Bunyip Land Part 27

"Oh! I say, not so bad as that, Joe Carstairs! It takes a lot to kill a fellow like Jimmy. He'll come all right again. Here, set to and have a good feed. You must want it awfully."

"I can't eat," I said bitterly. "I liked poor old Jimmy. A better fellow never breathed. He saved your life yesterday."

"Ah! that he did," said Jack; "and it's all right. The doctor says-- Hullo! what's that?"

I started to my feet, for a horrible scream rang through the woods from the direction where poor Jimmy lay; and a pang shot through me as I felt that it was a new throe being suffered by my poor black comrade--comrade soon to be no more.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

HOW THE DOCTOR GAVE JIMMY HIS PHYSICS.

I could not move for a few moments, the terrible cry and the shrieks that followed seemed to rob me of all power; but overcoming this paralysing feeling at last, I ran towards where poor Jimmy lay, the thought flashing upon my mind that the doctor must be performing some operation to try and save the poor fellow's life.

I was quite right, as I found when I reached the spot, followed by all the little camp: the doctor was performing an operation, and the Australian was upon his knees now, his feet then, capering about, and appealing for mercy.

For the instrument with which the doctor was performing his operation was the stout cane I had previously seen in his hand, one that he had cut in the jungle, and then sent me away so as to spare my feelings and keep me from witnessing the painful sight.

To my utter astonishment Jimmy was apparently free from all traces of his late ailment, and catching sight of me he bounded to me, getting behind me to avoid the hail of blows that the doctor was showering upon his unprotected person.

"Doctor!" I shouted.

"The dose to be repeated," he said, "when necessary," and he reached round me with the cane, giving Jimmy two or three very sharp cuts. "See how this takes down the swelling. For outward application only. One dose nearly certain to cure."

"What are you doing?" I cried.

"Doing? Performing a wonderful cure. Hasn't Jimmy here been horribly ill, and alarmed the whole camp?"

Every time he could he gave Jimmy a smart cut, and the black shrieked with pain.

"How are you now, my man?" he said mockingly.

"Jimmy quite as well. Ever so better. All rightums. Tank you better,"

yelled the black, and he sheltered himself again behind my back.

"Doctor," I said, surprised and angry at what seemed horrible cruelty.

"Give him some more?" he said laughing. "Of course I will," and he tried to reach round me, but I caught hold of the cane, and Jimmy took advantage of the cessation of hostilities for a moment to run for some distance and then climb up a tree, in one of the higher branches of which he settled himself like a monkey, and sat rubbing himself and looking down at the danger from which he had escaped.

"There, Joe," said the doctor, laughing; "it has made me hot. That's as good a cure as the Queen's physician could have made."

"How could you be so brutal to the poor wretch?" I said indignantly.

"Brutal! Ha! ha! ha! My indignant young hero!" he cried. "Here are you going to take up the cudgels in the rascal's behalf. Don't you see there was nothing the matter with the artful black ruffian."

"Nothing the matter!" I said. "Why, wasn't he dangerously ill?"

"Dangerously full," said the doctor, clapping me on the shoulder. "I was obliged to give him a lesson, Joe, and it will do him good for all our trip. I suspected the rascal from the very first, but I have studied medicine long enough to know how easy it is to be deceived by appearances; so I gave Master Jimmy the benefit of the doubt, and treated him as if he was really very ill, till I had made a.s.surance doubly sure, and then I thrashed him."

"What! do you really mean, doctor--" I began.

"It could not very well have happened with an Englishman, Joe. With Master Jimmy there, it was different."

"But was he not very ill?"

"You saw him run and climb that tree; you heard how he yelled. Now what do you think? Could a dying man do that?"

"N-no," I faltered. "What does it all mean, then?"

"Pig!" said the doctor, smiling; "the gluttonous dog ate till he could not stir. He had as much as anybody else, and then waited his chance, and when every one was lying down he began upon the store of dried strips."

"Jimmy terribull sorry, Ma.s.s Joe," came from up the tree.

"He behaved like a boa constrictor, and then alarmed us all horribly instead of confessing the truth. Why, my dear boy, do you suppose I should have been so cruel to a sick man?"

"You black rascal!" I cried, looking up at Jimmy, who howled like a dog.

"Jimmy come down now! Never do so no more."

"Only let me have a turn at you," I said, and he immediately began to climb higher.

"Here, you come down, sir," I shouted.

For answer he climbed higher and higher till he was pretty well out of sight among the small branches in the top of the tree.

"All right!" I said, "I can wait;" and I walked away with the doctor, horribly annoyed at the waste of time, but wonderfully relieved at matters being no worse.

I never knew, but I suspect that Jimmy stopped in the top of the tree till it was dark and then slunk down and hid himself amongst the bushes close up to the watch-fire.

At all events he was busy the next morning working away as if nothing had been wrong overnight. He showed himself to be most active in putting things straight, making up the loads, and every now and then glancing furtively first at one of us and then at the other.

"Oh, I do like Jimmy, that I do," said Jack Penny to me, and then he threw himself down and began to laugh heartily, shutting his eyes and rolling himself gently to and fro till he declared that he felt better, and got up.

"I don't care about laughing when I'm standing up," he said seriously, "it waggles my back so."

When breakfast time came, for we had a seven or eight mile walk first in the cool of the early morning, we made a halt and the rations were served out by the doctor, who gave me a look and handed each black his portion in turn, but omitted Jimmy.

The latter stood disconsolately looking on for some minutes in the hope that he was to be remembered after all; but when he saw everybody busy at work eating and himself utterly neglected, he walked slowly away some distance from where we were seated and, laying his head against the trunk of a tree, let out a series of the most unearthly howls.

"Oh, I say!" exclaimed Jack Penny.

"Pleasant," said the doctor, going on with his breakfast; and seeing that he was observed, and that his howls were having some effect, Jimmy displayed the utter childlike disposition of a savage by redoubling his cries.

"If he don't stop directly I shall go and talk to him with this," I said, s.n.a.t.c.hing up a stick.

"How--aw--ooo!" cried Jimmy, and I jumped to my feet, when he became silent, and I resumed my place.