Nedra

by George Barr McCutcheon

  CHAPTER XXIV

  NEDRA

  The next month passed much more quickly than any previous month withinthe lives of the two castaways. Each day brought forth fresh novelties,new sensations, interesting discoveries. Her courage was an inspiration,a revelation to him. Despite the fact that their journeyings carriedthem into thick jungles where wild beasts abounded, she displayed nosign of fear. Jaunty, indifferent to danger, filled with an exhilarationthat bespoke the real love for adventure common among English women, shetraversed with him the forest land, the plains, the hills, the river,and, lastly, the very heart of the jungle. They were seldom apart fromthe time they arose in the morning until the hour when they separated atnight to retire to their apartments.

  Exploration proved that they were on an island of considerabledimensions, perhaps twenty miles long and nearly as wide. The only humaninhabitants were those in the village of Ridgehunt, as the new arrivalschristened it,--combining the first syllables of their own names. Fromthe tops of the great gate posts, christened by Lady Tennys, far acrossthe water to the north, could be seen the shadowy outlines of anotherisland. This was inhabited by a larger tribe than that which constitutedthe population of Ridgehunt.

  A deadly feud existed between the two tribes. There had been expeditionsof war in the past, and for months the fighting men of Ridgehunt hadbeen expecting an attack from the island of Oolooz. Nearly twenty milesof water separated the two islands. The attacking force would have tocover that distance in small craft. Shortly before the advent of thewhite people, King Pootoo's men captured a small party of scouts who hadstolen across the main on a tour of exploration. They were put to deathon the night of the arrival in Ridgehunt. A traitor in their midst hadbetrayed the fact that Oolooz contemplated a grand assault before manyweeks had gone. Guards stationed on the summits of the gate postsconstantly watched the sea for the approach of the great flotilla fromOolooz. King Pootoo had long been preparing to resist the attack. Therewere at least five hundred able-bodied men in his band, and Hugh couldnot but feel a thrill of admiration as he looked upon the fierce,muscular warriors and their ugly weapons.

  He set about to drill them in certain military tactics, and they,believing him to be a god whom no enemy could overthrow, obeyed hisslightest command. Under his direction breastworks were thrown up alongthe western hills, trenches were dug, and hundreds of huge boulders werecarried to the summits overlooking the pass, through which the enemymust come in order to reach the only opening in the guerdon of thehills. It was his plan to roll these boulders from the steep crests intothe narrow valley below just as the invaders charged through, wreakingnot only disaster but disorder among them, no matter how large theirforce. There was really but one means of access by land to therock-guarded region, and it was here that he worked the hardest duringthe fourth week of their stay among the savages.

  He was working for his own and her safety and freedom. In Ridgehunt theywere idols; in the hands of the unknown foe their fate might be thecruel reverse. Pride in the man who was to lead their brown friends tovictory swelled in the heart of the fair Briton, crowding back theoccasional fear that he might be conquered or slain. She had settledupon the course to pursue in case there was a battle and her protectorfell. A dagger made from the iron-like wood used by the natives in themanufacture of spears and knives hung on the wall of her room. When hedied, so should she, by her own hand.

  Gradually they began to grasp the meaning of certain words in the nativelanguage. Hugh was able after many days to decide that the natives knewnothing of the outside world and, furthermore, that no ships came intothat part of the sea on account of the immense number of hidden reefs.The island on which they had been cast bore a name which sounded so muchlike Nedra that they spelled it in that way. In course of time shechristened the spots of interest about her. Her list of good Englishnames for this utterly heathen community covered such places as VelvetValley, Hamilton Hills, Shadburn Rapids, Ridgeway River, Veath Forestand others. Ridgeway gave name to the temple in which the natives paidhomage to them. He called it Tennys Court.

  Her room in the remodelled temple was a source of great delight to LadyTennys. It was furnished luxuriously. There were couches, pillows,tables, chairs, tiger-skin rugs, and--window curtains. A door openedinto her newly constructed bath pool, and she had salt or fresh water,as she chose. The pool was deep and clay lined and her women attendantswere models of the bath after a few days. She learned the language mucheasier than Hugh. He was highly edified when she told him that his newname was Izor--never uttered without touching the head to the ground.Her name was also Izor, but she blushed readily when he addressed her asMrs. Izor--without the grand curtsey. The five spearmen were in realitypriests, and they were called Mozzos. She also learned that the chiefwho found them on the rock was no other than the mighty King Pootoo andthat he had fifty wives. She knew the names of her women, of manychildren and of the leading men in the village.

  The feeble sprout of Christianity was planted by this good British girl.It had appeared to be a hopeless task, but she began at the beginningand fought with Mercy as her lieutenant. Humanity was a stranger tothese people when she found them, but she patiently sowed the seeds andhoped. A people capable of such idolatry as these poor wretches hadshown themselves to be certainly could be led into almost any path ofworship, she argued.

  Late in the afternoon of their thirty-third day on the island the whiteidol of Nedra swung lazily in her hammock, which was stretched from postto post beneath the awning. Two willowy maidens in simple brown werefanning her with huge palm leaves. She was the personification of prettyindolence. Her dreamy eyes were turned toward the river and there was atender, eager longing in their depths. Hugh was off in the hills withhis workmen and the hour had passed for him to emerge from the woodlandon his way to the village.

  The shadows of night were beginning to settle upon the baking earth anda certain uneasiness was entering her bosom. Then she caught a glimpseof his figure in the distance. With his swarm of soldiers behind him hecame from the forest and across the narrow lowlands toward the river. Hesteadfastly refused to be carried to and from the "fortifications" inthe rude litter that had been constructed for him, a duplicate of whichhad been made for her. A native with a big white umbrella was constantlyat his side and King Pootoo was in personal command of the workmen as"sub-boss." Ridgeway jocosely characterized his hundred workmen as"Micks," and they had become expert wielders of the wooden pick, shoveland crowbar. In the village there were the three hundred tired armorerswho had worked all day among the hard saplings in the country miles tothe south. It was their duty to make an inexhaustible supply of spears,swords, etc.

  As the American came up over the bank of the river Lady Tennys could notrepress a smile of pride. The white grass trousers, the huge white hat,and the jaunty military carriage had become so familiar to her that shecould almost feel his approach before he came into view. It was alwaysthe same confident, aggressive stride, the walk of the master.

  Although the sun had dropped behind the twin giants and the haze of thenight was on, Hugh's faithful attendant carried the umbrella over hishead. The new Izor said, more than once, that, having taught the fellowto carry the protector, he could not unteach him. Were it darkestmidnight the umbrella was produced and carried with as much serenity aswhen the sun broiled and toasted at midday. When the returning band oflaborers was half way across Velvet Valley, Tennys, as was her wont,left her hammock and went forth to meet the man beneath the whitesunshade. His pace quickened and his face brightened as she drew near.The hatless, graceful figure in white came up to him with the cry:

  "Why are you so late? Dinner has been waiting for an hour."

  "Pshaw! And the cocoanuts are cold again," he cried with mock concern.She took his arm and they trudged happily through the deep grass onwhich the never-failing dew was already settling. "But we have finishedthe fortifications. By George, if those Ooloozers get through thatvalley they'll be fit to try conclusions with England and Americacomb
ined. With four hundred men I can defend the pass against fourthousand. To-morrow I'll take you over to see the defences. They'regreat, Tennys."

  She dampened his enthusiasm somewhat.

  "Won't it be an awful joke if the enemy doesn't come?"

  "Joke! It will be a calamity! I'd be tempted to organize a fleet and goover after them. By the way, I have something fine for you."

  "A letter from home?" she cried laughingly. "One would think so from theimportant way in which you announce it. What is it?"

  "A pet--a wonder of a pet," he said. "Hey! Jing-a-ling, or whatever yourname is, bring that thing up here." A native came running up from therear bearing in his arms, a small, ugly cub, its eyes scarcely opened.She gave vent to a little shriek and drew back.

  "Ugh! The horrid thing! What is it?"

  "A baby leopard. He's to be our house cat."

  "Never! I never saw an uglier creature in my life. What a ponderoushead, what mammoth feet, and what a miserably small body! Where arethe spots?"

  "He gets 'em later, just as we get gray hairs--sign of old age, youknow. And he outgrows the exaggerated extremities. In a few months he'llbe the prettiest thing you ever saw. You must teach him to stand on hishead, jump through a hoop, tell fortunes and pick out the prettiest ladyin the audience, and I'll get you a position with a circus when we go toAmerica. You'd be known on the bills as the Royal Izor of the Foofopsand her trained leopard, the Only One in Captivity."

  "You mean the only leopard, I presume," she smiled.

  "Certainly not the only lady, for there are millions of them in thatstate."

  They had their dinner by torchlight and then took their customary strollthrough the village.

  "There seems to be no one in the world but you and I," she said, asudden loneliness coming over her.

  "What a paradise this would be for the lover who vows that very thing tothe girl he loves."

  "Do lovers mean all that they say?" she asked laughingly.

  "Very few know just what they say until it is too late. A test on anuncivilized island would bring reason to the doughtiest lover. There'sno sentiment in cold facts."

  "I don't see why two people, if they loved as you say they can love,should not be perfectly happy to live apart from the world. Do they notlive only for each other?"

  "That's before the test, you see."

  "I have not found existence on this island altogether unendurable," shewent on. "I am not in love, I'm cure, yet I am surprised to find myselfcontented here with you. Then why should not lovers find this a realparadise, as you say?"

  "Would you be contented here with any other man as your companion?" heasked, his head suddenly swimming.

  "Oh, no!" she cried decisively. "I don't believe I'd like it here withanybody but you. Now, don't look like that! I'm not such a fool as youmay be thinking, Hugh. I know the world pretty well. I know how otherpeople love, even though it has never been part of my lot. I'm not quitea hypocrite. I was not presented at court for nothing. You see, you areso good and we are such friends. It never occurred to me before, but I'msure I couldn't endure being here with any other man I know. Isn't itqueer I never thought of that?" she asked, in real wonder.

  He looked at her steadily before answering. The flare of the torchrevealed a childlike sincerity in her face, and he knew she did notrealize the construction he might have been justified in according herimpulsive confession. His heart throbbed silently. A wave of tendernesswelled within him, bringing with it a longing to kiss the hem of herraiment, to touch her soft, black hair, to whisper gently in her ear, toclasp her hand, to do something fondly grateful.

  "Are you quite sure of that?" he asked softly. She looked up into hiseyes honestly, frankly, unwaveringly, pressing his arm with a smile ofenthusiasm.

  "Quite sure. Why not? Who could be better, more thoughtful, braver thanyou, and for the sake of a woman who, by mistake, owes her life to you?When you have done so much for me, why should I not say that you are theman I like best of all I know? It is strange, perhaps, that it shouldmake any particular difference, but it seems to me no other man couldinspire the feeling of resignation and contentment that you do. Really,it isn't so hard to live in the wilderness, is it?"

  "Have you never known any one else with whom you could have beencontented here?" he asked persistently.

  "Oh, I don't know what other men would be like if they were in yourplace," she said. She appeared deeply thoughtful for some time, as iftrying to imagine others of her acquaintance in Hugh's place. "I am sureI cannot imagine any one being just like you," she went on,conclusively.

  "No one you may have loved?"

  "I have never loved anybody," she cried.

  "Do you know what love means?"

  "I haven't the faintest conception," she laughed, mockingly.

  "I believe you said that to me some time ago," he said.

  "I wish I could love," she said lightly. "But I suppose the chance isforever lost if I am doomed to stay on this island all my life."

  His smile was understood by the night.