Swiss Family Robinson(fiscle part-3 of 2) - Johann David Wyss (desktop ebook reader .TXT) 📗
- Author: Johann David Wyss
Book online «Swiss Family Robinson(fiscle part-3 of 2) - Johann David Wyss (desktop ebook reader .TXT) 📗». Author Johann David Wyss
`Pounce Saw And Comprehended my Danger: The Heroic Bird Darted upon My
Enemy, And So Blinded him With His Flapping wings, And The Fierce Blows
Of His Beak, That His Spring was Checked, And I Had Time To Recover My
Self-Possession. I Seized my Gun And Fired; And The Brute, Pierced to
The Heart, Gave One Spring, And Then Rolled over At My Feet.
`My Enemy Was Dead; But Beside Him--Alas!--Lay Poor Pounce, Crushed and
Lifeless. One Blow Of The Great Beast'S Paw Had Struck Him Down, Never
To Rise Again!' Fritz'S Voice Shook As He Came To This Point; And,
After Remaining silent For A Moment Or Two, He Continued, Hurriedly:
`With A Sad And Desolate Feeling at My Heart, I Buried the Faithful
Bird Where He Had Met His Death; And Then, Unable Longer To Continue
Near The Spot, I Returned to My Cajack, And Leaving the Great Tiger
Lying where He Fell, Paddled hastily Away.
`My Thoughts Were Gloomy. I Felt As Though, Now That My Companion Was
Gone, I Could No Longer Continue The Voyage. The Albatross, I Thought,
May Have Flown For Hundreds Of Miles Before It Reached me. This
Stranger May Be On Different Shores From These Entirely; Every Stroke
Of My Paddle May Be Carrying me Further From The Blazing signal: Who
Knows?
`This Feeling of Discouragement Was Not, However, To Be Of Long
Duration; For In a Moment More A Sight Presented itself, Which
Banished all My Doubts And Fears, And Raised me To The Highest Pitch Of
Excitement.
`A High Point Of Land Lay Before Me. I Rounded it, And Beyond Found A
Calm And Pleasant Bay, From Whose Curved and Thickly Wooded shores Ran
Out A Reef Of Rocks. From The Point Of This Reef Rose A Column Of
Smoke, Steadily And Clearly Curling upwards In the Calm Air. I Could
Scarcely Believe My Senses, But Stopped gazing at It, As Though I Were
In A Dream; Then, With Throbbing pulse And Giddy Brain, I Seized my
Paddle, And Strained every Nerve To Reach It.
`A Few Strokes Seemed to Carry Me Across The Bay, And, Securing my
Canoe, I Leaped upon The Rock, On Which The Beacon Was Blazing, But Not
A Sign Of A Human Being could I See. I Was About To Shout, For As The
Fire Had Evidently Been Recently Piled up, I Knew The Stranger Could
Not Be Far Off; But, Before I Could Do So, I Saw A Slight Figure
Passing along The Chain Of Rocks Towards The Spot On Which I Stood. You
May All Imagine My Sensations.
`I Advanced a Few Paces; And Then Mastering my Emotion As Best I
Could, I Said, In english:
"Welcome, Fair Stranger! God, In his Mercy, Has Heard Your Call, And
Has Sent Me To Your Aid!"
`Miss Montrose Came Quickly Forward--'
Part 3 Chapter 9 Pg 136
`Who? What?' Shouted the Boys, Interrupting the Narrative. `Who Came
Forward?' And Amid A General Hubbub, Ernest, Rising and Advancing to
His Brother, Said In his Quiet Way:
`I Did Not Like To Make Any Remark Till You Actually Let Out The
Secret, Fritz, But We Need no Longer Pretend Not To See Through The
Disguise Of Edward Montrose.'
Fritz, Though Much Disconcerted by The Discovery Of The Secret,
Recovered his Self-Possession; And, After Bearing with Perfect
Equanimity The Jokes With Which His Brothers Assailed him, Joined in
Three Cheers For Their New Sister, And When The Confusion And Laughter
Which Ensued had Subsided, Continued his Story.
`Miss Montrose Grasped my Hands Warmly, And Guessing from My
Pronunciation, I Am Afraid, That I Was Not In the Habit Of Speaking
English Every Day Of My Life, Said In french:
`"Long, Long, Have I Waited since The Bird Returned with Your Message.
Thank God, You Have Come At Last!"
`Then, With Tears Of Joy And Gratitude, She Led me To The Shore, Where
She Had Built A Hut And A Safe Sleeping-Place, Like Falconhurst On A
Small Scale, Among The Branches Of A Tree. I Was Delighted with All She
Showed me, For Indeed her Hut And Its Fittings Evinced no Ordinary
Skill And Ingenuity. Round The Walls Hung Bows, Arrows, Lances And
Bird-Snares; While On Her Work-Table, In boxes And Cases, Carved
Skilfully With A Knife, Were Fish-Hooks Of Mother-Of-Pearl, Needles
Made From Fishbones, And Bodkins From The Beaks Of Birds, Fishing-Lines
Of All Sorts, And Knives And Other Tools.
These Latter She Told Me Were, With A Chest Of Wearing apparel, Almost
The Only Things Washed ashore After The Wreck, When Three Years Ago She
Was Cast Alone Upon This Desolate Coast. I Marvelled more And More At
The Wonderful Way In which This Girl Had Surmounted obstacles, The
Quarter Of Which Would Completely Have Appalled the Generality Of Her
Sex.
The Hut Itself Was A Marvel Of Skill; Stout Posts Had Been Driven Into
The Ground, With Cross Pieces Of Bamboo, To Form A Framework; The Walls
Had Then Been Woven With Reeds, The Roof Thatched with Palm-Leaves, And
The Whole Plastered smoothly With Clay, An Open Space Being left In the
Centre Of The Roof For A Chimney To Carry Off The Smoke Of The Fire.
`As We Entered, A Cormorant, With A Cry Of Anger, Flew From Under The
Table Towards Me, And Was About To Attack Me Fiercely. Miss Montrose
Called it Off, And She Then Told Me She Had Captured and Tamed the Bird
Soon After First Landing, And Since That Time Had Contrived to Train It
To Assist Her In every Conceivable Way: It Now Not Only Was A Pleasant
Companion, But Brought Her Food Of Every Description, Fish, Flesh And
Fowl, For Whether It Dived into The Waters, According to Its Natural
Habit, Struck Down Birds Upon The Wing, Or Seized rabbits And Other
Small Animals Upon The Land, It Laid All Its Booty At Her Feet.
Part 3 Chapter 9 Pg 137
`Before Darkness Closed in, All The Curiosities And Ingenious
Contrivances Of The Place Had Been Displayed the Kitchen-Stove,
Cooking utensils, Skin Bottles, Shell Plates And Spoons, The Fishing
Raft, And Numberless Other Things--And Then, Sitting down With My Fair
Hostess To A Most Appetizing meal, She Gave Me A Short Account Of Her
Life:
`Jenny* Montrose Was The Daughter Of A British Officer Who Had Served
For Many Years In india, Where She Herself Was Born. At The Early Age
Of Three Years She Lost Her Mother.
* Some Translations Give Her Name As Emily.
`After The Death Of His Wife, All The Colonel'S Love And Care Was
Centred upon His Only Child; Under His Eye She Was Instructed in all
The Accomplishments Suited to Her Sex; And From Him She Imbibed an
Ardent Love Of Field Sports. By The Time She Was Seventeen She Was As
Much At Home Upon Her Horse In the Field As In her Father'S
Drawing-Room.
`Colonel Montrose Now Received orders To Return Home With His Regiment
And As, For Certain Reasons, He Did Not Wish Her To Accompany Him In
The Ship With The Troops, He Obtained a Passage For Her On Board A
Vessel Which Was About To Sail At The Same Time.
`The Separation Was Extremely Painful To Both The Old Soldier And His
Daughter, But There Was No Alternative. They Parted, And Miss Montrose
Sailed in the Dorcas For England. A Week After She Had Left Calcutta, A
Storm Arose And Drove The Vessel Far Out Of Her Course; More Bad
Weather Ensued; And At Length, Leaks Having been Sprung In all
Directions, The Crew Were Obliged to Take To The Boats.
Jenny Obtained a Place In one Of The Largest Of These. After Enduring
The Perils Of The Sea For Many Days, Land Was Sighted; And, The Other
Boats Having disappeared, An Attempt Was Made To Land. The Boat Was
Capsized, And Miss Montrose Alone Reached the Shore. For A Long Time
She Lay Upon The Sand Almost Inanimate; But, Reviving sufficiently To
Move, She At Length Obtained some Shellfish, And By Degrees Recovered
Her Strength.
From That Time Forth Until I Appeared she Never Set Eyes Upon A Human
Being. To Attract Any Passing vessel, And Obtain Assistance, However,
She Kept A Beacon Continually Blazing at The End Of The Reef; And, With
The Same Purpose In view, Attached missives To The Feet Of Any Birds
She Could Take Alive In her Snares. The Albatross, She Told Me, She Had
Kept For Some Time And Partially Tamed; But, As It Was In the Habit Of
Making long Excursions On Its Own Account, She Conceived the Idea Of
Sending it Also With A Message, That, Should It By Chance Be Seen And
Taken Alive, It Might Return With An Answer.
`Our Supper Was Over; And, At Length, Both Wearied out With The
Anxieties And Excitement Of The Day, We Retired to Rest, She To Her
Leafy Bower, And I To Sleep In the Hut Below.
Part 3 Chapter 9 Pg 138
`Next Morning, Having packed her Belongings In the Cajack, We Both Went
On Board; And Bidding adieu To Her Well-Known Bay She Took Her Seat
Before Me, And I Made For Home.
`We Should Have Reached rockburg This Evening had Not An Accident
Occurred to Our Skiff And Compelled us To Put In at This Island. The
Boat Was Scarcely Repaired when I Heard Your First Shots. I Instantly
Disguised myself; And, Never Doubting that Malay Pirates Were Near,
Came Forth To Reconnoitre. Glad, Indeed, I Was To Find My Fears
Ungrounded.'
All Had Listened attentively To Fritz'S Story, But Now A Dreadful Yawn
From Franz, Followed by Others From Jack, Ernest And Fritz, And A Great
Desire On My Own Part To Follow Their Example, Warned me That It Was
Time To Dismiss The Party For The Night. Fritz Retired to His Cajack,
The Boys And I To The Deck Of The Yacht, And The Remainder Of The Night
Passed quietly Away.
Next Morning as We Assembled for Breakfast I Took The Opportunity Of
Begging miss Montrose No Longer To Attempt To Continue Her Disguise,
But To Allow Us To Address Her In her Real Character.
Jenny Smiled; For She Had Noticed, As The Young Men Met Her
Comments (0)