The Adventures of Don Lavington Part 69

"I suppose you don't want to come home, eh?"

"No; I'm comfortable enough here as an emigrant."

"An emigrant, eh? Look here, Master Tomati, if I did my duty, I suppose I should take you aboard, and hand you over to the authorities."

"What for?" said the Englishman, surlily.

"Escaping from Norfolk Island. That's right, isn't it?"

"Look here!" said the Englishman; "do you know, sir, that this is one of the worst parts of the coast, and that the people here think nothing of attacking boats' crews and plundering them, and making them prisoners, and often enough killing and eating 'em?"

"Threatening, eh?" said the lieutenant.

"Not I. But I'm a chief, and the people here would do everything I told them, and fight for me to a man."

"Then you are threatening."

"No, sir; I only wanted to remind you that your boats' crews have come and gone in peace; that you have been allowed to go about ash.o.r.e, and been supplied with fruit and vegetables, and never a thing missed."

"That's true enough," said the lieutenant. "Well, what of that? A king's ship well-armed would keep a larger tribe than yours quiet!"

"Oh! Oh!" came from the group of natives.

"Yes, I repeat it," said the lieutenant sharply. "They can understand English, then?"

"Of course they do," said the tattooed man calmly, though he looked uneasily at the group; "and as to your ship, sir, what's the good of that if we were to fight you ash.o.r.e?"

"Do you want to fight, then?" said the lieutenant sharply.

"It doesn't seem like it, when I've kept my tribe peaceful toward all your crew, and made them trade honestly."

"Out of respect to our guns."

"Can you bring your guns along the valleys and up into the mountains?"

"No; but we can bring plenty of well-drilled fighting men."

"Oh! Oh!" came in quite a long-drawn groan.

"Yes," said the lieutenant looking toward the group, "well-drilled, well-armed righting men, who would drive your people like leaves before the wind. But I don't want to quarrel. I am right, though; you are an escaped convict from Norfolk Island?"

"Yes, I am," said the man boldly; "but I've given up civilisation, and I'm a Maori now, and the English Government had better leave me alone."

"Well, I've no orders to take you."

"Oh! Oh!" came again from the group: and Tomati turned sharply round, and said a few words indignantly in the Maori tongue, whose result was a huddling closer together of the men in the group and utter silence.

"They'll be quiet now," said Tomati. "They understand an English word now and then."

"Well, I've no more to say, only this--If those two men do come ash.o.r.e, or you find that they have come ash.o.r.e, you've got to seize them and make them prisoners. Make slaves of them if you like till we come again, and then you can give them up and receive a good reward."

"I shall never get any reward," said Tomati, grimly.

"Poor lads! No," said the boatswain; "I'm afraid not."

Just then there was a sharp movement among the Maoris, who set up a loud grunting noise, which drew the attention of the lieutenant, and made the men laugh.

"It's only their way," said the Englishman gruffly.

"Ah, a queer lot. Better come back to civilisation, my man," said the lieutenant.

"At Norfolk Island, sir?"

"Humph!" muttered the lieutenant; and facing his men round, he marched them back to the boats, after which they spent about four hours making soundings, and then returned to the ship.

Almost before the sailors were out of hearing, there was a scuffle and agitation in the group, and Jem struggled from among the Maoris, his face hot and nearly purple, Don's not being very much better.

"I won't stand it. Nearly smothered. I won't have it," cried Jem furiously.

"Don't be so foolish, Jem. It was to save us," said Don, trying to pacify him.

"Save us! Well they might ha' saved us gently. Look at me. I'm nearly flat."

"Nonsense! I found it unpleasant; but they hid us, and we're all right."

"But I arn't all right, Mas' Don; I feel like a pancake," cried Jem, rubbing and patting himself as if he were so much paste or clay which he wanted to get back into shape.

"Don't be so stupid, Jem!"

"Stoopid? 'Nough to make any man feel stoopid. I was 'most stuffocated."

"So was I."

"Yes, but you hadn't got that big, 'my pakeha' chap sitting on you all the time."

"No, Jem, I hadn't," said Don, laughing.

"Well, I had, and he weighs 'bout as much as a sugar-hogshead at home, and that arn't light."

"But it was to hide us, Jem."

"Hide us, indeed! Bother me if it didn't seem as if they was all hens wanting to sit on one egg, and that egg was me. I know I shall never get right again."

"Oh yes, you will," laughed Don.

"Ah, it's all werry well for you to laugh, Mas' Don; but if my ribs hadn't been made o' the best o' bone, they'd ha' cracked like carrots, and where should I ha' been then?"

"Hurt, mate?" said Tomati, coming up and laughing at Jem, who was rubbing himself angrily.