CHAPTER XXX
I FIND MYSELF IN THE PARADISE OF FOOLS
When we had regaled ourselves on the steaks of the tortugua, which is a sweet, wholesome, and excellent meat, we rambled together into the woods in search of fruit to quench our thirst, for water there was none save that of the lake, which was troubled and brackish and not good to drink.
On my way I pointed out to my lady those fruits which were venomous, for there are many such – nay, there be some plants whose flowers are terribly unwholesome to smell – and those which are sweet and good; of these latter we ate freely, also I did cull here and there a flower whose delicacy and sweetness stayed her to admire.
But while we were looking for pine-nuts, which I deem the most estimable fruit that exists, I found that which was better for quenching our thirst than fruits. This was a tree, about twelve or fifteen fathoms high, with leaves as broad as a hand and as long as one's forearm, which I had found in the Oronoque country. With a cry of gladness I bade Lady Biddy look to see a new marvel, and drawing my sword I gave the trunk a fair cut; from this wound there started forth a thick white juice, and by the time I had found a broad clean leaf and folded it to serve as a vessel, the juice was running out abundantly. Clapping my folded leaf below the wound I had in a few minutes as much as the leaf would contain, which was the best part of a pint, and this I bade Lady Biddy to drink of without fear. At the first sip she declared it was excellent good milk as ever she did taste, and so it was, as I found when my turn came to drink. This tree, I say, is common in Guiana, and I go about to insist upon it, because I have found many here in England who would not have it such a thing is in nature, albeit they will readily accept as probable many stories of travelers that are outrageously impossible, wherein they resemble him who strains at a gnat and swallows a camel.
Now being quite refreshed we returned to the shore, where, seeing the fire yet smouldering, I bethought me to cook the rest of the tortuga as a provision for the morrow. With a stick I raked a hole in the midst of the embers; then at the bottom I set a flat clean stone for a hearth, and on this I laid as much of the meat as was fit to eat, turning it over from to time to brown on that hot stone.
As soon as Lady Biddy saw what I was at, and the manner of doing it, she said:
"That is a woman's work, Benet, which I can do as well as you may. Leave this business to me, I pray you, and occupy yourself with the serious matters that are beyond my capacity": and though she meant no reproach, I felt certain, these words put me in mind that I was in a fool's paradise.
"Fool!" says I to myself, as I left her side, "think you this happiness can endure? Are you so fond as to imagine that this savage life, which is a joy for you, is fit for a lady of gentle breeding and refined sentiments – that, because you can picture no greater joy than to live with her alone in this wilderness, she can desire no better companion than you? Because her mind is enfeebled by long days and nights of suspense and terrible doubts, she rejoices like a child in the beauty of flowers and the taste of fruits; she can join with you in laughter at the discomfiture of her enemies; she can readily accommodate herself to the rude necessities of her condition, but, when her mind recovers its strength and composure, nothing in this wilderness, however beautiful and enchanting it be, can content her for the loss of gentle friends, and the absence of those delicate enjoyments which have made her what she is. To-morrow she will weep, for she is a Christian lady, and thou art but a savage."
With these arguments did I bring myself to a clearer perception of our estate and of my duty, which was to sacrifice myself rather than Lady Biddy; to endeavor my utmost to bring her to her friends, and therein shrink not before any pain to myself. "And truly," adds I, addressing myself as before – "truly your own interest prescribes this course, for how can you hope to win the esteem of that dear creature unless you do deserve it? If, instead of yielding her to your friends, you followed the bent of evil inclination, and led her whither no help could reach her, then would there be not a pin for her to choose betwixt you and such a villain as Rodrigues; and though she regards you now with trust and tenderness, how must her feelings change to contempt and disgust if she find you are but an enemy, betraying her to your own selfish ends, under the mask of friendship!"
Notwithstanding this reasoning, I was sadly downcast, and had no more relish for duty than if the argument had been all on t'other side. And so, being come to the edge of the sea, I stood there with my arms folded, looking out over the sea, very down in the mouth, and as sluggish in my mind as if I had nought to do but to stand there all the rest of my days.
From this torpor I was aroused by Lady Biddy coming to my side, so softly that I had not in my dull mood heard her approach, and touching my arm.
Starting in surprise and turning about, I found her looking very gravely and wistfully into my face; for I must think that the dear soul, seeing me go off silent and heavy, and standing apart with a moody aspect, had concluded that I was hurt by her taking the cooking of the tortuga out of my hands.
"I have cooked the meat; but now," says she, with a little shrug and a smile, "I don't know what to do with it."
An ordinary woman in her place would have asked what ailed me so suddenly; but she was of a finer and more delicate nature, and sought to reconcile me without causing me to blush for taking umbrage at a trifle.
For my own part I was glad to believe she had mistaken the cause of my disorder, and was better content she should think me a fool than a rogue. But I felt vastly ashamed of myself, for all that, to find that my demeanor had discovered me. However, I did my best to make amends for my sullen humor by rousing myself to a cheerful complexion as I answered her.
"Why," says I, "the meat must be wrapped in fresh leaves, as well to preserve it from the flies as to keep it cool and clean for our use in traveling; and as I have not yet decided which course it will be best to take, for it is a serious and grave question, I will leave you to seek leaves for that purpose."
"With all my heart," says she cheerfully. "I want to be useful if I may; but I will bring the leaves for you to see, lest the napkin poison our food."
Thus by a little deception did I restore her better opinion of my temper, at the same time that her pretty behavior roused me to a more manly feeling.
Presently she comes back with a store of leaves, which I found very proper for her use, and then away she trips to pack the meat.
When I had settled what was best to be done, I went to her and found she had just finished her business, and admirably neat she had done it, so that I was forced to admit I could never have succeeded so well, which I thought it gave her great pleasure to hear.
"And have you decided what we are to do next?" she asked.
"I am not so fixed but that I should be glad to have your opinion," says I; "and if you will come down to the point whence I have been surveying our position, you may more readily judge what we may do for the best."
"You will make me vain, Benet," says she, with a smile.
"Now," says I, when we were come to the shore, "tell me if you can see any trace of our pursuers opposite."
"No, I can see none of them – nothing moving," says she, after looking intently.
"Then we may take it they are making their way round the coast to rejoin their comrades who came in the other boat. By this time probably all the crew is on the shore, looking for water. Unless they find a spring or a stream to the west, which is little likely by the position of the hills, they will come here again to the stream yonder. But to fill their barricoes they must bring round a boat; now I can see none as far as my vision reaches – can you?"
She scanned the distance carefully, and replied that she saw nothing betwixt us and the ship.
"It is probable," says I, "that the men will content themselves with fruit for the present, but when Rodrigues learns that we have taken the boat, and that there is water in this part, he will send other boats hither. That is not likely to happen for some hours. In the mean while we must escape, and I think it will be best to do so in the boat. We are too far distant to be perceived from the ship; and even if we be, we have such a start of them as they can not hope to fetch up with us, for if we see our pursuers a mile off we may take to the woods."
"Where do you reckon to go in the boat?" asks Lady Biddy.
"Why," says I, "betwixt the chain of hills that surrounds us and those mountains we saw beyond, there should be a valley, and there should be a river to carry off the waters that flow from the mountains. If we are to find a town of Christians it should be at the mouth of that river, for there would lie the most fitting place to receive the produce brought down by the river from the interior parts of the country."
"Then you intend to make for that town?" says she, opening wide her eyes, as I deemed (not without a pang of jealousy), with delight.
"Yes," says I.
"But, Benet," says she, "this may be the very town Rodrigues spoke of as the one he intended to go to – the place where he has friends. Still, the town must be far hence, or he would not have cast anchor where he has."
"Why, that is true," says I, greatly admiring this girl's quick reasoning.
"In that case we may embark at once, and escape our present danger. We ought not to lose that chance, for you see how poor I am upon my feet."
"I will not admit that; but you are right in all else you have put forward, and so let us embark at once," says I.
CHAPTER XXXI
WE THINK THE WORST OF OUR TROUBLES ARE OVER; BUT THEY ARE NOT
Before we departed from that place I wounded the milk-tree in divers places, and, with Lady Biddy's help, drew off nigh upon half a gallon of juice, with which we filled a small keg which, as luck would have it, the seamen had left in the locker. Also I cut a fan-shaped palmetto-leaf with a long stem for Lady Biddy to protect her head, and likewise I got a leaf for my own crown, tying it under my chin with that sling I had in my pocket, for though the sun was now sinking this heat was prodigious. Then, with our store of provisions in the locker, we slipped out with the current – the tide of the sea being yet at ebb – and passing the bar came into the open water, which was as smooth and fair as the sky above.
Looking about us we were comforted to perceive no boat nor any sign of our enemy nearer than the black ship, which lay best part of two leagues, as I judged, to the east. This distance I strove to increase by laying vigorously on to my oars and making for the west; but by keeping too close in shore I ran presently on a sandbank; and, getting off that, grounded shortly after on a second; and thence on a third; till at length, seeing that I made less speed than haste, I was compelled to pull out a quarter of a mile or more for deeper water, and so get free of those plaguy sands.
However, I was consoled for the loss of time and my discomfort by the pleasure of Lady Biddy, as we thus again obtained a view of the majestic mountains I have spoken of. Indeed, I was fain to lose another five minutes, resting on my oars, and looking over my shoulder at the superb spectacle; for the sun, being now in its decline, did light up these mountains so that they were glorious to behold. Some of the peaks burnt and sparkled like cut diamonds – indeed, they may have been crystal, for all I know to the contrary – while others shot up like tongues of flame, as if the sun by its near approach had set them afire; then those further from his course shone all rosy, pink with shadows of tender violet.
Lower down, their sides glowed with rich shades of purple, yet painted over with a soft bloom like any plum. As for the valley below, 'twas like naught in the world but a great maze of lilac-bushes, by reason of the flowering trees.
Quitting this prospect I scanned the sea very closely, yet could I see nothing like a sail of any kind, which made me doubt whether there lay any town in those parts we were coming to; for if there were, then most likely would there be fishers; and with a smooth sea and a gentle air, they surely would be abroad casting nets at this time. This raised a secret joy in my heart; but, Lord! when I glanced back at those incredibly high mountains, I was awed by the vastness of the wilderness in which we must somewhere make a dwelling-place.
To make up for lost time I now bent my back to the work before me, and rowed on very steadily, only casting my eye round over my shoulder from time to time for my guidance. Lady Biddy was very thoughtful and grave, as if she likewise was impressed with awe by the aspect of those vast mountains. Moreover, she was recovering that strength and composure of mind which enabled her to gauge her condition justly, as I had foreseen; and this she could not do without perceiving how slender was the thread of hope that held her from despair. But, despite the return of strength, there was more in her heart than she could bear; and when she had been sitting in silence thus some while, she turned her head aside, as if to scan the shore, but it was that I should not see her eyes. Presently she stole her hand up and gently wiped away a tear that was stealing down her cheek, and I saw a movement of her fair throat, as though she were choking down a sob. And this so moved me that I had much ado to keep from weeping in sympathy.
She gave another little gulp, and pushed again the tear from her cheek – poor soul, she had no handkerchief; and then with an effort turns to me, and, seeing my long face, laughed faintly, though her eyes were yet full.
"We're better off than we were this time yesterday," says I as cheerfully as I could, but with a horrid thick voice.
"Ay," says she, "and 'tis ungrateful and foolish to forget it."
"Why, as for that," says I, "a scald will smart none the less for your getting out of hot water. But 'tis a comfort to know that we are not likely to get into the same broth again, and may reasonably hope to be relieved of our pain in time, and not long neither, which will give us patience to endure our present ills."
"I will be patient; indeed I will," says she earnestly. "'Tis the least I can do in return for your goodness, Benet."
"Let us talk of something else," says I.
"Can you make any guess as to where we are?" she asks presently.
"Ay," says I, with as stout a voice as if I were telling the truth, "I make no question of our whereabouts, or I should not have spoken so hopefully."
"But you did not seem to know before we started" – with a shrewd glance.
"No, for then I could not see the run of the mountains. Now, when we landed before supper I could not have sworn but we were in Campeachy, or Honduras, or the Isle of Cuba."
"How could you know after we had eaten?" says she.
"Because our thirst led to the discovery of the milk-tree. Then I knew we must be in Guiana, for they grow nowhere else"; adding to myself, "for aught I know."
A little smile of satisfaction played about her face; then she asked eagerly:
"And what have you learnt by the run of the mountains?"
"Why, that we can't be many miles from the Gulf of Paria. For, if you will recall Sir Bartlemy's chart to mind, you will remember that the only mountains in Guiana that run by the sea are there."
"What part of the chart, Benet?" says she, knitting her brows.
"Up at the top, against Trinidado."
"Oh! I remember," said she, clapping her hands joyfully. "Why, that is close to where you left – left him!"
"Yes," says I; "and the very place Sir Bartlemy will go to refit, if I know aught about the matter."
In this way did I bring her round to a more cheerful temper and a forgetfulness of her position. Nay, I almost cheated myself in trying to deceive her. For, to tell the truth, I had no honest opinion that we were near Paria, else had we seen by this time Margarita, or some of those isles thereabouts. Rather I was inclined to think we were over against the mountains of Guayva. However, I believe we were in neither the one place nor the other but on the coast of Darian – these huge mountains being a spur of the Andes; and if we were not there, then I know not where we were.
I kept on long after the sun had set, nor would I have stayed when I did but for the rocks which began to encumber the shore, and my fear to venture far abroad lest some current should get me into trouble.
Coming now to a kind of cove, well sheltered with rocks and convenient to abide in, as far as we could judge by the light of the stars, I threw out the grapple, which was made fast to the headline, and found it held very well.
This being done, we ate a second supper of turtle and milk; after which I made up as comfortable a bed in the bottom of the boat as was to be had with no better material than the lug-sail, and induced Lady Biddy to lie down and get some sleep, promising to wake her as soon as the day broke, and get a few hours' sleep myself whilst she kept watch.
There was just enough light for me to descry her pale face at the further end of the boat as she lay on the rude bed. I sat watching her, maybe two hours, thinking by her stillness she had fallen asleep; but of a sudden, without moving, she says:
"Benet, do you think we could get there in a week?"
I answered – though with a feeling that I did wrong to encourage a false hope – I answered, I say, that I thought we might do so.
"If we have good luck," she adds.
"Good luck we must have, for the worst is past," says I.
"Yes, I think so," says she. "Good-night."
And in this belief she fell asleep, perhaps to dream her hopes were realized.
Alas! she was soon to be roused from that dream – soon to know that the worst was not past.
CHAPTER XXXII
WE ARE ENCOMPASSED WITH BLACKAMOORS, TO OUR GREAT PERIL
It was drawing near morning, and a breeze had sprung up, ruffling the waters, so that I had to keep the boat away from the rock with my oar, lest the bumping and grating of its side should disturb Lady Biddy's repose, which I would not have had for the world, and the tide being again at the ebb, my face was turned towards the opening in the rocks by which, as I say, we entered this little harbor, when I first heard the sound of a voice.
It seemed to my ear like a cry of triumph or discovery, and for the moment I believed that our pursuers had spied us from the cliff above; but on looking up where the black rock cut off the view of the starry sky I could see nothing but its jagged edge; moreover, I was convinced that no one from that height could spy us in this dark nook, for the light of the stars was only sufficient to show Lady Biddy's white face vaguely to me, and that only distant a few feet.
I looked around me, but naught was there but the dark rocks and the gray sea spread out beyond the outlet. Then I concluded this cry came from some owl or night-gull. Nevertheless, I kept very watchful, with eyes wide open, and would not suffer my thoughts to return to that sweet melancholy which the contemplation of Lady Biddy's face had provoked.
Presently I was seized with fresh alarm, as I perceived that one of the rocks that rose from the sea at the mouth of the cove glowed with a strange light, which could by no reasoning be explained, and the ripples of the sea were lit up in like manner. Every moment this glow grew stronger, yet very slowly as it seemed to me by reason of my great anxiety.
At length, this light growing so strong that I knew something must quickly come of it, I rose in the boat, grasping my oar in readiness, yet knowing not what in the world to expect.
Just as I got to my feet a great blazing fire shot into sight, so that my two eyes were so dazzled I could see naught else for a moment. However, as this confusion of my sight subsided, I perceived that the light came from a brazier or beacon basket of flaming wood fixed to the prow of a canoe, and behind it stood a savage as stark as he was born, with a long spear in his hand, while another savage behind him sat with his knees up to his chin, paddling with a single oar.
While I was wondering what this could mean, the fellow behind the beacon plunges his spear into the sea, and brings out a great silvery fish writhing on the barb.
I was overjoyed to find that these were no enemies, but only two simple naturals fishing in the manner of their country; and I resolved not to meddle with them in any way if I could help it. Turning to Lady Biddy, who had been awaked by the light, and was rising hastily to her feet, I motioned her to sit down, fearing her light gown might reflect the light, and be seen by the savages.
He with the paddle was heading the canoe across the mouth of the cove, when the other, having taken the fish from his spear, muttered a word or two, whereupon the first, with a deft stroke of his oar, turns the boat about, and so bears down upon the very place where we lay.
Now what to do I knew not; for, God knows, I wished these men no harm, and yet could I not risk to be treated like a fish by the fellow with the spear. Following the irregularities of the rocks the canoe came on, till shooting out in front of that rock behind which our boat lay, did the beacon blaze not two yards from my face. There was no time for further consideration, so, lifting my oar, I gave as loud a whoop as I could, at the same time swinging my oar with such force down on the brazier as every spark of fire was scattered out of it.
With a most heathenish howl of terror the two Indians leaped into the sea and got away without so much as showing their heads above water till they were clear of the cove, which, doubtless, they believed to be haunted by some devil or sea-monster.
At first I was disposed to make merry over this adventure, but after a bit I reflected that these fellows, coming from some adjacent village or town, would certainly carry the news to their neighbors, and return at daybreak in force to find out what manner of thing it was that had served them this trick, and what had become of their canoe. And as it was more than likely that, finding we were not the terrible creature their fears had figured, they would bear us no good-will, but rather seek to revenge themselves in cruel sort, I resolved that as soon as it grew light enough to see my way through the rocks, which were rendered now more dangerous by the freshening of the breeze and a chopping sea, we would go forward on our journey as speedily as we might. In the mean while I prepared myself for a good spell of work by making a hearty meal, Lady Biddy also eating a little to keep me in countenance, though she had not yet come to her appetite.
As soon, then, as the darkness began to lift, I unhitched the grapple and shoved out towards the open, yet not without foreboding, for I fancied I saw certain moving patches upon the water across the mouth of the cove, as if the savages were already abroad. Nor was I wrong in this conjecture, for scarcely had I pulled from the shadow of the rock into the gray light than they set up a terrible shout, and let fly a shower of arrows, whereof one went clean through the sleeve of my coat, but without scathing my arm, thanks be to God.
I begged Lady Biddy, for the love of Heaven, to lie down in the bottom of the boat, at the same time that I pushed back into the haven from which we had ventured, for here were we safe from arrows, and if the Indians had the stomach to come to close quarters I counted I could give a very good account of myself with my sword. But as to jeopardizing my dear lady's life by running through the flight of their arrows, that would I not do, though they kept us prisoner a whole day.
So here, having fastened the boat, I waited with my sword drawn, feeling pretty safe, for, thanks to the figure of the rocks, no canoe could enter the cove to shoot us down at a distance without passing so close that I might lay on them with my sword. This daunted them exceedingly, and though we could hear them hallooing and shouting close at hand, not one ventured to push his canoe beyond the cleft where we lay snug.
Lady Biddy put a bold face on this business; yet as the sun rose, and the whooping and hallooing increased, showing that our enemies were gathering in greater numbers, her eyes betrayed uneasiness. Indeed, I myself did by no means feel so sure of our safety as I pretended. If one canoe contrived to get past me into the inner part of the cove, then might the savages in it shoot us down at their ease. And though hitherto none had dared to slip by, I doubted but presently, by egging each other on with their taunts and cries, one would pluck up courage to make the attempt; then all would depend upon my address, for if but one of those wicked, cruel heathens got by alive with his bow and arrows, as I say, we might measure the length of our existence by minutes.
Nothing is so wearisome and fatiguing as to await the onslaught of a hidden foe. The nerves and muscles must be kept braced up, the mind must never relax its energy, and one's very breath comes with painful labor. Maybe those savages were wise enough to know this, for though they never ceased to make themselves heard, yet for hours they made no endeavor to do more. But at length, about eight o'clock, as I judge, my ear caught the dash of oars in the water above the din of voices, and the next moment the prow of a canoe shot into sight. And now, first of all, I flings one of my oars out so that it caught against a rock opposite, and another on the hither side, barring the passage, and the result of this was that, as the canoe shot forward, the oar catches the first natural in the loins and pitches him forward upon the next, and that one in his turn upon the third, to their great discomfiture; still, the oarsmen (who squat at the stern of the canoes in these parts) pushed forward, notwithstanding this cheek; but by this time I had snatched up my sword, and did lay on with such vigor that only two of the oarsmen out of the four escaped with their lives by backing out the way they ventured in. Of spear and bow men I believe I cut down five, not to speak of the two oarsmen, and this without getting a scratch myself, nor being any way the worse except for a prodigious sweat in every part.
Lady Biddy had covered her face with her hands when I took up the sword, for her delicate spirit could not abide the sight of bloodshed; and when it was all over she still hid her eyes, so that I was enabled to rinse my hand over the side of the boat unseen, and cleanse it from the blood that trickled down the blade and splashed beyond the cross in this fight. Also I wiped my sword clean, but I perceived pretty clearly I should never again be able to use that blade for cutting up tortuga nor any other manner of meat that my lady was to eat.
This business was hardly concluded when Lady Biddy asks timorously if it is all over.
"Yes," says I, "and I reckon the blackamoors have had enough for this day."
And so it seemed, for after the howling which was set up upon the defeat of the canoe, there was considerably less whooping than before, so that we did begin to comfort ourselves by thinking they had given up the attempt for a bad job, and would soon leave us in peace. But here were we grievously out of our reckoning, as we soon had occasion to know, for as I was sitting myself on a thwart to ease my legs a bit, an arrow flies down betwixt my knees, and sticks bolt upright in the bottom of the boat.
Now this I did think to make light of as a curious accident, deeming that a savage had fired up in the air and that his arrow had fallen thus nigh me by chance; but the next minute a second arrow falls but a foot away from the first, and then a third and fourth plump down in the water alongside the boat with a noise like great hailstones. Then casting my eyes up I perceived a row of these red savages along the edge of the cliff above. Not a minute did I lose, but snatching up the lug-sail I cast one side over the rocks beside us in such a manner as it formed a kind of roof over Lady Biddy's head; and though more than one arrow stuck in the canvas while this was a-doing, yet got I never so much as a graze, which shows how Providence does favor Christians, to the mortification of the heathen.
This being done I crept under the shelter beside Lady Biddy; yet was I careful to see that my oar still barred the passage well, and that my sword was ready to my hand in case of need.
The arrows came now thicker than ever; but though some came through the sail, yet was their force so broken that they could do us no mischief.
Seeing this, the savages gave over presently. Yet by the clatter they made with their kind of conversation above, I was fearful that they were only seeking to do us some fresh injury; nor did they keep us waiting long to perceive the turn their ingenuity had taken.