"Nay, not it, my lad. Why, if you come to that, the world"s full of dangers wherever you are. No more danger here than on board a big ship sailing or steaming over water miles deep."
"But the wild beasts--lions and tigers, as you call them?"
"Lions won"t hurt you so long as you don"t meddle with them, and the tigers won"t pa.s.s that fire."
"Then the Indians?"
"No Indians about here, my lad, or I should have that fire out pretty soon and be on the watch. You leave all that to me, and don"t you get worrying yourself about danger because you hear a noise in the forest!
Noise is a noosance, but it don"t hurt. There was five thousand times as much danger in the fangs of that little sarpint I chopped to-day as in all the noise you"re listening to now."
Rob was silent.
"So just you take my advice, my lad: when night comes you say your bit o" prayers and tuck your head under your wing till it"s near daylight.
That"s the way to get a good night"s rest and be ready for the morning."
Rob started again, for a great, soft-winged thing swept silently by, so near that he felt the wind of its pinion as it glided on, its outline nearly invisible, but magnified by the darkness into a marvellous size.
"On"y a bat, my lad!" said Shaddy, yawning.
"Is that one of the blood-sucking ones?"
"Very likely."
"And you talk about there being no danger out here!"
"Nay, not I. There"s plenty of dangers, my lad, but we"re not going to be afraid of a thing that you could knock down with one of your hands so that it would never fly again. It ought to feel scared, not you."
"Is that a firefly?" said Rob, after a few minutes" silence, and he pointed to a soft, golden glow coming up the river five or six feet above the stream, and larger and more powerful than the twinkling lights appearing and disappearing among the foliage at the river"s edge.
"Yes, that"s a firefly; come to light you to bed, if you like. There, my lad, it"s sleep-time. Get under shelter out of the night damp.
You"ll soon be used to all the buzzing and howling and--"
"That was a tiger, wasn"t it?" said Rob excitedly, as a shrill cry rang out somewhere in the forest and sent a thrill through him.
"No. Once more, that"s a lion, and he"s after monkeys, not after you, so good-night."
Shaddy drew the sail over him as he stretched himself in the bottom of the roomy boat, and Rob crept in under the awning. The heavy breathing enabled him to make out exactly where his companions lay asleep, and settling himself down forward, he rested his head on his hand, convinced that sleep would be impossible, and preparing to listen to the faint rustling noise of the mooring rope on the gunwale of the boat, a sound which often suggested something coming on board.
Then he made sure what it was, and watched the faint glow thrown by the fire on the canvas till it seemed to grow dull--seemed, for the boatmen had arranged the wood so that from time to time it fell in, and hence it kept on burning up more brightly. But it looked dull to Rob and then black, for in spite of yells and screams and bellowings, the piping and fluting of frogs, the fiddling of crickets, and the drumming of some great toad, which apparently had a big tom-tom all to itself, Rob"s eyes had closed, and fatigue made him sleep as soundly as if he had been at home.
The sun was up when he awoke with a start to find Joe having his wash in a freshly dipped bucket of clean water, and upon joining him and looking ash.o.r.e, it was to see Brazier bringing his botanic treasures on board to hang up against the awning to dry; while Shaddy had taken the skin of the jaguar, pegs and all, rolling it up and throwing it forward. The boatmen kept the kettle boiling and some cake-bread baking in the hot ashes. At the same time a pleasant odour of frizzling bacon told that breakfast would not be long.
"You are going to stay here for a day or two?" said Rob to Mr Brazier as he rubbed his face dry in the warm sunshine.
"No. Naylor says we shall do better farther on, and keep on collecting as we go, beside getting a supply of ducks or other fowl for our wants.
The farther we are from the big river the easier it will be to keep our wants supplied."
"Gun, sir!" said Shaddy just then; "big ducks coming up the river. Take it coolly, sir, and don"t shoot till you can get two or three."
Brazier waited and waited, but the birds, which were feeding, came no farther.
"Hadn"t Mr Rob better try too, sir?" whispered Shaddy; "he wants to learn to shoot."
Rob glanced at Brazier, who did not take his eyes from the ducks he was watching, and the boy hurriedly fetched his gun.
"What yer got in?" whispered Shaddy.
"Shot in one barrel, bullet in the other."
"Bah!" growled the guide. "You don"t want bullet now. Yes, you do," he continued. "Look straight across the water in between the trees, and tell me if you see anything."
"No. Whereabouts?"
"Just opposite us. Now look again close to the water"s edge, where there"s that bit of an opening. Come, lad, where"s your eyes?"
"I don"t see anything but flowers and drooping boughs."
"And a deer just come down for a drink of fresh-water, ready to be shot and keep us in food for days."
"Yes, I can see it now," said Rob eagerly. "What a beautiful creature!"
"Yes, beautiful meat that we can cut up in strips and dry in the sun, so as to have a little supply in hand."
"But it seems--" began Rob.
"It"s necessary, lad, and it"s a chance. Sit down, rest your piece on the gunwale, and aim straight with your left barrel at the centre of its head. If you miss that you"re sure to send the bullet through its shoulder and bring it down."
Feeling a great deal of compunction, Rob sank into the position advised, c.o.c.ked his piece, and took careful aim.
"Make sure of him, my lad," whispered Shaddy. "It"s a fine bit o"
practice for you. Now then, hold the b.u.t.t tight to your shoulder and pull the trigger gently; squeeze it more than pull. Covered him?"
"Yes."
"Then fire."
_Bang! bang_! Two shots in rapid succession, and the deer was gone, but a monkey unseen till then dropped head over heels into the water from one of the trees over the trembling deer, scared from its hold by the loud reports, and after a few moments" splashing succeeded in reaching a branch which dipped in the stream. In another moment or two it was in safety, chattering away fiercely as an ugly snout was protruded from the water where it fell.
"Got them this time!" said Brazier in a tone of satisfaction, as five ducks lay on the water waiting to be picked up. "You should have fired too, Rob. We want fresh provisions."
"What I told him, sir, but he took such a long aim that the deer said, "Good-morning; come and be shot another time.""
"Deer? What deer?"
"One t"other side, sir," said Shaddy, who had got out to unmoor the boat.
"I wish I had seen it; the meat would have been so valuable to-day."