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Bunyip Land Chapter 2 - How We Prepared to Start, and Started · The George Manville Fenn Library

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  Speaker 1: Chapter two A bunyip Land. This is a LibriVox recording.
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  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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  Speaker 1: information all to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. This
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  Speaker 1: reading by Lucy Burgoyne. Bunyip Land by George Manville Fenn,
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  Speaker 1: Chapter two, How we prepared to start and start it.
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  Speaker 1: You will have gathered from all this that my father
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  Speaker 1: had been missing for pretty well three years, and that he,
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  Speaker 1: a well known botanist, had accepted a commission from a
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  Speaker 1: well known florist in the neighborhood of London to collect
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  Speaker 1: new plans for him, and in his quest he had
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  Speaker 1: made his last unfortunate trip, which had followed one to
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  Speaker 1: Carpenteria to New Guinea. We had heard from him twice,
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  Speaker 1: each time with a package of seeds and plants, which
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  Speaker 1: we had forwarded to London. Then there was an artist
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  Speaker 1: cessation of news. One year had become two, then three,
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  Speaker 1: and it would soon before quite a little fellow. When
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  Speaker 1: he started, I had cried with disappointment at being left behind.
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  Speaker 1: Now I had grown into a big fellow. For my age.
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  Speaker 1: I had dreamed incessantly of making the attempt to find
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  Speaker 1: my father, and now at last the time had come.
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  Speaker 1: I believe I was quite as excited over the proposed
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  Speaker 1: journey as Jimmy. But I did not go about throwing
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  Speaker 1: a spear at gum trees. Neither did I climb the
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  Speaker 1: tallest eucalyptus to try if I could see New Guinea
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  Speaker 1: from the topmost branches. Moreover, I did not show my
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  Speaker 1: delight on car coming down certain of having seen this
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  Speaker 1: promised land by picking out a low horizontal branch and
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  Speaker 1: hanging from it by my toes. All of these antics
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  Speaker 1: Jimmy did do, and many more, besides worrying me every
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  Speaker 1: half hour with come long time ago, find him father.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, now I know that it would have been
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  Speaker 1: impossible for me to have carried out my plans without
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  Speaker 1: the doctor, who was indefatigable bringing to bear as he did,
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  Speaker 1: the right experience of a man who had been all
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  Speaker 1: over the world pretty well before he came to Australia
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  Speaker 1: to make a practice, and every day I had from
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  Speaker 1: him some useful hint. He was quite as eager as I,
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  Speaker 1: but he met all my impatient words with let's do
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  Speaker 1: everything necessary for Joe recollect. We are going to a
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  Speaker 1: far more savage land. Than this, and where we can
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  Speaker 1: re knew nothing but our store of food. Don't let's
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  Speaker 1: fail through being too hasty. All in good time. But
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  Speaker 1: the time did seem so long, for there was a
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  Speaker 1: great deal to do. Jimmy who bold the way, really
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  Speaker 1: bore some peculiar native name that sounded like while a
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  Speaker 1: gurah was fitted out with a serviceable sailor's suit, of
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  Speaker 1: which he was very proud, and never prouder than when
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  Speaker 1: he could see it to its best advantage. This was
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  Speaker 1: in the wool barn, where upon every opportunity the black
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  Speaker 1: used to retreat to relieve himself of the unwonted garb
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  Speaker 1: and hang it up against the shingle wall. Then he
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  Speaker 1: would show his teeth to the gums and squat down,
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  Speaker 1: embrace his knees, and gaze at the clothes. When satisfied
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  Speaker 1: with the front, he would rise deliberately, go to the wall,
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  Speaker 1: turn every article and have a good look at the
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  Speaker 1: other side. When we ran some risks at this time,
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  Speaker 1: for our henchman was given his first lessons in the
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  Speaker 1: use of a rifle. And for a long time, no
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  Speaker 1: matter how the doctor tried, it seemed as if it
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  Speaker 1: was impossible for the black to hold the peace in
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  Speaker 1: any other direction than pointed straight at one of his
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  Speaker 1: friends by slow degrees. Though he got over it and
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  Speaker 1: wanted lessons in loading and firing more often than his
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  Speaker 1: master was prepared to give them. Jimmy had heard the
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  Speaker 1: report of a gun hundreds of times, but his experience
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  Speaker 1: had never gone so far as holding the peace when
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  Speaker 1: it was fine, and when, after being carefully shown how
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  Speaker 1: to take aim, he was treated to a blank charge
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  Speaker 1: and pulled the trigger. The result was that I threw
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  Speaker 1: myself on the ground and shrieked with laughter, while the
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  Speaker 1: doctor seated himself upon a stump and held his sides
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  Speaker 1: with the tears rolling down his cheeks. For At the
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  Speaker 1: flash and report, Jimmy uttered a yell, dropped the rifle,
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  Speaker 1: and turned and ran as hard as he could for
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  Speaker 1: the barn, never once looking behind him. A couple of
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  Speaker 1: minutes were, however, sufficient to let his fear evaporate, and
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  Speaker 1: he came back waddy in fist, half shamefaced, half angry,
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  Speaker 1: and rubbing his right shoulder the while. Don't do that,
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  Speaker 1: he cried, fiercely. Don't do da Play trick? Mass Joe
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  Speaker 1: played trick. Jimmy, I didn't, I cried, laughing, here see me.
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  Speaker 1: I took the rifle, put in a charge and fired there,
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  Speaker 1: I said, reloading. Now try again. Jimmy had on only
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  Speaker 1: his curtailed trousers, into whose waistband he cautiously stucked the
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  Speaker 1: woddy the knob at the end, stopping it from falling through,
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  Speaker 1: and gingerly, taking the rifle once more to show that
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  Speaker 1: he was not afraid. He held it loosely against his
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  Speaker 1: shoulder and fired again. The gun kicked more than ever,
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  Speaker 1: for it was growing foul and uttering a yell. Jimmy
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  Speaker 1: dashed it down, snatched the waddy from his waistband, and
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  Speaker 1: began belarbering the butt of the piece before we could
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  Speaker 1: stop him, after which he stood sulkily, rubbing his right
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  Speaker 1: should and scowling at the animate enemy that had given
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  Speaker 1: him a couple of blows. One or two more experiments
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  Speaker 1: with the peace, however, taught the Black its merits and
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  Speaker 1: demerits to such an extent that he was never so
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  Speaker 1: happy as when he was allowed to shoulder the formidable
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  Speaker 1: weapon with which he would have liked to go and
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  Speaker 1: fight some native tribe. And his constant demand to me
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  Speaker 1: was for me to put in an extra charge so
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  Speaker 1: that he might have what he called a big bang.
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  Speaker 1: The doctor took care that we should both be well
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  Speaker 1: furnished with every necessary in arms, ammunition, and camp equipments,
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  Speaker 1: such as were light and would go into a small space.
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  Speaker 1: He got down from Sydney to a quantity of showy
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  Speaker 1: electro bilk, jewelry and fancy beads, with common knives, pistols,
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  Speaker 1: guns and hatchets for presents, saying to me that a
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  Speaker 1: showy present would work our way better with the savage
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  Speaker 1: Chief than a great deal of fighting. And he proved
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  Speaker 1: to be quite right in all he said. Taken altogether,
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  Speaker 1: we had an excellent outfit for the journey, my mother
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  Speaker 1: eagerly placing funds at the doctor's disposal. And then came
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  Speaker 1: the question of how we were to get to the
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  Speaker 1: great Northern Island. For as a real facilities for touching
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  Speaker 1: there were not very great. But somehow this proved to
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  Speaker 1: be no difficulty all that we undertook, being easily mastered,
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  Speaker 1: every obstacle melting away at the first attack. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: the journey to New Guinea was like a walk into
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  Speaker 1: a trap. Wonderfully. The difficulty was how to get out again. Perhaps,
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  Speaker 1: had I known of the dangers we were to encounter,
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  Speaker 1: I might have shrunk from the task. I say might,
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  Speaker 1: but I hope I should not. Still, it was better
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  Speaker 1: that I was in ignorance when with the doctor, I
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  Speaker 1: set about making inquiries at the harbor, and soon found
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  Speaker 1: a captain who was inhabited, trading to the island for
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  Speaker 1: shells and tree pain, which he afterwards took on to
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  Speaker 1: Hong Kong for a fairly liberal consideration. He expressed himself
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  Speaker 1: willing to go out of his way and land us
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  Speaker 1: where we like that. He shook his head. All the same.
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  Speaker 1: You cut out your work, youngster, he said, and I
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  Speaker 1: doubt whether you're going to sew it together so as
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  Speaker 1: to make a job. I'm going to try, Captain, I said,
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  Speaker 1: that's your style, he said heartily, as he gave me
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  Speaker 1: a slap on the shoulder. That's the word that moves everything,
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  Speaker 1: my boy, that word. Try My brain's and butter, what
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  Speaker 1: a lot Try has done and will always keep going.
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  Speaker 1: Lor It's enough to make a man wish he was
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  Speaker 1: lost and his son coming to look after him. Then
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  Speaker 1: you have a son, captain, I said, looking at him wistfully.
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  Speaker 1: Me not a bit of it. My wife never had
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  Speaker 1: no little ones, for we always buys the boats. They
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  Speaker 1: aren't young ships. I married my schooner, my lad, she's
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  Speaker 1: my wife. But there I'm talking away with a tongue
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  Speaker 1: like an old woman. Send your traps aboard whenever you lie,
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  Speaker 1: and there I like you. You you're a good lad,
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  Speaker 1: and I'll help you as much as ever I can.
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  Speaker 1: Shake hands. It was like a fierce order, and he
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  Speaker 1: quite hurt me when he did shake hands, even the
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  Speaker 1: doctor saying it was like putting your fist in a
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  Speaker 1: screw wrench. Then we parted, the doctor and I to
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  Speaker 1: complete our preparations. The various things we meant to take
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  Speaker 1: were placed on board, and now at last the time
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  Speaker 1: had come when we must say goodbye. For the first
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  Speaker 1: time in my life, I began to think very seriously
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  Speaker 1: of money matters. Up to this, money had not been
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  Speaker 1: an object of much desire with me. A few shillings
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  Speaker 1: to send into Sydney for some special object now and
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  Speaker 1: then was all I had required. But now I had
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  Speaker 1: to think about my mother during my absence and what
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  Speaker 1: she would do. And for the first time I learned
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  Speaker 1: that there was no need for anxiety. On that score
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  Speaker 1: that my father's private income was ample to place us
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  Speaker 1: beyond thought for the future. I found too, that our
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  Speaker 1: nearest neighbor had undertaken to watch over my mother's safety.
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  Speaker 1: Not that there was much occasion for watchfulness. The days
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  Speaker 1: gliding by at our place in the most perfect peace,
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  Speaker 1: but it was satisfactory to feel that there were friends
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  Speaker 1: nearer At hand. I was saying goodbye at the little farm,
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  Speaker 1: but my mother insisted upon accompanying us to Sydney, where
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  Speaker 1: I noticed that, in spite of her weakness and delicate looks,
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  Speaker 1: she was full of energy and excitement, talking to me
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  Speaker 1: of my journey, begging me to be prudent and careful
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  Speaker 1: on your account, to expose myself to danger, and tell
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  Speaker 1: your father how anxiously I am looking forward to his return.
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  Speaker 1: She said to me on the last evening together, words
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  Speaker 1: that seemed to give me confidence, for they showed me
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  Speaker 1: how thoroughly satisfied she was that we would bring my
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  Speaker 1: father back. We were too busy making preparations to the
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  Speaker 1: very last for there to be much time for sadness,
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  Speaker 1: till the hour when the old skipper came and was
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  Speaker 1: shown up to our room. He came stamping and blundering
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  Speaker 1: up in a pair of heavy sea boots, and began
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  Speaker 1: to salute me with a rough shout. When he caught
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  Speaker 1: sight of my pale, delicate looking mother, and his whole
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  Speaker 1: manner changed. Lor I didn't know as there was a
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  Speaker 1: lady here, he said in a husky whisper, and snatched
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  Speaker 1: off his battered panama hat, sticking out a leg behind
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  Speaker 1: and making a bow like a skilled boy. I beg
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  Speaker 1: your pardon for intruding, like ma'am, But I only come
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  Speaker 1: to say that the schooner's walked out, and that youngster
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  Speaker 1: here and mister Grant must come aboard first thing in
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  Speaker 1: the morning. He sat down after a good deal of persuasion,
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  Speaker 1: and partook of refreshment liquid and composiously. But when on leaving,
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  Speaker 1: my mother followed him to the door, and I saw
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  Speaker 1: her try to make him a present, he shook his
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  Speaker 1: head sturdily. No, no, he growled. I asked my price
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  Speaker 1: for the trip, and the doctor there paid me like
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  Speaker 1: a man. Don't you be afeared for young chap there
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  Speaker 1: while he's aboard my craft. While he's with me, I'll
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  Speaker 1: look after him as if he will. I don't like
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  Speaker 1: boys as a rule, for they're a were it and
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  Speaker 1: wants so much kicking before you can make them work.
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  Speaker 1: But I've kind of took two youngster there, and I've
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  Speaker 1: seen him through good night. The captain went clumping down
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  Speaker 1: the stairs, and we could hear him clearing his throat
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  Speaker 1: very loudly down the street. Then the doctor, with great delicacy,
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  Speaker 1: rose and left us alone. And I tried to look
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  Speaker 1: cheerful as I sat for an hour with my mother
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  Speaker 1: before going to bed. Did any of you who tried
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  Speaker 1: to look cheerful when you were going to leave home
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  Speaker 1: for the first time ever succeed, especially with those wistful,
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  Speaker 1: longing eyes watching you so earnestly all the time. I'm
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  Speaker 1: not ashamed to say that I did not, and that
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  Speaker 1: I almost repented at my decision, seeing as I did
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  Speaker 1: what pain I was causing. But I knew directly after
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  Speaker 1: that it was pain mingled with pleasure, and that I
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  Speaker 1: was about to do my duty as a son. Twice over,
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  Speaker 1: as I lay half sleeping, I fancied I saw, or
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  Speaker 1: really did see somebody gliding away from my bedside, And
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  Speaker 1: then all at once I found that it was morning,
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  Speaker 1: and I got up, had a miserable breakfast which seemed
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  Speaker 1: to choke me. And soon after how I don't know,
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  Speaker 1: for it all seemed very dreamlike. Found myself on the
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  Speaker 1: wolf with my mother, waiting for the boat that was
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  Speaker 1: to take us through travelers to the ship. Jimmy was there,
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  Speaker 1: looking rather uncomfortable in his sailor's suit, which was not
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  Speaker 1: constructed for the use of a man who always sat
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  Speaker 1: down upon his heels. The doctor was there, too quiet
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  Speaker 1: and cheerful as could be, and I made an effort
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  Speaker 1: to swallow something that troubled me, and which I thought
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  Speaker 1: must be somehow connected with my breakfast, but it would
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  Speaker 1: not go down, and I could do nothing but gaze
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  Speaker 1: hard as through a mist at the little delicate woman
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  Speaker 1: who was holding so tightly to my hands. There was
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  Speaker 1: a dimness and an unreality about everything. Things seemed to
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  Speaker 1: be going on in a way I did not understand,
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  Speaker 1: and I quite started at last as somebody seemed to
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  Speaker 1: say good bye, and I found myself in the little
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  Speaker 1: boat and on the way to the schooner. Then, all
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  Speaker 1: in the same dim, misty way, I found myself aboard,
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  Speaker 1: watching the wharf, where my mother was standing with a
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  Speaker 1: lady friend waving their handkerchiefs. Then the wolf seemed to
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  Speaker 1: be slowly gliding away and getting more and more distant.
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  Speaker 1: And then mixed up with it all came the sound
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  Speaker 1: of a bluff captain's voice, shouting orders to the men
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  Speaker 1: who were hurrying about the deck. Suddenly I started for
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  Speaker 1: the doctor had laid his hand upon my shoulder, whereof Joe.
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  Speaker 1: He said, heartily, The campaign has begun. Now, then, how
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  Speaker 1: do you feel for your work? His words electrified me,
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  Speaker 1: and I exclaimed excitedly, Ready, doctor, Ready, we'll find him
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  Speaker 1: and bring him back. End of Chapter two