The Wonder Island Boys: The Mysteries of the Caverns Part 18

Bruin was slowly moving away, not directly ahead, but as though crossing Harry's path. When the word was given, Harry took deliberate aim. George reserved his shot, as advised. The moment the shot struck, the animal turned, thus exposing a fair mark for George, who now fired. With a howl at the second shot, the bear turned toward George, who immediately ran to the right, and on the call of the Professor, circled to the right.

This brought the animal within range of the Professor's gun, and he fired. It did not in the least check his pursuit of George, and the Professor now became alarmed at his safety. Call after call was made to advise him to turn to the right.

Harry followed as fast as he could run, and while keeping the animal in sight, could not approach closely enough to get another shot. While running, it occurred to him that he had not reloaded, and it would be impossible to reload while running.

The Professor realized the situation, and immediately reloaded, and calling after Harry, told him that he had a charged weapon. Harry heard, but he was so excited and fearful for George that he could not decide whether to stop or go on. He could see the bear, but George was not in sight.

The Professor followed as rapidly as he could. Harry saw the bear lumberingly cross a large fallen tree and pa.s.s on to the right, and thinking George had taken that course, did not wait to go up to the tree. Before the Professor reached Harry, who was now running at right angles to the course of the Professor, George emerged from his place of concealment behind the tree and laughed at the sport, which might have had serious results but for the dead tree.

You may be sure no further effort was made to follow up the bear, and they took up the search for their luggage, which had been left behind.

During all this hubbub, Angel had been left with the luggage, and he now appeared along the trees, swinging from branch to branch, uttering the most fearful shrieks and chattering, as he was in the habit of doing when alarmed or excited.

"Something is after Angel; quick!" called out George, as Angel made his way over to him. Harry grasped the loaded gun from the Professor and started toward the direction from which the orang had come, but he stopped suddenly after going several hundred feet.

"The bear has our things." The Professor and George came up, and there, with his powerful claws and ma.s.sive jaws, was Bruin, devouring their best morsels and playing havoc with the packages that were piled together.

The boys looked at the Professor, and he playfully answered the look by saying, "We really don't want any bear meat to-day, do we?" George thought it was a good joke on the hunters, but Harry was angered. "Let us finish him. See him break that gun?"

The Professor was busy reloading Harry's gun, which he had exchanged with him, and handed it to George. They approached, but not close enough to venture a shot, when the animal deliberately turned away and darted into the bush.

What was left of their luggage worth taking could easily be carried by either of them. Practically all of the food was gone or ruined, and the bear was recompensed for the little inconvenience by the two pounds or more of sugar which was taken.

"Well, boys, everything has its compensations. We have nothing to carry, and traveling will be easy for the rest of the trip. Let us take a good laugh over the experience."

Harry was too much annoyed, first at the failure to hit the brute and then at the mean trick in eating up and destroying their things while they were trying to follow him. The Professor suggested that it would be fun to visit Bruin's house that night when he came home and told his family what a neat trick he had played on some hunters, and Harry laughed, but it was an awfully forced effort.

When evening came they estimated that the distance still to be traveled could not exceed thirty-five miles, and they were seeking a good spot for the camp. The Professor was the first to make his appearance with a small yellow pear, which he held up.

"What have you found now?" George inquired, as he came running forward with a branch in his hand.

"Pears!" exclaimed Harry, as he took it from the Professor's hand.

"Not exactly a pear; but a fine fruit which we can use to good advantage. It is the guava."

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 26. Guava._]

"What a beautiful white flower! I did not know that the guava had such a delightful odor. In what way is it prepared and used?"

"You will see, by tasting it that the pulp is very aromatic and sweet.

Its princ.i.p.al use is for jellies and preserves, and the rind stewed with milk makes an excellent marmalade."

"Have you found many of them?"

"There are several trees over there, and it seems to me that it is a good place to put up for the night, and we can gather a quant.i.ty of them."

Several trees were in sight, about 18 feet high, beautiful branching specimens, and beneath one of them the camp was made for the night.

While they were seated the Professor noticed the branch which George had brought. It was a stem about two feet long, with a lot of leaves on each side, and at the juncture of the leaves with the stem were rows of what appeared to be nuts. These were in the form of cl.u.s.ters.

He picked it up. "I thought I had made a good find in the guava, but this is still better."

"The nuts around the stem are what attracted me, and my curiosity was aroused."

"You took this from the coffee tree."

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 27. Coffee._]

"Is it the real coffee?"

"It is the genuine article. I have searched for it from time to time.

Let us go over and see the tree. We must cultivate its acquaintance."

They responded with alacrity. They were now going to have coffee. The tree was fully twenty feet high, and the branches extended out horizontally from all sides.

"Earlier in the season these nuts, as George called them, looked like cherries."

"But where is the coffee?"

"Inside the berry. Each berry contains two seeds. You know how the coffee berry looks. Let us open one of them. See, it is smaller than the ordinary berries, as you know them, but the kind we know are cultivated, which makes them larger, and fuller in appearance. These will make fine coffee, however, and I think we shall have to divide our load with the guavas."

"Where did coffee originally come from? Is it found in many places throughout the world?"

"The plant is supposed to be a native of Arabia in Asia, and of Abyssinia, in Africa. From Arabia it was carried to most of the tropical countries, but many varieties have been found in the western hemisphere.

Even in Canada certain kinds of coffee plants are known. It is not, therefore, a wholly tropical plant. The Abyssinian coffee has been known from the earliest times."

"What is regarded as the best kind of coffee?"

"The best coffee of commerce is the Mocha, and next comes Java, and the princ.i.p.al coffee center of the world is Brazil."

On the morning of the eighth day they were awake early, and the boys began work on the berries. Angel took a hand in the proceedings, and as soon as he discovered what the boys were after he volunteered to harvest them. At this time the berries had somewhat hardened, and when Angel knew what was wanted, his long dextrous fingers were able to strip off more of the fruit in one stroke than the four hands of the boys. Harry was on the lower limb, and as fast as he had stripped a supply, would drop them into the outstretched cloth which the Professor and George held.

Angel eyed this proceeding, for a time, and then imitated Harry. How did he ever learn the art of picking coffee berries? The orang lives princ.i.p.ally on nuts and berries, and the instinct to gather these was a natural one.

In an incredible short s.p.a.ce of time fully a bushel had been taken off.

It was the original idea of the boys to cut off the limbs, but they had seen none of the trees before this, and the Professor advised them to pick the fruit itself. Without Angel's expert help it would have been a long job.

With a load of guavas and another of coffee, the five guns, and a few of the other relics of their ill-fated expedition, was sufficient for the two days' journey still before them. That afternoon, while resting by the side of a little stream that flowed to the north, the antics of Angel attracted attention. He was usually so quiet that no notice was taken of him.

He had two peculiar ways of making himself understood. One was a gurgling sound, which indicated pleasure and contentment; and the other a chatter, or half a shriek, when intensely excited or alarmed. But now he did neither of these things. The sounds emitted could not well he described.

The sounds were made while springing from branch to branch. When he had attracted George's attention he ran forward, usually along the branches, but close to the ground. George followed. Whenever he attempted to go back to his comrades, Angel would come back, and in his most beseeching way endeavor to induce George to follow. His actions were well understood in this respect, because it will be remembered that he directed the attention to the missing team, and afterwards rediscovered the trail after it had been lost.

"Follow him, George, and we will bring the packages," was Harry's suggestion.

It was not necessary for them to go far. Beyond, in some large trees, were three immense orang-outans, intently gazing on the newcomer. George ran back, crying out: "See the orang-outans in the trees! Isn't this the place we captured Angel?"

Harry threw down the load and was by the side of George without a moment's delay. "Where is Angel? I am afraid this is the last of the little fellow." And Harry showed his grief. They saw Angel on his way to the trees, and without waiting for an invitation, was up among the branches, visiting his friends, and, probably, his parents.

All stood there awaiting the results breathlessly. Not a word was spoken. Without hesitation he swung himself to the last limb, on which the patriarch perched. Not a hand was lifted against him, but they looked too astonished to speak, even if they could.