CHAPTER XIII
DISAPPOINTMENT--THE LIVE OAK--UNLOADING--FISHING EXCURSION--HAROLD'SSTILL HUNT--DISAGREEABLE MEANS TO AN AGREEABLE END
Before sunrise it was manifest that, without a change in the wind, theexcursion proposed for that day was impossible; a strong breeze wasblowing directly from the east, and brought a ceaseless succession ofmimic billows down the river. Hoping, however, that the wind mightchange or moderate, they resolved to employ the interval in transferringall their articles of value from the boat, to their new home under theoak. And it was indeed fortunate, as they afterwards had occasion toknow, that they attended to this duty so soon.
The live oak, under which their tent was pitched, was a magnificenttree. Its trunk was partially decayed from age, and the signs ofsimilar decay in many of the larger limbs was no doubt the cause of itsbeing spared in the universal search along this coast for ship timber;but it was so large, that the four youngsters by joining hands couldbarely reach around it. Ten feet above the root, it divided into threemassive branches, which in turn were subdivided into long pendant boughsextending about sixty feet in every direction, and showing, at theirends, a strong disposition to sweep the ground. The height of the treedid not correspond to its breadth. It is characteristic of the live oakthat, after attaining the moderate height of forty or fifty feet, itsgrowth is directed laterally; the older trees often covering an area ofmore than double their height. Every limb was hung so plentifully withlong gray moss, as to give it a strikingly venerable and patriarchalaspect, and Harold declared he could scarcely look at it without adisposition to take off his hat.
At noon Harold proposed to Robert that, the wind having ceased, theyshould spend the afternoon either in hunting or fishing. "If," said he,"Mary and Frank will allow us to leave them, I propose the first; ifnot, I propose the last, in which all can join."
"O, let us go together, by all means," said Mary. "I do not like to beleft alone in this far off place; something may happen."
"Then let it be fishing," said Harold; "but what shall we use for bait?"
"The old bait that our grandfathers used--shrimp," replied Robert. "Iobserved on yesterday a multitude of them in a nook of the creek nearthe river. We can first catch some of these with our scoop net, andthen try for whatever may bite. At any rate we can take the offals ofthe turkey, and fish for crabs."
However, on ascending the river in their boat, and making the trial,they found that the shrimp had disappeared, and they were left with onlysix or seven caught at a venture.
"This is a dull prospect," said Harold, whose active nature made himimpatient of fishing as an amusement, unless the success was unusuallygood. "If you will allow me to go ashore I will try my luck with thegun."
"Certainly, certainly," was the reply; though Robert added, "You mustremember that this is a wild country, Harold, and that we had betterkeep within hearing at least of each other's guns."
Harold promised not to wander beyond the appointed limit; and eachagreed that if help were needed, two guns should be fired in quicksuccession.
"Will you not take my double barrel?" said Robert. "It is loaded withduck and squirrel shot, but you can easily draw and load for deer."
"I thank you, no," replied Harold. "It is so long since I have handledanything but a rifle, that a smooth bore now would be awkward."
They put him ashore, then dropped anchor, and began to fish. Mary andFrank had been long initiated into the mysteries of the art. On thepresent occasion, Robert reserved to himself the shrimp, and set them tothe easier task of fishing for crabs. For security he tied the lines tothe thowl pins. Crabs, as all upon the seaboard well know, are notcaught with hooks, but with bait either hooked or tied to a lie, andwith a spoon-shaped net. The crab takes hold of the bait with itsclaws, and is drawn to the surface, when the net is carefully introducedbelow. Robert inserted his own hook through the back of a live silverfish, and threw it in the water as a bait for drum. Soon Mary was seendrawing up her line, which she said was very heavy. "There is a crab onit, brother!" she cried, as it approached the surface; "two crabs! two!two!" Robert was near her. He inserted the net below, and the twocaptives were soon in the boat. "Well done for you, Miss Mary; you havebeat us all!"
Here Frank called out suddenly, "I have got one too! O, how heavy he is!Brother, come; he is pulling my line away!"
It was not a crab. Robert and he pulled together, and afterconsiderable play, they found that it was an enormous cat-fish orbull-head.
"This fellow will make a capital stew for tomorrow's dinner," saidRobert. "But hold to your line, Frank, while I put the net under himalso. I am afraid of these terrible side fins."
The fish had scarcely been raised over the gunwale of the boat, with theremark, "that is a bouncer!" when Robert noticed his own line fizzingthrough the water at a rapid rate. He quickly loosed it from the placewhere it was tied, and payed out yard after yard as the vigorous fishdarted and struggled away; then humouring its motion by giving or takingthe line as seemed to be necessary, he at last drew it towards him, andtook it aboard. It was a drum, the largest he had ever caught, orindeed ever seen. It was as long as his arm, and strong enough torequire all his art for its capture.
He loosed the hooks from the floundering fishes, and tried for more.But they now seemed slow to bite. He took only two others, and theywere small. Mary, however, caught nine crabs, and Frank two. Becomingweary of the sport, they heard afar off the sharp crack of a rifle.
"There goes Harold's rifle!" said Robert; "and I warrant something hasseen its last of the sun. Let us put up our lines, and meet him at thetent."
The anchor was weighed, the sail spread, and in the course of half anhour they saw Harold at the landing.
"What have you brought?" they all asked.
"O, nothing--nothing at all," he replied, looking at the same time muchpleased.
"Nothing!" responded Robert. "Why we paid you the compliment of saying,'There goes Harold's rifle! and you may be sure he has killedsomething."
"If _you_ have not anything, _we have_," boasted Frank. "See what a bigfish I caught! Isn't it a bouncer for a little fellow like me to catch?Why, sir, he nearly pulled me into the water; but I pulled and pulled,and brother Robert came to help me, and we both pulled, and got him in.See, too, what brother Robert caught--a big trout; and sister Mary, shecaught a parcel of crabs; I caught two crabs myself. And you haven'tanything! Why, cousin Harold, are you not ashamed of yourself?"
"But you have killed something; I see it in your looks," said Mary,scrutinizing his countenance; "what is it?"
"That is another question," replied Harold. "You all asked me at firstwhat I had brought. Now, I _have brought_ nothing; but I have _tobring_ a deer."
"Then, indeed, you have beat us," said Robert; "but that is only what Iexpected."
"A deer!" exclaimed the two younger. "O, take us to see it!"
Mooring the boat safely, they hastened with Harold to the scene ofslaughter. It was about half a mile distant. There lay a large fatbuck, with branching horns, and sleek brown sides. Frank threw himselfupon it in an ecstasy of delight; patted, hugged, and almost kissed it.Mary hung back, shrinking from the sight of blood.
"O, cousin Harold," she cried, "what a terrible gash your bullet hasmade in the poor thing's throat! Just look there!"
Harold laughed. "That was not made by my ball, but by my knife.Hunters always bleed their game, cousin, or it will not look so white,taste so sweet, nor keep so well."
The boys prepared to carry it home. Harold, taking from his bosom thehatchet, cut a long stout pole, and Robert brought some leaves of thesilk grass (the yucca filamentosa, whose long narrow leaves are strongas cords), with which the legs of the deer were tied together. Swingingit on the pole between them, they marched homewards.
By this afternoon's excursion they were provided with a delightfulsupply of fish, crabs, and venison. But, alas! they were compelled tobe their own b
utchers and cooks; and there are certain processes throughwhich these delicacies must pass before being ready for the mouth thatare not so agreeable. Mary and Frank brought up the fish, and set aboutpreparing them for supper. They laid each upon a flat root of the tree,and with a knife scraped off the scales. This was dirty work for a niceyoung lady, but it was necessary to the desired end. She pshawed andpshawed at it as the slimy scales adhered to her fingers, or flew intoher face, but she persevered until all was done.
In the meantime the fire had been mended, and water poured into theirlargest pot. When it began to boil, Mary and Frank dropped in thecrabs. Poor creatures! it was a warm reception they met with from theirnative element. Each one gave a kick at the unwelcome sensation, andthen sunk into quiet repose, at the bottom of its iron sepulchre. Theyremained boiling until their shells were perfectly red, when they weretaken out, and piled in a dish for supper.