Chapter 65
"I should have poked about with the barrel of my musket and found that the rustling was made by birds or rats."
"Nay, sir," said the man confidently, "'twarn't neither o' they things.
If it had been they'd ha' skilly wiggled away at once. And besides, sir, they wouldn't ha' made a man feel so 'orrid squirmy like. I felt all of a shudder; that's what made me know that they were something as didn't ought to be."
"Snakes, perhaps, Tom."
The man started, stared, s.n.a.t.c.hed off his straw hat, and gave his head a vicious rub, before having another good look back at the thatch-roofed summer-house of a place.
"Say, Mr Murray, sir," he said at last, "did you say snakes?"
"Yes, Tom; perhaps poisonous ones."
The man gave his head another rub, and then e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed in a strange long-drawn way the one word--
"Well!"
"I've read that in places like this they creep in under the flooring, and then make their way up the holes and into the thatch after the birds or rats upon which they live."
"Do they now, sir?" said the man excitedly.
"Yes, and some of them are horribly poisonous; so you must take care how you deal with them."
"Poisonous, sir?" continued Tom. "Them sort as if they bite a man it's all over with him and the doctor arn't able to save his life?"
"Yes, Tom," continued Murray; "in one of these islands particularly the people call the serpent the _fer de lance_, a bite from which is very often fatal."
"Kills a man, sir?"
"I believe so."
"Then I arn't surprised at them calling it so, sir. Nothing could be too bad for it. That's it, sir, and now I arn't a bit surprised at my feeling as I did, sir. I wondered what made me come so all-overish like and fancy there was something about as oughtn't to be. I arn't a chap as gets skeared about a bit o' danger, sir; now, am I, sir?"
"No, Tom; I believe you to be a brave fellow that your officers can always trust."
"Thankye, sir; that's what I want to be--chap as can stand a bit o'
fire, sir, eh?" said the man, with a broad grin.
"Yes, Tom, and that's what made me feel vexed at your being so superst.i.tious."
"Sooperst.i.tious, sir?" said the man, giving his head another rub.
"That's what you call it, is it, sir? Well, but arn't it enough to make a fellow feel a bit creepy, sir, to have them dry-land eels squirming about overhead ready to give him a nip as means Dr Reston shaking his head all over you and calling your messmates to sew you up
"Nor I, Tom, if he s.h.i.+vered from an instinctive fear of a poisonous serpent. But you were not afraid of that, eh?"
Tom May screwed up his face again with a comical grin, shook his head, and then, after a glance here and there at his messmates who were to be stationed as sentries--
"Well, not azackly, sir," he said. "I was reg'larly skeared at something, and I did not know what; but I see now, sir. It was my natur' to--what you called 'stinctive."
"Well, we'll leave it there, Tom," said Murray smiling, "but I'm not quite satisfied. I'll go and have a look by and by."
"Ah! But Mr Murray, sir, you won't go and think I was a bit--"
"Never mind what I thought, Tom; and now come on. I want to see about the positions the men are to be in. To begin with, I should like the two men in the cutter to lie off a bit further."
The order was given, and a fresh position was taken up before the middy walked carefully all round the planter's rest-house and carefully stationed his men on duty, adding a few words about keeping a sharp lookout for the approach of danger, and at a whisper from the big sailor, including snakes.
This done, the lad began to amuse himself by examining the attempts that had been made to render the place beautiful, and it was while thus engaged, and noting that the forest all round the clearing and cultivation was apparently impenetrable, giving the idea that the cottage could only be approached by water, that Tom followed up three or four rather peculiar sniffs by one that was most suggestive of a desire to call his officer's attention to something he wished to say.
Murray, who was pretty well acquainted with the sailor's peculiarities, turned upon him at last sharply--
"Well, Tom," he said, "what is it?"
"Oh, nothing, sir, on'y I didn't want to seem imperent."
"I'm glad to hear it, my lad; but what did you want to say?"
"I was on'y thinking, sir."
"What about?"
"Why, sir, it seemed to me as if we was taking so much trouble to keep watch over this here sick gentleman."
"Well, go on; don't hesitate so."
"Beg pardon, sir; I hesitate like 'cause I don't want to seem imperent."
"Then I'll forgive you if it is, Tom. Now then, what were you going to say?"
"Only this, sir; wouldn't it have been handier like to ha' kep' him aboard the _Seafowl_ where the watches are going on reg'lar, and the doctor could ha' looked in upon him now and then?"
"Perhaps it would, Tom," replied Murray, "but Captain Kingsberry and the first lieutenant may have had special reasons for what they are doing."
"Of course, sir; azackly, sir; but somehow this here does seem a bit quiet like after what we was doing before."
"Less exciting, Tom?"
"Yes, sir. Don't think it likely, do you, sir, that the Yankee chap who has been giving the gent inside so much trouble and nearly wherriting his life out over the slaver, may drop in to see him, do you, sir?"
"No, Tom, I don't," said the middy shortly. "Neither do you."
Tom May shook his head and looked very hard at his officer.
"Beg pardon, sir, but you arn't quite right like, because that's just what I was thinking, and that you might like for us all to be quite ready for him if he did come."
"What more could I do, Tom?" said the lad anxiously, for the man's words made him think that he had been neglecting some precaution. "A good lookout is being kept, isn't it?"
"Seaward, sir," replied the man, "but I was thinking as the lads round the back arn't in sight of one another."
"Oh!" cried Murray. "And you think that the enemy might come stealing down one of the paths through the forest?"