Part 36 (1/2)
He persuaded them to come and live on board, as they would be more comfortable than in the hut of the chief, and he would be ready, should the wind co to wait for the with thees full of birds, which the hospitable chief had given them In return for all his kindness they presented hiave to Nick and Pipes two seamen's muskets, and such other articles as they could spare, pro to send the honest fellows s from Sydney, as a reward for their fidelity The two Papuans and their chief were highly delighted and grateful for the gifts, which they looked upon as an a looked like a erie, with the nu, mostly monkeys and birds, such as were not to be found in Australia
The natives now returned with a considerable amount of produce, which the skipper received on board, prooods in payment on shore In the s of spirits to the chief and his people
The ht, which was very dark, with the wind off shore They heard the skipper go on deck, but were soon asleep again Not long after this they were awakened by the sound of the windlass
”Why theyanchor!” exclaimed To was already under way, standing out of the harbour
”Why, Captain Stubbins, you've forgotten to send the goods on shore, in return for the produce which came off yesterday!”
”Bless my heart! so I have!” answered the skipper, with a hoarse laugh
”I'll pay the people the next time I come here; but they are too drunk by this ti that you were in a hurry to get to Sydney, as the as fair, I could not resist the te to sea”
To suspicion that the skipper had intended to cheat the poor natives, and such, indeed, he found to be the case
Whendawned, the _Fox_ was far beyond the possibility of pursuit by the natives, even had the chiefs been in a condition to follow her, which in all probability they were not, owing to the cunningly bestowed kegs of liquor The breeze continued, and the _Fox_ ood way The skipper and his mate were constantly on the look-out to avoid the rocks and shoals which so thickly dot the entrance to Torres Straits The brig then stood to the eastward, so as to run well clear of the coral reefs which fringe the north-eastern portion of Australia Toth to find theh, on their way to a place where they could hope to meet with their shi+p; at the same time, there was little comfort to boast of on board Their berths were narrow recesses on either side of the little cabin, which was close in the extreme, and swars, scorpions and centipedes, which had coo and occasionally made their appearance
”I don't care for the beasts, hungry as they are, but it is not pleasant to know that one ht his knife down on one which had fallen on the breakfast table
As long as their fresh provisions lasted, they fared pretty well, but when these were exhausted, they were reduced to very short commons, and, as Desmond observed, ”very bad of its sort” Salt junk, which had e round the world, and redients of their meals The ave them the best he had
Billy especially declared that he should die of inanition ”Salt junk never agreed with me at the best of tiroaned, as he turned about a piece of black-looking stuff at the end of his fork
The men were quite as ill off--they could not be worse; but when they found their officers faring as badly as they were, they could not co sailed like a tub even in a breeze, and at last the wind dropped and they lay becal down on their heads They had found it hot enough very frequently in travelling through the country; it was here sometimes even hotter On their journey they had had at all events abundance of food, refreshi+ng fruits, and clear water, while now they had only tepid, thick, brackish liquid to drink When they made faces as they poured it out at rin--
”You're better off than if we had none, and if we are e ested that as soon as a breeze sprang up, they should steer for Brisbane, or one of the northern Australian ports, but the skipper would not listen to any such proposal He preferred keeping the open sea, free of the reefs which existed nearer in with the land Tom observed that they were already much further to the eastward than was necessary, but Captain Stubbins, though he was evidently no great navigator, declared that he knew his way as well as any naval officer, and refused to lend Tom his quadrant to make an observation
Billy looked very e continue host
”If we could catch some fish we should do better,” said Toot any hooks and lines”
”I doubt whether the old felloill take the trouble to look them out if he has,” observed Desreatly to his delight the mats produced a shark hook and several others of smaller size, with a supply of lines In a few minutes all hands were busy with lines overboard with bits of pork and beef for bait Several curious fish were hauled up, but the native crew pronounced them poisonous, and declared that those who ate theed in the sport, Toby--Desht all sorts of tricks--hopped on the bulwarks to see what they were about
”Take care what you are doing, Master Toby,” sang out Deserous proxiht,no rope to take hold of, lost his balance, and over he went into the water
Des to hi itself in the water, was too o after hi overboard, when Toby uttered a cry of agony, a black snout was seen to rise for an instant, the white of a shark's belly glanced in the water, and Toby disappeared beneath the surface
”The horrid brute!” exclaimed Desmond; ”ill pay him off for this if we can”
The fisher fish and To away ”Here, Des fellow”