Wild Life in the Land of the Giants Part 30

That is all I know of this fight with the Firelanders.

Ritchie was unscathed. Poor Wrexham was stark and stiff, with, an arrow sticking in his heart, and two of the others were wounded, but not severely. It is unnecessary to add that the natives had suffered severely.

"Peter," I said, as soon as I could gasp out a word or two, "I'm so glad to see you."

"I thought you wouldn't mind my paying you a visit," said Peter, smiling.

"I dare say I'm talking a bit strange," I said. "I feel rather dazed.

I fainted, didn't I? So foolish to faint!"

"True, it's very foolish to faint, old man, but when a fellow gets. .h.i.t behind the ear with a pebble as big as an ostrich's egg, then fainting and folly are not quite synonymous terms."

"Well, thank you," I muttered. "I'm obliged, really. How's--"

"How's things?" said Peter, helping me out.

"Yes, how--are you all at home?"

"Poor Jack!" said Peter. "Why they've knocked you a kind of silly.

You'll be better when you've had a sleep."

They carried me to the boat. I remember the motion of it, and I remember the bright moonlight on the water, but nothing else for another day.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

THE STORY OF OUR RESCUE--A DINNER AND A BALL--PETER AND DULZURA.

On our arrival at Sandy Point (_Puenta Arenas_) we, that is Jill and I, had been billeted at a pretty little bungalow belonging to a Chilian, and next morning early Peter came to see us, and tell us the story of our rescue.

"First and foremost," he began, "let me tell you that I'm precious glad to see you again, Jack, and you too, Greenie; though, bother me if I'm not beginning to think you're not half so green as you look, for the way he was fighting, Jack, when I landed to help you, was a caution to codgers, I can tell you. Ha, ha! why, I laugh to think how he was making the spear heads fly whenever a few of those Foogies made a thrust at him. How many Greenie killed I couldn't wager; but I'm pretty certain he has found the cannibals in food for a fortnight.

"And you too, Jack. I got a blink of you before you fell. You were back to back, you two; and what with you being so precious like Jill, and Jill being so precious like you, I'm sure the Foogies were frightened and took the two of you for one. And of course they're not far wrong, though you're not fastened together like the Siamese twins by a bit of skin."

"How did you find us?"

"Ay," said Jill, "that's more to the point."

"Well, I'm going to tell you, Greenie, if you'll only give me time. I'd have told you all about it yesterday, but you wouldn't spare a minute away from Jack.

"You see, then, when we got separated in that snow-squall, we did not take much thought about you at first. We remembered you had a boat compa.s.s, and that Ritchie was a good man, and naturally supposed you would find your way here.

"The squally weather continued, but in the very thick of it we found ourselves alongside a steamer--the same saucy little Chilian man-o'-war that so kindly went in search of you. And it isn't fun, I can tell you, to search all up and down among these coves and creeks and islands and forests and glens.

"Well, they took us on board, and made very much of us all the way to Sandy Point, and Captain Coates and our little mother Coates, with Leila, are now living with the governor.

"We waited two days to see if you would show your noses. Then matters looked serious, and as the captain of the gunboat had had several men killed by the Foogies two summers ago, he all the more readily consented to go to look for the missing boat.

"Well, we just looked till we found you. That is the long and the short of it. We searched the wrong sh.o.r.e first. But really I had hoped you had gone down in the squall; that your boat had foundered, and you had been all drowned-dead, as Ritchie would say."

"But why, in the name of mystery, Peter, did you wish us drowned?"

"Why, because I imagined it would be death somehow; and, to tell you the truth, I couldn't bear the thoughts of your being killed and eaten.

"Just fancy," continued Peter, looking mischievously at Jill, "just fancy Greenie here served up with parsley and b.u.t.ter sauce, or however they do serve them up."

"Never mind, Peter," I said, laughing; "all's well that ends well."

"Yes, my boy, unless it ends better than well, and that's how it's going to."

"How do you mean?" asked Jill. "Why, in a ball. And that's what is going to be given. There are two s.h.i.+ps here, and I'm so glad, because there is a pretty Chilian girl that I'm half mad on, the daughter of somebody or another, and--and she'll be there. Do you see, Greenie?"

At little outlandish towns like Sandy Point it does not take a very long time, when s.h.i.+ps are alongside, to get up an entertainment of any kind, so in less than a week the ball came off.

It was preceded by a dinner on board the man-o'-war, at which I was pleased to note that Jill was the hero of the hour. I really felt proud of him, but Jill took it all as a matter of course.

The dinner was excellent of its kind, though I think even Captain Coates missed the big solid English joints. Here all was made dishes, dishes of surprise you might say. Peter and I sat pretty close together, Jill being stowed away among the ladies somewhere, so I knew what Peter did.

On the whole I should say he did well, and I should think he must have changed his plate about twenty times before dessert.

"My object was," he told me next morning, "to taste everything. I wanted to improve the mind as well as the body. D'ye see?"

"Oh yes, we saw right enough." Peter never failed to be explicit when he talked. For the first time in my life, we tasted guanaco and ostrich meat, and horseflesh; and the commander of the s.h.i.+p positively apologised because he had not been able to procure a fry of agouti and a curry of armadillo. I for one readily excused the gallant commander, and I suppose so did Peter; though I know this much, if steak of grampus and roast albatross had been placed before him, he would have felt it his duty to eat of these dishes.

When talking grew fast and furious, which it did about the middle of the seventeenth course--"the seventeenth round" Peter afterwards styled it-- I had time to look around me and note the peculiarities of my companions at table.

The princ.i.p.al peculiarities of the foreign officers, I soon discovered, were excessive politeness and a gesticulatory method of talking, not by any means approaching to rudeness, but strange to an Englishman's eye.

The commander was a short, stout, good-natured little fellow, very round-faced, and cheerful in eye. I do not wonder at this, if he "fed"--the expression is Peter's--as well every day as we had now done.

His officers were second editions of himself, only boiled down, as it were. There were several gentlemen from the two merchant s.h.i.+ps, and two ladies. One of the latter was a captain's wife, who, like our little mother Coates, preferred to plough the stormy ocean with her husband to staying at home on the dull sh.o.r.e.

The other lady was she on whom Peter had gone mad, as he told us. I think I am right in a.s.serting that poor Peter had eyes for n.o.body and nothing at table except her. She really was a charming girl. I did not wonder at Peter's all too sensitive heart being smitten with her.

Besides, you know, Peter was a sailor. He did not know her Christian name. He had simply given her one. He called her Dulzura, which certainly sounds very nice, and means "sweet," "suave," "pleasant,"

"pretty," and a whole regiment of other nice adjectives.

Near the head of the table sat Dulzura's father. I knew him for her father at a glance. He was an exceedingly handsome man, but bold-looking as well as handsome, though most deferential and gentlemanly. His age might have been about fifty. I put him down at once as a soldier, but found out afterwards that, though he had been in the Chilian army, he was now, if anything, a sportsman and rover.

Well, after the dinner came the ball on the quarter-deck. There was not a great deal of room, certainly, but then our party was not large.

Senor Castizo, as Dulzura's father was called, opened the ball, leading off in a waltz with our little mother Coates. Poor little mother Coates! she felt much flattered, but soon got tired. _Darning_ was more in her way than _dancing_. But Castizo was not tired, and no sooner had Mrs Coates retired than, full of glee and delight, there rushed up to him his daughter. He might have been her elder brother, so gracefully did he waltz. The two were the admiration of all beholders, especially Peter. He was waiting to receive her, and I'll never forget the kindly yet princely air with which her father handed the young lady over.

Peter led her away in triumph to breathe among the evergreens in the improvised conservatory. I saw Peter soon after, and I never noticed him look so happy before.

I saw him later on. He was out near the mainmast. I should have told you that the ball was on the upper deck, under an awning beautifully decorated with flags and greenery. Yes, I saw Peter there, and with him was Dulzura's father. A glance told me he was doing the agreeable.

Both were smoking such huge cigars that really Peter looked small behind his.

I next saw Peter among the musicians, playing on his clarionet. His soul seemed in it. His soul seemed more in it when asked by Dulzura to play a solo. I shall never forget that I did not know before he could play so sweetly. Surely, I thought, Peter is inspired.

Well, as far as appearances went that night it was my brother Jill who was the greater favourite with Dulzura. He could dance better than Peter.

But next day, when Peter came to breakfast with us, he could speak about nothing else but the dinner and ball of the previous evening.