The Young Marooners on the Florida Coast Part 19

8th. In every possible way to be ready either for departing home, or continuing there an indefinite length of time.

In consequence of these resolutions, the first business to which they attended on the following morning, was the preparation of the pile of wood for their signal by smoke; and the next, the provision of a stock of food. As a temporary fulfilment of this last named duty, Harold went with Frank to obtain a supply of fish, leaving Robert and Mary at the tent, to make out the proposed inventory of goods. Both parties fulfilled their contracts, and on coming together, Harold reported eight large trout, besides a number of crabs, and a small turtle; and Robert read a list, showing that besides the stores put up by their father for Riley, and those brought by Sam and Riley in their boat, consisting of bread and bacon, parched corn and dried venison, there were rations for a full fortnight or more.

Of the trout brought by Harold, all except one had been cleaned, and presented to Mary; the last he reserved for the purpose, he said, of giving them another specimen of wild-woods' cookery. Before sitting down to dinner, he took this one without any preparation whatever of scaling or cleansing, and wrapping it in green leaves, laid it in the ashes to roast. It was soon done. Then peeling off the skin, he helped each to the pure white meat in such a way as to leave the skeleton and its contents untouched. Mary's taste was offended by the sight of a dish so rudely prepared; but hearing the others speak in surprise of its peculiarly delicate flavour, she also was tempted to try, and then partook of it as heartily as any one else.

While Harold was absent on his fishing excursion, Robert, having completed his inventory, had obtained another stick of palmetto cabbage.

By Sam's instruction, this was freed from every particle of the green and hard covering, boiled in three separate waters, in the last of which was put a little salt. When thoroughly done, it was laid in a dish, and seasoned with b.u.t.ter. Prepared thus it was a real delicacy, partaking of the combined flavours of the cauliflower and the artichoke.

Bent resolutely upon living as real "marooners" on the productions of the island, the boys felt that it was necessary for them first to know something more of the country around. It was therefore agreed that they should devote that day to a combined tour of hunting and exploration.

To this Mary also consented, for she had now become more accustomed to her situation, and moreover had Sam with her as an adviser.

Taking an early breakfast, and calling Mum, they departed, leaving Fidelle as a protector to Mary and Frank. The course which they pursued was along the coast. For a mile they walked on the smooth hard beach, and saw it covered with innumerable sh.e.l.ls, of all sorts and sizes.

Some were most beautifully fluted; others were encircled with spurs or sharp knots; some were tinted with an exquisite rose colour; others were snowy white, and others of a dark mahogany. Conchs of a large size were abundant, and there were myriads of little rice-sh.e.l.ls.

"I wonder if these sh.e.l.ls can be put to no use?" asked Harold.

"Certainly," Robert responded. "If we need lime we can obtain it by burning them. These large round sh.e.l.ls may be cut so as to make handsome cups and vases. The long ones are used by many poor people for spoons. And the conch makes a capital trumpet; our negroes on the seaboard make a hole in the small end for this purpose. We often hear the boatmen blowing their conchs at night; and when the sound comes to us across the water, as an accompaniment to their boat songs, it is particularly sweet."

On learning these uses of the conch sh.e.l.l, Harold selected several fine specimens, and threw them higher on the beach, remarking, that in case they remained upon the island they would need other signals than those of the gun or the smoke for calling each other's attention; and that he intended to try his skill in converting some of these sh.e.l.ls into trumpets.

Pocketing some of the most delicate varieties for Mary and Frank, they continued down the coast, attracted by a large white object near the water-side. At first it appeared to be a great heap of foam thrown there by the sea, but soon they saw it move, and Robert p.r.o.nounced it to be a pelican. "It is a pity that it is not eatable," said he, "for one bird would furnish more flesh than a larger gobbler. But it is fishy."

"O, if that be its only fault we can correct it," replied Harold. "I recollect one day when you were sea-sick, hearing the captain say that he had eaten every sea-bird that flies, except Mother Cary's chickens; and that he took off the skin as you would that of a deer or rabbit, and soaked the flesh in strong brine; or if he was on sh.o.r.e he buried it for a day or two in the earth, and that then the flesh was pleasant enough.

He said, moreover, that the fishy taste of water-fowl comes mostly from the skin. Come, let us get that fellow. I cannot help thinking what a nice shawl, in cold or rainy weather, his skin would make for Mary, if properly cured with all its feathers on."

The pelican, however, saved them all future trouble on account of either its flesh or its skin, for, being a very shy bird, it flew away long before they came within gunshot. Having ascended the bluff, they stood upon a bank of sand, and looking far down the coast saw it curve out of sight, without offering any inducement to pursue it further.

Immediately upon the bluff, and for a quarter of a mile inland, the country was bare of trees, except here and there a cl.u.s.ter of dwarfish cedars, overtopped by tall palmettoes; but in the interior the forest trees appeared rising into loftier magnificence the farther they grew from the sea. Striking across this barren strip--which, however, was pleasantly varied by patches of cacti loaded with superb crimson pears, and by little wildernesses of chincopin (dwarf-chestnut) bushes, whose open burrs revealed each a shining jet black cone--and entering the kind of forest where game might be expected, Harold gave Mum the order to "Hie on"; and he was soon dashing about in every direction.

"I suppose," said Robert, "that you intend to _still hunt_. But if so, you must remember that I have the art yet to learn; and if you wish not to be interrupted by my blunders, you had better describe now, before we go to work, how it is that still hunters find their game, and then how they approach it."

"They find their game by various means," Harold replied, acknowledging, at the same time, the justice of Robert's remarks. "Some by their own keen eyes alone in watching or in tracking; others by a dog trained for the purpose, as we expect to do. This last is the easier if the dog is good. When Mum has discovered a trail, he will keep directly before us, and as the trail freshens he will grow more cautious, until at last his step becomes as stealthy and noiseless as a cat. We must then be cautious too. If the woods are close so that we cannot see the deer, nor they see us until we are upon them, our success will depend upon the quickness of our shots, and the certainty of our aim; but if the woods are open, so that we can see them afar off, we must use the cover of a hill or of a thicket to conceal our approach, or else one of us must leave the dog with the other, and advance upon them in the open woods."

"But you do not mean to say," Robert argued, in surprise, "that deer will allow you to come upon them in broad day-light, and shoot them down?"

"Yes, I do," he replied; "and it is easy enough if you will pursue the right plan. When a deer feeds, he directs his eyes to the ground; and during that time he sees nothing except what is just at his nose. That is the opportunity you must take to advance. The moment he lifts his head you must stand stock still; and if you can manage to be of the colour of a stump, he will be apt to take you for one."

"But can you stop soon enough to imitate a stump!"

"Of course you must be quick; but this brings me to speak of another fact. A deer never puts down nor raises his head without first shaking his tail. Keep your eye therefore steadily fixed upon him, and guide your motions by his signs. Old Torgah used to give me an amusing account of the difference between deer and turkeys in this respect; for, with all their sagacity, in some things deer are very simple, while the turkey is so keen and watchful as to be called by hunters 'the wit of the woods.' Old Torgah's account, given in his broken English is this: "Ingin,' said he, 'see deer feed, and creep on him when his head down.

Deer shake 'ee tail; Injin stop still. Deer look hard at him, and say "stump! stump! nothing but stump!" Presently Injin creep close, and shoot him down. But Injin see turkey feed, and creep on him. Turkey raise 'ee long neck to look, and Injin stand still like a stump; but turkey never say "stump!" once; he say, "dat old Injin now!" and he gone.' But see, Mum has struck the trail of something. Notice how eager he is, yet how patiently he waits for us. Come, let us follow."

In Robert's opinion, Mum's reputation for patience was, on the present occasion, not deserved; for his pace was so rapid that it was difficult for them to keep within sight, and moreover he soon sprang ahead, and burst into a full loud cry. "I thought you said that he hunted in silence," he remarked, almost out of breath with running.

"I said he was silent on the trail of _deer_," replied Harold, "but these are turkeys. Do you not see the deep print of their toes in running! Mum knows what he is about. His racing after them will cause them to fly into the trees; and then as he stands below and barks, they will keep their eyes fixed on him, and never notice us. There they are!

See in that oak! Robert, do you advance behind the cover of yonder mossy tree. I will find some other place. But as my rifle will carry farther than your smooth bore, do not mind me, except to await my signal. As soon as you are ready to fire, let me know by a whistle; if I am ready, I will answer you; and then do you fire about a second after you hear me. I will take the highest turkey."

They advanced silently but rapidly. Each came within a fair distance.

Mum kept up a furious barking as the hunters approached. One whistle was heard, then another; three reports followed in quick succession; and four turkeys, two of them magnificent gobblers, tumbled heavily from the tree.

"Well done for us! Hurra!" shouted the boys, rushing upon their prey.

It was indeed good shooting, although part of it was accidental. Robert fairly won the credit of his two shots, having brought down the birds he aimed at; but the ball from Harold's rifle had pa.s.sed through the eye of the one which he had selected, and broken the legs of another unseen by him beyond, and it now lay floundering upon the ground unhurt, except in its fractured limbs, but unable to rise.

The young hunters swung their prizes over a pole, of which each took an end, and then turned their faces homewards. The distance was not more than two miles, but burdened as they were with guns and game, and compelled to cut their way through frequent network of the grape-vine and yellow jessamine, and dense ma.s.ses of undergrowth, they were nearly two hours in making it. Frank spied them from afar, and giving Mary a call, bounded to meet them. "Whew!" he whistled, on seeing their load, "what a bundle of turkeys!" He offered to help them carry a part of the load, but they were too weary to stop and untie. They preferred that Mary and Frank should show their kindness, by providing them with some cool water. "We will pay you for your trouble," said they, patting their pockets, which were stuffed full of something heavy; "make haste, and let us have it."

By the time they had wiped their wet brows, and begun to enjoy their rest, the water came. The boys first emptied their pockets of the sh.e.l.ls and chincopins, found during their ramble, then cooled themselves by bathing their wrists; after which they drank, and casting themselves at length upon their couches of moss, they talked across the tent to Sam, who seemed to be as much elated as any of them with their success.

It was now past the middle of the day. The afternoon was spent in working upon their tent. Their object was to make it more impervious to rain and drift, in case of another storm; and this they effected by raising the floor, and by spreading the sail of their boat as a sort of outer awning.

CHAPTER XXI

RAINY DAY--THE KITCHEN AND FIRE--HUNTING THE OPOSSUM

It was fortunate for the young adventurers that they had executed so promptly their intended work upon the tent, for though they had no heavy wind, the rain poured down during the whole night; and when they arose next morning, the sky was full of low scudding clouds, which promised plenty of rain for all that day, and perhaps for days to come. But, though the tent was dry as a hay loft, there were several deficiencies.

They had but a meagre supply of wood, and their kitchen fire was without a shelter. The wind and rain were both chilly; and, it was plain, that without somebody's getting wet they must content themselves with a cold breakfast, and a shivering day.

"Why did we not think of this before?" Robert querulously asked.

"Simply because we had other things to think of," replied Harold. "For my part, I am thankful that we have a dry tent."

"So am I," rejoined Robert, changing his tone. "But I should be still more thankful if we had a place where we could sit by the fire."

"Very likely, _now_ since we know from experience, how uncomfortable it is to be without. But I doubt if any of us would be half so thankful, were it not for being put to inconvenience. I recollect a case in point. My mother was once taken sick while we were travelling through the Indian nation. At that time the Indians were becoming hostile, and we were every day expecting them to declare war. O, how troubled we all were! I remember that every morning we made it a point to say how thankful we were for spending another night, without being scalped. But afterwards, when we had returned home, and could spend our days and nights in peace, we forgot to be thankful at all."

Robert smiled at the naturalness of the description, and remarked, "Well, I think we shall be thankful now for a fire and shelter. Can we not devise some way to have them?"

The result of this conference was, that in the course of an hour they set up the boat-awning as a sort of kitchen, enclosed on three sides by the remaining bed-sheets, and having a fire at the windward gable, near which they sat very cosily on boxes and trunks brought from the tent.

Contrary to their expectation, the rain began to abate about noon, and long before sunset the surface of the earth was so much dried, and the drops left upon the trees and bushes so thoroughly exhaled or shaken off by a brisk wind, that the boys used the opportunity to bring in a supply of wood and lightwood. The light-wood was very rich, and split into such beautiful torch pieces, that Harold was tempted to think of a kind of sport in which he had often engaged, and in which he was very fond.

"We have been pent up all day," said he to Robert; "suppose we change the scene by taking a fire-hunt tonight."

"With all my heart," was the reply; "and I think no one will object to our having a fat roast pig for our Sunday's dinner."

"Probably not," Harold rejoined, "and I am still more in favour of the idea, for the reason that, as we take such game alive, we can keep it as long as we will."

Their preparation for the excursion consisted simply in splitting an armful of lightwood, which Harold tied into a bundle, to be readily slung over the shoulders by a strap. In the midst of their preparations Frank came up, and on learning their purpose, almost shouted for joy.

He had so often heard Sam and William speak of the pleasure of their 'possum hunts, that it had long been the height of his ambition, as a sportsman, to engage in one; but for various reasons the convenient time had never yet come.

"O, I am so glad!" he exclaimed, with a face lighted with pleasure; "you will let me go, won't you?"

Here now was a dilemma. How could they refuse him? and yet how could they with propriety leave Mary with no other companion than poor bed-ridden Sam? The boys saw no alternative but to give up the hunt, until Robert proposed himself to stay with Mary, on condition that Frank should carry the torch and light-wood, while Harold bore the ax and gun.

But to their gratification, Frank, perceiving the difficulties of the case, and ashamed to rob his brother of a place which he himself was incompetent to fill, set the matter at rest, by saying:

"No, brother, I will not go tonight; I will wait and go with Cousin Harold some time when Sam gets well. But you must give me the pigs when you come back, and let me feed them every day."