Bevis: The Story of a Boy

by Richard Jefferies

vision from where they stood came nearly level with thesurface of the water, so that they did not look into it but along it.

  Beneath their feet they saw to the bottom of the New Sea, and slendershapes of fish hovering over interstices of stones, now here, now gone.There was nothing between them and the fish, any more than while lookingat a tree. The mere surface was a film transparent, and beneath thereseemed nothing. Across on Serendib the boughs dipped to the boughs thatcame up under to meet them. A moorhen swam, and her imago followedbeneath, unbroken, so gently did she part the water that no rippleconfused it. Farther the woods of the jungle far away rose up, amountain wall of still boughs, mingled by distance into one vastthicket.

  Southwards, looking seawards, instead of the long path of gold whichwavelets strew before him, the sun beamed in the water, throwing astream of light on their faces, not to be looked at any more than thefire which Archimedes cast from his mirrors melting the ships. All thelight of summer fell on the water, from the glowing sky, from the clearair, from the sun. The island floated in light, they stood in light,light was in the shadow of the trees, and under the thick brambles;light was deep down in the water, light surrounded them as a mist might;they could see far up into the illumined sky as down into the water.

  The leaves with light under them as well as above became films oftransparent green, the delicate branches were delineated with finestcamel's hair point, all the grass blades heaped together were apart, andtheir edges apparent in the thick confusion; every atom of sand upon theshore was sought out by the beams, and given an individual existenceamid the inconceivable multitude which the sibyl alone counted. Nothingwas lost, not a grain of sand, not the least needle of fir. The lighttouched all things, and gave them to be.

  The tip of the shimmering poplar had no more of it than the moss in thecovert of the bulging roots. The swallows flew in light, the fish swamin light, the trees stood in light. Upon the shore they breathed light,and were silent till a white butterfly came fluttering over, and anotherwhite butterfly came under it in the water, when looking at it theparticular released them from the power of the general.

  "Magic," said Bevis. "It's magic."

  "Enchantment," said Mark; "who is it does it--the old magician?"

  "I think the book says its Circe," said Bevis; "in the Ulysses book, Imean. It's deep enough to dive here."

  In a minute he was ready, and darted into the water like an arrow, andwas sent up again as an arrow glances to the surface. Throwing himselfon his side he shot along. "Serendib!" he shouted, as Mark appearedafter his dive under.

  "Too far," said Mark.

  "Come on."

  Mark came on. The water did not seem to resist them that morning, itparted and let them through. With long scoops of their arms that wereuppermost, swimming on the side, they slipped on still between thestrokes, the impetus carrying them till the stroke came again. Betweenthe strokes they glided buoyantly, lifted by the water as swallows glideon the plane of the air. From the hand thrust out in front beyond thehead to the feet presently striking back--all the space between thehands and feet they seemed to grasp. All this portion of the water wasin their power, and its elasticity as their strokes compressed it threwthem forward.

  At each long sweep Bevis felt a stronger hold, his head shot fartherthrough above the surface like the stem of the Pinta when the fresheningbreeze drove her. He did not see where he was going, his vision waslost in the ecstasy of motion; all his mind was concentrated in the fulluse of his limbs. The delicious delirium of strength--unconsciousnessof reason, unlimited consciousness of force--the joy of life itselffilled him.

  Presently turning on his chest for the breast-stroke he struck his knee,and immediately stood up:

  "Mark!"

  Fortunately there were no stones, or his knee would have been grazed;the bottom was sand. Hearing him call Mark turned on his chest andstood up too. They waded some way, and then found another deep place,swam across that more carefully, and again walked on a shallow whichcontinued to the shore of Serendib, where they stood by the willowboughs.

  "Pan!"

  Volume Two, Chapter XVII.

  NEW FORMOSA--PLANNING THE RAFT.

  Pan had sat on the strand watching them till they appeared about to landon the other side, then at the sound of his name he swam to them. Nowyou might see how superior he was, for the two human animals stood thereafraid to enter the island lest a rough bough should abrade their skins,a thorn lacerate, or a thistle prick their feet, but Pan no soonerreached the land than he rushed in. His shaggy natural coat protectedhim.

  In a minute out came a moorhen, then another, and a third, scuttlingover the surface with their legs hanging down. Two minutes more and Pandrove a coot out, then a young duck rose and flew some distance, then adab-chick rushed out and dived instantaneously, then still moremoorhens, and coots.

  "Why, there are hundreds!" said Mark. "What a place for our shooting!"

  "First-rate," said Bevis. "It's full of moorhens and all sorts."

  So it was. The island of Serendib was but a foot or so above the levelof the water, and completely grown over with willow osiers (their bluegum), the spaces between the stoles being choked with sedges andreed-grass, vast wild parsnip stalks or "gix," and rushes, in which massof vegetation the water-fowl delighted. They had been undisturbed for avery long time, and they looked on Serendib as theirs; they would notmove till Pan was in the midst of them.

  "We must bring the matchlock," said Mark. "But we can't swim with it.Could we do it on the catamarans?"

  "They're awkward if you've got anything to carry," said Bevis,remembering his dip. "I know--we'll make a raft."

  "Then we can go to all the islands," said Mark, "that will be ever somuch better; why we can shoot all round them everywhere."

  "And go up the river," said Bevis, "and go on the continent, themainland, you know, and see if it's China, or South America--"

  "Or Africa or Australia, and shoot elephants--"

  "And rabbits and hares and peewits, and pick up the pearls on PearlIsland, and see what there is at the other end of the world up there,"pointing southwards.

  "We've never been to the end yet," said Mark. "Let's go back and makethe raft directly."

  "The catamaran planks will do capital," said Bevis, "and some beams, andI'll see how Ulysses made his, and make ours like it--he had a sailsomehow."

  "We could sail about at night," said Mark, "nobody would see us."

  "No; Val or Charlie would be sure to see in the daytime; the stars wouldguide us at night, and that would be just proper."

  "Just like they used to--"

  "Yes, just like they used to when we lived three thousand years ago."

  "Capital. Let's begin."

  "So we will."

  "Pan! Pan!"

  Pan was so busy routing out the hitherto happy water-fowl that he didnot follow them until they had begun to swim, having waded as far asthey could. The shoals reduced the actual distance they had to swim byquite half, so that they reached New Formosa without any trouble, anddressed. They went to the hut that Bevis might read how Ulyssesconstructed his ship or raft, and while they were looking for the booksaw the duck which they had plucked the evening before.

  This put them in mind of dinner, and that if they did not cook it, itwould not be ready for them as it used to be at home. They wereinclined to let dinner take its chance, but buttered biscuits wererather wearisome, so they concluded to cook the dinner first, and makethe raft afterwards. It was now very hot in the stockade, so the firewas lit under the teak-tree in the shade, the duck singed, and hung on adouble string from a hazel rod stuck in the ground. By turning it roundthe double string would wind up, and when left to itself unwind like aroasting-jack.

  The heat of the huge fire they made, added to that of the summer sun,was too great--they could not approach it, and therefore managed to turnthe duck after a fashion with a long stick. After they had done thissome time, working in their shir
tsleeves, they became impatient, and onthe eve of quarrelling from mere restlessness.

  "It's no use our both being here," said Mark. "One's enough to cook."

  "One's enough to be cooked," said Bevis. "Cooking is the most hatefulthing I ever knew."

  "Most awful hateful. Suppose we say you shall do it to-day and I do itto-morrow, instead of being both stuck here by this fire?"

  "Why shouldn't you do it to-day, and _I_ do it to-morrow?"

  "Toss up, then," said Mark, producing a penny. "Best two out of three."

  "O! no," said Bevis. "You know too many penny dodges. No, no; I know--get the cards, shuffle them