmixed for nearly two
+hundred miles. The tide affects the river to a distance of about four
+hundred miles inland; and it is navigable from the sea for a distance of
+three thousand miles inland.
+
+On the north bank of the Amazon there are ranges of low hills, partly
+bare and partly covered with thickets. These hills vary from three
+hundred to a thousand feet high, and extend about two hundred miles
+inland. Beyond them the shores of the river are low and flat for more
+than two thousand miles, till the spurs of the Andes are reached.
+
+During the rainy season the Amazon overflows all its banks, like the
+Nile, for many hundreds of miles; during which season, as Martin Rattler
+truly remarked, the natives may be appropriately called aquatic animals.
+Towns and villages, and plantations belonging to Brazilians, foreign
+settlers, and half-civilized Indians, occur at intervals throughout the
+whole course of the river; and a little trade in dye-woods, India-rubber,
+medicinal drugs, Brazil nuts, coffee, &c., is done; but nothing to what
+might and ought to be, and perhaps would be, were this splendid country
+in the hands of an enterprising people. But the Amazonians are lazy, and
+the greater part of the resources of one of the richest countries in the
+world is totally neglected.
+
+"Arrah!" said Barney, scratching his head and wrinkling his forehead
+intensely, as all that we have just written, and a great deal more, was
+told to him by a Scotch settler whom he found superintending a cattle
+estate and a saw-mill on the banks of the Amazon--"Faix, then, I'm jist
+as wise now as before ye begun to spake. I've no head for fagures
+whatsumdiver; an' to tell me that the strame is ninety-six miles long and
+three thousand miles broad at the mouth, and sich like calcerlations, is
+o' no manner o' use, and jist goes in at wan ear an' out at the tother."
+
+Whereupon the Scotch settler smiled and said, "Well, then, if ye can
+remember that the Amazon is longer than all Europe is broad; that it
+opens up to the ocean not less than ten thousand miles of the interior
+of Brazil; and that, _comparatively_ speaking, no use is made of it
+whatever, ye'll remember enough to think about with profit for some
+time to come."
+
+And Barney did think about it, and ponder it, and revolve it in his mind,
+for many days after, while he worked with Martin and the old trader at
+the paddles of their montaria. They found the work of canoeing easier
+than had been anticipated; for during the summer months the wind blows
+steadily up the river, and they were enabled to hoist their mat-sail, and
+bowl along before it against the stream.
+
+Hotels and inns there were none; for Brazil does not boast of many such
+conveniences, except in the chief towns; so they were obliged, in
+travelling, to make use of an empty hut or shed, when they chanced to
+stop at a village, and to cook their own victuals. More frequently,
+however, they preferred to encamp in the woods--slinging their hammocks
+between the stems of the trees, and making a fire sometimes, to frighten
+away the jaguars, which, although seldom seen, were often heard at
+night. They met large canoes and montarias occasionally coming down the
+stream, and saw them hauled up on shore, while their owners were cooking
+their breakfast in the woods; and once they came upon a solitary old
+Indian in a very curious position. They had entered a small stream in
+order to procure a few turtles' eggs, of which there were many in that
+place buried in the sand-banks. On turning a point where the stream was
+narrow and overhung with bushes and trees, they beheld a canoe tied to
+the stem of a tree, and a hammock slung between two branches overhanging
+the water. In this an old Indian lay extended, quite naked and fast
+asleep! The old fellow had grown weary with paddling his little canoe;
+and, finding the thicket along the river's banks so impenetrable that he
+could not land, he slung his hammock over the water, and thus quietly
+took his siesta. A flock of paroquets were screaming like little green
+demons just above him, and several alligators gave him a passing glance
+as they floundered heavily in the water below; but the red man cared not
+for such trifles. Almost involuntarily Martin began to hum the popular
+nursery rhyme--
+
+"Hushy ba, baby, on the tree top;
+When the wind blows the cradle will rock."
+
+"Arrah, if he was only two foot lower, its thirty pair o' long teeth
+would be stuck into his flank in wan minute, or I'm no prophet," said
+Barney, with a broad grin.
+
+"Suppose we give him a touch with the paddle in passing,"
+suggested Martin.
+
+At this moment Barney started up, shaded his eyes with his hand, and,
+after gazing for a few seconds at some object ahead of the canoe, he gave
+utterance to an exclamation of mingled surprise and consternation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE GREAT ANACONDA'S DINNER--BARNEY GETS A FRIGHT--TURTLES' EGGS, OMELETS
+AND ALLIGATORS' TAILS--SENHOR ANTONIO'S PLANTATION--PREPARATIONS FOR A
+GREAT HUNT
+
+
+The object which called forth the cry from our Irish friend, as related
+in the last chapter, was neither more nor less than a serpent of
+dimensions more enormous than Barney had ever before conceived of. It was
+upwards of sixteen feet long, and nearly as thick as a man's body; but
+about the neck it was three times that size. This serpent was not,
+indeed, of the largest size. In South America they grow to nearly forty
+feet in length. But it was fabulously gigantic in the eyes of our
+adventurers, who had never seen a serpent of any kind before.
+
+"Oh!" cried Martin, eagerly, "that must be an anaconda. Is it not?" he
+inquired, turning to the old trader.
+
+"Yees; it dead," was the short reply.
+
+"So it is!" cried Martin, who, on a nearer approach, observed that the
+brute's body was cut in two just below the swelling at the neck.
+
+"Now, did ye iver," cried Barney with increased surprise, "see a sarpint
+with a cow's horns growin' out at its mouth? Put ashore, old boy; we must
+have a Vestigation o' this remarkable cratur."
+
+The canoe was soon aground, and in another minute the three travellers
+busily engaged in turning over the carcass of the huge reptile, which
+they found, to the amazement of Martin and Barney, had actually
+swallowed an ox whole, with the exception of the horns, which protruded
+from its mouth!
+
+After much questioning, in bad Portuguese, broken English, and remarkable
+signs, Martin succeeded in drawing from the old trader the information
+that anacondas of a large size are often in the habit of thus bolting
+horses and oxen at a mouthful.
+
+There is not the slightest exaggeration in this fact. Readers who are
+inclined to disbelieve it may refer to the works of Wallace and Gardner
+on Brazil,--authorities which cannot be doubted.
+
+The reptile commences by patiently watching until an unfortunate animal
+strays near to where it is lying, when it darts upon it, encircles it in
+its massive coils, and crushes it to death in an instant. Then it
+squeezes the body and broken bones into a shapeless mass; after which it
+licks the carcass all over, and covers it with a thick coating of saliva.
+Having thus prepared its mouthful, the andaconda begins at the tail and
+gradually engulfs its victim, while its elastic jaws, and throat, and
+stomach are distended sufficiently to let it in; after which it lies in a
+torpid state for many weeks, till the morsel is digested, when it is
+ready for another meal. A horse goes down entire, but a cow sticks at the
+horns, which the anaconda cannot swallow. They are allowed to protrude
+from its mouth until they decay and drop off.
+
+They were at a loss at first to account for the creature being killed;
+but the old trader suggested that it had been found in a torpid state,
+and slain by the Indian whom they had seen a short time ago enjoying his
+siesta among the trees.
+
+Having cut it open, in order to convince themselves beyond a doubt that
+it had swallowed an entire ox, Martin and the old trader re-embarked in
+the canoe, and Barney was on the point of joining them when the bushes
+close beside him were slightly stirred. Looking quickly round, he beheld
+the head and the glittering eyes of another anaconda, apparently as large
+as the dead one, ready to dart upon him,--at least so he fancied; but he
+did not wait to give it a chance. He fled instantly, and sprang towards
+the boat, which he nearly upset as he leaped into it, and pushed out into
+the stream. On reaching the middle of the river they looked back, but the
+anaconda was gone.
+
+Soon after this they came to a long sandbank, where the old trader said
+they should find as many turtles' eggs as they wished for, although to
+Barney and Martin there seemed to be nothing on the bank at all. The
+fresh-water turtle of the Amazon, of which there are various species, is
+one of the most useful of reptiles. Its flesh supplies abundance of good
+food; and the eggs, besides being eaten, afford an excellent oil. The
+largest species grow to the length of three feet, and have a flattish
+oval shell of a dark colour, and quite smooth. Turtles lay their eggs
+about the beginning of September, when the sand-banks begin to be
+uncovered. They scrape deep holes for them, and cover them carefully
+over, beating down the sand quite flat, and walking across the place
+several times, for the purpose of concealment. The eggs are then left to
+be hatched by the heat of the sun. But, alas for the poor turtles! men
+are too clever for them. The eggs are collected by the natives in
+thousands, and, when oil is to be made of them, they are thrown into a
+canoe, smashed and mixed up together, and left to stand, when the oil
+rises to the top, and is skimmed off and boiled. It keeps well, and is
+used both for lamps and cooking. Very few of the millions of eggs that
+are annually laid arrive at maturity.
+
+When the young turtles issue forth and run to the water, there are many
+enemies watching for them. Great alligators open their jaws and swallow
+them by hundreds; jaguars come out of the forests and feed upon them;
+eagles and buzzards and wood ibises are there, too, to claim their share
+of the feast; and, if they are fortunate enough to escape all these,
+there are many large and ravenous fishes ready to seize them in the
+stream. It seems a marvel that any escape at all.
+
+In a few minutes the old trader scraped up about a hundred eggs, to the
+immense satisfaction of Martin and Barney. Then he took a bow and arrow
+from the bottom of the montaria and shot a large turtle in the water,
+while his companions kindled a fire, intending to dine. Only the nose of
+the turtle was visible above water; but the old man was so expert in the
+use of the bow, that he succeeded in transfixing the soft part of the
+animal's neck with an arrow, although that part was under water. It was a
+large turtle, and very fat and heavy, so that it was with difficulty the
+trader lifted it upon his old shoulders and bore it in triumph to the
+spot where his companions were busily engaged with their cooking
+operations. Turtles are frequently shot with the arrow by the natives;
+they are also taken in great numbers with the hook and the net.
+
+Dinner was soon ready. Barney concocted an immense and savoury omelet,
+and the old trader cooked an excellent turtle-steak, while Martin
+prepared a junk of jaguar meat, which he roasted, being curious to taste
+it, as he had been told that the Indians like it very much. It was pretty
+good, but not equal to the turtle-eggs. The shell of the egg is leathery,
+and the yolk only is eaten. The Indians sometimes cat them raw, mixed
+with farina. Cakes of farina, and excellent coffee, concluded their
+repast; and Barney declared he had never had such a satisfactory "blow
+out" in his life; a sentiment with which Martin entirely agreed, and the
+old trader--if one might judge from the expression of his black
+countenance--sympathized.
+
+For many weeks our adventurers continued to ascend the Amazon, sometimes
+sailing before the wind; at other times, when it fell calm, pushing the
+montaria up the current by means of long poles, or advancing more easily
+with the paddles. Occasionally they halted for a day at the residence of
+a wealthy cacao planter, in order to sell him some merchandise; for which
+purpose the canoe was unloaded, and the bales were opened out for his
+inspection. Most of these planters were Brazilians, a few were Yankee
+adventurers, and one or two were Scotch and English; but nearly all had
+married Brazilian ladies, who, with their daughters, proved good
+customers to the old trader. Some of these ladies were extremely "purty
+craturs," as Barney expressed it; but most of them were totally
+uneducated and very ignorant,--not knowing half so much as a child of
+seven or eight years old in more favoured lands. They were very fond of
+fine dresses and ornaments, of which considerable supplies were sent to
+them from Europe and the United States, in exchange for the valuable
+produce of their country. But, although their dresses were fine and
+themselves elegant, their houses were generally very poor affairs--made
+of wood and thatched with broad leaves; and it was no uncommon thing to
+see a lady, who seemed from her gay dress to be fitted for a
+drawing-room, seated on an earthen floor. But there were all sorts of
+extremes in this strange land; for at the next place they came to,
+perhaps, they found a population of Negroes and Indians, and most of the
+grown-up people were half naked, while all the children were entirely so.
+
+At one plantation, where they resolved to spend a few days, the owner had
+a pond which was much frequented by alligators. These he was in the habit
+of hunting periodically, for the sake of their fat, which he converted
+into oil. At the time of their arrival, he was on the eve of starting on
+a hunting expedition to the lake, which was about eight miles distant; so
+Barney and Martin determined to go and "see the fun," as the latter said.
+
+"Martin, lad," remarked Barney, as they followed the Negro slave who had
+been sent by Senhor Antonio, the planter, to conduct them to the lake,
+while he remained behind for an hour or two to examine the bales of the
+old trader; "this is the quarest country, I believe, that iver was made;
+what with bastes, and varmints, and riptiles, and traes, and bushes, and
+rivers, it bates all creation."
+
+"Certainly it does, Barney; and it is a pity there are so few people in
+it who know how to make use of the things that are scattered all around
+them. I'm inclined to think the hermit was right when he said that they
+wanted the Bible. They are too far sunk in laziness and idleness to be
+raised up by anything else. Just look," continued Martin, glancing round,
+"what a wonderful place this is! It seems as if all the birds and curious
+trees in Brazil had congregated here to meet us."
+
+"So't does," said Barney, stopping to gaze on the scene through which
+they were passing, with an expression of perplexity on his face, as if he
+found the sight rather too much even for _his_ comprehension. Besides the
+parrots and scarlet and yellow macaws, and other strange-looking birds
+which we have elsewhere mentioned, there were long-tailed light-coloured
+cuckoos flying about from tree to tree, not calling like the cuckoo of
+Europe at all, but giving forth a sound like the creaking of a rusty
+hinge; there were hawks and buzzards of many different kinds, and
+red-breasted orioles in the bushes, and black vultures flying overhead,
+and Muscovy ducks sweeping past with whizzing wings, and flocks of the
+great wood-ibis sailing in the air on noiseless pinions, and hundreds of
+other birds that it would require an ornithologist to name; and myriads
+of insects,--especially ants and spiders, great and small,--that no
+entomologist could chronicle in a lifetime; all these were heard and seen
+at once; while of the animals that were heard, but not so often seen,
+there were black and spotted jaguars, and pacas, and cotias, and
+armadillos, and deer, and many others, that would take _pages_ to
+enumerate and whole books to describe. But the noise was the great point.
+That was the thing that took Martin and Barney quite aback, although it
+was by no means new to them; but they could not get used to it. And no
+wonder! Ten thousand paroquets shrieking passionately, like a hundred
+knife-grinders at work, is no joke; especially when their melodies are
+mingled with the discordant cries of herons, and bitterns, and cranes,
+and the ceaseless buzz and hum of insects, like the bagpipe's drone, and
+the dismal croaking of boat-bills and frogs,--one kind of which latter,
+by the way, doesn't croak at all, but _whistles_, ay, better than many a
+bird! The universal hubbub is tremendous! I tell you, reader, that you
+_don't_ understand it, and you _can't_ understand it; and if, after I had
+used the utmost excess of exaggerated language to convey a correct
+impression of the reality, you were to imagine that you really _did_
+understand it, you would be very lamentably mistaken--that's all!
+
+Nevertheless, you must not run away with the idea that the whole empire
+of Brazil is like this. There are dark thick solitudes in these vast
+forests, which are solemn and silent enough at times; and there are wide
+grassy campos, and great sandy plains, where such sounds are absent. Yet
+there are also thousands of such spots as I have just described, where
+all nature, in earth, air, and water, is instinct with noisy animal life.
+
+After two hours' walk, Martin and his companion reached the lake, and
+here active preparations were making for the alligator hunt.
+
+"Is that the only place ye have to spind the night in, Sambo?" said
+Barney to their conductor, as he pointed to a wooden shed near which some
+fifteen or twenty Negro slaves were overhauling the fishing tackle.
+
+"Yis, massa," answered the black, showing his white teeth; "dat is de
+bottle of dis great city." Sambo could speak a little English, having
+wrought for several years on the coffee plantation of a Yankee settler.
+He was a bit of a wag, too, much to the indignation of his grave master,
+the Senhor Antonio, who abhorred jesting.
+
+"Ye're too cliver, avic," said Barney, with a patronizing smile; "take
+care ye don't use up yer intellect too fast. It hurts the constitution in
+the long-run."
+
+"I say, Barney," cried Martin, who had gone ahead of his companions,
+"come here, man, and just look at this pond. It's literally crammed full
+of alligators."
+
+"Musha, but there's more alligators than wather, I belave!"
+exclaimed Barney.
+
+The pond was indeed swarming with these ferocious reptiles, which were
+constantly thrusting their ugly snouts above the surface and then
+disappearing with a flourish of their powerful tails. During the rainy
+season this lake was much larger, and afforded ample room for its
+inhabitants; but at the height of the dry season, which it was at this
+time, there was little water, and it was much overstocked. When
+alligators are thus put upon short allowance of water, they frequently
+bury themselves in the wet mud, and lie dormant for a long time, while
+the water continues to retire and leaves them buried. But when the first
+shower of the rainy season falls, they burst open their tomb and drag
+their dry bodies to the lake or river on whose margin they went to sleep.
+
+An hour or two later the Senhor Antonio arrived; but as it was getting
+dark, nothing could be done until the following morning; so they slung
+their hammocks under the wooden shed on the margin of the lake, and, in
+order to save themselves as much as possible from the bites of the
+tormenting mosquitoes, went to sleep with their heads tied up in their
+handkerchiefs, and their hands thrust into their breeches pockets! The
+occasional splash and snort of contending alligators, about twenty yards
+off, varied the monotony of the hours of darkness, while the frogs and
+cranes and jaguars sang their lullaby.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+AN ALLIGATOR HUNT--REMARKABLE EXPLOSIONS--THE RAINY SEASON USHERED IN BY
+AN AWFUL RESURRECTION
+
+
+At sunrise an expressive shout in Portuguese set the black slaves on
+their feet; and, after a hasty breakfast of alligator-tail and farina,
+they commenced operations. Alligator-tail is by no means bad food, and
+after the first mouthful,--taken with hesitation and swallowed with
+difficulty,--Martin and Barney both pronounced it "capital." Sambo, who
+had cooked the delicate morsel, and stood watching them, smacked his lips
+and added, "Fuss rate."
+
+All being now ready for the hunt, a number of Negroes entered the
+water, which was nowhere very deep, with long poles in their hands.
+This appeared to Martin and Barney a very reckless and dangerous thing
+to do, as no doubt it was. Nevertheless accidents, they were told, very
+rarely happened.
+
+Sambo, who was the overseer of the party, was the first to dash up to the
+middle in the water. "Hi," exclaimed that dingy individual, making a
+torrent of remarks in Portuguese, while he darted his long pole hither
+and thither; then, observing that Martin and Barney were gazing at him
+open mouthed, he shouted, "Look out, boys! here Jim comes! Take care, ole
+feller, or he jump right down you' throat! hi-i-i!"
+
+As he spoke, a large alligator, having been rudely stirred up from his
+muddy bed, floundered on the surface of the lake and Sambo instantly
+gave it a thump over the back and a blow under the ribs; which had the
+effect of driving it in the direction of the shore. Here a number of
+Negroes were ready for him; and the moment he came within reach, a coil
+of rope with a noose on the end of it, called a lasso, was adroitly
+thrown over the reptile's head: ten or twelve men then hauled the lasso
+and dragged it ashore amid shouts of triumph. This alligator was twenty
+feet long, with an enormous misshapen head and fearful rows of teeth
+that were terrible to behold. The monster did not submit to be captured,
+however, without a struggle; and the Negroes grew wild with excitement
+as they yelled and leaped madly about seeking to avoid its dangerous
+jaws and the blows of its powerful tail. After some trouble, a second
+lasso was thrown over the tail, which was thus somewhat restrained in
+its movements; and Sambo, approaching cautiously with an axe, cut a deep
+gash just at the root of that formidable appendage, which rendered it
+harmless. "Hi-i," shouted Sambo in triumph, as he sprang towards the
+animal's head, and inflicted a similar gash in the neck; "dare, you
+quite finish, ole feller."
+
+"Musha but that's thrue!" ejaculated Barney, who stood staring at the
+whole proceeding like one in a trance. "Did ye iver git a bite, Sambo?"
+
+Barney received no answer, for his sable friend was already up to his
+waist in the water with five or six of his brethren, who were flourishing
+their long poles and driving the snorting alligators towards the shore,
+where their comrades, with lassos and harpoons, awaited them. Sometimes
+they harpooned the alligators, and then, fastening lassos to their heads
+and tails, or to a hind leg, dragged them ashore; at other times they
+threw the lasso over their heads at once, without taking the trouble to
+harpoon them. It was a terrible and a wonderful sight to witness the
+Negroes in the very midst of a shoal of these creatures, any one of which
+could have taken a man into his jaws quite easily,--whence, once between
+these long saw-like rows of teeth, no man could have escaped to tell how
+sharp they were. The creatures were so numerous that it was impossible to
+thrust a pole into the mud without stirring up one of them; but they were
+so terrified at the sudden attack and the shouts of the Negroes, that
+they thought only of escape.
+
+Suddenly there arose a great cry. One of the lassos had snapt, and the
+alligator was floundering back into the water, when Sambo rushed in up to
+the arm-pits, and caught the end of the rope. At the same moment two
+alligators made at the Negro with open jaws. It is probable that the
+animals went in his direction by mere accident, and would have brushed
+past him in blind haste; but to Martin and Barney it seemed as if the
+poor man's fate were sealed, and they uttered a loud shout of horror as
+they bounded simultaneously into the water, not knowing what to do, but
+being unable to restrain the impulse to spring to Sambo's aid.
+Fortunately, however, one of the other Negroes was near Sambo. He sprang
+forward, and dealt the alligators two tremendous blows with his pole on
+their snouts, right and left, which turned them off. Then other Negroes
+came up, laid hold of Sambo, who would not let go his hold and was being
+dragged into deep water, caught the end of the rope, and in ten minutes
+hauled their victim to the shore, when it was quickly despatched in the
+usual manner.
+
+By this time about a dozen alligators, varying from ten to twenty feet in
+length, had been captured; and Barney at length became so bold that he
+requested to be allowed to try his hand at throwing the lasso, the
+dexterous use of which by the Negroes had filled him with admiration. A
+loud burst of laughter greeted this proposal, and Sambo showed a set of
+teeth that might have made even the alligators envious, as he handed the
+Irishman a coil of line.
+
+"Now don't miss, Barney," cried Martin, laughing heartily, as his comrade
+advanced to the edge of the lake and watched his opportunity. "Mind, your
+credit as an expert hunter is at stake."
+
+The Senhor Antonio stood close behind the Irishman, with his arms folded
+and a sarcastic smile on his countenance.
+
+"Don't send it down him's throat," yelled Sambo. "Hi-i; dat's de vay to
+swing urn round. Stir um up, boys!--poke um up, villains, hi!"
+
+The Negroes in the water obeyed with frantic glee, and the terrified
+monsters surged about in all directions, so that Barney found it almost
+impossible to fix his attention on any particular individual. At length
+he made up his mind, whirled the coil round his head, discharged the
+noose, caught the Senhor Antonio round the neck, and jerked him violently
+to the ground!
+
+There was a simultaneous pause of horror among the slaves; but it was too
+much for their risible faculties to withstand; with one accord they
+rushed howling into the water to conceal their laughter, and began to
+stir up and belabour the alligators with their poles, until the surface
+of the lake was a sheet of foam.
+
+Meanwhile the Senhor Antonio sprang to his feet and began to bluster
+considerably in Portuguese; but poor Barney seemed awfully crest-fallen,
+arid the deep concern which wrinkled his face, and the genuine regret
+that sounded in the tones of his voice, at length soothed the indignant
+Brazilian, who frowned gravely, and waving his hand, as if to signify
+that Barney had his forgiveness, he stalked up to the shed, lighted a
+cigarito, and lay down in his hammock.
+
+"Well!" said Martin, in an under-tone, "you did it that time, Barney.
+I verily thought the old fellow was hanged. He became quite livid in
+the face."
+
+"Och! bad luck to the lasso, say I. May I niver more see the swate groves
+o' Killarney if iver I meddle with wan again."
+
+"Hi-i; you is fuss rate," said Sambo, as he and his comrades returned and
+busied themselves in cutting up the dead alligators. "You beat de Niggers
+all to not'ing. Not any of dis yere chiles eber lasso Sen'or Antonio yet;
+no, neber!"
+
+It was some time before the Negroes could effectually subdue their
+merriment, but at length they succeeded, and applied themselves
+vigorously to the work of cutting out the fat. The alligators were all
+cut open,--a work of no small difficulty, owing to the hard scales
+which covered them as with coats of mail; then the fat, which
+accumulates in large quantities about the intestines, was cut out and
+made up into packets in the skins of the smaller ones, which were taken
+off for this purpose.
+
+These packets were afterwards carried to the Senhor's dwelling, and the
+fat melted down into oil, which served for burning in lamps quite as well
+as train oil. The flesh of a smaller species of alligator, some of which
+were also taken, is considered excellent food; and, while the Negroes
+were engaged in their work, Barney made himself useful by kindling a
+large fire and preparing a savoury dish for "all hands," plentifully
+seasoned with salt and pepper, with which condiments the country is well
+supplied, and of which the people are exceedingly fond.
+
+There was also caught in this lake a large species of fish called
+pirarucu, which, strangely enough, found it possible to exist in spite of
+alligators. They were splendid creatures, from five to six feet long, and
+covered with large scales more than an inch in diameter, which were
+beautifully marked and spotted with red. These fish were most delicately
+flavoured, and Barney exerted his talents to the utmost in order to do
+them justice. Martin also did his best to prove himself a willing and
+efficient assistant, and cleaned and washed the pirarucu steaks and the
+junks of alligator-tail to admiration. In short, the exertions of the two
+strangers in this way quite won the hearts of the Negroes, and after
+dinner the Senhor Antonio had quite recovered his good humour.
+
+While staying at this place Martin had an opportunity of seeing a great
+variety of the curious fish with which the Amazon is stocked. These are
+so numerous that sometimes, when sailing up stream with a fair wind, they
+were seen leaping all round the canoe in shoals, so that it was only
+necessary to strike the water with the paddles in order to kill a few.
+
+The peixe boi, or cow-fish, is one of the most curious of the inhabitants
+of the Amazon. It is about six feet long, and no less than five feet in
+circumference at its thickest part. It is a perfectly smooth, and what we
+may call _dumpy_ fish, of a leaden colour, with a semi-circular flat
+tail, and a large mouth with thick fleshy lips resembling those of a cow.
+There are stiff bristles on the lips, and a few scattered hairs over the
+body. It has two fins just behind the head; and below these, in the
+females, there are two breasts, from which good white milk flows when
+pressure is applied. The cow-fish feeds on grass at the borders of rivers
+and lakes; and when suckling its young it carries it in its fins or
+flippers, and clasps the little one to its breast, just as a mother
+clasps her baby! It is harpooned and taken for the sake of its fat, from
+which oil is made. The flesh is also very good, resembling beef in
+quality, and it was much relished by Martin and Barney, who frequently
+dined on beef-steaks cut from this remarkable cow-fish.
+
+There was also another fish which surprised our adventurers not a little
+the first time they met with it. One evening Senhor Antonio had ordered
+a net to be thrown into the river, being desirous of procuring a few
+fresh fish for the use of his establishment. The Indians and Negroes
+soon after commenced dragging, and in a few minutes afterwards the sandy
+bank of the river was strewn with an immense variety of small fish,
+among which were a few of a larger kind. Martin and Barney became
+excited as they saw them leaping and spluttering about, and ran in
+amongst them to assist in gathering them into baskets. But scarcely had
+the latter advanced a few steps when there was a loud report, as if a
+pistol had gone off under his feet.
+
+"Hallo!" exclaimed the Irishman, leaping two feet into the air. On his
+reaching the ground again, a similar explosion occurred, and Barney
+dashed aside, overturning Martin in his haste. Martin's heel caught on a
+stone, and he fell flat on the ground, when instantly there was a report
+as if he had fallen upon and burst an inflated paper bag. The natives
+laughed loud and long, while the unfortunate couple sprang up the bank,
+half inclined to think that an earthquake was about to take place. The
+cause of their fright was then pointed out. It was a species of small
+fish which has the power of inflating the fore part of its body into a
+complete ball, and which, when stamped upon, explodes with a loud noise.
+There were great numbers of these scattered among the other fish, and
+also large quantities of a little fish armed with long spines, which
+inflict a serious wound when trodden upon.
+
+At this place adventures on a small scale crowded upon our travellers
+so thickly that Martin began to look upon sudden surprises as a
+necessary of life, and Barney said that "if it wint on any longer he
+feared his eye-brows would get fixed near the top of his head, and
+niver more come down,"
+
+One evening, soon after their departure from the residence of Senhor
+Antonio, the old trader was sitting steering in the stern of his canoe,
+which was running up before a pretty stiff breeze. Martin was lying on
+his back, as was his wont in such easy circumstances, amusing himself
+with Marmoset; and Barney was reclining in the bow talking solemnly to
+Grampus; when suddenly the wind ceased, and it became a dead calm. The
+current was so strong that they could scarcely paddle against it, so they
+resolved to go no further that night, and ran the canoe ashore on a low
+point of mud, intending to encamp under the trees, no human habitation
+being near them. The mud bank was hard and dry, and cracked with the
+heat; for it was now the end of the dry season, and the river had long
+since retired from it.
+
+"Not a very comfortable place, Barney," said Martin, looking round, as he
+threw down one of the bales which he had just carried up from the canoe.
+"Hallo! there's a hut, I declare. Come, that's a comfort anyhow."
+
+As he spoke Martin pointed to one of the solitary and rudely constructed
+huts or sheds which the natives of the banks of the Amazon sometimes
+erect during the dry season, and forsake when the river overflows its
+banks. The hut was a very old one, and had evidently been inundated, for
+the floor was a mass of dry, solid mud, and the palm-leaf roof was much
+damaged. However, it was better than nothing, so they slung their
+hammocks under it, kindled a fire, and prepared supper. While they were
+busy discussing this meal, a few dark and ominous clouds gathered in the
+sky, and the old trader, glancing uneasily about him, gave them to
+understand that he feared the rainy season was going to begin.
+
+"Well then," said Barney, lighting his pipe and stretching himself at
+full length in his hammock, with a leg swinging to and fro over one side
+and his head leaning over the other, as was his wont when he felt
+particularly comfortable in mind and body; "Well then, avic, let it
+begin. If we're sure to have it anyhow, the sooner it begins the better,
+to my thinkin'."
+
+"I don't know that," said Martin, who was seated on a large stone beside
+the fire sipping a can of coffee, which he shared equally with Marmoset.
+The monkey sat on his shoulder gazing anxiously into his face, with an
+expression that seemed as if the creature were mentally exclaiming, "Now
+me, now you; now me, now you," during the whole process. "It would be
+better, I think, if we were in a more sheltered position before it
+begins. Ha! there it comes though, in earnest."
+
+A smart shower began to fall as he spoke, and, percolating through the
+old roof, descended rather copiously on the mud floor. In a few minutes
+there was a heaving of the ground under their feet!
+
+"Ochone!" cried Barney, taking his pipe out of his mouth and looking down
+with a disturbed expression, "there's an arthquake, I do belave."
+
+For a few seconds there was a dead silence.
+
+"Nonsense," whispered Martin uneasily.
+
+"It's dramin' I must have been," sighed Barney, resuming his pipe.
+
+Again the ground heaved and cracked, and Martin and the old trader had
+just time to spring to their feet when the mud floor of the hut burst
+upwards and a huge dried-up-looking alligator crawled forth, as if from
+the bowels of the earth! It glanced up at Barney; opened its tremendous
+jaws, and made as if it would run at the terrified old trader; then,
+observing the doorway, it waddled out, and, trundling down the bank,
+plunged into the river and disappeared.
+
+Barney could find no words to express his feelings, but continued to gaze
+with an unbelieving expression down into the hole out of which the
+monster had come, and in which it had buried itself many weeks before,
+when the whole country was covered with soft mud. At that time it had
+probably regarded the shelter of the inundated hut as of some advantage,
+and had lain down to repose. The water retiring had left it there buried,
+and--as we have already mentioned in reference to alligators--when the
+first shower of the rainy season fell it was led by instinct to burst its
+earthy prison, and seek its native element.
+
+Before Barney or his companions could recover from their surprise, they
+had other and more urgent matters to think about. The dark clouds burst
+overhead, and the rain descended like a continued water-spout,--not in
+drops but in heavy sheets and masses; the roof of the hut gave way in
+several places, driving them into a corner for shelter; the river began
+to rise rapidly, soon flooding the hut; and, when darkness overspread the
+land, they found themselves drenched to the skin and suspended in their
+hammocks over a running stream of water!
+
+This event brought about an entire change in the aspect of nature, and
+was the cause of a sad and momentous era in the adventures of Martin
+Rattler and his companion.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+THE CAPO--INTERRUPTIONS--GRAMPUS AND MARMOSET--CANOEING IN THE WOODS--A
+NIGHT ON A FLOATING ISLAND
+
+
+There is a peculiar and very striking feature in the character of the
+great Amazon, which affects the distinctive appearance of that river and
+materially alters the manners and customs of those who dwell beside it.
+This peculiarity is the periodical overflow of its low banks; and the
+part thus overflowed is called the _Gapo_. It extends from a little above
+the town of San-tarem up to the confines of Peru, a distance of about
+seventeen hundred miles; and varies in width from one to twenty miles: so
+that the country when inundated assumes in many places the appearance of
+an extensive lake with forest trees growing out of the water; and
+travellers may proceed many hundreds of miles in their canoes without
+once entering the main stream of the river. At this time the natives
+become almost aquatic animals. Several tribes of Indians inhabit the
+Gapo; such as the Purupurus, Muras; and others. They build small movable
+huts on the sandy shores during the dry season, and on rafts in the wet
+They subsist on turtle, cow-fish, and the other fish with which the river
+abounds, and live almost entirely in their canoes; while at night they
+frequently sling their hammocks between the branches of trees and sleep
+suspended over the deep water.
+
+Some of the animals found in the Gapo are peculiar to it, being attracted
+by the fruit-trees which are found growing only there. The Indians assert
+that every tree that grows in the Gapo is distinct from all those that
+grow in other districts; and when we consider that these trees are
+submerged for six months every year, till they are tall enough to rise
+above the highest water-level, we may well believe their constitution is
+somewhat different from those that are reared on ordinary ground. The
+Indians are wonderfully expert in finding their way among the trackless
+mazes of the Gapo, being guided by the broken twigs and scraped bark that
+indicate the route followed by previous travellers.
+
+Owing to this sudden commencement of the rainy season, the old trader
+resolved to return to a small village and there spend several months.
+Martin and Barney were much annoyed at this; for the former was impatient
+to penetrate further into the interior, and the latter had firmly made up
+his mind to visit the diamond mines, about which he entertained the most
+extravagant notions. He did not, indeed, know in the least how to get to
+these mines, nor even in which direction they lay; but he had a strong
+impression that as long as he continued travelling he was approaching
+gradually nearer to them, and he had no doubt whatever that he would get
+to them at last. It was, therefore, with no small degree of impatience
+that they awaited the pleasure of their sable master, who explained to
+them that when the waters reached their height he would proceed.
+
+Everything comes to an end, even a long story. After many weeks had
+passed slowly by, their sojourn in this village came to an end too. It
+was a dull place, very dull, and they had nothing to do; and the few
+poor people who lived there seemed to have very little or nothing to do.
+We will, therefore, pass it over, and resume our narrative at the point
+when the old trader announced to Barney that the flood was at its height
+and they would now continue their journey. They embarked once more in
+their old canoe with their goods and chattels, not forgetting Marmoset
+and Grampus, whose friendship during their inactive life had become more
+close than ever. This friendship was evidenced chiefly by the
+matter-of-course way in which Grampus permitted the monkey to mount his
+back and ride about the village and through the woods, where dry places
+could be found, as long as she pleased. Marmoset was fonder of riding
+than walking, so that Grampus had enough to do; but he did not put
+himself much about. He trotted, walked, galloped, and lay down, when,
+and where, and as often as he chose, without any reference to the small
+monkey; and Marmoset held on through thick and thin, and nibbled nuts or
+whatever else it picked up, utterly regardless of where it was going to
+or the pace at which it went. It was sharp, though, that small monkey,
+sharp as a needle, and had its little black eyes glancing on all sides;
+so that when Grampus dashed through underwood, and the branches
+threatened to sweep it off, it ducked its head; or, lying flat down,
+shut its eyes and held on with all its teeth and four hands like a
+limpet to a rock. Marmoset was not careful as to her attitude on
+dog-back. She sat with her face to the front or rear, just as her fancy
+or convenience dictated.
+
+After leaving the village they travelled for many days and nights through
+the Gapo. Although afloat on the waters of the Amazon, they never entered
+the main river after the first few days, but wound their way, in a
+creeping, serpentine sort of fashion, through small streams and lakes and
+swamps, from which the light was partially excluded by the thick foliage
+of the forest. It was a strange scene that illimitable watery waste, and
+aroused new sensations in the breasts of our travellers. As Barney said,
+it made him "feel quite solemn-like and eerie to travel through the woods
+by wather."
+
+The canoe was forced under branches and among dense bushes, till they got
+into a part where the trees were loftier and a deep gloom prevailed. Here
+the lowest branches were on a level with the surface of the water, and
+many of them were putting forth beautiful flowers. On one occasion they
+came to a grove of small palms, which were so deep in the water that the
+leaves were only a few feet above the surface. Indeed they were so low
+that one of them caught Martin's straw-hat and swept it overboard.
+
+"Hallo! stop!" cried Martin, interrupting the silence so suddenly
+that Grampus sprang up with a growl, under the impression that game
+was in view; and Marmoset scampered off behind a packing-box with an
+angry shriek.
+
+"What's wrong, lad?" inquired Barney.
+
+"Back water, quick! my hat's overboard, and there's an alligator going to
+snap it up. Look alive, man!"
+
+In a few seconds the canoe was backed and the straw-hat rescued from its
+perilous position.
+
+"It's an ill wind that blows nae guid, as the Scotch say," remarked
+Barney, rising in the canoe and reaching towards something among the
+overhanging branches. "Here's wan o' them trees that old black-face calls
+a maraja, with some splendid bunches o' fruit on it. Hould yer hat,
+Martin; there's more nor enough for supper anyhow,"
+
+As he spoke a rustling in the leaves told that monkeys were watching us,
+and Marmoset kept peeping up as if she half expected they might be
+relations. But the moment the travellers caught sight of them they
+bounded away screaming.
+
+Having gathered as much fruit as they required, they continued their
+voyage, and presently emerged into the pleasant sunshine in a large
+grassy lake, which was filled with lilies and beautiful water-plants,
+little yellow bladder-worts, with several other plants of which they knew
+not the names; especially one with a thick swollen stalk, curious leaves,
+and bright blue flowers. This lake was soon passed, and they again
+entered into the gloomy forest, and paddled among the lofty trunks of the
+trees, which rose like massive columns out of the deep water. There was
+enough of animal life there, however, to amuse and interest them. The
+constant plash of falling fruit showed that birds were feeding overhead.
+Sometimes a flock of parrots or bright blue chatterers swept from tree to
+tree, or atrogon swooped at a falling bunch of fruit and caught it ere it
+reached the water; while ungainly toucans plumped clumsily down upon the
+branches, and sat, in striking contrast, beside the lovely pompadours,
+with their claret-coloured plumage and delicate white wings.
+
+Vieing with these birds in splendour were several large bright-yellow
+flowers of the creeping-plants, which twined round the trees. Some of
+these plants had white, spotted, and purple blossoms; and there was one
+splendid species, called by the natives the flor de Santa Anna--the
+flower of St. Ann--which emitted a delightful odour and was four inches
+in diameter.
+
+Having traversed this part of the wood, they once more emerged upon the
+main stream of the Amazon. It was covered with water-fowl. Large logs of
+trees and numerous floating islands of grass were sailing down; and on
+these sat hundreds of white gulls, demurely and comfortably voyaging to
+the ocean; for the sea would be their final resting-place if they sat on
+these logs and islands until they descended several hundreds of miles of
+the great river.
+
+"I wish," said Martin, after a long silence, during which the travellers
+had been gazing on the watery waste as they paddled up stream--"I wish
+that we could fall in with solid land, where we might have something
+cooked. I'm desperately hungry now; but I don't see a spot of earth large
+enough for a mosquito to rest his foot on."
+
+"We'll jist have to take to farhina and wather," remarked Barney, laying
+down his paddle and proceeding leisurely to light his pipe. "It's a
+blissin' we've got baccy, any how. Tis mesilf that could niver git on
+without it."
+
+"I wish you joy of it, Barney. It may fill your mouth, but it can't stop
+your hunger."
+
+"Och, boy, it's little ye know! Sure it stops the cravin's o' hunger, and
+kapes yer stumick from callin' out for iver, till ye fall in with
+somethin' to ate."
+
+"It does not seem to stop the mouth then, Barney, for you call out for
+grub oftener than I do; and then you say that you couldn't get on without
+it; so you're a slave to it, old boy. I wouldn't be a slave to anything
+if I could help it."
+
+"Martin, lad, ye're gittin' deep. Take care now, or ye'll be in
+mettlefeesics soon. I say, ould black-face,"--Barney was not on ceremony
+with the old trader,--"is there no land in thim parts at all?"
+
+"No, not dis night,"
+
+"Och, then, we'll have to git up a tree and try to cook somethin' there;
+for I'm not goin' to work on flour and wather. Hallo! hould on! There's
+an island, or the portrait o' wan! Port your helm, Naygur! hard aport!
+D'ye hear?"
+
+The old man heard, but, as usual, paid no attention to the Irishman's
+remarks; and the canoe would have passed straight on, had not Barney used
+his bow-paddle so energetically that he managed to steer her, as he
+expressed it, by the nose, and ran her against a mass of floating logs
+which had caught firmly in a thicket, and were so covered with grass and
+broken twigs as to have very much the appearance of a real island. Here
+they landed, so to speak, kindled a small fire, made some coffee, roasted
+a few fish, baked several cakes, and were soon as happy and comfortable
+as hungry and wearied men usually are when they obtain rest and food.
+
+"This is what I call jolly," remarked Barney.
+
+"What's jolly?" inquired Martin.
+
+"Why _this_, to be sure,--grub to begin with, and a smoke and a
+convanient snooze in prospect,"
+
+The hopes which Barney cherished, however, were destined to be blighted,
+at least in part. To the victuals he did ample justice; the pipe was
+delightful, and in good working order; but when they lay down to repose,
+they were attacked by swarms of stinging ants, which the heat of the fire
+had driven out of the old logs. These and mosquitoes effectually banished
+sleep from their eye-lids, and caused them to reflect very seriously, and
+to state to each other more than once very impressively, that, with all
+their beauties and wonders, tropical lands had their disadvantages, and
+there was no place like the "ould country," after all.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+THE SAD AND MOMENTOUS ERA REFERRED TO AT THE CLOSE OF THE CHAPTER
+PRECEDING THE LAST
+
+
+One sultry evening, many weeks after our travellers had passed the
+uncomfortable night on the floating island in the Gapo, they came to a
+place where the banks of the river rose boldly up in rugged rocks and
+hemmed in the waters of the Amazon, which were by this time somewhat
+abated. Here they put ashore, intending to kindle their fire and encamp
+for the night, having been up and hard at work since daybreak.
+
+The evening was calm and beautiful, and the troublesome insects not so
+numerous as usual,--probably owing to the nature of the ground. One or
+two monkeys showed themselves for a moment, as if to enquire who was
+there, and then ran away screaming; a porcupine also crossed their
+path, and several small bright snakes, of a harmless species, glided
+over the rocks, and sought refuge among the small bushes; but beyond
+these there were few of the sights and sounds that were wont to greet
+them in the forest.
+
+"I think things look well to-night," remarked Martin as he threw down a
+bundle of sticks which he had gathered for the fire; "we shall have a
+comfortable snooze for certain, if the mosquitoes don't wake up."
+
+"I'm not so sure of that," replied Barney, striking a light with flint
+and steel and stooping to puff the smouldering spark into a flame. "I've
+larned by exparience that ye niver can be--puff--sure o' nothin' in
+this--puff--remarkable country. Jist look at Darkey now," continued the
+Irishman, sitting down on a stone before the fire, which now began to
+kindle up, and stuffing the tobacco into his pipe with his little finger.
+"There he is, a livin' Naygur, aliftin' of the provision-bag out o' the
+canoe. Well, if he was all of a suddent to turn into Marmoset an' swaller
+himself, an' then jump down the throat of Grampus, and the whole consarn,
+canoe and all, to disappear, I don't think that I would be much
+surprised."
+
+"Would you not, Barney? I suspect that I should be, a little, under the
+circumstances; perhaps the old Nigger would be more so."
+
+"Niver a taste," continued Barney. "Ye see, if that was to happen, I
+would then know that it was all a drame. I've more than wance expected to
+wake up since I comed into furrin parts; the only thing that kapes me in
+doubt about it is the baccy."
+
+"How so, Barney?"
+
+"Why, bekase it tastes so rael, good luck to it! that I can't git myself
+to think it's only a drame. Jist look, now," he continued, in the same
+tone of voice; "if it wasn't a drame, how could I see sich a thing as
+that standin' on the rock over there?"
+
+Martin glanced towards the spot pointed out by his friend, and
+immediately started up with surprise.
+
+"Hallo! Barney, that's no dream, I'll vouch for it. He's an Indian, and a
+very ugly one too, I declare. I say, old fellow, do you know what sort of
+savage that is?"
+
+"Not know," answered the trader, glancing uneasily at the stranger.
+
+"He might have the dacency to put on more close, anyhow," muttered
+Barney, as he gazed inquiringly at the savage.
+
+The being who had thus appeared so suddenly before the travellers
+belonged to one of the numerous tribes of Indians inhabiting the country
+near the head-waters of some of the chief tributaries of the Amazon. He
+was almost entirely naked, having merely a scanty covering on his loins;
+and carried a small quiver full of arrows at his back, and what appeared
+to be a long spear in his hand. His figure was strongly but not well
+formed; and his face, which was of a dark copper hue, was disfigured in a
+most remarkable manner. A mass of coarse black hair formed the only
+covering to his head. His cheeks were painted with curious marks of jet
+black. But the most remarkable points about him were the huge pieces of
+wood which formed ornaments in his ears and under lip. They were round
+and flat like the wooden wheel of a toy-cart, about half an inch thick,
+and larger than an old-fashioned watch. These were fitted into enormous
+slits made in the ears and under lip, and the latter projected more than
+two inches from his mouth! Indeed, the cut that had been made to receive
+this ornament was so large that the lip had been almost cut off
+altogether, and merely hung by each corner of his mouth! The aspect of
+the man was very hideous, and it was by no means improved when, having
+recovered from his surprise at unexpectedly encountering strangers, he
+opened his mouth to the full extent and uttered a savage yell.
+
+The cry was answered immediately. In a few minutes a troop of upwards of
+thirty savages sprang from the woods, and, ascending the rock on which
+their comrade stood, gazed down on the travellers in surprise, and, by
+their movements, seemed to be making hasty preparations for an attack.
+
+By this time Barney had recovered his self-possession, and became
+thoroughly convinced of the reality of the apparition before him. Drawing
+his pistol hastily from his belt, he caught up a handful of gravel,
+wherewith he loaded it to the muzzle, ramming down the charge with a bit
+of mandioca-cake in lieu of a wad; then drawing his cutlass he handed it
+to Martin, exclaiming, "Come, lad, we're in for it now. Take you the
+cutlass and Til try their skulls with the butt o' my pistol: it has done
+good work before now in that way. If there's no more o' the blackguards
+in the background we'll bate them aisy."
+
+Martin instinctively grasped the cutlass, and there is no doubt that,
+under the impulse of that remarkable quality, British valour, which
+utterly despises odds, they would have hurled themselves recklessly upon
+the savages, when the horrified old trader threw himself on Barney's neck
+and implored him not to fight; for if he did they would all be killed,
+and if he only kept quiet the savages would perhaps do them no harm. At
+the same moment about fifty additional Indians arrived upon the scene of
+action. This, and the old man's earnest entreaties, induced them to
+hesitate for an instant, and, before they could determine what to do,
+they were surprised by some of the savages, who rushed upon them from
+behind and took them prisoners. Barney struggled long and fiercely, but
+he was at length overpowered by numbers. The pistol, which missed fire,
+was wrenched from his grasp, and his hands were speedily bound behind his
+back. Martin was likewise disarmed and secured; not, however, before he
+made a desperate slash at one of the savages, which narrowly missed his
+skull, and cut away his lip ornament.
+
+As for the old trader, he made no resistance at all, but submitted
+quietly to his fate. The savages did not seem to think it worth their
+while to bind him. Grampus bounced and barked round the party savagely,
+but did not attack; and Marmoset slept in the canoe in blissful ignorance
+of the whole transaction.
+
+The hands of the two prisoners being firmly bound, they were allowed to
+do as they pleased; so they sat down on a rock in gloomy silence, and
+watched the naked savages as they rifled the canoe and danced joyfully
+round the treasures which their active knives and fingers soon exposed to
+view. The old trader took things philosophically. Knowing that it was
+absolutely impossible to escape, he sat quietly down on a stone, rested
+his chin on his hands, heaved one or two deep sighs, and thereafter
+seemed to be nothing more than an ebony statue.
+
+The ransacking of the canoe and appropriating of its contents occupied
+the savages but a short time, after which they packed everything up in
+small bundles, which they strapped upon their backs. Then, making signs
+to their prisoners to rise, they all marched away into the forest. Just
+as they were departing, Marmoset, observing that she was about to be left
+behind, uttered a frantic cry, which brought Grampus gambolling to her
+side. With an active bound the monkey mounted its charger, and away they
+went into the forest in the track of the band of savages.
+
+During the first part of their march Martin and Barney were permitted to
+walk beside each other, and they conversed in low, anxious tones.
+
+"Surely," said Barney, as they marched along surrounded by Indians,
+"thim long poles the savages have got are not spears; I don't see no
+point to them."
+
+"And what's more remarkable," added Martin, "is that they all carry
+quivers full of arrows, but none of them have bows."
+
+"There's a raison for iverything," said Barney, pointing to one of the
+Indians in advance; "that fellow explains the mystery."
+
+As he spoke, the savage referred to lowered the pole, which seemed to be
+about thirteen feet long, and pushing an arrow into a hole in the end of
+it, applied it to his mouth. In another moment the arrow flew through the
+air and grazed a bird that was sitting on a branch hard by.
+
+"Tis a blow-pipe, and no mistake!" cried Barney.
+
+"And a poisoned arrow, I'm quite sure," added Martin; "for it only
+ruffled the bird's feathers, and see, it has fallen to the ground."
+
+"Och, then, but we'd have stood a bad chance in a fight, if thim's the
+wipons they use. Och, the dirty spalpeens! Martin, dear, we're done for.
+There's no chance for us at all."
+
+This impression seemed to take such deep hold of Barney's mind, that his
+usually reckless and half jesting disposition was completely subdued, and
+he walked along in gloomy silence, while a feeling of deep dejection
+filled the heart of his young companion.
+
+The blow-pipe which these Indians use is an ingeniously contrived weapon.
+It is made from a species of palm-tree. When an Indian wants one, he goes
+into the woods and selects a tree with a long slender stem of less than
+an inch in diameter; he extracts the pith out of this, and then cuts
+another stem, so much larger than the first that he can push the small
+tube into the bore of the large one,--thus the slight bend in one is
+counteracted by the other, and a perfectly straight pipe is formed. The
+mouthpiece is afterwards neatly finished off. The arrows used are very
+short, having a little ball of cotton at the end to fill the tube of the
+blow-pipe. The points are dipped in a peculiar poison, which has the
+effect of producing death when introduced into the blood by a mere
+scratch of the skin. The Indians can send these arrows an immense
+distance, and with unerring aim, as Martin and Barney had many an
+opportunity of witnessing during their long and weary journey on foot to
+the forest-home of the savages.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+WORSE AND WORSE--EVERYTHING SEEMS TO GO WRONG TOGETHER
+
+
+Although the Indians did not maltreat the unfortunate strangers who had
+thus fallen into their hands, they made them proceed by forced marches
+through the wilderness; and as neither Barney nor Martin had been of late
+much used to long walks, they felt the journey very severely. The old
+trader had been accustomed to everything wretched and unfortunate and
+uncomfortable from his childhood, so he plodded onward in silent
+indifference.
+
+The country through which they passed became every day more and more
+rugged, until at length it assumed the character of a wild mountainous
+district. Sometimes they wound their way in a zigzag manner up the
+mountain sides, by paths so narrow that they could scarcely find a
+foot-hold. At other times they descended into narrow valleys where they
+saw great numbers of wild animals of various kinds, some of which the
+Indians killed for food. After they reached the mountain district they
+loosed the hands of their prisoners, in order to enable them to climb
+more easily. Indeed in many places they had to scramble so carefully that
+it would have been impossible for any one to climb with his hands tied
+behind his back. But the Indians knew full well that they ran no risk of
+losing their prisoners; for if they had attempted to escape, dozens of
+their number were on the watch, before, behind, and on either side, ready
+to dart away in pursuit. Moreover, Barney had a feeling of horror at the
+bare idea of the poisoned arrows, that effectually prevented him from
+making the smallest attempt at escape. With a cutlass or a heavy stick he
+would have attacked the whole tribe single-handed, and have fought till
+his brains were knocked out; but when he thought of the small arrows that
+would pour upon him in hundreds if he made a dash for the woods, and the
+certain death that would follow the slightest scratch, he discarded all
+idea of rebellion.
+
+One of the animals killed by the Indians at this time was a black
+jaguar,--a magnificent animal, and very fierce. He was discovered
+crouching in a thicket backed by a precipice, from which he could only
+escape by charging through the ranks of his enemies. He did it nobly.
+With a roar that rebounded from the face of the high cliff and echoed
+through the valley like a peal of thunder, he sprang out and rushed at
+the savages in front, who scattered like chaff right and left. But at the
+same instant fifty blow-pipes sent their poisoned shafts into his body,
+and, after a few convulsive bounds, the splendid monarch of the American
+forests fell dead on the ground. The black jaguar is a somewhat rare
+animal, and is very seldom seen. This one was therefore hailed as a great
+prize, and the skin and claws were carefully preserved.
+
+On the afternoon of the same day the party came to a broad stream, over
+which they, or some other of the numerous tribes in the country, had
+constructed a very simple and curious bridge. It was a single rope
+attached to an immense mass of rock on one side and to the stem of a
+large tree on the other. On this tight-rope was fastened a simple loop of
+cord, so constructed that it could encircle the waist of a man and at the
+same time traverse from one end of the tight-rope to the other. Barney
+put on a comical frown when he came to this and saw the leader of the
+party rest his weight in the loop, and, in clinging with hands and legs
+to the long rope, work himself slowly across.
+
+"Arrah! it's well for us, Martin, that we're used to goin' aloft," said
+he, "or that same bridge would try our narves a little."
+
+"So it would, Barney. I've seldom seen a more uncomfortable-looking
+contrivance. If we lost our hold we should first be dashed to pieces on
+the rocks, and then be drowned in the river."
+
+Difficult though the passage seemed, however? it was soon accomplished by
+the active savages in safety. The only one of the party likely to be left
+behind was Grampus; whom his master, after much entreaty in dumb-show,
+was permitted to carry over by tying him firmly to his shoulders.
+Marmoset crossed over walking, like a tight-rope dancer, being quite _au
+fait_ at such work. Soon after they came to another curious bridge over a
+ravine. It had been constructed by simply felling two tall trees on the
+edge of it in such a manner that they fell across. They were bound
+together with the supple vines that grew there in profusion. Nature had
+soon covered the whole over with climbing plants and luxuriant verdure;
+and the bridge had become a broad and solid structure over which the
+whole party marched with perfect ease. Several such bridges were crossed,
+and also a few of the rope kind, during the journey.
+
+After many weeks' constant travelling, the Indians came to a beautiful
+valley one evening just about sunset, and began to make the usual
+preparations for encamping. The spot they selected was a singular one. It
+was at the foot of a rocky gorge, up which might be seen trees and bushes
+mingled with jagged rocks and dark caverns, with a lofty sierra or
+mountain range in the background. In front was the beautiful valley which
+they had just crossed. On a huge rock there grew a tree of considerable
+size, the roots of which projected beyond the rock several yards, and
+then, bending downwards, struck into the ground. Creeping plants had
+twined thickly among the roots, and thus formed a sort of lattice-work
+which enclosed a large space of ground. In this natural arbour the chiefs
+of the Indians took up their quarters and kindled their fire in the
+centre of it, while the main body of the party pitched their camp
+outside. The three prisoners were allotted a corner in the arbour; and,
+after having supped, they spread their ponchos on a pile of ferns, and
+found themselves very snug indeed.
+
+"Martin," said Barney, gravely, as he smoked his pipe and patted the head
+of his dog, "d'ye know I'm beginning to feel tired o' the company o' thim
+naked rascals, and I've been revolvin' in my mind what we should do to
+escape. Moreover, I've corned to a conclusion."
+
+"And what's that?" inquired Martin.
+
+"That it's unposs'ble to escape at all, and I don't know what to do."
+
+"That's not a satisfactory conclusion, Barney. I, too, have been
+cogitating a good deal about these Indians, and it is my opinion that
+they have been on a war expedition, for I've noticed that several of
+them have been wounded; and, besides, I cannot fancy what else could
+take them so far from home."
+
+"True, Martin, true. I wonder what they intind to do with us. They don't
+mean to kill us, anyhow; for if they did they would niver take the
+trouble to bring us here. Ochone! me heart's beginnin' to go down
+altogether; for we are miles and miles away from anywrhere now, and I
+don't know the direction o' no place whatsumdiver."
+
+"Never mind, Barney, cheer up," said Martin with a smile; "if they don't
+kill us that's all we need care about. I'm sure we shall manage to escape
+somehow or other in the long-run."
+
+While they thus conversed the old trader spread his poncho over himself
+and was soon sound asleep; while the Indians, after finishing supper,
+held an animated conversation. At times they seemed to be disputing, and
+spoke angrily and with violent gesticulations, glancing now and then at
+the corner where their prisoners lay.
+
+"It's my belafe," whispered Barney, "that they're spakin' about us. I'm
+afeard they don't mean us any good. Och, but if I wance had my pistol and
+the ould cutlass. Well, well, it's of no manner o' use frettin'.
+Good-night, Martin, good-night!"
+
+The Irishman knocked the ashes out of his pipe, turned his face to the
+wall, and, heaving a deep sigh, speedily forgot his cares in sleep. The
+Indians also lay down, the camp-fires died slowly out; and the deep
+breathing of the savages alone betokened the presence of man in that lone
+wilderness.
+
+Barney's forebodings proved to be only too well founded; for next
+morning, instead of pursuing their way together, as usual, the savages
+divided their forces into two separate bands, placing the Irishman and
+the old trader in the midst of one, and Martin Rattler with the other.
+
+"Surely they're niver goin' to part us, Martin," said Barney with a
+care-worn expression on his honest countenance that indicated the anxious
+suspicions in his heart.
+
+"I fear it much," replied Martin with a startled look, as he watched the
+proceedings of the Indians. "We must fight now, Barney, if we should die
+for it. We _must_ not be separated."
+
+Martin spoke with intense fervour and gazed anxiously in the face of his
+friend. A dark frown had gathered there. The sudden prospect of being
+forcibly torn from his young companion, whom he regarded with almost a
+mother's tenderness, stirred his enthusiastic and fiery temperament to
+its centre, and he gazed wildly about, as if for some weapon. But the
+savages anticipated his intention; ere he could grasp any offensive
+weapon two of their number leaped upon him, and at the same moment
+Martin's arms were pinioned in a powerful grasp.
+
+"Och, ye murderin' blackguards!" cried Barney, hitting out right and left
+and knocking down a savage at each blow. "Now or niver! come on, ye
+kangaroos!"
+
+A general rush was made upon the Irishman, who was fairly overturned by
+the mass of men. Martin struggled fiercely to free himself, and would
+have succeeded had not two powerful Indians hastened to the help of the
+one who had first seized him. Despite his frantic efforts, he was dragged
+forcibly up the mountain gorge, the echoes of which rang with his cries
+as he shouted despairingly the name of his friend. Barney fought like a
+tiger; but he could make no impression on such numbers. Although at least
+a dozen Indians lay around him bleeding and stunned by the savage blows
+of his fists,--a species of warfare which was entirely new to
+them,--fresh savages crowded round. But they did not wish to kill him,
+and numerous though they were, they found it no easy matter to secure so
+powerful a man; and when Martin turned a last despairing glance towards
+the camp, ere a turn in the path shut it out from view, the hammer-like
+fists of his comrade were still smashing down the naked creatures who
+danced like monkeys round him, and the war-like shouts of his stentorian
+voice reverberated among the cliffs and caverns of the mountain pass long
+after he was hid from view.
+
+Thus Martin and Barney were separated in the wild regions near the Sierra
+dos Parecis of Brazil.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+MARTIN REFLECTS MUCH, AND FORMS A FIRM RESOLVE--THE INDIAN VILLAGE
+
+
+When the mind has been overwhelmed by some sudden and terrible calamity,
+it is long ere it again recovers its wonted elasticity. An aching void
+seems to exist in the heart, and a dead weight appears to press upon the
+brain, so that ordinary objects make but little impression, and the soul
+seems to turn inwards and brood drearily upon itself. The spirit of fun
+arid frolick, that had filled Martin Rattler's heart ever since he landed
+in Brazil, was now so thoroughly and rudely crushed, that he felt as if
+it were utterly impossible that he should ever smile again.
+
+He had no conception of the strength of his affection for the rough,
+hearty sailor, who had until now been the faithful and good-humoured
+companion of his wanderings. As Barney had himself said on a former
+occasion, his life up till this period had been a pleasant and exciting
+dream. But he was now awakened rudely to the terrible reality of his
+forlorn position; and the more he thought of it the more hopeless and
+terrible it appeared to be.
+
+He knew not in what part of Brazil he was; he was being hurried
+apparently deeper into these vast solitudes by savages who were certainly
+not friendly, and of whose language he knew not a word; and worst of all,
+he was separated perhaps for ever from the friend on whom, all
+unconsciously to himself, he had so long leaned for support in all their
+difficulties and dangers. Even though he and Barney should succeed in
+escaping from the Indians, he felt--and his heart was overwhelmed at the
+thought--that in such a vast country there was not the shadow of a chance
+that they should find each other. Under the deep depression produced by
+these thoughts Martin wandered on wearily, as if in a dream--taking no
+interest in anything that occurred by the way. At length, after several
+days fatiguing journey over mountains and plains, they arrived at the
+Indian village.
+
+Here the warriors were received with the utmost joy by the wives and
+children whom they had left behind, and for a long time Martin was left
+almost entirely to do as he pleased. A few days before, his bonds had
+been removed, and once or twice he thought of attempting to escape; but
+whenever he wandered a little further than usual into the woods, he found
+that he was watched and followed by a tall and powerful savage, whose
+duty it evidently was to see that the prisoner did not escape. The
+fearful idea now entered Martin's mind that he was reserved for torture,
+and perhaps a lingering death; for he had read that many savage nations
+treated their prisoners in this cruel manner, for the gratification of
+the women who had lost relations in the war. But as no violence was
+offered to him in the meantime, and he had as much farina and fruit to
+eat as he could use, his mind gradually became relieved, and he
+endeavoured as much as possible to dismiss the terrible thought
+altogether.
+
+The Indian village occupied a lovely situation at the base of a gentle
+hill or rising ground, the summit of which was clothed with luxuriant
+trees and shrubs. The huts were of various shapes and sizes, and very
+simple in construction. They were built upon the bare ground; some were
+supported by four corner posts, twelve or fifteen feet high, and from
+thirty to forty feet long, the walls being made of thin laths connected
+with wicker-work and plastered with clay. The doors were made of
+palm-leaves, and the roofs were covered with the same material, or with
+maize straw. Other huts were made almost entirely of palm-leaves and
+tent-shaped in form; and, while a few were enclosed by walls, the most of
+the square ones had one or more sides entirely open. In the large huts
+several families dwelt together, and each family had a hearth and a
+portion of the floor allotted to it. The smoke from their fires was
+allowed to find its way out by the doors and chinks in the roofs, as no
+chimneys were constructed for its egress.
+
+The furniture of each hut was very simple. It consisted of a few earthen
+pots; baskets made of palm-leaves, which were filled with Spanish
+potatoes, maize, mandioca roots, and various kinds of wild fruits; one or
+two drinking vessels; the hollow trunk of a tree, used for pounding maize
+in; and several dishes which contained the colours used by the Indians in
+painting their naked bodies,--a custom which was very prevalent amongst
+them. Besides these things, there were bows, arrows, spears, and
+blow-pipes in abundance; and hammocks hung from various posts, elevated
+about a foot from the ground. These hammocks were made of cotton cords,
+and served the purpose of tables, chairs, and beds.
+
+The ground in the immediate neighbourhood of the village was laid out in
+patches, in which were cultivated mandioca roots, maize, and other plants
+useful for domestic purposes. In front of the village there was an
+extensive valley, through which a small river gurgled with a pleasant
+sound. It was hemmed in on all sides by wooded mountains, and was so
+beautifully diversified by scattered clusters of palms, and irregular
+patches of undulating grassy plains all covered with a rich profusion of
+tropical flowers and climbing plants, that it seemed to Martin more like
+a magnificent garden than the uncultivated forest,--only far more rich
+and lovely and picturesque than any artificial garden could possibly be.
+When the sun shone in full splendour on this valley--as it almost always
+did--it seemed as if the whole landscape were on the point of bursting
+into flames of red and blue, and green and gold; and when Martin sat
+under the shade of a tamarind-tree and gazed long upon the enchanting
+scene, his memory often reverted to the Eden of which he used to read in
+the Bible at home, and he used to wonder if it were possible that the sun
+and flowers and trees _could_ be more lovely in the time when Adam walked
+with God in Paradise.
+
+Martin was young then, and he did not consider, although he afterwards
+came to know, that it was not the beauty of natural objects, but the
+presence and favour of God and the absence of sin, that rendered the
+Garden of Eden a paradise. But these thoughts always carried him back to
+dear old Aunt Dorothy and the sweet village of Ashford; and the Brazilian
+paradise was not unfrequently obliterated in tears while he gazed, and
+turned into a vale of weeping. Ay, he would have given that magnificent
+valley,--had it been his own,--ten times over, in exchange for one more
+glance at the loved faces and the green fields of home.
+
+Soon after his arrival at the Indian village Martin was given to
+understand, by signs, that he was to reside with a particular family, and
+work every day in the maize and mandioca fields, besides doing a great
+deal of the drudgery of the hut; so that he now knew he was regarded as a
+slave by the tribe into whose hands he had fallen. It is impossible to
+express the bitterness of his feelings at this discovery, and for many
+weeks he went about his work scarcely knowing what he did, and caring
+little, when the hot sun beat on him so fiercely that he could hardly
+stand, whether he lived or died. At length, however, he made up his mind
+firmly to attempt his escape. He was sitting beneath the shade of his
+favourite resort, the tamarind-tree, when he made this resolve. Longing
+thoughts of home had been strong upon him all that day, and desire for
+the companionship of Barney had filled his heart to bursting; so that the
+sweet evening sunshine and the beautiful vale over which his eyes
+wandered, instead of affording him pleasure, seemed but to mock his
+misery. It was a lesson that all must learn sooner or later, and one we
+would do well to think upon before we learn it, that sunshine in the soul
+is not dependent on the sunshine of this world, and when once the clouds
+descend, the brightest beams of all that earth contains cannot pierce
+them,--God alone can touch these dark clouds with the finger of love and
+mercy, and say again, as He said of old, "Let there be light." A firm
+purpose, formed with heart and will, is cheering and invigorating to a
+depressed mind. No sooner did the firm determination to escape or die
+enter into Martin's heart, than he sprang from his seat, and, falling on
+his knees, prayed to God, in the name of our Redeemer, for help and
+guidance. He had not the least idea of how he was to effect his escape,
+or of what he intended to do. All he knew was that he had _made up his
+mind_ to do so, _if God would help him_. And under the strength of that
+resolve he soon recovered much of his former cheerfulness of disposition,
+and did his work among the savages with a degree of energy that filled
+them with surprise and respect. From that day forth he never ceased to
+revolve in his mind every imaginable and unimaginable plan of escape, and
+to watch every event or circumstance, no matter how trifling, that seemed
+likely to aid him in his purpose.
+
+Seeing that he was a very strong and active fellow, and that he had
+become remarkably expert in the use of the bow and the blow-pipe, the
+Indians now permitted Martin to accompany them frequently on their
+short hunting expeditions, so that he had many opportunities of seeing
+more of the wonderful animals and plants of the Brazilian forests, in
+the studying of which he experienced great delight. Moreover, in the
+course of a few months he began to acquire a smattering of the Indian
+language, and was not compelled to live in constant silence, as had
+been the case at first. But he carefully avoided the formation of any
+friendships with the youths of the tribe, although many of them seemed
+to desire it, considering that his doing so might in some way or other
+interfere with the execution of his great purpose. He was civil and
+kind to them all, however, though reserved; and, as time wore away, he
+enjoyed much more liberty than was the case at first. Still, however,
+he was watched by the tall savage, who was a surly, silent fellow, and
+would not be drawn into conversation. Indeed he did not walk with
+Martin, but followed him wherever he went, during his hours of leisure,
+at a distance of a few hundred yards, moving when his prisoner moved,
+and stopping when he halted, so that Martin at last began to regard him
+more as a shadow than a man.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+SAVAGE FEASTS AND ORNAMENTS--MARTIN GROWS DESPERATE, AND MAKES A BOLD
+ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE
+
+
+Hunting and feasting were the chief occupations of the men of the tribe
+with whom Martin sojourned. One day Martin was told that a great feast
+was to take place, and he was permitted to attend. Accordingly, a little
+before the appointed time he hastened to the large hut in and around
+which the festivities were to take place, in order to witness the
+preparations.
+
+The first thing that struck him was that there seemed to be no
+preparations making for eating; and on inquiry he was told that they did
+not meet to eat, they met to drink and dance,--those who were hungry
+might eat at home.
+
+The preparations for drinking were made on an extensive scale by the
+women, a number of whom stood round a large caldron, preparing its
+contents for use. These women wore very little clothing, and their
+bodies, besides being painted in a fantastic style, were also decorated
+with flowers and feathers. Martin could not help feeling that, however
+absurd the idea of painting the body was, it had at least the good effect
+of doing away to some extent with the idea of nakedness; for the curious
+patterns and devices gave to the Indians the appearance of being clothed
+in tights,--and, at any rate, he argued mentally, paint was better than
+nothing. Some of the flowers were artificially constructed out of
+beetles' wings, shells, fish-scales, and feathers, and were exquisitely
+beautiful as well as gorgeous.
+
+One of the younger women struck Martin as being ultra-fashionable in her
+paint. Her black shining hair hung like a cloak over her reddish-brown
+shoulders, and various strange drawings and figures ornamented her face
+and breast. On each cheek she had a circle, and over that two strokes;
+under the nose were four red spots; from the corners of her mouth to the
+middle of each cheek were two parallel lines, and below these several
+upright stripes; on various parts of her back and shoulders were
+curiously entwined circles, and the form of a snake was depicted in
+vermilion down each arm. Unlike the others, she wore no ornament except a
+simple necklace of monkeys' teeth. This beauty was particularly active in
+manufacturing the intoxicating drink, which is prepared thus:--A quantity
+of maize was pounded in the hollow trunk of a tree and put into an
+earthen pot, where it was boiled in a large quantity of water. Then the
+woman took the coarsely ground and boiled flour out of the water, chewed
+it in their mouths for a little, and put it into the pot again! By this
+means the decoction began to ferment and became intoxicating. It was a
+very disgusting method, yet it is practised by many Indian tribes in
+America; and, strange to say, also by some of the South Sea islanders,
+who, of course, could not have learned it from these Indians.
+
+When this beverage was ready, the chief, a tall, broad-shouldered man,
+whose painted costume and ornaments were most elaborate, stepped up to
+the pot and began a strange series of incantations, which he accompanied
+by rattling a small wooden instrument in his hand; staring all the time
+at the earthen pot, as if he half expected it to run away; and dancing
+slowly round it, as if to prevent such a catastrophe from taking place.
+The oftener the song was repeated the more solemn and earnest became the
+expression of his face and the tones of his voice. The rest of the
+Indians, who were assembled to the number of several hundreds, stood
+motionless round the pot, staring at him intently without speaking, and
+only now and then, when the voice and actions of the chief became much
+excited, they gave vent to a sympathetic howl.
+
+After this had gone on for some time, the chief seized a drinking-cup,
+or cuja, which he gravely dipped into the pot and took a sip. Then the
+shaking of the rattle and the monotonous song began again. The chief
+next took a good pull at the cup and emptied it; after which he
+presented it to his companions, who helped themselves at pleasure; and
+the dance and monotonous music became more furious and noisy the longer
+the cup went round.
+
+When the cup had circulated pretty freely among them, their dances and
+music became more lively; but they were by no means attractive. After he
+had watched them a short time, Martin left the festive scene with a
+feeling of pity for the poor savages; and as he thought upon their low
+and debased condition he recalled to mind the remark of his old friend
+the hermit,--"They want the Bible in Brazil."
+
+During his frequent rambles in the neighbourhood of the Indian village,
+Martin discovered many beautiful and retired spots, to which he was in
+the habit of going in the evenings after his daily labours were
+accomplished, accompanied, as usual, at a respectful distance, by his
+vigilant friend the tall savage. One of his favourite resting-places was
+at the foot of a banana-tree which grew on the brow of a stupendous cliff
+about a mile distant from the hut in which he dwelt. From this spot he
+had a commanding view of the noble valley and the distant mountains.
+These mountains now seemed to the poor boy to be the ponderous gates of
+his beautiful prison; for he had been told by one of his Indian friends
+that on the other side of them were great campos and forests, beyond
+which dwelt many Portuguese, while still further on was a great lake
+without shores, which was the end of the world. This, Martin was
+convinced, must be the Atlantic Ocean; for, upon inquiry, he found that
+many months of travel must be undergone ere it could be reached.
+Moreover, he knew that it could not be the Pacific, because the sun rose
+in that direction.
+
+Sauntering away to his favourite cliff, one fine evening towards sunset,
+he seated himself beneath the banana-tree and gazed longingly at the
+distant mountains, whose sharp summits glittered in the ruddy glow. He
+had long racked his brain in order to devise some method of escape, but
+hitherto without success. Wherever he went the "shadow" followed him,
+armed with the deadly blow-pipe; and he knew that even if he did succeed
+in eluding his vigilance and escaping into the woods, hundreds of
+savages would turn out and track him, with unerring certainty, to any
+hiding-place. Still the strength of his stern determination sustained
+him; and, at each failure in his efforts to devise some means of
+effecting his purpose, he threw off regret with a deep sigh, and
+returned to his labour with a firmer step, assured that he should
+eventually succeed.
+
+As he sat there on the edge of the precipice, he said, half aloud, "What
+prevents me from darting suddenly on that fellow and knocking him down?"
+
+This was a question that might have been easily answered. No doubt he was
+physically capable of coping with the man, for he had now been upwards of
+a year in the wilderness, and was in his sixteenth year, besides being
+unusually tall and robust for his age. Indeed he looked more like a
+full-grown man than a stripling; for hard, incessant toil had developed
+his muscles and enlarged his frame, and his stirring life, combined
+latterly with anxiety, had stamped a few of the lines of manhood on his
+sunburnt countenance. But, although he could have easily overcome the
+Indian, he knew that he would be instantly missed; and, from what he had
+seen of the powers of the savages in tracking wild animals to their dens
+in the mountains, he felt that he could not possibly elude them except by
+stratagem.
+
+Perplexed and wearied with unavailing thought and anxiety, Martin pressed
+his hands to his forehead and gazed down the perpendicular cliff, which
+was elevated fully a hundred feet above the plain below. Suddenly he
+started and clasped his hands upon his eyes, as if to shut out some
+terrible object from his sight. Then, creeping cautiously towards the
+edge of the cliff, he gazed down, while an expression of stern resolution
+settled upon his pale face.
+
+And well might Martin's cheek blanch, for he had hit upon a plan of
+escape which, to be successful, required that he should twice turn a
+bold, unflinching face on death. The precipice, as before mentioned, was
+fully a hundred feet high, and quite perpendicular. At the foot of it
+there flowed a deep and pretty wide stream, which, just under the spot
+where Martin stood, collected in a deep black pool, where it rested for a
+moment ere it rushed on its rapid course down the valley. Over the cliff
+and into that pool Martin made up his mind to plunge, and so give the
+impression that he had fallen over and been drowned. The risk he ran in
+taking such a tremendous leap was very great indeed, but that was only
+half the danger he must encounter.
+
+The river was one of a remarkable kind, of which there are one or two
+instances in South America. It flowed down the valley between high
+rocks, and, a few hundred yards below the pool, it ran straight against
+the face of a precipice and there terminated to all appearance; but a
+gurgling vortex in the deep water at the base of the cliff, and the
+disappearance of everything that entered it, showed that the stream
+found a subterranean passage. There was no sign of its reappearance,
+however, in all the country round. In short, the river was lost in the
+bowels of the earth.
+
+From the pool to the cliff where the river was engulfed the water ran
+like a mill-race, and there was no spot on either bank where any one
+could land, or even grasp with his hand, except one. It was a narrow,
+sharp rock, that jutted out about two feet from the bank, quite close to
+the vortex of the whirlpool. This rock was Martin's only hope. To miss it
+would be certain destruction. But if he should gain a footing on it he
+knew that he could climb by a narrow fissure into a wild, cavernous spot,
+which it was exceedingly difficult to reach from any other point. A bend
+in the river concealed this rock and the vortex from the place whereon he
+stood, so that he hoped to be able to reach the point of escape before
+the savage could descend the slope and gain the summit of the cliff from
+whence it could be seen.
+
+Of all this Martin was well aware, for he had been often at the place
+before, and knew every inch of the ground. His chief difficulty would be
+to leap over the precipice in such a manner as to cause the Indian to
+believe he had fallen over accidentally. If he could accomplish this,
+then he felt assured the savages would suppose he had been drowned, and
+so make no search for him at all. Fortunately the ground favoured this.
+About five feet below the edge of the precipice there was a projecting
+ledge of rock nearly four feet broad and covered with shrubs. Upon this
+it was necessary to allow himself to fall. The expedient was a desperate
+one, and he grew sick at heart as he glanced down the awful cliff, which
+seemed to him three times higher than it really was, as all heights do
+when seen from above.
+
+Glancing round, he observed his savage guardian gazing contemplatively at
+the distant prospect. Martin's heart beat audibly as he rose and walked
+with an affectation of carelessness to the edge of the cliff. As he gazed
+down, a feeling of horror seized him; he gasped for breath, and almost
+fainted. Then the idea of perpetual slavery flashed across his mind, and
+the thought of freedom and home nerved him: He clenched his hands,
+staggered convulsively forward and fell, with a loud and genuine shriek
+of terror, upon the shrubs that covered the rocky ledge. Instantly he
+arose, ground his teeth together, raised his eyes for one moment to
+heaven, and sprang into the air. For one instant he swept through empty
+space; the next he was deep down in the waters of the dark pool, and when
+the horrified Indian reached the edge of the precipice, he beheld his
+prisoner struggling on the surface for a moment, ere he was swept by the
+rapid stream round the point and out of view.
+
+Bounding down the slope, the savage sped like a hunted antelope across
+the intervening space between the two cliffs, and quickly gained the brow
+of the lower precipice, which he reached just in time to see Martin
+Rattler's straw hat dance for a moment on the troubled waters of the
+vortex and disappear in the awful abyss. But Martin saw it, too, from the
+cleft in the frowning rock.
+
+On reaching the surface after his leap he dashed the water from his eyes
+and looked with intense earnestness in the direction of the projecting
+rock towards which he was hurried. Down he came upon it with such speed
+that he felt no power of man could resist. But there was a small eddy
+just below it, into which he was whirled as he stretched forth his hands
+and clutched the rock with the energy of despair. He was instantly torn
+away. But another small point projected two feet below it. This he
+seized. The water swung his feet to and fro as it gushed into the vortex,
+but the eddy saved him. In a moment his breast was on the rock, then his
+foot, and he sprang into the sheltering cleft just a moment before the
+Indian came in view of the scene of his supposed death.
+
+Martin flung himself with his face to the ground, and thought rather than
+uttered a heartfelt thanksgiving for his deliverance. The savage carried
+the news of his death to his friends in the Indian village, and recounted
+with deep solemnity the particulars of his awful fate to crowds of
+wondering,--in many cases sorrowing,--listeners; and for many a day after
+that, the poor savages were wont to visit the terrible cliff and gaze
+with awe on the mysterious vortex that had swallowed up, as they
+believed, the fair-haired boy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+THE ESCAPE--ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS--FIGHT BETWEEN A JAGUAR AND AN
+ALLIGATOR--MARTIN ENCOUNTERS STRANGE AND TERRIBLE CREATURES
+
+
+Freedom can be fully appreciated only by those who have been for a long
+period deprived of liberty. It is impossible to comprehend the feelings
+of joy that welled up in Martin's bosom as he clambered up the rugged
+cliffs among which he had found shelter, and looked round upon the
+beautiful valley, now lying in the shadow of the mountain range behind
+which the sun had just set. He sat down on a rock, regardless of the wet
+condition of his clothes, and pondered long and earnestly over his
+position, which was still one of some danger; but a sensation of
+light-hearted recklessness made the prospect before him seem very bright.
+He soon made up his mind what to do. The weather was extremely warm, so
+that after wringing the water out of his linen clothes he experienced
+little discomfort; but he felt that there would not only be discomfort
+but no little danger in travelling in such a country without arms,
+covering, or provisions. He therefore determined on the bold expedient of
+revisiting the Indian village during the darkness of the night in order
+to procure what he required. He ran great risk of being retaken, but his
+necessity was urgent, and he was aware that several families were absent
+on a hunting expedition at that time whose huts were pretty certain to be
+unoccupied.
+
+Accordingly, when two or three hours of the night had passed, he
+clambered with much difficulty down the precipitous rock and reached the
+level plain, over which he quickly ran, and soon reached the outskirts of
+the village. The Indians were all asleep, and no sound disturbed the
+solemn stillness of the night. Going stealthily towards a hut he peeped
+in at the open window, but could see and hear nothing. Just as he was
+about to enter, however, a long-drawn breath proved that it was occupied.
+He shrank hastily back into the deep shade of the bushes. In a few
+minutes he recovered from the agitation into which he had been thrown and
+advanced cautiously towards another hut. This one seemed to be
+untenanted, so he opened the palm-leaf door gently and entered. No time
+was to be lost now. He found an empty sack or bag, into which he hastily
+threw as much farina as he could carry without inconvenience. Besides
+this, he appropriated a long knife; a small hatchet; a flint and steel,
+to enable him to make a fire; and a stout bow with a quiver full of
+arrows. It was so dark that it was with difficulty he found these things.
+But as he was on the point of leaving he observed a white object in a
+corner. This turned out to be a light hammock, which he seized eagerly,
+and, rolling it up into a small bundle, placed it in the sack. He also
+sought for, and fortunately found, an old straw-hat, which he put on.
+
+Martin had now obtained all that he required, and was about to quit the
+hut when he became suddenly rooted to the spot with horror on observing
+the dark countenance of an Indian gazing at him with distended eyeballs
+over the edge of a hammock. His eyes, unaccustomed to the darkness of the
+room, had not at first observed that an Indian was sleeping there. He now
+felt that he was lost. The savage evidently knew him. Dreadful thoughts
+flashed through his brain. He thought of the knife in his belt, and how
+easily he could despatch the Indian in a moment as he lay; but then the
+idea of imbruing his hands in human blood seemed so awful that he could
+not bring himself to do it.
+
+As he looked steadily at the savage he observed that his gaze was one of
+intense horror, and it suddenly occurred to him that the Indian supposed
+he was a ghost! Acting upon this supposition, Martin advanced his face
+slowly towards that of the Indian, put on a dark frown, and stood for a
+few seconds without uttering a word. The savage shrank back and shuddered
+from head to foot. Then, with a noiseless step, Martin retreated slowly
+backward towards the door and passed out like a spectre--never for a
+moment taking his eyes off those of the savage until he was lost in
+darkness. On gaining the forest he fled with a beating heart to his
+former retreat; but his fears were groundless, for the Indian firmly
+believed that Martin's spirit had visited his hut and carried away
+provisions for his journey to the land of spirits.
+
+Without waiting to rest, Martin no sooner reached the scene of his
+adventurous leap than he fastened his bag firmly on his shoulders and
+struck across the valley in the direction of the blue mountains that
+hemmed it in. Four or five hours' hard walking brought him to their base,
+and long before the rising sun shone down upon his recent home he was
+over the hills and far away, trudging onward with a weary foot, but with
+a light heart, in what he believed to be the direction of the east coast
+of Brazil. He did not dare to rest until the rugged peaks of the mountain
+range were between him and the savages; but, when he had left these far
+behind him, he halted about mid-day to breakfast and repose by the margin
+of a delightfully cool mountain stream.
+
+"I'm safe now!" said Martin aloud, as he threw down his bundle beneath a
+spreading tree and commenced to prepare breakfast. "O! my friend Barney,
+I wish that you were here to keep me company." The solitary youth looked
+round as if he half expected to see the rough visage and hear the
+gladsome voice of his friend; but no voice replied to his, and the only
+living creature he saw was a large monkey, which peered inquisitively
+clown at him from among the branches of a neighbouring bush. This
+reminded him that he had left his pet Marmoset in the Indian village, and
+a feeling of deep self-reproach filled his heart In the haste and anxiety
+of his flight he had totally forgotten his little friend. But regret was
+now unavailing. Marmoset was lost to him for ever.
+
+Having kindled a small fire, Martin kneaded a large quantity of farina in
+the hollow of a smooth stone, and baked a number of flat cakes, which
+were soon fired and spread out upon the ground. While thus engaged, a
+snake of about six feet long and as thick as a man's arm glided past him.
+Martin started convulsively, for he had never seen one of the kind
+before, and he knew that the bite of some of the snakes is deadly.
+Fortunately his axe was at hand. Grasping it quickly, he killed the
+reptile with a single blow. Two or three mandioca cakes, a few wild
+fruits, and a draught of water from the stream, formed the wanderer's
+simple breakfast. After it was finished, he slung his hammock between two
+trees, and jumping in, fell into a deep, untroubled slumber, in which he
+continued all that day and until daybreak the following morning.
+
+After partaking of a hearty breakfast, Martin took up his bundle and
+resumed his travels. That day he descended into the level and wooded
+country that succeeded the mountain range; and that night he was obliged
+to encamp in a swampy place near a stagnant lake in which several
+alligators were swimming, and where the mosquitoes were so numerous that
+he found it absolutely impossible to sleep. At last, in despair, he
+sprang into the branches of the tree to which his hammock was slung and
+ascended to the top. Here, to his satisfaction, he found that there were
+scarcely any mosquitoes, while a cool breeze fanned his fevered brow; so
+he determined to spend the night in the tree.
+
+By binding several branches together he formed a rude sort of couch, on
+which he lay down comfortably, placing his knife and bow beside him, and
+using the hammock rolled up as a pillow. As the sun was setting, and
+while he leaned on his elbow looking down through the leaves with much
+interest at the alligators that gambolled in the reedy lake, his
+attention was attracted to a slight rustling in the bushes near the foot
+of the tree. Looking down, he perceived a large jaguar gliding through
+the underwood with cat-like stealth. Martin now observed that a huge
+alligator had crawled out of the lake, and was lying on the bank asleep a
+few yards from the margin. When the jaguar reached the edge of the bushes
+it paused, and then, with one tremendous spring, seized the alligator by
+the soft part beneath its tail. The huge monster struggled for a few
+seconds, endeavouring to reach the water, and then lay still, while the
+jaguar worried and tore at its tough hide with savage fury. Martin was
+much surprised at the passive conduct of the alligator. That it could not
+turn its stiff body, so as to catch the jaguar in its jaws, did not,
+indeed, surprise him; but he wondered very much to see the great reptile
+suffer pain so quietly. It seemed to be quite paralyzed. In a few minutes
+the jaguar retired a short distance. Then the alligator made a rush for
+the water; but the jaguar darted back and caught it again; and Martin now
+saw that the jaguar was actually playing with the alligator as a cat
+plays with a mouse before she kills it! During one of the cessations of
+the combat, if we may call it by that name, the alligator almost gained
+the water, and in the short struggle that ensued both animals rolled down
+the bank and fell into the lake. The tables were now turned. The jaguar
+made for the shore; but before it could reach it the alligator wheeled
+round, opened its tremendous jaws and caught its enemy by the middle.
+There was one loud splash in the water, as the alligator's powerful tail
+dashed it into foam; and one awful roar of agony, which was cut suddenly
+short and stifled as the monster dived to the bottom with its prey; then
+all was silent as the grave, and a few ripples on the surface were all
+that remained to tell of the battle that had been fought there.
+
+Martin remained motionless on the tree top, brooding over the fight which
+he had just witnessed, until the deepening shadows warned him that it was
+time to seek repose. Turning on his side he laid his head on his pillow,
+while a soft breeze swayed the tree gently to and fro and rocked him
+sound asleep.
+
+Thus, day after day, and week after week, did Martin Rattler wander alone
+through the great forests, sometimes pleasantly, and at other times with
+more or less discomfort; subsisting on game which he shot with his
+arrows, and on wild fruits. He met with many strange adventures by the
+way, which would fill numerous volumes were they to be written every one;
+but we must pass over many of these in silence that we may recount those
+that were most interesting.
+
+One evening as he was walking through a very beautiful country, in which
+were numerous small lakes and streams, he was suddenly arrested by a
+crashing sound in the underwood, as if some large animal were coming
+towards him; and he had barely time to fit an arrow to his bow when the
+bushes in front of him were thrust aside, and the most hideous monster
+that he had ever seen appeared before his eyes. It was a tapir; but
+Martin had never heard of or seen such creatures before, although there
+are a good many in some parts of Brazil.
+
+The tapir is a very large animal,--about five or six feet long and three
+or four feet high. It is in appearance something between an elephant and
+a hog. Its nose is very long, and extends into a short proboscis; but
+there is no finger at the end of it like that of the elephant. Its
+colour is a deep brownish black, its tough hide is covered with a thin
+sprinkling of strong hairs, and its mane is thick and bristly. So thick
+is its hide that a bullet can scarcely penetrate it; and it can crush
+its way through thickets and bushes, however dense, without receiving a
+scratch. Although a very terrific animal to look at, it is fortunately
+of a very peaceable and timid disposition, so that it flees from danger
+and is very quick in discovering the presence of an enemy. Sometimes it
+is attacked by the jaguar, which springs suddenly upon it and fastens
+its claws in its back; but the tapir's tough hide is not easily torn,
+and he gets rid of his enemy by bouncing into the tangled bushes and
+bursting through them, so that the jaguar is very soon _scraped_ off his
+back! The tapir lives as much in the water as on the land, and delights
+to wallow like a pig in muddy pools. It is, in fact, very similar in
+many of its habits to the great hippopotamus of Africa, but is not quite
+so large. It feeds entirely on vegetables, buds, fruits, and the tender
+shoots of trees, and always at night. During the day time it sleeps. The
+Indians of Brazil are fond of its flesh, and they hunt it with spears
+and poisoned arrows.
+
+But Martin knew nothing of all this, and fully expected that the dreadful
+creature before him would attack and kill him; for, when he observed its
+coarse, tough-looking hide, and thought of the slender arrows with which
+he was armed, he felt that he had no chance, and there did not happen to
+be a tree near him at the time up which he could climb.
+
+With the energy of despair he let fly an arrow with all his force; but
+the weak shaft glanced from the tapir's side without doing it the
+slightest damage. Then Martin turned to fly, but at the same moment the
+tapir did the same, to his great delight and surprise. It wheeled round
+with a snort, and went off crashing through the stout underwood as if it
+had been grass, leaving a broad track behind it.
+
+On another occasion he met with a formidable-looking but comparatively
+harmless animal, called the great ant-eater. This remarkable creature is
+about six feet in length, with very short legs and very long strong
+claws; a short curly tail, and a sharp snout, out of which it thrusts a
+long narrow tongue. It can roll itself up like a hedgehog, and when in
+this position might be easily mistaken for a bundle of coarse hay. It
+lives chiefly if not entirely upon ants.
+
+When Martin discovered the great ant-eater, it was about to begin its
+supper; so he watched it. The plain was covered with ant-hills, somewhat
+pillar-like in shape. At the foot of one of these the animal made an
+attack, tearing up earth and sticks with its enormously strong claws,
+until it made a large hole in the hard materials of which the hill was
+composed. Into this hole it thrust its long tongue, and immediately the
+ants swarmed upon it. The creature let its tongue rest till it was
+completely covered over with thousands of ants, then it drew it into its
+mouth and engulfed them all!
+
+As Martin had no reason in the world for attempting to shoot the great
+ant-eater, and as he was, moreover, by no means sure that he could kill
+it if he were to try, he passed on quietly and left this curious animal
+to finish its supper in peace.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+MARTIN MEETS WITH FRIENDS AND VISITS THE DIAMOND MINES
+
+
+One day, after Martin had spent many weeks in wandering alone through the
+forest, during the course of which he was sometimes tempted to despair of
+seeing the face of man again, he discovered a beaten track; at the sight
+of which his heart bounded with delight. It was a Saturday afternoon when
+he made this discovery, and he spent the Sabbath-day in rest beside it.
+For Martin had more than once called to remembrance the words which good
+Aunt Dorothy used to hear him repeat out of the Bible "Remember the
+Sabbath-day, to keep it holy." He had many long, earnest, and serious
+meditations in that silent forest, such as a youth would be very unlikely
+to have in almost any other circumstances, except, perhaps, on a
+sick-bed; and among other things he had been led to consider that if he
+made no difference between Saturday and Sunday, he must certainly be
+breaking that commandment; so he resolved thenceforth to rest on the
+Sabbath-day; and he found much benefit, both to mind and body, from this
+arrangement. During this particular Sabbath he rested beside the beaten
+track, and often did he walk up and down it a short way, wondering where
+it would lead him to; and several times he prayed that he might be led by
+it to the habitations of civilized men.
+
+Next day after breakfast he prepared to set out; but now he was much
+perplexed as to which way he ought to go, for the track did not run in
+the direction in which he had been travelling, but at right angles to
+that way. While he still hesitated the sound of voices struck on his ear,
+and he almost fainted with excitement; for, besides the hope that he
+might now meet with friends, there was also the fear that those
+approaching might be enemies; and the sudden sound of the human voice,
+which he had not heard for so long, tended to create conflicting and
+almost overwhelming feelings in his breast. Hiding quickly behind a tree,
+he awaited the passing of the cavalcade; for the sounds of horses' hoofs
+were now audible.
+
+In a few minutes a string of laden mules approached, and then six
+horsemen appeared, whose bronzed olive complexions, straw-hats and
+ponchos, betokened them Brazilians. As they passed, Martin hailed them in
+an unsteady voice. They pulled up suddenly and drew pistols from their
+holsters; but on seeing only a fair youth armed with a bow, they replaced
+their weapons, and with a look of surprise rode up and assailed him with
+a volley of unintelligible Portuguese.
+
+"Do any of you speak English?" inquired Martin, advancing.
+
+One of the horsemen replied, "Yees, I spok one leet. Ver' smoll. Where
+you be com?"
+
+"I have escaped from the Indians who live in the mountains far away over
+yonder. I have been wandering now for many weeks in the forest, and I
+wish to get to the sea-coast or to some town where I may get something to
+do, that I may be enabled to return home."
+
+"Ho!" said the horseman, gravely. "You com vid us. Ve go vid goods to de
+Diamond Mines. Git vork dere, yees. Put you body on dat hoss."
+
+As the Brazilian spoke he pointed to a spare horse, which was led, along
+with several others, by a Negro. Thanking him for his politeness Martin
+seized the horse by the mane and vaulted into the saddle, if the rude
+contrivance on its back might be so designated. The string of mules then
+moved on, and Martin rode with a light heart beside this obliging
+stranger, conversing with much animation.
+
+In a very short time he learned, through the medium of his own bad
+Portuguese and the Brazilian's worse English, that he was not more than a
+day's ride from one of the diamond mines of that province of Brazil which
+is named Minas Geraes; that he was still many leagues distant from the
+sea; and that he would be sure to get work at the mines if he wished it,
+for the chief overseer, the Baron Fagoni, was an amiable man and very
+fond of the English,--but he could not speak their language at all, and
+required an interpreter. "And," said the Brazilian, with a look of great
+dignity, "I hab de honour for be de 'terpreter."
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed Martin, "then I am in good fortune, for I shall have a
+friend at court."
+
+The interpreter smiled slightly and bowed, after which they proceeded for
+some time in silence.
+
+Next evening they arrived at the mines; and, after seeing to the comfort
+of his horse, and inquiring rather hastily as to the welfare of his
+family, the interpreter conducted Martin to the overseer's house in order
+to introduce him.
+
+The Baron Fagoni stood smoking in the doorway of his dwelling as they
+approached; and the first impression that Martin received of him was
+anything but agreeable.
+
+He was a large, powerful man, with an enormous red beard and moustache,
+and a sombrero-like hat that concealed nearly the whole of his face. He
+seemed an irritable man, too; for he jerked his arms about and stamped in
+a violent manner as they drew near, and instead of waiting to receive
+them, he entered the house hastily and shut the door in their faces!
+
+"The Baron would do well to take lessons in civility," said Martin,
+colouring, as he turned to the interpreter.
+
+"Ah, he be a leet pecoolair, sometime! Nev'r mind. Ve vill go to him,"
+
+So saying, the interpreter opened the door and entered the hall where
+the overseer was seated at a desk writing as if in violent haste. Seeing
+that he did not mean to take notice of them, the interpreter spoke to
+him in Portuguese; but he was soon interrupted by a sharp reply, uttered
+in a harsh, grating voice, by the overseer, who did not look up or cease
+from his work.
+
+Again the interpreter spoke as if in some surprise; but he was cut short
+by the overseer uttering, in a deep, stern voice, the single word "Obey."
+
+With a low bow the interpreter turned away, and taking Martin by the arm
+led him into an inner apartment, where, having securely fastened the
+window, he said to him, "De Baron say you be von blackguard tief; go bout
+contrie for steal diamonds. He make prisoner ov you. Adios."
+
+So saying, the interpreter made his bow and retired, locking the door
+behind him and leaving Martin standing in the middle of the room staring
+before him in speechless amazement.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+THE DIAMOND MINES--MORE AND MORE ASTONISHING!
+
+
+If Martin Rattler was amazed at the treatment he experienced at the hands
+of his new acquaintances on arriving, he had occasion to be very much
+more surprised at what occurred three hours after his incarceration.
+
+It was getting dark when he was locked up, and for upwards of two hours
+he was left in total darkness. Moreover, he began to feel very hungry,
+having eaten nothing since mid-day. He was deeply engaged in devising
+plans for his escape when he was interrupted by the door being unlocked
+and a Negro slave entering with four magnificent candles, made of
+beeswax, which he placed upon the table. Then he returned to the door,
+where another slave handed him a tray containing dishes, knives and
+forks, and, in short, all the requisites for laying out a supper-table.
+Having spread a clean linen cloth on the board, he arranged covers for
+two, and going to the door placed his head to one side and regarded his
+arrangements with much complacency and without paying the slightest
+attention to Martin, who pinched himself in order to make sure he was
+not dreaming.
+
+In a few minutes the second Negro returned with an enormous tray, on
+which were dishes of all sizes, from under whose covers came the most
+savoury odours imaginable. Having placed these symmetrically on the
+board, both slaves retired and relocked the door without saying a word.
+
+At last it began to dawn on Martin's Imagination that the overseer must
+be an eccentric individual, who found pleasure in taking his visitors by
+surprise. But although this seemed a possible solution of the difficulty,
+he did not feel satisfied with it. He could with difficulty resist the
+temptation to attack the viands, however, and was beginning to think of
+doing this, regardless of all consequences, when the door again opened
+and the Baron Fagoni entered, relocked the door, put the key in his
+pocket, and, standing before his prisoner with folded arms, gazed at him
+intently from beneath his sombrero.
+
+Martin could not stand this. "Sir," said he, starting up, "if this is a
+joke you have carried it far enough; and if you really detain me here a
+prisoner, every feeling of honour ought to deter you from adding insult
+to injury."
+
+To this sternly delivered speech the Baron made no reply, but, springing
+suddenly upon Martin, he grasped him in his powerful arms and crushed him
+to his broad breast till he almost broke every bone in his body.
+
+"Och! cushla, bliss yer young face! sure it's yersilf, an' no mistake!
+Kape still, Martin dear. Let me look at ye, darlint! Ah! then, isn't it
+my heart that's been broken for months an' months past about ye?"
+
+Reader, it would be utterly in vain for me to attempt to describe either
+the words that flowed from the lips of Martin Rattler and Barney
+O'Flannagan on this happy occasion, or the feelings that filled their
+swelling hearts. The speechless amazement of Martin, the ejaculatory
+exclamations of the Baron Fagoni, the rapid questions and brief replies,
+are all totally indescribable. Suffice it to say that for full quarter of
+an hour they exclaimed, shouted, and danced round each other, without
+coming to any satisfactory knowledge of how each had got to the same
+place, except that Barney at last discovered that Martin had travelled
+there by chance, and he had reached the mines by "intuition." Having
+settled this point, they sobered down a little.
+
+"Now, Martin darlint," cried the Irishman, throwing aside his hat for the
+first time, and displaying his well-known jolly visage, of which the
+forehead, eyes, and nose alone survived the general inundation of red
+hair, "ye'll be hungry, I've small doubt, so sit ye down, lad, to supper,
+and you'll tell me yer story as ye go along, and afther that I'll tell ye
+mine, while I smoke my pipe,--the ould cutty, boy, that has corned
+through fire and wather, sound as a bell and blacker than iver!"
+
+The Baron held up the well-known instrument of fumigation, as he spoke,
+in triumph.
+
+Supper was superb. There were venison steaks, armadillo cutlets, tapir
+hash, iguana pie, and an immense variety of fruits and vegetables, that
+would have served a dozen men, besides cakes and splendid coffee.
+
+"You live well here, Barney--I beg pardon--Baron Fagoni," said
+Martin, during a pause in their meal; "how in the world did you come
+by that name?"
+
+Barney winked expressively. "Ah, boy, I wish I may niver have a worse. Ye
+see, when I first corned here, about four months ago, I found that the
+mine was owned by an Irish gintleman; an', like all the race, he's a
+trump. He took to me at wance when he hear'd my voice, and then he took
+more to me when he corned to know me character; and says he to me wan
+day, 'Barney,' says he, 'I'm gittin' tired o' this kind o' life now, and
+if ye'll agree to stop here as overseer, and sind me the proceeds o' the
+mine to Rio Janeiro, a great city on the sea-coast, an' the capital o'
+Brazil, I'll give ye a good share o' the profits. But,' says he, 'ye'll
+need to pretind ye're a Roosian, or a Pole, or somethin' o' that kind;
+for the fellows in thim parts are great rascals, and there's a few
+Englishmen among them who would soon find out that ye're only a jack-tar
+before the mast, and would chate ye at no allowance; but if ye could
+spake no language under the sun but the gibberish pecooliar to the
+unbeknown provinces o' Siberia, ye could escape detection as far as yer
+voice is consarned; and by lettin' yer beard grow as long as possible,
+and dressin' yersilf properly, ye might pass, and be as dignified as the
+great Mogul.'
+
+"'Musha!' said I, 'but if I don't spake me own tongue I'll have to be
+dumb altogither.'
+
+"'No fear,' says he; 'I'll tache ye enough Portuguese in a month or two
+to begin with, an' ye'll pick it up aisy after that.' And sure enough I
+began, tooth and nail, and, by hard workin', got on faster than I
+expected; for I can spake as much o' the lingo now as tides me over
+needcessities, and I understand most o' what's said to me. Anyhow, I
+ginerally see what they're drivin' at."
+
+"So, then, you're actually in charge of the mine?" said Martin, in
+surprise.
+
+"Jist so, boy; but I'm tired of it already; it's by no means so pleasant
+as I expected it would be; so I'm thinkin' o' lavin' it, and takin' to
+the say again. I'm longin' dreadful to see the salt wather wance more."
+
+"But what will the owner say, Barney: won't he have cause to complain of
+your breaking your engagement?"
+
+"Niver a bit, boy. He tould me, before we parted, that if I wanted to
+quit I was to hand over the consarn to the interpreter, who is an
+honest fellow, I belave; so I'm jist goin' to pocket a di'mond or two,
+and ask lave to take them home wid me. I'll be off in a week, if all
+goes well. An' now, Martin, fill yer glass; ye'll find the wine is not
+bad, after wan or two glasses; an' I'll tell ye about my adventures
+since I saw ye last."
+
+"But you have not explained about your name," said Martin.
+
+"Och! the fact is, that when I corned here I fortunately fell in with the
+owner first, and we spoke almost intirely in Irish, so nobody understood
+where I corned from; and the interpreter hear'd the master call me by my
+name; so he wint off and said to the people that a great Barono Flanagoni
+had come, and was up at the house wid the master. But we corrected him
+afterward, and gave him to understand that I was the Baron Fagoni. I had
+some trouble with the people at first, after the owner left; but I
+pounded wan or two o' the biggest o' them, to such a extint that their
+own friends hardly knew them; an' iver since they've been mighty civil."
+
+Having carefully filled the black pipe, and involved himself in his own
+favourite atmosphere, the Baron Fagoni then proceeded to relate his
+adventures, and dilated upon them to such an extent that five or six
+pipes were filled and finished ere the story came to a close. Martin also
+related his adventures; to which his companion listened with such
+breathless attention and earnestness that his pipe was constantly
+going-out; and the two friends did not retire to rest till near daybreak.
+
+The substance of the Baron's narrative was as follows:--
+
+At the time that he had been so suddenly separated from his friend,
+Barney had overcome many of his opponents, but at length he was
+overpowered by numbers, and his arms were firmly bound; after which he
+was roughly driven before them through the woods for several days, and
+was at length taken to their village among the mountains. Here he
+remained a close prisoner for three weeks, shut up in a small hut and
+bound by a strong rope to a post. Food was taken to him by an old Indian
+woman, who paid no attention at first to what he said to her, for the
+good reason that she did not understand a word of English. The persuasive
+eloquence of her prisoner's tones, however, or perhaps his brogue, seemed
+in the course of a few days to have made an impression on her; for she
+condescended to smile at the unintelligible compliments which Barney
+lavished upon her in the hope of securing her good-will.
+
+During all this time the Irishman's heart was torn with conflicting
+feelings, and although, from the mere force of habit, he could jest with
+the old woman when she paid her daily visits, there was no feeling of fun
+in his bosom, but, on the contrary, a deep and overwhelming sorrow, which
+showed itself very evidently on his expressive face. He groaned aloud
+when he thought of Martin, whom he never expected again to see; and he
+dreaded every hour the approach of his savage captors, who, he fully
+expected, retained him in order to put him to death.
+
+One day, while he was sitting in a very disconsolate mood, the Indian
+woman entered with his usual dinner--a plate of thick soup and a coarse
+cake. Barney smiled upon her as usual, and then letting his eyes fall on
+the ground, sighed deeply,--for his heart was heavier than usual that
+day. As the woman was about to go, he looked earnestly and gravely in her
+face, and putting his large hand gently on her head, patted her grey
+hairs. This tender action seemed to affect the old woman more than usual.
+She laid her hand on Barney's arm, and looked as if she wished to speak.
+Then turning suddenly from him, she drew a small knife from her girdle
+and dropped it on the ground, as if accidentally, while she left the hut
+and re-fastened the door. Barney's heart leaped. He seized the knife and
+concealed it hastily in his bosom, and then ate his dinner with more than
+ordinary zest; for now he possessed the means of cutting the strong rope
+that bound him.
+
+He waited with much impatience until night closed over the Indian
+village, and then cutting his bonds, he tore down the rude and rather
+feeble fastenings of the door. In another instant he was dashing along at
+full speed through the forest, without hat or coat, and with the knife
+clutched in his right hand! Presently he heard cries behind him, and
+redoubled his speed; for now he knew that the savages had discovered his
+escape and were in pursuit. But, although a good runner, Barney was no
+match for the lithe and naked Indians. They rapidly gained on him, and he
+was about to turn at bay and fight for his life, when he observed water
+gleaming through the foliage on his left. Dashing down a glade he came to
+the edge of a broad river with a rapid current. Into this he sprang
+recklessly, intending to swim with the stream; but ere he lost his
+footing he heard the low deep thunder of a cataract a short distance
+below! Drawing back in terror, he regained the bank, and waded up a
+considerable distance in the shallow water, so as to leave no trace of
+his footsteps. Then he leaped upon a rock, and, catching hold of the
+lower branches of a large tree, drew himself up among the dense foliage,
+just as the yelling savages rushed with wild tumult to the water's edge.
+Here they paused, as if baffled. They spoke in rapid, vehement tones for
+a few seconds, and then one party hastened down the banks of the stream
+towards the fall, while another band searched the banks above.
+
+Barney's heart fell as he sat panting in the tree, for he knew that they
+would soon discover him. But he soon resolved on a bold expedient.
+Slipping down from the tree, he ran deliberately back towards the
+village; and, as he drew near, he followed the regular beaten track that
+led towards it. On the way he encountered one or two savages hastening
+after the pursuing party; but he leaped lightly into the bushes, and lay
+still till they were past. Then he ran on, skirted round the village, and
+pushed into the woods in an entirely opposite direction from the one in
+which he had first set out. Keeping by one of the numerous tracks that
+radiated from the village into the forest, he held on at top speed, until
+his progress was suddenly arrested by a stream about twenty yards broad.
+It was very deep, and he was about to plunge in, in order to swim across,
+when he observed a small montaria, or canoe, lying on the bank. This he
+launched quickly, and observing that the river took a bend a little
+further down, and appeared to proceed in the direction he wished to
+pursue,--namely, away from the Indian village,--he paddled down the rapid
+stream as fast as he could. The current was very strong, so that his
+little bark flew down it like an arrow, and on more than one occasion
+narrowly missed being dashed to pieces on the rocks which here and there
+rose above the stream.
+
+In about two hours Barney came to a place where the stream took another
+bend to the left, and soon after the canoe swept out upon the broad river
+into which he had at first so nearly plunged. He was a long way below the
+fall now, for its sound was inaudible; but it was no time to abate his
+exertions. The Indians might be still in pursuit; so he continued to
+paddle all that night, and did not take rest until daybreak. Then he
+slept for two hours, ate a few wild fruits, and continued his journey.
+
+In the course of the next day, to his great joy, he overtook a trading
+canoe, which had been up another tributary of this river, and was
+descending with part of a cargo of India-rubber shoes. None of the men,
+of whom there were four, could speak English; but they easily saw from
+the Irishman's condition that he had escaped from enemies and was in
+distress; so they took him on board, and were glad to avail themselves of
+his services: for, as we have before mentioned, men are not easily
+procured for voyaging in those parts of Brazil. Three weeks after this
+they arrived at a small town, where the natives were busily engaged in
+the manufacture of shoes, bottles, and other articles of India-rubber;
+and here Barney found employment for a short time.
+
+The seringa, or India-rubber-tree, grows plentifully in some parts of
+Brazil, and many hundreds of the inhabitants are employed in the
+manufacture of shoes. The India-rubber is the juice of the tree, and
+flows from it when an incision is made. This juice is poured into moulds
+and left to harden. It is of a yellowish colour naturally, and is
+blackened in the course of preparation. Barney did not stay long here.
+Shoe-making, he declared, was not his calling by any means; so he seized
+the first opportunity he had of joining a party of traders going into the
+interior, in the direction of the diamond districts. The journey was long
+and varied. Sometimes by canoe and sometimes on the backs of mules and
+horses, and many extraordinary adventures did he go through ere he
+reached the diamond mines. And when at length he did so, great was his
+disappointment. Instead of the glittering caves which his vivid
+imagination had pictured, he found that there were no caves at all; that
+the diamonds were found by washing in the muddy soil; and worst of all,
+that when found they were dim and unpolished, so that they seemed no
+better than any other stone. However, he resolved to continue there for a
+short time, in order to make a little money; but now that Martin had
+arrived he thought that they could not do better than make their way to
+the coast as fast as possible, and go to sea.
+
+"The only thing I have to regret," he said, at the conclusion of his
+narrative, "is that I left Grampus behind me. But arrah! I came off
+from the savages in such a hurry that I had no time at all to tell him
+I was goin'!"
+
+Having sat till daybreak, the two friends went to bed to dream of each
+other and of home.
+
+Next morning Barney took Martin to visit the diamond mines. On the way
+they passed a band of Negro slaves who encircled a large fire, the
+weather being very cold. It was at that time about the end of July, which
+is one of the coldest months in the year. In this part of Brazil summer
+and winter are reversed,--the coldest months being May, June, and July;
+the hottest, November, December, January, and February.
+
+Minas Geraes, the diamond district, is one of the richest provinces of
+Brazil. The inhabitants are almost entirely occupied in mining or in
+supplying the miners with the necessaries of life. Diggers and
+shopkeepers are the two principal classes, and of these the latter are
+best off; for their trade is steady and lucrative, while the success of
+the miners is very uncertain. Frequently a large sum of money and much
+time are expended in mining without any adequate result; but the
+merchants always find a ready sale for their merchandise, and, as they
+take diamonds and gold-dust in exchange, they generally realize large
+profits and soon become rich. The poor miner is like the gambler. He
+digs on in hope; sometimes finding barely enough to supply his
+wants,--at other times making a fortune suddenly; but never giving up
+in despair, because he knows that at every handful of earth he turns up
+he may perhaps find a diamond worth hundreds, or, it may be, thousands
+of pounds.
+
+Cidade Diamantina,--the City of Diamonds,--is the capital of the
+province. It is a large city, with many fine churches and buildings; and
+the whole population, consisting of more than 6000 souls, are engaged,
+directly or indirectly, in mining. Every one who owns a few slaves
+employs them in washing the earth for gold and diamonds.
+
+The mine of which Barney had so unexpectedly become overseer, was a small
+one, in a remote part of the district, situated among the mountains, and
+far distant from the City of Diamonds. There were only a few huts, rudely
+built and roofed with palm leaves, besides a larger building, or cottage,
+in which the Baron Fagoni resided.
+
+"Tis a strange life they lead here," said Barney, as he led Martin down a
+gorge of the mountains towards a small spot of level ground on which the
+slaves were at work; "a strange life, and by no means a pleasant wan; for
+the feedin' is none o' the best and the work very sevare."
+
+"Why, Barney, if I may judge from last night's supper, the feeding seems
+to be excellent."
+
+"Thrue, boy, the Baron Fagoni feeds well, bekase he's the cock o' the
+roost; but the poor Naygurs are not overly well fed, and the critters are
+up to their knees in wather all day, washing di'monds; so they suffer
+much from rheumatiz and colds. Och, but it's murther entirely; an' I've
+more than wance felt inclined to fill their pockets with di'monds and set
+them all free! Jist look, now, there they are, hard at it."
+
+As he spoke they arrived at the mine. The ground in the vicinity was all
+cut up and dug out to a considerable depth, and a dozen Negroes were
+standing under a shed washing the earth, while others were engaged in the
+holes excavating the material. While Martin watched them his friend
+explained the process.
+
+The different kinds of soil through which it is necessary to cut before
+reaching the diamond deposit are, first, about twenty feet of reddish
+sandy soil; then about eight feet of a tough yellowish clay; beneath this
+lies a layer of coarse reddish sand, below which is the peculiar soil in
+which diamonds are found. It is called by the miners the _cascalho_, and
+consists of loose gravel, the pebbles of which are rounded and polished,
+having at some previous era been subject to the action of running water.
+The bed varies in thickness from one to four feet, and the pebbles are of
+various kinds; but when there are many of a species called
+_Esmerilopreto_, the cascalho is considered to be rich in diamonds.
+
+Taking Martin round to the back of the shed, Barney showed him a row of
+troughs, about three feet square, close to the edge of a pond of water.
+These troughs are called _bacos_. In front of each stood a Negro slave up
+to his knees in water. Each had a wooden plate, with which he dashed
+water upon the rough cascalho as it was thrown into the trough by another
+slave. By this means, and by stirring it with a small hoe, the earth and
+sand are washed away. Two overseers were closely watching the process;
+for it is during this part of the operation that the largest diamonds are
+found. These overseers were seated on elevated seats, each being armed
+with a long leathern whip, to keep a sharp look out, for the slaves are
+expert thieves.
+
+After the cascalho had been thus purified it was carefully removed to the
+shed to be finally washed.
+
+Here seven slaves were seated on the side of a small canal, about four
+feet broad, with their legs in the water nearly up to their knees. The
+canal is called the _lavadeira_. Each man had a small wooden platter,
+into which another slave, who stood behind him, put a shovelful of
+purified cascalho. The _bateia_, or platter, was then filled with water
+and washed with the utmost care several times, being closely examined
+after each washing, and the diamonds picked out. Sometimes many platefuls
+were examined but nothing found; at other times several diamonds were
+found in one plate. While Martin was looking on with much curiosity and
+interest, one of the slaves uttered an exclamation and held up a minute
+stone between his finger and thumb.
+
+"Ah! good luck to ye, lad!" said Barney, advancing and taking the diamond
+which had been discovered. "See here, Martin; there's the thing, lad,
+that sparkles on the brow o' beauty, and gives the Naygurs rheumatiz--"
+
+"Not to mention their usefulness in providing the great Baron Fagoni with
+a livelihood," added Martin, with a smile.
+
+Barney laughed, and going up to the place where the two overseers were
+seated, dropped the precious gem into a plate of water placed between
+them for the purpose of receiving the diamonds as they were found.
+
+"They git fifteen or twinty a day sometimes," said Barney, as they
+retraced their steps to the cottage; "and I've hear'd o' them getting
+stones worth many thousands o' pounds; but the biggest they iver found
+since I corned here was not worth more than four hundred."
+
+"And what do you do with them, Barney, when they are found?"
+inquired Martin.
+
+"Sind them to Rio Janeiro, lad, where my employer sells them. I don't
+know how much he makes a year by it; but the thing must pay, for he's
+very liberal with his cash, and niver forgits to pay wages. There's
+always a lot o' gould-dust found in the bottom o' the bateia after each
+washing, and that is carefully collected and sold. But, arrah! I wouldn't
+give wan snifter o' the say-breezes for all the di'monds in Brazil!"
+
+As Barney said this he entered his cottage and flung down his hat with
+the air of a man who was resolved to stand it no longer.
+
+"But why don't you wash on your own account?" cried Martin. "What
+say you; shall we begin together? We may make our fortune the first
+week, perhaps!"
+
+Barney shook his head. "No, no, boy; I've no faith in my luck with the
+di'monds or gould. Nevertheless I have hear'd o' men makin' an awful
+heap o' money that way; partiklarly wan man that made his fortin with
+wan stone."
+
+"Who was that lucky dog?" asked Martin.
+
+"Well, ye see, it happened this way: There's a custom hereaway that
+slaves are allowed to work on Sundays and holidays on their own account;
+but when the mines was a government consarn this was not allowed, and the
+slaves were the most awful thieves livin', and often made off with some
+o' the largest diamonds. Well, there was a man named Juiz de Paz, who
+owned a small shop, and used to go down now and then to Rio de Janeiro to
+buy goods. Wan evenin' he returned from wan o' his long journeys, and,
+being rather tired, wint to bed. He was jist goin' off into a comfortable
+doze when there came a terrible bumpin' at the door.
+
+"'Hallo!' cried Juiz, growlin' angrily in the Portugee tongue; 'what
+d'ye want?'
+
+"There was no answer but another bumpin' at the door. So up he jumps,
+and, takin' down a big blunderbuss that hung over his bed, opened the
+door, an' seized a Naygur be the hair o' the head!
+
+"'Oh, massa! oh, massa! let him go! Got di'mond for to sell!'
+
+"On hearin' this, Juiz let go, and found that the slave had come to
+offer for sale a large di'mond, which weighed about two penny-weights
+and a third.
+
+"'What d'ye ask for it?' said Juiz, with sparklin' eyes.
+
+"'Six hundred mil-reis,' answered the Naygur.
+
+"This was about equal to £180 Stirling. Without more words about it, he
+paid down the money; and the slave went away. Juiz lost his sleep that
+night. He went and tould the neighbours he had forgot a piece of
+important business in Rio and must go back at wance. So back he went, and
+stayed some time in the city, tryin' to git his di'mond safely sold; for
+it was such a big wan that he feared the government fellows might hear
+o't; in which case he would have got tin years transportation to Angola
+on the coast of Africa. At last, however, he got rid of it for 20,000
+mil-reis, which is about £6000. It was all paid to him in hard dollars;
+and he nearly went out o' his wits for joy. But he was brought down a peg
+nixt day, when he found that the same di'mond was sold for nearly twice
+as much as he had got for it. Howiver, he had made a pretty considerable
+fortin; an' he's now the richest di'mond and gould merchant in the
+district."
+
+"A lucky fellow certainly," said Martin. "But I must say I have no taste
+for such chance work; so I'm quite ready to start for the sea-coast
+whenever it suits the Baron Fagoni's convenience."
+
+While they were speaking they were attracted by voices outside the
+cottage, which sounded as if in altercation. In another minute the door
+burst open, and a man entered hurriedly, followed by the interpreter.
+
+"Your overseer is impertinent!" exclaimed the man, who was a tall swarthy
+Brazilian. "I wish to buy a horse or a good mule, and he won't let me
+have one. I am not a beggar; I offer to pay."
+
+The man spoke in Portuguese, and Barney replied in the same language.
+
+"You can have a horse _if you pay for it_."
+
+The Brazilian replied by throwing a heavy bag of dollars on the table.
+
+"All right," said Barney, turning to his interpreter and conversing with
+him in an under-tone. "Give him what he requires." So saying he bowed the
+Brazilian out of the room, and returned to the enjoyment of his black
+pipe, which had been interrupted by the incident.
+
+"That man seems in a hurry," said Martin.
+
+"So he is. My interpreter tells me that he is quite like one o' the
+blackguards that sometimes go about the mines doin' mischief, and he's in
+hot haste to be away. I should not wonder if the spalpeen has been
+stealin' gould or di'monds and wants to escape. But of course I've
+nothin' to do with that, unless I was sure of it; and I've a horse or two
+to sell, and he has money to pay for it; so he's welcome. He says he is
+makin' straight for the say-coast; and with your lave, Martin, my boy,
+you and I will be doin' that same in a week after this, and say good-bye
+to the di'mond mines."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+NEW SCENES AND PLEASANT TRAVELLING
+
+
+A new and agreeable sensation is a pleasant thing. It was on as bright an
+evening as ever shone upon Brazil, and in as fair a scene as one could
+wish to behold, that Martin Rattler and his friend Barney experienced a
+new sensation. On the wide campos, on the flower-bedecked and grassy
+plains, they each bestrode a fiery charger; and, in the exultation of
+health, and strength, and liberty, they swept over the green sward of the
+undulating campos, as light as the soft wind that fanned their bronzed
+cheeks, as gay in heart as the buzzing insects that hovered above the
+brilliant flowers.
+
+"Oh, this is best of all!" shouted Martin, turning his sparkling eyes to
+Barney, as he reined up his steed after a gallop that caused its nostril
+to expand and its eye to dilate. "There's nothing like it! A fiery
+charger that can't and _won't_ tire, and a glorious sweep of plain like
+that! Huzza! whoop!" And loosening the rein of his willing horse, away he
+went again in a wild headlong career.
+
+"Och, boy, pull up, or ye'll kill the baste!" cried Barney, who thundered
+along at Martin's side enjoying to the full the spring of his powerful
+horse; for Barney had spent the last farthing of his salary on the two
+best steeds the country could produce, being determined, as he said, to
+make the last overland voyage on clipper-built animals, which, he wisely
+concluded, would fetch a good price at the end of the journey. "Pull up!
+d'ye hear? They can't stand goin' at that pace. Back yer topsails, ye
+young rascal, or I'll board ye in a jiffy."
+
+"How can I pull up with _that_ before me?" cried Martin, pointing to
+a wide ditch or gully that lay in front of them. "I must go over
+that first."
+
+"Go over that!" cried Barney, endeavouring to rein in his horse, and
+looking with an anxious expression at the chasm. "It's all very well for
+you to talk o' goin' over, ye feather; but fifteen stun--Ah, then,
+_won't_ ye stop? Bad luck to him, he's got the bit in his teeth! Oh then,
+ye ugly baste, go, and my blissin' go with ye!"
+
+The leap was inevitable. Martin went over like a deer. Barney shut his
+eyes, seized the pommel of the saddle, and went at it like a
+thunder-bolt In the excitement of the moment he shouted, in a stentorian
+voice, "Clap on all sail! d'ye hear? Stu'n-sails and sky-scrapers! Kape
+her steady! Hooray!"
+
+It was well for Barney that he had seized the saddle. Even as it was he
+received a tremendous blow from the horse's head as it took the leap,
+and was thrown back on its haunches when it cleared the ditch, which it
+did nobly.
+
+"Hallo! old boy, not hurt, I hope," said Martin, suppressing his laughter
+as his comrade scrambled on to the saddle. "You travel about on the back
+of your horse at full gallop like a circus rider."
+
+"Whist, darlint, I do belave he has damaged my faygurhead. What a nose
+I've got! Sure I can see it mesilf without squintin'."
+
+"So you have, Barney. It's a little swelled, but never mind. We must all
+learn by experience, you know. So come along."
+
+"Hould on, ye spalpeen, till I git my wind!"
+
+But Martin was off again at full speed; and Barney's horse, scorning to
+be left behind, took the bit again in its teeth and went--as he himself
+expressed it,--"screamin' before the wind."
+
+A new sensation is not always and necessarily an agreeable thing. Martin
+and Barney found it so on the evening of that same day, as they reclined
+(they could not sit) by the side of their fire on the campo under the
+shelter of one of the small trees which grew here and there at wide
+intervals on the plain. They had left the diamond mine early that
+morning, and their first day on horseback proved to them that there are
+shadows as well as lights in equestrian life. Their only baggage was a
+single change of apparel and a small bag of diamonds,--the latter being
+the product of the mine during the Baron Fagoni's reign, and which that
+worthy was conveying faithfully to his employer. During the first part of
+the day they had ridden through a hilly and woody country, and towards
+evening they emerged upon one of the smaller campos, which occur here and
+there in the district.
+
+"Martin," said Barney, as he lay smoking his pipe, "'tis a pity that
+there's no pleasure in this world without _something_ cross-grained
+into it. My own feelin's is as if I had been lately passed through a
+stamping machine."
+
+"Wrong, Barney, as usual," said Martin, who was busily engaged concluding
+supper with an orange. "If we had pleasures without discomforts we
+wouldn't half enjoy them. We need lights and shadows in life--what are
+you grinning at, Barney?"
+
+"Oh! nothin', only ye're a remarkable philosopher, when ye're in
+the vein."
+
+"Tis always in vain to talk philosophy to you, Barney, so good-night t'
+ye. Oh, dear me, I wish I could sit down! but there's no
+alternative,--either bolt upright or quite flat."
+
+In a quarter of an hour they both forgot pleasures and sorrows alike in
+sleep. Next day the sun rose on the edge of the campo as it does out of
+the ocean, streaming across its grassy billows, and tipping the ridges as
+with ruddy gold. At first Martin and Barney did not enjoy the lovely
+scene, for they felt stiff and sore; but after half an hour's ride they
+began to recover; and when the sun rose in all its glory on the wide
+plain, the feelings of joyous bounding freedom that such scenes always
+engender obtained the mastery, and they coursed along in silent delight.
+
+The campo was hard, composed chiefly of a stiff red clay soil and covered
+with short grass in most places; but here and there were rank bushes of
+long hairy grasses, around and amongst which grew a multitude of the most
+exquisitely beautiful flowerets and plants of elegant forms. Wherever
+these flowers flourished very luxuriantly there were single trees of
+stunted growth and thick bark, which seldom rose above fifteen or twenty
+feet. Besides these there were rich flowering myrtles, and here and there
+a grotesque cactus or two.
+
+Under one of these trees they reined up after a ride of two hours, and
+piqueting their horses, prepared breakfast. It was soon despatched, and
+then remounting, away they went once more over the beautiful plains.
+
+About mid-day, as they were hasting towards the shelter of a grove which
+appeared opportunely on the horizon, Barney said suddenly,--
+
+"Martin, lad, we're lost! We're out of our course, for sartin."
+
+"I've been thinking that for some time, Barney," replied Martin; "but you
+have your compass, and we can surely make the coast by dead
+reckoning--eh?"
+
+"True, lad, we can; but it'll cost us a dale o' tackin' to make up for
+lee-way. Ah, good luck to ye! here's a friend 'll help us."
+
+As he spoke a herd of wild cattle dashed out of the grove and scampered
+over the plain, followed by a herdsman on horseback. Seeing that he was
+in eager pursuit of an animal which he wished to lasso, they followed him
+quietly and watched his movements. Whirling the noose round his head, he
+threw it adroitly in such a manner that the bull put one of its legs
+within the coil. Then he reined up suddenly, and the animal was thrown on
+its back. At the same moment the lasso broke, and the bull recovered its
+feet and continued its wild flight.
+
+"Good-day, friend," said Barney, galloping towards the disappointed
+herdsman and addressing him in Portuguese, "could you show us the road to
+Rio? We've lost it intirely."
+
+The man pointed sulkily in the direction in which they were going, and,
+having mended his lasso, he wheeled about and galloped after the herd
+of cattle.
+
+"Bad luck to yer manners!" said Barney, as he gazed after him. "But what
+can ye expect from the poor critter? He niver larned better Come along,
+Martin, we'll rest here a while."
+
+They were soon under the shelter of the trees, and having fastened their
+horses to one of them, they proceeded to search for water. While thus
+employed, Barney shouted to his companion, "Come here, lad; look here."
+
+There was something in the tone of the Irishman's voice that startled
+Martin, and he sprang hastily towards him. Barney was standing with his
+arms crossed upon his chest and his head bowed forward, as he gazed with
+a solemn expression on the figure of a man at his feet.
+
+"Is he ill?" inquired Martin, stooping and lifting his hand. Starting
+back as he dropped it, he exclaimed, "Dead!"
+
+"Ah, boy, he has gone to his last account. Look at him again, Martin. It
+was he who came to the mine a week ago to buy a horse, and now--" Barney
+sighed as he stooped and turned the body over in order to ascertain
+whether he had been murdered; but there were no marks of violence to be
+seen. There was bread too in his wallet; so they could come to no other
+conclusion than that the unhappy man had been seized with fatal illness
+in the lonesome wood and died there.
+
+As they searched his clothes they found a small leathern bag, which, to
+their amazement, was filled with gold-dust; and in the midst of the gold
+was another smaller bag containing several small diamonds.
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Martin, "that explains his hurry. No doubt he had made
+off with these, and was anxious to avoid pursuit."
+
+"No doubt of it," said Barney. "Well, thief or no thief, we must give the
+poor cratur' dacent burial. There's not a scrap o' paper to tell who he
+is or where he came from,--a sure sign that he wasn't what he should ha'
+been. Ah! Martin, what will we not do for the sake o' money! and, after
+all, we can't keep it long. May the Almighty niver let you or me set our
+hearts on it."
+
+They dug a shallow grave with their hands in a sandy spot where the soil
+was loose, in which they deposited the body of the unfortunate man; and
+then remounting their horses, rode away and left him in his lonely
+resting-place.
+
+For many days did Martin and Barney travel through the land on horseback,
+now galloping over open campos, anon threading their way through the
+forest, and sometimes toiling slowly up the mountain sides. The aspect of
+the country varied continually as they advanced, and the feelings of
+excessive hilarity with which they commenced the journey began to subside
+as they became accustomed to it.
+
+One evening they were toiling slowly up a steep range of hills which had
+been the prospect in front of them the whole of that day. As they neared
+the summit of the range Martin halted at a stream to drink, and Barney
+advanced alone. Suddenly Martin was startled by a loud cry, and looking
+up he saw Barney on his knees with his hands clasped before him! Rushing
+up the hill, Martin found his comrade with his face flushed and the tears
+coursing down his cheeks as he stared before him!
+
+"Look at it, Martin, dear!" he cried, starting up and flinging his cap in
+the air, and shouting like a madman. "The say! my own native illiment!
+the beautiful ocean! Och, darlint, my blessing on ye! Little did I think
+to see you more,--hooray!"
+
+Barney sang and danced till he sank down on the grass exhausted; and, to
+say truth, Martin felt much difficulty in restraining himself from doing
+likewise, for before him was spread out the bright ocean, gleaming in the
+light of the sinking sun, and calm and placid as a mirror. It was indeed
+a glorious sight to these two sailors, who had not seen the sea for
+nearly two years. It was like coming suddenly face to face--after a long
+absence--with an old and much loved friend.
+
+Although visible, the sea, however, was still a long way off from the
+Serra dos Orgos on which they stood. But their steeds were good, and it
+was not long ere they were both rolling like dolphins in the beautiful
+bay of Rio de Janeiro.
+
+Here Barney delivered up the gold and diamonds to his employer, who paid
+him liberally for his services and entertained them both hospitably while
+they remained in the city. The bag of gold and diamonds which had been
+found on the body of the dead man they appropriated, as it was absolutely
+impossible to discover the rightful owner. Barney's friend bought it of
+them at full price; and when they embarked, soon after, on board a
+homeward bound ship, each had four hundred pounds in his pocket!
+
+As they sailed out of the noble harbour Martin sat on the poop gazing at
+the receding shore while thick-coming memories crowded on his brain.
+
+His imagination flew back to the day when he first landed on the coast
+and escaped with his friend Barney from the pirates,--to the hermit's
+cottage in the lonely valley, where he first made acquaintance with
+monkeys, iguanas, jaguars, armadillos, and all the wonderful, beautiful,
+and curious birds, beasts, and reptiles, plants, trees, and flowers, that
+live and flourish in that romantic country. Once more, in fancy, he was
+sailing up the mighty Amazon, shooting alligators on its banks, spearing
+fish in its waters, paddling through its curious gapo, and swinging in
+his hammock under its luxuriant forests. Once again he was a prisoner
+among the wild Indians, and he started convulsively as he thought of the
+terrible leap over the precipice into the stream that flowed into the
+heart of the earth. Then he wandered in the lonely forest. Suddenly the
+diamond mines were before him, and Barney's jovial voice rang in his
+ears; and he replied to it with energy, for now he was bounding on a
+fiery steed over the grassy campos. With a deep sigh he awoke from his
+reverie to find himself surrounded by the great wide sea.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+THE RETURN
+
+
+Arthur Jollyboy, Esquire, of the Old Hulk, sat on the top of a tall
+three-legged stool in his own snug little office in the sea-port town of
+Bilton, with his legs swinging to and fro; his socks displayed a
+considerable way above the tops of his gaiters; his hands thrust deep
+into his breeches pockets; his spectacles high on his bald forehead, and
+his eyes looking through the open letter that lay before him; through the
+desk underneath it; through the plank floor, cellars and foundations of
+the edifice; and through the entire world into the distant future beyond.
+
+"Four thousand pair of socks," he murmured, pulling down his spectacles
+and consulting the open letter for the tenth time; "four thousand pair of
+socks, with the hitch, same as last bale, but a very little coarser in
+material."
+
+"Four thousand pair! and who's to make them, I wonder. If poor Mrs.
+Dorothy Grumbit were here--ah! well, she's gone, so it can't be helped.
+Four thousand!--dear me who _will_ make them. Do _you_ know?"
+
+This question was addressed to his youngest clerk, who sat on the
+opposite side of the desk staring at Mr. Jollyboy with that open
+impudence of expression peculiar to young puppy-dogs whose masters are
+unusually indulgent.
+
+"No, sir, I don't," said the clerk with a broad grin.
+
+Before the perplexed merchant could come at any conclusion on this knotty
+subject the door opened and Martin Rattler entered the room, followed by
+his friend Barney O'Flannagan.
+
+"You've come to the wrong room, friends," said Mr. Jollyboy with a
+benignant smile. "My principal clerk engages men and pays wages. His
+office is just opposite; first door in the passage."
+
+"We don't want to engage," said Martin; "we wish to speak with you, sir."
+
+"Oh, beg pardon!" cried Mr. Jollyboy, leaping off the stool with
+surprising agility for a man of his years. "Come in this way. Pray be
+seated--Eh! ah, surely I've seen you before, my good fellow?"
+
+"Yis, sir, that ye have. I've sailed aboard your ships many a time. My
+name's Barney O'Flannagan, at yer sarvice."
+
+"Ah! I recollect; and a good man you are, I've been told, Barney; but I
+have lost sight of you for some years. Been on a long voyage, I suppose?"
+
+"Well, not 'xactly; but I've been on a long cruise, an' no mistake, in
+the woods o' Brazil. I wos wrecked on the coast there, in the _Firefly_."
+
+"Ah! to be sure. I remember. And your young messmate here, was he
+with you?"
+
+"Yes, sir, I was," said Martin, answering for himself; "and I had once
+the pleasure of your acquaintance. Perhaps if you look steadily in my
+face you may--"
+
+"Ah, then! don't try to bamboozle him. He might as well look at a bit o'
+mahogany as at your faygurhead. Tell him at wance, Martin dear."
+
+"Martin?" exclaimed the puzzled old gentleman, seizing the young sailor
+by the shoulders and gazing intently into his face. "Martin! Martin!
+Surely not--yes! eh? Martin Rattler?"
+
+"Ay that am I, dear Mr. Jollyboy, safe and sound, and--"
+
+Martin's speech was cut short in consequence of his being violently
+throttled by Mr. Jollyboy, who flung his arms round his neck and
+staggered recklessly about the office with him! This was the great point
+which Barney had expected; it was the climax to which he had been looking
+forward all the morning: and it did not come short of his anticipations;
+for Mr. Jollyboy danced round Martin and embraced him for at least ten
+minutes, asking him at the same time a shower of questions which he gave
+him no time to answer. In the excess of his delight Barney smote his
+thigh with his broad hand so forcibly that it burst upon the startled
+clerk like a pistol-shot, and caused him to spring off his stool!
+
+"Don't be afeared, young un," said Barney, winking and poking the small
+clerk jocosely in the ribs with his thumb. "Isn't it beautiful to see
+them. Arrah, now! isn't it purty?"
+
+"Keep your thumbs to yourself, you sea monster," said the small clerk,
+angrily, and laying his hand on the ruler. But Barney minded him not, and
+continued to smite his thigh and rub his hands, while he performed a sort
+of gigantic war-dance round Mr. Jollyboy and Martin.
+
+In a few minutes the old gentleman subsided sufficiently to understand
+questions.
+
+"But, my aunt," said Martin, anxiously; "you have said nothing about Aunt
+Dorothy. How is she? where is she? is she well?"
+
+To these questions Mr. Jollyboy returned no answer, but sitting suddenly
+down on a chair, he covered his face with his hands.
+
+"She is not ill?" inquired Martin in a husky voice, while his heart beat
+violently. "Speak, Mr. Jollyboy, is she--is she--"
+
+"No, she's not ill," returned the old gentleman; "but she's--"
+
+"She is dead!" said Martin, in a tone so deep and sorrowful that the old
+gentleman started up.
+
+"No, no, not dead, my dear boy; I did not mean that. Forgive my
+stupidity, Martin. Aunt Dorothy is gone,--left the village a year ago;
+and I have never seen or heard of her since."
+
+Terrible though this news was, Martin felt a slight degree of relief to
+know that she was not dead;--at least there was reason to hope that she
+might be still alive.
+
+"But when did she go? and why? and where?"
+
+"She went about twelve months ago," replied Mr. Jollyboy. "You see,
+Martin, after she lost you she seemed to lose all hope and all spirit;
+and at last she gave up making socks for me, and did little but moan in
+her seat in the window and look out towards the sea. So I got a pleasant
+young girl to take care of her; and she did not want for any of the
+comforts of life. One day the little girl came to me here, having run all
+the way from the village, to say that Mrs. Grumbit had packed up a bundle
+of clothes and gone off to Liverpool by the coach. She took the
+opportunity of the girl's absence on some errand to escape; and we should
+never have known it, had not some boys of the village seen her get into
+the coach and tell the guard that she was going to make inquiries after
+Martin. I instantly set out for Liverpool; but long before I arrived the
+coach had discharged its passengers, and the coachman, not suspecting
+that anything was wrong, had taken no notice of her after arriving. From
+that day to this I have not ceased to advertise and make all possible
+inquiries, but without success."
+
+Martin heard the narrative in silence, and when it was finished he sat a
+few minutes gazing vacantly before him, like one in a dream. Then
+starting up suddenly, he wrung Mr. Jollyboy's hand, "Good-bye, my dear
+friend; good-bye. I shall go to Liverpool. We shall meet again."
+
+"Stay, Martin, stay--"
+
+But Martin had rushed from the room, followed by his faithful friend, and
+in less than half an hour they were in the village of Ashford. The coach
+was to pass in twenty minutes, so, bidding Barney engage two outside
+seats, he hastened round by the road towards the cottage. There it stood,
+quaint, time-worn, and old-fashioned, as when he had last seen it,--the
+little garden in which he had so often played,--the bower in which, on
+fine weather, Aunt Dorothy used to sit, and the door-step on which the
+white kitten used to gambol. But the shutters were closed, and the door
+was locked, and there was an air of desolation and a deep silence
+brooding over the place, that sank more poignantly into Martin's heart
+than if he had come and found every vestige of the home of his childhood
+swept away. It was like the body without the soul. The flowers, and
+stones, and well-known forms were there; but she who had given animation
+to the whole was gone. Sitting down on the door-step, Martin buried his
+face in his hands and wept.
+
+He was quickly aroused by the bugle of the approaching coach. Springing
+up, he dashed the tears away and hurried towards the high-road. In a few
+minutes Barney and he were seated on the top of the coach, and dashing,
+at the rate of ten miles an hour, along the road to Liverpool.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+THE OLD GARRET
+
+
+Days, and weeks, and months, passed away, and Martin had searched every
+nook and corner of the great sea-port without discovering his old aunt,
+or obtaining the slightest information regarding her. At first he and
+Barney went about the search together, but after a time he sent his old
+companion forcibly away to visit his own relatives, who dwelt not far
+from Bilton, at the same time promising that if he had any good news to
+tell he would immediately write and let him know.
+
+One morning, as Martin was sitting beside the little fire in his lodging,
+a tap came to the door, and the servant girl told him that a policeman
+wished to see him.
+
+"Show him in," said Martin, who was not in the least surprised, for he
+had had much intercourse with these guardians of the public peace during
+the course of his unavailing search.
+
+"I think, sir," said the man on entering, "that we've got scent of an old
+woman w'ich is as like the one that you're arter as hanythink."
+
+Martin rose in haste. "Have you, my man? Are you sure?"
+
+"'Bout as sure as a man can be who never seed her. But it won't take you
+long to walk. You'd better come and see for yourself."
+
+Without uttering another word, Martin put on his hat and followed the
+policeman. They passed through several streets and lanes, and at length
+came to one of the poorest districts of the city, not far distant from
+the shipping. Turning down a narrow alley, and crossing a low
+dirty-looking court, Martin's guide stopped before a door, which he
+pushed open and mounted by a flight of rickety wooden stairs to a garret.
+He opened the door and entered.
+
+"There she is," said the man in a tone of pity, as he pointed to a corner
+of the apartment, "an' I'm afeer'd she's goin' fast."
+
+Martin stepped towards a low truckle-bed on which lay the emaciated form
+of a woman covered with a scanty and ragged quilt. The corner of it was
+drawn across her face, and so gentle was her breathing that it seemed as
+if she were already dead. Martin removed the covering, and one glance at
+that gentle, care-worn countenance sufficed to convince him that his old
+aunt lay before him! His first impulse was to seize her in his strong
+arms, but another look at the frail and attenuated form caused him to
+shrink back in fear.
+
+"Leave me," he said, rising hastily and slipping half a sovereign into
+the policeman's hand; "this is she. I wish to be alone with her."
+
+The man touched his hat and retired, closing the door behind him; while
+Martin, sitting down on the bed, took one of his aunt's thin hands in
+his. The action was tenderly performed, but it awoke her. For the first
+time it flashed across Martin's mind that the sudden joy at seeing him
+might be too much for one so feeble as Aunt Dorothy seemed to be. He
+turned his back hastily to the light, and with a violent effort
+suppressed his feelings while he asked how she did.
+
+"Well, very well," said Aunt Dorothy, in a faint voice. "Are you the
+missionary that was here long ago? Oh! I've been longing for you. Why did
+you not come to read to me oftener about Jesus? But I have had Him here
+although you did not come. He has been saying 'Come unto me, ye that
+labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' Yes, I have found
+rest in Him." She ceased and seemed to fall asleep again; but in a few
+seconds she opened her eyes and said, "Martin, too, has been to see me;
+but he does not come so often now. The darling boy used always to come to
+me in my dreams. But he never brings me food. Why does no one ever bring
+me food? I am hungry."
+
+"Should you like food now, if I brought it to you?" said Martin in a
+low voice.
+
+"Yes, yes; bring me food,--I am dying."
+
+Martin released her hand and glided gently out of the room. In a few
+minutes he returned with a can of warm soup and a roll; of which Aunt
+Dorothy partook with an avidity that showed she had been in urgent need.
+Immediately after, she went to sleep; and Martin sat upon the bed holding
+her hand in both of his till she awoke, which she did in an hour after,
+and again ate a little food. While she was thus engaged the door opened
+and a young man entered, who stated that he was a doctor, and had been
+sent there by a policeman.
+
+"There is no hope," he said in a whisper, after feeling her pulse; "the
+system is quite exhausted."
+
+"Doctor," whispered Martin, seizing the young man by the arm, "can
+nothing save her? I have money, and can command _anything_ that may do
+her good."
+
+The doctor shook his head. "You may give her a little wine. It will
+strengthen her for a time, but I fear there is no hope. I will send in a
+bottle if you wish it."
+
+Martin gave him the requisite sum, and in a few minutes the wine was
+brought up by a boy.
+
+The effect of the wine was wonderful. Aunt Dorothy's eyes sparkled as
+they used to do in days of old, and she spoke with unwonted energy.
+
+"You are kind to me, young man," she said, looking earnestly into
+Martin's face, which, however, he kept carefully in shadow. "May our Lord
+reward you."
+
+"Would you like me to talk to you of your nephew?" said Martin; "I have
+seen him abroad."
+
+"Seen my boy! Is he not dead?"
+
+"No; he is alive, and in this country, too."
+
+Aunt Dorothy turned pale, but did not reply for a few minutes, during
+which she grasped his hand convulsively.
+
+"Turn your face to the light," she said faintly.
+
+Martin obeyed, and bending over her whispered, "He is here; I am Martin,
+my dear, dear aunt--"
+
+No expression of surprise escaped from Aunt Dorothy as she folded her
+arms round his neck and pressed his head upon her bosom. His hot tears
+fell upon her neck while she held him, but she spoke not. It was evident
+that as the strength infused by the wine abated her faculties became
+confused. At length she whispered,--
+
+"It is good of you to come to see me, darling boy. You have often come to
+me in my dreams. But do not leave me so soon; stay a very little longer,"
+
+"This is no dream, dearest aunt," whispered Martin, while his tears
+flowed faster; "I am really here."
+
+"Ay, so you always say, my darling child; but you always go away and
+leave me. This is a dream, no doubt, like all the rest; but oh, it seems
+very very real! You never _wept_ before, although you often smiled.
+Surely this is the best and brightest dream I ever had!"
+
+Continuing to murmur his name while she clasped him tightly to her bosom,
+Aunt Dorothy gently fell asleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+CONCLUSION
+
+
+Aunt Dorothy Grumbit did _not_ die! Her gentle spirit had nearly fled;
+but Martin's return and Martin's tender nursing brought her round, and
+she gradually regained all her former strength and vigour. Yes, to the
+unutterable joy of Martin, to the inexpressible delight of Mr. Arthur
+Jollyboy and Barney, and to the surprise and complete discomfiture of the
+young doctor who shook his head and said "There is no hope," Aunt Dorothy
+Grumbit recovered? and was brought back in health and in triumph to her
+old cottage at Ashford!
+
+Moreover, she was arrayed again in the old bed-curtain chintz with the
+flowers as big as saucers, and the old high-crowned cap. A white kitten
+was got, too, so like the one that used to be Martin's playmate, that no
+one could discover a hair of difference. So remarkable was this, that
+Martin made inquiry, and found that it was actually the grand-daughter of
+the old kitten, which was still alive and well; so he brought it back
+too, and formally installed it in the cottage along with its grandchild.
+
+There was a great house-warming on the night of the day in which Aunt
+Dorothy Grumbit was brought back. Mr. Arthur Jollyboy was there--of
+course; and the vicar was there; and the pursy doctor who used to call
+Martin "a scamp;" and the school-master; and last, though not least,
+Barney O'Flannagan was there. And they all had tea, during which dear
+Aunt Dorothy smiled sweetly on everybody and said nothing,--and, indeed,
+did nothing, except that once or twice she put additional sugar and cream
+into Martin's cup when he was not looking, and stroked one of his hands
+continually. After tea Martin related his adventures in Brazil, and
+Barney helped him; and these two talked more that night than any one
+could have believed it possible for human beings to do, without the aid
+of steam lungs! And the doctor listened, and the vicar and school-master
+questioned, and old Mr. Jollyboy roared and laughed till he became purple
+in the face--particularly at the sallies of Barney. As for old Aunt
+Dorothy Grumbit, she listened when Martin spoke. When Martin was silent
+she became stone deaf!
+
+In the course of time Mr. Jollyboy made Martin his head clerk; and then,
+becoming impatient, he made him his partner off-hand. Then he made Barney
+O'Flannagan an overseer in the warehouses; and when the duties of the day
+were over, the versatile Irishman became his confidential servant, and
+went to sup and sleep at the Old Hulk; which, he used to remark, was
+quite a natural and proper and decidedly comfortable place to come to an
+anchor in.
+
+Martin became the stay and comfort of his aunt in her old age; and the
+joy which he was the means of giving to her heart was like a deep and
+placid river which never ceases to flow. Ah! there is a rich blessing in
+store for those who tenderly nurse and comfort the aged, when called upon
+to do so; and assuredly there is a sharp thorn prepared for those who
+neglect this sacred duty. Martin read the Bible to her night and morning;
+and she did nothing but watch for him at the window while he was out. As
+Martin afterwards became an active member of the benevolent societies
+with which his partner was connected, he learned from sweet experience
+that "it is more blessed to give than to receive," and that "it is
+_better_ to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of
+feasting." Dear young reader, do not imagine that we plead in favour of
+moroseness or gloom. Laugh if you will, and feast if you will, and
+remember, too, that "a merry heart is a continual feast;" but we pray you
+not to forget that God himself has said that a visit to the house of
+mourning is _better_ than a visit to the house of feasting: and, strange
+to say, it is productive of greater joy; for to do good is better than to
+get good, as surely as sympathy is better than selfishness.
+
+Martin visited the poor and read the Bible to them; and in watering
+others he was himself watered, for he found the "Pearl of Great Price,"
+even Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world.
+
+Business prospered in the hands of Martin Rattler, too, and he became a
+man of substance. Naturally, too, he became a man of great importance in
+the town of Bilton. The quantity of work that Martin and Mr. Jollyboy and
+Barney used to get through was quite marvellous; and the number of
+engagements they had during the course of a day was quite bewildering.
+
+In the existence of all men, who are not born to unmitigated misery,
+there are times and seasons of peculiar enjoyment. The happiest hour of
+all the twenty-four to Martin Rattler was the hour of seven in the
+evening; for then it was that he found himself seated before the blazing
+fire in the parlour of the Old Hulk, to which Aunt Dorothy Grumbit had
+consented to be removed, and in which she _was_ now a fixture. Then it
+was that old Mr. Jollyboy beamed with benevolence, until the old lady
+sometimes thought the fire was going to melt him; then it was that the
+tea-kettle sang on the hob like a canary; and then it was that Barney
+bustled about the room preparing the evening meal, and talking all the
+time with the most perfect freedom to any one who chose to listen to him.
+Yes, seven p.m. was Martin's great hour, and Aunt Dorothy's great hour,
+and old Mr. Jollyboy's great hour, and Barney's too; for each knew that
+the labours of the day were done, and that the front door was locked for
+the night, and that a great talk was brewing. They had a tremendous talk
+every night, sometimes on one subject, sometimes on another; but the
+subject of all others that they talked oftenest about was their travels.
+And many a time and oft, when the winter storms howled round the Old
+Hulk, Barney was invited to draw in his chair, and Martin and he plunged
+again vigorously into the great old forests of South America, and spoke
+so feelingly about them that Aunt Dorothy and Mr. Jollyboy almost fancied
+themselves transported into the midst of tropical scenes, and felt as if
+they were surrounded by parrots, and monkeys, and jaguars, and
+alligators, and anacondas, and all the wonderful birds, beasts, reptiles,
+and fishes, that inhabit the woods and waters of Brazil.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Martin Rattler, by Robert Michael Ballantyne
+
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