New National Fourth Reader Part 68

"And you said you would not tell, if you were killed for it."

Poor Hetty's tears fell fast as she responded, "Yes, sir."

"Those were brave words, and I suppose he thanked you and ran down the road as fast as he could?"

"I promised not to tell which way he went, sir."

"O yes, I forgot; but tell me his last words, and I will not trouble you any more."

"He said, 'I will do it, for it is my last chance.'"

Hetty was now oppressed with great fear; she sobbed aloud, and hid her face in her ap.r.o.n. The soldiers thought they had obtained all the information they could, and rode off toward the river-side.

While Griswold lay hidden at the farm, he had agreed upon a signal with his boatmen, that if in trouble he would put a white cloth by day, or a light at night, in the attic window of his place of concealment. When either signal was seen, the men were to be on the watch, ready to render him a.s.sistance in case of need.

No sooner had the soldiers ridden away, than Griswold's friends in the house hung out a white cloth from the window, to warn the boatmen, who then pulled out to sea.

The boat, with two men in it, was nearly out of sight by the time the soldiers reached the sh.o.r.e, and this caused them to conclude that Griswold had effected his escape.

Meantime he lay safe and quiet until the time came for Hetty to go home to supper. Then he requested her to go and ask her mother to put the signal-lamp in the window as it grew dark, and send him clothes and food. The signal was seen, the boat returned, and Griswold made his way to it in safety.

In better days, when the war was over, and peace declared, he named one of his daughters Hetty Marvin, that he might daily think of the brave young cousin whose sense and truth-speaking had saved his life.

LESSON LXVI.

con sume', _use entirely; exhaust_.

cul ti va'tion, _attending to the growth of plants_.

ex'ports, _the products of a country which are sold to other countries_

trans por ta'tion, _carrying_.

o'val, _shaped like an egg_.

prin'ci pal, _chief; that which is most important_.

es'ti mat ed, _stated in regard to quant.i.ty_.

se lect'ed, _chosen; picked out_.

ter'mi nates, _comes to an end_.

TROPICAL FRUITS.

Those who have not visited tropical countries, can scarcely imagine the wonders of their vegetation. There is nothing in the northern half of the United States, with which to compare the richness of the vegetable growth of the tropics.

In the Southern States of our Union, as well as in Mexico and Central America, there are found many of the same plants and trees that grow in countries lying still nearer the equator.

The various kinds of fruits which grow in these countries, form a very large portion of the exports. Among those that are most commonly sent to us, are bananas, oranges, lemons, dates, cocoa-nuts, and figs.

In countries where the banana grows most abundantly, no article of food which the natives can obtain, requires so little trouble in its cultivation.

One has only to set out a few banana sprouts, and await the result. In a short time, a juicy stem shoots up to the height of fifteen or twenty feet.

It is formed of nothing more than a number of leaf stalks rolled one over the other, and grows sometimes to a thickness of two feet.

Two gigantic leaves grow out from the top, ten feet long and two feet broad. They are so very thin and tender that a light wind splits them into ribbons.

From the center of the leaves a very strong stalk rises up, which supports the cl.u.s.ter of bananas. There are sometimes over one hundred bananas to a single stalk.

A cl.u.s.ter of ripe bananas will weigh from sixty to seventy pounds, and represents a large amount of food. When a stalk has produced and ripened its fruit, it begins to wither and soon dies.

In a very short time, however, new sprouts spring up from the old root, and ere long the native has another cl.u.s.ter. So rapidly do they follow each other, that one cl.u.s.ter is scarcely consumed before another one is ready to ripen.

Bananas ripened on the stalk will not bear transportation to any great distance; therefore, when selected for export, the cl.u.s.ters are cut off while the bananas are very green.

Another valuable fruit of the tropics is the date. This fruit grows on a tree called the date-palm, that is found in both Asia and Africa.

The date-palm is a majestic tree, rising to the height of sixty feet or more, without branches, and with a trunk of uniform thickness throughout its entire length.

It begins to bear fruit about eight years after it has been planted, and continues to be productive from seventy to one hundred years.

Dates are oval in shape, and have a long solid stone. They form the princ.i.p.al food of the inhabitants of some of the eastern countries, and are an important article of commerce.

When they are perfectly ripe, they possess a delightful perfume, and are very agreeable to the taste.

In preparing dates to be sent to distant countries, they are gathered a short time before they are quite ripe, dried in the sun on mats, and finally packed in boxes or straw sacks.

Travelers in the deserts of Africa, often carry dried dates with them for their chief food, during a journey of hundreds of miles.

The Arabs grind dried dates into a powder which they call date flour. If this is packed away in a dry place, it will keep for years, and only has to be moistened with a little water to prepare it for eating.

One of the most valuable and productive of tropical trees is the cocoa-nut palm. It grows largely in both the East and West Indies, and elsewhere throughout the torrid zone.