Skip to main content

Full text of "A little boy lost. Illustrated by A.D. M'Cormick"

See other formats 


A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 


BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR 


THE  PURPLE  LAND 

GREEN  MANSIONS 

EL  OMBU 


DUCKWORTH  &  CO. 


THE  NATURALIST  IN  LA  PLATA 
IDLE  DAYS  IN  PATAGONIA 


J.  M.  DENT  &  CO. 

NATURE  IN  DOWNLAND 

HAMPSHIRE  DAYS 

BIRDS  AND  MAN 

LONGMANS,  GREEN  &  CO. 


"TAKE  ME  THERE!"  p.  142. 


A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 


BY 


W.    H.   HUDSON 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  A.  D.   M'CORMICK 


LONDON 
DUCKWORTH   &   CO. 

3  HENRIETTA  STREET,  COVENT  GARDEN,  W.C 
1905 


All  rights  reserved 


fie 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  HOME  ON  THE  GREAT  PLAIN i 

CHAPTER  II 
THE  SPOONBILL  AND  THE  CLOUD n 

CHAPTER  III 
CHASING  A  FLYING  FIGURE          21 

CHAPTER  IV 
MARTIN  is  FOUND  BY  A  DEAF  OLD  MAN  ...        28 

CHAPTER  V 
THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  MIRAGE 40 

CHAPTER  VI 
MARTIN  MEETS  WITH  SAVAGES 59 

CHAPTER  VII 
ALONE  IN  THE  GREAT  FOREST 70 

CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  FLOWER  AND  THE  SERPENT 79 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IX 

PAGS 

THE  BLACK  PEOPLE  OF  THE  SKY 89 

CHAPTER  X 
A  TROOP  OF  WILD  HORSES 101 

CHAPTER  XI 
THE  LADY  OF  THE  HILLS 117 

CHAPTER  XII 
THE  LITTLE  PEOPLE  UNDERGROUND          ....      125 

CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  GREAT  BLUE  WATER 138 

CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  WONDERS  OF  THE  HILLS 145 

o                    CHAPTER  XV 
MARTIN'S  EYES  ARE  OPENED 154 

CHAPTER   XVI 
THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  MIST  164 

CHAPTER   XVII 
THE  OLD  MAN  OF  THE  SEA 175 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
MARTIN  PLAYS  WITH  THE  SEA 189 


A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

\ 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  HOME  ON  THE  GREAT  PLAIN 

SOME  like  to  be  one  thing,  some  another.  There 
is  so  much  to  be  done,  so  many  different  things  to 
do,  so  many  trades !  Shepherds,  soldiers,  sailors, 
ploughmen,  carters  —  one  could  go  on  all  day 
naming  without  getting  to  the  end  of  them.  For 
myself,  boy  and  man,  I  have  been  many  things, 
working  for  a  living,  and  sometimes  doing  things 
just  for  pleasure ;  but  somehow,  whatever  I  did, 
it  never  seemed  quite  the  right  and  proper  thing 
to  do  —  it  never  quite  satisfied  me.  I  always 
wanted  to  do  something  else  —  I  wanted  to  be  a 
•carpenter.  It  seemed  to  me  that  to  stand  among 
wood-shavings  and  sawdust,  making  things  at  a 
bench  with  bright  beautiful  tools  out  of  nice- 
smelling  wood,  was  the  cleanest,  healthiest,  prettiest 
•work  that  any  man  can  do.  Now  all  this  has 
nothing,  or  very  little,  to  do  with  my  story  :  I 


2  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

only  spoke  of  it  because  I  had  to  begin  somehow, 
and  it  struck  me  that  I  would  make  a  start  that 
way.  And  for  another  reason,  too.  His  father 
was  a  carpenter.  I  mean  Martin's  father — Martin, 
the  Little  Boy  Lost.  His  father's  name  was  John, 
and  he  was  a  very  good  man  and  a  good  carpenter, 
and  he  loved  to  do  his  carpentering  better  than 
anything  else  ;  in  fact  as  much  as  I  should  have 
loved  it  if  I  had  been  taught  that  trade.  He  lived 
in  a  seaside  town,  named  Southampton,  where  there 
is  a  great  harbour,  where  he  saw  great  ships  coming 
and  going  to  and  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  Now, 
no  strong,  brave  man  can  live  in  a  place  like  that, 
seeing  the  ships  and  often  talking  to  the  people 
who  voyaged  in  them  about  the  distant  lands 
where  they  had  been,  without  wishing  to  go  and 
see  those  distant  countries  for  himself.  When  it 
is  winter  in  England,  and  it  rains  and  rains,  and 
the  east  wind  blows,  and  it  is  grey  and  cold  and 
the  trees  are  bare,  who  does  not  think  how  nice 
it  would  be  to  fly  away  like  the  summer^ birds  to 
some  distant  country  where  the  sky  is  always  blue 
and  the  sun  shines  bright  and  warm  every  day  ? 
And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  John,  at  last,  when 
he  was  an  old  man,  sold  his  shop,  and  went  abroad. 
They  went  to  a  country  many  thousands  of  miles 
away — for  you  must  know  that  Mrs  John  went  too  ; 
and  when  the  sea  voyage  ended,  they  travelled  many 


THE  HOME  ON  THE  GREAT  PLAIN  3 

days  and  weeks  in  a  waggon  until  they  came  to  the 
place  where  they  wanted  to  live  ;  and  there,  in  that 
lonely  country,  they  built  a  house,  and  made  a 
garden,  and  planted  an  orchard.  It  was  a  desert, 
and  they  had  no  neighbours,  but  they  were  happy 
enough  because  they  had  as  much  land  as  they 
wanted,  and  the  weather  was  always  bright  and 
beautiful ;  John,  too,  had  his  carpenter's  tools 
to  work  with  when  he  felt  inclined ;  and,  best 
of  all,  they  had  little  Martin  to  love  and  think 
about. 

But  how  about  Martin  himself?  You  might 
think  that  with  no  other  child  to  prattle  to  and 
play  with  or  even  to  see,  it  was  too  lonely  a  home 
for  him.  Not  a  bit  of  it!  No  child  could  have 
been  happier.  He  did  not  want  for  company  ;  his 
playfellows  were  the  dogs  and  cats  and  chickens, 
and  any  creature  in  and  about  the  house.  But 
most  of  all  he  loved  the  little  shy  creatures  that 
lived  in  the  sunshine  among  the  flowers  —  the 
small  birds  and  butterflies,  and  little  beasties  and 
creeping  things  he  was  accustomed  to  see  outside 
the  gate  among  the  tall,  wild  sunflowers.  There 
were  acres  of  these  plants,  and  they  were  taller 
than  Martin,  and  covered  with  flowers  no  bigger 
than  marigolds,  and  here  among  the  sunflowers 
he  used  to  spend  most  of  the  day,  as  happy  as 
possible. 


4  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

He  had  other  amusements  too.  Whenever  John 
went  to  his  carpenter's  shop — for  the  old  man  still 
dearly  loved  his  carpentering — Martin  would  run 
in  to  keep  him  company.  One  thing  he  liked  to 
do  was  to  pick  up  the  longest  wood-shavings,  to 
wind  them  round  his  neck  and  arms  and  legs,  and 
then  he  would  laugh  and  dance  with  delight,  happy 
as  a  young  Indian  in  his  ornaments. 

A  wood-shaving  may  seem  a  poor  plaything  to  a 
child  with  all  the  toyshops  in  London  to  pick  and 
choose  from,  but  it  is  really  very  curious  and  pretty. 
Bright  and  smooth  to  the  touch,  pencilled  with 
delicate  wavy  lines,  while  in  its  spiral  shape  it 
reminds  one  of  winding  plants,  and  tendrils  by 
means  of  which  vines  and  creepers  support  them- 
selves, and  flowers  with  curling  petals,  and  curled 
leaves  and  sea-shells  and  many  other  pretty  natural 
objects. 

One  dayiftjartin  ran  into  the  house  looking  very 
flushed  anojbyous,  holding  up  his  pinafore  with 
something  heavy  in  it. 

"What  have  you  got  now?"  cried  his  father 
and  mother  in  a  breath,  getting  up  to  peep  at 
his  treasure,  for  Martin  was  always  fetching  in 
the  most  curious  out-of-the-way  things  to  show 
them. 

"  My  pretty  shaving,"  said  Martin  proudly. 

When  they  looked  they  were  amazed  and  hor- 


THE  HOME  ON  THE  GREAT  PLAIN     7 

rifted  to  see  a  spotted  green  snake  coiled  comfort- 
ably up  in  the  pinafore.  It  didn't  appear  to  like 
being  looked  at  by  them,  for  it  raised  its  curious 
heart-shaped  head  and  flicked  its  little  red,  forked 
tongue  at  them. 

His  mother  gave  a  great  scream,  and  dropped 
the  jug  she  had  in  her  hand  upon  the  floor,  while 
John  rushed  off  to  get  a  big  stick.  "  Drop  it, 
Martin — drop  the  wicked  snake  before  it  stings 
you,  and  I'll  soon  kill  it." 

Martin  stared,  surprised  at  the  fuss  they  were 
making ;  then,  still  tightly  holding  the  ends  of  his 
pinafore,  he  turned  and  ran  out  of  the  room  and 
away  as  fast  as  he  could  go.  Away  went  his  father 
after  him,  stick  in  hand,  and  out  of  the  gate  into 
the  thicket  of  tall  wild  sunflowers  where  Martin 
had  vanished  from  sight.  After  hunting  about  for 
some  time,  he  found  the  little  run-away  sitting  on 
the  ground  among  the  weeds. 

11  Where's  the  snake  ? "  he  cried. 

"Gone!"  said  Martin,  waving  his  little  hand 
around.  "I  let  it  go  and  you  mustn't  look 
for  it." 

John  picked  the  child  up  in  his  arms  and 
marched  back  to  the  room  and  popped  him  down 
on  the  floor,  then  gave  him  a  good  scolding.  "  It's 
a  mercy  the  poisonous  thing  didn't  sting  you,"  he 
said.  "You're  a  naughty  little  boy  to  play  with 


8  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

snakes,  because  they're  dangerous  bad  things,  and 
you  die  if  they  bite  you.  And  now  you  must  go- 
straight  to  bed ;  that's  the  only  punishment  that 
has  any  effect  on  such  a  harebrained  little  butter- 
fly." 

Martin,  puckering  up  his  face  for  a  cry,  crept 
away  to  his  little  room.  It  was  very  hard  to  have 
to  go  to  bed  in  the  daytime  when  he  was  not 
sleepy,  and  when  the  birds  and  butterflies  were  out 
in  the  sunshine  having  such  a  good  time. 

"  It's  not  a  bit  of  use  scolding  him — I  found 
that  out  long  ago,"  said  Mrs  John,  shaking 
her  head.  "  Do  you  know,  John,  I  can't  help 
thinking  sometimes  that  he's  not  our  child  at 
all." 

" Whose  child  do  you  think  he  is,  then?"  said 
John,  who  had  a  cup  of  water  in  his  hand,  for  the 
chase  after  Martin  had  made  him  hot,  and  he 
wanted  cooling. 

"  I  don't  know — but  I  once  had  a  very  curious 
dream." 

"  People  often  do  have  curious  dreams,"  said 
wise  old  John. 

"  But  this  was  a  very  curious  one,  and  I  re- 
member saying  to  myself,  if  this  doesn't  mean 
something  that  is  going  to  happen,  then  dreams 
don't  count  for  much." 

"  No  more  they  do,"  said  John. 


THE  HOME  ON  THE  GREAT  PLAIN     9 

"  It  was  in  England,  just  when  we  were  getting 
ready  for  the  voyage,  and  it  was  autumn,  when  the 
birds  were  leaving  us.  I  dreamed  that  I  went  out 
alone  and  walked  by  the  sea,  and  stood  watching  a 
great  number  of  swallows  flying  by  and  out  over 
the  sea — flying  away  to  some  distant  land.  By- 
and-by  I  noticed  one  bird  coming  down  lower  and 
lower  as  if  he  wanted  to  alight,  and  I  watched 
it,  and  it  came  down  straight  to  me,  and  at  last 
flew  right  into  my  bosom.  I  put  my  hand  on  it, 
and  looking  close  saw  that  it  was  a  martin,  all  pure 
white  on  its  throat  and  breast,  and  with  a  white 
patch  on  its  back.  Then  I  woke  up,  and  it  was 
because  of  that  dream  that  I  named  our  child 
Martin  instead  of  John  as  you  wished  to  do. 
Now,  when  I  watch  swallows  flying  about,  coming 
and  going  round  the  house,  I  sometimes  think  that 
Martin  came  to  us  like  that  one  in  the  dream,  and 
that  some  day  he  will  fly  away  from  us.  When  he 
gets  bigger,  I  mean." 

"  When  he  gets  littler,"  you  mean,  said  John 
with  a  laugh.  "  No,  no,  he's  too  big  for  a  swallow 
— a  Michaelmas  goose  would  be  nothing  to  him  for 
size.  But  here  I  am  listening  to  your  silly  dreams 
instead  of  watering  the  melons  and  cucumbers ! " 
And  out  he  went  to  his  garden,  but  in  a  minute  he 
put  his  head  in  at  the  door  and  said,  "  You  may 
go  and  tell  him  to  get  up  if  you  like.  Poor  little 


10 


A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 


fellow !  Only  make  him  promise  not  to  go  chum- 
ming with  spotted  snakes  any  more,  and  not  to 
bring  them  into  the  house,  because  somehow  they 
disagree  with  me." 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  SPOONBILL  AND  THE  CLOUD 

As  Martin  grew  in  years  and  strength,  his 
age  being  now  about  seven,  his  rambles  began 
to  extend  beyond  the  waste  grounds  outside 
of  the  fenced  orchard  and  gate.  These  waste 
grounds  were  a  wilderness  of  weeds :  here  were 
the  sunflowers  that  Martin  liked  best ;  the  wild 
cock's-comb,  flaunting  great  crimson  tufts ;  the 
yellow  flowering  mustard,  taller  than  the  tallest 
man ;  giant  thistle,  and  wild  pumpkin  with  spotted 
leaves  ;  the  huge  hairy  fox-gloves  with  yellow 
bells ;  feathery  fennel,  and  the  big  gray-green 
thorn-apples,  with  prickly  burs  full  of  bright  red 
seed,  and  long  white  wax-like  flowers,  that 
bloomed  only  on  the  evening.  He  could  never 
get  high  enough  on  anything  to  see  over  the  tops 
of  these  plants ;  but  at  last  he  found  his  way 
through  them,  and  discovered  on  their  further  side 
a  wide  grassy  plain  with  scarcely  a  tree  on  it, 
stretching  away  into  the  blue  distance.  On  this 
vast  plain  he  gazed  with  wonderment  and  delight. 
Behind  the  orchard  and  weedy  waste  the  ground 


12  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

sloped  down  to  a  stream  of  running  water,  full  of 
tall  rushes  with  dark  green  polished  stems,  and 
yellow  water-lilies.  All  along  the  moist  banks 
grew  other  flowers  that  were  never  seen  in  the  dry 
ground  above — the  blue  star,  and  scarlet  and  white 
verbenas ;  and  sweet-peas  of  all  colours  ;  and  the 
delicate  red  vinegar  flower,  and  angel's  hair,  and 
the  small  fragrant  lilies  called  Mary's- tears,  and 
tall  scattered  flags,  flaunting  their  yellow  blossoms 
high  above  the  meadow  grass. 

Every  day  Martin  ran  down  to  the  stream  to 
gather  flowers  and  shells  ;  for  many  curious  water- 
snails  were  found  there  with  brown  purple-striped 
shells  ;  and  he  also  liked  to  watch  the  small  birds 
that  build  their  nests  in  the.  rushes. 

There  were  three  of  these  small  birds  that  did 
not  appear  to  know  that  Martin  loved  them  ;  for 
no  sooner  would  he  present  himself  at  the  stream 
than  forth  they  would  flutter  in  a  great  state  of 
mind.  One,  the  prettiest,  was  a  tiny,  green-backed 
little  creature,  with  a  crimson  crest  and  a  velvet- 
black  band  across  a  bright  yellow  breast :  this  one 
had  a  soft,  low,  complaining  voice,  clear  as  a  silver 
bell.  The  second  was  a  brisk  little  grey  and  black 
fellow,  with  a  loud,  indignant  chuck,  and  a  broad 
tail  which  he  incessantly  opened  and  shut,  like  a 
Spanish  lady  playing  with  her  fan.  The  third  was 
a  shy,  mysterious  little  brown  bird,  peering  out  of 


THE  SPOONBILL  AND  THE  CLOUD    13 

the  clustering  leaves,  and  making  a  sound  like  the 
soft  ticking  of  a  clock.  They  were  like  three  little 
men,  an  Italian,  a  Dutchman,  and  a  Hindoo,  talk- 
ing together,  each  in  his  own  language,  and  yet 
well  able  to  understand  each  other.  Martin  could 
not  make  out  what  they  said,  but  suspected  that 
they  were  talking  about  him ;  and  he  feared  that 
their  remarks  were  not  always  of  a  friendly 
nature. 

At  length  he  made  the  discovery  that  the  water 
of  the  stream  was  perpetually  running  away.  If  he 
dropped  a  leaf  on  the  surface  it  would  hasten  down 
stream,  and  toss  about  and  fret  impatiently  against 
anything  that  stood  in  its  way,  until,  making  its 
escape,  it  would  quickly  hurry  out  of  sight.  Whither 
did  this  rippling,  running  water  go  ?  He  was  anxious 
to  find  out.  At  length,  losing  all  fear  and  fired  with 
the  sight  of  many  new  and  pretty  things  he  found 
while  following  it,  he  ran  along  the  banks  until, 
miles  from  home,  he  came  to  a  great  lake  he  could 
hardly  see  across,  it  was  so  broad.  It  was  a  wonder- 
ful place,  full  of  birds  ;  not  small,  fretful  creatures 
flitting  in  and  out  of  the  rushes,  but  great  majestic 
birds  that  took  very  little  notice  of  him.  Far  out 
on  the  blue  surface  of  the  water  floated  numbers  of 
wild  fowl,  and  chief  among  them  for  grace  and 
beauty  was  the  swan,  pure  white  with  black  head 
and  neck  and  crimson  bill.  There  also  were 


i4  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

stately  flamingoes,  stalking  along  knee-deep  in  the 
water,  which  was  shallow ;  and  nearer  to  the  shore 
were  flocks  of  rose-coloured  spoonbills  and  solitary 
big  grey  herons  standing  motionless  ;  also  groups  of 
white  egrets,  and  a  great  multitude  of  glossy  ibises, 
with  dark  green  and  purple  plumage  and  long 
sickle-like  beaks. 

The  sight  of  this  water  with  its  beds  of  rushes 
and  tall  flowering  reeds,  and  its  great  company  of 
birds,  filled  Martin  with  delight ;  and  other  joys 
were  soon  to  follow.  Throwing  off  his  shoes,  he 
dashed  with  a  shout  into  the  water,  frightening  a 
number  of  ibises  ;  up  they  flew,  each  bird  uttering 
a  cry  repeated  many  times,  that  sounded  just  like 
his  old  father's  laugh  when  he  laughed  loud  and 
heartily.  Then  what  was  Martin's  amazement  to 
hear  his  own  shout  and  this  chorus  of  bird  ha,  ha, 
ha's,  repeated  by  hundreds  of  voices  all  over  the 
lake.  At  first  he  thought  that  the  other  birds  were 
mocking  the  ibises  ;  but  presently  he  shouted  again, 
and  again  his  shouts  were  repeated  by  dozens  of 
voices.  This  delighted  him  so  much  that  he  spent 
the  whole  day  shouting  himself  hoarse  at  the  water- 
side. 

When  he  related  his  wonderful  experience  at 
home,  and  heard  from  his  father  that  the  sounds 
he  had  heard  were  only  echoes  from  the  beds  of 
rushes,  he  was  not  a  bit  wiser  than  before,  so  that 


THE  SPOONBILL  AND  THE  CLOUD    15 

the  echoes  remained  to  him  a  continual  wonder  and 
source  of  never-failing  pleasure. 

Every  day  he  would  take  some  noisy  instrument 
to  the  lake  to  startle  the  echoes ;  a  whistle  his 
father  made  him  served  for  a  time ;  after  that  he 
marched  up  and  down  the  banks,  rattling  a  tin 
canister  with  pebbles  in  it ;  then  he  got  a  large 
frying-pan  from  the  kitchen,  and  beat  on  it  with  a 
stick  every  day  for  about  a  fortnight.  When  he 
grew  tired  of  all  these  sounds,  and  began  casting 
about  for  some  new  thing  to  wake  the  echoes  with, 
he  all  at  once  remembered  his  father's  gun — just 
what  he  wanted,  for  it  was  the  noisiest  thing  in  the 
world.  Watching  his  opportunity,  he  got  secretly 
into  the  room  where  it  was  kept  loaded,  and 
succeeded  in  carrying  it  out  of  the  house  without 
being  seen  ;  then,  full  of  joyful  anticipations,  he 
ran  as  fast  as  the  heavy  gun  would  let  him  to  his 
favourite  haunt. 

When  he  arrived  at  the  lake  three  or  four  spoon- 
bills— those  beautiful,  tall,  rose-coloured  birds — 
were  standing  on  the  bank,  quietly  dosing  in  the 
hot  sunshine.  They  did  not  fly  away  at  his  ap- 
proach, for  the  birds  were  now  so  accustomed  to 
Martin  and  his  harmless  noises  that  they  took  very 
little  notice  of  him.  He  knelt  on  one  knee  and 
pointed  the  gun  at  them. 

"  Now,  birdies,   you  don't  know  what  a  fright 


16 


A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 


I'm  going  to  give  you — off  you  go  !  "  he  cried,  and 
pulled  the  trigger. 

The  roar  of  the  loud  report  travelled  all  over  the 


wide  lake,  creating  a  great  commotion  among  the 
feathered  people,  and  they  rose  up  with  a  general 
scream  into  the  air. 

All  this  was  of  no  benefit  to  Martin,  the  recoil  of 
the  gun  having  sent  him  flying  over,  his  heels  in 


THE  SPOONBILL  AND  THE  CLOUD    17 

the  air  ;  and  before  he  recovered  himself  the  echoes 
were  silent,  and  all  the  frightened  birds  were  settling 
on  the  water  again.  But  there,  just  before  him,  lay 
one  of  the  spoonbills,  beating  its  great  rose-coloured 
wings  against  the  ground. 

Martin  ran  to  it,  full  of  keen  distress,  but  was 
powerless  to  help ;  its  life's  blood  was  fast  running 
away  from  the  shot  wounds  it  had  received  in  its 
side,  staining  the  grass  with  crimson.  Presently 
it  closed  its  beautiful  ruby-coloured  eyes  and  the 
quivering  wings  grew  still. 

Then  Martin  sat  down  on  the  grass  by  its  side 
and  began  to  cry.  Oh,  that  great  bird,  half  as  tall 
as  himself,  and  so  many  times  more  lovely  and 
strong  and  beautiful  in  its  life — he  had  killed  it, 
and  it  would  never  fly  again !  He  raised  it  up 
very  tenderly  in  his  arms  and  kissed  it — kissed  its 
pale  green  head  and  rosy  wings  ;  then  out  of  his 
arms  it  tumbled  back  again  on  to  the  grass. 

"  Oh,  poor  bird,"  he  cried  suddenly,  "  open  your 
wings  and  fly  away  !  " 

But  it  was  dead. 

Then  Martin  got  up  and  stared  all  round  him  at 
the  wide  landscape,  and  everything  looked  strange 
and  dim  and  sorrowful.  A  shadow  passed  over 
the  lake,  and  a  murmur  came  up  out  of  the  rushes 
that  was  like  a  voice  saying  something  that  he 
could  not  understand.  A  great  cry  of  pain  rose 


i8  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

from  his  heart  and  died  to  a  whisper  on  his  lips  ; 
he  was  awed  into  silence.  Sinking  down  upon  the 
grass  again,  he  hid  his  face  against  the  rosy- 
breasted  bird  and  began  to  sob.  How  warm  the 
dead  bird  felt  against  his  cheek — oh,  so  warm — 
and  it  could  not  live  and  fly  about  with  the  others. 

At  length  he  sat  up  and  knew  the  reason  of  that 
change  that  had  come  over  the  earth.  A  dark 
cloud  had  sprung  up  in  the  south-west,  far  off  as 
yet,  and  near  the  horizon ;  but  its  fringe  already 
touched  and  obscured  the  low-hanging  sun,  and  a 
shadow  flew  far  and  vast  before  it.  Over  the  lake 
flew  that  great  shadow  :  the  waters  looked  cold 
and  still,  reflecting  as  in  a  polished  glass  the 
motionless  rushes,  the  grassy  bank,  and  Martin, 
sitting  on  it,  still  clasping  in  his  arms  the  dead 
rose-coloured  bird. 

Swifter  and  vaster,  following  close  upon  the 
flying  shadow,  came  the  mighty  cloud,  changing 
from  black  to  slaty  grey  ;  and  then,  as  the  sun 
broke  forth  again  under  its  lower  edge,  it  was  all 
flushed  with  a  brilliant  rose  colour.  But  what  a 
marvellous  thing  it  was,  when  the  cloud  covered  a 
third  of  the  wide  heavens,  almost  touching  the 
horizon  on  either  side  with  its  wing-like  extremities ; 
Martin,  gazing  steadily  at  it,  saw  that  in  its  form  it 
was  like  an  immense  spoonbill  flying  through  the 
air !  He  would  gladly  have  run  away  then  to  hide 


THE  SPOONBILL  AND  THE  CLOUD    19 

himself  from  its  sight,  but  he  dared  not  stir,  for  it 
was  now  directly  above  him  ;  so,  lying  down   on 


the  grass  and  hiding  his  face  against  the  dead  bird, 
he  waited  in  fear  and  trembling. 

He  heard  the  rushing  sound  of  the  mighty  wings: 


20  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

the  wind  they  created  smote  on  the  waters  in  a 
hurricane,  so  that  the  reeds  were  beaten  flat  on  the 
surface,  and  a  great  cry  of  terror  went  up  from  all 
the  wild  birds.  It  passed,  and  when  Martin  raised 
his  bowed  head  and  looked  again,  the  sun,  just 
about  to  touch  the  horizon  with  its  great  red 
globe,  shone  out,  shedding  a  rich  radiance  over 
the  earth  and  water ;  while  far  off,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  heavens,  the  great  cloud-bird  was 
rapidly  fading  out  of  sight. 


CHAPTER  III 

CHASING   A   FLYING   FIGURE 

AFTER  what  had  happened  Martin  could  never 
visit  the  waterside  and  look  at  the  great  birds 
wading  and  swimming  there  without  a  feeling  that 
was  like  a  sudden  coldness  in  the  blood  of  his  veins. 
The  rosy  spoonbill  he  had  killed  and  cried  over 
and  the  great  bird-cloud  that  had  frightened  him 
were  never  forgotten.  He  grew  tired  of  shouting 
to  the  echoes :  he  discovered  that  there  were  even 
more  wonderful  things  than  the  marsh  echoes  in 
the  world,  and  that  the  world  was  bigger  than  he 
had  thought  it.  When  spring  with  its  moist 
verdure  and  frail,  sweet-smelling  flowers  had  gone ; 
when  the  great  plain  began  to  turn  to  a  rusty- 
brown  colour,  and  the  dry  hard  earth  was  full  of 
cracks,  and  the  days  grew  longer  and  the  heat 
greater,  there  came  an  appearance  of  water  that 
quivered  and  glittered  and  danced  before  his 
wondering  sight,  and  would  lead  him  miles  from 
home  every  day  in  his  vain  efforts  to  find  out  what 
it  was.  He  could  talk  of  nothing  else,  and  asked 
endless  questions  about  it,  and  they  told  him  that 


22  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

this  strange  thing  was  nothing  but  the  Mirage, 
but  of  course  that  was  not  telling  him  enough, 
so  that  he  was  left  to  puzzle  his  little  boy- 
brains  over  this  new  mystery,  just  as  they  had 
puzzled  before  over  the  mystery  of  the  echoes. 
Now  this  Mirage  was  a  glittering  whiteness  that 
looked  just  like  water,  always  shining  and  dancing 
before  him  and  all  round  him,  on  the  dry  level 
plain  where  there  was  no  water.  It  was  never 
quiet,  but  perpetually  quivering  and  running  into 
wavelets  that  threw  up  crests  and  jets  of  sprays  as 
from  a  fountain,  and  showers  of  brilliant  drops  that 
flashed  like  molten  silver  in  the  sunlight  before 
they  broke  and  vanished,  only  to  be  renewed 
again.  It  appeared  every  day  when  the  sun  was 
high  and  the  air  hot,  and  it  was  often  called  7^he 
False  Water.  And  false  it  was,  since  it  always 
flew  before  him  as  he  ran,  so  that  although  he 
often  seemed  to  be  getting  nearer  to  it  he  could 
never  quite  overtake  it.  But  Martin  had  a  very 
determined  spirit  for  a  small  boy,  and  although  this 
appearance  of  water  mocked  his  efforts  a  hundred 
times  every  day  with  its  vanishing  brightness  and 
beauty,  he  would  not  give  up  the  pursuit. 

Now  one  day  when  there  was  not  a  cloud  on 
the  great  hot  whitey-blue  sky,  nor  a  breath  of  air 
stirring,  when  it  was  all  silent,  for  not  even  a  grass- 
hopper creaked  in  the  dead,  yellow,  motionless  grass, 


CHASING  A  FLYING  FIGURE        23 

the  whole  level  earth  began  to  shine  and  sparkle 
like  a  lake  of  silvery  water,  as  Martin  had  never 
seen  it  shine  before.  He  had  wandered  far  away 
from  home — never  had  he  been  so  far — and  still 
he  ran  and  ran  and  ran,  and  still  that  whiteness 
quivered  and  glittered  and  flew  on  before  him  ;  and 
ever  it  looked  more  temptingly  near,  urging  him  to 
fresh  exertions.  At  length,  tired  out  and  over- 
come with  heat,  he  sat  down  to  rest,  and  feeling 
very  much  hurt  at  the  way  he  had  been  deceived 
and  led  on,  he  shed  one  little  tear.  There  was  no 
mistake  about  that  tear  ;  he  felt  it  running  like  a 
small  spider  down  his  cheek,  and  finally  he  saw  it 
fall.  It  fell  on  to  a  blade  of  yellow  grass  and  ran 
down  the  blade,  then  stopped  so  as  to  gather  itself 
into  a  little  round  drop  before  touching  the  ground. 
Just  then,  out  of  the  roots  of  the  grass  beneath  it, 
crept  a  tiny  dusty  black  beetle  and  began  drinking 
the  drop,  waving  its  little  horns  up  and  down  like 
donkey's  ears,  apparently  very  much  pleased  at  its 
good  fortune  in  finding  water  and  having  a  good 
drink  in  such  a  dry,  thirsty  place.  Probably  it 
took  the  tear  for  a  drop  of  rain  just  fallen  out  of 
the  sky. 

"  You  are  a  funny  little  thing!"  exclaimed 
Martin,  feeling  now  less  like  crying  than 
laughing. 

The  wee  beetle,  satisfied  and  refreshed,  climbed 


24  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

up  the  grass-blade,  and  when  it  reached  the  tip 
lifted  its  dusty   black  wing-cases  just  enough   to 


throw  out  a  pair  of  fine  gauzy  wings  that  had  been 
neatly  folded  up  beneath  them,  and  flew  away. 

Martin,  following  its  flight,  had  his  eyes  quite 
dazzled  by  the  intense  glitter  of  the  False  Water, 
which  now  seemed  to  be  only  a  few  yards  from 
him  :  but  the  strangest  thing  was  that  in  it  there 
appeared  a  form — a  bright  beautiful  form  that 
vanished  when  he  gazed  steadily  at  it.  Again  he 
got  up  and  began  running  harder  than  ever  after 
the  flying  mocking  Mirage,  and  every  time  he 
stopped  he  fancied  that  he  could  see  the  figure 
again,  sometimes  like  a  pale  blue  shadow  on  the 
brightness  ;  sometimes  shining  with  its  own  exces- 
sive light,  and  sometimes  only  seen  in  outline,  like 
a  figure  graved  on  glass,  and  always  vanishing 


CHASING  A  FLYING  FIGURE        27 

when  looked  at  steadily.  Perhaps  that  white  water- 
like  glitter  of  the  Mirage  was  like  a  looking-glass, 
and  he  was  only  chasing  his  own  reflection.  I  can- 
not say,  but  there  it  was,  always  before  him,  a  face 
as  of  a  beautiful  boy,  with  tumbled  hair  and  laugh- 
ing lips,  its  figure  clothed  in  a  fluttering  dress  of 
lights  and  shadows.  It  also  seemed  to  beckon  to 
him  with  its  hand,  and  encourage  him  to  run  on 
after  it  with  its  bright  merry  glances. 

At  length  when  it  was  past  the  hour  of  noon, 
Martin  sat  down  under  a  small  bush  that  gave  just 
shade  enough  to  cover  him  and  none  to  spare.  It 
was  only  a  little  spot  of  shade  like  an  island  in  a  sea 
of  heat  and  brightness.  He  was  too  hot  and  tired 
to  run  more,  too  tired  even  to  keep  his  eyes  open, 
and  so,  propping  his  back  against  the  stem  of  the 
small  bush,  he  closed  his  tired  hot  eyes. 


CHAPTER  IV 

MARTIN    IS    FOUND    BY   A    DEAF    OLD    MAN 

MARTIN  kept  his  eyes  shut  for  only  about  a 
minute,  as  he  thought;  but  he  must  have  been 
asleep  some  time,  for  when  he  opened  them  the 
False  Water  had  vanished,  and  the  sun,  looking 
very  large  and  crimson,  was  just  about  to  set.  He 
started  up,  feeling  very  thirsty  and  hungry  and 
bewildered  ;  for  he  was  far,  far  from  home,  and 
lost  on  the  great  plain.  Presently  he  spied  a  man 
coming  towards  him  on  horseback.  A  very  funny- 
looking  old  man  he  proved  to  be,  with  a  face 
wrinkled  and  tanned  by  sun  and  wind,  until  it 
resembled  a  piece  of  ancient  shoe-leather  left  lying 
for  years  on  some  neglected  spot  of  ground.  A 
Brazil  nut  is  not  darker  nor  more  wrinkled  than 
was  the  old  man's  face.  His  long  matted  beard 
and  hair  had  once  been  white,  but  the  sun  out  of 
doors  and  the  smoke  in  his  smoky  hut  had  given 
them  a  yellowish  tinge,  so  that  they  looked  like 
dry  dead  grass.  He  wore  big  jack-boots,  patched 
all  over,  and  full  of  cracks  and  holes  ;  and  a  great 
pea-jacket,  rusty  and  ragged,  fastened  with  horn 


MARTIN  FOUND  BY  AN  OLD  MAN      29 


buttons   big   as   saucers.       His    old   brimless   hat 

looked  like  a  dilapidated  tea-cosy  on  his  head,  and 

to  prevent  it  from  being  carried  off  by  the  wind 

it  was  kept  on  with  an 

old  flannel   shirt-sleeve 

tied  under  his  chin.    His 

saddle,     too,     like     his 

clothes,  was  old  and  full 

of  rents,  with  wisps  of 

hair  and   straw-stuffing 

sticking  out  in  various 

places,  and  his  feet  were 

thrust  into  a  pair  of  big 

stirrups  made  of  pieces 

of  wood  and  rusty  iron 

tied  together  with  string 

and  wire. 

"  Boy,  what  may  you 
being  a  doing  of  here  ?  " 
bawled  this  old  man  at 
the  top  of  his  voice : 
for  he  was  as  deaf  as  a 
post,  and  like  a  good 
many  deaf  people  thought  it  necessary  to  speak 
very  loud  to  make  himself  heard. 

"  Playing,"  answered  Martin  innocently.  But  he 
could  not  make  the  old  man  hear  until  he  stood  up  on 
tip-toe  and  shouted  out  his  answer  as  loud  as  he  could. 


30  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

"Playing,"  exclaimed  the  old  man.  "Well,  I 
never  in  all  my  life!  When  there  ain't  a  house 
'cepting  my  own  for  leagues  and  leagues,  and  he 
says  he's  playing !  What  may  you  be  now  ?  "  he 
shouted  again. 

"  A  little  boy,"  screamed  Martin. 

"  I  knowed  that  afore  I  axed,"  said  the  other. 
Then  he  slapped  his  legs  and  held  up  his  hands 
with  astonishment,  and  at  last  began  to  chuckle. 
"  Will  you  come  home  along  o'  me  ? "  he 
shouted. 

"  Will  you  give  me  something  to  eat  ?  "  asked 
Martin  in  return. 

"  Haw,  haw,  haw,"  guffawed  the  old  fellow. 
It  was  a  tremendous  laugh,  so  loud  and  hollow, 
it  astonished  and  almost  frightened  Martin  to 
hear  it.  "Well  I  never!"  he  said.  "He  ain't 
no  fool,  neither.  Now,  old  Jacob,  just  you  take 
your  time  and  think  a  bit  afore  you  makes  your 
answer  to  that." 

This  curious  old  man,  whose  name  was  Jacob, 
had  lived  so  long  by  himself  that  he  always  thought 
out  loud — louder  than  other  people  talk  :  for,  being 
deaf,  he  could  not  hear  himself,  and  never  had  a 
suspicion  that  he  could  be  heard  by  others. 

"  He's  lost,  that's  what  he  is,"  continued  old  Jacob 
aloud  to  himself.  "  And  what's  more  he's  been  and 
gone  and  forgot  all  about  his  own  home,  and  all  he 


MARTIN  FOUND  BY  AN  OLD  MAN      31 

wants  is  summat  to  eat.  I'll  take  him  and  keep 
him,  that's  what  I'll  do  :  for  he's  a  stray  lamb,  and 
belongs  to  him  that  finds  him,  like  any  other  lamb 
I  finds.  I'll  make  him  believe  I'm  his  old  dad ;  for 
he's  little  and  will  believe  most  anythink  you  tells 
him.  I'll  learn  him  to  do  things  about  the  house — 
to  boil  the  kettle,  and  cook  the  wittels,  and  gather 
the  firewood,  and  mend  the  clothes,  and  do  the 
washing,  and  draw  the  water,  and  milk  the  cow, 
and  dig  the  potatoes,  and  mind  the  sheep  and — and 
— and  that's  what  I'll  learn  him.  Then,  Jacob,  you 
can  sit  down  and  smoke  your  pipe,  'cos  you'll  have 
someone  to  do  your  work  for  you." 

Martin  stood  quietly  listening  to  all  this,  not 
quite  understanding  the  old  man's  kind  intentions. 
Then  old  Jacob,  promising  to  give  him  something 
to  eat,  pulled  him  up  on  to  his  horse,  and  started 
home  at  a  gallop. 

Soon  they  arrived  at  a  mud  hovel,  thatched  with 
rushes,  the  roof  sloping  down  so  low  that  one  could 
almost  step  on  to  it ;  it  was  surrounded  with  a  ditch, 
and  had  a  potato  patch  and  a  sheep  enclosure ;  for 
old  Jacob  was  a  shepherd,  and  had  a  flock  of  sheep. 
There  were  several  big  dogs,  and  when  Martin  got 
down  from  the  horse,  they  began  jumping  round 
him,  barking  with  delight,  as  if  they  knew  him, 
half-smothering  him  with  their  rough  caresses. 
Jacob  led  him  into  the  hut,  which  looked  extremely 


32  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

dirty  and  neglected,  and  had  only  one  room.  In 
the  corners  against  the  walls  were  piles  of  sheep- 
skins that  had  a  strong  and  rather  unpleasant  smell : 
the  thatch  above  was  covered  with  dusty  cobwebs, 
hanging  like  old  rags,  and  the  clay  floor  was  littered 
with  bones,  sticks,  and  other  rubbish.  The  only 
nice  thing  to  see  was  a  tea-kettle  singing  and 
steaming  away  merrily  on  the  fire  in  the  grate. 
Old  Jacob  set  about  preparing  the  evening  meal  ; 
and  soon  they  sat  down  at  a  small  deal  table  to  a 
supper  of  cold  mutton  and  potatoes,  and  tea  which 
did  not  taste  very  nice,  as  it  was  sweetened  with 
moist  black  sugar.  Martin  was  too  hungry  to  turn 
up  his  nose  at  anything,  and  while  he  ate  and  drank 
the  old  man  chuckled  and  talked  aloud  to  himself 
about  his  good  fortune  in  finding  a  little  boy  to  do 
his  work  for  him.  After  supper  he  cleared  the 
table,  and  put  two  mugs  of  tea  on  it,  and  then  got 
out  his  clay  pipe  and  tobacco. 

"Now,  little  boy,"  he  cried,  " let's  have  a  jolly 
evening  together.  Your  very  good  health,  little 
boy,"  and  here  he  jingled  his  mug  against  Martin's, 
and  took  a  sip  of  tea. 

"  Would  you  like  to  hear  a  song,  little  boy  ? "  he 
said,  after  finishing  his  pipe. 

"  No,"  said  Martin,  who  was  getting  sleepy ;  but 
Jacob  took  no  to  mean  yes,  and  so  he  stood  up  on 
his  legs  and  sang  this  song  : — 


MARTIN  FOUND  BY  AN  OLD  MAN      33 

"  My  name  is  Jacob,  that's  my  name ; 
And  tho'  I'm  old,  the  old  man's  game — 

The  air  it  is  so  good,  d'ye  see  : 
And  on  the  plain  my  flock  I  keep, 
And  sing  all  day  to  please  my  sheep, 
And  never  lose  them  like  Bo-Peep, 

Becos  the  ways  of  them  are  known  to  me. 

"  When  winter  comes  and  winds  do  blow, 

Unto  my  sheep  so  good  I  go — 
I'm  always  good  to  them,  d'ye  see — 

Ho,  sheep,  say  I,  both  ram,  both  ewe, 

I've  sung  you  songs  all  summer  through, 

Now  lend  to  me  a  skin  or  two, 
To  keep  the  cold  and  wet  from  out  o'  me." 

This  song,  accompanied  with  loud  raps  on  the 
table,  was  bellowed  forth  in  a  dreadfully  discordant 
voice ;  and  very  soon  all  the  dogs  rushed  into  the 
room  and  began  to  bark  and  howl  most  dismally, 
which  seemed  to  please  the  old  man  greatly,  for  to 
him  it  was  a  kind  of  applause.  But  the  noise  was 
too  much  for  Martin  ;  so  he  stopped  up  his  ears, 
and  only  removed  his  fingers  from  them  when  the 
performance  was  over.  After  the  song  the  old  man 
offered  to  dance,  for  he  had  not  yet  had  amusement 
enough. 

"  Boy,  can  you  play  on  this  ? "  he  shouted, 
holding  up  a  frying-pan  and  a  big  stick  to  beat 
it  with. 

Of  course  Martin  could  play  on  that  instrument  : 
c 


34  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

he  had  often  enough  played  on  one  like  it  to  startle 
the  echoes  on  the  lake,  in  other  days.    And  so,  when 
he  had  been  lifted  on  to  the  table,  he  took  the  frying- 
pan  by  the  handle,  and  began  vigorously  beating  on 
it  with  the  stick.     He  did  not  mind  the  noise  now 
since  he  was  helping  to  make  it.     Meanwhile  old 
Jacob  began  flinging  his  arms  and  legs  about  in  all 
directions,  looking  like  a  scarecrow  made  to  tumble 
about  by  means  of  springs  and  wires.    He  pounded 
the  clay  floor  with  his  ponderous  old  boots  until  the 
room  was  filled  with  a  cloud  of  dust ;  then  in  his 
excitement  he  kicked  over  chairs,  pots,  kettles,  and 
whatever  came  in  his  way,  while  he  kept  on  revolving 
round  the  table  in  a  kind  of  crazy  fandango.    Martin 
thought  it  fine  fun,  and  screamed  with  laughter, 
and  beat  his  gong  louder  than  ever  ;  then  to  make 
matters  worse  old  Jacob  at  intervals  uttered  whoops 
and   yells,    which   the   dogs   answered   with   long 
howls  from  the  door,  until  the  din  was  something 
tremendous. 

At  length  they  both  grew  tired,  and  then  after 
resting  and  sipping  some  more  cold  tea,  prepared 
to  go  to  bed.  Some  sheep-skins  were  piled  up 
in  a  corner  for  Martin  to  sleep  on,  and  old  Jacob 
covered  him  with  a  horse-rug,  and  tucked  him  in 
very  carefully.  Then  the  kind  old  man  withdrew 
to  his  own  bed  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room. 

About  midnight   Martin   was  wakened   by  loud 


MARTIN  FOUND  BY  AN  OLD  MAN      37 

horrible  noises  in  the  room,  and  started  up  on  bed 
trembling  with  fear.  The  sounds  came  from  the  old 
man's  nose,  and  resembled  a  succession  of  blasts  on 
a  ram's  horn,  which,  on  account  of  its  roughness  and 
twisted  shape,  makes  a  very  bad  trumpet.  As  soon  as 
Martin  discovered  the  cause  of  the  noise  he  crept 
out  of  bed  and  tried  to  waken  the  old  snorer  by 
shouting  at  him,  tugging  at  his  arms  and  legs,  and 
finally  pulling  his  beard.  He  refused  to  wake.  Then 
Martin  had  a  bright  idea,  and  groping  his  way  to 
the  bucket  of  cold  water  standing  beside  the  fire- 
place, he  managed  to  raise  it  up  in  his  arms,  and 
poured  it  over  the  sleeper. 

The  snoring  changed  to  a  series  of  loud  choking 
snorts,  then  ceased.  Martin,  well  pleased  at  the 
success  of  his  experiment,  was  about  to  return  to 
his  bed  when  old  Jacob  struggled  up  to  a  sitting 
posture. 

"  Hullo,  wake  up,  little  boy  !  "  he  shouted.  "  My 
bed's  all  full  o*  water  —  goodness  knows  where  it 
comes  from." 

"  I  poured  it  over  you  to  wake  you  up.  Don't 
you  know  you  were  making  a  noise  with  your 
nose  ? "  cried  Martin  at  the  top  of  his  voice. 

"  You — you — you  throwed  it  over  me !  You — 
O  you  most  wicked  little  villain  you  !  You  throwed 
it  over  me,  did  you  ! "  and  here  he  poured  out  such 
a  torrent  of  abusive  words  that  Martin  was  horri- 


38  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

fied  and  cried  out,  "  O  what  a  naughty,  wicked, 
bad  old  man  you  are !  " 

It  was  too  dark  for  old  Jacob  to  see  him,  but  he 
knew  his  way  about  the  room,  and  taking  up  the 
wet  rug  that  served  him  for  covering  he  groped  his 
way  to  Martin's  bed  and  began  pounding  it  with 
the  rug,  thinking  the  naughty  little  boy  was  there. 

"  You  little  rascal  you — I  hope  you  like  that! — 
and  that ! — and  that !  "  he  shouted,  pounding  away. 
"  I'll  learn  you  to  throw  water  over  your  poof  old 
dad !  And  such  a — a  affectionate  father  as  I've 
been  too,  giving  him  sich  nice  wittels — and — and 
singing  and  dancing  to  him  to  teach  him  music. 
Perhaps  you'd  like  a  little  more,  you  takes  it  so 
quietly  ?  Well,  then,  take  that ! — and  that ! — and 
that!  Why,  how's  this — the  young  warmint  ain't 
here  arter  all !  Well,  I'm  blowed  if  that  don't  beat 
every  think !  What  did  he  go  and  chuck  that  water 
over  me  for?  What  a  walloping  I'll  give  him  in 
the  morning  when  it's  light !  and  now,  boy,  you 
may  go  and  sleep  on  my  bed,  'cos  it's  wet,  d'ye  see  ; 
and  I'll  sleep  on  yourn,  'cos  it's  dry." 

Then  he  got  into  Martin's  bed,  and  muttered 
and  grumbled  himself  to  sleep.  Martin  came  out 
from  under  the  table,  and  after  dressing  himself 
with  great  secrecy  crept  to  the  door  to  make  his 
escape.  It  was  locked  and  the  key  taken  away. 
But  he  was  determined  to  make  his  escape  some- 


MARTIN  FOUND  BY  AN  OLD  MAN      39 

how,  and  not  wait  to  be  whipped ;  so,  by  and  by, 
he  drew  the  little  deal  table  close  against  the  wall, 
and  getting  on  to  it  began  picking  the  rushes  one 
by  one  out  of  the  lower  part  of  the  thatch.  After 
working  for  half-an-hour,  like  a  mouse  eating  his 
way  out  of  a  soft  wooden  box,  he  began  to  see  the 
light  coming  through  the  hole,  and  in  another  half- 
hour  it  was  large  enough  for  him  to  creep  through. 
When  he  had  got  out,  he  slipped  down  to  the 
ground,  where  the  dogs  were  lying.  They  seemed 
very  glad  to  see  him,  and  began  pressing  round  to 
lick  his  face ;  but  he  pushed  them  off,  and  ran 
away  over  the  plain  as  fast  as  he  could.  The  stars 
were  shining,  but  it  was  very  dark  and  silent ;  only 
in  moist  places,  where  the  grass  grew  tall,  he  heard 
the  crickets  strumming  sadly  on  their  little  harps. 

At  length,  tired  with  running,  he  coiled  himself 
in  a  large  tussock  of  dry  grass  and  went  to  sleep, 
just  as  if  he  had  been  accustomed  to  sleep  out  of 
doors  all  his  life. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  MIRAGE 

IN  that  remote  land  where  Martin  was  born,  with 
its  bright  warm  climate  and  rich  soil,  no  person 
need  go  very  long  hungry — not  even  a  small  boy 
alone  and  lost  on  the  great  grassy  plain.  For  there 
is  a  little  useful  plant  in  that  place,  with  small 
leaves  like  clover  leaves  and  a  pretty  yellow  flower, 
which  bears  a  wholesome  sweet  root,  about  as  big 
as  a  pigeon's  egg  and  of  a  pearly  white  colour.  It 
is  so  well  known  to  the  settlers'  children  in  that 
desert  country  that  they  are  always  wandering  off 
to  the  plain  to  look  for  it,  just  as  the  children  in  a 
town  are  always  running  off  with  their  halfpence  to 
the  sweet-stuff  shop.  This  pretty  white  root  is 
watery,  so  that  it  satisfies  both  hunger  and  thirst 
at  the  same  time.  Now  when  Martin  woke  next 
morning,  he  found  a  great  many  of  the  little  three- 
leaved  plants  growing  close  to  the  spot  where  he 
had  slept,  and  they  supplied  him  with  a  nice  sweet 
breakfast.  After  he  had  eaten  enough  and  had 
amused  himself  by  rolling  over  and  over  several 
times  on  the  grass,  he  started  once  more  on  his 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  MIRAGE     41 

travels,  going  towards  the  sunrise  as  fast  as  he 
could  run.  He  could  run  well  for  a  small  boy,  but 
he  got  tired  at  last  and  sat  down  to  rest.  Then  he 
jumped  up  and  went  on  again  at  a  trot :  this  pace 
he  kept  up  very  steadily,  only  pausing  from  time  to 
time  to  watch  a  flock  of  small  white  birds  that 
followed  him  all  the  morning  out  of  curiosity.  At 
length  he  began  to  feel  so  hot  and  tired  that  he 
could  only  walk.  Still  he  kept  on  ;  he  could  see 
no  flowers  nor  anything  pretty  in  that  place — why 
should  he  stay  in  it  ?  He  would  go  on,  and  on, 
and  on,  in  spite  of  the  heat,  until  he  came  to  some- 
thing. But  it  grew  hotter  as  the  day  advanced, 
and  the  ground  about  him  more  dry  and  barren  and 
desolate,  until  at  last  he  came  to  ground  where 
there  was  scarcely  a  blade  of  grass  :  it  was  a  great, 
barren,  level  plain,  covered  with  a  slight  crust  of 
salt  crystals  that  glittered  in  the  sun  so  brightly 
that  it  dazzled  and  pained  his  eyesight.  Here 
were  no  sweet  watery  roots  for  refreshment,  and  no 
berries  ;  nor  could  Martin  find  a  bush  to  give  him 
a  little  shade  and  protection  from  the  burning  noon- 
day sun.  He  saw  one  large  dark  object  in  the 
distance,  and  mistaking  it  for  a  bush  covered  with 
thick  foliage  he  ran  towards  it;  but  suddenly  it 
started  up,  when  he  was  near,  and  waving  its  great 
grey  and  white  wings  like  sails,  fled  across  the 
plain.  It  was  an  ostrich ! 


42  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

Now  this  hot,  shadeless  plain  seemed  to  be  the 
very  home  and  dwelling-place  of  the  False  Water. 
It  sparkled  and  danced  all  round  him  so  close  that 
there  only  appeared  to  be  a  small  space  of  dry 
ground  for  him  to  walk  on  ;  only  he  was  always 
exactly  in  the  centre  of  the  dry  spot;  for  as  he 
advanced,  the  glittering  whiteness,  that  looked  so 
like  shiny  water,  flew  mockingly  before  his  steps. 
But  he  hoped  to  get  to  it  at  last,  as  every  time  he 
flagged  in  the  chase  the  mysterious  figure  of  the 
day  before  appeared  again  to  lure  him  still  further 
on.  At  length,  unable  to  move  another  step, 
Martin  sat  right  down  on  the  bare  ground  :  it  was 
like  sitting  on  the  floor  of  a  heated  oven,  but  there 
was  no  help  for  it,  he  was  so  tired.  The  air  was 
so  thick  and  heavy  that  he  could  hardly  breathe, 
even  with  his  mouth  wide  open  like  a  little  gasping 
bird ;  and  the  sky  looked  like  metal,  heated  to  a 
white  heat,  and  so  low  down  as  to  make  him  fancy 
that  if  he  were  to  throw  up  his  hands  he  would 
touch  it  and  burn  his  fingers. 

And  the  Mirage  —  oh,  how  it  glistened  and 
quivered  here  where  he  had  sat  down,  half  blind- 
ing him  with  its  brightness !  Now  that  he  could 
no  longer  run  after  it,  nor  even  walk,  it  came  to 
him,  breaking  round  and  over  him  in  a  thousand 
fantastic  shapes,  filling  the  air  with  a  million  white 
flakes  that  whirled  about  as  if  driven  by  a  furious 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE    MIRAGE     43 

wind,  although  not  a  breath  was  stirring.  They 
looked  like  whitest  snow-flakes,  yet  stung  his  cheeks 
like  sparks  of  fire.  Not  only  did  he  see  and  feel, 
he  could  even  hear  it  now  :  his  ears  were  filled 
with  a  humming  sound,  growing  louder  and  louder 
every  minute,  like  the  noise  made  by  a  large  colony 
of  bumble-bees  when  a  person  carelessly  treads  on 
their  nest,  and  they  are  angered  and  thrown  into 
a  great  commotion  and  swarm  out  to  defend  their 
home.  Very  soon  out  of  this  confused  murmur 
louder,  clearer  sounds  began  to  rise  ;  and  these  could 
be  distinguished  as  the  notes  of  numberless  musical 
instruments,  and  voices  of  people  singing,  talking, 
and  laughing.  Then,  all  at  once,  there  appeared 
running  and  skipping  over  the  ground  towards  him 
a  great  company  of  girls — scores  and  hundreds  of 
them  scattered  over  the  plain,  exceeding  in  loveli- 
ness all  lovely  things  that  he  had  ever  beheld. 
Their  faces  were  whiter  than  lilies,  and  their  loose, 
fluttering  hair  looked  like  a  mist  of  pale  shining 
gold ;  and  their  skirts,  that  rustled  as  they  ran, 
were  also  shining  like  the  wings  of  dragon- flies, 
and  were  touched  with  brown  reflections  and 
changing,  beautiful  tints,  such  as  are  seen  on 
soap  -  bubbles.  Each  of  them  carried  a  silver 
pitcher,  and  as  they  ran  and  skipped  along  they 
dipped  their  fingers  in  and  sprinkled  the  desert 
with  water.  The  bright  drops  they  scattered  fell 


44  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

all  around  in  a  grateful  shower,  and  flew  up  again 
from  the  heated  earth  in  the  form  of  a  white  mist 
touched  with  rainbow  colours,  filling  the  air  with 
a  refreshing  coolness. 

At  Martin's  side  there  grew  a  small  plant,  its 
grey-green  leaves  lying  wilted  on  the  ground,  and 
one  of  the  girls  paused  to  water  it,  and  as  she 
sprinkled  the  drops  on  it  she  sang: — 

"  Little  weed,  little  weed, 

In  such  need, 
Must  you  pain,  ask  in  vain, 

Die  for  rain, 
Never  bloom,  never  seed, 

Little  weed? 
O,  no,  no,  you  shall  not  die, 

From  the  sky 

With  my  pitcher  down  I  fly. 
Drink  the  rain,  grow  again, 

Bloom  and  seed, 

Little  weed." 

Martin  held  up  his  hot  little  hands  to  catch  some 
of  the  falling  drops  ;  then  the  girl,  raising  her 
pitcher,  poured  a  stream  of  cool  water  right  into 
his  face,  and  laughing  at  what  she  had  done,  went 
away  with  a  hop,  skip,  and  jump  after  her  com- 
panions. 

The  girls  with  pitchers  had  all  gone,  and  were 
succeeded   by   troops   of   boys,  just   as   beautiful, 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE    MIRAGE     45 

many  of  them  singing  and  some  playing  on  wind 
and  stringed  instruments ;  and  some  were  running, 
others  quietly  walking,  and  still  others  riding  on 
various  animals  —  ostriches,  sheep,  goats,  fawns, 
and  small  donkeys,  all  pure  white.  One  boy 
was  riding  on  a  ram,  and  as  he  came  by,  strum- 
strumming  on  a  little  silver-stringed  banjo,  he  sang 
a  very  curious  song,  which  made  Martin  prick  up 
his  ears  to  listen.  It  was  about  a  speckled  snake 
that  lived  far  away  on  a  piece  of  waste  ground  ; 
how  day  after  day  he  sought  for  his  lost  playmate 
— the  little  boy  that  had  left  him  ;  how  he  glided 
this  way  and  that  on  his  smooth,  bright  belly, 
winding  in  and  out  among  the  tall  wild  sunflowers ; 
how  he  listened  for  the  dear  footsteps  —  listened 
with  his  green  leaf-shaped,  little  head  raised  high 
among  the  leaves.  But  his  playmate  was  far  away 
and  came  no  more  to  feed  him  from  his  basin  of 
bread  and  milk,  and  caress  his  cold,  smooth  coils 
with  his  warm,  soft,  little  hand. 

Close  after  the  boy  on  the  ram  marched  four 
other  little  boys  on  foot,  holding  up  long  silver 
trumpets  in  readiness  to  blow.  One  of  them 
stopped,  and  putting  his  trumpet  down  close  to 
Martin's  ear,  puffed  out  his  little,  round  cheeks, 
and  blew  a  blast  that  made  him  jump.  Laughing 
at  the  joke,  they  passed  on,  and  were  succeeded  by 
others  and  still  others,  singing,  shouting,  twanging 


46  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

their  instruments,  and  some  of  them  stopping  for 
a  few  moments  to  look  at  Martin  or  play  some 
pretty  little  trick  on  him. 

But  now  all  at  once  Martin  ceased  to  listen  or 
even  look  at  them,  for  something  new  and  different 
was  coming,  something  strange  which  made  him 
curious  and  afraid  at  the  same  time.  It  was  a 
sound,  very  deep  and  solemn,  of  men's  voices 
singing  together  a  song  that  was  like  a  dirge  and 
coming  nearer  and  nearer,  and  it  was  like  the 
coming  of  a  storm  with  wind  and  rain  and  thunder. 
Soon  he  could  see  them  marching  through  the 
great  crowd  of  people — old  men  moving  in  a  slow 
procession,  and  they  had  pale  dark  faces  and  their 
hair  and  long  beards  were  whiter  than  snow,  and 
their  long  flowing  robes  were  of  the  silvery  dark 
colour  of  a  rain-cloud.  Then  he  saw  that  the 
leaders  of  the  procession  were  followed  by  others 
who  carried  a  couch  of  mother-o'-pearl  resting  on 
their  shoulders,  that  on  the  couch  reposed  a  pale 
sweet-looking  youth  dressed  in  silk  clothes  of  a 
delicate  rose-colour.  He  also  wore  crimson  shoes, 
and  a  tight-fitting  apple-green  skull  cap,  which 
made  his  head  look  very  small.  His  eyes  were 
ruby- red,  and  he  had  a  long  slender  nose  like  a 
snipe's  bill,  only  broad  and  flattened  at  the  tip. 
And  then  Martin  saw  that  he  was  wounded,  for  he 
had  one  white  hand  pressed  to  his  side  and  it  was 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  MIRAGE  47 

stained  with  blood,  and  drops  of  blood  were  trick- 
ling through  his  fingers. 

He  was  troubled  at  the  sight,  and  he  gazed  at 
him,  and  listened  to  the  words  of  that  solemn  song 
the  old  men  were  singing  but  could  not  understand 
them.  Not  because  he  was  a  child,  for  no  person, 
however  aged  and  wise  and  filled  with  all  learning 
he  might  be,  could  have  understood  that  strange 
song  about  Wonderful  Life  and  Wonderful  Death. 
Yet  there  was  something  in  it  too  which  anyone 
who  heard  it,  man  or  child,  could  understand ;  and 
he  understood  it,  and  it  went  into  his  heart  to  make 
it  so  heavy  and  sad  that  he  could  have  put  his 
little  face  down  on  the  ground  and  cried  as  he  had 
never  cried  before.  But  he  did  not  put  his  face 
down  and  cry,  for  just  then  the  wounded  youth 
looked  down  on  him  as  they  carried  him  past  and 
smiled  a  very  sweet  smile  :  then  Martin  felt  that  he 
loved  him  above  all  the  bright  and  beautiful  beings 
that  had  passed  before  him. 

Then,  when  he  was  gone  from  sight ;  when  the 
solemn  sound  of  the  voices  began  to  grow  fainter  in 
the  distance  like  the  sound  of  a  storm  when  it 
passes  away,  his  heaviness  of  heart  and  sorrow  left 
him,  and  he  began  to  listen  to  the  shouts  and  cries 
and  clanging  of  noisy  instruments  of  music  swiftly 
coming  nearer  and  nearer  ;  and  then  all  round  and 
past  him  came  a  vast  company  of  youths  and 


48  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

maidens  singing  and  playing  and  shouting  and 
dancing  as  they  moved  onwards.  They  were  the 
most  beautiful  beings  he  had  ever  seen  in  their 
shining  dresses,  some  all  in  white,  others  in  amber- 
colour,  others  in  sky-blue,  and  some  in  still  other 
lovely  colours.  "  The  Queen  !  the  Queen  !  "  they 
were  shouting.  "  Stand  up,  little  boy,  and  bow  to 
the  Queen." 

"  The  Queen  !  Kneel  to  the  Queen,  little  boy," 
cried  others. 

Then  many  others  in  the  company  began  crying 
out  together,  "  The  Queen !  lie  down  flat  on  the 
ground,  little  boy." 

"The  Queen!  Shut  your  eyes  and  open  your 
mouth,  little  boy." 

"  The  Queen  !  Run  away  as  fast  as  you  can,  little 
boy." 

"  Stand  on  your  head  to  the  Queen,  little 
boy ! " 

"  Crow  like  a  cock  and  bark  like  a  dog,  little 
boy !  " 

Trying  to  obey  all  these  conflicting  commands  at 
one  and  the  same  time,  poor  Martin  made  strange 
noises  and  tumbled  about  this  way  and  that  and  set 
them  all  laughing  at  him. 

"  The  Queen  wishes  to  speak  to  you — stand  up, 
little  boy,"  said  one  of  the  brightest  beings,  touch- 
ing Martin  on  the  cheek. 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE   MIRAGE     51 

There  before  him,  surrounded  by  all  that  beautiful 
company,  stood  the  horses  that  drew  her — great 
milk-white  horses  impatiently  pawing  the  dusty 
ground  with  their  hoofs  and  proudly  champing  their 
gold  bridles,  tossing  the  white  froth  from  their 
mouths.  But  when  he  lifted  his  eyes  timidly  to 
the  majestic  being  seated  in  her  chariot  before  him 
he  was  dazzled  and  overcome  with  the  sight.  Her 
face  had  a  brightness  that  was  like  that  of  the 
Mirage  at  noon,  and  the  eyes  that  gazed  on  him 
were  like  two  great  opals  ;  she  appeared  clothed  in 
a  white  shining  mist,  and  her  hair  spread  wide  on 
her  shoulders  looked  white — whiter  than  a  lamb's 
fleece,  and  powdered  with  fine  gold  that  sparkled 
and  quivered  and  ran  through  it  like  sparks  of 
yellow  fire  :  and  on  her  head  she  wore  a  crown  that 
was  like  a  diamond  seen  by  candle-light,  or  like  a 
dewdrop  in  the  sun,  and  every  moment  it  changed 
its  colour,  and  by  turns  was  a  red  flame,  then  a 
green,  then  a  yellow,  then  a  violet. 

"  Child,  you  have  followed  me  far,"  said  the 
Queen,  "and  now  you  are  rewarded,  for  you  have 
looked  on  my  face  and  I  have  refreshed  you  ;  and 
the  Sun,  my  father,  will  never  more  hurt  you  for 
my  sake." 

"  He  is  a  naughty  boy  and  unworthy  of  your 
goodness,"  spoke  one  of  the  bright  beings  standing 
near.  "  He  killed  the  spoonbill." 


52  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

"He  cried  for  the  poor  slain  bird,"  replied  the 
Queen.  "He  will  never  remember  it  without  grief, 
and  I  forgive  him." 

"He  went  away  from  his  home  and  thinks  no 
more  of  his  poor  old  father  and  mother,  who  cry  for 
him  and  are  seeking  for  him  on  the  great  plain," 
continued  the  voice. 

"  I  forgive  him,"  returned  the  Queen.  "  He  is 
such  a  little  wanderer — he  could  not  always  rest  at 
home." 

"  He  emptied  a  bucketful  of  water  over  good  old 
Jacob,  who  found  him  and  took  him  in  and  fed  him, 
and  sang  to  him,  and  danced  to  him,  and  was  a 
second  father  to  him." 

At  that  there  was  great  laughter ;  even  the 
Queen  laughed  when  she  said  that  she  forgave  him 
that  too.  And  Martin  when  he  remembered  old 
Jacob,  and  saw  that  they  only  made  a  joke  of  it, 
laughed  with  them.  But  the  accusing  voice  still 
went  on  : 

"  And  when  the  good  old  shepherd  went  to  sleep 
a  second  time,  then  the  naughty  little  boy  climbed 
on  the  table  and  picked  a  hole  in  the  thatch  and  got 
out  and  ran  away." 

Another  burst  of  laughter  followed;  then  a 
youth  in  a  shining,  violet  -  coloured  dress  sud- 
denly began  twanging  on  his  instrument  and 
wildly  capering  about  in  imitation  of  old 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE    MIRAGE     53 

Jacob's  dancing,  and  while  he  played  and  danced 
he  sang — 

"  Ho,  sheep  whose  ways  are  known  to  me, 

Both  ewe  and  lamb 

And  horned  ram 
Wherever  can  that  Martin  be  ? 

All  day  for  him  I  ride 

Over  the  plains  so  wide, 

And  on  my  horn  I  blow, 

Just  to  let  him  know 

That  Jacob's  on  his  track, 

And  soon  will  have  him  back, 

I  look  and  look  all  day, 

And  when  I'm  home  I  say: 

He  isn't  like  a  mole 

To  dig  himself  a  hole ; 

Them  little  legs  he's  got 

They  can't  go  far,  trot,  trot, 

They  can't  go  far,  run,  run, 

Oh  no,  it  is  his  fun ; 

I'm  sure  he's  near, 

He  must  be  here 

A-skulking  round  the  house 

Just  like  a  little  mouse. 
I'll  get  a  mouse-trap  in  a  minute, 

And  bait  with  cheese  that's  smelly 

To  bring  him  helter-skelly — 

That  little  empty  belly, 
And  then  I'll  have  him  in  it. 

Where  have  he  hid, 

That  little  kid, 

That  good  old  Jacob  was  so  kind  to  ? 
And  when  a  rest  I  am  inclined  to 


54  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 


Who'll  boil  the  cow  and  dig  the  kittles 
And  milk  the  stockings,  darn  the  wittles  ? 

Who  mugs  of  tea 

Will  drink  with  me  ? 

When  round  and  round 

I  pound  the  ground 

With  boots  of  cowhide,  boots  of  thunder, 
Who'll  help  to  make  the  noise,  I  wonder  ? 

Who'll  join  the  row 

Of  loud  bow-wow 
With  din  of  tin  and  copper  clatter 
With  bang  and  whang  of  pan  and  platter  ? 

O  when  I  find 

Him  fast  I'll  bind 
And  upside  down  I'll  hold  him ; 
And  when  a-home  I  gallop  late-o 
I'll  give  him  no  more  cold  potato, 
But  cuff  him,  box  him,  bang  him,  scold  him, 
And  drench  him  with  a  pail  of  water, 
And  fill  his  mouth  with  wool  and  mortar, 
Because  he  don't  do  things  he  oughter, 
But  does  the  things  he  ought  not  to, 

Then  tell  me  true, 

Both  ram  and  ewe, 
Wherever  have  that  Martin  got  to  ? 
For  Jacob's  old  and  deaf  and  dim 

And  never  knowed  the  ways  of  him." 


"  I  forgive  him  everything,"  said  the  Queen 
very  graciously,  when  the  song  ended,  at 
which  they  all  laughed.  "  And  now  let  two 
of  you  speak  and  each  bestow  a  gift  on  him. 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE    MIRAGE     55 

He  deserves  to  be  rewarded  for  running  so  far 
after  us." 

Then  one  of  those  bright  beautiful  beings  came 
forward  and  cried  out:  "  He  loves  wandering ;  let 
him  have  his  will  and  be  a  wanderer  all  his  days 
on  the  face  of  the  earth." 

11  Well  spoken  !  "  cried  the  Queen. 

"  A  wanderer  he  is  to  be,"  said  another  :  "  let  the 
sea  do  him  no  harm — that  is  my  gift." 

"  So  be  it,"  said  the  Queen  ;  "  and  to  your  two 
gifts  I  shall  add  a  third.  Let  all  men  love  him.  Go 
now,  Martin,  you  are  well  equipped,  and  satisfy 
your  heart  with  the  sight  of  all  the  strange  and 
beautiful  things  the  world  contains." 

"  Kneel  and  thank  the  Queen  for  her  gifts,"  said 
a  voice  to  Martin. 

He  dropped  on  to  his  knees,  but  could  speak  no 
word  ;  when  he  raised  his  eyes  again  the  whole 
glorious  company  had  vanished. 

The  air  was  cool  and  fragrant,  the  earth  moist 
as  if  a  shower  had  just  fallen.  He  got  up  and 
slowly  walked  onward  until  near  sunset,  thinking 
of  nothing  but  the  beautiful  people  of  the  Mirage. 
He  had  left  the  barren  salt  plain  behind  by  now ; 
the  earth  was  covered  with  yellow  grass,  and  he 
found  and  ate  some  sweet  roots  and  berries.  Then 
feeling  very  tired,  he  stretched  himself  out  on  his 
back  and  began  to  wonder  if  what  he  had  seen  was 


56  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

nothing  but  a  dream.  Yes,  it  was  surely  a  dream, 
but  then — in  his  life  dreams  and  realities  were  so 
mixed — how  was  he  always  to  know  one  from  the 


other?  Which  was  most  strange,  the  Mirage 
that  glittered  and  quivered  round  him  and  flew 
mockingly  before  him,  or  the  people  of  the  Mirage 
he  had  seen  ? 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE   MIRAGE     57 

If  you  are  lying  quite  still  with  your  eyes  shut 
and  someone  comes  softly  up  and  stands  over 
you,  somehow  you  know  it,  and  open  your  eyes  to 
see  who  it  is.  Just  in  that  way  Martin  knew  that 
someone  had  come  and  was  standing  over  him. 
Still  he  kept  his  eyes  shut,  feeling  sure  that  it  was 
one  of  those  bright  and  beautiful  beings  he  had 
lately  seen,  perhaps  the  Queen  herself,  and  that 
the  sight  of  her  shining  countenance  would  dazzle 
his  eyes.  Then  all  at  once  he  thought  that  it 
might  be  old  Jacob,  who  would  punish  him  for 
running  away.  He  opened  his  eyes  very  quickly 
then.  What  do  you  think  he  saw  ?  An  ostrich — 
that  same  big  ostrich  he  had  seen  and  startled  early 
in  the  day!  It  was  standing  over  him,  staring 
down  with  its  great  vacant  eyes.  Gradually  its 
head  came  lower  and  lower  down,  until  at  last 
it  made  a  sudden  peck  at  a  metal  button  on 
his  jacket,  and  gave  such  a  vigorous  tug  at  it 
that  Martin  was  almost  lifted  off  the  ground.  He 
screamed  and  gave  a  jump  ;  but  it  was  nothing  to 
the  jump  the  ostrich  gave  when  he  discovered  that 
the  button  belonged  to  a  living  boy.  He  jumped 
six  feet  high  into  the  air  and  came  down  with  a 
great  flop  ;  then  feeling  rather  ashamed  of  himself 
for  being  frightened  at  such  an  insignificant  thing 
as  Martin,  he  stalked  majestically  away,  glancing 
back,  first  over  one  shoulder  then  the  other,  and 


58  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

kicking  up  his  heels  behind  him  in  a  somewhat 
disdainful  manner. 

Martin  laughed,  and  in  the  middle  of  his  laugh 
he  fell  asleep. 


CHAPTER  VI 

MARTIN    MEETS    WITH    SAVAGES 

WHEN,  on  waking  next  morning,  Martin  took  his 
first  peep  over  the  grass,  there,  directly  before  him, 
loomed  the  great  blue  hills,  or  Sierras  as  they  are 
called  in  that  country.  He  had  often  seen  them, 
long  ago  in  his  distant  home  on  clear  mornings, 
when  they  had  appeared  like  a  blue  cloud  on  the 
horizon.  He  had  even  wished  to  get  to  them,  to 
tread  their  beautiful  blue  summits  that  looked  as  if 
they  would  be  soft  to  his  feet — softer  than  the  moist 
springy  turf  on  the  plain ;  but  he  wished  it  only  as 
one  wishes  to  get  to  some  far-off  impossible  place 
—a  white  cloud,  for  instance,  or  the  blue  sky  itself. 
Now  all  at  once  he  unexpectedly  found  himself  near 
them,  and  the  sight  fired  him  with  a  new  desire. 
The  level  plain  had  nothing  half  so  enchanting  as 
the  cloud-like  blue  airy  hills,  and  very  soon  he  was 
up  on  his  feet  and  hurrying  towards  them.  In  spite 
of  hurrying  he  did  not  seem  to  get  any  nearer  ;  still 
it  was  pleasant  to  be  always  going  on  and  on,  know- 
ing that  he  would  get  to  them  at  last.  He  had  now 
left  the  drier  plains  behind  ;  the  earth  was  clothed 


60  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

with  green  and  yellow  grass  easy  to  the  feet,  and 
during  the  day  he  found  many  sweet  roots  to  re- 
fresh him.  He  also  found  quantities  of  cam-berries, 
a  round  fruit  a  little  less  than  a  cherry  in  size,  bright 
yellow  in  colour,  and  each  berry  inside  a  green  case 
or  sheath  shaped  like  a  heart.  They  were  very 
sweet.  At  night  he  slept  once  more  in  the  long 
grass,  and  when  daylight  returned  he  travelled  on, 
feeling  very  happy  there  alone — happy  to  think  that 
he  would  get  to  the  beautiful  hills  at  last.  But  only 
in  the  early  morning  would  they  look  distinct  and 
near  ;  later  in  the  day,  when  the  sun  grew  hot,  they 
would  seem  further  off,  like  a  cloud  resting  on  the 
earth,  which  made  him  think  sometimes  that  they 
moved  on  as  he  went  towards  them. 

On  the  third  day  he  came  to  a  high  piece  of 
ground;  and  when  he  got  to  the  top  and  looked 
over  to  the  other  side  he  saw  a  broad  green  valley 
with  a  stream  of  water  running  in  it :  on  one  hand 
the  valley  with  its  gleaming  water  stretched  away 
as  far  as  he  could  see,  or  until  it  lost  itself  in  the 
distant  haze ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  on  looking  up 
the  valley,  there  appeared  a  great  forest,  looking 
blue  in  the  distance ;  and  this  was  the  first  forest 
that  Martin  had  ever  seen.  Close  by,  down  in  the 
green  valley  before  him,  there  was  something  else 
to  attract  his  attention,  and  this  was  a  large  group 
of  men  and  horses.  No  sooner  had  he  caught 


MARTIN  MEETS  WITH  SAVAGES     63 

sight  of  them  than  he  set  off  at  a  run  towards 
them,  greatly  excited  ;  and  as  he  drew  near  they 
all  rose  up  from  the  grass  where  they  had  been 
sitting  or  lying  to  stare  at  him,  filled  with  wonder 
at  the  sight  of  that  small  boy  alone  in  the  desert. 
There  were  about  twenty  men  and  women,  and 
several  children  ;  the  men  were  very  big  and  tall, 
and  were  dressed  only  in  robes  made  of  the  skins 
of  some  wild  animal ;  they  had  broad,  flat  faces,  and 
dark  copper-coloured  skins,  and  their  long  black 
hair  hung  down  loose  on  their  backs. 

These  strange,  rude-looking  people  were  savages, 
and  are  supposed  to  be  cruel  and  wicked,  and  to 
take  pleasure  in  torturing  and  killing  any  lost  or 
stray  person  that  falls  into  their  hands  ;  but  indeed 
it  is  not  so,  as  you  shall  shortly  find.  Poor  ignor- 
ant little  Martin,  who  had  never  read  a  book  in  his 
life,  having  always  refused  to  learn  his  letters,  knew 
nothing  about  savages,  and  feared  them  no  more 
than  he  had  feared  old  Jacob,  or  the  small  spotted 
snake,  the  very  sight  of  which  had  made  grown-up 
people  scream  and  run  away.  So  he  marched 
boldly  up  and  stared  at  them,  and  they  in  turn 
stared  at  him  out  of  their  great,  dark,  savage 
eyes. 

They  had  just  been  eating  their  supper  of  deer's 
flesh,  roasted  on  the  coals,  and  after  a  time  one  of 
the  savages,  as  an  experiment,  took  up  a  bone  of 


64  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

meat  and  offered  it  to  him.  Being  very  hungry  he 
gladly  took  it,  and  began  gnawing  the  meat  off  the 
bone. 

When  he  had  satisfied  his  hunger,  he  began  to 
look  round  him,  still  stared  at  by  the  others.  Then 
one  of  the  women,  who  had  a  good-humoured  face, 
caught  him  up,  and  seating  him  on  her  knees,  tried 
to  talk  to  him. 

"  Melu-melumia  quiltahou  papa  shani  cha  sil- 
mata,"  she  spoke,  gazing  very  earnestly  into  his 
face. 

They  had  all  been  talking  among  themselves 
while  he  was  eating  ;  but  he  did  not  know  that 
savages  had  a  language  of  their  own  different  from 
ours,  and  so  thought  that  they  had  only  been  amus- 
ing themselves  with  a  kind  of  nonsense  talk,  which 
meant  nothing.  Now  when  the  woman  addressed 
this  funny  kind  of  talk  to  him,  he  answered  her  in 
her  own  way,  as  he  imagined,  readily  enough : 
"  Hey  diddle-diddle,  the  cat's  in  the  fiddle,  fe  fo  fi 
fum,  chumpty-chumpty-chum,  with  bings  on  her 
ringers,  and  tells  on  her  boes." 

They  all  listened  with  grave  attention,  as  if 
he  had  said  something  very  important.  Then 
the  woman  continued  :  "  Huanatopa  ana  ana 
quiltahou." 

To  which  Martin  answered,  "  Theophilus  This- 
tle, the  thistle-sifter,  sifted  a  sieve  of  unsifted 


MARTIN  MEETS  WITH  SAVAGES      65 

thistles ;  and  if  Theophilus — oh,  I  won't  say  any 
more ! " 

Then  she  said,  "  Quira-holata  silhoa  mari  changa 
changa." 

"  Cock-a-doodle-do  ! "  cried  Martin,  getting  tired 
and  impatient.  "  Baa,  baa,  black  sheep,  bow,  wow, 
wow  ;  goosey,  goosey  gander ;  see-saw,  Mary  Daw ; 
chick-a-dee-dee,  will  you  listen  to  me.  And  now 
let  me  go  !  " 

But  she  held  him  fast  and  kept  on  talking  her 
nonsense  language  to  him,  until  becoming  vexed  he 
caught  hold  of  her  hair  and  pulled  it.  She  only 
laughed  and  tossed  him  up  into  the  air  and  caught 
him  again,  just  as  he  might  have  tossed  and  caught 
a  small  kitten.  At  length  she  released  him,  for 
now  they  were  all  beginning  to  lie  down  by  the  fire 
to  sleep,  as  it  was  getting  dark  ;  Martin  being  very 
tired  settled  himself  down  among  them,  and  as 
one  of  the  women  threw  a  skin  over  him  he  slept 
very  comfortably. 

Next  morning  the  hills  looked  nearer  than  ever 
just  across  the  river ;  but  little  he  cared  for  hills 
now,  and  when  the  little  savage  children  went  out 
to  hunt  for  berries  and  sweet  roots  he  followed  and 
spent  the  day  agreeably  enough  in  their  company. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  his  new  play- 
fellows all  threw  off  their  little  skin  cloaks  and 
plunged  into  the  stream  to  bathe ;  and  Martin, 


66  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

seeing  how  much  they  seemed  to  enjoy  being  in 
the  water,    undressed  himself  and    went   in   after 
them.     The  water  was  not  too  deep  in  that  place, 
and  as  it  was  rare  fun  splashing  about  and  trying 
to  keep  his  legs  in  the  swift  current  and  clamber- 
ing over  slippery  rocks,  he  went  out  some  distance 
from  the  bank.     All  at  once  he  discovered  that  the 
others  had  left  him,  and  looking  back  he  saw  that 
they  were  all  scrambling  out  on  to  the  bank  and 
fighting  over  his  clothes.     Back  he  dashed  in  haste 
to  rescue  his  property,  but  by  the  time  he  reached 
the  spot  they  had  finished  dividing  the  spoil,  and 
jumping  up  they  ran  away  and   scattered    in    all 
directions,    one   wearing    his    jacket,    another    his 
knickerbockers,   another  his   shirt   and    one    sock, 
another  his  cap  and  shoes,  and  the  last  the  one 
remaining   sock   only.     In    vain    he   pursued    and 
called  after  them  ;  and  at  last  he  was  compelled  to 
follow   them    unclothed    to   the    camping    ground, 
where  he  presented  himself  crying  piteously  ;  but 
the  women  who  had  been  so  kind  to  him  would  not 
help  him  now,  and  only  laughed  to  see  how  white 
his  skin  looked  by  contrast  with  the  dark  copper- 
coloured  skins  of  the  other  children.     At  length 
one  of  them  compassionately  gave  him  a  small  soft- 
furred  skin  of  some  wild  animal,  and  fastened  it  on 
him  like  a  cloak ;  and  this  he  was   compelled  to 
wear  with  shame  and  grief,  feeling  very  strange  and 


MARTIN  MEETS  WITH  SAVAGES     67 

uncomfortable  in  it.  But  the  feeling  of  discomfort 
in  that  new  savage  dress  was  nothing  to  the  sense 
of  injury  that  stung  him,  and  in  his  secret  heart  he 
was  determined  not  to  lose  his  own  clothes. 

When  the  children  went  out  next  day  he  followed 
them,  watching  and  waiting  for  a  chance  to  recover 
anything  that  belonged  to  him ;  and  at  last,  seeing 
the  little  boy  who  wore  his  cap  off  his  guard,  he 
made  a  sudden  rush,  and  snatching  it  off  the  young 
savage's  head,  put  it  firmly  upon  his  own.  But  the 
little  savage  now  regarded  that  cap  as  his  very 
own  :  he  had  taken  it  by  force  or  stratagem,  and 
had  worn  it  on  his  head  since  the  day  before,  and 
that  made  it  his  property;  and  so  at  Martin  he 
went,  and  they,  fought  stoutly  together,  and  being 
nearly  of  a  size,  he  could  not  conquer  the  little 
white  boy.  Then  he  cried  out  to  the  others  to  help 
him,  and  they  came  and  overthrew  Martin,  and 
deprived  him  not  only  of  his  cap,  but  of  his  little 
skin  cloak  as  well,  and  then  punished  him  until 
he  screamed  aloud  with  pain.  Leaving  him  crying 
on  the  ground,  they  ran  back  to  the  camp.  He 
followed  shortly  afterwards,  but  got  no  sympathy, 
for,  as  a  rule,  grown-up  savages  do  not  trouble 
themselves  very  much  about  these  little  matters  : 
they  leave  their  children  to  settle  their  own 
disputes. 

During  the  rest  of  that  day  Martin  sulked  by 


68  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

himself  behind  a  great  tussock  of  grass,  refusing  to 
eat  with  the  others,  and  when  one  of  the  women 
went  to  him  and  offered  him  a  piece  of  meat  he 
struck  it  vindictively  out  of  her  hand.  She  only 
laughed  a  little  and  left  him. 

Now  when  the  sun  was  setting,  and  he  was 
beginning  to  feel  very  cold  and  miserable  in  his 
nakedness,  the  men  were  seen  returning  from  the 
hunt ;  but  instead  of  riding  slowly  to  the  camp  as 
on  other  days,  they  came  riding  furiously  and 
shouting.  The  moment  they  were  seen  and  their 
shouts  heard  the  women  jumped  up  and  began 
hastily  packing  the  skins  and  all  their  belongings 
into  bundles  ;  and  in  less  than  ten  minutes  the 
whole  company  was  mounted  on  horseback  and 
ready  for  flight.  One  of  the  men  picked  Martin 
up  and  placed  him  on  the  horse's  back  before  him, 
and  then  they  all  started  at  a  swift  canter  up 
the  valley  towards  that  great  blue  forest  in  the 
distance. 

In  about  an  hour  they  came  to  it :  it  was  then 
quite  dark,  the  sky  powdered  with  numberless  stars  ; 
but  when  they  got  among  the  trees  the  blue,  dusky 
sky  and  brilliant  stars  disappeared  from  sight,  as  if 
a  black  cloud  had  come  over  them,  so  dark  was  it 
in  the  forest.  For  the  trees  were  very  tall  and 
mingled  their  branches  overhead  ;  but  they  had  got 
into  a  narrow  path  known  to  'them,  and  moving 


MARTIN  MEETS  WITH  SAVAGES     69 

slowly  in  single  file,  they  kept  on  for  about  two 
hours  longer,  then  stopped  and  dismounted  under 
the  great  trees,  and  lying  down  all  close  together, 
went  to  sleep.  Martin,  lying  among  them,  crept 
under  the  edge  of  one  of  the  large  skin  robes  and, 
feeling  warm,  he  soon  fell  fast  asleep  and  did  not 
wake  till  daylight. 


CHAPTER  VII 

ALONE  IN  THE  GREAT  FOREST 

IMAGINE  to  yourself  one  accustomed  to  live  in  the 
great  treeless  plain,  accustomed  to  open  his  eyes 
each  morning  to  the  wide  blue  sky  and  the  brilliant 
sunlight,  now  for  the  first  time  opening  them  in 
that  vast  gloomy  forest,  where  neither  wind  nor 
sunlight  came,  and  no  sound  was  heard,  and  twi- 
light lasted  all  day  long!  All  round  him  were 
trees  with  straight,  tall  grey  trunks,  and  behind 
and  beyond  them  yet  other  trees — trees  every- 
where that  stood  motionless  like  pillars  of  stone 
supporting  the  dim  green  roof  of  foliage  far  above. 
It  was  like  a  vast  gloomy  prison  in  which  he  had 
been  shut,  and  he  longed  to  make  his  escape  to 
where  he  could  see  the  rising  sun  and  feel  the 
fanning  wind  on  his  cheeks.  He  looked  round  at 
the  others :  they  were  all  stretched  on  the  ground 
still  in  a  deep  sleep,  and  it  frightened  him  a  little 
to  look  at  their  great,  broad,  dark  faces  framed  in 
masses  of  black  hair.  He  felt  that  he  hated  them, 
for  they  had  treated  him  badly  :  the  children  had 
taken  his  clothes,  compelling  him  to  go  naked,  and 


ALONE  IN  THE  GREAT  FOREST     71 

had  beaten  and  bruised  him,  and  he  had  not  been 
pitied  and  helped  by  their  elders.  By  and  by, 
very  quietly  and  cautiously  he  crept  away  from 
among  them,  and  made  his  escape  into  the  gloomy 
wood.  On  one  side  the  forest  shadows  looked  less 
dark  than  the  other,  and  on  that  side  he  went,  for 
it  was  the  side  on  which  the  sun  rose,  and  the 
direction  he  had  been  travelling  when  he  first  met 
with  the  savages.  On  and  on  he  went,  over  the 
thick  bed  of  dark  decaying  leaves,  which  made  no 
rustling  sound,  looking  like  a  little  white  ghost  of 
a  boy  in  that  great  gloomy  wood.  But  he  came  to 
no  open  place,  nor  did  he  find  anything  to  eat 
when  hunger  pressed  him  ;  for  there  were  no  sweet 
roots  and  berries  there,  nor  any  plant  that  he  had 
ever  seen  before.  It  was  all  strange  and  gloomy, 
and  very  silent.  Not  a  leaf  trembled ;  for  if  one 
had  trembled  near  him  he  would  have  heard  it 
whisper  in  that  profound  stillness  that  made  him 
hold  his  breath  to  listen.  But  sometimes  at  long 
intervals  the  silence  would  be  broken  by  a  sound 
that  made  him  start  and  stand  still  and  wonder 
what  had  caused  it.  For  the  rare  sounds  in  the 
forest  were  unlike  any  sounds  he  had  heard 
before.  Three  or  four  times  during  the  day  a 
burst  of  loud,  hollow,  confused  laughter  sounded 
high  up  among  the  trees ;  but  he  saw  nothing, 
although  most  likely  the  creature  that  had 


72  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

laughed  saw  him  plainly  enough  from  its  hiding- 
place  in  the  deep  shadows  as  it  ran  up  the  trunks 
of  the  trees. 

At  length  he  came  to  a  river  about  thirty  or 
forty  yards  wide  ;  and  this  was  the  same  river  that 
he  had  bathed  in  many  leagues  further  down  in  the 
open  valley.  It  is  called  by  the  savages  Co-viota- 
co-chamanga,  which  means  that  it  runs  partly  in 
the  dark  and  partly  in  the  light.  Here  it  was  in 
the  dark.  The  trees  grew  thick  and  tall  on  its 
banks,  and  their  wide  branches  met  and  inter- 
mingled above  its  waters  that  flowed  on  without  a 
ripple,  black  to  the  eye  as  a  river  of  ink.  How 
strange  it  seemed  when,  holding  on  to  a  twig,  he 
bent  over  and  saw  himself  reflected  —  a  white, 
naked  child  with  a  scared  face  —  in  that  black 
mirror !  Overcome  by  thirst,  he  ventured  to  creep 
down  and  dip  his  hand  in  the  stream,  and  was 
astonished  to  see  that  the  black  water  looked  as 
clear  as  crystal  in  his  hollow  hand.  After  quench- 
ing his  thirst  he  went  on,  following  the  river  now, 
for  it  had  made  him  turn  aside  ;  but  after  walking 
for  an  hour  or  more  he  came  to  a  great  tree  that 
had  fallen  across  the  stream,  and  climbing  on  to 
the  slippery  trunk,  he  crept  cautiously  over  and 
then  went  gladly  on  in  the  old  direction. 

Now,  after  he  had  crossed  the  river  and  walked 
a  long  distance,  he  came  to  a  more  open  part  ;  but 


ALONE  IN  THE  GREAT  FOREST     75 

though  it  was  nice  to  feel  the  sunshine  on  him 
again,  the  underwood  and  grass  and  creepers 
trailing  over  the  ground  made  it  difficult  and  tiring 
to  walk,  and  in  this  place  a  curious  thing  happened. 
Picking  his  way  through  the  tangled  herbage,  an 
animal  his  footsteps  had  startled  scuttled  away  in 
great  fear,  and  as  it  went  he  caught  a  glimpse  of 
it.  It  was  a  kind  of  weasel,  but  very  large — larger 
than  a  big  tom-cat,  and  all  over  as  black  as  the 
blackest  cat.  Looking  down  he  discovered  that 
this  strange  animal  had  been  feasting  on  eggs. 
The  eggs  were  nearly  as  large  as  fowls',  of  a  deep 
green  colour,  with  polished  shells.  There  had  been 
about  a  dozen  in  the  nest,  which  was  only  a  small 
hollow  in  the  ground  lined  with  dry  grass,  but  most 
of  them  had  been  broken,  and  the  contents  de- 
voured by  the  weasel.  Only  two  remained  entire, 
and  these  he  took,  and  tempted  by  his  hunger, 
soon  broke  the  shells  at  the  small  end  and  sucked 
them  clean.  They  were  raw,  but  never  had  eggs, 
boiled,  fried,  or  poached,  tasted  so  nice  before ! 
He  had  just  finished  his  meal,  and  was  wishing 
that  a  third  egg  had  remained  in  the  ruined  nest, 
when  a  slight  sound  like  the  buzzing  of  an  insect 
made  him  look  round,  and  there,  within  a  few  feet 
of  him,  was  the  big  black  weasel  once  more,  look- 
ing strangely  bold  and  savage-tempered.  It  kept 
staring  fixedly  at  Martin  out  of  its  small,  wicked, 


76  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

beady  black  eyes,  and  snarling  so  as  to  show  its 
white  sharp  teeth  ;  and  very  white  they  looked  by 
contrast  with  the  black  lips,  and  nose,  and  hair. 
Martin  stared  back  at  it,  but  it  kept  moving  and 
coming  nearer,  now  sitting  straight  up,  then  drop- 
ping its  fore-feet  and  gathering  its  legs  in  a  bunch 
as  if  about  to  spring,  and  finally  stretching  itself 
straight  out  towards  him  again,  its  round  flat  head 
and  long  smooth  body  making  it  look  like  a  great 
black  snake  crawling  towards  him.  And  all  the 
time  it  kept  on  snarling  and  clicking  its  sharp 
teeth  and  uttering  its  low,  buzzing  growl.  Martin 
grew  more  and  more  afraid,  it  looked  so  strong 
and  angry,  so  unspeakably  fierce.  The  creature 
looked  as  if  he  was  speaking  to  Martin,  saying 
something  very  easy  to  understand,  and  very 
dreadful  to  hear.  This  is  what  it  seemed  to  be 
saying  :— 

"Ha,  you  came  on  me  unawares,  and  startled 
me  away  from  the  nest  I  found  !  You  have  eaten 
the  last  two  eggs ;  and  I  found  them,  and  they 
were  mine!  Must  I  go  hungry  for  you — starve- 
ling, robber  !  A  miserable  little  boy  alone  and  lost 
in  the  forest,  naked,  all  scratched  and  bleeding 
with  thorns,  with  no  courage  in  his  heart,  no 
strength  in  his  hands !  Look  at  me  !  I  am  not 
weak,  but  strong  and  black  and  fierce;  I  live 
here — this  is  my  home ;  I  fear  nothing ;  I  am 


ALONE  IN  THE  GREAT  FOREST     77 

like  a  serpent,  and  like  brass  and  tempered  steel — 
nothing  can  bruise  or  break  me  :  my  teeth  are 
like  fine  daggers ;  when  I  strike  them  into  the 
flesh  of  any  creature  I  never  loose  my  hold  till 
I  have  sucked  out  all  the  blood  in  his  heart. 
But  you,  weak  little  wretch,  I  hate  you  !  I  thirst 
for  your  blood  for  stealing  my  food  from  me ! 
What  can  you  do  to  save  yourself?  Down, 
down  on  the  ground,  chicken-heart,  where  I  can 
get  hold  of  you!  You  shall  pay  me  for  the 
eggs  with  your  life !  I  shall  hold  you  fast  by 
the  throat,  and  drink  and  drink  until  I  see  your 
glassy  eyes  close,  and  your  cheeks  turn  whiter 
than  ashes,  and  I  feel  your  heart  flutter  like  a 
leaf  in  your  bosom  !  Down,  down  !  " 

It  was  terrible  to  watch  him  and  seem  to  hear 
such  words.  He  was  nearer  now — scarcely  a 
yard  away,  still  with  his  beady  glaring  eyes 
fixed  on  Martin's  face :  and  Martin  was  power- 
less to  fly  from  him — powerless  even  to  stir  a 
step  or  to  lift  a  hand.  His  heart  jumped  so 
that  it  choked  him,  his  hair  stood  up  on  his 
head,  and  he  trembled  so  that  he  was  ready  to 
fall.  And  at  last,  when  about  to  fall  to  the 
ground,  in  the  extremity  of  his  terror,  he  uttered 
a  great  scream  of  despair ;  and  the  sudden 
scream  so  startled  the  weasel,  that  he  jumped 
up  and  scuttled  away  as  fast  as  he  could  through 


78  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

the  creepers  and  bushes,  making  a  great  rustling 
over  the  dead  leaves  and  twigs ;  and  Martin, 
recovering  his  strength,  listened  to  that  retreating 
sound  as  it  passed  away  into  the  deep  shadows, 
until  it  ceased  altogether. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    FLOWER    AND    THE    SERPENT 

His  escape  from  the  horrible  black  animal  made 
Martin  quite  happy,  in  spite  of  hunger  and 
fatigue,  and  he  pushed  on  as  bravely  as  ever. 
But  it  was  slow  going  and  very  difficult,  even 
painful  in  places,  on  account  of  the  rough  thorny 
undergrowth,  where  he  had  to  push  and  crawl 
through  the  close  bushes,  and  tread  on  ground 
littereu  with  old  dead  prickly  leaves  and  dead 
thorny  twigs.  After  going  on  for  about  an  hour 
in  this  way,  he  came  to  a  stream,  a  branch  of 
the  river  he  had  left,  and  much  shallower,  so 
that  he  could  easily  cross  from  side  to  side,  and 
he  could  also  see  the  bright  pebbles  under  the 
clear  swift  current.  The  stream  appeared  to  run 
from  the  east,  the  way  he  wished  to  travel  towards 
the  hills,  so  that  he  could  keep  by  it,  which  he 
was  glad  enough  to  do,  as  it  was  nice  to  get 
a  drink  of  water  whenever  he  felt  thirsty, 
and  to  refresh  his  tired  and  sore  little  feet  in 
the  stream. 

Following  this  water  he  came  before  very  long 


79 


8o  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

to  a  place  in  the  forest  where  there  was  little  or 
no  underwood,  but  only  low  trees  and  bushes 
scattered  about,  and  all  the  ground  moist  and 
very  green  and  fresh  like  a  water-meadow.  It 
was  indeed  pleasant  to  feel  his  feet  on  the  soft 
carpet  of  grass,  and  stooping,  he  put  his  hands 
down  on  it,  and  finally  lying  down  he  rolled  on 
it  so  as  to  have  the  nice  sensation  of  the  warm 
soft  grass  all  over  his  body.  So  agreeable  was 
it  lying  and  rolling  about  in  that  open  green 
place  with  the  sweet  sunshine  on  him,  that  he 
felt  no  inclination  to  get  up  and  travel  on.  It 
was  so  sweet  to  rest  after  all  his  strivings  and 
sufferings  in  that  great  dark  forest !  So  sweet 
was  it  that  he  pretty  soon  fell  asleep,  and  no 
doubt  slept  a  long  time,  for  when  he  woke,  the 
sun,  which  had  been  over  his  head,  was  now 
far  down  in  the  west.  It  was  very  still,  and  the 
air  warm  and  fragrant  at  that  hour,  with  the  sun 
shining  through  the  higher  branches  of  the  trees 
on  the  green  turf  where  he  was  lying.  How 
green  it  was — the  grass,  the  trees,  every  tiny 
blade  and  every  leaf  was  like  a  piece  of  emerald 
green  glass  with  the  sun  shining  through  it! 
So  wonderful  did  it  seem  to  him — the  intense 
greenness,  the  brilliant  sunbeams  that  shone  into 
his  eyes,  and  seemed  to  fill  him  with  brightness, 
and  the  stillness  of  the  forest,  that  he  sat  up 


THE  FLOWER  AND  THE  SERPENT     81 

and  stared  about  him.  What  did  it  mean — that 
brightness  and  stillness  ? 

Then,  at  a  little  distance  away,  he  caught  sight 
of  something  on  a  tree  of  a  shining  golden  yellow 
colour.  Jumping  up  he  ran  to  the  tree,  and  found 
that  it  was  half  overgrown  with  a  very  beautiful 
climbing  plant,  with  leaves  divided  like  the  fingers 
of  a  hand,  and  large  flowers  and  fruit,  both  green 
and  ripe.  The  ripe  fruit  was  as  big  as  a  duck's 
egg,  and  the  same  shape,  and  of  a  shining  yellow 
colour.  Reaching  up  his  hand  he  began  to  feel 
the  smooth  lovely  fruit,  when,  being  very  ripe,  it 
came  off  its  stem  into  his  hand.  It  smelt  very 
nice,  and  then,  in  his  hunger,  he  bit  through  the 
smooth  rind  with  his  teeth,  and  it  tasted  as  nice  as 
it  looked.  He  quickly  ate  it,  and  then  pulled 
another  and  ate  that,  and  then  another,  and  still 
others,  until  he  could  eat  no  more.  He  had  not 
had  so  delicious  a  meal  for  many  a  long  day. 

Not  until  he  had  eaten  his  fill  did  Martin  begin 
to  look  closely  at  the  flowers  on  the  plant.  It  was 
the  passion-flower,  and  he  had  never  seen  it  before, 
and  now  that  he  looked  well  at  it  he  thought  it 
the  loveliest  and  strangest  flower  he  had  ever 
beheld ;  not  brilliant  and  shining,  jewel-like,  in 
the  sun,  like  the  scarlet  verbena  of  the  plains,  or 
some  yellow  flower,  but  pale  and  misty,  the  petals 
being  of  a  dim  greenish  cream-colour,  with  a  large 


82  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

blue  circle  in  the  centre ;  and  the  blue,  too,  was 
misty  like  the  blue  haze  in  the  distance  on  a 
summer  day.  To  see  and  admire  it  better  he 
reached  out  his  hand  and  tried  to  pluck  one  of 
the  flowers;  then  in  an  instant  he  dropped  his 
hand,  as  if  he  had  been  pricked  by  a  thorn.  But 
there  was  no  thorn  and  nothing  to  hurt  him ;  he 
dropped  his  hand  only  because  he  felt  that  he  had 
hurt  the  flower.  Moving  a  step  back  he  stared  at 
it,  and  the  flower  seemed  like  a  thing  alive  that  looked 
back  at  him,  and  asked  him  why  he  had  hurt  it. 

"  O,  poor  flower !  "  said  Martin,  and,  coming 
closer  he  touched  it  gently  with  his  finger-tips  ; 
and  then,  standing  on  tiptoe,  he  touched  its  petals 
with  his  lips,  just  as  his  mother  had  often  and 
often  kissed  his  little  hand  when  he  had  bruised  it 
or  pricked  it  with  a  thorn. 

Then,  while  still  standing  by  the  plant,  on  bring- 
ing his  eyes  down  to  the  ground  he  spied  a  great 
snake  lying  coiled  up  on  a  bed  of  moss  on  the 
sunny  side  of  the  same  tree  where  the  plant  was 
growing.  He  remembered  the  dear  little  snake 
he  had  once  made  a  friend  of,  and  he  did  not  feel 
afraid,  for  he  thought  that  all  snakes  must  be 
friendly  towards  him,  although  this  was  a  very  big 
one,  thicker  than  his  arm  and  of  a  different  colour. 
It  was  a  pale  olive-green,  like  the  half-dry  moss  it 
was  lying  on,  with  a  pattern  of  black  and  brown 


THE  FLOWER  AND  THE  SERPENT     83 

mottling  along  its  back.  It  was  lying  coiled  round 
and  round,  with  its  flat  arrow-shaped  head  resting 
on  its  coils,  and  its  round  bright  eyes  fixed  on 
Martin's  face.  The 
sun  shining  on  its 
eyes  made  them  glint 
like  polished  jewels 
or  piecesof  glass,  and 
when  Martin  moved 
nearer  and  stood 
still,  or  when  he 
drew  back  and  went 
to  this  side  or  that, 
those  brilliant  glint- 
ing eyes  were  still 
on  his  face,  and  it 
began  to  trouble 
him,  until  at  last  he 
covered  his  face  with 
his  hands.  Then  he 
opened  his  fingers 

enough   to   peep    through    them,    and   still    those 
glittering  eyes  were  fixed  on  him. 

Martin  wondered  if  the  snake  was  vexed  with 
him  for  coming  there,  and  why  it  watched  him  so 
steadily  with  those  shining  eyes.  "  Will  you  please 
look  some  other  way  ?  "  he  said  at  last,  but  the  snake 
would  not,  and  so  he  turned  from  it,  and  then  it 


84  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

seemed  to  him  that  everything  was  alive  and 
watching  him  in  the  same  intent  way — the  passion- 
flowers, the  green  leaves,  the  grass,  the  trees,  the 
wide  sky,  the  great  shining  sun.  He  listened,  and 
there  was  no  sound  in  the  wood,  not  even  the 
hum  of  a  fly  or  wild  bee,  and  it  was  so  still  that  not 
a  leaf  moved.  Finally  he  moved  away  from  that 
spot,  but  treading  very  softly,  and  holding  his 
breath  to  listen,  for  it  seemed  to  him  that  the 
forest  had  something  to  tell  him,  and  that  if  he 
listened  he  would  hear  the  leaves  speaking  to  him. 
And  by-and-by  he  did  hear  a  sound  :  it  came  from 
a  spot  about  a  hundred  yards  away,  and  was  like 
the  sound  of  a  person  crying.  Then  came  low  sobs 
which  rose  and  fell  and  then  ceased,  and  after  a 
silent  interval  began  again.  Perhaps  it  was  a  child, 
lost  there  in  the  forest  like  himself.  Going  softly 
to  the  spot  he  discovered  that  the  sobbing  sounds 
came  from  the  other  side  of  a  low  tree  with  wide- 
spread branches,  a  kind  of  acacia  with  thin  loose 
foliage,  but  he  could  not  see  through  it,  and  so  he 
went  round  the  tree  to  look,  and  startled  a  dove 
which  flew  off  with  a  loud  clatter  of  its  wings. 

When  the  dove  had  flown  away  it  was  again  very 
silent.  What  was  he  to  do?  He  was  too  tired 
now  to  walk  much  farther,  and  the  sun  was  getting 
low,  so  that  all  the  ground  was  in  shadow.  He 
went  on  a  little  way  looking  for  some  nice  shelter 


THE  FLOWER  AND  THE  SERPENT     85 

where  he  could  pass  the  night,  but  could  not  find 
one.  At  length,  when  the  sun  had  set  and  the  dark 
was  coming,  he  came  upon  an  old  half-dead  tree, 
where  there  was  a  hollow  at  the  roots,  lined  with 
half  dry  moss,  very  soft  to  his  foot,  and  it  seemed  a 
nice  place  to  sleep  in.  But  he  had  no  choice,  for 
he  was  afraid  of  going  further  in  the  dark  among 
the  trees  ;  and  so,  creeping  into  the  hollow  among 
the  old  roots,  he  curled  himself  up  as  comfortably 
as  he  could,  and  soon  began  to  get  very  drowsy,  in 
spite  of  having  no  covering  to  keep  him  warm. 
But  although  very  tired  and  sleepy,  he  did  not  go 
quite  to  sleep,  for  he  had  never  been  all  alone  in  a 
wood  by  night  before,  and  it  was  different  from  the 
open  plain  where  he  could  see  all  round,  even  at 
night,  and  where  he  had  feared  nothing.  Here  the 
trees  looked  strange  and  made  strange  black 
shadows,  and  he  thought  that  the  strange  people  of 
the  wood  were  perhaps  now  roaming  about  and 
would  find  him  there.  He  did  not  want  them  to 
find  him  fast  asleep  ;  it  was  better  to  be  awake,  so 
that  when  they  came  he  could  jump  up  and  run 
away  and  hide  himself  from  them.  Once  or  twice 
a  slight  rustling  sound  made  him  start  and  think 
that  at  last  someone  was  coming  to  him,  stealing 
softly  so  as  to  catch  him  unawares,  but  he  could  see 
nothing  moving,  and  when  he  held  his  breath  to 
listen  there  was  no  sound. 


86 


A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 


Then  all  at  once,  just  when  he  had  almost  dropped 
off,  a  great  cry  sounded  at  a  distance,  and  made  him 
start  up  wide  awake  again.  "  O  look !  look  !  look !  " 

cried  the  voice  in 
a  tone  so  deep  and 
strange  and  power- 
ful that  no  one  could 
have  heard  it  with- 
out terror,  for  it 
seemed  to  be  uttered 
by  some  forest  mon- 
ster twenty  times 
bigger  than  an 
ordinary  man.  In 
a  moment  an  answer 
came  from  another 
part  of  the  wood. 
"What's  that?" 
cried  the  answering 
voice ;  and  then 
another  voice  cried, 
and  then  others  far 

and  near,  all  shouting  "  What's  that  ?  "  and  for  only 
answer  the  first  voice  shouted  once  more,  "  O  look ! 
look  !  look ! " 

Poor  Martin,  trembling  with  fright,  crouched 
lower  down  in  his  mossy  bed,  thinking  that  the 
awful  people  of  the  forest  must  have  seen  him,  and 


THE  FLOWER  AND  THE  SERPENT     87 

would  be  upon  him  in  a  few  moments.  But  though 
he  stared  with  wide-open  eyes  into  the  gloom  he 
could  see  nothing  but  the  trees,  standing  silent  and 
motionless,  and  no  sound  of  approaching  footsteps 
could  he  hear. 

After  that  it  was  silent  again  for  a  while,  and  he 
began  to  hope  that  they  had  given  up  looking  for 
him  ;  when  suddenly,  close  by,  sounded  a  loud  start- 
ling "  Who's  that?"  and  he  gave  himself  up  for 
lost.  For  he  was  too  terrified  to  jump  up  and  run 
away,  as  he  had  thought  to  do  :  he  could  only  lie 
still,  his  teeth  chattering,  his  hair  standing  up  on 
his  head.  "Who's  that?"  exclaimed  the  terrible 
voice  once  more,  and  then  he  saw  a  big  black  shape 
drop  down  from  the  tree  above  and  settle  on  a  dead 
branch  a  few  feet  above  his  hiding-place.  It  was  a 
bird — a  great  owl,  for  now  he  could  see  it,  sharply 
outlined  against  the  clear  starry  sky ;  and  the  bird 
had  seen  and  was  peering  curiously  at  him.  And 
now  all  his  fear  was  gone,  for  he  could  not  be  afraid 
of  an  owl ;  he  had  been  accustomed  to  see  owls  all 
his  life,  only  they  were  small,  and  this  owl  of  the 
forest  was  as  big  as  an  eagle,  and  had  a  round  head 
and  ears  like  a  cat,  and  great  cat-like  eyes  that 
shone  in  the  dark. 

The  owl  kept  staring  at  Martin  for  some  time, 
swaying  his  body  this  way  and  that,  and  lowering 
then  raising  his  head  so  as  to  get  a  better  view. 


88  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

And  Martin,  on  his  side,  stared  back  at  the  owl, 
and  at  last  he  exclaimed,  "  O  what  a  great  big  owl 
you  are  !  Please  say  Whos  that  ?  again." 

But  before  the  owl  said  anything  Martin  was  fast 
asleep  in  his  mossy  bed. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  BLACK  PEOPLE  OF  THE  SKY 

WHETHER  or  not  the  great  owl  went  on  shouting 
O  look  !  look  !  look  !  and  asking  What's  that  ?  and 
Whos  that  ?  all  night,  Martin  did  not  know.  He 
was  fast  asleep  until  the  morning  sun  shone  on 
his  face  and  woke  him,  and  as  he  had  no  clothes 
and  shoes  to  put  on  he  was  soon  up  and  out. 
First  he  took  a  drink  of  water,  then,  feeling  very 
hungry  he  went  back  to  the  place  where  he  had 
found  the  ripe  fruit  and  made  a  very  good  breakfast. 
After  that  he  set  out  once  more  through  the  wood 
towards  sunrise,  still  following  the  stream.  Before 
long  the  wood  became  still  more  open,  and  at  last 
to  his  great  joy  he  found  that  he  had  got  clear  of  it, 
and  was  once  more  on  the  great  open  plain.  And 
now  the  hills  were  once  more  in  sight — those  great 
blue  hills  where  he  wished  to  be,  looking  nearer  and 
larger  than  before,  but  they  still  looked  blue  like 
great  banks  of  cloud  and  were  a  long  distance  away. 
But  he  was  determined  to  get  to  them,  to  climb  up 
their  steep  sides,  and  by  and  by  when  he  found  the 
stream  bent  away  to  the  south,  he  left  it  so  as  to  go 


90  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

on  straight  as  he  could  to  the  hills.  Away  from 
the  water-side  the  ground  was  higher,  and  very  flat 
and  covered  with  dry  yellow  grass.  Over  this 
yellow  plain  he  walked  for  hours,  resting  at  times, 
but  finding  no  water  and  no  sweet  roots  to  quench 
his  thirst,  until  he  was  too  tired  to  walk  any  further, 
and  so  he  sat  down  on  the  dry  grass  under  that  wide 
blue  sky.  There  was  not  a  cloud  on  it — nothing  but 
the  great  globe  of  the  sun  above  him ;  and  there 
was  no  wind  and  no  motion  in  the  yellow  grass 
blades,  and  no  sight  or  sound  of  any  living  creature. 

Martin  lying  on  his  back  gazed  up  at  the  blue 
sky,  keeping  his  eyes  from  the  sun,  which  was  too 
bright  for  them,  and  after  a  time  he  did  see  some- 
thing moving — a  small  black  spot  no  bigger  than  a 
fly  moving  in  a  circle.  But  he  knew  it  was  some- 
thing big,  but  at  so  great  a  height  from  the  earth  as 
to  look  like  a  fly.  And  then  he  caught  sight  of  a 
second  black  speck,  then  another  and  another,  until 
he  could  make  out  a  dozen  or  twenty,  or  more,  all 
moving  in  wide  circles  at  that  vast  height. 

Martin  thought  they  must  be  the  black  people  of 
the  sky ;  he  wondered  why  they  were  black  and 
not  white,  like  white  birds,  or  blue,  and  of  other 
brilliant  colours  like  the  people  of  the  Mirage. 

Now  it  was  impossible  for  Martin  to  lie  like  that, 
following  those  small  black  spots  on  the  hot  blue 
sky  as  they  wheeled  round  and  round  continuously, 


THE  BLACK  PEOPLE  OF  THE  SKY     91 

without  giving  his  eyes  a  little  rest  by  shutting 
them  at  intervals.  By-and-by  he  kept  them  shut  a 
little  too  long ;  he  fell  asleep,  and  when  he  woke  he 
didn't  wake  fully  in  a  moment ;  he  remained  lying 
motionless  just  as  before,  with  eyes  still  closed,  but 
the  lids  just  raised  enough  to  enable  him  to  see 
about  him.  And  the  sight  that  met  his  eyes  was 
very  curious.  He  was  no  longer  alone  in  that 
solitary  place.  There  were  people  all  round  him, 
dozens  and  scores  of  little  black  men  about  two  feet 
in  height,  of  a  very  singular  appearance.  They 
had  bald  heads  and  thin  hatchet  faces,  wrinkled  and 
warty,  and  long  noses  ;  and  they  all  wore  black  silk 
clothes — coat,  waistcoat  and  knickerbockers,  but 
without  shoes  and  stockings ;  their  thin  black 
legs  and  feet  were  bare  ;  nor  did  they  have  any- 
thing on  their  bald  heads.  They  were  gathered 
round  Martin  in  a  circle,  but  a  very  wide  circle 
quite  twenty  to  thirty  feet  away  from  him,  and  some 
were  walking  about,  others  standing  alone  or  in 
groups,  talking  together,  and  all  looking  at  Martin. 
Only  one  who  appeared  to  be  the  most  important 
person  of  the  company  kept  inside  the  circle,  and 
whenever  one  or  more  of  the  others  came  forward 
a  few  steps  he  held  up  his  hand  and  begged  them 
to  go  back  a  little. 

"We  must  not  be  in  a  hurry,"  he  said.     "  We 


must  wait." 


92  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

"  Wait  for  what  ?  "  asked  one. 

"  For  what  may  happen,"  said  the  important  one. 
"  I  must  ask  you  again  to  leave  it  to  me  to  decide 
when  it  is  time  to  begin."  Then  he  strutted  up  and 
down  in  the  open  space,  turning  now  towards  his 
fellows  and  again  to  Martin,  moving  his  head  about 
to  get  a  better  sight  of  his  face.  Then,  putting  his 
hand  down  between  his  coat  and  waistcoat  he  drew 
out  a  knife  with  a  long  shining  blade,  and  holding 
it  from  him  looked  attentively  at  it.  By  and  by  he 
breathed  gently  on  the  bright  blade,  then  pulling 
out  a  black  silk  pocket  handkerchief  wiped  off  the 
stain  of  his  breath,  and  turning  the  blade  about 
made  it  glitter  in  the  sun.  Then  he  put  it  back 
under  his  coat  and  resumed  his  walk  up  and 
down. 

"  We  are  getting  very  hungry,"  said  one  of  the 
others  at  length. 

"  Very  hungry  indeed  !  "  cried  another.  "  Some 
of  us  have  not  tasted  food  these  three  days." 

"It  certainly  does  seem  hard,"  said  yet  another, 
4 'to  see  our  dinner  before  us  and  not  be  allowed 
to  touch  it." 

"  Not  so  fast,  my  friends,  I  beg,"  exclaimed 
the  man  with  the  knife.  "  I  have  already  ex- 
plained the  case,  and  I  do  think  you  are  a  little 
unfair  in  pressing  me  as  you  do." 

Thus  rebuked  they  consulted  together,  then  one 


THE  BLACK  PEOPLE  OF  THE  SKY     93 

of  them  spoke.  "  If,  sir,  you  consider  us  unfair,  or 
that  we  have  not  full  confidence  in  you,  would  it 
not  be  as  well  to  get  some  other  person  to  take 
your  place  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  am  ready  to  do  that,"  returned  the 
important  one  promptly ;  and  here,  drawing  forth 
the  knife  once  more,  he  held  it  out  towards  them. 
But  instead  of  coming  forward  to  take  it  they  all 
recoiled  some  steps,  showing  considerable  alarm. 
And  then  they  all  began  protesting  that  they  were 
not  complaining  of  him,  that  they  were  satisfied 
with  their  choice,  and  could  not  have  put  the  matter 
in  abler  hands. 

"  I  am  pleased  at  your  good  opinion,"  said  the 
important  one.  "  I  may  tell  you  that  I  am  no 
chicken.  I  first  saw  the  light  in  September  1739, 
and,  as  you  know,  we  are  now  within  seven  months 
and  thirteen  days  of  the  end  of  the  first  decade  of 
the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  You 
may  infer  from  this  that  I  have  had  a  pretty  ex- 
tensive experience,  and  I  promise  you  that  when  I 
come  to  cut  the  body  up  you  will  not  be  able  to 
say  that  I  have  made  an  unfair  distribution,  or  that 
any  one  has  been  left  without  his  portion." 

All  murmured  approval,  and  then  one  of  the 
company  asked  if  he  would  be  allowed  to  bespeak 
the  liver  for  his  share. 

"  No,    sir,    certainly    not,"    replied    the    other. 


94  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

"  Such  matters  must  be  left  to  my  discretion  en- 
tirely, and  I  must  also  remind  you  that  there  is 
such  a  thing  as  the  carver  s  privilege,  and  it  is 
possible  that  in  this  instance  he  may  think  fit  to 
retain  the  liver  for  his  own  consumption." 

After  thus  asserting  himself  he  began  to  examine 
the  blade  of  his  knife  which  he  still  held  in  his  hand, 
and  to  breathe  gently  on  it,  and  wipe  it  with  his 
handkerchief  to  make  it  shine  brighter  in  the  sun. 
Finally,  raising  his  arm,  he  flourished  it  and  then 
made  two  or  three  stabs  and  lunges  in  the  air,  then 
walking  on  tiptoe  he  advanced  to  Martin  lying  so 
still  on  the  yellow  grass  in  the  midst  of  that  black- 
robed  company,  the  hot  sun  shining  on  his  naked 
white  body. 

The  others  all  immediately  pressed  forward, 
craning  their  necks  and  looking  highly  excited  : 
they  were  expecting  great  things  ;  but  when  the 
man  with  a  knife  had  got  quite  close  to  Martin  he 
was  seized  with  fear  and  made  two  or  three  long 
jumps  back  to  where  the  others  were ;  and  then, 
recovering  from  his  alarm,  he  quietly  put  back  the 
knife  under  his  coat. 

"  We  really  thought  you  were  going  to  begin," 
said  one  of  the  crowd. 

"  Oh  no ;  no  indeed ;  not  just  yet,"  said  the 
other. 

"  It  is  very  disappointing,"  remarked  one. 


THE  BLACK  PEOPLE  OF  THE  SKY     97 

The  man  with  the  knife  turned  on  him  and 
replied  with  dignity,  "  I  am  really  surprised  at  such 
a  remark  after  all  I  have  said  on  the  subject.  I  do 
wish  you  would  consider  the  circumstances  of  the 
case.  They  are  peculiar,  for  this  person  —  this 
Martin  —  is  not  an  ordinary  person.  We  have 
been  keeping  our  eyes  on  him  for  some  time  past, 
and  have  witnessed  some  remarkable  actions  on 
his  part,  to  put  it  mildly.  Let  us  keep  in  mind  the 
boldness,  the  resource,  the  dangerous  violence  he 
has  displayed  on  so  many  occasions  since  he  took 
to  his  present  vagabond  way  of  life." 

"It  appears  to  me,"  said  one  of  the  others,  "  that 
if  Martin  is  dead  we  need  not  concern  ourselves 
about  his  character  and  desperate  deeds  in  the  past." 

"  If  he  is  dead ! "  exclaimed  the  other  sharply. 
"That  is  the  very  point, — is  he  dead?  Can  you 
confidently  say  that  he  is  not  in  a  sound  sleep,  or 
in  a  dead  faint,  or  shamming  and  ready  at  the  first 
touch  of  the  knife  to  leap  up  and  seize  his  assailant 
— I  mean  his  carver — by  the  throat  and  perhaps 
murder  him  as  he  once  murdered  a  spoonbill  ?  " 

"  That  would  be  very  dreadful,"  said  one. 

"But  surely,"  said  another,  "there  are  means  of 
telling  whether  a  person  is  dead  or  not  ?  One 
simple  and  effectual  method,  which  I  have  heard, 
is  to  place  a  hand  over  the  heart  to  feel  if  it  still 
beats." 


98  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

"  Yes,  I  know,  I  have  also  heard  of  that  plan. 
Very  simple,  as  you  say  ;  but  who  is  to  try  it  ?  I 
invite  the  person  who  makes  the  suggestion  to  put 
it  in  practice." 

"  With  pleasure,"  said  the  other,  coming  forward 
with  a  tripping  gait  and  an  air  of  not  being  in  the 
least  afraid.  But  on  coming  near  the  supposed 
corpse  he  paused  to  look  round  at  the  others,  then 
pulling  out  his  black  silk  handkerchief  he  wiped  his 
black  wrinkled  forehead  and  bald  head.  "  Whew!  " 
he  exclaimed,  "  it's  very  hot  to-day." 

"  I  don't  find  it  so,"  said  the  man  with  the  knife. 
"  It  is  sometimes  a  matter  of  nerves." 

It  was  not  a  very  nice  remark,  but  it  had  the 
effect  of  bracing  the  other  up,  and  moving  for- 
ward a  little  more  he  began  anxiously  scrutinising 
Martin's  face.  The  others  now  began  to  press 
forward,  but  were  warned  by  the  man  with  a  knife 
not  to  come  too  near.  Then  the  bold  person  who 
had  undertaken  to  feel  Martin's  heart  doubled  back 
the  silk  sleeve  of  his  coat,  and  after  some  further 
preparation  extended  his  arm  and  made  two  or 
three  preliminary  passes  with  his  trembling  hand 
at  a  distance  of  a  foot  or  so  from  the  breast  of  the 
corpse.  Then  he  approached  it  a  little  nearer,  but 
before  it  came  to  the  touching  point  a  sudden  fear 
made  him  start  back. 

"  What  is  it?    What  did  you  see?"  cried  the  others. 


THE  BLACK  PEOPLE  OF  THE  SKY     99 

"  I'm  not  sure  there  wasn't  a  twitch  of  the  eyelid," 
he  replied. 

"  Never  mind  the  eyelid — feel  his  heart,"  said 
one. 

"  That's  all  very  well,"  he  returned,  "  but  how 
would  you  like  it  yourself?  Will  you  come  and 
do  it?" 

"  No,  no !"  they  all  cried.  "  You  have  undertaken 
this,  and  must  go  through  with  it." 

Thus  encouraged,  he  once  more  turned  to  the 
corpse,  and  again  anxiously  began  to  examine  the 
face.  Now  Martin  had  been  watching  them  through 
the  slits  of  his  not  quite  closed  eyes  all  the  time, 
and  listening  to  their  talk.  Being  hungry  himself 
he  could  not  help  feeling  for  them,  and  not  thinking 
that  it  would  hurt  him  to  be  cut  up  in  pieces  and 
devoured,  he  had  begun  to  wish  that  they  would 
really  begin  on  him.  He  was  both  amused  and 
annoyed  at  their  nervousness,  and  at  last  open- 
ing wide  his  eyes  very  suddenly  he  cried,  "  Feel 
my  heart ! " 

It  was  as  if  a  gun  had  been  fired  among  them ; 
for  a  moment  they  were  struck  still  with  terror,  and 
then  all  together  turned  and  fled,  going  away 
with  three  very  long  hops,  and  then  opening  wide 
their  great  wings  they  launched  themselves  on  the 
air. 

For  they  were  not  little  black  men  in  black  silk 


ioo  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

clothes  as  it  had  seemed,  but  vultures — those  great, 
high-soaring,  black-plumaged  birds  which  he  had 
watched  circling  in  the  sky,  looking  no  bigger  than 
bees  or  flies  at  that  vast  distance  above  the  earth. 
And  when  he  was  watching  them  they  were  watch- 
ing him,  and  after  he  had  fallen  asleep  they  con- 
tinued moving  round  and  round  in  the  sky  for  hours, 
and  seeing  him  lying  so  still  on  the  plain  they  at 
last  imagined  that  he  was  dead,  and  one  by  one 
they  closed  or  half-closed  their  wings  and  dropped, 
gliding  downwards,  growing  larger  in  appearance 
as  they  neared  the  ground,  until  the  small  black 
spots  no  bigger  than  flies  were  seen  to  be  great 
black  birds  as  big  as  turkeys. 

But  you  see  Martin  was  not  dead  after  all,  and  so 
they  had  to  go  away  without  their  dinner. 


CHAPTER  X 

A   TROOP    OF    WILD    HORSES 

IT  seemed  so  lonely  to  Martin  when  the  vultures 
had  gone  up  out  of  sight  in  the  sky,  so  silent  and 
solitary  on  that  immense  level  plain,  that  he  could 
not  help  wishing  them  back  for  the  sake  of  com- 
pany. They  were  an  amusing  people  when  they 
were  walking  round  him,  conversing  together,  and 
trying  without  coming  too  near  to  discover  whether 
he  was  dead  or  only  sleeping. 

All  that  day  it  was  just  as  lonely,  for  though  he 
went  on  as  far  as  he  could  before  night,  he  was  still 
on  that  great  level  plain  of  dry  yellow  grass  which 
appeared  to  have  no  end,  and  the  blue  hills  looked 
no  nearer  than  when  he  had  started  in  the  morning. 
He  was  hungry  and  thirsty  that  evening,  and  very 
cold  too  when  he  nestled  down  on  the  ground  with 
nothing  to  cover  him  but  the  little  heap  of  dry  grass 
he  had  gathered  for  his  bed. 

It  was  better  next  day,  for  after  walking  two  or 
three  hours  he  came  to  the  end  of  that  yellow  plain 
to  higher  ground,  where  the  earth  was  sandy  and 
barren,  with  a  few  scattered  bushes  growing  on  it 


102  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

— dark,  prickly  bushes  like  butcher's  broom.  When 
he  got  to  the  highest  part  of  this  barren  ground  he 
saw  a  green  valley  beyond,  stretching  away  as  far 
as  he  could  see  on  either  hand.  But  it  was  nice  to 
see  a  green  place  again,  and  going  down  into  the 
valley  he  managed  to  find  some  sweet  roots  to  stay 
his  hunger  and  thirst ;  then,  after  a  rest,  he  went 
on  again,  and  when  he  got  to  the  top  of  the  high 
ground  beyond  the  valley,  he  saw  another  valley 
before  him,  just  like  the  one  he  had  left  behind. 
Again  he  rested  in  that  green  place,  and  then 
slowly  went  up  the  high  land  beyond,  where  it  was 
barren  and  sandy  with  the  dark  stiff  prickly  bushes 
growing  here  and  there,  and  when  he  got  to  the 
top  he  looked  down,  and  behold !  there  was  yet 
another  green  valley  stretching  away  to  the  right 
and  left  as  far  as  he  could  see. 

Would  they  never  end — these  high  barren  ridges 
and  the  long  green  valleys  between ! 

When  he  toiled  slowly  up  out  of  this  last  green 
resting-place  it  was  growing  late  in  the  day,  and  he 
was  very  tired.  Then  he  came  to  the  top  of  an- 
other ridge  like  the  others,  only  higher  and  more 
barren,  and  when  he  could  see  the  country  beyond, 
lo !  another  valley,  greener  and  broader  than  those 
he  had  left  behind,  and  a  river  flowing  in  it,  looking 
like  a  band  of  silver  lying  along  the  green  earth  — 
a  river  too  broad  for  him  to  cross,  stretching  away 


A  TROOP  OF  WILD  HORSES        103 

north  and  south  as  far  as  he  could  see.  How  then 
should  he  ever  be  able  to  get  to  the  hills,  still  far, 
far  away  beyond  that  water  ? 

Martin  stared  at  the  scene  before  him  for  some 
time ;  then,  feeling  very  tired  and  weak,  he  sat 
down  on  the  sandy  ground  beside  a  scanty  dark 
bush.  Tears  came  to  his  eyes :  he  felt  them 
running  down  his  cheeks ;  and  all  at  once  he 
remembered  how  long  before  when  his  wandering 
began,  he  had  dropped  a  tear,  and  a  small  dusty 
beetle  had  refreshed  himself  by  drinking  it.  He 
bent  down  and  let  a  tear  drop,  and  watched  it  as  it 
sank  into  the  ground,  but  no  small  beetle  came  out 
to  drink  it,  and  he  felt  more  lonely  and  miserable 
than  ever.  He  began  to  think  of  all  the  queer 
creatures  and  people  he  had  met  in  the  desert,  and 
to  wish  for  them.  Some  of  them  had  not  been 
very  kind  to  him,  but  he  did  not  remember  that 
now,  it  was  so  sad  to  be  quite  alone  in  the  world 
without  even  a  small  beetle  to  visit  him.  He 
remembered  the  beautiful  people  of  the  Mirage  and 
the  black  people  of  the  sky ;  and  the  ostrich,  and 
old  Jacob,  and  the  savages,  and  the  serpent,  and 
the  black  weasel  in  the  forest.  He  stood  up  and 
stared  all  round  to  see  if  anything  was  coming,  but 
he  could  see  nothing  and  hear  nothing. 

By-and-by,  in  that  deep  silence,  there  was  a 
sound  ;  it  seemed  to  come  from  a  great  distance,  it 


io4  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

was  so  faint.  Then  it  grew  louder  and  nearer; 
and  far  away  he  saw  a  little  cloud  of  dust,  and  then, 
even  through  the  dust,  dark  forms  coming  swiftly 
towards  him.  The  sound  he  heard  was  like  a  long 
halloo,  a  cry  like  the  cry  of  a  man,  but  wild  and 
shrill,  like  a  bird's  cry  ;  and  whenever  that  cry  was 
uttered,  it  was  followed  by  a  strange  confused  noise 
as  of  the  neighing  of  many  horses.  They  were, 
in  truth,  horses  that  were  coming  swiftly  towards 
him  —  a  herd  of  sixty  or  seventy  wild  horses. 
He  could  see  and  hear  them  only  too  plainly 
now,  looking  very  terrible  in  their  strength  and 
speed,  and  the  flowing  black  manes  that  covered 
them  like  a  black  cloud,  as  they  came  thundering 
on,  intending  perhaps  to  sweep  over  him  and 
trample  him  to  death  with  their  iron-hard  hoofs. 

All  at  once,  when  they  were  within  fifty  yards  of 
Martin,  the  long,  shrill,  wild  cry  went  up  again,  and 
the  horses  swerved  to  one  side,  and  went  sweeping 
round  him  in  a  wide  circle.  Then,  as  they  galloped 
by,  he  caught  sight  of  the  strangest-looking  being 
he  had  ever  seen,  a  man,  on  the  back  of  one  of  the 
horses ;  naked  and  hairy,  he  looked  like  a  baboon 
as  he  crouched,  doubled  up,  gripping  the  shoulders 
and  neck  of  the  horse  with  his  knees,  clinging  with 
his  hands  to  the  mane,  and  craning  his  neck  like  a 
flying  bird.  1 1  was  this  strange  rider  who  had  uttered 
the  long  piercing  man-and-bird-like  cries  ;  and  now 


A  TROOP  OF  WILD  HORSES        105 

changing  his  voice  to  a  whinnying  sound  the  horses 
came  to  a  stop,  and  gathering  together  in  a  crowd 
they  stood  tossing  their  manes  and  staring  at 
Martin  with  their  wild,  startled  eyes. 

In  another  moment  the  wild  rider  came  bounding 
out  from  among  them,  and  moving  now  erect, 
now  on  all  fours,  came  sideling  up  to  Martin, 
flinging  his  arms  and  legs  about,  wagging  his  head, 
grimacing  and  uttering  whinnying  and  other  curious 
noises.  Never  had  Martin  looked  upon  so  strange 
a  man !  He  was  long  and  lean  so  that  you 
could  have  counted  his  ribs,  and  he  was  stark 
naked,  except  for  the  hair  of  his  head  and  face, 
which  half  covered  him.  His  skin  was  of  a 
yellowish  brown  colour,  and  the  hair  the  colour  of 
old  dead  grass  ;  and  it  was  coarse  and  tangled, 
falling  over  his  shoulders  and  back  and  covering 
his  forehead  like  a  thatch,  his  big  brown  nose 
standing  out  beneath  it  like  a  beak.  The  face  was 
covered  with  the  beard  which  was  tangled  too, 
and  grew  down  to  his  waist.  After  staring  at 
Martin  for  some  time  with  his  big,  yellow,  goat-like 
eyes,  he  pranced  up  to  him  and  began  to  sniff 
round  him,  then  touched  him  with  his  nose  on  his 
face,  arms,  and  shoulders. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  said  Martin  in  astonishment. 

For  only  answer  the  other  squealed  and  whinnied, 
grimacing  and  kicking  his  legs  up  at  the  same  time. 


io6  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

Then  the  horses  advanced  to  them,  and  gathering 
round  in  a  close  crowd  began  touching  Martin  with 


their  noses.  He  liked  it — the  softness  of  their 
sensitive  skins,  which  were  like  velvet,  and  putting 
up  his  hands  he  began  to  stroke  their  noses.  Then 
one  by  one,  after  smelling  him,  and  being  touched 


A  TROOP  OF  WILD  HORSES       107 

by  his  hand,  they  turned  away,  and  going  down 
into  the  valley  were  soon  scattered  about,  most  of 
them  grazing,  some  rolling,  others  lying  stretched 
out  on  the  grass  as  if  to  sleep ;  while  the  young 
foals  in  the  troop,  leaving  their  dams,  began 
playing  about  and  challenging  one  another  to  run 
a  race. 

Martin,  following  and  watching  them,  almost 
wished  that  he  too  could  go  on  four  legs  to  join 
them  in  their  games.  He  trusted  those  wild  horses, 
but  he  was  still  puzzled  by  that  strange  man,  who 
had  also  left  him  now  and  was  going  quietly  round 
on  all  fours,  smelling  at  the  grass.  By-and-by  he 
found  something  to  his  liking  in  a  small  patch  of 
tender  green  clover,  which  he  began  nosing  and 
tearing  it  up  with  his  teeth,  then  turning  his  head 
round  he  stared  back  at  Martin,  his  jaws  working 
vigorously  all  the  time,  the  stems  and  leaves 
of  the  clover  he  was  eating  sticking  out  from 
his  mouth  and  hanging  about  his  beard.  All  at 
once  he  jumped  up,  and  flying  back  at  Martin, 
snatched  him  up  from  the  ground,  carried  him  to  the 
clover  patch,  and  set  him  upon  it,  face  down,  on  all 
fours ;  then  when  Martin  sat  up  he  grasped  him 
by  the  head  and  forced  it  down  until  his  nose  was 
on  the  grass  so  as  to  make  him  smell  it  and  know 
that  it  was  good.  But  smell  it  he  would  not,  and 
finally  the  other  seized  him  roughly  again  and, 


io8  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

opening    his    mouth,    forced    a    bunch    of   grass 
into  it. 

"It's  grass,  and  I  sha'n't  eat  it!"  screamed 
Martin,  crying  with  anger  at  being  so  treated,  and 
spewing  the  green  stuff  out  of  his  mouth. 

Then  the  man  released  him,  and,  withdrawing 
a  space  of  two  or  three  yards,  sat  down  on  his 
haunches,  and,  planting  his  bony  elbows  on  his 
knees,  thrust  his  great  brown  fingers  in  his  tangled 
hair,  and  stared  at  Martin  with  his  big  yellow  goat's 
eyes  for  a  long  time. 

Suddenly  a  wild  excited  look  came  into  his  eyes, 
and,  leaping  up  with  a  shrill  cry,  which  caused  all 
the  horses  to  look  round  at  him,  he  once  more 
snatched  Martin  up,  and  holding  him  firmly  gripped 
to  his  ribby  side  by  his  arm,  bounded  off  to  where 
a  mare  was  standing  giving  suck  to  her  young  foal. 
With  a  vigorous  kick  he  sent  the  foal  away,  and 
forced  Martin  to  take  its  place,  and,  to  make  it 
easier  for  him,  pressed  the  teat  into  his  mouth. 
Martin  was  not  accustomed  to  feed  in  that  way, 
and  he  not  only  refused  to  suck,  but  continued  to 
cry  with  indignation  at  such  treatment,  and  to 
struggle  with  all  his  little  might  to  free  himself. 
His  striving  was  all  in  vain;  and  by-and-by  the 
man,  seeing  that  he  would  not  suck,  had  a  fresh 
idea,  and,  gripping  Martin  more  firmly  than  ever, 
with  one  hand  forced  and  held  his  mouth  open, 


A  TROOP  OF  WILD  HORSES        in 

and  with  the  other  drew  a  stream  of  milk  into  it. 
After  choking  and  spluttering  and  crying  more 
than  ever  for  a  while,  Martin  began  to  grow  quiet, 
and  to  swallow  the  milk  with  some  satisfaction,  for 
he  was  very  hungry  and  thirsty,  and  it  tasted  very 
good.  By-and-by,  when  no  more  milk  could  be 
drawn  from  the  teats,  he  was  taken  to  a  second 
mare,  from  which  the  foal  was  kicked  away  with  as 
little  ceremony  as  the  first  one,  and  then  he  had  as 
much  more  milk  as  he  wanted,  and  began  to  like 
being  fed  in  this  amusing  way. 

Of  what  happened  after  that  Martin  did  not 
know  much,  except  that  the  man  seemed  very 
happy  after  feeding  him.  He  set  Martin  on  the 
back  of  a  horse,  then  jumped  and  danced  round 
him,  making  funny  chuckling  noises,  after  which 
he  rolled  horse-like  on  the  grass,  his  arms  and  legs 
up  in  the  air,  and  finally,  pulling  Martin  down,  he 
made  him  roll  too. 

But  the  little  fellow  was  too  tired  to  keep  his 
eyes  any  longer  open,  and  when  he  next  opened 
them  it  was  morning,  and  he  found  himself  lying 
wedged  in  between  a  mare  and  her  young  foal  lying 
side  by  side  close  together.  There  too  was  the 
wild  man,  coiled  up  like  a  sleeping  dog,  his  head 
pillowed  on  the  foal's  neck,  and  the  hair  of  his 
great  shaggy  beard  thrown  like  a  blanket  over 
Martin. 


ii2  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

He  very  soon  grew  accustomed  to  the  new- 
strange  manner  of  life,  and  even  liked  it.  Those 
big,  noble-looking  wild  horses,  with  their  shining 
coats,  brown  and  bay  and  black  and  sorrel  and 
chestnut,  and  their  black  manes  and  tails  that  swept 
the  grass  when  they  moved,  were  so  friendly  to 
him  that  he  could  not  help  loving  them.  As  he 
went  about  among  them  when  they  grazed,  every 
horse  he  approached  would  raise  his  head  and  touch 
his  face  and  arms  with  his  nose.  "O  you  dear 
horse !  "  Martin  would  exclaim,  rubbing  the  warm, 
velvet-soft,  sensitive  nose  with  his  hand. 

He  soon  discovered  that  they  were  just  as  fond 
of  play  as  he  was,  and  that  he  too  was  to  take  part 
in  their  games.  Having  fed  as  long  as  they  wanted 
that  morning,  they  all  at  once  began  to  gather  to- 
gether, coming  at  a  gallop,  neighing  shrilly ;  then 
the  wild  man,  catching  Martin  up,  leaped  upon  the 
back  of  one  of  the  horses,  and  away  went  the  whole 
troop  at  a  furious  pace  to  the  great  open  dry  plain, 
where  Martin  had  met  with  them  on  the  previous 
day.  Now  it  was  very  terrifying  for  him  at  first  to 
be  in  the  midst  of  that  flying  crowd,  as  the  animals 
went  tearing  over  the  plain,  which  seemed  to  shake 
beneath  their  thundering  hoofs,  while  their  human 
leader  cheered  them  on  with  his  shrill,  repeated  cries. 
But  in  a  little  while  he  too  caught  the  excitement, 
and,  losing  all  his  fear,  was  as  wildly  happy  as  the 


A  TROOP  OF  WILD  HORSES        113 

others,  crying-  out  at  the  top  of  his  voice  in  imita- 
tion of  the  wild  man. 

After  an  hour's  run  they  returned  to  the  valley, 
and  then  Martin,  without  being  compelled  to  do  so, 
rolled  about  on  the  grass,  and  went  after  the  young 
foals  when  they  came  out  to  challenge  one  another 
to  a  game.  He  tried  to  do  as  they  did,  prancing 
and  throwing  up  his  heels  and  snorting,  but  when 
they  ran  from  him  they  soon  left  him  hopelessly 
behind.  Meanwhile  the  wild  man  kept  watch  over 
him,  feeding  him  with  mare's  milk,  and  inviting  him 
from  time  to  time  to  smell  and  taste  the  tender  grass. 
Best  of  all  was,  when  they  went  for  another  run  in 
the  evening,  and  when  Martin  was  no  longer  held 
with  a  tight  grip  against  the  man's  side,  but  was 
taught  or  allowed  to  hold  on,  clinging  with  his  legs 
to  the  man's  body  and  clasping  him  round  the  neck 
with  his  arms,  his  fingers  tightly  holding  on  to  the 
great  shaggy  beard. 

Three  days  passed  in  this  way,  and  if  his  time 
had  been  much  longer  with  the  wild  horses  he 
would  have  become  one  of  the  troop,  and  would 
perhaps  have  eaten  grass  too,  and  forgotten  his 
human  speech,  or  that  he  was  a  little  boy  born  to  a 
very  different  kind  of  life.  But  it  was  not  to  be, 
and  in  the  end  he  was  separated  from  the  troop  by 
accident. 

At  the  end  of  the  third  day,  when  the  sun  was 


ii4  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

setting,  and  all  the  horses  were  scattered  about  in  the 
valley,  quietly  grazing,  something  disturbed  them. 
It  might  have  been  a  sight  or  sound  of  some  feared 
object,  or  perhaps  the  wind  had  brought  the  smell 
of  their  enemies  and  hunters  from  a  great  distance 
to  their  nostrils.     Suddenly  they  were  all  in  a  wild 
commotion,  galloping  from  all  sides   toward  their 
leader,  and  he,  picking  Martin  up,  was  quickly  on 
a  horse,  and  off  they  went  full  speed,  but  not  towards 
the  plain  where  they  were  accustomed  to  go  for  their 
runs.    Now  they  fled  in  the  opposite  direction  down 
to  the  river  :  into  it  they  went,  into  that  wide,  deep, 
dangerous  current,    leaping   from    the   bank,   each 
horse,  as  he  fell  into  the  water  with  a  tremendous 
splash,  disappearing  from  sight  ;    but   in  another 
moment  the  head  and  upper  part  of  the  neck  was 
seen  to  rise  above  the  surface,  until  the  whole  lot 
were  in,  and  appeared  to  Martin  like  a  troop  of 
horses'  heads  swimming  without   bodies  over  the 
river.     He,  clinging  to  the  neck  and  beard  of  the 
wild  man,  had  the  upper  half  of  his  body  out  of 
the  cold,  rushing  water,  and  in  this  way  they  all 
got  safely  across  and  up  the  opposite  bank.     No 
sooner  were  they  out,  than,  without  even  pausing 
to  shake  the  water  from  their  skins,  they  set  off 
at  full  speed  across  the  valley  towards  the  distant 
hills.     Now  on  this  side,  at  a  distance  of  a  mile  or 
so  from  the  river,  there  were  vast  reed-beds  stand- 


A  TROOP  OF  WILD  HORSES        115 

ing  on  low  land,  dried  to  a  hard  crust  by  the  summer 
heat,  and  right  into  the  reeds  the  horses  rushed  and 
struggled  to  force  their  way  through.  The  reeds 
were  dead  and  dry,  so  tall  that  they  rose  high  above 
the  horses'  heads,  and  growing  so  close  together 
that  it  was  hard  to  struggle  through  them.  Then 
when  they  were  in  the  midst  of  this  difficult  place, 
the  dry  crust  that  covered  the  low  ground  began  to 
yield  to  the  heavy  hoofs,  and  the  horses,  sinking 
to  their  knees,  were  thrown  down  and  plunged 
about  in  the  most  desperate  way,  and  in  the  midst 
of  this  confusion  Martin  was  struck  and  thrown 
from  his  place,  falling  amongst  the  reeds.  Luckily 
he  was  not  trampled  upon,  but  he  was  left  behind, 
and  then  what  a  dreadful  situation  was  his,  when 
the  whole  troop  had  at  last  succeeded  in  fighting 
their  way  through,  and  had  gone  away  leaving  him 
in  that  dark,  solitary  place !  He  listened  until  the 
sound  of  heavy  hoofs  and  the  long  cries  of  the  man 
had  died  away  in  the  distance ;  then  the  silence 
and  darkness  terrified  him,  and  he  struggled  to  get 
out,  but  the  reeds  grew  so  close  together  that  before 
he  had  pushed  a  dozen  yards  through  them  he  sank 
down,  unable  to  do  more. 

The  air  was  hot  and  close  and  still  down  there 
on  the  ground,  but  by  leaning  his  head  back,  and 
staring  straight  up  he  could  see  the  pale  night  sky 
sprinkled  with  stars  in  the  openings  between  the 


u6  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

dry  leaves  and  spikes  of  the  reeds.  Poor  Martin 
could  do  nothing  but  gaze  up  at  the  little  he  could 
see  of  the  sky  in  that  close,  black  place,  until  his 
neck  ached  with"  the  strain ;  but  at  last,  to  make 
him  hope,  he  heard  a  sound  —  the  now  familiar 
long  shrill  cry  of  the  wild  man.  Then,  as  it 
came  nearer,  the  sound  of  tramping  hoofs  and 
neighing  of  the  horses  was  heard,  and  the  cries 
and  hoof-beats  grew  louder  and  then  fainter  in 
turns,  and  sounded  now  on  this  side,  now  on  that, 
and  he  knew  that  they  were  looking  for  him. 
"I'm  here,  I'm  here,"  he  cried  ;  "  oh,  dear  horses, 
come  and  take  me  away ! "  But  they  could  not 
hear  him,  and  at  last  the  sound  of  their  neighing 
and  the  wild  long  cries  died  away  altogether,  and 
Martin  was  left  alone  in  that  black  silent  place. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE    LADY    OF    THE    HILLS 

No  escape  was  possible  for  poor  little  Martin  so  long 
as  it  was  dark,  and  there  he  had  to  stay  all  night, 
but  morning  brought  him  comfort ;  for  now  he  could 
see  the  reed-stems  that  hemmed  him  in  all  round, 
and  by  using  his  hands  to  bend  them  from  him  on 
either  side  he  could  push  through  them.  By-and- 
by  the  sunlight  touched  the  tops  of  the  tall  plants, 
and  working  his  way  towards  the  side  from  which 
the  light  came  he  soon  made  his  escape  from  that 
prison,  and  came  into  a  place  where  he  could  walk 
without  trouble,  and  could  see  the  earth  and  sky 
again.  Further  on,  in  a  grassy  part  of  the  valley, 
he  found  some  sweet  roots  which  greatly  refreshed 
him,  and  at  last,  leaving  the  valley,  he  came  out  on 
a  high  grassy  plain,  and  saw  the  hills  before  him 
looking  very  much  nearer  than  he  had  ever  seen 
them  look  before.  Up  till  now  they  had  appeared 
like  masses  of  dark  blue  banked  up  cloud  resting 
on  the  earth,  now  he  could  see  that  they  were 
indeed  stone — blue  stone  piled  up  in  huge  cliffs 
and  crags  high  above  the  green  world  ;  he  could 


n8  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

see  the  roughness  of  the  heaped  up  rocks,  the 
fissures  and  crevices  in  the  sides  of  the  hills,  and 
here  and  there  the  patches  of  green  colour  where 
trees  and  bushes  had  taken  root.  How  wonderful  it 
seemed  to  Martin  that  evening  standing  there  in  the 
wide  green  plain,  the  level  sun  at  his  back  shining 
on  his  naked  body,  making  him  look  like  a  statue  of 
a  small  boy  carved  in  whitest  marble  or  alabaster. 
Then,  to  make  the  sight  he  gazed  on  still  more 
enchanting,  just  as  the  sun  went  down  the  colour 
of  the  hills  changed  from  stone  blue  to  a  purple 
that  was  like  the  purple  of  ripe  plums  and  grapes, 
only  more  beautiful  and  bright.  In  a  few  minutes 
the  purple  colour  faded  away  and  the  hills  grew 
shadowy  and  dark.  It  was  too  late  in  the  day,  and 
he  was  too  tired  to  walk  further.  He  was  very 
hungry  and  thirsty  too,  and  so  when  he  had  found 
a  few  small  white  partridge-berries  and  had  made  a 
poor  supper  on  them,  he  gathered  some  dry  grass 
into  a  little  heap,  and  lying  down  in  it,  was  soon  in 
a  sound  sleep. 

It  was  not  until  the  late  afternoon  next  day  that 
Martin  at  last  got  to  the  foot  of  the  hill,  or  moun- 
tain, and  looking  up  he  saw  it  like  a  great  wall  of 
stone  above  him,  with  trees  and  bushes  and  trailing 
vines  growing  out  of  the  crevices  and  on  the  narrow 
ledges  of  the  rock.  Going  some  distance  he  came 
to  a  place  where  he  could  ascend,  and  here  he 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  HILLS        119 

began  slowly  walking  upwards.  At  first  he  could 
hardly  contain  his  delight  where  everything  looked 
new  and  strange,  and  here  he  found  some  very 
beautiful  flowers ;  but  as  he  toiled  on  he  grew  more 
tired  and  hungry  at  every  step,  and  then,  to  make 
matters  worse,  his  legs  began  to  pain  so  that  he 
could  hardly  lift  them.  It  was  a  curious  pain 
which  he  had  never  felt  in  his  sturdy  little  legs 
before  in  all  his  wanderings. 

Then  a  cloud  came  over  the  sun,  and  a  sharp 
wind  sprang  up  that  made  him  shiver  with  cold  : 
then  followed  a  shower  of  rain ;  and  now  Martin, 
feeling  sore  and  miserable,  crept  into  a  cavity 
beneath  a  pile  of  overhanging  rocks  for  shelter. 
He  was  out  of  the  rain  there,  but  the  wind  blew 
in  on  him  until  it  made  his  teeth  chatter  with  cold. 
He  began  to  think  of  his  mother,  and  of  all  the 
comforts  of  his  lost  home — the  bread  and  milk 
when  he  was  hungry,  the  warm  clothing,  and  the 
soft  little  bed  with  its  snowy  white  coverlid  in 
which  he  had  slept  so  sweetly  every  night. 

"O  mother,  mother!"  he  cried,  but  his  mother 
was  too  far  off  to  hear  his  piteous  cry. 

When  the  shower  was  over  he  crept  out  of  his 
shelter  again,  and  with  his  little  feet  already  bleed- 
ing from  the  sharp  rocks,  tried  to  climb  on.  In 
one  spot  he  found  some  small,  creeping,  myrtle 
plants  covered  with  ripe  white  berries,  and  although 


120  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

they  had  a  very  pungent  taste  he  ate  his  fill  of 
them,  he  was  so  very  hungry.  Then  feeling  that 
he  could  climb  no  higher,  he  began  to  look  round 
for  a  dry,  sheltered  spot  to  pass  the  night  in.  In  a 
little  while  he  came  to  a  great,  smooth,  flat  stone 
that  looked  like  a  floor  in  a  room,  and  was  about 
forty  yards  wide  :  nothing  grew  on  it  except  some 
small  tufts  of  grey  lichen  ;  but  on  the  further-side, 
at  the  foot  of  a  steep,  rocky  precipice,  there  was  a 
thick  bed  of  tall  green  and  yellow  ferns,  and  among 
the  ferns  he  hoped  to  find  a  place  to  lie  down  in. 
Very  slowly  he  limped  across  the  open  space, 
crying  with  the  pain  he  felt  at  every  step ;  but 
when  he  reached  the  bed  of  ferns  he  all  at  once 
saw,  sitting  among  the  tall  fronds  on  a  stone,  a 
strange-looking  woman  in  a  green  dress,  who  was 
gazing  very  steadily  at  him  with  eyes  full  of  love 
and  compassion.  At  her  side  there  crouched  a 
big  yellow  beast,  covered  all  over  with  black,  eye- 
like  spots,  with  a  big  round  head,  and  looking  just 
like  a  cat,  but  a  hundred  times  larger  than  the 
biggest  cat  he  had  ever  seen.  The  animal  rose 
up  with  a  low  sound  like  a  growl,  and  glared  at 
Martin  with  its  wide,  yellow,  fiery  eyes,  which  so 
terrified  him  that  he  dared  not  move  another  step 
until  the  woman,  speaking  very  gently  to  him,  told 
him  not  to  fear.  She  caressed  the  great  beast, 
making  him  lie  down  again  ;  then  coming  forward 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  HILLS        121 

and  taking  Martin  by  the  hand,  she  drew  him  up 
to  her  knees. 

"  What     is     your    name,    poor    little     suffering 


child  ? "    she    asked,    bending   down   to   him,    and 
speaking  softly. 

"  Martin — what's  your's  ?"  he  returned,  still  half 
sobbing,  and  rubbing  his  eyes  with  his  little 
fists. 


122  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

"  I  am  called  the  Lady  of  the  Hills,  and  I  live 
here  alone  in  the  mountain.  Tell  me,  why  do 
you  cry,  Martin  ?  " 

"  Because  I'm  so  cold,  and — and  my  legs  hurt 
so,  and — and  because  I  want  to  go  back  to  my 
mother.  She's  over  there,"  said  he,  with  another 
sob,  pointing  vaguely  to  the  great  plain  beneath 
their  feet,  extending  far,  far  away  into  the 
blue  distance,  where  the  crimson  sun  was  now 
setting. 

"  I  will  be  your  mother,  and  you  shall  live  with 
me  here  on  the  mountain,"  she  said,  caressing  his 
little  cold  hands  with  hers.  "Will  you  call  me 
mother  ?  " 

"  You  are  not  my  mother,"  he  returned  warmly. 
"  I  don't  want  to  call  you  mother." 

"When  I  love  you  so  much,  dear  child?"  she 
pleaded,  bending  down  until  her  lips  were  close  to 
his  averted  face. 

"How  that  great  spotted  cat  stares  at  me!" 
he  suddenly  said.  "  Do  you  think  it  will  kill 
me?" 

"  No,  no,  he  only  wants  to  play  with  you.  Will 
you  not  even  look  at  me,  Martin  ?  " 

He  still  resisted  her,  but  her  hand  felt  very 
warm  and  comforting — it  was  such  a  large,  warm, 
protecting  hand.  So  pleasant  did  it  feel  that 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  HILLS        123 

after  a  little  while  he  began  to  move  his  hand 
up  her  beautiful,  soft,  white  arm  until  it  touched 
her  hair.  For  her  hair  was  unbound  and  loose  ; 
it  was  dark,  and  finer  than  the  finest  spun  silk, 
and  fell  all  over  her  shoulders  and  down  her 
back  to  the  stone  she  sat  on.  He  let  his 
fingers  stray  in  and  out  among  it ;  and  it  felt 
like  the  soft,  warm  down  that  lines  a  little 
bird's  nest  to  his  skin.  Finally,  he  touched  her 
neck  and  allowed  his  hand  to  rest  there,  it  was 
such  a  soft,  warm  neck.  At  length,  but  reluc- 
tantly, for  his  little  rebellious  heart  was  not  yet 
wholly  subdued,  he  raised  his  eyes  to  her  face. 
Oh,  how  beautiful  she  was!  Her  love  and  eager 
desire  to  win  him  had  flushed  her  clear  olive  skin 
with  rich  red  colour  ;  out  of  her  sweet  red  lips,  half 
parted,  came  her  warm  breath  on  his  cheek,  more 
fragrant  than  wild  flowers  ;  and  her  large  dark  eyes 
were  gazing  down  into  his  with  such  a  tenderness 
in  them  that  Martin,  seeing  it,  felt  a  strange  little 
shudder  pass  through  him,  and  scarcely  knew 
whether  to  think  it  pleasant  or  painful.  "  Dear 
child,  I  love  you  so  much,"  she  spoke,  "will  you 
not  call  me  mother  ?  " 

Dropping  his  eyes  and  with  trembling  lips,  feel- 
ing a  little  ashamed  at  being  conquered  at  last,  he 
whispered  "  Mother." 


£24  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

She  raised  him  in  her  arms  and  pressed  him 
to  her  bosom,  wrapping  her  hair  like  a  warm 
mantle  round  him  ;  and  in  less  than  one  minute, 
overcome  by  fatigue,  he  fell  fast  asleep  in  her 
arms. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE    LITTLE    PEOPLE    UNDERGROUND 

WHEN  he  awoke  Martin  found  himself  lying  on  a 
soft  downy  bed  in  a  dim  stone  chamber,  and  feeling 
silky  hair  over  his  cheek  and  neck  and  arms,  he 
knew  that  he  was  still  with  his  new  strange  mother, 
the  beautiful  Lady  of  the  Mountain.  She,  seeing 
him  awake,  took  him  up  in  her  arms,  and  holding  him 
against  her  bosom,  carried  him  through  a  long  wind- 
ing stone  passage,  and  out  into  the  bright  morning 
sunlight.  There  by  a  small  spring  of  clearest  water 
that  gushed  from  the  rock  she  washed  his  scratched 
and  bruised  skin,  and  rubbed  it  with  sweet-smelling 
unguents,  and  gave  him  food  and  drink.  The  great 
spotted  beast  sat  by  them  all  the  time,  purring  like 
a  cat,  and  at  intervals  he  tried  to  entice  Martin  to 
leave  the  woman's  lap  and  play  with  him.  But  she 
would  not  let  him  out  of  her  arms  :  all  day  she  nursed 
and  fondled  him  as  if  he  had  been  a  helpless  babe 
instead  of  the  sturdy  little  run-away  and  adventurer 
he  had  proved  himself  to  be.  She  also  made  him 
tell  her  the  story  of  how  he  had  got  lost  and  of  all 
the  wonderful  things  that  had  happened  to  him  in 


125 


126  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

his  wanderings  in  the  wilderness — the  people  of  the 
Mirage,  and  old  Jacob  and  the  savages,  the  great 
forest,  the  serpent,  the  owl,  the  wild  horses  and  wild 
man,  and  the  black  people  of  the  sky.  But  it  was 
of  the  Mirage  and  the  procession  of  lovely  beings 
about  which  he  spoke  most  and  questioned  her. 

"  Do  you  think  it  was  all  a  dream  ? "  he  kept 
asking  her,  "the  Queen  and  all  those  people?" 

She  was  vexed  at  the  question,  and  turning  her 
face  away,  refused  to  answer  him.  For  though  at 
all  other  times,  and  when  he  spoke  of  other  things, 
she  was  gentle  and  loving  in  her  manner,  the  moment 
he  spoke  of  the  Queen  of  the  Mirage  and  the  gifts 
she  had  bestowed  on  him,  she  became  impatient,  and 
rebuked  him  for  saying  such  foolish  things. 

At  length  she  spoke  and  told  him  that  it  was  a 
dream,  a  very  very  idle  dream,  a  dream  that  was  not 
worth  dreaming ;  that  he  must  never  speak  of  it 
again,  never  think  of  it,  but  forget  it,  just  as  he 
had  forgotten  all  the  other  vain  silly  dreams  he 
had  ever  had.  And  having  said  this  much  a 
little  sharply,  she  smiled  again  and  fondled  him, 
and  promised  that  when  he  next  slept  he  should 
have  a  good  dream,  one  worth  the  dreaming, 
and  worth  remembering  and  talking  about. 

She  held  him  away  from  her,  seating  him  on  her 
knees,  to  look  at  his  face,  and  said,  "  For  oh,  dear 
little  Martin,  you  are  lovely  and  sweet  to  look  at, 


LITTLE  PEOPLE  UNDERGROUND      127 

and  you  are  mine,  my  own  sweet  child,  and  so  long 
as  you  live  with  me  on  the  hills,  and  love  me  and 
call  me  mother,  you  shall  be  happy,  and  everything 
you  see,  sleeping  and  waking,  shall  seem  strange 
and  beautiful." 

It  was  quite  true  that  he  was  sweet  to  look  at, 
very  pretty  with  his  rosy-white  skin  deepening  to 
red  on  his  cheeks  ;  and  his  hair  curling  all  over  his 
head  was  of  a  bright  golden  chestnut  colour ; 
and  his  eyes  were  a  very  bright  blue,  and 
looked  keen  and  straight  at  you  just  like  a  bird's 
eyes,  that  seem  to  be  thinking  of  nothing,  and 
yet  seeing  everything. 

After  this  Martin  was  eager  to  go  to  sleep  at 
once  and  have  the  promised  dream,  but  his  very 
eagerness  kept  him  wide  awake  all  day,  and 
even  after  going  to  bed  in  that  dim  chamber  in 
the  heart  of  the  hill,  it  was  a  long  time  before 
he  dropped  off.  But  he  did  not  know  that  he 
had  fallen  asleep  :  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  was 
very  wide  awake,  and  that  he  heard  a  voice 
speaking  in  the  chamber,  and  that  he  started  up 
to  listen  to  it. 

"  Do  you  not  know  that  there  are  things  just  as 
strange  underground  as  above  it  ? "  said  the 
voice. 

Martin  could  not  see  the  speaker,  but  he  answered 
quite  boldly  :  "  No — there's  nothing  underground 


128  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

except  earth  and  worms  and  roots.  I've  seen  it 
when  they've  been  digging." 

"  Oh,  but  there  is  ! "  said  the  voice.  "  You  can 
see  for  yourself.  All  you've  got  to  do  is  to  find  a 
path  leading  down,  and  to  follow  it.  There's  a  path 
over  there  just  in  front  of  you  ;  you  can  see  the 
opening  from  where  you  are  lying." 

He  looked,  and  sure  enough  there  was  an  open- 
ing, and  a  dim  passage  running  down  through  the 
solid  rock.  Up  he  jumped,  fired  at  the  prospect  of 
seeing  new  and  wonderful  things,  and  without  look- 
ing any  more  to  see  who  had  spoken  to  him,  he  ran 
over  to  it.  The  passage  had  a  smooth  floor  of  stone, 
and  sloped  downward  into  the  earth,  and  went  round 
and  round  in  an  immense  spiral  ;  but  the  circles  were 
so  wide  that  Martin  scarcely  knew  that  he  was  not 
travelling  in  a  straight  line.  Have  you  by  chance 
ever  seen  a  buzzard,  or  stork,  or  vulture,  or  some 
other  great  bird,  soaring  upwards  into  the  sky  in 
wide  circles,  each  circle  taking  it  higher  above  the 
earth,  until  it  looked  like  a  mere  black  speck  in  the 
vast  blue  heavens,  and  at  length  disappeared  alto- 
gether ?  Just  in  that  way,  going  round  and  round 
in  just  such  wide  circles,  lightly  running  all  the  time, 
with  never  a  pause  to  rest,  and  without  feeling  in 
the  least  tired,  Martin  went  on,  only  down  and 
down  and  further  down,  instead  of  up  and  up 
like  the  soaring  bird,  until  he  was  as  far  under  the 


LITTLE  PEOPLE  UNDERGROUND      129 

mountain   as  ever  any  buzzard  or  crane  or  eagle 
soared  above  it. 

Thus  running  he  came  at  last  out  of  the  passage 
to  an  open  room  or  space  so  wide  that,  look  which 
way  he  would,  he  could  see  no  end  to  it.  The  stone 
roof  of  this  place  was  held  up  by  huge  stone  pillars 
standing  scattered  about  like  groups  of  great  rough- 
barked  trees,  many  times  bigger  round  than  hogs- 
heads. Here  and  there  in  the  roof,  or  the  stone 
overhead,  were  immense  black  caverns  which  almost 
frightened  him  to  gaze  up  at  them,  they  were  so 
vast  and  black.  And  no  light  of  sun  or  moon  came 
down  into  that  deep  part  of  the  earth  :  the  light  was 
from  big  fires,  and  they  were  fires  of  smithies 
burning  all  about  him,  sending  up  great  flames  and 
clouds  of  black  smoke,  which  rose  and  floated  up- 
wards through  those  big  black  caverns  in  the  roof. 
Crowds  of  people  were  gathered  around  the  smithies, 
all  very  busy  heating  metal  and  hammering  on 
anvils  like  blacksmiths.  Never  had  he  seen  so 
many  people,  nor  ever  had  he  seen  such  busy  men 
as  these,  rushing  about  here  and  there  shouting  and 
colliding  with  one  another,  bringing  and  carrying 
huge  loads  in  baskets  on  their  backs,  and  altogether 
the  sight  of  them,  and  the  racket  and  the  smoke  and 
dust,  and  the  blazing  fires,  was  almost  too  much  for 
Martin  ;  and  for  a  moment  or  two  he  was  tempted 
to  turn  and  run  back  into  the  passage  through  which 


1 30  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

he  had  come.     But  the  strangeness  of  it  all  kept 
him  there,  and  then  he  began  to  look  more  closely 
at  the  people,  for  these  were  the  little  men  that  live 
under  the  earth,  and  they  were  unlike  anything  he 
had  seen  on  its  surface.     They  were  very  stout, 
strong-looking  little   men,   dressed  in  coarse  dark 
clothes,   covered  with  dust   and   grime,   and   they 
had  dark  faces,  and  long  hair,  and  rough,  unkempt 
beards ;  they  had  very  long  arms  and  big  hands, 
like  baboons,  and  there  was  not  one  among  them 
who  looked  taller  than  Martin  himself.     After  look- 
ing at  them  he  did  not  feel  at  all  afraid  of  them  ; 
he  only  wanted  very  much  to  know  who  they  were, 
and  what  they  were  doing,  and  why  they  were  so 
excited  and  noisy  over  their  work.     So  he  thrust 
himself  among  them,  going  to  the  smithies  where 
they  were  in  crowds,  and  peering  curiously  at  them. 
Then  he  began  to  notice  that  his  coming  among 
them  created  a  great  commotion,   for   no    sooner 
would  he  appear  than  all  work  would  be  instantly 
suspended  ;  down  would  go  their  baskets  and  loads 
of  wood,  their  hammers  and  implements  of  all  kinds, 
and  they  would  stare  and  point  at  him,  all  jabbering 
together,  so  that  the  noise  was  as  if  a  thousand 
cockatoos   and    parrots    and    paroquets    were    all 
screaming   at    once.     What   it   was   all   about   he 
could  not  tell,  as  he  could  not  make  out  what  they 
said  ;  he  could  only  see,  and  plainly  enough,  that 


LITTLE  PEOPLE   UNDERGROUND      131 

his  presence  astonished  and  upset  them,  for  as  he 
went  about  among  them  they  fell  back  before  him, 
crowding  together,  and  all  staring  and  pointing  at 
him. 

But  at  length  he  began  to  make  out  what  they 
were  saying  ;  they  were  all  exclaiming  and  talking 
about  him.  "  Look  at  him !  look  at  him ! "  they 
cried.  "  Who  is  he  ?  What,  Martin — this  Martin  ? 
Never.  No,  no,  no  !  Yes,  yes,  yes  !  Martin  him- 
self— Martin  with  nothing  on  !  Not  a  shred — not 
a  thread  !  Impossible — it  cannot  be  !  Nothing  so 
strange  has  ever  happened  !  Naked—  do  you  say 
that  Martin  is  naked?  Oh,  dreadful — from  the 
crown  of  his  head  to  his  toes,  naked  as  he  was 
born  !  No  clothes — no  clothes — oh  no,  it  can't  be 
Martin.  It  is,  it  is!"  And  so  on  and  on,  until 
Martin  could  not  endure  it  longer,  for  he  had  been 
naked  for  days  and  days,  and  had  ceased  to  think 
about  it,  and  in  fact  did  not  know  that  he  was 
naked.  And  now  hearing  their  remarks,  and  seeing 
how  they  were  disturbed,  he  looked  down  at  him- 
self and  saw  that  it  was  indeed  so — that  he  had 
nothing  on,  and  he  grew  ashamed  and  frightened, 
and  thought  he  would  run  and  hide  himself  from 
them  in  some  hole  in  the  ground.  But  there  was 
no  place  to  hide  in,  for  now  they  had  gathered  all 
round  him  in  a  vast  crowd,  so  that  whichever 
way  he  turned  there  before  him  they  appeared — 


132  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

hundreds  and  hundreds  of  dark,  excited  faces, 
hundreds  of  grimy  hands  all  pointing  at  him. 
Then,  all  at  once,  he  caught  sight  of  an  old  rag 
of  a  garment  lying  on  the  ground  among  the  ashes 
and  cinders,  and  he  thought  he  would  cover  him- 
self with  it,  and  picking  it  hastily  up  was  just 
going  to  put  it  round  him  when  a  great  roar  of 
"  No!  "  burst  out  from  the  crowd  ;  he  was  almost 
deafened  with  the  sound,  so  that  he  stood  trem- 
bling with  the  old  dirty  rag  of  cloth  in  his  hand. 
Then  one  of  the  little  men  came  up  to  him,  and 
snatching  the  rag  from  his  hand,  flung  it  angrily 
down  upon  the  floor  ;  then  as  if  afraid  of  remaining 
so  near  Martin,  he  backed  away  into  the  crowd 
again. 

Just  then  Martin  heard  a  very  low  voice  close  to 
his  ear  speaking  to  him,  but  when  he  looked  round 
he  could  see  no  person  near  him.  He  knew  it  was 
the  same  voice  which  had  spoken  to  him  in  the 
cave  where  he  slept,  and  had  told  him  to  go  down 
into  that  place  underground. 

"  Do  not  fear,"  said  the  gentle  voice  to  Martin. 
"  Say  to  the  little  men  that  you  have  lost  your 
clothes,  and  ask  them  for  something  to  put 
on." 

Then  Martin,  who  had  covered  his  face  with 
his  hands  to  shut  out  the  sight  of  the  angry 
crowd,  took  courage,  and  looking  at  them,  said, 


LITTLE  PEOPLE  UNDERGROUND       135 

half  sobbing,  "  O,  Little  Men,  I've  lost  my 
clothes  —  won't  you  give  me  something  to  put 
on?" 

This  speech  had  a  wonderful  effect :  instantly 
there  was  a  mighty  rush,  all  the  Little  Men 
hurrying  away  in  all  directions,  shouting  and 
tumbling  over  each  other  in  their  haste  to  get 
away,  and  by-and-by  it  looked  to  Martin  as  if 
they  were  having  a  great  struggle  or  contest  over 
something.  They  were  all  struggling  to  get  pos- 
session of  a  small  closed  basket,  and  it  was  like 
a  game  of  football  with  hundreds  of  persons  all 
playing,  all  fighting  for  possession  of  the  ball.  At 
length  one  of  them  succeeded  in  getting  hold  of 
the  basket  and  escaping  from  all  the  others  who 
opposed  him,  and  running  to  Martin  he  threw  it 
down  at  his  feet,  and  lifting  the  lid  displayed  to 
his  sight  a  bundle  of  the  most  beautiful  clothes 
ever  seen  by  child  or  man.  With  a  glad  cry 
Martin  pulled  them  out,  but  the  next  moment  a 
very  important-looking  Little  Man,  with  a  great 
white  beard,  sprang  forward  and  snatched  them 
out  of  his  hand. 

"  No,  no,"  he  shouted.  "  These  are  not  fit  for 
Martin  to  wear  !  They  will  soil !  "  Saying  which, 
he  flung  them  down  on  that  dusty  floor  with  its  litter 
of  cinders  and  dirt,  and  began  to  trample  on  them 
as  if  in  a  great  passion.  Then  he  snatched  them 


136  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

up  again  and  shook  them,  and  all  could  see  that 
they  were  unsoiled  and  just  as  bright  and  beautiful 
as  before.  Then  Martin  tried  to  take  them  from 
him,  but  the  other  would  not  let  him. 

"  Never  shall  Martin  wear  such  poor  clothes," 
shouted  the  old  man.  "  They  will  not  even  keep 
out  the  wet,"  and  with  that  he  thrust  them  into  a 
great  tub  of  water,  and  jumping  in  began  treading 
them  down  with  his  feet.  But  when  he  pulled 
them  out  again  and  shook  them  before  their  faces, 
all  saw  that  they  were  as  dry  and  bright  as 
before. 

"  Give  them  to  me ! "  cried  Martin,  thinking  that 
it  was  all  right  now. 

"  Never  shall  Martin  wear  such  poor  clothes — 
they  will  not  resist  fire,"  cried  the  old  man,  and 
into  the  flames  he  flung  them. 

Martin  now  gave  up  all  hopes  of  possessing 
them,  and  was  ready  to  burst  into  tears  at  their 
loss,  when  out  of  the  fire  they  were  pulled  again, 
and  it  was  seen  that  the  flames  had  not  injured  or 
tarnished  them  in  the  least.  Once  more  Martin 
put  out  his  arms  and  this  time  he  was  allowed  to 
take  those  beautiful  clothes,  and  then  just  as  he 
clasped  them  to  him  with  a  cry  of  delight  he 
woke! 

His  head  was  lying  on  his  new  mother's  arm, 
and  she  was  awake  watching  him. 


LITTLE  PEOPLE  UNDERGROUND      137 

"  O,  mother,  what  a  nice  dream  I  had  !  O  such 
pretty  clothes — why  did  I  wake  so  soon  ?  " 

She  laughed  and  touched  his  arms,  showing  him 
that  they  were  still  clasping  that  beautiful  suit  of 
clothes  to  his  breast  —  the  very  clothes  of  his 
wonderful  dream ! 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE    GREAT    BLUE    WATER 

THERE  was  not  in  all  that  land,  nor  perhaps  in  all 
the  wide  world,  a  happier  little  boy  than  Martin, 
when  after  waking  from  his  sleep  and  dream  he 
dressed  himself  for  the  first  time  in  that  new  suit, 
and  went  out  from  the  cave  into  the  morning  sun- 
light. He  then  felt  the  comfort  of  such  clothes, 
for  they  were  softer  than  the  finest,  softest  down  or 
silk  to  his  skin,  and  kept  him  warm  when  it  was 
cold,  and  cool  when  it  was  hot,  and  dry  when  it 
rained  on  him,  and  the  earth  could  not  soil  them, 
nor  the  thorns  tear  them  ;  and  above  everything 
they  were  the  most  beautiful  clothes  ever  seen. 
Their  colour  was  a  deep  moss  green,  or  so  it  looked 
at  a  little  distance,  or  when  seen  in  the  shade,  but 
in  the  sunshine  it  sparkled  as  if  small,  shining, 
many-coloured  beads  had  been  sewn  in  the  cloth ; 
only  there  were  no  beads ;  it  was  only  the  shining 
threads  that  made  it  sparkle  so,  like  clean  sand  in 
the  sun.  When  you  looked  closely  at  the  cloth, 
you  could  see  the  lovely  pattern  woven  in  it — small 
leaf  and  flower,  the  leaves  like  moss  leaves,  and 
138 


THE  GREAT  BLUE  WATER        139 

the  flowers  like  the  pimpernel,  but  not  half  so  big, 
and  they  were  yellow  and  red  and  blue  and  violet 
in  colour. 

But  there  were  many,  many  things  besides  the 
lovely  clothes  to  make  him  contented  and  happy. 
First,  the  beautiful  woman  of  the  hills  who  loved 
and  cherished  him  and  made  him  call  her  by  the 
sweet  name  of  "  mother  "  so  many  times  every  day 
that  he  well  nigh  forgot  she  was  not  his  real 
mother.  Then  there  was  the  great  stony  hill-side 
on  which  he  now  lived  for  a  playground,  where  he 
could  wander  all  day  among  the  rocks,  overgrown 
with  creepers  and  strange  sweet-smelling  flowers 
he  had  never  seen  on  the  plain  below.  The  birds 
and  butterflies  he  saw  there  were  different  from 
those  he  had  always  seen  ;  so  were  the  snakes 
which  he  often  found  sleepily  coiled  up  on  the 
rocks,  and  the  little  swift  lizards.  Even  the  water 
looked  strange  and  more  beautiful  than  the  water 
in  the  plain,  for  here  it  gushed  out  of  the  living 
rock,  sparkling  like  crystal  in  the  sun,  and  was 
always  cold  when  he  dipped  his  hands  in  it  even 
on  the  hottest  days.  Perhaps  the  most  wonderful 
thing  was  the  immense  distance  he  could  see,  when 
he  looked  away  from  the  hillside  across  the 
plain  and  saw  the  great  dark  forest  where  he 
had  been,  and  the  earth  stretching  far,  far  away 
beyond. 


140  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

Then  there  was  his  playmate,  the  great  yellow- 
spotted  cat,  who  followed  him  about  and  was 
always  ready  for  a  frolic,  playing  in  a  very 
curious  way.  Whenever  Martin  would  prepare 
to  take  a  running  leap,  or  a  swift  run  down  a 
slope,  the  animal,  stealing  quietly  up  behind, 
would  put  out  a  claw  from  his  big  soft  foot — a 
great  white  claw  as  big  as  an  owl's  beak — and 
pull  him  suddenly  back.  At  last  Martin  would 
lose  his  temper,  and  picking  up  a  stick  would 
turn  on  his  playmate ;  and  away  the  animal  would 
fly,  pretending  to  be  afraid,  and  going  over  bushes 
and  big  stones  with  tremendous  leaps  to  dis- 
appear from  sight  on  the  mountain  side.  But  very 
soon  he  would  steal  secretly  back  by  some  other 
way  to  spring  upon  Martin  unawares  and  roll  him 
over  and  over  on  the  ground,  growling  as  if  angry, 
and  making  believe  to  worry  him  with  his  great 
white  teeth,  although  never  really  hurting  him  in 
the  least.  He  played  with  Martin  just  as  a  cat 
plays  with  its  kitten  when  it  pretends  to  punish 
it. 

Whenever  Martin  began  to  show  the  least  sign 
of  weariness  the  Lady  of  the  Hills  would  call  him 
to  her.  Then,  lying  back  among  the  ferns,  she 
would  unbind  her  long  silky  tresses  to  let  him  play 
with  them,  for  this  was  always  a  delight  to  him. 
Then  she  would  gather  her  hair  up  again  and  dress 


THE  GREAT  BLUE  WATER        141 

it  with  yellow  flowers  and  glossy  dark  green  leaves 
to  make  herself  look  more  lovely  than  ever.  At 
other  times,  taking  him  on  her  shoulders,  she 
would  bound  nimbly  as  a  wild  goat  up  the 
steepest  places,  springing  from  crag  to  crag,  and 
dancing  gaily  along  the  narrow  ledges  of  rock, 
where  it  made  him  dizzy  to  look  down.  Then 
when  the  sun  was  near  setting,  when  long  shadows 
from  rocks  and  trees  began  to  creep  over  the 
mountain,  and  he  had  eaten  the  fruits  and  honey 
and  other  wild  delicacies  she  provided,  she  would 
make  him  lie  on  her  bosom.  Playing  with  her 
loose  hair  and  listening  to  her  singing  as  she 
rocked  herself  on  a  stone,  he  would  presently  fall 
asleep. 

In  the  morning  on  waking  he  would  always  find 
himself  lying  still  clasped  to  her  breast  in  that  great 
dim  cavern  ;  and  almost  always  when  he  woke  he 
would  find  her  crying.  Sometimes  on  opening  his 
eyes  he  would  find  her  asleep,  but  with  traces  of 
tears  on  her  face,  showing  that  she  had  been  awake 
and  crying. 

One  afternoon,  seeing  him  tired  of  play  and 
hard  to  amuse,  she  took  him  in  her  arms  and 
carried  him  right  up  the  side  of  the  mountain, 
where  it  grew  so  steep  that  even  the  big  cat 
could  not  follow  them.  Finally  she  brought 
him  out  on  the  extreme  summit,  and  looking 


i42  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

round  he  seemed  to  see  the  whole  world  spread 
out  beneath  him.  Below,  half-way  down,  there 
were  some  wild  cattle  feeding  on  the  mountain 
side,  and  they  looked  at  that  distance  no  bigger 
than  mice.  Looking  eastwards  he  beheld  just 
beyond  the  plain  a  vast  expanse  of  blue  water 
extending  leagues  and  leagues  away  until  it  faded 
into  the  blue  sky.  He  shouted  with  joy  when  he 
saw  it,  and  could  not  take  his  eyes  from  this 
wonderful  world  of  water. 

"  Take  me  there — take  me  there ! "  he  cried. 

She  only  shook  her  head  and  tried  to  laugh  him 
out  of  such  a  wish  ;  but  by-and-by  when  she 
attempted  to  carry  him  back  down  the  mountain 
he  refused  to  move  from  the  spot ;  nor  would  he 
speak  to  her  nor  look  up  into  her  pleading  face,  but 
kept  his  eyes  fixed  on  that  distant  blue  ocean 
which  had  so  enchanted  him.  For  it  seemed 
to  Martin  the  most  wonderful  thing  he  had  ever 
beheld. 

At  length  it  began  to  grow  cold  on  the  summit ; 
then  with  gentle  caressing  words  she  made  him 
turn  and  look  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  heavens, 
where  the  sun  was  just  setting  behind  a  great 
mass  of  clouds — dark  purple  and  crimson,  rising 
into  peaks  that  were  like  hills  of  rose-coloured 
pearl,  and  all  the  heavens  beyond  them  a  pale 
primrose  -  coloured  flame.  Filled  with  wonder 


THE  GREAT  BLUE  WATER        143 

at  all  this  rich  and  varied  colour  he  forgot  the 
ocean  for  a  moment,  and  uttered  an  exclamation  of 
delight. 

"  Do  you  know,  dear  Martin,"  said  she,  "  what 
we  should  find  there,  where  it  all  looks  so  bright 
and  beautiful,  if  I  had  wings  and  could  fly  with 
you,  clinging  to  my  bosom  like  a  little  bat  cling- 
ing to  its  mother  when  she  flies  abroad  in  the 
twilight  ? " 

"  What  ?  "  asked  Martin. 

"  Only  dark  dark  clouds  full  of  rain  and  cutting 
hail  and  thunder  and  lightning.  That  is  how  it  is 
with  the  sea,  Martin  :  it  makes  you  love  it  when 
you  see  it  at  a  distance ;  but  oh,  it  is  cruel  and 
treacherous,  and  when  it  has  once  got  you  in  its 
power  then  it  is  more  terrible  than  the  thunder  and 
lightning  in  the  cloud.  Do  you  remember,  when 
you  first  came  to  me,  naked,  shivering  with  cold, 
with  your  little  bare  feet  blistered  and  bleeding 
from  the  sharp  stones,  how  I  comforted  you  with 
my  love,  and  you  found  it  warm  and  pleasant  lying 
on  my  breast?  The  sea  will  not  comfort  you  in 
that  way  ;  it  will  clasp  you  to  a  cold,  cold  breast, 
and  kiss  you  with  bitter  salt  lips,  and  carry  you 
down  where  it  is  always  dark,  where  you  will  never 
never  see  the  blue  sky  and  sunshine  and  flowers 
again." 

Martin  shivered  and  nestled  closer  to  her ;  and 


H4  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

then  while  the  shadows  of  evening  were  gathering 
round  them,  she  sat  rocking  herself  to  and  fro  on  a 
stone,  murmuring  many  tender,  sweet  words  to  him, 
until  the  music  of  her  voice  and  the  warmth  of  her 
bosom  made  him  sleep. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE    WONDERS    OF    THE    HILLS 

Now,  although  Martin  had  gone  very  comfortably 
to  sleep  in  her  arms  and  found  it  sweet  to  be 
watched  over  so  tenderly,  he  was  not  the  happy 
little  boy  he  had  been  before  the  sight  of  the  distant 
ocean.  And  she  knew  it,  and  was  troubled  in  her 
mind,  and  anxious  to  do  something  to  make  him 
forget  that  great  blue  water.  She  could  do  many 
things,  and  above  all  she  could  show  him  new  and 
wonderful  things  in  the  hills  where  she  wished  to 
keep  him  always  with  her.  To  caress  him,  to  feed 
and  watch  over  him  by  day,  and  hold  him  in  her 
arms  when  he  slept  at  night — all  that  was  less  to 
him  than  the  sight  of  something  new  and  strange ; 
she  knew  this  well,  and  therefore  determined  to 
satisfy  his  desire  and  make  his  life  so  full  that  he 
would  always  be  more  than  contented  with  it. 

In  the  morning  he  went  out  on  the  hillside, 
wandering  listlessly  among  the  rocks,  and  when  the 
big  cat  found  him  there  and  tried  to  tempt  him  to  a 
game  he  refused  to  play,  for  he  had  not  yet  got 
over  his  disappointment,  and  could  think  of  nothing 


145 


1 46  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

but  the  sea.  But  the  cat  did  not  know  that  any- 
thing was  the  matter  with  him,  and  was  more 
determined  to  play  than  ever  ;  crouching  now  here, 
now  there  among  the  stones  and  bushes,  he  would 
spring  out  upon  Martin  and  pull  him  down  with  its 
big  paws,  and  this  so  enraged  him  that  picking  up  a 
stick  he  struck  furiously  at  his  tormentor.  But  the 
cat  was  too  quick  for  him  ;  he  dodged  the  blows, 
then  knocked  the  stick  out  of  his  hand,  and  finally 
Martin,  to  escape  from  him,  crept  into  a  crevice  in 
a  rock  where  the  cat  could  not  reach  him,  and 
refused  to  come  out  even  when  the  Lady  of  the 
Hills  came  to  look  for  him  and  begged  him  to  come 
to  her.  When  at  last,  compelled  by  hunger,  he 
returned  to  her,  he  was  silent  and  sullen  and  would 
not  be  caressed. 

He  saw  no  more  of  the  cat,  and  when  next  day 
he  asked  her  where  it  was,  she  said  that  it  had  gone 
from  them  and  would  return  no  more — that  she  had 
sent  it  away  because  it  had  vexed  him.  This  made 
Martin  sulk,  and  he  would  have  gone  away  and 
hidden  himself  from  her  had  she  not  caught  him  up 
in  her  arms.  He  struggled  to  free  himself,  but 
could  not,  and  she  then  carried  him  away  a  long 
distance  down  the  mountain-side  until  they  came  to 
a  small  dell,  green  with  creepers  and  bushes,  with  a 
deep  carpet  of  dry  moss  on  the  ground,  and  here 
she  sat  down  and  began  to  talk  to  him. 


THE  WONDERS  OF  THE  HILLS     147 

"  The  cat  was  a  very  beautiful  beast  with  his 
spotted  hide,"  she  said  ;  "  and  you  liked  to  play 
with  him  sometimes,  but  in  a  little  while  you  will 
be  glad  that  he  has  gone  from  you." 

He  asked  her  why. 

"  Because  though  he  was  fond  of  you  and  liked 
to  follow  you  about  and  play  with  you,  he  is  very 
fierce  and  powerful,  and  all  the  other  beasts  are 
afraid  of  him.  So  long  as  he  was  with  us  they 
would  not  come,  but  now  he  has  gone  they  will 
come  to  you  and  let  you  go  to  them." 

"Where  are  they?"  said  Martin,  his  curiosity 
greatly  excited. 

"Let  us  wait  here,"  she  said,  "and  perhaps  we 
shall  see  one  by-and-by." 

So  they  waited  and  were  silent,  and  as  nothing 
came  and  nothing  happened,  Martin  sitting  on  the 
mossy  ground  began  to  feel  a  strange  drowsiness 
stealing  over  him.  He  rubbed  his  eyes  and  looked 
round ;  he  wanted  to  keep  very  wide  awake  and 
alert,  so  as  not  to  miss  the  sight  of  anything  that 
might  come.  He  was  vexed  with  himself  for  feel- 
ing drowsy,  and  wondered  why  it  was  ;  then  listen- 
ing to  the  low  continuous  hum  of  the  bees,  he 
concluded  that  it  was  that  low,  soft,  humming  sound 
that  made  him  sleepy.  He  began  to  look  at  the 
bees,  and  saw  that  they  were  unlike  other  wild  bees 
he  knew,  that  they  were  like  humble-bees  in  shape 


i48  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

but  much  smaller,  and  were  all  of  a  golden  brown 
colour :  they  were  in  scores  and  hundreds  coming 
and  going,  and  had  their  home  or  nest  in  the  rock 
a  few  feet  above  his  head.  He  got  up,  and  climb- 
ing from  his  mother's  knee  to  her  shoulder,  and 
standing  on  it,  he  looked  into  the  crevice  into  which 
the  bees  were  streaming,  and  saw  their  nest  full  of 
clusters  of  small  round  objects  that  looked  like 
white  berries. 

Then  he  came  down  and  told  her  what  he  had 
seen,  and  wanted  to  know  all  about  it,  and  when 
she  answered  that  the  little  round  fruit-like  objects 
he  had  seen  were  cells  full  of  purple  honey  that 
tasted  sweet  and  salt,  he  wanted  her  to  get  him 
some. 

"  Not  now — not  to-day,"  she  replied,  "  for  now 
you  love  me  and  are  contented  to  be  with  me,  and 
you  are  my  own  darling  child.  When  you  are 
naughty,  and  try  to  grieve  me  all  you  can,  and 
would  like  to  go  away  and  never  see  me  more,  you 
shall  taste  the  purple  honey." 

He  looked  up  into  her  face  wondering  and  troubled 
at  her  words,  and  she  smiled  down  so  sweetly  on 
his  upturned  face,  looking  very  beautiful  and  tender, 
that  it  almost  made  him  cry  to  think  how  wilful  and 
passionate  he  had  been,  and  climbing  on  to  her 
knees  he  put  his  little  face  against  her  cheek. 

Then,   while    he    was   still    caressing   her,    light 


THE  WONDERS  OF  THE  HILLS     149 

tripping  steps  were  heard  over  the  stony  path,  and 
through  the  bushes  came  two  beautiful  wild  animals 
— a  doe  with  her  fawn !  Martin  had  often  seen 


the  wild  deer  on  the  plains,  but  always  at  a  great 
distance  and  running  ;  now  that  he  had  them 
standing  before  him  he  could  see  just  what  they 
were  like,  and  of  all  the  four-footed  creatures 
he  had  ever  looked  on  they  were  undoubtedly  the 
most  lovely.  They  were  of  a  slim  shape,  and  of  a 
very  bright  reddish  fawn-colour,  the  young  one 


150  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

with  dappled  sides  ;  and  both  had  large  trumpet- 
like  ears,  which  they  held  up  as  if  listening,  while 
they  gazed  fixedly  at  Martin's  face  with  their  large, 
dark,  soft  eyes.  Enchanted  with  the  sight  of  them, 
he  slipped  down  from  his  mother's  lap,  and  stretched 
out  his  arms  towards  them,  and  the  doe,  coming  a 
little  nearer,  timidly  smelt  at  his  hand,  then  licked 
it  with  her  long,  pink  tongue. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  doe  and  fawn  went  away 
and  they  saw  thenxno  more;  but  they  left  Martin 
with  a  heart  filled  with  happy  excitement ;  and  they 
were  but  the  first  of  many  strange  and  beautiful  wild 
animals  he  was  now  made  acquainted  with,  so  that 
for  days  he  could  think  of  nothing  else  and  wished 
for  nothing  better. 

But  one  day  when  she  had  taken  him  a  good 
way  up  on  the  hillside,  Martin  suddenly  recognised 
a  huge  rocky  precipice  before  him  as  the  one  up 
which  she  had  taken  him,  and  from  the  top  of  which 
he  had  seen  the  great  blue  water.  Instantly  he 
demanded  to  be  taken  up  again,  and  when  she 
refused  he  rebelled  against  her,  and  was  first 
passionate  and  then  sullen.  Finding  that  he 
would  not  listen  to  anything  she  could  say,  she  sat 
down  on  a  rock  and  left  him  to  himself.  He  could 
not  climb  up  that  precipice,  and  so  he  rambled 
away  to  some  distance,  thinking  to  hide  himself 
from  her,  because  he  thought  her  unreasonable  and 


THE  WONDERS  OF  THE  HILLS     151 

unkind  not  to  allow  him  to  see  the  blue  water  once 
more.  But  presently  he  caught  sight  of  a  snake 
lying  motionless  on  a  bed  of  moss  at  the  foot  of  a 
rock,  with  the  sun  on  it,  lighting  up  its  polished 
scales  so  that  they  shone  like  gems  or  coloured 
glass.  Resting  his  elbows  on  the  stone  and  hold- 
ing his  face  between  his  hands  he  fell  to  watching 
the  snake,  for  though  it  seemed  fast  asleep  in  the 
sun  its  gem-like  eyes  were  wide  open. 

All  at  once  he  felt  his  mothers  hand  on  his 
head:  "  Martin,"  she  said,  "would  you  like  to 
know  what  the  snake  feels  when  it  lies  with  eyes 
open  in  the  bright  hot  sun  ?  Shall  I  make  you  feel 
just  how  he  feels  ? " 

"Yes,"  said  Martin  eagerly,  forgetting  his 
quarrel  with  her ;  then  taking  him  up  in  her 
strong  arms  she  walked  rapidly  away,  and  brought 
him  to  that  very  spot  where  he  had  seen  the  doe 
and  fawn. 

She  sat  him  down,  and  instantly  his  ears  were 
filled  with  the  murmur  of  the  bees  ;  and  in  a 
moment  she  put  her  hand  in  the  crevice  and  pulled 
out  a  cluster  of  white  cells,  and  gave  them  to 
Martin.  Breaking  one  of  the  cells  he  saw  that  it 
was  full  of  thick  honey,  of  a  violet  colour,  and  tast- 
ing it  he  found  it  was  like  very  sweet  honey  in 
which  a  little  salt  has  been  mixed.  He  liked  it  and 
he  didn't  like  it  ;  still,  it  was  not  the  same  in  all  the 


152  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

cells ;  in  some  it  was  scarcely  salt  at  all ;  and  he 
began  to  suck  the  honey  of  cell  after  cell,  trying  to 
find  one  that  was  not  salt ;  and  by  and  by  he 
dropped  the  cluster  of  cells  from  his  hand,  and 
stooping  to  pick  it  up  forgot  to  do  so,  and  laying 
his  head  down  and  stretching  himself  out  on  the 
mossy  ground  looked  up  into  his  mother's  face  with 
drowsy,  happy  eyes.  How  sweet  it  seemed,  lying 
there  in  the  sun,  with  the  sun  shining  right  into  his 
eyes,  and  rilling  his  whole  being  with  its  delicious 
heat !  He  wished  for  nothing  now — not  even  for 
the  sight  of  new  wonderful  things ;  he  forgot  the 
blue  water,  the  strange,  beautiful  wild  animals,  and 
his  only  thought,  if  he  had  a  thought,  was  that  it 
was  very  nice  to  lie  there,  not  sleeping,  but  feeling 
the  sun  in  him,  and  seeing  it  above  him  ;  and  seeing 
all  things — the  blue  sky,  the  grey  rocks  and  green 
bushes  and  moss,  and  the  woman  in  her  green 
dress  and  her  loose  black  hair — and  hearing,  too, 
the  soft,  low,  continuous  murmur  of  the  yellow 
bees. 

For  hours  he  lay  there  in  that  drowsy  condition, 
his  mother  keeping  watch  over  him,  and  when  it 
passed  off,  and  he  got  up  again,  his  temper  appeared 
changed  :  he  was  more  gentle  and  affectionate  with 
his  mother,  and  obeyed  her  every  wish.  And  when 
in  his  rambles  on  the  hill  he  found  a  snake  lying  in 
the  sun  he  would  steal  softly  near  it  and  watch  it 


THE  WONDERS  OF  THE  HILLS     153 

steadily  for  a  long  time,  half  wishing  to  taste  that 
strange  purple  honey  again,  so  that  he  might  lie 
again  in  the  sun,  feeling  what  the  snake  feels.  But 
there  were  more  wonderful  things  yet  for  Martin  to 
see  and  know  in  the  hills,  so  that  in  a  little  while  he 
ceased  to  have  that  desire. 


CHAPTER   XV 

MARTIN'S  EYES  ARE  OPENED 

ONE  morning  when  they  went  up  into  a  wild  rocky 
place  very  high  up  on  the  hillside  a  number  of  big 


birds  were  seen  coming  over  the  mountain   at  a 
great    height  in   the  air,   travelling  in  a  northerly 


»54 


MARTIN'S  EYES  ARE  OPENED     155 

direction.  They  were  big  hawks  almost  as  big  as 
eagles,  with  very  broad  rounded  wings,  and  instead 
of  travelling  straight  like  other  birds  they  moved  in 
wide  circles,  so  that  they  progressed  very  slowly. 

They  sat  down  on  a  stone  to  watch  the  birds, 
and  whenever  one  flying  lower  than  the  others 
came  pretty  near  them  Martin  gazed  delightedly  at 
it,  and  wished  it  would  come  still  nearer  so  that  he 
might  see  it  better.  Then  the  woman  stood  up  on 
the  stone,  and,  gazing  skywards  and  throwing  up 
her  arms,  she  uttered  a  long  call,  and  the  birds 
began  to  come  lower  and  lower  down,  still  sweep- 
ing round  in  wide  circles,  and  by  and  by  one  came 
quite  down  and  pitched  on  a  stone  a  few  yards  from 
them.  Then  another  came  and  lighted  on  another 
stone,  then  another,  and  others  followed,  until  they 
were  all  round  him  in  scores,  sitting  on  the  rocks, 
great  brown  birds  with  black  bars  on  their  wings 
and  tails,  and  buff-coloured  breasts  with  rust-red 
spots  and  stripes.  It  was  a  wonderful  sight,  those 
eagle-like  hawks,  with  their  blue  hooked  beaks  and 
deep-set  dark  piercing  eyes,  sitting  in  numbers  on 
the  rocks,  and  others  and  still  others  dropping  down 
from  the  sky  to  increase  the  gathering. 

Then  the  woman  sat  down  by  Martin's  side,  and 
after  a  while  one  of  the  hawks  spread  his  great 
wings  and  rose  up  into  the  air  to  resume  his  flight. 
After  an  interval  of  a  minute  or  so  another  rose, 


1 56  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

then  another,  but  it  was  an  hour  before  they  were 
all  gone. 

"O  the  dear  birds — they  are  all  gone!"  cried 
Martin.  "  Mother,  where  are  they  going  ?  " 

She  told  him  of  a  far-away  land  in  the  south, 
from  which,  when  autumn  comes,  the  birds  migrate 
north  to  a  warmer  country  hundreds  of  leagues 
away,  and  that  birds  of  all  kinds  were  now  travel- 
ling north,  and  would  be  travelling  through  the  sky 
above  them  for  many  days  to  come. 

Martin  looked  up  at  the  sky,  and  said  he  could 
see  no  birds  now  that  the  buzzards  were  all  gone. 

"  I  can  see  them,"  she  returned,  looking  up  and 
glancing  about  the  sky. 

41  O  mother,  I  wish  I  could  see  them!"  he  cried. 
"  Why  can't  I  see  them  when  you  can  ?  " 

"  Because  your  eyes  are  not  like  mine.  Look, 
can  you  see  this  ?  "  and  she  held  up  a  small  stone 
phial  which  she  took  from  her  bosom. 

He  took  it  in  his  hand  and  unstopped  and  smelt 
at  it.  "  Is  it  honey  ?  Can  I  taste  it  ?  "  he  asked. 

She  laughed.  "  It  is  better  than  honey,  but  you 
can't  eat  it!"  she  said.  "  Do  you  remember  how 
the  honey  made  you  feel  like  a  snake  ?  This  would 
make  you  see  what  I  see  if  I  put  some  of  it  on  your 
eyes." 

He  begged  her  to  do  so,  and  she  consenting 
poured  a  little  into  the  palm  of  her  hand.  It  was 


MARTIN'S  EYES  ARE   OPENED     157 

thick  and  white  as  milk ;  then  taking  some  on  her 
finger  tip,  she  made  him  hold  his  eyes  wide  open 
while  she  rubbed  it  on  the  eye-balls.  It  made  his 
eyes  smart,  and  everything  at  first  looked  like  a 
blue  mist  when  he  tried  to  see  ;  then  slowly  the 
mist  faded  away  and  the  air  had  a  new  marvellous 
clearness,  and  when  he  looked  away  over  the  plain 
beneath  them  he  shouted  for  joy,  so  far  could  he 
see  and  so  distinct  did  distant  objects  appear.  At 
one  point  where  nothing  but  the  grey  haze  that 
obscured  the  distance  had  been  visible,  a  herd  of 
wild  cattle  now  appeared,  scattered  about,  some 
grazing,  others  lying  down  ruminating,  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  herd  a  very  noble-looking,  tawny- 
coloured  bull  was  standing. 

"O  mother,  do  you  see  that  bull?"  cried  Martin 
in  delight. 

"Yes,  I  see  him,"  she  returned.  "  Sometimes 
he  brings  his  herd  to  feed  on  the  hillside,  and  when 
I  see  him  here  another  time  I  shall  take  you  to  him, 
and  put  you  on  his  back.  But  look  now  at  the  sky, 
Martin." 

He  looked  up,  and  was  astonished  to  see  num- 
bers of  great  birds  flying  north,  where  no  birds  had 
appeared  before.  They  were  miles  high,  and  in- 
visible to  ordinary  sight,  but  he  could  see  them  so 
distinctly,  their  shape  and  colours,  that  all  the  birds 
he  knew  were  easily  recognised.  There  were  swans, 


i58  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

shining  white,  with  black  heads  and  necks,  flying  in 
wedge-shaped  flocks,  and  rose-coloured  spoonbills, 
and  flamingoes  with  scarlet  wings  tipped  with  black, 
and  ibises,  and  ducks  of  different  colours,  and  many 
other  birds,  both  water  and  land,  appeared,  flock 
after  flock,  all  flying  as  fast  as  their  wings  could 
bear  them  towards  the  north. 

He  continued  watching  them  until  it  was  past 
noon,  and  then  he  saw  fewer  and  fewer,  only  very 
big  birds,  appearing  ;  and  then  these  were  seen  less 
and  less  until  there  were  none.  Then  he  turned 
his  eyes  on  the  plain  and  tried  to  find  the  herd  of 
wild  cattle,  but  they  were  no  longer  visible ;  it  was 
as  he  had  seen  it  in  the  morning  with  the  pale  blue 
haze  over  all  the  distant  earth.  He  was  told  that 
the  power  to  see  all  distant  things  with  a  vision 
equal  to  his  mother's  was  now  exhausted,  and  when 
he  grieved  at  the  loss  she  comforted  him  with  the 
promise  that  it  would  be  renewed  at  some  other 
time. 

Now  one  day  when  they  were  out  together 
Martin  was  greatly  surprised  and  disturbed  at  a 
change  in  his  mother.  When  he  spoke  to  her  she 
was  silent ;  and  by-and-by,  drawing  a  little  away,  he 
looked  at  her  with  a  fear  which  increased  to  a  kind 
of  terror,  so  strangely  altered  did  she  seem,  stand- 
ing motionless,  gazing  fixedly  with  wide-open  eyes 
at  the  plain  beneath  them,  her  whole  face  white 


MARTIN'S  EYES  ARE   OPENED     161 

and  drawn  with  a  look  of  rage.  He  had  an  impulse 
to  fly  from  her  and  hide  himself  in  some  hole  in  the 
rocks  from  the  sight  of  that  pale,  wrathful  face,  but 
when  he  looked  round  him  he  was  afraid  to  move 
from  her,  for  the  hill  itself  seemed  changed,  and  now 
looked  black  and  angry  even  as  she  did.  The 
ground  he  stood  on,  the  grey  old  stones  covered 
with  silvery-white  and  yellow  lichen  and  pretty 
flowery,  creeping  plants,  so  beautiful  to  look  at  in 
the  bright  sunlight  a  few  moments  ago,  now  were 
covered  with  a  dull  mist  which  appeared  to  be 
rising  from  them,  making  the  air  around  them  dark 
and  strange.  And  the  air,  too,  had  become  sultry 
and  close,  and  the  sky  was  growing  dark  above 
them.  Then  suddenly  remembering  all  her  love 
and  kindness  he  flew  to  her,  and  clinging  to 
her  dress  sobbed  out,  "  O  mother,  mother,  what 
is  it  ?  " 

She  put  her  hand  on  him,  then  drew  him  up  to 
her  side  with  his  feet  on  the  stone  she  was  standing 
by.  "  Would  you  like  to  see  what  I  see,  Martin?" 
she  asked,  and  taking  the  phial  from  her  bosom 
she  rubbed  the  white  thick  liquid  on  his  eye-balls, 
and  in  a  little  while,  when  the  mistiness  passed 
off,  she  pointed  with  her  hand  and  told  him  to  look 
there. 

He  looked,  and  as  on  the  former  occasion,  all 
distant  things  were  clearly  visible,  for  although  that 


i62  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

mist  and  blackness  given  off  by  the  hill  had  wrapped 
them  round  so  that  they  seemed  to  be  standing  in 
the  midst  of  a  black  cloud,  yet  away  on  the  plain 
beneath  the  sun  was  shining  brightly,  and  all  that 
was  there  could  be  seen  by  him.  Where  he  had 
once  seen  a  herd  of  wild  cattle  he  now  saw  mounted 
men,  to  the  number  of  about  a  dozen,  slowly  riding 
towards  the  hill,  and  though  they  were  miles  away 
he  could  see  them  very  distinctly.  They  were  dark, 
black-bearded  men,  strangely  dressed,  some  with 
fawn-coloured  cloaks  with  broad  stripes,  others  in  a 
scarlet  uniform,  and  they  wore  cone-shaped  scarlet 
caps.  Some  carried  lances,  others  carbines ;  and 
they  all  wore  swords — he  could  see  the  steel 
scabbards  shining  in  the  sun.  As  he  watched 
them  they  drew  rein  and  some  of  them  got  off 
their  horses,  and  they  stood  for  some  time  as  if 
talking  excitedly,  pointing  towards  the  hill  and 
using  emphatic  gestures. 

What  were  they  talking  about  so  excitedly  ? 
thought  Martin.  He  wanted  to  know,  and  he 
would  have  asked  her,  but  when  he  looked  up  at 
her  she  was  still  gazing  fixedly  at  them  with  the 
same  pale  face  and  terrible  stern  expression,  and 
he  could  but  dimly  see  her  face  in  that  black  cloud 
which  had  closed  around  them.  He  trembled 
with  fear  and  could  only  murmur,  "  Mother  f 
mother !  "  Then  her  arm  was  put  round  him,  and 


MARTIN'S  EYES  ARE   OPENED     163 

she  drew  him  close  against  her  side,  and  at  that 
moment — O  how  terrible  it  was  ! — the  black  cloud 
and  the  whole  universe  was  lit  up  with  a  sudden 
flash  that  seemed  to  blind  and  scorch  him,  and 
the  hill  and  the  world  was  shaken  and  seemed 
to  be  shattered  by  an  awful  thunder  crash.  It 
was  more  than  he  could  endure :  he  ceased  to 
feel  or  know  anything,  and  was  like  one  dead, 
and  when  he  came  to  himself  and  opened  his  eyes 
he  was  lying  in  her  lap  with  her  face  smiling  very 
tenderly,  bending  over  him. 

"  O,  poor  little  Martin,"  she  said,  "  what  a  poor, 
weak  little  boy  you  are  to  lose  your  senses  at  the 
lightning  and  thunder!  I  was  angry  when  I  saw 
them  coming  to  the  hill,  for  they  are  wicked,  cruel 
men,  stained  with  blood,  and  I  made  the  storm 
to  drive  them  away.  They  are  gone,  and  the 
storm  is  over  now,  and  it  is  late — come,  let  us  go 
to  our  cave "  ;  and  she  took  him  up  and  carried 
him  in  her  arms. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE    PEOPLE    OF    THE    MIST 

WHEN  Martin  first  came  to  the  hills  it  was  at  the 
end  of  the  long,  hot,  dry  summer  of  that  distant 
land  :  it  was  autumn  now,  and  the  autumn  was  like 
a  second  summer,  only  not  so  hot  and  dry  as  the 
first.  But  sometimes  at  this  season  a  wet  mist 
came  up  from  the  sea  by  night  and  spread  over  all 
the  country,  covering  it  like  a  cloud  ;  to  a  soaring 
bird  looking  down  from  the  sky  it  must  have 
appeared  like  another  sea  of  a  pale  or  pearly  grey 
colour,  with  the  hills  rising  like  islands  from  it. 
When  the  sun  rose  in  the  morning,  if  the  sky  was 
clear  so  that  it  could  shine,  then  the  sea-fog  would 
drift  and  break  up  and  melt  away  or  float  up  in  the 
form  of  thin  white  clouds.  Now,  whenever  this 
sea-mist  was  out  over  the  world  the  Lady  of  the 
Hills,  without  coming  out  of  her  chamber,  knew  of 
it,  and  she  would  prevent  Martin  from  leaving  the 
bed  and  going  out.  He  loved  to  be  out  on  the 
hill-side,  to  watch  the  sun  come  up,  and  she  would 
say  to  him,  "  You  cannot  see  the  sun  because  of 
the  mist ;  and  it  is  cold  and  wet  on  the  hill ; 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  MIST      165 

wait  until  the  mist  has  gone  and  then  you  shall 
go  out" 

But  now  a  new  idea  came  into  her  mind.  She 
had  succeeded  in  making  him  happy  during  the  last 
few  days  ;  but  she  wished  to  do  more — she  wished 
to  make  him  fear  and  hate  the  sea  so  that  he  would 
never  grow  discontented  with  his  life  on  the  hills 
nor  wish  to  leave  her.  So  now,  one  morning,  when 
the  mist  was  out  over  the  land,  she  said  to  Martin 
when  he  woke,  "  Get  up  and  go  out  on  to  the  hill 
and  see  the  mist ;  and  when  you  feel  its  coldness 
and  taste  its  salt  on  your  lips,  and  see  how  it  dims 
and  saddens  the  earth,  you  will  know  better  than  to 
wish  for  that  great  water  it  comes  from." 

So  Martin  got  'up  and  went  out  on  the  hill,  and 
it  was  as  she  had  said  :  there  was  no  blue  sky 
above,  no  wide  green  earth  before  him  :  the  mist 
had  blotted  all  out ;  he  could  hardly  see  the  rocks 
and  bushes  a  dozen  yards  from  him  ;  the  leaves 
and  flowers  were  heavy  laden  with  the  grey  wet ; 
and  it  felt  clammy  and  cold  on  his  face,  and  he 
tasted  its  salt  on  his  lips.  It  seemed  thickest  and 
darkest  when  he  looked  down  and  lightest  when  he 
looked  up,  and  the  lightness  led  him  to  climb  up 
among  the  dripping,  slippery  rocks  ;  and  slipping 
and  stumbling  he  went  on  and  on,  the  light  increas- 
ing as  he  went,  until  at  last  to  his  delight  he  got 
above  the  mist.  There  was  an  immense  crag  there 


1 66  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

which  stood  boldly  up  on  the  hillside,  and  on  to 
this  he  managed  to  climb,  and  standing  on  it  he 
looked  down  upon  that  vast  moving  sea  of  grey 
mist  that  covered  the  earth,  and  saw  the  sun,  a 
large  crimson  disc,  rising  from  it. 

It  was  a  great  thing  to  see,  and  made  him  cry 
out  aloud  for  joy :  and  then  as  the  sun  rose  higher 
into  the  pure,  blue  sky  the  grey  mist  changed  to 
silvery  white,  and  the  white  changed  in  places  to 
shining  gold  :  and  it  drifted  faster  and  faster  away 
before  the  sun,  and  began  to  break  up,  and  when  a 
cloud  of  mist  swept  by  the  rock  on  which  he  stood 
it  beat  like  a  fine  rain  upon  his  face,  and  covered  his 
bright  clothes  with  a  grey  beady  moisture. 

Now,  looking  abroad  over  the  earth,  it  appeared 
to  Martin  that  the  thousands  and  tens  and  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  fragments  of  mist,  had  the  shapes 
of  men,  and  were  like  an  innumerable  multitude  of 
gigantic  men  with  shining  white  faces  and  shining 
golden  hair  and  long  cloud-like  robes  of  a  pearly 
grey  colour,  that  trailed  on  the  earth  as  they 
moved.  They  were  like  a  vast  army  covering  the 
whole  earth,  all  with  their  faces  set  towards  the 
west,  all  moving  swiftly  and  smoothly  on  towards 
the  west.  And  he  saw  that  everyone  held  his 
robes  to  his  breast  with  his  left  hand,  and  that  in 
his  right  hand,  raised  to  the  level  of  his  head,  he 
carried  a  strange  object.  This  object  was  a  shell 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  MIST       169 

— a  big  sea-shell  of  a  golden  yellow  colour  with 
curved  pink  lips ;  and  very  soon  one  of  the  mist 
people  came  near  him,  and  as  he  passed  by  the 
rock  he  held  the  shell  to  Martin's  ear,  and  it 
sounded  in  his  ear — a  low,  deep  murmur  as  of 
waves  breaking  on  a  long  shingled  beach,  and 
Martin  knew,  though  no  word  was  spoken  to  him, 
that  it  was  the  sound  of  the  sea,  and  tears  of 
delight  came  to  his  eyes,  and  at  the  same  time 
his  heart  was  sick  and  sad  with  longing  for  the  sea. 

Again  and  again,  until  the  whole  vast  multitude 
of  the  mist  people  had  gone  by,  a  shell  was  held  to 
his  ear ;  and  when  they  were  all  gone,  when  he  had 
watched  them  fade  like  a  white  cloud  over  the 
plain,  and  float  away  and  disappear  in  the  blue  sky, 
he  sat  down  on  the  rock  and  cried  with  the  desire 
that  was  in  him. 

When  his  mother  found  him  with  traces  of  tears 
on  his  cheeks ;  and  he  was  silent  when  she  spoke 
to  him,  and  had  a  strange  look  in  his  eyes  as  if  they 
were  gazing  at  some  distant  object,  she  was  angrier 
than  ever  with  the  sea,  for  she  knew  that  the  thought 
of  it  had  returned  to  him  and  that  it  would  be  harder 
than  ever  to  keep  him. 

One  morning  on  waking  he  found  her  still  asleep, 
although  the  traces  of  tears  on  her  cheeks  showed 
that  she  had  been  awake  and  crying  during  the 
night. 


i;o  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

"  Ah,  now  I  know  why  she  cries  every  morning," 
thought  Martin*;  "it  is  because  I  must  go  away 
and  leave  her  here  alone  on  the  hills." 

He  was  out  of  her  arms  and  dressed  in  a  very 
few  moments,  moving  very  softly  lest  she  should 
wake;  \but  though  he  knew  that  if  she  awoke  she 
would  not  let  him  go,  he  could  not  leave  her  with- 
out saying  goodbye.  And  so  coming  near  he 
stooped  over  her  and  very  gently  kissed  her  soft 
cheek  and  sweet  mouth  and  murmured,  "  Goodbye, 
sweet  mother."  Then,  very  cautiously,  like  a  shy, 
little  wild  animal  he  stole  out  of  the  cavern.  Once 
outside,  in  the  early  morning  light,  he  started 
running  as  fast  as  he  could,  jumping  from  stone  to 
stone  in  the  rough  places,  and  scrambling  through 
the  dew- laden  bushes  and  creepers,  until,  hot  and 
panting,  he  arrived  down  at  the  very  foot  of  the 
hill. 

Then  it  was  easier  walking,  and  he  went  on  a 
little  until  he  heard  a  voice  crying,  "  Martin ! 
Martin ! "  and,  looking  back,  he  saw  the  Lady  of 
the  Hills  standing  on  a  great  stone  near  the  foot 
of  the  mountain,  gazing  sadly  after  him.  "  Martin, 
oh,  my  child,  come  back  to  me,"  she  called,  stretch- 
ing out  her  arms  towards  him.  "Oh,  Martin,  I 
cannot  leave  the  hills  to  follow  you  and  shield  you 
from  harm  and  save  you  from  death.  Where  will 
you  go  ?  Oh  me,  what  shall  I  do  without  you  ?  " 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  MIST       171 

For  a  little  while  he  stood  still,  listening  with 
tears  in  his  eyes  to  her  words,  and  wavering  in  his 
mind ;  but  very  soon  he  thought  of  the  great  blue 
water  once  more  and  could  not  go  back,  but  began 
to  run  again,  and  went  on  and  on  for  a  long  dis- 
tance before  stopping  to  rest.  Then  he  looked 
back,  but  he  could  no  longer  see  her  form  standing 
there  on  the  stone. 

All  that  day  he  journeyed  on  towards  the  ocean 
over  a  great  plain.  There  were  no  trees  and  no 
rocks  nor  hills,  only  grass  on  the  level  earth,  in 
some  places  so  tall  that  the  spikes,  looking  like 
great  white  ostrich  plumes,  waved  high  above  his 
head.  But  it  was  easy  walking,  as  the  grass  grew 
in  tussocks  or  bunches,  and  underneath  the  ground 
was  bare  and  smooth  so  that  he  could  walk  easily 
between  the  bunches. 

He  wondered  that  he  did  not  get  to  the  sea,  but 
it  was  still  far  off,  and  so  the  long  summer  day  wore 
to  an  end,  and  he  was  so  tired  that  he  could  scarcely 
lift  his  legs  to  walk.  Then,  as  he  went  slowly  on 
in  the  fading  light,  where  the  grass  was  short  and 
the  evening  primroses  were  opening  and  filling  the 
desert  air  with  their  sweet  perfume,  he  all  at  once 
saw  a  little  grey  old  man  not  above  six  inches  in 
height  standing  on  the  ground  right  before  him, 
and  staring  fixedly  at  him  with  great,  round,  yellow 
eyes. 


A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 


"  You  bad  boy !  "  exclaimed  this  curious,  little, 
old  man ;  whereupon  Martin  stopped  in  his  walk 
and  stood  still,  gazing  in  the  greatest  surprise  at 

him. 

11  You  bad  boy!"  re- 
peated the  strange  little 
man. 

The  more  Martin 
stared  at  him  the  harder 
he  stared  back  at  Martin, 
always  with  the  same 
unbending  severity  in 
his  small,  round,  grey 
face.  He  began  to  feel 
a  little  afraid,  and  was 
almost  inclined  to  run 
away  ;  then  he  thought 
it  would  be  funny  to 
run  from  such  a  very 
small  man  as  this,  so 
he  stared  bravely  back 
once  more  and  cried  out,  "  Go  away !  " 

"You  bad  boy!"  answered  the  little  grey  man 
without  moving. 

"  Perhaps  he's  deaf,  just  like  that  other  old 
man,"  said  Martin  to  himself,  and  throwing  out 
his  arms  he  shouted  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "  Go 
away ! " 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  MIST       173 

And  away  with  a  scream  he  went,  for  it  was 
only  a  little  grey  burrowing  owl  after  all  !  Martin 
laughed  a  little  at  his  own  foolishness  in  mistaking 
that  common  bird  he  was  accustomed  to  see  every 
day  for  a  little  old  man. 

By-and-by,  feeling  very  tired,  he  sat  down  to 
rest,  and  just  where  he  sat  grew  a  plant  with  long 
white  flowers  like  tall  thin  goblets  in  shape.  Sitting 
on  the  grass  he  could  see  right  into  one  of  the 
flower-tubes,  and  presently  he  noticed  a  little,  old, 
grey,  shrivelled  woman  in  it,  very,  very  small,  for 
she  was  not  longer  than  the  nail  of  his  little  finger. 
She  wore  a  grey  shawl  that  dragged  behind  her, 
and  kept  getting  under  her  feet  and  tripping  her 
up.  She  was  most  active,  whisking  about  this  way 
and  that  inside  the  flower ;  and  at  intervals  she 
turned  to  stare  at  Martin,  who  kept  getting  nearer 
and  nearer  to  watch  her  until  his  face  nearly  touched 
the  flower ;  and  whenever  she  looked  at  him  she 
wore  an  exceedingly  severe  expression  on  her  small 
dried-up  countenance.  It  seemed  to  Martin  that 
she  was  very  angry  with  him  for  some  reason. 
Then  she  would  turn  her  back  on  him,  and  tumble 
about  in  the  tube  of  the  flower,  and  gathering  up 
the  ends  of  her  shawl  in  her  arms  begin  dusting 
with  great  energy  ;  then  hurrying  out  once  more 
she  would  shake  the  dust  from  her  big,  funny  shawl 
in  his  eyes.  At  last  he  carefully  raised  a  hand  and 


174  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

was  just  going  to  take  hold  of  the  queer,  little,  old 
dame  with  his  forefinger  and  thumb  when  up  she 
flew.  It  was  only  a  small,  grey,  twilight  moth ! 

Very  much  puzzled  and  confused,  and  perhaps  a 
little  frightened  at  these  curious  deceptions,  he  laid 
himself  down  on  the  grass  and  shut  his  eyes  so 
as  to  go  to  sleep  ;  but  no  sooner  had  he  shut  his 
eyes  than  he  heard  a  soft,  soft  little  voice  calling, 
"  Martin!  Martin!" 

He  started  up  and  listened.  It  was  only  a  field 
cricket  singing  in  the  grass.  But  often  as  he  lay 
down  and  closed  his  eyes  the  small  voice  called 
again,  plainly  as  possible,  and  oh  so  sadly, 
"  Martin  !  Martin  ! " 

It  made  him  remember  his  beautiful  mother,  now 
perhaps  crying  alone  in  the  cave  on  the  mountain, 
no  little  Martin  resting  on  her  bosom,  and  he  cried 
to  think  of  it.  And  still  the  small  voice  went  on 
calling,  "  Martin  !  Martin  ! "  sadder  than  ever,  until, 
unable  to  endure  it  longer,  he  jumped  up  and  ran 
away  a  good  distance,  and  at  last,  too  tired  to  go 
any  further,  he  crept  into  a  tussock  of  tall  grass 
and  went  to  sleep. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE    OLD    MAN    OF    THE    SEA 

NEXT  day  Martin  journeyed  on  in  the  old  way,  jump- 
ing up  and  taking  a  good  long  run,  then  dropping 
into  a  trot,  then  a  walk,  and  finally  sitting  down  to 
rest.  Then  up  again  and  another  run,  and  so  on. 
But  although  feeling  hungry  and  thirsty,  he  was 
so  full  of  the  thought  of  the  great  blue  water  he 
was  going  to  see,  so  eager  to  look  upon  it  at  last 
after  wishing  for  it  so  long,  that  he  hardly  gave 
himself  any  time  to  hunt  for  food.  Nor  did  he 
think  of  his  mother  of  the  hills,  alone  to-day,  and 
grieving  at  his  loss,  so  excited  was  he  at  the  prospect 
of  what  lay  before  him. 

A  little  past  noon  he  began  to  hear  a  low 
murmuring  sound  that  seemed  in  the  earth  beneath 
him,  and  all  about  him,  and  in  the  air  above  him ; 
but  he  did  not  know  that  it  was  the  sound  of  the 
sea.  At  length  he  came  to  a  place  where  the 
earth  rose  up  in  long  ridges  of  yellow  sand,  on 
which  nothing  grew  but  scattered  tufts  of  stiff, 
yellow  grass.  As  he  toiled  over  the  loose  sand, 
sometimes  sinking  ankle-deep  in  it,  the  curious 


175 


1 76  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

deep  murmuring  sound  he  had  heard  for  so  long 
grew  louder  and  louder,  until  it  was  like  the  sound 
of  a  mighty  wind  in  a  wood,  but  deeper  and  hoarser, 
rising  and  falling,  and  at  intervals  broken  by  great 
throbs,  as  of  thunder  echoed  and  reochoed  among 
the  distant  hills.  At  length  he  had  toiled  over  the 
last  ridge  of  sand  ;  and  then  all  at  once  the  world — 
his  world  of  solid  earth  at  all  events — came  to  an 
abrupt  end ;  for  no  more  ground  on  which  to  set  a 
foot  was  before  him,  but  only  the  ocean — that 
ocean  which  he  had  wanted  so  badly,  and  had 
loved  at  a  distance  more  than  the  plains  and  hills, 
and  all  they  contained  to  delight  him !  How  wide, 
how  vast  it  was,  stretching  away  to  where  it 
melted  into  the  low  sky,  its  immense  grey-blue 
surface  broken  into  ten  thousand  thousand  waves, 
lit  with  white  crests  that  came  in  sight  and 
vanished  like  lightning  flashes !  How  tremendous, 
how  terrible  it  was  in  its  agitation — O  the  world 
had  nothing  to  compare  with  it,  nothing  to 
hold  his  heart  after  it ;  and  it  was  well  that 
the  earth  was  silent,  that  it  only  gazed  upon 
it  with  the  sun  and  moon  and  stars,  listening 
day  and  night  for  ever  to  the  great  voice  of 
the  sea ! 

Only  by  lying  flat  on  his  chest  could  Martin  look 
down  over  the  edge  of  the  awful  cliff,  which  is  one 
of  the  highest  in  the  world;  and  then  the  sight  of 


THE  OLD  MAN  OF  THE  SEA      177 

the  sea  swirling  and  beating  at  the  foot  of  that 
stupendous  black  precipice,  sending  up  great  clouds 
of  spray  in  its  fury,  made  him  shudder,  it  was  so 
awful  to  look  upon.  But  he  could  not  stir  from 
that  spot ;  there  he  stayed  lying  flat  on  his  chest, 
gazing  and  gazing,  feeling  neither  hunger  nor 
thirst,  forgetful  of  the  beautiful  woman  he  had 
called  mother,  and  of  everything  besides.  And  as 
he  gazed,  little  by  little,  that  great  tumult  of  the 
waves  grew  less  ;  they  no  longer  lifted  themselves 
up,  wave  following  wave,  to  beat  upon  the  cliff, 
and  make  it  tremble  ;  but  sank  lower  and  lower ; 
and  at  last  drew  off  from  the  precipice,  leaving  at 
its  foot  a  long  narrow  strip  of  sand  and  shingle 
exposed  to  sight.  A  solemn  calm  fell  upon  the 
waste  of  waters  ;  only  near  the  shore  it  continued 
to  move  a  little,  rising  and  falling  like  the  chest 
of  a  sleeping  giant,  while  along  the  margin  small 
waves  continued  to  form  and  break  in  white  foam 
on  the  shingle  with  a  perpetual  low,  moaning  sound. 
Further  out  it  was  quite  calm,  its  surface  every- 
where flushed  with  changing  violet,  green,  and 
rosy  tints  :  in  a  little  while  these  lovely  colours 
faded  as  from  a  sunset  cloud,  and  it  was  all  deep 
dark  blue  :  for  the  sun  had  gone,  and  the  shadows 
of  evening  were  over  land  and  sea.  Then  Martin, 
his  little  heart  filled  with  a  great  awe  and  a  great 
joy,  crept  away  a  few  yards  from  the  edge  of  the 


178  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

cliff  and  coiled  himself  up  to  sleep  in  a  hollow  in 
the  soft  warm  sand. 

On  the  following  morning,  after  satisfying  his 
hunger  and  thirst  with  some  roots  which  he  had 
not  to  go  very  far  to  find,  he  returned  to  watch  the 
sea  once  more,  and  there  he  remained,  never 
removing  his  eyes  from  the  wonderful  scene  until 
the  sun  was  directly  over  his  head  ;  then,  when  the 
sea  was  calm  once  more,  he  got  up  and  started  to 
walk  along  the  cliff. 

Keeping  close  to  the  edge,  occasionally  stopping 
to  lie  down  on  his  chest  and  peer  over,  he  went  on 
and  on  for  hours,  until  the  afternoon  tide  once 
more  covered  the  strip  of  shingled  beach,  and  the 
waves  rising  high  began  to  beat  with  a  sound  like 
thunder  against  the  tremendous  cliff,  making  the 
earth  tremble  under  him.  At  length  he  came  to  a 
spot  where  there  was  a  great  gap  in  the  line  of  the 
cliff,  where  in  past  times  a  portion  of  it  had  tumbled 
down,  and  the  stupendous  masses  of  rock  had 
rolled  far  out  into  the  sea,  and  now  formed  islands 
of  black  jagged  rock,  standing  high  above  the 
water.  Here  among  the  rocks  the  sea  boiled  and 
roared  its  loudest,  churning  its  waters  into  masses 
of  white  froth.  Here  a  fresh  wonder  met  his 
sight  :  a  number  of  big  animals  unlike  any  creature 
he  had  ever  seen  before  were  lying  prone  on  the 
rocks  just  out  of  the  reach  of  the  waves  that  beat 


THE  OLD  MAN  OF  THE  SEA      179 

round  them.  At  first  they  looked  like  cows,  then 
he  saw  that  they  had  neither  horns  nor  legs,  that 
their  heads  were  like  dog's  but  without  ears,  and 
that  they  had  two  great  flapper-shaped  feet  on  their 


chests  with  which  they  walked  or  crawled  upon  the 
rocks  whenever  a  wave  broke  on  them,  causing 
them  to  move  a  little  higher. 

They  were  sea-lions,  a  very  big  sort  of  seal, 
but  Martin  had  never  heard  of  such  a  creature,  and 
being  anxious  to  look  more  closely  at  them  he  went 
into  the  gap,  and  began  cautiously  climbing  down 
over  the  broken  masses  of  rock  and  clay  until  he 


i8o  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

got  quite  near  the  sea.  Lying  there  on  a  flat  rock 
he  became  absorbed  in  watching  these  strange 
dog-headed  legless  cattle  of  the  sea ;  for  he 
now  had  them  near,  and  they  could  see  him, 
and  occasionally  one  would  lift  its  head  and  gaze 
earnestly  at  him  out  of  large  dark  eyes  that  were 
soft  and  beautiful  like  the  eyes  of  the  doe  that 
came  to  him  on  the  hills.  O  how  glad  he  was  to 
know  that  the  sea,  the  mighty  waters  roaring  so 
loud  as  if  in  wrath,  had  its  big  beasts  too  for 
him  to  love,  like  the  hills  and  plains  with  their 
cattle  and  deer  and  horses ! 

But  the  tide  was  still  rising,  and  very  soon  the 
biggest  waves  began  to  come  quite  over  the  rocks, 
rolling  the  big  beasts  over  and  even  washing  them 
off,  and  it  angered  them  when  the  waves  struck 
them,  and  they  roared  aloud,  and  by  and  by  they 
began  to  go  away,  some  disappearing  beneath  the 
water,  others  with  heads  above  the  surface  swim- 
ming away  out  into  the  open  sea,  until  all  were 
gone.  Martin  was  sorry  to  lose  them,  but  the 
sight  of  the  sea  tumbling  and  foaming  on  the  rocks 
still  held  him  there,  until  all  the  rocks  but  one  had 
been  covered  by  the  waters,  and  this  one  was  a 
great  black  jagged  rock  close  to  the  shore,  not 
above  twenty  or  thirty  yards  from  him.  Against 
this  mass  of  rock  the  waves  continued  to  dash 
themselves  with  a  mighty  noise,  sending  up  a 


THE  OLD  MAN  OF  THE  SEA      181 

cloud  of  white  foam  and  spray  at  every  blow. 
The  sight  and  sound  fascinated  him.  The  sea 
appeared  to  be  talking,  whispering,  murmuring, 
and  crying  out  aloud  to  him  in  such  a  manner  that 
he  actually  began  trying  to  make  out  what  it  was 
saying.  Then  up  would  come  a  great  green  wave 
rushing  and  moaning,  to  dash  itself  to  pieces  right 
before  his  face ;  and  each  time  it  broke  against  the 
rock,  and  rose  high  up  it  took  a  fantastic  shape  that 
began  to  look  more  and  more  the  shape  of  a  man. 
Yes,  it  was  unmistakably  like  a  monstrous  grey 
old  man,  with  a  vast,  snow-white  beard,  and  a  world 
of  disordered  white  hair  floating  over  and  round 
its  head.  At  all  events  it  was  white  for  a  moment, 
then  it  looked  green — a  great  green  beard  which 
the  old  man  took  with  his  two  hands  and  twisted 
just  as  a  washerwoman  twists  a  blanket  or  counter- 
pane, so  as  to  wring  the  water  out  of  it. 

Martin  stared  at  this  strange  uncouth  visitor 
from  the  sea;  while  he  in  turn,  leaning  over  the 
rock,  stared  back  into  Martin's  face  with  his 
immense  fishy  eyes.  Every  time  a  fresh  wave 
broke  over  him,  lifting  up  his  hair  and  garments, 
which  were  of  brown  seaweed  and  all  rags  and 
tatters,  it  seemed  to  annoy  him  somewhat ;  but  he 
never  stirred ;  and  when  the  wave  retired  he 
would  wring  the  water  out  once  more  and  blow 
a  cloud  of  sea-spray  from  his  beard.  At  length, 


182  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

holding  out  his  mighty  arms  towards  Martin,  he 
opened  his  great,  cod-fish  mouth,  and  burst  into  a 
hoarse  laugh,  which  sounded  like  the  deep  laughter- 
like  cries  of  the  big,  black-backed  gulls.  Still, 
Martin  did  not  feel  at  all  afraid  of  him,  for  he 
looked  good-natured  and  friendly. 

14  Who  are  you  ?  "  shouted  Martin  at  last. 

"  Who  be  I  ?  "  returned  the  man-shaped  monster 
in  a  hoarse,  sea-like  voice.  "  Ho,  ho,  ho, — now  I 
calls  that  a  good  un !  Why,  little  Martin,  that  I've 
knowed  all  along,  I  be  Bill.  Leastways,  that's 
what  they  called  me  afore  :  but  I  got  promotion, 
and  in  consekence  I'm  called  the  Old  Man  of  the 
Sea." 

"  And  how  did  you  know  I  was  Martin  ?  " 

"  How  did  I  know  as  you  was  Martin  ?  Why, 
bless  your  innocent  heart,  I  knowed  it  all  along  of 
course.  How  d'ye  think  I  wouldn't  know  that? 
Why,  I  no  sooner  saw  you  there  among  them 
rocks  than  I  says  to  myself,  '  Hullo,  says  I,  bless 
my  eyes  if  that  ain't  Martin  looking  at  my  cows,  as 
1  calls  'em.  Of  course  I  knowed  as  you  was 
Martin." 

"  And  what  made  you  go  and  live  in  the  sea, 
Old — Bill  ?  "  questioned  Martin,  "  and  why  did  you 
grow  so  big  ?  " 

"  Ho,  ho,  ho!"  laughed  the  giant,  blowing  a 
great  cloud  of  spray  from  his  lips.  "  I  don't  mind 


THE  OLD  MAN  OF  THE  SEA      185 

telling  you  that.  You  see,  Martin,  I  ain't  pressed 
for  time.  Them  blessed  bells  is  nothing  to  me 
now,  not  being  in  the  foc'sle  trying  to  git  a  bit  of 
a  snooze.  Well,  to  begin,  I  were  born  longer  ago 
than  I  can  tell  in  a  old  town  by  the  sea,  and  my 
father  he  were  a  sailor  man,  and  was  drowned 
when  I  were  very  small ;  then  my  mother  she  died 
just  becoz  every  man  that  belonged  to  her  was 
drowned.  For  those  as  lives  by  the  sea,  Martin, 
mostly  dies  in  the  sea.  Being  a  orphan  I  were 
brought  up  by  Granny.  I  were  very  small  then, 
and  used  to  go  and  play  all  day  in  the  marshes, 
and  I  loved  the  cows  and  water-rats  and  all  the 
little  beasties,  same  as  you,  Martin.  When  I  were 
a  bit  growed  Granny  says  to  me  one  day,  '  Bill, 
you  go  to  sea  and  be  a  sailor- boy,'  she  says,  '  becoz 
I've  had  a  dream,'  she  says,  'and  it's  wrote  that 
you'll  never  git  drowned.'  For  you  see,  Martin, 
my  Granny  were  a  wise  woman.  So  to  the  sea  I 
goes,  and,  boy  and  man,  I  was  on  a  many  voyages 
to  Turkey  and  Injy  and  the  Cape  and  the  West 
Coast  and  Ameriky,  and  all  round  the  world  forty 
times  over.  Many  and  many's  the  time  I  was 
shipwrecked  and  overboard,  but  I  never  got 
drowned.  At  last,  when  I  were  gitting  a  old  man, 
and  not  much  use  by  reason  of  the  rheumatiz  and 
stiffness  in  the  jints,  there  was  a  mutiny  in  our  ship 
when  we  was  off  the  Cape  ;  and  the  captin  and 


1 86  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

mate  they  was  killed.  Then  comes  my  turn,  becoz 
I  went  agin  the  men,  d'ye  see,  and  they  wasn't 
a-going  for  to  pardon  me  that.  So  out  they  had 
me  on  deck  and  began  to  talk  about  how  they'd 
finish  me — rope,  knife,  or  bullet.  l  Mates,'  says  I, 
4  shoot  me  if  you  like  and  I'll  die  comforbly  ;  or 
run  a  knife  into  me,  which  is  better  still ;  or  string 
me  up  to  the  yard-arm,  which  is  the  most  com- 
forble  thing  I  know.  But  don't  you  go  and  put 
me  into  the  sea,'  says  I,  '  becoz  it's  wrote  that  I 
ain't  never  going  to  git  drowned,  and  you'll  have 
all  your  trouble  for  nothing,'  says  I.  That  made 
'em  larf  a  most  tremenjous  larf.  '  Old  Bill,'  says 
they,  '  will  have  his  little  joke.'  Then  they  brings 
up  some  iron  stowed  in  the  hold,  and  with  ropes 
and  chains  they  ties  well-nigh  half  a  ton  of  it  to 
my  legs  and  arms,  then  lowers  me  over  the  side. 
Down  I  went,  in  course,  which  made  'em  larf 
louder  than  afore  ;  and  I  were  fathoms  and  fathoms 
under  water  afore  I  stopped  hearing  them  larf.  At 
last  I  comes  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and 
glad  I  were  to  git  there,  becoz  now  I  couldn't  go 
no  further.  There  I  lies  doubled  up  like  a  old 
sea-sarpint  along  of  the  rocks,  but  warm  and 
comforble  like.  Last  of  all,  the  ropes  and  chains 
they  got  busted  off  becoz  of  my  growing  so  big 
and  strong  down  there,  and  up  I  comes  to  blow 
like  a  grampus,  for  I  were  full  of  water  by  reason 


THE  OLD  MAN  OF  THE  SEA      187 

that  it  had  soaked  into  me.  So  that's  how  I  got  to 
be  the  Old  Man  of  the  Sea,  hundreds  and  hundreds 
of  years  ago." 

"And  do  you  like  to  be  always  in  the  sea,  Old 
Bill  ?  "  asked  Martin. 

"Ho,  ho,  ho!"  laughed  the  monster.  "That's 
a  good  un,  little  Martin !  Do  I  like  it  ?  Well,  it's 
better  than  being  a  sailor  man  in  a  ship,  I  can  tell 
'ee.  That  were  a  hard  life,  with  nothing  good 
except  perhaps  the  baccy.  I  were  very  fond  of 
baccy  once  before  the  sea  put  out  my  pipe.  Like- 
wise of  rum.  Many's  the  time  I've  been  picked  up 
on  shore  that  drunk,  Martin,  you  wouldn't  believe 
it,  I  were  that  fond  of  rum.  Sometimes,  down 
here,  when  I  remember  how  good  it  tasted,  I  open 
my  mouth  wide  and  takes  down  a  big  gulp  of 
sea  water,  enough  to  fill  a  hogshead  ;  then  I 
comes  up  and  blows  it  all  out  again  just  like  a 
old  grampus." 

And  having  said  this,  he  opened  his  vast 
cavernous  mouth  and  roared  out  his  hoarse  ho, 
ho,  ho  !  louder  than  before,  and  at  the  same  time 
he  rose  up  higher  above  the  water  and  the  black 
rock  he  had  been  leaning  on,  until  he  stood  like 
a  stupendous  tower  above  Martin — a  man-shaped 
tower  of  water  and  spray,  and  white  froth  and 
brown  seaweed.  Then  he  slowly  fell  backwards 
out  upon  the  sea,  and  falling  upon  the  sea  caused 


188  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

so  mighty  a  wave  that  it  went  high  over  the  black 
rock  and  washed  the  face  of  the  cliff,  sweeping 
Martin  back  among  the  rocks. 

When  the  great  wave  retired,  and  Martin,  half- 
choked  with  water  and  half-dazed,  struggled  on  to 
his  feet,  he  saw  that  it  was  night,  and  a  cloudy,  black 
sky  was  above,  and  the  black  sea  beneath  him. 
He  had  not  seen  the  light  fade,  and  had  perhaps 
fallen  asleep  and  seen  and  talked  with  that  old  sea 
monster  in  a  dream.  But  now  he  could  not  escape 
from  his  position  down  in  the  gap,  just  above  the 
roaring  waves.  There  he  had  to  stay,  sheltered  in 
a  cavity  in  the  rock,  and  lying  there,  half  sleeping 
and  half  waking,  he  had  that  great  voice  of  the  sea 
in  his  ears  all  night. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

MARTIN    PLAYS    WITH    THE    WAVES 

AFTER  a  night  spent  in  the  roar  of  the  sea,  a 
drenched  and  bruised  prisoner  among  the  rocks, 
it  was  nice  to  see  the  dawn  again.  No  sooner 
was  it  light  than  Martin  set  about  trying  to  make 
his  escape.  He  had  been  washed  by  that  big 
wave  into  a  deep  cleft  among  the  rocks  and  masses 
of  hard  clay,  and  shut  in  there  he  could  not  see  the 
water  nor  anything  excepting  a  patch  of  sky  above 
him.  Now  he  began  climbing  over  the  stones  and 
crawling  and  forcing  himself  through  crevices  and 
other  small  openings,  making  little  progress,  for  he 
was  sore  from  his  bruises  and  very  weak  from  his 
long  fast,  and  at  intervals,  tired  and  beaten,  he 
would  drop  down  crying  with  pain  and  misery. 
But  Martin  was  by  nature  a  very  resolute  little 
boy,  and  after  two  or  three  minutes'  rest  his  tears 
would  cease,  and  he  would  be  up  struggling  on 
determinedly  as  before.  He  was  like  some  little 
wild  animal  when  it  finds  itself  captive  in  a  cage 
or  box  or  room,  who  tries  without  ceasing  to  find 
a  way  out.  There  may  be  no  way,  but  it  will  not  give 


A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

up  trying  to  find  one.  And  at  last,  after  so  much 
trying,  Martin's  efforts  were  rewarded :  he  succeeded 
in  getting  into  the  steep  passage  by  which  he  had 
come  down  to  the  sea  on  the  previous  day,  and  in 
the  end  got  to  the  top  of  the  cliff  once  more.  It 
was  a  great  relief,  and  after  resting  a  little  while 
he  began  to  feel  glad  and  happy  at  the  sight  before 
him  :  there  was  the  glorious  sea  again,  not  as  he 
had  seen  it  before,  its  wide  surface  roughened  by 
the  wind  and  flecked  with  foam  ;  for  now  the 
water  was  smooth,  but  not  still  ;  it  rose  and  fell 
in  vast  rollers,  or  long  waves  that  were  like  ridges, 
wave  following  wave  in  a  very  grand  and  ordered 
manner.  And  as  he  gazed,  the  clouds  broke  and 
floated  away,  and  the  sky  grew  clear  and  bright, 
and  then  all  at  once  the  great  red  sun  came  up  out 
of  the  waters ! 

But  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  stay  there  longer 
when  there  was  nothing  to  eat ;  his  extreme  hunger 
compelled  him  to  get  up  and  leave  the  cliff  and  the 
sandy  hills  behind  it ;  and  then  for  an  hour  or  two 
he  walked  feebly  about  searching  for  sweet  roots, 
but  finding  none.  It  would  have  gone  hard  with 
him  then  if  he  had  not  seen  some  low,  dark-looking 
bushes  at  a  distance  on  the  dry,  yellow  plain,  and 
gone  to  them.  They  looked  like  yew-bushes,  and 
when  he  got  to  them  he  found  that  they  were 
thickly  covered  with  small  berries  ;  on  some  bushes 


MARTIN  PLAYS  WITH  THE  WAVES    191 

they  were  purple-black,  on  others  crimson,  but  all 
were  ripe,  and  many  small  birds  were  there  feasting 
on  them.  The  berries  were  pleasant  to  the  taste, 
and  he  feasted  with  the  little  birds  on  them  until 
his  hunger  was  satisfied  ;  and  then,  with  his  mouth 
and  fingers  stained  purple  with  the  juice,  he  went 
to  sleep  in  the  shade  of  one  of  the  bushes.  There, 
too,  he  spent  the  whole  of  that  day  and  the  night, 
hearing  the  low  murmur  of  the  sea  when  waking, 
and  when  morning  came  he  was  strong  and  happy 
once  more,  and,  after  filling  himself  with  the  fruit, 
set  off  to  the  sea  again. 

Arrived  at  the  cliff,  he  began  walking  along  the 
edge,  and  in  about  an  hour's  time  came  to  the  end 
of  it,  for  there  it  sloped  down  to  the  water,  and 
before  him,  far  as  he  could  see,  there  was  a  wide, 
shingled  beach  with  low  sand-hills  behind  it.  With 
a  shout  of  joy  he  ran  down  to  the  margin,  and  the 
rest  of  that  day  he  spent  dabbling  in  the  water, 
gathering  beautiful  shells  and  seaweed  and  strangely- 
painted  pebbles  into  heaps,  then  going  on  and  on 
again,  still  picking  up  more  beautiful  riff-raff  on 
the  margin,  only  to  leave  it  all  behind  him  at  last. 
Never  had  he  spent  a  happier  day,  and  when  it 
came  to  an  end  he  found  a  sheltered  spot  not  far 
from  the  sea,  so  that  when  he  woke  in  the  night  he 
would  still  hear  the  deep,  low  murmur  of  the  waves 
on  the  beach. 


i92  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

Many  happy  days  he  spent  in  the  same  way,  with 
no  living  thing  to  keep  him  company,  except  the 
little  white  and  grey  sanderlings  that  piped  so  shrill 
and  clear  as  they  flitted  along  the  margin  before  him  ; 
and  the  great  sea-gulls  that  uttered  hoarse,  laughter- 
like  cries  as  they  soared  and  hovered  above  his  head. 
"  Oh,  happy  birds  !  "  exclaimed  Martin,  clapping  his 
hands,  and  shouting  in  answer  to  their  cries. 

Every  day  Martin  grew  more  familiar  with  the 
sea,  and  loved  it  more,  and  it  was  his  companion 
and  playmate.  He  was  bolder  than  the  little  rest- 
less sanderlings  that  ran  and  flitted  before  the 
advancing  waves,  and  so  never  got  their  pretty 
white  and  grey  plumage  wet :  often  he  would  turn 
to  meet  the  coming  wave,  and  let  it  break  round 
and  rush  past  him,  and  then  in  a  moment  he  would 
be  standing  knee-deep  in  the  midst  of  a  great  sheet 
of  dazzling  white  foam,  until  with  a  long  hiss  as  it 
fled  back,  drawing  the  round  pebbles  with  it,  it 
would  be  gone,  and  he  would  laugh  and  shout  with 
glee.  What  a  grand  old  play-fellow  the  sea  was ! 
And  it  loved  him,  like  the  big  spotted  cat  of  the 
hills,  and  only  pretended  to  be  angry  with  him 
when  it  wanted  to  play,  and  would  do  him  no 
harm.  And  still  he  was  not  satisfied,  but  grew 
bolder  and  bolder,  putting  himself  in  its  power  and 
trusting  to  its  mercy.  He  could  play  better  with  his 
clothes  off ;  and  one  day,  chasing  a  great  receding 


MARTIN  PLAYS  WITH  THE  WAVES     193 

wave  as  far  as  it  would  go,  he  stood  up  bravely  to 
encounter  the  succeeding  wave,  but  it  was  greater 
than  the  last,  and  lifting  him  in  its  great  green  arms 
it  carried  him  high  up  till  it  broke  with  a  mighty 
roar  on  the  beach ;  then  instead  of  leaving  him 
stranded  there  it  rushed  back  still  bearing  him  in  its 
arms  out  into  the  deep.  Further  and  further  from 
the  shore  it  carried  him,  until  he  became  terrified, 
and  throwing  out  his  little  arms  towards  the  land, 
he  cried  aloud,  "  Mother  !  Mother  !  " 

He  was  not  calling  to  his  own  mother  far  away 
on  the  great  plain ;  he  had  forgotten  her.  Now  he 
only  thought  of  the  beautiful  woman  of  the  Hills, 
who  was  so  strong,  and  loved  him  and  made  him 
call  her  "Mother";  and  to  her  he  cried  in  his 
need  for  help.  Now  he  remembered  her  warm, 
protecting  bosom,  and  how  she  had  cried  every 
night  at  the  fear  of  losing  him ;  how  when  he  ran 
from  her  she  followed  him,  calling  to  him  to  return. 
Ah,  how  cold  was  the  sea's  bosom,  how  bitter  its  lips! 

Struggling  still  with  the  great  wave,  struggling 
in  vain,  blinded  and  half-choked  with  salt  water, 
he  was  driven  violently  against  a  great  black 
object  tumbling  about  in  the  surf,  and  with  all  the 
strength  of  his  little  hands  he  clung  to  it.  The 
water  rolled  over  him,  and  beat  against  him,  but 
he  would  not  lose  his  hold  ;  and  at  last  there  came  a 
bigger  wave  and  lifted  him  up  and  cast  him  right  on 


194  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

to  the  object  he  was  clinging  to.  It  was  as  if  some 
enormous  monster  of  the  sea  had  caught  him  up  and 
put  him  in  that  place,  just  as  the  Lady  of  the  Hills 
had  often  snatched  him  up  from  the  edge  of  some 
perilous  precipice  to  set  him  down  in  a  safe  place. 

There  he  lay  exhausted,  stretched  out  at  full 
length,  so  tossed  about  on  the  billows  that  he  had 
a  sensation  of  being  in  a  swing ;  but  the  sea  grew 
quiet  at  last,  and  when  he  looked  up  it  was  dark, 
the  stars  glittering  in  the  dim  blue  vault  above, 
and  the  smooth,  black  water  reflecting  them  all 
round  him,  so  that  he  seemed  to  be  floating  sus- 
pended between  two  vast,  starry  skies,  one  im- 
measurably far  above,  the  other  below  him.  All 
night,  with  only  the  twinkling,  trembling  stars  for 
company,  he  lay  there,  naked,  wet,  and  cold,  thirsty 
with  the  bitter  taste  of  sea-salt  in  his  mouth,  never 
daring  to  stir,  listening  to  the  continual  lapping 
sound  of  the  water. 

Morning  dawned  at  last ;  the  sea  was  green  once 
more,  the  sky  blue,  and  beautiful  with  the  young, 
fresh  light.  He  was  lying  on  an  old  raft  of  black, 
water-logged  spars  and  planks  lashed  together  with 
chains  and  rotting  ropes.  But  alas !  there  was  no 
shore  in  sight,  for  all  night  long  he  had  been 
drifting,  drifting  further  and  further  away  from  land. 

A  strange  habitation  for  Martin,  the  child  of  the 
plain,  was  that  old  raft!  It  had  been  made  by 


MARTIN  PLAYS  WITH  THE  WAVES    195 

shipwrecked    mariners,   long,    long   ago,    and   had 
floated  about  the  sea  until  it  had  become  of  the 
sea,  like  a  half-submerged  floating  island;  brown 
and  many-coloured  seaweeds  had  attached  them- 
selves to  it ;  strange  creatures,  half  plant  and  half 
animal,  grew  on  it ;  and  little  shell-fish  and  number- 
less slimy,  creeping  things  of  the  sea  made  it  their 
dwelling-place.     It  was  about  as  big  as  the  floor  of 
a  large  room,  all  rough,  black,  and  slippery,  with 
the  seaweed  floating  like  ragged  hair  many  yards 
long  around  it,  and  right  in  the  middle  of  the  raft 
there  was  a  large  hole  where  the  wood  had  rotted 
away.     Now,  it  was  very  curious  that  when  Martin 
looked  over  the  side  of  the  raft  he  could  see  down 
into  the  clear,  green  water  a  few  fathoms  only ;  but 
when  he  crept  to  the  edge  of  the  hole  and  looked 
into  the  water  there,  he  was  able  to  see  ten  times 
further  down.     Looking  in  this  hole,  he  saw  far 
down  a  strange,  fish-shaped  creature,  striped  like  a 
zebra,  with  long  spines  on  its  back,  moving  about 
to  and  fro.     It  disappeared,  and  then,  very  much 
further    down,    something    moved,     first    like    a 
shadow,  then  like  a  great,  dark  form ;  and  as  it 
came  up  higher  it  took  the  shape  of  a  man,  but 
dim  and  vast  like  a  man-shaped  cloud  or  shadow 
that  floated  in  the  green  translucent  water.     The 
shoulders  and  head  appeared  ;  then  it  changed  its 
position  and  the  face  was  towards  him  with  the 


196  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

vast  eyes,  that  had  a  dim,  greyish  light  in  them, 
gazing  up  into  his.  Martin  trembled  as  he  gazedr 
not  exactly  with  fear,  but  with  excitement,  because 
he  recognised  in  this  huge  water-monster  under 
him  that  Old  Man  of  the  Sea  who  had  appeared 
and  talked  to  him  in  his  dream  when  he  fell  asleep 
among  the  rocks.  Could  it  be,  although  he  was 
asleep  at  the  time,  that  the  Old  Man  really  had 
appeared  before  him,  and  that  his  eyes  had  been 
open  just  enough  to  see  him  ? 

By-and-by  the  cloud-like  face  disappeared,  and 
did  not  return  though  he  watched  for  it  a  long  time. 
Then  sitting  on  the  black,  rotten  wood  and  brown 
seaweed  he  gazed  over  the  ocean,  a  vast  green, 
sunlit  expanse  with  no  shore  and  no  living  thing 
upon  it.  But  after  a  while  he  began  to  think  that 
there  was  some  living  thing  in  it,  which  was  always 
near  him  though  he  could  not  see  what  it  was. 
From  time  to  time  the  surface  of  the  sea  was 
broken  just  as  if  some  huge  fish  had  risen  to  the 
surface  and  then  sunk  again  without  showing  itself. 
It  was  something  very  big,  judging  from  the  com- 
motion it  made  in  the  water ;  and  at  last  he  did  see 
it  or  a  part  of  it — a  vast  brown  object  which  looked 
like  a  gigantic  man's  shoulder,  but  it  might  have 
been  the  back  of  a  whale.  It  was  no  sooner  seen 
than  gone,  but  in  a  very  short  time  after  its  appear- 
ance cries  as  of  birds  were  heard  at  a  great  distance. 


MARTIN  PLAYS  WITH  THE  WAVES     197 

The  cries  came  from  various  directions,  growing 
louder  and  louder,  and  before  long  Martin  saw 
many  birds  flying  towards  him. 

On  arrival  they  began  to  soar  and  circle  round 
above  him,  all  screaming  excitedly.  They  were 
white  birds  with  long  wings  and  long  sharp  beaks, 
and  were  very  much  like  gulls,  except  that  they  had 
an  easier  and  swifter  flight. 

Martin  rejoiced  to  see  them,  for  he  had  been  in 
the  greatest  terror  at  the  strangeness  and  loneliness 
of  the  sea  now  that  there  was  no  land  in  sight. 
Sitting  on  the  black  raft  he  was  constantly  think- 
ing of  the  warning  words  his  mother  of  the  hills  had 
spoken — that  the  sea  would  kiss  him  with  cold  salt 
lips  and  take  him  down  into  the  depths  where  he 
would  never  see  the  light  again.  O  how  strange 
the  sea  was  to  him  now,  how  lonely,  how  terrible ! 
But  birds  that  with  their  wings  could  range  over 
the  whole  world  were  of  the  land,  and  now  seemed 
to  bring  the  land  near  him  with  their  white  forms 
and  wild  cries.  How  could  they  help  him  ?  He  did 
not  know,  he  did  not  ask  ;  but  he  was  not  alone  now 
that  they  had  come  to  him,  and  his  terror  was  less. 

And  still  more  birds  kept  coming  ;  and  as  the 
morning  wore  on  the  crowd  of  birds  increased  until 
they  were  in  hundreds,  then  in  thousands,  per- 
petually wheeling  and  swooping  and  rising  and 
hovering  over  him  in  a  great  white  cloud.  And 


198  A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 

they  were  of  many  kinds,  mostly  white,  some  grey, 
others  sooty  brown  or  mottled,  and  some  wholly 
black.  Then  in  the  midst  of  the  crowd  of  birds  he 
saw  one  of  great  size  wheeling  about  like  a  king  or 
giant  among  the  others,  with  wings  of  amazing 
length,  wild  eyes  of  a  glittering  yellow,  and  a  yellow 
beak  half  as  long  as  Martin's  arm,  with  a  huge 
vulture-like  hook  at  the  end.  Now  when  this 
mighty  bird  swooped  close  down  over  his  head, 
fanning  him  with  its  immense  wings,  Martin  again 
began  to  be  alarmed  at  its  formidable  appearance  ; 
and  as  more  and  more  birds  came,  with  more  of  the 
big  kind,  and  the  wild  outcry  they  made  increased, 
his  fear  and  astonishment  grew  ;  then  all  at  once 
these  feelings  rose  to  extreme  terror  and  amaze- 
ment at  the  sight  of  a  new  bird-like  creature  a 
thousand  times  bigger  than  the  largest  one  in  the 
circling  crowd  above,  coming  swiftly  towards  him. 
He  saw  that  it  was  not  flying,  but  swimming  or 
gliding  over  the  surface  of  the  sea ;  and  its  body 
was  black,  and  above  the  body  were  many  immense 
white  wings  of  various  shapes,  which  stood  up  like 
a  white  cloud. 

Overcome  with  terror  he  fell  flat  on  the  raft, 
hiding  his  face  in  the  brown  seaweed  that  covered 
it ;  then  in  a  few  minutes  the  sea  became  agitated 
and  rocked  him  in  his  raft,  and  a  wave  came  over 
him  which  almost  swept  him  into  the  sea.  At  the 


MARTIN  PLAYS  WITH  THE  WAVES    199 

same  time  the  outcry  of  the  birds  was  redoubled 
until  he  was  nearly  deafened  by  their  screams,  and 
the  screams  seemed  to  shape  themselves  into  words. 
"  Martin  !  Martin ! "  the  birds  seemed  to  be  scream- 
ing. "  Look  up,  Martin,  look  up,  look  up  !  "  The 
whole  air  above  and  about  him  seemed  to  be  full 
of  the  cries,  and  every  cry  said  to  him,  "  Martin! 
Martin  !  look  up!  look  up  !  " 

Although  dazed  with  the  awful  din  and  almost 
fainting  with   terror   and  weakness,   he  could  not 
resist   the  command.     Pressing  his  hands  on  the 
raft  he  at  last  struggled  up  to  his  knees,  and  saw 
that  the  feared  bird-like  monster  had  passed  him 
by  :  he  saw  that  it  was  a  ship  with  a  black  hull,  its 
white  sails  spread,  and  that  the  motion  of  the  water 
and  the  wave  that  swept  over  him  had  been  created 
by  the  ship  as  it  came  close  to  the  raft.    It  was  now 
rapidly  gliding  from  him,  but  still  very  near,  and  he 
saw  a  crowd  of  strange-looking  rough  men,  with 
sun-browned  faces  and  long  hair  and  shaggy  beards, 
leaning  over  the  bulwarks  staring  at  him.     They 
had  seen    with  astonishment  the  corpse,   as   they 
thought,  of  a  little  naked  white  boy  lying  on  the 
old  black  raft,  with  a  multitude  of  sea-birds  gathered 
to  feed  on  him  ;  now  when  they  saw  him  get  up  on 
his  knees  and  look  at  them,  they  uttered  a  great 
cry,  and  began  rushing  excitedly  hither  and  thither, 
to  pull  at  ropes  and  lower  a  boat.      Martin  did  not 


2OO 


A  LITTLE  BOY  LOST 


know  what  they  were  doing ;  he  only  knew  that 
they  were  men  in  a  ship,  but  he  was  now  too  weak 
and  worn-out  to  look  at  or  think  of  more  than  one 
thing  at  a  time,  and  what  he  was  looking  at  now 

was    the    birds. 

'T:?--  >^ -^^JgiqBl     For  no  sooner  had 

he  looked  up  and 
seen  the  ship  than 
their  wild  cries 
ceased,  and  they 
rose  up  and  up 
like  a  white  cloud 
to  scatter  far  and 
wide  over  sky  and 
sea.  For  some 
moments  he  con- 
tinued watching 
them,  listening  to 
their  changed 
voices,  which  now 
had  a  very  soft  and 
pleasant  sound,  as 
if  they  were  satis- 
fied and  happy.  It 

made  him  happy  to  hear  them,  and  he  lifted  his 
hands  up  and  smiled ;  then,  relieved  of  his  terror 
and  overcome  with  weariness,  he  closed  his  eyes 
and  dropped  once  more  full  length  upon  his  bed  of 


MARTIN  PLAYS  WITH  THE  WAVES     201 

wet  seaweed.  At  that  the  men  stared  into  each 
other's  faces,  a  very  strange  startled  look  coming 
into  their  eyes.  And  no  wonder !  For  long,  long 
months,  running  to  years,  they  had  been  cruising  in 
those  lonely  desolate  seas,  thousands  of  miles  from 
home,  seeing  no  land  nor  any  green  thing,  nor  dear 
face  of  woman  or  child  :  and  now  by  some  strange 
chance  a  child  had  come  to  them,  and  even  while 
they  were  making  all  haste  to  rescue  it,  putting 
their  arms  out  to  take  it  from  the  sea,  its  life  had 
seemingly  been  snatched  from  them ! 
But  he  was  only  sleeping. 


PRINTED   BY 

TURNBULL  AND   SPEARS 

EDINBURGH 


NEW  ISSUE  OF  WORKS  BY  RICHARD  JEFFERIES. 

Crown  8vo.     6s.  each. 
With  Cover  Designs  by  F.  D.  BEDFORD. 

AMARYLLIS  AT  THE   FAIR. 

Literary  World :  "  How  virile  and  how  full  of  the  joy  of  life  !  Amaryllis, 
the  country  maid,  with  her  father,  to  whom  his  garden  is  almost  his  religion, 
and  her  shrewish  mother,  are  admirably  drawn.  The  book  should  be  read 
for  its  pictures  of  country  life,  country  people,  and  country  food.  Would  have 
captured  the  heart  of  Charles  Lamb." 

Saturday  Review :  "  What  a  treat  is  here  !  Amaryllis  in  the  old  farmhouse 
kitchen  seems  to  us  one  of  the  best  things  of  the  kind  Jefferies  did." 

To- Day :  "  Some  of  the  most  charming  pictures  of  English  country  life  that 
have  ever  been  penned." 


BEVIS :  The  Story  of  a  Boy. 

With  an  Introduction  by  E.  V.  LUCAS. 

Punch :  The  "Baron's  Critical  and  Ready  Rhymester  "  writes  as  follows  : — 
"  If  any  boy  desires  a  tale 

Which  tells  him  how  a  boat  to  sail ; 
To  live  upon  a  desert  isle 
(Although  in  reach  of  home  the  while) ; 
To  build  a  hut ;  to  make  a  gun  ; 
To  have  the  finest  outdoor  fun, — 
Why,  BEVIS  (Duckworth)  is  the  book 
On  which  that  boy  at  once  should  look. — 
By  RICHARD  JEFFERIES  long  since  written, 
To  give  delight  to  Younger  Britain." 

Literary  World :  "  A  fine,  wholesome,  open-air  story.  A  world  of  glorious 
make-believe." 

World:  "It  stands  alone  among  boys'  books." 

Speaker :  "If  there  be  a  better  book  for  boys  than  '  Bevis  :  The  Story  of  a 
Boy,'  by  Richard  Jefferies,  we  should  be  glad  to  hear  of  it.  As  Mr  E.  V. 
Lucas  says,  it  stands  alone  in  its  blend  of  joy  in  the  open  air.  It  is  a  boy's 
book  from  the  first  word  to  the  last— a  book  for  boys  who  are  still  boys,  and 
also  for  boys  who  are  masquerading  as  men,  and  fathers,  and  stockbrokers, 
but  at  heart  are  boys  none  the  less." 


AFTER  LONDON  ;  or,  Wild  England. 


DUCKWORTH  &  CO.,  3  HENRIETTA  ST.,  COVENT  GARDEN. 


BOOKS    BY    W.    H.    HUDSON 


THE    PURPLE    LAND. 

Crown  8vo.    6s. 

Spectator:  "This  enchanting  romance.  A  more  romantic 
recital  of  adventure  it  would  be  difficult  to  imagine.  Has  no 
competitors,  and  need  fear  no  rivals." 

Morning  Post :  "  A  romance  beside  which  some  better  known 
books  scarcely  deserve  to  be  named.  Worth  reading  by  all  who 
have  not  forgotten  the  days  of  their  youth." 

Saturday  Review :  "  The  writer  is  one  of  the  most  subtle  and 
original  who  have  enriched  English  letters  for  some  years." 

GREEN    MANSIONS. 

Crown  8vo.     6s. 

Times :  "  A  romance  which  seldom  touches  the  beaten  track. 
A  setting  well  suited  to  so  constant  a  lover  and  observer  of  wild 
nature  as  Mr  Hudson.  This  idyll  leaves  an  impression  of 
tenderness  and  charm.  It  is  a  beautiful  motive  .  .  .  and  the 
touch  of  allegory  adds  to  the  attraction  of  the  romance." 

Daily  Chronicle :  "  It  is  one  of  the  finest  of  all  love  stories. 
The  book  is  one  of  the  noblest  pieces  of  self-expression  for  which 
fiction  has  been  made  a  vehicle." 

EL    OMBU. 

Crown  8vo,  Cloth,  2s.  net.     Paper,  is.  6d.  net. 

Times:  "Though  the  world  has  gained  a  great  naturalist  in 
Mr  Hudson,  it  has  lost  a  great  writer  of  fiction.  Yet  no  man 
is  better  fitted  to  serve  two  masters." 

Spectator:  "  Mr  Hudson's  wonderful  and  picturesque  stories." 


DUCKWORTH  &  CO.,  3  HENRIETTA  ST.,  COVENT  GARDEN. 


Hudson,   William  Henry 
A  little  boy  lost 


PLEASE  DO  NOT  REMOVE 
CARDS  OR  SLIPS  FROM  THIS  POCKET 


UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO  LIBRARY