Yr Ynys Unyg Part 21

"Shall we follow Otty's advice," said I to the others, "it seems the only thing we can do, but it is horrible."

"Cover up those unsightly remains, and let us begone," said Schillie, "the place is getting horrible even now."

We ran for every sort of thing we could find to shovel the sand over him, and though very soon out of sight, we worked harder and harder, as if the more sand we put over him, the more we drove from us the horrible sight. We then recollected the ladders, and Gatty and Serena ran up, and let them down, and then swung themselves down by a rope, which we fastened at the side of the cavern, in such a manner as to be hardly apparent, and certainly of no use.

For a full hour after we had done, the children were throwing more sand on the great Tumulus now before us, while we moved as many of our things as we could to another cavern, smaller, less convenient, and darker. We were so busy, that we forgot the pirates might come back, and were therefore electrified at the sound of their voices above. They called once or twice to the dead man, now buried many feet in sand, and of course receiving no answer, we found they were preparing to let a man down.

"Oh! Mother," said Oscar, "let us stone him well as he comes down, and that will frighten him." "And let us hiss like snakes," said Felix, "and he'll think he has got into a nest of big snakes." "Capital," said Gatty, "it will be glorious fun." "No, we must shoot him," said Schillie. "No, no, little Mother, do let us stone him, and hiss him out," said all the little ones, and they ran to collect stones.

"Indeed, Schillie, I think the children's idea a very good one. If he is well stoned he won't come down, and if we hiss they will certainly think us snakes and, being already fearful about them, who knows but the fear of their being in the caverns of the island may drive them all away."

_Schillie._--"Did ever any one hear of anything so silly. As if a man with an ounce of brains would be taken in by such a child's trick as this."

_Oscar._--"Then keep the guns ready, cousin, and you and I will have a shot at him if necessary."

"Agreed," said she. "Now make haste, every one hide in different corners; he is coming down."

Most of this conversation was, of course, in whispers. Gatty was to give the signal for the stoning operations by her most accomplished hiss.

A sudden burst of daylight; he was cutting the brushwood away to investigate as far as he could before descending. We were all like silent mice. Three hairy faces peered down. We s.h.i.+vered, and picked up the biggest stones. Now then he is coming, they say all right in Spanish, and he requests they will let him down very slowly. Now we see his legs, now his body, now the whole of him. Why does not Gatty give the signal? Lower and lower, I must hiss in a minute if she does not; at last he is fairly half way down. A great hiss, a perfect hurricane of hisses ensues, and a shower of stones aimed with such right goodwill that the man roared again. In their start and alarm above they had let him slip down suddenly a few feet, but his violent cries and entreaties to be drawn up were quickly attended to, and, amidst incessant hitting, and such a volley of stones that I do not think one inch of his body escaped a bruise, he disappeared from our sight.

We heard him groaning and moaning above, while the others questioned him. He was too much stunned however to say anything as far as we could make it out, and presently we found they were lowering him down from the cliffs near Cartref Pellenig, as the easiest way of getting him home.

From our peep-holes we had the satisfaction of seeing our enemy in a deplorable state, and apparently insensible, which Gatty averred was her performance, as she aimed particularly at his head.

As Madame observed, a most unladylike proceeding!

CHAPTER x.x.xIII.

We were some time in learning what effect our stratagem had had upon the pirates. On our parts we were delighted at the scheme succeeding so wonderfully, and dubbed the hero of it "The Knight of the Descending Ladder." They kept very close, and we saw but little of them until the s.h.i.+p returned. Then, indeed, there was a great row, and we saw the unfortunate "Knight" brought out on a sort of board, apparently to tell his tale, which must have been very wonderful to judge by their amazement. He seemed very ill indeed, and while some of us expressed a little sorrow for him, there were a few who wondered how he dare be still alive after their incredible exertions to kill him.

Schillie declared she had a great contempt now for the pirates, since they had been deceived and frightened by such children's play, and began to speculate upon getting rid of them all by degrees through working on their fears, and a sparing use of the gun.

_Mother._--"Nothing surprises me so much as the change in your character. Formerly you scolded me for even killing a wasp (that allowed enemy to man and fruit), and yet now you coolly talk of shooting pirates as if it was a common morning's amus.e.m.e.nt."

_Schillie._--"I shall not be happy as long as these wretches remain, especially as it only requires an earthquake to expose us to view. And now that they have got some notion (fools as they are) that the island is not without its dangers, we may as well follow it up, and, whoever they leave behind this time we must take care they never see again."

_Mother._--"What! you mean to kill and bury them before the others return. I think it a very good plan, and it will effectually frighten them away if they come back two or three times, and on each return find those they have left here gone, without a trace of their disappearance.

But I can never persuade myself that there is one amongst our party who can deliberately go and shoot a man in cold blood who has never done them any harm."

_Schillie._--"Pooh! pooh! just put yourself into their power for a day, and I'll be bound you come back quite ready to do anything to get rid of them. Such a set of wretches I never saw."

_Jenny_ (smiling and smirking to me).--"And yet, Ma'am, they thought so much of Mrs. E. that time we were with them. The captain could not take his eyes off her."

We all laughed heartily at this, and congratulated Schillie on her conquest, while I added that I could easily perceive now why she was irritated against the pirates.

This put her into a great fit of the sulks, and I do not know with whom she would not have quarrelled if our conversation had not been put an end to by Oscar and Felix.

_Oscar._--"Oh Mother, they are unloading the s.h.i.+p, and they have got some prisoners."

_Felix._--"And, oh Mother, one poor prisoner is so wounded he is lame."

_Oscar._--"And, Mother, we saw them bound, carried out of the boat."

_Felix._--"And, oh Mother, they beat their poor prisoners, and one is lame."

_Oscar._--"And, Mother, they are driving them up to Pirate Hall, and, Mother, we must----"

_Felix._--"Oh Mother, we must----"

_Oscar._--"Yes, yes, we must----"

_Felix._--"Oh Mother, say yes, say yes."

_Gatty._--"Release them! of course, glorious boys, we will. Have I not often released you two when playing at 'Prisoners base.'"

_Sybil._--"Poor, poor fellows, we must try to help them."

_Mother._--"This is news indeed! and I quite agree with all your feelings. But, children, you must let us think. Imagine what dangers you run."

_Oscar._--"But, Mother, the poor prisoners!"

_Felix._--"And, oh Mother, perhaps they will eat them, as Friday was going to be eaten."

_Gatty._--"Pray, pray, do let us try to release them."

_Sybil._--"Once they were safe in here we could soon make them well."

_Serena._--"And then, being men, they will help us to fight against the pirates, and kill them all."

_Mother._--"That will be very nice indeed. Schillie, these prisoners seem just sent in the nick of time to do the work I doubted our accomplis.h.i.+ng."

_Schillie._--"I think you and the children all a little cracked together, and have no doubt you will instantly march out in a body, give battle, and return victorious, carrying the prisoners in triumph, and decorated with the b.l.o.o.d.y heads of your enemies."

_Gatty._--"You don't mean to say, little Mother, you would not help to get those two poor prisoners out of the murderous hands of these pirates?"

_Felix._--"And one quite lame!"

_Oscar._--"And perhaps they will eat them up."

_Schillie._--"Pooh! pooh! brats, don't set up such a howling. Who said I was not ready to go to the rescue? Am I not your commander-in-chief? and are you not bound to obey your general? I only beg simply for the same grace your Mother asked for, namely, a little thought to settle our plans."

_Madame._--"Oh, my dear Mrs. E., I had hoped from your knowledge of the world, and general good sense, that you would have calmed the young people's excited minds. Consider what risks we should run in releasing these people, and the inconvenience of having strangers and men attached to our party, living in the strange way we do."

_Schillie._--"Madame, I consider but one thing; these two poor men are in the hands of the pirates and, rescued from their jaws they shall be, if I can do it."