CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.
FRITZ GOES HUNTING.
After his last remark, Eric, silent for a little while, as if buried indeep thought, followed behind his brother to the garden patch, which wasfound in the most flourishing state.
The potatoes were all in full flower and the haulms of sturdy growthpromised well for the crop of tubers beneath, some indeed being alreadyhalf withered, as if fit for digging; while pods were thick on the tworows of peas planted, and the scarlet runners were a mass of bloom andbrilliancy.
At such a glorious sight, Eric could remain silent no longer.
"This is capital," he exclaimed in high delight; "why, we've got aregular harvest, brother!"
"Yes, the great Mother Earth has rewarded our exertions," said Fritzthoughtfully. "It is wonderful how she yields to those who cultivateher properly! I can see that we'll have bushels of potatoes--enough tolast us through the winter."
"Aye, and peas and beans, too," chorussed Eric. "Look, here, at thislot, Fritz! I believe we can have a dish of them to-day."
"What, to keep up the festival with?" said his brother, smiling. "I seeyou are still thinking of that; but, methinks, green peas at Christmaswill be rather an anachronism!"
"Hang the what-do-you-call-it--oh, anachronism!" cried the ladimpulsively. "When we're at Rome we must do as Rome does."
"I don't remember, though, that the citizens of `The city on the sevenhills' ate peas in December, as far as my reading of the classics go,"remarked Fritz ironically.
He liked to "pick up" his brother sometimes in fun.
"Ah, that was because they were pagans, and didn't keep up our Christmasceremonies!" cried Eric triumphantly. "Still, Romans or no Romans, Ideclare we'll have a rare banquet to-day, brother, eh!"
"No roast beef, I hope!"
"Oh no, bother it--something better than that! You just let me aloneand you'll see bye-and-bye!"
"All right, laddie, I don't mind leaving the cooking in your hands,now," said Fritz kindly, wishing to blot out the recollection of hislast remark. "You have had experience since your first memorableattempt, which I must say was perhaps excusable under thecircumstances."
"You are a brick, old fellow," responded Eric, much pleased at thisspeech. "Only trust matters to my hands and, I promise you I'll not letyou have any opportunity to find fault with me a second time!"
"Very good; that's agreed," said Fritz; and, after thus settlingmatters, the two then went about the garden, gathering its produce--theelder digging up some new potatoes for trial, while Eric picked all theearly peas that seemed fit, quite filling a good-sized basket which hehad brought with him; although Fritz, who had not been so thoughtful,had to put his potatoes in a handkerchief.
On their way home, the brothers passed through the deserted penguinrookery, with never a bark or a grumble from the whilom excited birds asthey tramped the well-worn paths which they had made from the thicket tothe beach.
The inhabitants of the feathered colony were now educating their littleones in the art of fishing; and, the scene in front of the bay was quiteenlivening as the birds swam about gracefully in curves, losing in thesea that ungainliness and ugly, awkward appearance which seemedinseparable from them on land, and prosecuting their task, without anyof the noise that had distinguished them while breeding.
Birds were darting about--here, there, and everywhere in the water;some, swimming after each other as if in a race, like a shoal of fish;others, again, chasing one another on the surface, on which they seemedto run, using the ends of their wings, or flappers, to propel them likeoars, for they dipped in the tips of their pinions and scattered thespray in their progress. To add to the charm, the calm expanse of seareflected the pure ultramarine blue of the sky above, being illumined atthe same time by the bright sunlight, which brought out in strong reliefthe twin headlands embracing the little bay with their outstretchingarms.
Nothing, indeed, could be more unlike the crusoes' old associations ofChristmas and Christmas-tide than this prospect presented, nothing lesssuggestive of: home; and yet, standing there, on the shore of theirlonely sea-girt and cliff-embattled island home, gazing across the oceanthat spanned the horizon, the thoughts of both strayed away to theirlittle native town on the Baltic--where, probably, the housetops werethen covered with snow and the waters bound in chains of ice; but where,also, troops of children were singing Christmas hymns and Christmasbells were ringing, while prayers were no doubt being offered up forthem, so distant and yet so near in spirit!
Eric, however, was not long pensive. The day was too bright and finefor him to be sorrowful or reflective for any length of time; so, afterstaying by the side of Fritz for a short while on the shore, sharing histhoughts about the dear ones far away--although neither uttered a wordon the subject the one to the other--his impulsive nature quicklyasserted itself, as usual.
"I'm off, old fellow," said the young sailor, slinging the basket offreshly picked peas on his arm and leaving the bundle of potatoes forFritz to carry. "It is getting near the noonday hour, and time for meto be thinking of preparing dinner!"
"All right, laddie, go on and I will follow you soon," replied theother, but, still, without making any move from his seat on the shingle.
"Mind, and don't forget the potatoes," cried Eric, who was already half-way towards their hut. "I shall want them soon!"
"All right," replied the other, but the mention of the potatoes, whichhad been an anxious consideration with Fritz all along, seemed to havethe effect of banishing his sad reflections; for, in another minute, he,with his bundle on arm, followed Eric up the incline that led to thecottage.
Considering all things, the two had a capital Christmas dinner. Indeed,Eric, the cook, so greatly distinguished himself on this occasion thathe blotted out all recollection of his previous mishaps when undertakinga similar role.
What say you to a splendid ham, one of those given them by CaptainBrown; green peas, fresh and tender and dressed to perfection; and, newpotatoes?
Many a person might have a worse meal on a warm summer day, like it wasthis anniversary of the festival on Inaccessible Island!
Nor was this all; for, after the more substantial portion of the feast,Eric introduced a wonderfully savoury compound in the confectioneryline, which he had manufactured with some care. This consisted of flourand sugar made into a thick paste, with some of those very preservedpeaches which had figured so prominently in the despised stew that hadbeen Eric's first essay in cooking, placed within the envelope, thecompound being then boiled in a saucepan until thoroughly done.
During the early months of the new year, the brothers had little to dosave attending to their garden, digging up the remaining potatoes whenripe, and then storing them in a corner of their hut. They also clearedsome more land and planted out the little seedling cabbages in longrows, so that in time they had a fine show of this vegetable, which wasespecially valuable as an antiscorbutic to the continuous use of saltmeat,--now their main nutriment with the exception of a few birds whichFritz brought down occasionally with his fowling piece.
Once or twice they went round the promontory in their boat, in pursuitof stray single seals; but, the animals were so shy that only a longshot could be had at them. This made it a risky and almost needlesstask to waste gunpowder in their pursuit; for, in the event of theanimals being merely wounded and not killed right out at once, theyinvariably slipped off the rocks, disappearing in deep water before thebrothers had time to row up to them and haul them into the boat.
Under these circumstances, therefore, although they expended aconsiderable number of bullets, they had only two more sealskins to showin return to add to their great hauls at the commencement of the season;so, after a third unsuccessful expedition early in the new year, theymade up their minds to leave the animals alone until the followingsummer. Then, they determined to begin their campaign before theTristaners should forestall them, hoping to secure a large number by anewly-organised system of capture--Eric assail
ing them from the shore byway of the descent from the tableland on the western coast, while Fritzattacked them by sea in the boat.
"Talking of expeditions," said Eric, while the two were thus planningtogether their future seal campaign--"we haven't been up on the cliffsfor a long time now; suppose we ascend the plateau and see how the pigsand goats are getting on, eh?"
"That's a very good idea," replied his brother. "The garden is in goodorder now, needing nothing further to be done to it for some time;while, as for reading, I'm sure I have devoured every book in our littlelibrary, including Shakespeare, which I know by heart--so, there'snothing to occupy my mind with."
"I'm in the same position precisely," said Eric. "You therefore agreeto our hunting expedition, eh?"
"Yes; the more especially as I wish to try and pot that old billy-goat.He is such an artful old fellow that he always keeps just out of rangeof my weapon, as if he knows the distance it carries. He will thusoffer good sport. That other kid too, that we saw, must be grown up bynow."
"He shall be my prey," cried Eric, proceeding immediately to polish hisrifle, so as to be ready for the excursion.
A day or two afterwards, the two ascended the cliff by the now familiartussock-grass ladder; but, although Eric could almost have gone upblindfold this time, the ascent was quite as difficult as it had been atfirst to Fritz, who had never climbed it once since the day he sprainedhis ankle in coming down, having left the look-out department entirelyto the sailor lad, on account, as he said, of its "being more in hisline!"
As he had not, therefore, seen it for so long, Fritz noticed aconsiderable change on going up.
The grass had grown very much taller, while the trees appeared morebushy; but, besides these alterations, the inhabitants of the plateauhad become changed and more varied.
The droves of wild hogs had increased considerably; while the goats,headed by the old billy, who looked as lively and venerable as ever, haddiminished--of course, through the ravages of the Tristaners, asmentioned before.
Still, not even the loss of these latter animals specially attracted hisattention; what he particularly observed was, that the prairie tablelandhad a fresh class of visitors, which must have arrived with the newyear, for they had not been there when he had previously ascended thecliff.
Eric was too much taken up with looking for seals to notice them, for hecertainly never mentioned them on his return below to the hut; and, so,Fritz was doubly surprised now at seeing them.
These newcomers were the wandering albatross--the "Diomedia exulans," asnaturalists term it--which sailors believe to float constantly in theupper air, never alighting on land or sea, but living perpetually on thewing!
Eric was firmly convinced of this from what he had been told when onboard the _Pilot's Bride_; but Fritz, of course, expressed doubts of thebird having any such fabulous existence when it was pointed out to himwhile illustrating "flight without motion," as its graceful movementthrough the air might be described. Now, he had ocular demonstration ofthe fact that the albatross not only rests its weary feet on solid earthsometimes, but that it also builds a nest, and, marvellous to relate,actually lays eggs!
No sooner had Fritz set foot on the plateau, after a weary climb up thetoilsome staircase which the tussock-grass and irregularities of thecliff afforded, than he startled one of these birds. It was straddlingon the ground in a funny fashion over a little heap of rubbish, as thepile appeared to him. The albatross was quite in the open part of thetableland, and the reason why it selected such a spot for its resting-place, instead of amid the brushwood and tussock-grass thickets thatspread over the plateau, was apparent at once when the bird wasdisturbed; for, it had to take a short run along the bare ground beforeit could get its pinions thoroughly inflated and rise in the air. Hadit been amidst the trees or long grass, Fritz would have been able toapproach it and knock it over before it could have sought safety inflight, on account of its long wings requiring a wide space for theirexpansion.
On proceeding to the little heap of rubbish, as Fritz thought it, fromwhich the albatross had risen, he found it to be a nest. This wasbuilt, like that of an ostrich, about a foot high from the surface ofthe ground, on the exterior side, and three feet or so in diameter;while the interior was constructed of grass and pieces of stick woventogether with clay. There was one large egg in the centre of this nest,a little bigger than that of a swan and quite white, with the exceptionof a band of small bright red spots which encircled the larger end.
In addition to the albatross, several nests of which were scatteredabout the open ground on the plateau to the number of a hundred or more,there were lots of mollymawks and terns, or "sea swallows." Theselatter were beautifully plumaged, Fritz thought, the wings and bodybeing delicately harmonised in white and pale grey, while tiny blackheads and red beaks and feet, further improved their dainty appearance.
After noticing these new arrivals carefully, although he would not fireat any of them, thinking it needless destruction to kill any creaturesbut such as were required for food or other purposes, such as the seals,Fritz made after the goats. These, he soon discovered, had removedthemselves, under the leadership of "Kaiser Billy"--as his brother hadchristened the big old male which had frightened them both by his shadowon the cliff--to the further side of the tableland, placing the width ofthe plateau between the brothers and themselves.
"Artful old brute!" said Fritz on noticing this.
"Ah, he doesn't intend you to come near him to-day," observed Eric."He's too wise to put himself within reach of your rifle."
"Is he?" replied the other, beginning to get vexed, as the goatdexterously managed to preserve the same distance between them byshifting round in a sidling fashion as he and Eric advanced. "I tellyou what, laddie, you go round one way, and I shall take the reversedirection. By that means we will circumvent the cunning old gentleman."
These tactics were adopted; but, by some keen intuitive instinct whichwarned him which of the brothers was most to be feared, "Kaiser Billy,"while allowing Eric many a time to get within range, still carefullykept out of Fritz's reach!
It was most provoking.
"Hang the old fellow!" cried the elder between his clenched teeth."I'll have him yet;" and, thinking to deceive the animal's wariness bypretending to give up the chase, he sat down in one of the nests of thealbatross, whence he could command a good view around of the severalthickets of grass and brushwood, asking Eric to continue driving thegoats towards him while he lay here concealed.
This Eric did, after first shooting the plumpest-looking of the females,which had the effect of scaring the rest and making them run in thedirection where Fritz was lying in ambush.
The goats, however, went faster than either of the brothers expected; soFritz, seeing them coming out of a clump of brushwood in the distancejust after Eric had brought down his selected victim, immediatelycrouched down in his retreat. Hearing soon afterwards, however, thesound of the animals' hoofs, he was afraid of raising his head to makean observation as to their whereabouts until they should come closer,thinking that his sudden appearance might cause them race off again inanother direction and lose him the chance of a shot.
He had not to wait long, for the goats came closer and closer--tooclose, indeed, to be pleasant!
"Look out, Fritz! look out, brother! they're right on top of you,"shouted out Eric from the distance, away behind the flock, now coming upat a gallop, and still headed by the venerable "Kaiser Billy."
Fritz at once scrambled to his feet, rifle in hand, cocking the weaponas he rose up; but, at the same instant that he stood on his legs, ablow like a battering ram struck him in the small of the back, sendinghim down flying to the ground again on his face and pitching the cockedrifle out of his hands.
This was not the end of it, either; for, the weapon went off with a loudbang as it fell beside him, the bullet penetrating his leg just belowthe knee in an upward direction and narrowly escaping his head. As for"Kaiser Billy," who had butted him as
he rose up, and thus did thedamage, he galloped off with a loud "baa" of triumph, as if shouting apaean of victory.
"Himmel! are you hurt, Fritz?" called out Eric, hastening up on hearingthe report of the rifle. He was alarmed at seeing his brother lyingmotionless on the ground.
But, there was no answer; nor did Fritz even move at the sound of hisvoice!
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