FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78  
79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   >>   >|  
I whispered to Bickley. "Tell him that they do when they come to Orofena." He did so, whereon the chief said: "Would the gods like a nice young girl cooked?" At this point Bastin retired down the path, realising that he had to do with cannibals. We said that we preferred to look at the girls alive and would meet them again to-morrow morning, when we hoped that the house would be ready. So our first interview with the inhabitants of Orofena came to an end, on which we congratulated ourselves. On reaching the remains of the Star of the South we set to work to take stock of what was left to us. Fortunately it proved to be a very great deal. As I think I mentioned, all the passenger part of the yacht lay forward of the bridge, just in front of which the vessel had been broken in two, almost as cleanly as though she were severed by a gigantic knife. Further our stores were forward and practically everything else that belonged to us, even down to Bickley's instruments and medicines and Bastin's religious works, to say nothing of a great quantity of tinned food and groceries. Lastly on the deck above the saloon had stood two large lifeboats. Although these were amply secured at the commencement of the gale one of them, that on the port side, was smashed to smithers; probably some spar had fallen upon it. The starboard boat, however, remained intact and so far as we could judge, seaworthy, although the bulwarks were broken by the waves. "There's something we can get away in if necessary," I said. "Where to?" remarked Bastin. "We don't know where we are or if there is any other land within a thousand miles. I think we had better stop here as Providence seems to have intended, especially when there is so much work to my hand." "Be careful," answered Bickley, "that the work to your hand does not end in the cutting of all our throats. It is an awkward thing interfering with the religion of savages, and I believe that these untutored children of Nature sometimes eat missionaries." "Yes, I have heard that," said Bastin; "they bake them first as they do pigs. But I don't know that they would care to eat me," and he glanced at his bony limbs, "especially when you are much plumper. Anyhow one can't stop for a risk of that sort." Deigning no reply, Bickley walked away to fetch some fine fish which had been washed up by the tidal wave and were still flapping about in a little pool of salt water. Then we took counse
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78  
79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Bickley

 

Bastin

 

broken

 
forward
 
Orofena
 

Providence

 
starboard
 

intended

 

seaworthy

 

intact


remained
 

remarked

 

counse

 

bulwarks

 

thousand

 
flapping
 

glanced

 

plumper

 

Anyhow

 
Deigning

walked

 
washed
 

throats

 

cutting

 

awkward

 

careful

 

answered

 
interfering
 

religion

 

missionaries


Nature

 

savages

 

untutored

 

children

 

quantity

 

inhabitants

 

interview

 

congratulated

 

morrow

 

morning


reaching

 

Fortunately

 

proved

 

remains

 

whereon

 

whispered

 
cannibals
 

realising

 

preferred

 

retired