The Young Marooners on the Florida Coast Part 25

The boys each clambered into a small tree, and as soon as they were well established, Harold remarked, "Now let her come, if she loves shot. A bear cannot climb a sapling. Her arms are too stiff to grasp it; she needs a tree large enough to fill her hug."

But Madame Bruin, like the rest of her kin, was a peaceable old lady, not at all disposed to trouble those that let her alone, and on the present occasion she had two sweet little cherubs, whose comfort depended upon her safety; so she contented herself with going simply to her front door, and requesting her impertinent visitors to leave the premises. This request was couched in language which, though not English, nor remarkably polite, was perfectly intelligible.

"I suppose we shall have to go now," said Harold; "it will not be civil to keep prying into the old lady's chamber. But when Sam is able to join us, we can come prepared to make bacon of her and pets of her cubs."

They called off the dog, patted him in praise of his well-doing, and then retreated, blazing the trees all the way from the poplar to the river.

Several of these last miles Robert had walked with increasing painfulness; his feet were so much chafed as to be almost blistered.

"Stop, Harold, and let us rest here," he said, on reaching a fallen log.

"I wish to try that soldier's remedy for chafed feet."

"What soldier's?" Harold inquired.

"One of those at Tampa," replied Robert. "I heard several of them relate, one day, how much they had suffered in marching with blistered feet, when one of the number remarked that whenever the signs of chafing occurred he had relieved himself by shifting his socks from one foot to the other, or by turning them inside out. Upon this another stated that he was generally able to escape all chafing by rubbing the inside of his socks with a little soap before setting out. And another still added that he had often _cured_ his blistered feet, in time for the next day's march, by rubbing them with spirits mixed with tallow dropped from a candle into the palm of his hand. Before leaving home, today, I took the precaution to soap the inside of my socks; but now I shall have to try the efficacy of the other remedy; and sorry shall I be if there should be need for the third plan, because we have neither the tallow nor the spirits necessary for the experiment."

Robert gave the proposed plan a trial, and found, to his delight, that it saved him from all further discomfort.

Nothing more of interest occurred that day. On leaving the river, which, after making a great sweep to the south-east, came so near the bank on which they stood, as to afford a good landing for boats, they turned into the woods and kept a northern course parallel with the sh.o.r.e. About sunset they stopped beside a large log of resinous pine, which they selected for the place of their encampment that night, intending to set the log a-fire. Around it they cleared an irregular ring, which they fired on the inner side, thus providing a place for their sleeping free from insects, and from which fire could not escape into the surrounding forest. Next, they made themselves a tent of bushes, by bending down one sapling, fastening its top to the side of another, and then piling against it a good supply of evergreens, inclined sufficiently to allow a narrow s.p.a.ce beneath. A neighbouring tree supplied them with moss for a superb woodland mattress, and while Robert was preparing that Harold collected a quant.i.ty of pine knots, to be reserved in case their fire should decline.

By the time these preparations were completed darkness closed around.

Jupiter, at that time the evening star, glowed brightly from the western sky, while Orion, with his brilliant belt, gleamed cheerily from the east. The boys sat for some time luxuriating in their rest, listening to the musical roar of their fire, and watching the red glare which lighted up the sombre arches of the forest; then uniting in their simple repast, and giving Mum his share, they lay down to sleep, having committed themselves to the care of Him who slumbers not, and who is as near his trustful worshippers in the forest as in the city.

There is a wild pleasure in sleeping in the deep dark woods. The sense of solitude, the consciousness of exposure, the eternal rustle of the leafy canopy, or else its perfect stillness, broken only by the stealthy tread of some beast of night, or the melancholy hooting of a restless owl, give a variety which is not usual to civilized men, but which, being of a sombre character, requires for its enjoyment a bold heart and a self-relying spirit.

The boys retired to rest soon after supper, and tried to sleep; but the novelty of their circ.u.mstances kept them awake. They rose from their mossy couch, sat by the fire, and talked of their past history and of their future prospects. All around was perfect stillness. Their voices sounded weak and childlike in that deep forest; and embosomed as they were in an illuminated circle, beyond whose narrow boundary rose an impenetrable wall of darkness, they felt as if they were but specks in the midst of a vast and lonely world.

At last their nervous excitement pa.s.sed away. They retired once more to bed, having their guns within reach, and Mum lying at their feet. The roar of the blaze and crackle of the wood composed them to sleep; and when they next awoke, daylight had spread far over the heavens, and the stars had faded from sight. They sprang lightly to their feet, and before the sun appeared were once more on their way northward, along the banks of the river.

Their march was now slow and toilsome. In the interior a hammock of rich land, covered with lofty trees, matted with vines, and feathered with tall gra.s.s, impeded their progress; while near the river bay-galls, stretching from the water's edge to the hammocks, fringed with gall-berries, myrtles and saw-palmettoes, and crowded internally with bays, tupeloes, and majestic cypresses (whose singular looking "knees"

peeped above the mud and water like a wilderness of conical stumps), forced them to the interior. Their average rate of travel was scarcely a mile to the hour.

Several herds of deer darted before them as they pa.s.sed, and once, while in the hammock, where the growth was very rank, they were almost within arm's length.

About noon they emerged into an open s.p.a.ce, which Harold p.r.o.nounced to be a small prairie; but in the act of stepping into it, rejoiced at a temporary relief from the viny forest, he grasped the arm of his cousin, and drew him behind a bush, with a hurried,

"Back! back! Look yonder!"

Robert gave one glance, and stepped back into concealment as quickly as if twenty panthers were guarding the prairie. There stood an Indian hut.

The boys gazed at each other in dismay; their hearts beat hard, and their breath grew short. Were there Indians then upon the island, and so near them? What might not have happened to Mary and Frank? But a close scrutiny from their bushy cover enabled them to breathe freely.

There was a hut, but it was evidently untenanted; gra.s.s grew rank about the doorway, and the roof was falling to decay. It had been deserted for years.

The boys went boldly to it, and entered. Rain from the decayed and falling roof had produced tufts of gra.s.s in the mud plaster of the walls. In the centre was a grave, banked with great neatness, and protected by a beautifully arched pen of slender poles. At the door was a hominy mortar, made of a cypress block, slightly dished, and having a narrow, funnel-shaped cavity in its centre. Upon it, with one end resting in a crack of the wall, lay the pestle, shaped like a maul, and bearing the marks of use upon that end which white men would ordinarily regard as the handle. Overhanging the house were three peach trees, and around it the ground was covered with a profusion of gourds of all sizes, from that which is used by many as a pocket powder-flask to that which would hold several gallons. Beyond the house, and on the edge of the prairie, was a close growth of wild plums.

"This place," said Harold, musing, "must have belonged to some old chief. The common people do not live so comfortably. It is likely that he continued here after all others of his tribe had gone; and when he died, his children buried him, and they also went away. Poor fellow!

here he lies. He owned a beautiful island, and we are his heirs."

"Peace to his ashes!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Robert.

They looked sadly upon the signs of ruin and desolation. It always makes one sad to look upon a spot where our kind have dwelt, and from which they have pa.s.sed away; it is symbolic of ourselves, and the grief we feel is a mourning over our own decay.

It was now twelve o'clock, and they began to feel the demands of appet.i.te. Harold proposed to search longer, in hope of finding a spring of fresh water. "I am sure," said he, "there must be one hereabouts, and we shall find it exceedingly convenient in our frequent hunts."

They searched for nearly half an hour in vain; and as they were on the point of giving up, Harold called out, "I have found it! Come here, Robert, and see what a beauty!" Robert hastened to the shallow ravine which terminated the eastern end of the prairie. Not two steps below its green margin was a real curiosity of its kind--a rill of clear, cool-looking water, issuing from the hollow base of a large tupelo[#]

tree. It was a freak of nature, combining beauty, utility and convenience. The water was as sweet as it was clear.

[#] The black gum of the swamps, having, like all trees that grow in water, a spreading, and generally a hollow base.

Having quenched their thirst at this beautiful fountain, and prepared to open their wallet of provisions, Robert's eye was attracted by a glimpse of a rich golden colour, on the edge of the prairie. They went to it, and found several varieties of orange trees, bearing in great profusion, and among them were limes, whose delicate ovals asked only to be tried.

Beneath these trees they dined, and afterwards plucked their fragrant dessert from the loaded branches. Then they filled their pockets with the different varieties, and started homewards.

It was scarcely a mile from these orange trees to the first that they had discovered; and thence only three miles home. They reached the tent late in the afternoon. All were rejoiced to see them. Frank made himself merry, as usual, at their expense--laughing now that two hunters should be absent two whole days, and bring back only a few wild oranges.

Mary said she had missed them very much, especially when night came on, but that everything had been smooth and pleasant; she had seen no panthers, and had not even dreamed of any.

CHAPTER XXVIII

PLANS--VISIT TO THE PRAIRIE--DISCOVERIES--SHOE MAKING--WATERFOWL

The severe exercise of the two preceding days was more than Harold's ankle, in its state of partial recovery, could endure without injury.

For several days afterwards he was compelled to rest it from all unnecessary labour, and to relieve its pain by frequent and copious applications of cold water.

Sam's wounded limbs were rapidly regaining strength, and he insisted that they were well enough to be used; but Robert refused to indulge him.

"We must risk nothing in the case," said he. "It is so important to have you able to help us build our boat, that I think you had better continue in bed one week too long than leave it one day too soon. You must be content to rest your arm for full five weeks, and your leg for six or seven."

Mary and Frank had listened with deep interest to the account which the boys gave of the old Indian settlement, with its open prairie, vine covered forest, orange grove, and sparkling spring; and begged so earnestly for the privilege of accompanying them on their next visit, that they gave their consent. The only difficulty foreseen in the case, was that of leaving Sam alone; but when this was made known to him, he removed all objection by saying:

"Wuddah gwine hu't me?[#] Jes load one gun, and put um by my side. I take care o' myself."

[#] What is going to hurt me?

The object of their visit was not one of mere enjoyment. They had waited for deliverance until they were convinced that it was vain to rely upon anything except their own exertions. It was now between five and six weeks since they had landed upon the island. There had been some strange fatality attending all the efforts that they were sure had been made on their behalf, and now they must try to help themselves.

The exploration had resulted in the discovery of beautiful timber, of every size, fit for boats, and near the water's edge. They well knew it would be a herculean task for persons of their age and education, and possessed of so few tools, to dig out, from these trees, a boat large enough to carry them all home; but they were compelled to do this, or to remain where they were. Having consulted with Sam, upon whose judgment in matters of work they relied far more than on their own, they resolved to build not one large boat but two of moderate dimensions, which might if necessary be lashed firmly together; and for this purpose to select near the water two cypresses of three feet diameter, which should be felled as soon as possible. Their visit to the prairie was for the purpose of selecting these trees, in the low ground near the river.

The four set out in fine spirits early on the morning of Tuesday, November 30th, and continued their walk direct and without incident to the Indian hut. Notwithstanding the gloomy a.s.sociation of the solitary grave inside the deserted house, Mary and Frank were captivated with the wild beauty of the scene. The soft green gra.s.s of the prairie--the magnificent wall of forest trees enclosing the peaceful plain--the peach trees over the hut--the oranges and the limes glancing through their dark green leaves--and the bright bubbling spring that flowed so singularly from its living curb--all combined to enchant them. It was so delightful a contrast to the bare and sterile sand of their present encampment, that they plead at once for a removal there. This, of course, had occurred to the minds of the others also; but there were two serious objections to it. One was that here they would be out of sight of vessels pa.s.sing at sea; and the other (which they kept to themselves) was that here they should be more in danger from wild beasts. They replied that they also preferred the prairie, but that they could not remove until Sam was better able to travel.

Having enjoyed to their satisfaction the view of the hut and its premises, Harold took Frank, and, followed by Fidelle, went in one direction, while Robert and Mary, with Mum, went in another, to search for trees suitable in size and location for their boats. In the course of an hour they returned, having marked a large number, and at the same time having added to their knowledge of the resources of the island.