CHAPTER ELEVEN.
HOW JACK PENNY WAS NOT SATISFIED WITH HIMSELF.
It was intensely hot when we started again, the heat seeming to besteamy, and not a breath of air to fan our cheeks; but we trudged on fora time without adventure, till all at once a butterfly of such lovelycolours flashed across our path, that it proved too much for Jack Penny,who laid down his gun, snatched off his hat, and went in pursuit.
We could not go on and leave him; so we stopped to rest, and watch himas he was hopping and bounding along through a tolerably open sunlitpart, full of growth of the most dazzling green. Now he neared theinsect; now it dashed off again, and led him a tremendous chase, till,just as the doctor shouted to him to return, we saw him make a dab downwith his hat and then disappear.
"He has got it," I said; for I could not help feeling interested in thechase; but I felt annoyed again directly, as the doctor said coldly:
"Yes: he seems to have caught his prize, Joe; but we must defer thesesports till our work is done."
Just then we saw Jack Penny rise up and turn towards us. To hide myvexation I shouted to him to make haste, and he began to trot towardsus, his long body bending and swaying about as he ran.
Then he jumped and jumped again, and the doctor shaded his eyes with hishands.
"He has got into a swampy patch," he said. "Of course. There's a bitof a stream runs along there, and--"
"Ow!" came in a dismal yell, followed by a furious barking, as we sawJack make a tremendous jump, and then disappear.
"Help, help!" came from among some dense green growth, and hurryingforward we at last came in sight of our companion, at least in sight ofhis head and shoulders, and we could not approach him, for the groundgave way beneath our feet, the bright green moss almost floating upon atreacherous bog.
"Hold on!" shouted the doctor; "we'll help you directly;" and taking outhis big knife he began to hack at some small bamboos which grew in thickclumps about us.
"Make haste," moaned Jack, "I'm sinking;" and we could see Gyp, who washowling furiously, tearing at the soft moss as if to dig his master out.
"Give Jimmy knife," said the black, who was grinning and enjoying JackPenny's predicament.
I handed him mine, and he too cut down armfuls of the young greenbamboo, the carriers coming up now and helping, when, taking a bundle ata time, Jimmy laid them down, dancing lightly over them with his barefeet, and troubling himself very little about danger, as he made a sortof green path right up to Jack.
"His black fellow pull up," shouted Jimmy; but I ran up to where he was,and each taking one of Jack's hands he gave a wriggle, floundered a bit,and then we had him out covered with black mud; and though we werestanding up, he would not trust himself just then erect, but crept afterus on hands and knees, the soft bog beneath us going up and down like awave.
As soon as he was quite safe there was a hearty laugh at Jack Penny'sexpense; and the doctor drily asked for the butterfly.
"Oh, I caught him," said Jack; "but I lost him when I trod on that greatbeast."
"What great beast?" I said.
"Crocodile fifty foot long," drawled Jack.
"Say sixty," said the doctor.
"Well, I hadn't time to measure him," drawled Jack. "I trod upon one,and he heaved up, and that made me jump into a soft place, and--ugh!what's that?"
I was very doubtful about Jack's crocodile, but there was no mistakeabout the object that had made him utter this last cry of disgust.
"They're pricking me horrid," he shouted; and we found that he had atleast twenty large leeches busily at work banquetting upon his blood.
The blacks set to work picking them off, and scraping him clear of thethick vegetable mud that adhered to him; and with the promise that hewas to have a good bathe in the first clear water we encountered, weonce more started, Jack looking anything but cheerful, but stubbornlyprotesting that it was wonderful how comfortable his wet clothes madehim feel.
Master Jack had to listen to a lecture from the doctor, in which thelatter pointed out that if success was to attend our expedition, itwould not do for the various members to be darting off at their goodpleasure in search of butterflies, and at first Jack looked very grim,and frowned as if about to resent it all. To my surprise, however, hereplied:
"I see, doctor; we must be like soldiers and mind the captain. Well,all right. I won't do so any more."
"I'm sure you will not," said the doctor, holding out his hand. "Yousee we must have discipline in our little corps, so as to be able fullyto confide in each other in cases of emergency. We must be men."
Jack scratched his head and looked ruefully from one to the other.
"That's just what I want to be, doctor," he drawled; "but I'm alwaysdoing something that makes me seem like a small boy. I'm grown up adeal, but somehow I don't feel a bit older than I used to be years ago."
"Ah, well, wait a bit, Penny," replied the doctor; "and we will not sayany more about the butterfly hunt."
Jack's brow seemed to grow as wrinkled as that of an old man, and he wasvery solemn for the rest of the day, during which we tramped on throughthe forest, its beauties seeming less attractive than in the freshnessof the early morning, and the only striking thing we saw was a pack ofsmall monkeys, which seemed to have taken a special dislike to Jimmy,following him from tree to tree, chattering and shrieking the while, andat last putting the black in a passion, and making him throw hisboomerang savagely up in return for the nuts that were showered down.
"Bad black fellow," he said to me indignantly. "Come down, Jimmy fighttwenty forty all a once."
He flourished his club and showed me how he would clear the ground, butthe monkeys did not accept the challenge, and that night we halted undera great tree covered with a scarlet plum-like fruit, and proceeded toset up our tent as a shelter to keep off the heavy dew.