CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.
AN UNKNOWN ISLAND.
By the time we had made a hearty meal Ebo pointed with triumph to thefaint hazy speck in the distance, now growing minute by minute plainerto our eyes.
Ebo watched our countenances very intently, and then suddenly broke outwith:
"Bird--shoot--bird."
"He seems to have brought us here under the impression that it is a goodplace, Nat, and I trust it will prove so," said my uncle. "I hope therewill be no unpleasant savages to hinder our work."
As we drew nearer the glass was frequently brought to bear, but neithermy uncle nor I could detect any sign of habitation, not even when wewere within a quarter of a mile of the shore; but, to Uncle Dick's greatdelight, the place proved to be densely wooded in some parts, while thelofty hills looked green and park-like, with the large trees dotted hereand there.
The beach was a soft white sand, upon which the waves curled gentlyover; and not twenty yards from the highest marks made by the tide, thetall palms, loaded with fruit, drooped their great feathery leaves.
As far as we could see the island was not large, but the interior wasvery mountainous, the green hills running up to a great height, for themost part well-clothed with wood; and to our great delight, as we ranthe boat cautiously upon the sand, we could hear the screams of parrotsand the whistling and twittering of innumerable birds.
"We may as well be prepared against danger," said Uncle Dick, loadinghis gun, and I followed suit; but Ebo began to chatter and expostulatewith us for leaving the boat, and signed to us to help him run it up onthe next wave well ashore, so that a rope could be made fast round thenearest palm stem.
This we did, and the black's next movement was to collect wood for afire.
To humour him we waited about while he lit the fire, but kept makinglittle incursions amongst the openings to see if we could spy out anysigns of human habitation.
But look where we would we saw nothing, and it soon became evident thatwe were the only occupants of that part of the island.
Ebo seemed so satisfied and contented that it was very evident thatthere was nothing to fear; so we obeyed his signs after we had helpedhim to make a good fire, and followed him through an open park-likepiece of the country till we were about half a mile from the sea, whenhis object in guiding us was plain enough, for he pointed out a littleflock of half a dozen pigeons, as big, it seemed to me, as ordinaryfowls, and getting within range we fired together, and shot four.
Ebo rushed forward in triumph, and I followed, to regret that I had notattended to Uncle Dick's instructions about reloading, for I could haveobtained a specimen of a curious great black parrot or cockatoo, I couldnot quite see which, as it flew across an opening.
But we secured the birds we had shot, and going back my uncle and I setto and skinned them, handing over the bodies to Ebo to cook, while wecarefully preserved the skins, admiring them all the while.
For they were of a rich warm slate colour, and each bird bore a delicategrey crest upon his head, which gave him a noble look, making each birdseem a very prince among pigeons.
Handsome as was the appearance of the birds, they were none the lessdelicious in the eating. No doubt our open-air life had a good deal todo with the keen enjoyment we had in eating the birds we shot; butfeeding as these pigeons did on spices, nuts, and other sweet food, theflavour given to their flesh was very fine.
Dinner over, we were for an expedition; but Ebo protested loudly.Taking an axe and beckoning us to follow we accompanied him to a patchof bamboo, and helped him to cut down a good selection of stout pieces,and after them a number of lengths of rattan cane, which grew here in awonderful way. I had seen it growing before, but never to suchperfection; for it seemed to run up one tree and down another, runningalong over the bushes for a short distance and then ascending another,till Uncle Dick computed that some of these canes were quite a hundredyards long.
It was very evident what Ebo meant, and he was telling us all the time,though not a word could we understand, as we helped him.
"As we are to make a hut for shelter, Nat, I suppose he expects us tostay here for some time, which is a good sign, for he evidently knowsthat there are plenty of specimens to be had."
"Do you think any naturalist has been here before, uncle?" I said.
"I hardly dare think such a thing, Nat," he replied; "but I cannot helpfeeling hopeful. As I judge it this seems to be an island to which heand his fellows have sailed some time or another, and it is possiblethat European foot has never trodden here before."
"Let's hope it is so, uncle," I said; "and then, what a collection weshall get!"
"You will make me as sanguine as you are yourself, Nat," he saidlaughing; and then we began to be too hot and busy to talk much, forafter carrying the bamboos and rattans to the edge of the forest, justbeneath a widely spreading tree, in whose branches every now and thensome beautiful lory came and perched, but only to fly off screaming, Ebobegan to build. Sharpening four stout bamboos and forcing them into thesoft sandy soil for the four corners of the hut, he very soon bound asmany more to them horizontally about five feet from the ground, tyingthem in the cleverest way with the cane.
Then he tied a couple more across at each end, and laid a long stoutbamboo in the forks they made for a ridge-pole, binding all as stronglyas could be with an ingenious twist, and after that making rafters ofsmaller bamboos, so that in a couple of hours he had made the roughframework.
Towards the latter part of the time, in obedience to his instructions,which were given by word of mouth and wave of hand, Uncle Dick and I cuta great number of palm leaves of a very large size, with which Eborapidly thatched the hut, making by the time it was dark a very roughbut very efficient shelter, where we lay down to sleep that night upon apile of soft dry grass, of which there was any quantity naturally madeinto hay and close at hand.
We were so tired out that night that we did not trouble ourselves aboutthere being no sides to the hut, being only too glad to have a roof tokeep off the dew, and, trusting to there being no dangerous wild beasts,we followed Ebo's example, lying down and sleeping soundly till the sunwas once more above the sea.