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A LITTLE BOY LOST

By W. H. Hudson

Illustrated by A. D. M'Cormick

CONTENTS

_CHAPTER_

I THE HOME ON THE GREAT PLAIN, II THE SPOONBILL AND THE CLOUD, III CHASING A FLYING FIGURE, IV MARTIN IS FOUND BY A DEAF OLD MAN, V THE PEOPLE OF THE MIRAGE, VI MARTIN MEETS WITH SAVAGES, VII ALONE IN THE GREAT FOREST, VIII THE FLOWER AND THE SERPENT, IX THE BLACK PEOPLE OF THE SKY, X A TROOP OF WILD HORSES, XI THE LADY OF THE HILLS, XII THE LITTLE PEOPLE UNDERGROUND, XIII THE GREAT BLUE WATER, XIV THE WONDERS OF THE HILLS, XV MARTIN'S EYES ARE OPENED, XVI THE PEOPLE OF THE MIST, XVII THE OLD MAN OF THE SEA, XVIII MARTIN PLAYS WITH THE WAVES, 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 withoutgetting to the end of them. For myself, boy and man, I have beenmany things, working for a living, and sometimes doing things justfor pleasure; but somehow, whatever I did, it never seemed quite theright and proper thing to do--it never quite satisfied me. I alwayswanted to do something else--I wanted to be a carpenter. It seemedto me that to stand among wood-shavings and sawdust, making thingsat 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: Ionly spoke of it because I had to begin somehow, and it struck methat I would make a start that way. And for another reason, too. _His father was a carpenter_. I mean Martin's father--Martin, theLittle Boy Lost. His father's name was John, and he was a very goodman and a good carpenter, and he loved to do his carpentering betterthan anything else; in fact as much as I should have loved it if Ihad been taught that trade. He lived in a seaside town, namedSouthampton, where there is a great harbour, where he saw greatships coming and going to and from all parts of the world. Now, nostrong, brave man can live in a place like that, seeing the shipsand often talking to the people who voyaged in them about thedistant lands where they had been, without wishing to go and seethose distant countries for himself. When it is winter in England, and it rains and rains, and the east wind blows, and it is grey andcold and the trees are bare, who does not think how nice it would beto fly away like the summer birds to some distant country where thesky is always blue and the sun shines bright and warm every day? Andso it came to pass that John, at last, when he was an old man, soldhis shop, and went abroad. They went to a country many thousands ofmiles away--for you must know that Mrs. John went too; and when thesea voyage ended, they travelled many days and weeks in a wagonuntil they came to the place where they wanted to live; and there, in that lonely country, they built a house, and made a garden, andplanted an orchard. It was a desert, and they had no neighbours, butthey were happy enough because they had as much land as they wanted, and the weather was always bright and beautiful; John, too, had hiscarpenter's tools to work with when he felt inclined; and, best ofall, they had little Martin to love and think about. 

But how about Martin himself? You might think that with no otherchild to prattle to and play with or even to see, it was too lonelya 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 catsand chickens, and any creature in and about the house. But most ofall he loved the little shy creatures that lived in the sunshineamong the flowers--the small birds and butterflies, and littlebeasties and creeping things he was accustomed to see outside thegate among the tall, wild sunflowers. There were acres of theseplants, and they were taller than Martin, and covered with flowersno bigger than marigolds, and here among the sunflowers he used tospend most of the day, as happy as possible. 

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

A wood-shaving may seem a poor plaything to a child with all thetoyshops in London to pick and choose from, but it is really verycurious and pretty. Bright and smooth to the touch, pencilled withdelicate wavy lines, while in its spiral shape it reminds one ofwinding plants, and tendrils by means of which vines and creeperssupport themselves, and flowers with curling petals, and curledleaves and sea-shells and many other pretty natural objects. 

One day Martin ran into the house looking very flushed and joyous, 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 fetchingin the most curious out-of-the-way things to show them. 

"My pretty shaving, " said Martin proudly. 

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When they looked they were amazed and horrified to see a spottedgreen snake coiled comfortably up in the pinafore. It didn't appearto like being looked at by them, for it raised its curiousheart-shaped head and flicked its little red, forked tongue at them. 

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

Martin stared, surprised at the fuss they were making; then, stilltightly holding the ends of his pinafore, he turned and ran out ofthe room and away as fast as he could go. Away went his father afterhim, stick in hand, and out of the gate into the thicket of tall wildsunflowers where Martin had vanished from sight. After hunting aboutfor some time, he found the little run-away sitting on the groundamong the weeds. 

"Where's the snake?" he cried. 

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

John picked the child up in his arms and marched back to the roomand 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 snakes, because they'redangerous bad things, and you die if they bite you. And now you mustgo straight to bed; that's the only punishment that has any effecton such a harebrained little butterfly. "

Martin, puckering up his face for a cry, crept away to his littleroom. It was very hard to have to go to bed in the daytime when hewas not sleepy, and when the birds and butterflies were out in thesunshine 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 helpthinking sometimes that he's not our child at all. "

"Whose child do you think he is, then?" said John, who had a cup ofwater in his hand, for the chase after Martin had made him hot, andhe 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 remember saying to myself, if this doesn't mean something that is going to happen, then dreamsdon't count for much. "

"No more they do, " said John. 

"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 Iwent out alone and walked by the sea, and stood watching a greatnumber of swallows flying by and out over the sea--flying away tosome distant land. By-and-by I noticed one bird coming down lowerand lower as if he wanted to alight, and I watched it, and it camedown straight to me, and at last flew right into my bosom. I put myhand on it, and looking close saw that it was a martin, all purewhite 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 ourchild Martin instead of John as you wished to do. Now, when I watchswallows flying about, coming and going round the house, I sometimesthink that Martin came to us like that one in the dream, and thatsome 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 tohim for size. But here I am listening to your silly dreams instead ofwatering 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 goand tell him to get up if you like. Poor little fellow! Only make himpromise not to go chumming with spotted snakes any more, and not tobring them into the house, because somehow they disagree with me. "

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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 thefenced orchard and gate. These waste grounds were a wilderness ofweeds: here were the sunflowers that Martin liked best; the wildcock's-comb, flaunting great crimson tufts; the yellow floweringmustard, taller than the tallest man; giant thistle, and wildpumpkin with spotted leaves; the huge hairy fox-gloves with yellowbells; feathery fennel, and the big grey-green thorn-apples, withprickly burs full of bright red seed, and long white wax-like flowers, that bloomed only in the evening. He could never get high enough onanything to see over the tops of these plants; but at last he foundhis way through them, and discovered on their further side a widegrassy plain with scarcely a tree on it, stretching away into theblue distance. On this vast plain he gazed with wonderment anddelight. Behind the orchard and weedy waste the ground sloped downto a stream of running water, full of tall rushes with dark greenpolished stems, and yellow water-lilies. All along the moist banksgrew other flowers that were never seen in the dry ground above--theblue star, and scarlet and white verbenas; and sweet-peas of allcolours; and the delicate red vinegar flower, and angel's hair, andthe small fragrant lilies called Mary's-tears, and tall scatteredflags, 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 brownpurple-striped shells; and he also liked to watch the small birdsthat build their nests in the rushes. 

There were three of these small birds that did not appear to knowthat Martin loved them; for no sooner would he present himself atthe stream than forth they would flutter in a great state of mind. One, the prettiest, was a tiny, green-backed little creature, with acrimson 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 andshut, like a Spanish lady playing with her fan. 

The third was a shy, mysterious little brown bird, peering out ofthe clustering leaves, and making a sound like the soft ticking of aclock. They were like three little men, an Italian, a Dutchman, anda Hindoo, talking together, each in his own language, and yet wellable to understand each other. Martin could not make out what theysaid, but suspected that they were talking about him; and he fearedthat their remarks were not always of a friendly nature. 

At length he made the discovery that the water of the stream wasperpetually running away. If he dropped a leaf on the surface itwould hasten down stream, and toss about and fret impatientlyagainst anything that stood in its way, until, making its escape, itwould quickly hurry out of sight. Whither did this rippling, runningwater go? He was anxious to find out. At length, losing all fear andfired with the sight of many new and pretty things he found whilefollowing it, he ran along the banks until, miles from home, he cameto a great lake he could hardly see across, it was so broad. It wasa wonderful place, full of birds; not small, fretful creaturesflitting in and out of the rushes, but great majestic birds thattook very little notice of him. Far out on the blue surface of thewater floated numbers of wild fowl, and chief among them for graceand beauty was the swan, pure white with black head and neck andcrimson bill. There also were stately flamingoes, stalking alongknee-deep in the water, which was shallow; and nearer to the shorewere flocks of rose-coloured spoonbills and solitary big grey heronsstanding motionless; also groups of white egrets, and a greatmultitude of glossy ibises, with dark green and purple plumage andlong sickle-like beaks. 

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

When he related his wonderful experience at home, and heard from hisfather that the sounds he had heard were only echoes from the bedsof rushes, he was not a bit wiser than before, so that the echoesremained to him a continual wonder and source of never-failingpleasure. 

Every day he would take some noisy instrument to the lake to startlethe echoes; a whistle his father made him served for a time; afterthat he marched up and down the banks, rattling a tin canister withpebbles in it; then he got a large frying-pan from the kitchen, andbeat on it with a stick every day for about a fortnight. When hegrew tired of all these sounds, and began casting about for some newthing to wake the echoes with, he all at once remembered hisfather's gun--just what he wanted, for it was the noisiest thing inthe world. Watching his opportunity, he got secretly into the roomwhere it was kept loaded, and succeeded in carrying it out of thehouse without being seen; then, full of joyful anticipations, he ranas fast as the heavy gun would let him to his favourite haunt. 

When he arrived at the lake three or four spoonbills--those beautiful, tall, rose-coloured birds--were standing on the bank, quietly dozingin the hot sunshine. They did not fly away at his approach, for thebirds were now so accustomed to Martin and his harmless noises thatthey took very little notice of him. He knelt on one knee andpointed the gun at them. 

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"Now, birdies, you don't know what a fright I'm going to giveyou--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 roseup with a general scream into the air. 

All this was of no benefit to Martin, the recoil of the gun havingsent him flying over, his heels in the air; and before he recoveredhimself the echoes were silent, and all the frightened birds weresettling on the water again. But there, just before him, lay one ofthe spoonbills, beating its great rose-coloured wings against theground. 

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 hadreceived in its side, staining the grass with crimson. Presently itclosed its beautiful ruby-coloured eyes and the quivering wings grewstill. 

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 morelovely and strong and beautiful in its life--he had killed it, andit would never fly again! He raised it up very tenderly in his armsand kissed it--kissed its pale green head and rosy wings; then outof 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 passedover the lake, and a murmur came up out of the rushes that was likea voice saying something that he could not understand. A great cryof pain rose from his heart and died to a whisper on his lips; hewas awed into silence. Sinking down upon the grass again, he hid hisface against the rosy-breasted bird and began to sob. How warm thedead bird felt against his cheek--oh, so warm--and it could not liveand fly about with the others. 

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

Swifter and vaster, following close upon the flying shadow, came themighty cloud, changing from black to slaty grey; and then, as thesun broke forth again under its lower edge, it was all flushed witha brilliant rose colour. But what a marvellous thing it was, whenthe cloud covered a third of the wide heavens, almost touching thehorizon on either side with its wing-like extremities; Martin, gazing steadily at it, saw that in its form it was like an immensespoonbill flying through the air! He would gladly have run away thento hide himself from its sight, but he dared not stir, for it wasnow directly above him; so, lying down on the grass and hiding hisface against the dead bird, he waited in fear and trembling. 

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He heard the rushing sound of the mighty wings: the wind theycreated smote on the waters in a hurricane, so that the reeds werebeaten flat on the surface, and a great cry of terror went up fromall the wild birds. It passed, and when Martin raised his bowed headand looked again, the sun, just about to touch the horizon with itsgreat red globe, shone out, shedding a rich radiance over the earthand water; while far off, on the opposite side of the heavens, thegreat cloud-bird was rapidly fading out of sight. 

CHAPTER III

CHASING A FLYING FIGURE

After what had happened Martin could never visit the waterside andlook at the great birds wading and swimming there without a feelingthat was like a sudden coldness in the blood of his veins. The rosyspoonbill he had killed and cried over and the great bird-cloud thathad frightened him were never forgotten. He grew tired of shoutingto the echoes: he discovered that there were even more wonderfulthings than the marsh echoes in the world, and that the world wasbigger than he had thought it. When spring with its moist verdureand frail, sweet-smelling flowers had gone; when the great plainbegan to turn to a rusty-brown colour, and the dry hard earth wasfull of cracks, and the days grew longer and the heat greater, therecame an appearance of water that quivered and glittered and dancedbefore his wondering sight, and would lead him miles from home everyday in his vain efforts to find out what it was. He could talk ofnothing else, and asked endless questions about it, and they toldhim that this strange thing was nothing but the Mirage, but ofcourse that was not telling him enough, so that he was left topuzzle his little boy-brains over this new mystery, just as they hadpuzzled before over the mystery of the echoes. Now this Mirage was aglittering whiteness that looked just like water, always shining anddancing before him and all round him, on the dry level plain wherethere was no water. It was never quiet, but perpetually quiveringand running into wavelets that threw up crests and jets of sprays asfrom a fountain, and showers of brilliant drops that flashed likemolten silver in the sunlight before they broke and vanished, onlyto be renewed again. It appeared every day when the sun was high andthe air hot, and it was often called _The False Water_. And false itwas, since it always flew before him as he ran, so that although heoften seemed to be getting nearer to it he could never quiteovertake it. But Martin had a very determined spirit for a small boy, and although this appearance of water mocked his efforts a hundredtimes every day with its vanishing brightness and beauty, he wouldnot give up the pursuit. 

Now one day when there was not a cloud on the great hot whitey-bluesky, nor a breath of air stirring, when it was all silent, for noteven a grass-hopper creaked in the dead, yellow, motionless grass, the whole level earth began to shine and sparkle like a lake ofsilvery water, as Martin had never seen it shine before. He hadwandered far away from home--never had he been so far--and still heran and ran and ran, and still that whiteness quivered and glitteredand flew on before him; and ever it looked more temptingly near, urging him to fresh exertions. At length, tired out and overcomewith heat, he sat down to rest, and feeling very much hurt at theway he had been deceived and led on, he shed one little tear. Therewas no mistake about that tear; he felt it running like a smallspider down his cheek, and finally he saw it fall. It fell on to ablade of yellow grass and ran down the blade, then stopped so as togather itself into a little round drop before touching the ground. Just then, out of the roots of the grass beneath it, crept a tinydusty black beetle and began drinking the drop, waving its littlehorns up and down like donkey's ears, apparently very much pleasedat its good fortune in finding water and having a good drink in sucha dry, thirsty place. Probably it took the tear for a drop of rainjust fallen out of the sky. 

"You _are_ a funny little thing!" exclaimed Martin, feeling now lesslike crying than laughing. 

The wee beetle, satisfied and refreshed, climbed up the grass-blade, and when it reached the tip lifted its dusty black wing-cases justenough to throw out a pair of fine gauzy wings that had been neatlyfolded up beneath them, and flew away. 

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Martin, following its flight, had his eyes quite dazzled by theintense glitter of the False Water, which now seemed to be only afew yards from him: but the strangest thing was that in it thereappeared a form--a bright beautiful form that vanished when he gazedsteadily at it. Again he got up and began running harder than everafter the flying mocking Mirage, and every time he stopped hefancied that he could see the figure again, sometimes like a paleblue shadow on the brightness; sometimes shining with its ownexcessive light, and sometimes only seen in outline, like a figuregraved on glass, and always vanishing when looked at steadily. Perhaps that white water-like glitter of the Mirage was like alooking-glass, and he was only chasing his own reflection. I cannotsay, but there it was, always before him, a face as of a beautifulboy, with tumbled hair and laughing lips, its figure clothed in afluttering dress of lights and shadows. It also seemed to beckon tohim with its hand, and encourage him to run on after it with itsbright merry glances. 

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At length when it was past the hour of noon, Martin sat down under asmall 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 heatand brightness. He was too hot and tired to run more, too tired evento keep his eyes open, and so, propping his back against the stem ofthe 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 theFalse Water had vanished, and the sun, looking very large and crimson, was just about to set. He started up, feeling very thirsty andhungry and bewildered; for he was far, far from home, and lost onthe great plain. Presently he spied a man coming towards him onhorseback. A very funny-looking old man he proved to be, with a facewrinkled and tanned by sun and wind, until it resembled a piece ofancient shoe-leather left lying for years on some neglected spot ofground. A Brazil nut is not darker nor more wrinkled than was theold 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 giventhem a yellowish tinge, so that they looked like dry dead grass. Hewore big jack-boots, patched all over, and full of cracks and holes;and a great pea-jacket, rusty and ragged, fastened with horn buttonsbig as saucers. His old brimless hat looked like a dilapidatedtea-cosy on his head, and to prevent it from being carried off bythe wind it was kept on with an old flannel shirtsleeve tied underhis chin. His saddle, too, like his clothes, was old and full ofrents, with wisps of hair and straw-stuffing sticking out in variousplaces, and his feet were thrust into a pair of big stirrups made ofpieces of wood and rusty iron tied together with string and wire. 

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

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

"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 hislegs and held up his hands with astonishment, and at last began tochuckle. "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 tohear 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 makesyour answer to that. "

This curious old man, whose name was Jacob, had lived so long byhimself that he always thought out loud--louder than other peopletalk: for, being deaf, he could not hear himself, and never had asuspicion 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 ownhome, and all he 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 thatfinds him, like any other lamb I finds. I'll make him believe I'mhis old dad; for he's little and will believe most anything youtells him. I'll learn him to do things about the house--to boil thekettle, and cook the wittels, and gather the firewood, and mend theclothes, 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 whatI'll learn him. Then, Jacob, you can sit down and smoke your pipe, 'cos you'll have some one to do your work for you. "

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

Soon they arrived at a mud hovel, thatched with rushes, the roofsloping down so low that one could almost step on to it; it wassurrounded 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 wereseveral big dogs, and when Martin got down from the horse, theybegan jumping round him, barking with delight, as if they knew him, half-smothering him with their rough caresses. Jacob led him intothe hut, which looked extremely dirty and neglected, and had onlyone room. In the corners against the walls were piles of sheep-skinsthat had a strong and rather unpleasant smell: the thatch above wascovered with dusty cobwebs, hanging like old rags, and the clayfloor was littered with bones, sticks, and other rubbish. The onlynice thing to see was a teakettle singing and steaming away merrilyon the fire in the grate. Old Jacob set about preparing the eveningmeal; and soon they sat down at a small deal table to a supper ofcold mutton and potatoes, and tea which did not taste very nice, asit was sweetened with moist black sugar. Martin was too hungry toturn up his nose at anything, and while he ate and drank the old manchuckled and talked aloud to himself about his good fortune infinding the little boy to do his work for him. After supper hecleared the table, and put two mugs of tea on it, and then got outhis 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 mugagainst Martin's, and took a sip of tea. 

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

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

 "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 bellowedforth in a dreadfully discordant voice; and very soon all the dogsrushed into the room and began to bark and howl most dismally, whichseemed to please the old man greatly, for to him it was a kind ofapplause. But the noise was too much for Martin; so he stopped uphis ears, and only removed his fingers from them when theperformance 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 anda big stick to beat it with. Of course Martin could play on _that_instrument: he had often enough played on one like it to startle theechoes on the lake, in other days. And so, when he had been liftedon to the table, he took the frying-pan by the handle, and beganvigorously beating on it with the stick. He did not mind the noisenow since he was helping to make it. Meanwhile old Jacob beganflinging his arms and legs about in all directions, looking like ascarecrow made to tumble about by means of springs and wires. Hepounded the clay floor with his ponderous old boots until the roomwas filled with a cloud of dust; then in his excitement he kickedover chairs, pots, kettles, and whatever came in his way, while hekept on revolving round the table in a kind of crazy fandango. Martin thought it fine fun, and screamed with laughter, and beat hisgong louder than ever; then to make matters worse old Jacob atintervals uttered whoops and yells, which the dogs answered withlong howls from the door, until the din was something tremendous. 

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

About midnight Martin was wakened by loud horrible noises in the room, and started up on bed trembling with fear. The sounds came from theold 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 verybad trumpet. As soon as Martin discovered the cause of the noise hecrept 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. Herefused to wake. Then Martin had a bright idea, and groping his wayto the bucket of cold water standing beside the fire-place, hemanaged 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 toreturn 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 makinga noise with your nose?" cried Martin at the top of his voice. 

"You--you--you throwed it over me! You--O you most wicked littlevillain you! You throwed it over me, did you!" and here he pouredout such a torrent of abusive words that Martin was horrified andcried 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 aboutthe room, and taking up the wet rug that served him for covering hegroped 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 yourpoor 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 toteach him music. Perhaps you'd like a little more, you takes it soquietly? Well, then, take that!--and that!--and that! Why, how'sthis--the young warmint ain't here arter all! Well, I'm blowed ifthat don't beat everythink! What did he go and chuck that water overme 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 tosleep. Martin came out from under the table, and after dressinghimself with great secrecy crept to the door to make his escape. Itwas locked and the key taken away. But he was determined to make hisescape somehow, and not wait to be whipped; so, by and by, he drewthe little deal table close against the wall, and getting on to itbegan picking the rushes one by one out of the lower part of thethatch. After working for half-an-hour, like a mouse eating his wayout of a soft wooden box, he began to see the light coming throughthe hole, and in another half hour it was large enough for him tocreep through. When he had got out, he slipped down to the ground, where the dogs were lying. They seemed very glad to see him, andbegan pressing round to lick his face; but he pushed them off, andran 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 thegrass grew tall, he heard the crickets strumming sadly on theirlittle harps. 

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

CHAPTER V

THE PEOPLE OF THE MIRAGE

In that remote land where Martin was born, with its bright warmclimate and rich soil, no person need go very long hungry--not evena small boy alone and lost on the great grassy plain. For there is alittle useful plant in that place, with small leaves like cloverleaves 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 isso well known to the settlers' children in that desert country thatthey are always wandering off to the plain to look for it, just asthe children in a town are always running off with their halfpenceto the sweet-stuff shop. This pretty white root is watery, so thatit satisfies both hunger and thirst at the same time. Now when Martinwoke next morning, he found a great many of the little three-leavedplants growing close to the spot where he had slept, and theysupplied him with a nice sweet breakfast. After he had eaten enoughand had amused himself by rolling over and over several times on thegrass, he started once more on his travels, going towards thesunrise 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 andwent on again at a trot: this pace he kept up very steadily, onlypausing from time to time to watch a flock of small white birds thatfollowed him all the morning out of curiosity. At length he began tofeel so hot and tired that he could only walk. Still he kept on; hecould see no flowers nor anything pretty in that place--why shouldhe stay in it? He would go on, and on, and on, in spite of the heat, until he came to something. But it grew hotter as the day advanced, and the ground about him more dry and barren and desolate, until atlast he came to ground where there was scarcely a blade of grass: itwas a great, barren, level plain, covered with a slight crust ofsalt crystals that glittered in the sun so brightly that it dazzledand pained his eyesight. Here were no sweet watery roots forrefreshment, and no berries; nor could Martin find a bush to givehim a little shade and protection from the burning noonday sun. Hesaw one large dark object in the distance, and mistaking it for abush covered with thick foliage he ran towards it; but suddenly itstarted up, when he was near, and waving its great grey and whitewings like sails, fled across the plain. It was an ostrich!

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

And the Mirage--oh, how it glistened and quivered here where he hadsat down, half blinding him with its brightness! Now that he couldno longer run after it, nor even walk, it came to him, breakinground and over him in a thousand fantastic shapes, filling the airwith a million white flakes that whirled about as if driven by afurious wind, although not a breath was stirring. They looked likewhitest snow-flakes, yet stung his cheeks like sparks of fire. Notonly did he see and feel, he could even _hear_ it now: his ears werefilled with a humming sound, growing louder and louder every minute, like the noise made by a large colony of bumble-bees when a personcarelessly treads on their nest, and they are angered and throwninto a great commotion and swarm out to defend their home. Very soonout of this confused murmur louder, clearer sounds began to rise;and these could be distinguished as the notes of numberless musicalinstruments, and voices of people singing, talking, and laughing. Then, all at once, there appeared running and skipping over theground towards him a great company of girls--scores and hundreds ofthem scattered over the plain, exceeding in loveliness all lovelythings that he had ever beheld. Their faces were whiter than lilies, and their loose, fluttering hair looked like a mist of pale shininggold; and their skirts, that rustled as they ran, were also shininglike the wings of dragon-flies, and were touched with brownreflections and changing, beautiful tints, such as are seen onsoap-bubbles. Each of them carried a silver pitcher, and as they ranand skipped along they dipped their fingers in and sprinkled thedesert with water. The bright drops they scattered fell all aroundin a grateful shower, and flew up again from the heated earth in theform of a white mist touched with rainbow colours, filling the airwith a refreshing coolness. 

At Martin's side there grew a small plant, its grey-green leaveslying 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 fallingdrops; then the girl, raising her pitcher, poured a stream of coolwater right into his face, and laughing at what she had done, wentaway with a hop, skip, and jump after her companions. 

The girls with pitchers had all gone, and were succeeded by troopsof boys, just as beautiful, many of them singing and some playing onwind and stringed instruments; and some were running, others quietlywalking, and still others riding on various animals--ostriches, sheep, goats, fawns, and small donkeys, all pure white. One boy was ridingon a ram, and as he came by, strum-strumming on a littlesilver-stringed banjo, he sang a very curious song, which made Martinprick up his ears to listen. It was about a speckled snake thatlived far away on a piece of waste ground; how day after day hesought for his lost playmate--the little boy that had left him; howhe glided this way and that on his smooth, bright belly, winding inand out among the tall wild sunflowers; how he listened for the dearfootsteps--listened with his green leaf-shaped, little head raisedhigh among the leaves. But his playmate was far away and came nomore to feed him from his basin of bread and milk, and caress hiscold, 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 themstopped, and putting his trumpet down close to Martin's ear, puffedout his little, round cheeks, and blew a blast that made him jump. Laughing at the joke, they passed on, and were succeeded by othersand still others, singing, shouting, twanging their instruments, andsome of them stopping for a few moments to look at Martin or playsome 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 whichmade him curious and afraid at the same time. It was a sound, verydeep and solemn, of men's voices singing together a song that waslike a dirge and coming nearer and nearer, and it was like thecoming of a storm with wind and rain and thunder. Soon he could seethem marching through the great crowd of people--old men moving in aslow procession, and they had pale dark faces and their hair andlong beards were whiter than snow, and their long flowing robes wereof the silvery dark colour of a rain-cloud. Then he saw that theleaders of the procession were followed by others who carried acouch of mother-o'-pearl resting on their shoulders, that on thecouch reposed a pale sweet-looking youth dressed in silk clothes ofa delicate rose-colour. He also wore crimson shoes, and atight-fitting apple-green skull cap, which made his head look verysmall. His eyes were ruby-red, and he had a long slender nose like asnipe's bill, only broad and flattened at the tip. And then Martinsaw that he was wounded, for he had one white hand pressed to hisside and it was stained with blood, and drops of blood weretrickling through his fingers. 

He was troubled at the sight, and he gazed at him, and listened tothe words of that solemn song the old men were singing but could notunderstand them. Not because he was a child, for no person, howeveraged and wise and filled with all learning he might be, could haveunderstood that strange song about Wonderful Life and Wonderful Death. Yet there was something in it too which any one who heard it, man orchild, could understand; and he understood it, and it went into hisheart to make it so heavy and sad that he could have put his littleface down on the ground and cried as he had never cried before. Buthe did not put his face down and cry, for just then the wounded youthlooked down on him as they carried him past and smiled a very sweetsmile: then Martin felt that he loved him above all the bright andbeautiful beings that had passed before him. 

Then, when he was gone from sight; when the solemn sound of thevoices began to grow fainter in the distance like the sound of astorm 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 noisyinstruments of music swiftly coming nearer and nearer; and then allround and past him came a vast company of youths and maidens singingand playing and shouting and dancing as they moved onwards. Theywere the most beautiful beings he had ever seen in their shiningdresses, some all in white, others in amber-colour, others insky-blue, and some in still other lovely colours. "The Queen! theQueen!" they were shouting. "Stand up, little boy, and bow to theQueen. "

"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 sametime, poor Martin made strange noises and tumbled about this way andthat and set them all laughing at him. 

"The Queen wishes to speak to you--stand up, little boy, " said oneof the brightest beings, touching Martin on the cheek. 

There before him, surrounded by all that beautiful company, stoodthe horses that drew her--great milk-white horses impatiently pawingthe dusty ground with their hoofs and proudly champing their goldbridles, tossing the white froth from their mouths. But when helifted his eyes timidly to the majestic being seated in her chariotbefore him he was dazzled and overcome with the sight. Her face hada brightness that was like that of the Mirage at noon, and the eyesthat gazed on him were like two great opals; she appeared clothed ina white shining mist, and her hair spread wide on her shoulderslooked white--whiter than a lamb's fleece, and powdered with finegold that sparkled and quivered and ran through it like sparks ofyellow fire: and on her head she wore a crown that was like a diamondseen by candle-light, or like a dewdrop in the sun, and every momentit changed its colour, and by turns was a red flame, then a green, then a yellow, then a violet. 

[Illustration: ]

"Child, you have followed me far, " said the Queen, "and now you arerewarded, 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 ofthe bright beings standing near. "He killed the spoonbill. "

"He cried for the poor slain bird, " replied the Queen. "He willnever remember it without grief, and I forgive him. "

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

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

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

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

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

Another burst of laughter followed; then a youth in a shining, violet-coloured dress suddenly began twanging on his instrument andwildly capering about in imitation of old Jacob's dancing, and whilehe 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 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 thesong ended, at which they all laughed. "And now let two of you speakand each bestow a gift on him. He deserves to be rewarded forrunning 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 hisdays on the face of the earth. "

"Well spoken!" cried the Queen. 

"A wanderer he is to be, " said another: "let the sea do him noharm--that is my gift. "

"So be it, " said the Queen; "and to your two gifts I shall add athird. Let all men love him. Go now, Martin, you are well equipped, and satisfy your heart with the sight of all the strange andbeautiful 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 raisedhis eyes again the whole glorious company had vanished. 

[Illustration: ]

The air was cool and fragrant, the earth moist as if a shower hadjust fallen. He got up and slowly walked onward until near sunset, thinking of nothing but the beautiful people of the Mirage. He hadleft the barren salt plain behind by now; the earth was covered withyellow grass, and he found and ate some sweet roots and berries. Then feeling very tired, he stretched himself out on his back andbegan to wonder if what he had seen was nothing but a dream. Yes, itwas surely a dream, but then--in his life dreams and realities wereso mixed--how was he always to know one from the other? Which wasmost strange, the Mirage that glittered and quivered round him andflew mockingly before him, or the people of the Mirage he had seen?

If you are lying quite still with your eyes shut and some one comessoftly up and stands over you, somehow you know it, and open youreyes to see who it is. Just in that way Martin knew that some onehad come and was standing over him. Still he kept his eyes shut, feeling sure that it was one of those bright and beautiful beings hehad lately seen, perhaps the Queen herself, and that the sight ofher shining countenance would dazzle his eyes. Then all at once hethought that it might be old Jacob, who would punish him for runningaway. 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 inthe day! It was standing over him, staring down with its greatvacant eyes. Gradually its head came lower and lower down, until atlast it made a sudden peck at a metal button on his jacket, and gavesuch a vigorous tug at it that Martin was almost lifted off theground. He screamed and gave a jump; but it was nothing to the jumpthe ostrich gave when he discovered that the button belonged to aliving boy. He jumped six feet high into the air and came down witha great flop; then feeling rather ashamed of himself for beingfrightened at such an insignificant thing as Martin, he stalkedmajestically away, glancing back, first over one shoulder then theother, and kicking up his heels behind him in a somewhat disdainfulmanner. 

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 thegrass, there, directly before him, loomed the great blue hills, orSierras as they are called in that country. He had often seen them, long ago in his distant home on clear mornings, when they hadappeared like a blue cloud on the horizon. He had even wished to getto them, to tread their beautiful blue summits that looked as ifthey would be soft to his feet--softer than the moist springy turfon the plain; but he wished it only as one wishes to get to somefar-off impossible place--a white cloud, for instance, or the bluesky itself. Now all at once he unexpectedly found himself near them, and the sight fired him with a new desire. The level plain hadnothing half so enchanting as the cloud-like blue airy hills, andvery soon he was up on his feet and hurrying towards them. In spiteof hurrying he did not seem to get any nearer; still it was pleasantto be always going on and on, knowing that he would get to them atlast. He had now left the drier plains behind; the earth was clothedwith green and yellow grass easy to the feet, and during the day hefound many sweet roots to refresh him. He also found quantities ofcam-berries, a round fruit a little less than a cherry in size, bright yellow in colour, and each berry inside a green case orsheath shaped like a heart. They were very sweet. At night he sleptonce more in the long grass, and when daylight returned he travelledon, feeling very happy there alone--happy to think that he would getto the beautiful hills at last. But only in the early morning wouldthey 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 towardsthem. 

On the third day he came to a high piece of ground; and when he gotto the top and looked over to the other side he saw a broad greenvalley with a stream of water running in it: on one hand the valleywith its gleaming water stretched away as far as he could see, oruntil it lost itself in the distant haze; but on the other hand, onlooking up the valley, there appeared a great forest, looking bluein the distance; and this was the first forest Martin had ever seen. Close by, down in the green valley before him, there was somethingelse to attract his attention, and this was a large group of men andhorses. No sooner had he caught sight of them than he set off at arun towards them, greatly excited; and as he drew near they all roseup from the grass where they had been sitting or lying to stare athim, filled with wonder at the sight of that small boy alone in thedesert. There were about twenty men and women, and several children;the men were very big and tall, and were dressed only in robes madeof the skins of some wild animal; they had broad, flat faces, anddark copper-coloured skins, and their long black hair hung downloose on their backs. 

These strange, rude-looking people were savages, and are supposed tobe cruel and wicked, and to take pleasure in torturing and killingany lost or stray person that falls into their hands; but indeed itis not so, as you shall shortly find. Poor ignorant little Martin, who had never read a book in his life, having always refused tolearn his letters, knew nothing about savages, and feared them nomore than he had feared old Jacob, or the small spotted snake, thevery sight of which had made grown-up people scream and run away. Sohe marched boldly up and stared at them, and they in turn stared athim out of their great, dark, savage eyes. 

[Illustration: ]

They had just been eating their supper of deer's flesh, roasted onthe coals, and after a time one of the savages, as an experiment, took up a bone of meat and offered it to him. Being very hungry hegladly took it, and began gnawing the meat off the bone. 

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

"Melu-melumia quiltahou papa shani cha silmata, " she spoke, gazingvery earnestly into his face. 

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

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

To which Martin answered, "Theophilus Thistle, the thistle-sifter, sifted a sieve of unsifted thistles; and if Theophilus--oh, I won'tsay 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 tohim, 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 lengthshe released him, for now they were all beginning to lie down by thefire to sleep, as it was getting dark; Martin being very tiredsettled himself down among them, and as one of the women threw askin 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 savagechildren went out to hunt for berries and sweet roots he followedand spent the day agreeably enough in their company. 

On the afternoon of the second day his new playfellows all threw offtheir little skin cloaks and plunged into the stream to bathe; andMartin, seeing how much they seemed to enjoy being in the water, undressed himself and went in after them. The water was not too deepin that place, and as it was rare fun splashing about and trying tokeep his legs in the swift current and clambering over slippery rocks, he went out some distance from the bank. All at once he discoveredthat the others had left him, and looking back he saw that they wereall scrambling out on to the bank and fighting over his clothes. Back he dashed in haste to rescue his property, but by the time hereached the spot they had finished dividing the spoil, and jumpingup they ran away and scattered in all directions, one wearing hisjacket, 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 wascompelled to follow them unclothed to the camping ground, where hepresented himself crying piteously; but the women who had been sokind to him would not help him now, and only laughed to see howwhite his skin looked by contrast with the dark copper-coloured skinsof the other children. At length one of them compassionately gavehim a small soft-furred skin of some wild animal, and fastened it onhim like a cloak; and this he was compelled to wear with shame andgrief, feeling very strange and uncomfortable in it. But the feelingof discomfort in that new savage dress was nothing to the sense ofinjury that stung him, and in his secret heart he was determined notto lose his own clothes. 

When the children went out next day he followed them, watching andwaiting for a chance to recover anything that belonged to him; andat last, seeing the little boy who wore his cap off his guard, hemade a sudden rush, and snatching it off the young savage's head, put it firmly upon his own. But the little savage now regarded thatcap as his very own: he had taken it by force or stratagem, and hadworn it on his head since the day before, and that made it hisproperty; 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 andoverthrew Martin, and deprived him not only of his cap, but of hislittle skin cloak as well, and then punished him until he screamedaloud with pain. Leaving him crying on the ground, they ran back tothe camp. He followed shortly afterwards, but got no sympathy, for, as a rule, grown-up savages do not trouble themselves very much aboutthese little matters: they leave their children to settle their owndisputes. 

During the rest of that day Martin sulked by himself behind a greattussock of grass, refusing to eat with the others, and when one ofthe women went to him and offered him a piece of meat he struck itvindictively 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 coldand miserable in his nakedness, the men were seen returning from thehunt; but instead of riding slowly to the camp as on other days, they came riding furiously and shouting. The moment they were seenand their shouts heard the women jumped up and began hastily packingthe skins and all their belongings into bundles; and in less thanten minutes the whole company was mounted on horseback and ready forflight. One of the men picked Martin up and placed him on thehorse's back before him, and then they all started at a swift canterup the valley towards that great blue forest in the distance. 

In about an hour they came to it: it was then quite dark, the skypowdered with numberless stars; but when they got among the treesthe blue, dusky sky and brilliant stars disappeared from sight, asif 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 slowlyin single file, they kept on for about two hours longer, thenstopped and dismounted under the great trees, and lying down allclose together, went to sleep. Martin, lying among them, crept underthe edge of one of the large skin robes and, feeling warm, he soonfell fast asleep and did not wake till daylight. 

[Illustration: ]

CHAPTER VII

ALONE IN THE GREAT FOREST

Imagine to yourself one accustomed to live in the great treelessplain, accustomed to open his eyes each morning to the wide blue skyand the brilliant sunlight, now for the first time opening them inthat vast gloomy forest, where neither wind nor sunlight came, andno sound was heard, and twilight lasted all day long! All round himwere trees with straight, tall grey trunks, and behind and beyondthem yet other trees--trees everywhere that stood motionless likepillars 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 helonged to make his escape to where he could see the rising sun andfeel 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 itfrightened him a little to look at their great, broad, dark facesframed in masses of black hair. He felt that he hated them, for theyhad treated him badly: the children had taken his clothes, compellinghim to go naked, and had beaten and bruised him, and he had not beenpitied and helped by their elders. By and by, very quietly andcautiously he crept away from among them, and made his escape intothe gloomy wood. On one side the forest shadows looked less darkthan the other, and on that side he went, for it was the side onwhich the sun rose, and the direction he had been travelling when hefirst met with the savages. On and on he went, over the thick bed ofdark decaying leaves, which made no rustling sound, looking like alittle white ghost of a boy in that great gloomy wood. But he cameto no open place, nor did he find anything to eat when hungerpressed him; for there were no sweet roots and berries there, nor anyplant that he had ever seen before. It was all strange and gloomy, and very silent. Not a leaf trembled; for if one had trembled nearhim he would have heard it whisper in that profound stillness thatmade him hold his breath to listen. But sometimes at long intervalsthe silence would be broken by a sound that made him start and standstill and wonder what had caused it. For the rare sounds in theforest were unlike any sounds he had heard before. Three or fourtimes during the day a burst of loud, hollow, confused laughtersounded high up among the trees; but he saw nothing, although mostlikely the creature that had laughed saw him plainly enough from itshiding-place in the deep shadows as it ran up the trunks of the trees. 

[Illustration: ]

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 leaguesfurther down in the open valley. It is called by the savagesCo-viota-co-chamanga, which means that it runs partly in the darkand partly in the light. Here it was in the dark. The trees grewthick and tall on its banks, and their wide branches met andintermingled above its waters that flowed on without a ripple, blackto the eye as a river of ink. How strange it seemed when, holding onto a twig, he bent over and saw himself reflected--a white, nakedchild with a scared face--in that black mirror! Overcome by thirst, he ventured to creep down and dip his hand in the stream, and wasastonished to see that the black water looked as clear as crystal inhis hollow hand. After quenching his thirst he went on, followingthe river now, for it had made him turn aside; but after walking foran hour or more he came to a great tree that had fallen across thestream, and climbing on to the slippery trunk, he crept cautiouslyover and then went gladly on in the old direction. 

Now, after he had crossed the river and walked a long distance, hecame to a more open part; but though it was nice to feel thesunshine on him again, the underwood and grass and creepers trailingover the ground made it difficult and tiring to walk, and in thisplace a curious thing happened. Picking his way through the tangledherbage, an animal his footsteps had startled scuttled away in greatfear, and as it went he caught a glimpse of it. It was a kind ofweasel, but very large--larger than a big tom-cat, and all over asblack as the blackest cat. Looking down he discovered that thisstrange animal had been feasting on eggs. The eggs were nearly aslarge as fowls', of a deep green colour, with polished shells. Therehad been about a dozen in the nest, which was only a small hollow inthe ground lined with dry grass, but most of them had been broken, and the contents devoured by the weasel. Only two remained entire, and these he took, and tempted by his hunger, soon broke the shellsat the small end and sucked them clean. They were raw, but never hadeggs, boiled, fried, or poached, tasted so nice before! He hadjust finished his meal, and was wishing that a third egg had remainedin the ruined nest, when a slight sound like the buzzing of an insectmade him look round, and there, within a few feet of him, was the bigblack weasel once more, looking strangely bold and savage-tempered. It kept staring fixedly at Martin out of its small, wicked, beadyblack eyes, and snarling so as to show its white sharp teeth;and very white they looked by contrast with the black lips, andnose, and hair. Martin stared back at it, but it kept moving andcoming nearer, now sitting straight up, then dropping its fore-feetand gathering its legs in a bunch as if about to spring, and finallystretching itself straight out towards him again, its round flathead and long smooth body making it look like a great black snakecrawling towards him. And all the time it kept on snarling andclicking its sharp teeth and uttering its low, buzzing growl. Martingrew more and more afraid, it looked so strong and angry, sounspeakably fierce. The creature looked as if he was speaking toMartin, saying something very easy to understand, and very dreadfulto hear. This is what it seemed to be saying:--

"Ha, you came on me unawares, and startled me away from the nest Ifound! You have eaten the last two eggs; and I found them, and theywere mine! Must I go hungry for you--starveling, robber! A miserablelittle boy alone and lost in the forest, naked, all scratched andbleeding with thorns, with no courage in his heart, no strength inhis 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 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 ofany creature I never loose my hold till I have sucked out all theblood in his heart. But you, weak little wretch, I hate you! Ithirst for your blood for stealing my food from me! What can you doto save yourself? Down, down on the ground, chicken-heart, where Ican get hold of you! You shall pay me for the eggs with your life! Ishall hold you fast by the throat, and drink and drink until I seeyour glassy eyes close, and your cheeks turn whiter than ashes, andI 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 wasnearer now--scarcely a yard away, still with his beady glaring eyesfixed on Martin's face: and Martin was powerless to fly fromhim--powerless even to stir a step or to lift a hand. His heartjumped so that it choked him, his hair stood up on his head, and hetrembled so that he was ready to fall. And at last, when about tofall to the ground, in the extremity of his terror, he uttered agreat scream of despair; and the sudden scream so startled the weasel, that he jumped up and scuttled away as fast as he could through thecreepers and bushes, making a great rustling over the dead leavesand twigs; and Martin, recovering his strength, listened to thatretreating sound as it passed away into the deep shadows, until itceased 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, onaccount of the rough thorny undergrowth, where he had to push andcrawl through the close bushes, and tread on ground littered with olddead prickly leaves and dead thorny twigs. After going on for aboutan hour in this way, he came to a stream, a branch of the river hehad left, and much shallower, so that he could easily cross fromside to side, and he could also see the bright pebbles under theclear swift current. The stream appeared to run from the east, theway he wished to travel towards the hills, so that he could keep byit, which he wras glad enough to do, as it was nice to get a drinkof water whenever he felt thirsty, and to refresh his tired and sorelittle feet in the stream. 

Following this water he came before very long to a place in theforest where there was little or no underwood, but only low treesand bushes scattered about, and all the ground moist and very greenand fresh like a water-meadow. It was indeed pleasant to feel hisfeet on the soft carpet of grass, and stooping, he put his handsdown on it, and finally lying down he rolled on it so as to have thenice sensation of the warm soft grass all over his body. Soagreeable was it lying and rolling about in that open green placewith the sweet sunshine on him, that he felt no inclination to get upand travel on. It was so sweet to rest after all his strivings andsufferings in that great dark forest! So sweet was it that he prettysoon 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, withthe sun shining through the higher branches of the trees on thegreen 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 greenglass with the sun shining through it! So wonderful did it seem tohim--the intense greenness, the brilliant sunbeams that shone intohis eyes, and seemed to fill him with brightness, and the stillnessof the forest, that he sat up and stared about him. What did itmean--that brightness and stillness?

Then, at a little distance away, he caught sight of something on atree of a shining golden yellow colour. Jumping up he ran to the tree, and found that it was half overgrown with a very beautiful climbingplant, with leaves divided like the fingers of a hand, and largeflowers and fruit, both green and ripe. The ripe fruit was as big asa 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 verynice, and then, in his hunger, he bit through the smooth rind withhis teeth, and it tasted as nice as it looked. He quickly ate it, and then pulled another and ate that, and then another, and stillothers, until he could eat no more. He had not had so delicious ameal for many a long day. 

Not until he had eaten his fill did Martin begin to look closely atthe flowers on the plant. It was the passion-flower, and he hadnever seen it before, and now that he looked well at it he thoughtit the loveliest and strangest flower he had ever beheld; notbrilliant and shining, jewel-like, in the sun, like the scarletverbena of the plains, or some yellow flower, but pale and misty, the petals being of a dim greenish cream-colour, with a large bluecircle in the centre; and the blue, too, was misty like the bluehaze in the distance on a summer day. To see and admire it better hereached out his hand and tried to pluck one of the flowers; then inan 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 handonly because he felt that he had hurt the flower. Moving a step backhe stared at it, and the flower seemed like a thing alive thatlooked back at him, and asked him why he had hurt it. 

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

Then, while still standing by the plant, on bringing his eyes downto the ground he spied a great snake lying coiled up on a bed ofmoss 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 befriendly towards him, although this was a very big one, thicker thanhis arm and of a different colour. It was a pale olive-green, likethe half-dry moss it was lying on, with a pattern of black and brownmottling along its back. It was lying coiled round and round, withits flat arrow-shaped head resting on its coils, and its roundbright eyes fixed on Martin's face. The sun shining on its eyes madethem glint like polished jewels or pieces of glass, and when Martinmoved nearer and stood still, or when he drew back and went to thisside or that, those brilliant glinting eyes were still on his face, and it began to trouble him, until at last he covered his face withhis hands. Then he opened his fingers enough to peep through them, and still those glittering eyes were fixed on him. 

[Illustration: ]

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 thesnake would not, and so he turned from it, and then it seemed to himthat everything was alive and watching him in the same intentway--the passion-flowers, the green leaves, the grass, the trees, the wide sky, the great shining sun. He listened, and there was nosound in the wood, not even the hum of a fly or wild bee, and it wasso still that not a leaf moved. Finally he moved away from that spot, but treading very softly, and holding his breath to listen, for itseemed to him that the forest had something to tell him, and that ifhe listened he would hear the leaves speaking to him. And by-and-byhe 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 whichrose and fell and then ceased, and after a silent interval beganagain. Perhaps it was a child, lost there in the forest like himself. Going softly to the spot he discovered that the sobbing sounds camefrom the other side of a low tree with widespread branches, a kindof 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 flewoff with a loud clatter of its wings. 

When the dove had flown away it was again very silent. What was heto do? He was too tired now to walk much farther, and the sun wasgetting low, so that all the ground was in shadow. He went on alittle way looking for some nice shelter where he could pass thenight, but could not find one. At length, when the sun had set andthe dark was coming, he came upon an old half-dead tree, where therewas a hollow at the roots, lined with half dry moss, very soft tohis foot, and it seemed a nice place to sleep in. But he had nochoice, for he was afraid of going further in the dark among thetrees; and so, creeping into the hollow among the old roots, hecurled himself up as comfortably as he could, and soon began to getvery drowsy, in spite of having no covering to keep him warm. Butalthough very tired and sleepy, he did not go quite to sleep, for hehad never been all alone in a wood by night before, and it wasdifferent from the open plain where he could see all round, even atnight, and where he had feared nothing. Here the trees looked strangeand made strange black shadows, and he thought that the strangepeople of the wood were perhaps now roaming about and would find himthere. He did not want them to find him fast asleep; it was betterto be awake, so that when they came he could jump up and run awayand hide himself from them. Once or twice a slight rustling soundmade him start and think that at last some one was coming to him, stealing softly so as to catch him unawares, but he could seenothing moving, and when he held his breath to listen there was nosound. 

[Illustration: ]

Then all at once, just when he had almost dropped off, a great crysounded at a distance, and made him start up wide awake again. "O look! look! look!" cried the voice in a tone so deep and strangeand powerful that no one could have heard it without terror, for itseemed to be uttered by some forest monster twenty times bigger thanan ordinary man. In a moment an answer came from another part of thewood. "What's that?" cried the answering voice; and then anothervoice 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 mossybed, thinking that the awful people of the forest must have seen him, and would be upon him in a few moments. But though he stared withwide-open eyes into the gloom he could see nothing but the trees, standing silent and motionless, and no sound of approachingfootsteps could he hear. 

After that it was silent again for a while, and he began to hopethat they had given up looking for him; when suddenly, close by, sounded a loud startling "Who's that?" and he gave himself up forlost. For he was too terrified to jump up and run away, as he hadthought to do: he could only lie still, his teeth chattering, hishair standing up on his head. "Who's that?" exclaimed the terriblevoice once more, and then he saw a big black shape drop down fromthe tree above and settle on a dead branch a few feet above hishiding-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 seenand was peering curiously at him. And now all his fear was gone, forhe could not be afraid of an owl; he had been accustomed to see owlsall his life, only they were small, and this owl of the forest wasas big as an eagle, and had a round head and ears like a cat, andgreat cat-like eyes that shone in the dark. 

The owl kept staring at Martin for some time, swaying his body thisway and that, and lowering then raising his head so as to get abetter view. And Martin, on his side, stared back at the owl, and atlast he exclaimed, "O what a great big owl you are! Please say_Who's that_? again. "

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

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 _Who's that_? all night, Martin didnot know. He was fast asleep until the morning sun shone on his faceand woke him, and as he had no clothes and shoes to put on he wassoon up and out. First he took a drink of water, then, feeling veryhungry he went back to the place where he had found the ripe fruitand made a very good breakfast. After that he set out once morethrough the wood towards sunrise, still following the stream. Beforelong the wood became still more open, and at last to his great joyhe found that he had got clear of it, and was once more on the greatopen plain. And now the hills were once more in sight--those greatblue hills where he wished to be, looking nearer and larger thanbefore, but they still looked blue like great banks of cloud andwere a long distance away. But he was determined to get to them, toclimb up their steep sides, and by and by when he found the streambent away to the south, he left it so as to go on straight as hecould to the hills. Away from the water-side the ground was higher, and very flat and covered with dry yellow grass. Over this yellowplain he walked for hours, resting at times, but finding no waterand no sweet roots to quench his thirst, until he was too tired towalk any further, and so he sat down on the dry grass under thatwide blue sky. There was not a cloud on it--nothing but the greatglobe of the sun above him; and there was no wind and no motion inthe 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 eyesfrom the sun, which was too bright for them, and after a time he didsee something moving--a small black spot no bigger than a fly movingin a circle. But he knew it was something big, but at so great aheight from the earth as to look like a fly. And then he caughtsight of a second black speck, then another and another, until hecould make out a dozen or twenty, or more, all moving in widecircles at that vast height. 

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

Now it was impossible for Martin to lie like that, following thosesmall black spots on the hot blue sky as they wheeled round andround continuously, without giving his eyes a little rest byshutting them at intervals. By-and-by he kept them shut a little toolong; he fell asleep, and when he woke he didn't wake fully in amoment; he remained lying motionless just as before, with eyes stillclosed, but the lids just raised enough to enable him to see abouthim. And the sight that met his eyes was very curious. He was nolonger alone in that solitary place. There were people all round him, dozens and scores of little black men about two feet in height, of avery singular appearance. They had bald heads and thin hatchet faces, wrinkled and warty, and long noses; and they all wore black silkclothes--coat, waistcoat and knickerbockers, but without shoes andstockings; their thin black legs and feet were bare; nor did theyhave anything on their bald heads. They were gathered round Martinin a circle, but a very wide circle quite twenty to thirty feet awayfrom him, and some were walking about, others standing alone or ingroups, talking together, and all looking at Martin. Only one whoappeared to be the most important person of the company kept insidethe circle, and whenever one or more of the others came forward afew 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. "

"Wait for what?" asked one. 

"For what may happen, " said the important one. "I must ask you againto leave it to me to decide when it is time to begin. " Then hestrutted up and down in the open space, turning now towards hisfellows and again to Martin, moving his head about to get a bettersight of his face. Then, putting his hand down between his coat andwaistcoat he drew out a knife with a long shining blade, and holdingit from him looked attentively at it. By and by he breathed gentlyon the bright blade, then pulling out a black silk pockethandkerchief wiped off the stain of his breath, and turning theblade about made it glitter in the sun. Then he put it back underhis 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 tastedfood these three days. "

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

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

Thus rebuked they consulted together, then one of them spoke. "If, sir, you consider us unfair, or that we have not fullconfidence in you, would it not be as well to get some other personto 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 towardsthem. But instead of coming forward to take it they all recoiledsome steps, showing considerable alarm. And then they all beganprotesting that they were not complaining of him, that they weresatisfied with their choice, and could not have put the matter inabler 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 inSeptember, 1739, and, as you know, we are now within seven monthsand thirteen days of the end of the first decade of the second halfof the nineteenth century. You may infer from this that I have had apretty extensive experience, and I promise you that when I come tocut the body up you will not be able to say that I have made anunfair distribution, or that any one has been left without hisportion. "

[Illustration: ]

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

"No, sir, certainly not, " replied the other. "Such matters must beleft to my discretion entirely, and I must also remind you thatthere is such a thing as the _carver's privilege_, and it ispossible that in this instance he may think fit to retain the liverfor his own consumption. "

After thus asserting himself he began to examine the blade of hisknife 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 thesun. Finally, raising his arm, he flourished it and then made two orthree stabs and lunges in the air, then walking on tiptoe headyanced to Martin lying so still on the yellow grass in the midstof that black-robed company, the hot sun shining on his naked whitebody. 

The others all immediately pressed forward, craning their necks andlooking highly excited: they were expecting great things; but whenthe man with a knife had got quite close to Martin he was seizedwith fear and made two or three long jumps back to where the otherswere; and then, recovering from his alarm, he quietly put back theknife 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 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 thesubject. I do wish you would consider the circumstances of the case. They are peculiar, for this person--this Martin--is not an ordinaryperson. We have been keeping our eyes on him for some time past, andhave witnessed some remarkable actions on his part, to put it mildly. Let us keep in mind the boldness, the resource, the dangerousviolence he has displayed on so many occasions since he took to hispresent vagabond way of life. "

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

"_If_ he is dead!" exclaimed the other sharply. "That is the verypoint, --_is_ he dead? Can you confidently say that he is not in asound sleep, or in a dead faint, or shamming and ready at the firsttouch of the knife to leap up and seize his assailant--I mean hiscarver--by the throat and perhaps murder him as he once murdered aspoonbill?"

"That would be very dreadful, " said one. 

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

"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 suggestionto put it in practice. "

"With pleasure, " said the other, coming forward with a tripping gaitand an air of not being in the least afraid. But on coming near thesupposed corpse he paused to look round at the others, then pullingout his black silk handkerchief he wiped his black wrinkled foreheadand 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 sometimesa matter of nerves. "

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

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

"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 ityourself? Will _you_ come and do it?"

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

Thus encouraged, he once more turned to the corpse, and againanxiously began to examine the face. Now Martin had been watchingthem through the slits of his not quite closed eyes all the time, and listening to their talk. Being hungry himself he could not helpfeeling for them, and not thinking that it would hurt him to be cutup in pieces and devoured, he had begun to wish that they wouldreally begin on him. He was both amused and annoyed at theirnervousness, and at last opening 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 werestruck still with terror, and then all together turned and fled, going away with three very long hops, and then opening wide theirgreat wings they launched themselves on the air. 

For they were not little black men in black silk clothes as it hadseemed, but vultures--those great, high-soaring, black-plumagedbirds which he had watched circling in the sky, looking no biggerthan bees or flies at that vast distance above the earth. And whenhe was watching them they were watching him, and after he had fallenasleep they continued moving round and round in the sky for hours, and seeing him lying so still on the plain they at last imaginedthat he was dead, and one by one they closed or half-closed theirwings and dropped, gliding downwards, growing larger in appearanceas they neared the ground, until the small black spots no biggerthan 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 goaway without their dinner. 

CHAPTER X

A TROOP OF WILD HORSES

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

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

It was better next day, for after walking two or three hours he cameto the end of that yellow plain to higher ground, where the earthwas sandy and barren, with a few scattered bushes growing on it--dark, prickly bushes like butcher's broom. When he got to the highest partof this barren ground he saw a green valley beyond, stretching awayas far as he could see on either hand. But it was nice to see agreen place again, and going down into the valley he managed to findsome 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 groundbeyond the valley, he saw another valley before him, just like theone he had left behind. Again he rested in that green place, andthen slowly went up the high land beyond, where it was barren andsandy with the dark stiff prickly bushes growing here and there, andwhen he got to the top he looked down, and behold! there was yetanother green valley stretching away to the right and left as far ashe could see. 

Would they never end--these high barren ridges and the long greenvalleys between!

When he toiled slowly up out of this last green resting-place it wasgrowing late in the day, and he was very tired. Then he came to thetop of another 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 riverflowing in it, looking like a band of silver lying along the greenearth--a river too broad for him to cross, stretching away north andsouth as far as he could see. How then should he ever be able to getto the hills, still far, far away beyond that water?

Martin stared at the scene before him for some time; then, feelingvery tired and weak, he sat down on the sandy ground beside a scantydark bush. Tears came to his eyes: he felt them running down hischeeks; and all at once he remembered how long before when hiswandering began, he had dropped a tear, and a small dusty beetle hadrefreshed 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 cameout to drink it, and he felt more lonely and miserable than ever. Hebegan to think of all the queer creatures and people he had met inthe desert, and to wish for them. Some of them had not been verykind to him, but he did not remember that now, it was so sad to bequite alone in the world without even a small beetle to visit him. Heremembered the beautiful people of the Mirage and the black peopleof the sky; and the ostrich, and old Jacob, and the savages, and theserpent, and the black weasel in the forest. He stood up and staredall round to see if anything was coming, but he could see nothingand hear nothing. 

By-and-by, in that deep silence, there was a sound; it seemed tocome from a great distance, it was so faint. Then it grew louder andnearer; and far away he saw a little cloud of dust, and then, eventhrough the dust, dark forms coming swiftly towards him. The soundhe heard was like a long halloo, a cry like the cry of a man, butwild 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 ofmany horses. They were, in truth, horses that were coming swiftlytowards him--a herd of sixty or seventy wild horses. He could seeand hear them only too plainly now, looking very terrible in theirstrength and speed, and the flowing black manes that covered themlike a black cloud, as they came thundering on, intending perhaps tosweep 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 gallopedby, 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 lookedlike a baboon as he crouched, doubled up, gripping the shoulders andneck of the horse with his knees, clinging with his hands to the mane, and craning his neck like a flying bird. It was this strange riderwho had uttered the long piercing man-and-bird-like cries; and nowchanging his voice to a whinnying sound the horses came to a stop, and gathering together in a crowd they stood tossing their manes andstaring 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 anduttering whinnying and other curious noises. Never had Martin lookedupon so strange a man! He was long and lean so that you could havecounted his ribs, and he was stark naked, except for the hair of hishead and face, which half covered him. His skin was of a yellowishbrown colour, and the hair the colour of old dead grass; and it wascoarse and tangled, falling over his shoulders and back and coveringhis forehead like a thatch, his big brown nose standing out beneathit like a beak. The face was covered with the beard which wastangled too, and grew down to his waist, After staring at Martin forsome time with his big, yellow, goat-like eyes, he pranced up to himand began to sniff round him, then touched him with his nose on hisface, arms, and shoulders. 

[Illustration: ]

"Who are you?" said Martin in astonishment. 

For only answer the other squealed and whinnied, grimacing andkicking his legs up at the same time. Then the horses advanced tothem, and gathering round in a close crowd began touching Martin withtheir noses. He liked it--the softness of their sensitive skins, which were like velvet, and putting up his hands he began to stroketheir noses. Then one by one, after smelling him, and being touchedby his hand, they turned away, and going down into the valley weresoon scattered about, most of them grazing, some rolling, otherslying stretched out on the grass as if to sleep; while the youngfoals in the troop, leaving their dams, began playing about andchallenging one another to run a race. 

Martin, following and watching them, almost wished that he too couldgo on four legs to join them in their games. He trusted those wildhorses, but he was still puzzled by that strange man, who had alsoleft him now and was going quietly round on all fours, smelling atthe grass. By-and-by he found something to his liking in a smallpatch of tender green clover, which he began nosing and tearing itup with his teeth, then turning his head round he stared back atMartin, his jaws working vigorously all the time, the stems andleaves of the clover he was eating sticking out from his mouth andhanging about his beard. All at once he jumped up, and flying backat Martin, snatched him up from the ground, carried him to theclover patch, and set him upon it, face down, on all fours; thenwhen Martin sat up he grasped him by the head and forced it downuntil his nose was on the grass so as to make him smell it and knowthat it was good. But smell it he would not, and finally the otherseized him roughly again and, opening his mouth, forced a bunch ofgrass into it. 

[Illustration: ]

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

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

Suddenly a wild excited look came into his eyes, and, leaping upwith a shrill cry, which caused all the horses to look round at him, he once more snatched Martin up, and holding him firmly gripped tohis ribby side by his arm, bounded off to where a mare was standinggiving suck to her young foal. With a vigorous kick he sent the foalaway, and forced Martin to take his place, and, to make it easierfor him, pressed the teat into his mouth. Martin was not accustomedto feed in that way, and he not only refused to suck, but continuedto cry with indignation at such treatment, and to struggle with allhis little might to free himself. His striving was all in vain; andby-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 andheld his mouth open, 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 somesatisfaction, for he was very hungry and thirsty, and it tasted verygood. By-and-by, when no more milk could be drawn from the teats, hewas taken to a second mare, from which the foal was kicked away withas little ceremony as the first one, and then he had as much moremilk as he wanted, and began to like being fed in this amusing way. 

Of what happened after that Martin did not know much, except thatthe man seemed very happy after feeding him. He set Martin on theback of a horse, then jumped and danced round him, making funnychuckling noises, after which he rolled horse-like on the grass, hisarms and legs up in the air, and finally, pulling Martin down, hemade 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 himselflying wedged in between a mare and her young foal lying side by sideclose together. There too was the wild man, coiled up like asleeping dog, his head pillowed on the foal's neck, and the hair ofhis great shaggy beard thrown like a blanket over Martin. 

He very soon grew accustomed to the new strange manner of life, andeven liked it. Those big, noble-looking wild horses, with theirshining coats, brown and bay and black and sorrel and chestnut, andtheir black manes and tails that swept the grass when they moved, were so friendly to him that he could not help loving them. As hewent about among them when they grazed, every horse he approachedwould 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 longas they wanted that morning, they all at once began to gathertogether, coming at a gallop, neighing shrilly; then the wild man, catching Martin up, leaped upon the back of one of the horses, andaway went the whole troop at a furious pace to the great open dryplain, where Martin had met with them on the previous day. Now itwas very terrifying for him at first to be in the midst of thatflying crowd, as the animals went tearing over the plain, whichseemed to shake beneath their thundering hoofs, while their humanleader cheered them on with his shrill, repeated cries. But in alittle while he too caught the excitement, and, losing all his fear, was as wildly happy as the others, crying out at the top of hisvoice in imitation 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, andwent after the young foals when they came out to challenge oneanother to a game. He tried to do as they did, prancing and throwingup his heels and snorting, but when they ran from him they soon lefthim hopelessly behind. Meanwhile the wild man kept watch over him, feeding him with mare's milk, and inviting him from time to time tosmell and taste the tender grass. Best of all was, when they wentfor another run in the evening, and when Martin was no longer heldwith a tight grip against the man's side, but was taught or allowedto hold on, clinging with his legs to the man's body and claspinghim round the neck with his arms, his fingers tightly holding on tothe great shaggy beard. 

Three days passed in this way, and if his time had been much longerwith the wild horses he would have become one of the troop, andwould 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 troopby accident. 

At the end of the third day, when the sun was setting, and all thehorses were scattered about in the valley, quietly grazing, something disturbed them. It might have been a sight or sound ofsome feared object, or perhaps the wind had brought the smell oftheir enemies and hunters from a great distance to their nostrils. Suddenly they were all in a wild commotion, galloping from all sidestoward their leader, and he, picking Martin up, was quickly on ahorse, and off they went full speed, but not towards the plain wherethey were accustomed to go for their runs. Now they fled in theopposite direction down to the river: into it they went, into thatwide, deep, dangerous current, leaping from the bank, each horse, ashe fell into the water with a tremendous splash, disappearing fromsight; but in another moment the head and upper part of the neck wasseen to rise above the surface, until the whole lot were in, andappeared to Martin like a troop of horses' heads swimming withoutbodies over the river. He, clinging to the neck and beard of thewild man, had the upper half of his body out of the cold, rushingwater, and in this way they all got safely across and up theopposite bank. No sooner were they out, than, without even pausingto shake the water from their skins, they set off at full speedacross the valley towards the distant hills. Now on this side, at adistance of a mile or so from the river, there were vast reed-bedsstanding on low land, dried to a hard crust by the summer heat, andright into the reeds the horses rushed and struggled to force theirway through. The reeds were dead and dry, so tall that they rosehigh above the horses' heads, and growing so close together that itwas hard to struggle through them. Then when they were in the midstof this difficult place, the dry crust that covered the low groundbegan to yield to the heavy hoofs, and the horses, sinking to theirknees, were thrown down and plunged about in the most desperate way, and in the midst of this confusion Martin was struck and thrown fromhis place, falling amongst the reeds. Luckily he was not trampledupon, but he was left behind, and then what a dreadful situation washis, when the whole troop had at last succeeded in fighting theirway through, and had gone away leaving him in that dark, solitaryplace! He listened until the sound of heavy hoofs and the long criesof the man had died away in the distance; then the silence anddarkness terrified him, and he struggled to get out, but the reedsgrew so close together that before he had pushed a dozen yardsthrough them he sank down, unable to do more. 

The air was hot and close and still down there on the ground, but byleaning his head back, and staring straight up he could see the palenight sky sprinkled with stars in the openings between the dryleaves and spikes of the reeds. Poor Martin could do nothing butgaze up at the little he could see of the sky in that close, blackplace, until his neck ached with the strain; but at last, to makehim hope, he heard a sound--the now familiar long shrill cry of thewild man. Then, as it came nearer, the sound of tramping hoofs andneighing of the horses was heard, and the cries and hoof-beats grewlouder and then fainter in turns, and sounded now on this side, nowon that, and he knew that they were looking for him. "I'm here, I'mhere, " he cried; "oh, dear horses, come and take me away!" But theycould not hear him, and at last the sound of their neighing and thewild long cries died away altogether, and Martin was left alone inthat 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 couldpush through them. By-and-by the sunlight touched the tops of thetall plants, and working his way towards the side from which thelight came he soon made his escape from that prison, and came into aplace where he could walk without trouble, and could see the earthand sky again. Further on, in a grassy part of the valley, he foundsome sweet roots wrhich greatly refreshed him, and at last, leavingthe valley, he came out on a high grassy plain, and saw the hillsbefore him looking very much nearer than he had ever seen them lookbefore. Up till now they had appeared like masses of dark bluebanked up cloud resting on the earth, now he could see that theywere indeed stone--blue stone piled up in huge cliffs and crags highabove the green world; he could see the roughness of the heaped uprocks, the fissures and crevices in the sides of the hills, and hereand there the patches of green colour where trees and bushes hadtaken root. How wonderful it seemed to Martin that evening standingthere in the wide green plain, the level sun at his back shining onhis naked body, making him look like a statue of a small boy carvedin whitest marble or alabaster. Then, to make the sight he gazed onstill more enchanting, just as the sun went down the colour of thehills changed from stone blue to a purple that was like the purpleof ripe plums and grapes, only more beautiful and bright. In a fewminutes the purple colour faded away and the hills grew shadowy anddark. It was too late in the day, and he was too tired to walkfurther. He was very hungry and thirsty too, and so when he hadfound a few small white partridge-berries and had made a poor supperon them, he gathered some dry grass into a little heap, and lyingdown in it, was soon in a sound sleep. 

It was not until the late afternoon next day that Martin at last gotto the foot of the hill, or mountain, and looking up he saw it likea great wall of stone above him, with trees and bushes and trailingvines growing out of the crevices and on the narrow ledges of therock. Going some distance he came to a place where he could ascend, and here he began slowly walking upwards. At first he could hardlycontain his delight where everything looked new and strange, andhere he found some very beautiful flowers; but as he toiled on hegrew more tired and hungry at every step, and then, to make mattersworse, his legs began to pain so that he could hardly lift them. Itwas a curious pain which he had never felt in his sturdy little legsbefore in all his wanderings. 

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

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

When the shower was over he crept out of his shelter again, and withhis little feet already bleeding from the sharp rocks, tried toclimb on. In one spot he found some small, creeping, myrtle plantscovered with ripe white berries, and although they had a verypungent taste he ate his fill of them, he was so very hungry. Thenfeeling that he could climb no higher, he began to look round for adry, sheltered spot to pass the night in. In a little while he cameto 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 smalltufts 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. Veryslowly he limped across the open space, crying with the pain he feltat every step; but when he reached the bed of ferns he all at oncesaw, sitting among the tall fronds on a stone, a strange-lookingwoman in a green dress, who was gazing very steadily at him witheyes full of love and compassion. At her side there crouched a bigyellow beast, covered all over with black, eye-like spots, with abig round head, and looking just like a cat, but a hundred timeslarger than the biggest cat he had ever seen. The animal rose upwith a low sound like a growl, and glared at Martin with its wide, yellow, fiery eyes, which so terrified him that he dared not moveanother step until the womaan, speaking very gently to him, told himnot to fear. She caressed the great beast, making him lie down again;then coming forward and taking Martin by the hand, she drew him upto her knees. 

[Illustration: ]

"What is your name, poor little suffering child?" she asked, bendingdown to him, and speaking softly. "Martin--what's yours?" he returned, still half sobbing, and rubbing his eyes with his little fists. 

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

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

"I will be your mother, and you shall live with me here on themountain, " 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 callyou mother. "

"When I love you so much, dear child?" she pleaded, bending downuntil 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 andcomforting--it was such a large, warm, protecting hand. So pleasantdid it feel that after a little while he began to move his hand upher beautiful, soft, white arm until it touched her hair. For herhair was unbound and loose; it was dark, and finer than the finestspun silk, and fell all over her shoulders and down her back to thestone she sat on. He let his fingers stray in and out among it; andit felt like the soft, warm down that lines a little bird's nest tohis skin. Finally, he touched her neck and allowed his hand to restthere, it was such a soft, warm neck. At length, but reluctantly, for his little rebellious heart was not yet wholly subdued, heraised his eyes to her face. Oh, how beautiful she was! Her love andeager desire to win him had flushed her clear olive skin with richred colour; out of her sweet red lips, half parted, came her warmbreath on his cheek, more fragrant than wild flowers; and her largedark eyes were gazing down into his with such a tenderness in themthat Martin, seeing it, felt a strange little shudder pass throughhim, and scarcely knew whether to think it pleasant or painful. "Dear child, I love you so much, " she spoke, "will you not call memother?"

Dropping his eyes and with trembling lips, feeling a little ashamedat being conquered at last, he whispered "Mother. "

She raised him in her arms and pressed him to her bosom, wrappingher 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 adim stone chamber, and feeling silky hair over his cheek and neckand arms, he knew that he was still with his new strange mother, thebeautiful Lady of the Mountain. She, seeing him awake, took him upin her arms, and holding him against her bosom, carried him througha long winding stone passage, and out into the bright morningsunlight. There by a small spring of clearest water that gushed fromthe rock she washed his scratched and bruised skin, and rubbed itwith sweet-smelling unguents, and gave him food and drink. The greatspotted beast sat by them all the time, purring like a cat, and atintervals he tried to entice Martin to leave the woman's lap andplay with him. But she would not let him out of her arms: all dayshe nursed and fondled him as if he had been a helpless babe insteadof the sturdy little run-away and adventurer he had proved himselfto be. She also made him tell her the story of how he had got lostand of all the wonderful things that had happened to him in hiswanderings in the wilderness--the people of the Mirage, and oldJacob and the savages, the great forest, the serpent, the owl, thewild horses and wild man, and the black people of the sky. But itwas of the Mirage and the procession of lovely beings about which hespoke most and questioned her. 

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

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

At length she spoke and told him that it was a dream, a very veryidle dream, a dream that was not worth dreaming; that he must neverspeak of it again, never think of it, but forget it, just as he hadforgotten all the other vain silly dreams he had ever had. Andhaving said this much a little sharply, she smiled again and fondledhim, 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 hisface, and said, "For oh, dear little Martin, you are lovely andsweet to look at, and you are mine, my own sweet child, and so longas you live with me on the hills, and love me and eall 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 hisrosy-white skin deepening to red on his cheeks; and his hair curlingall over his head was of a bright golden chestnut colour; and hiseyes were a very bright blue, and looked keen and straight at youjust like a bird's eyes, that seem to be thinking of nothing, andyet seeing everything. 

After this Martin was eager to go to sleep at once and have thepromised 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 thehill, it was a long time before he dropped off. But he did not knowthat he had fallen asleep: it seemed to him that he was very wideawake, and that he heard a voice speaking in the chamber, and thathe started up to listen to it. 

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

Martin could not see the speaker, but he answered quite boldly:"No--there's nothing underground 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. Allyou'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 theopening from where you are lying. "

He looked, and sure enough there _was_ an opening, and a dim passagerunning down through the solid rock. Up he jumped, fired at theprospect of seeing new and wonderful things, and without looking anymore to see who had spoken to him, he ran over to it. The passagehad a smooth floor of stone, and sloped downward into the earth, andwent round and round in an immense spiral; but the circles were sowide that Martin scarcely knew that he was not travelling in astraight line. Have you by chance ever seen a buzzard, or stork, orvulture, or some other great bird, soaring upwards into the sky inwide circles, each circle taking it higher above the earth, until itlooked like a mere black speck in the vast blue heavens, and atlength disappeared altogether? Just in that way, going round andround in just such wide circles, lightly running all the time, withnever a pause to rest, and without feeling in the least tired, Martin went on, only down and down and further down, instead of upand up like the soaring bird, until he was as far under the mountainas ever any buzzard or crane or eagle soared above it. 

Thus running he came at last out of the passage to an open room orspace so wide that, look which way he would, he could see no end toit. The stone roof of this place was held up by huge stone pillarsstanding scattered about like groups of great rough-barked trees, many times bigger round than hogsheads. Here and there in the roof, or the stone overhead, were immense black caverns which almostfrightened him to gaze up at them, they were so vast and black. Andno light or sun or moon came down into that deep part of the earth:the light was from big fires, and they were fires of smithiesburning all about him, sending up great flames and clouds of blacksmoke, which rose and floated upwards through those big black cavernsin the roof. Crowds of people were gathered around the smithies, allvery busy heating metal and hammering on anvils like blacksmiths. Never had he seen so many people, nor ever had he seen such busy menas these, rushing about here and there shouting and colliding withone another, bringing and carrying huge loads in baskets on theirbacks, and altogether the sight of them, and the racket and thesmoke 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 thepassage through which he had come. But the strangeness of it allkept 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 theywere unlike anything he had seen on its surface. They were very stout, strong-looking little men, dressed in coarse dark clothes, coveredwith dust and grime, and they had dark faces, and long hair, andrough, unkempt beards; they had very long arms and big hands, likebaboons, and there was not one among them who looked taller thanMartin himself. After looking at them he did not feel at all afraidof them; he only wanted very much to know who they were, and whatthey were doing, and why they were so excited and noisy over theirwork. So he thrust himself among them, going to the smithies wherethey were in crowds, and peering curiously at them. Then he began tonotice that his coming among them created a great commotion, for nosooner would he appear than all work would be instantly suspended;down would go their baskets and loads of wood, their hammers andimplements of all kinds, and they would stare and point at him, alljabbering together, so that the noise was as if a thousand cockatoosand parrots and paroquets were all screaming at once. What it wasall about he could not tell, as he could not make out what they said;he could only see, and plainly enough, that his presence astonishedand upset them, for as he went about among them they fell backbefore him, crowding together, and all staring and pointing at him. 

But at length he began to make out what they were saying; they wereall 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 himself--Martin with nothing on! Not ashred--not a thread! Impossible--it cannot be! Nothing so strangehas ever happened! _Naked_--do you say that Martin is naked? Oh, dreadful--from the crown of his head to his toes, naked as he wasborn! 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 hehad 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 theirremarks, and seeing how they were disturbed, he looked down athimself and saw that it was indeed so--that he had nothing on, andhe grew ashamed and frightened, and thought he would run and hidehimself from them in some hole in the ground. But there was no placeto hide in, for now they had gathered all round him in a vastcrowd, so that whichever way he turned there before him theyappeared--hundreds and hundreds of dark, excited faces, hundreds ofgrimy hands all pointing at him. Then, all at once, he caught sightof an old rag of a garment lying on the ground among the ashes andcinders, and he thought he would cover himself with it, and pickingit hastily up was just going to put it round him when a great roarof "No!" burst out from the crowd; he was almost deafened with thesound, so that he stood trembling with the old dirty rag of cloth inhis hand. Then one of the little men came up to him, and snatchingthe rag from his hand, flung it angrily down upon the floor; then asif afraid of remaining so near Martin, he backed away into the crowdagain. 

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

[Illustration: ]

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

Then Martin, who had covered his face with his hands to shut out thesight of the angry crowd, took courage, and looking at them, said, half sobbing, "O, Little Men, I've lost my clothes--won't you give mesomething 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 andtumbling over each other in their haste to get away, and by-and-byit looked to Martin as if they were having a great struggle orcontest over something. They were all struggling to get possessionof a small closed basket, and it was like a game of football withhundreds of persons all playing, all fighting for possession of theball. At length one of them succeeded in getting hold of the basketand escaping from all the others who opposed him, and running toMartin he threw it down at his feet, and lifting the lid displayedto his sight a bundle of the most beautiful clothes ever seen bychild or man. 

With a glad cry Martin pulled them out, but the next moment a veryimportant-looking Little Man, with a great white beard, sprangforward and snatched them out of his hand. 

"No, no, " he shouted. "These are not fit for Martin to wear! Theywill soil!" Saying which, he flung them down on that dusty floorwith its litter of cinders and dirt, and began to trample on them asif in a great passion. Then he snatched them up again and shook them, and all could see that they were unsoiled and just as bright andbeautiful as before. Then Martin tried to take them from him, but theother 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 theminto a great tub of water, and jumping in began treading them downwith his feet. But when he pulled them out again and shook thembefore their faces, all saw that they were as dry and bright asbefore. 

"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 toburst into tears at their loss, when out of the fire they werepulled again, and it was seen that the flames had not injured ortarnished them in the least. Once more Martin put out his arms andthis time he was allowed to take those beautiful clothes, and thenjust 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 awakewatching him. 

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

She laughed and touched his arms, showing him that they were stillclasping that beautiful suit of clothes to his breast--the veryclothes of his wonderful dream!

CHAPTER XIII

THE GREAT BLUE WATER

There was not in all that land, nor perhaps in all the wide world, ahappier little boy than Martin, when after waking from his sleep anddream he dressed himself for the first time in that new suit, andwent out from the cave into the morning sunlight. He then felt thecomfort 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 theearth could not soil them, nor the thorns tear them; and aboveeverything they were the most beautiful clothes ever seen. Theircolour 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 ifsmall, shining, many-coloured beads had been sewn in the cloth; onlythere were no beads; it was only the shining threads that made itsparkle so, like clean sand in the sun. When you looked closely atthe cloth, you could see the lovely pattern woven in it--small leafand flower, the leaves like moss leaves, and the flowers like thepimpernel, but not half so big, and they were yellow and red andblue and violet in colour. 

But there were many, many things besides the lovely clothes to makehim contented and happy. First, the beautiful woman of the hills wholoved 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 wasnot his real mother. Then there was the great stony hill-side onwhich he now lived for a playground, where he could wander all dayamong the rocks, overgrown with creepers and strange sweet-smellingflowers he had never seen on the plain below. The birds andbutterflies he saw there were different from those he had always seen;so were the snakes which he often found sleepily coiled up on therocks, and the little swift lizards. Even the water looked strangeand more beautiful than the water in the plain, for here it gushedout of the living rock, sparkling like crystal in the sun, and wasalways cold when he dipped his hands in it even on the hottest days. Perhaps the most wonderful thing was the immense distance he couldsee, when he looked away from the hillside across the plain and sawthe great dark forest where he had been, and the earth stretching far, far away beyond. 

Then there was his playmate, the great yellow-spotted cat, whofollowed him about and was always ready for a frolic, playing in avery curious way. Whenever Martin would prepare to take a runningleap, or a swift run down a slope, the animal, stealing quietly upbehind, would put out a claw from his big soft foot--a great whiteclaw as big as an owl's beak--and pull him suddenly back. At lastMartin would lose his temper, and picking up a stick would turn onhis playmate; and away the animal would fly, pretending to be afraid, and going over bushes and big stones with tremendous leaps todisappear from sight on the mountain side. But very soon he wouldsteal secretly back by some other way to spring upon Martin unawaresand roll him over and over on the ground, growling as if angry, andmaking believe to worry him with his great white teeth, althoughnever really hurting him in the least. He played with Martin just asa cat plays with its kitten when it pretends to punish it. 

Whenever Martin began to show the least sign of weariness the Ladyof 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 hairup again and dress it with yellow flowers and glossy dark greenleaves to make herself look more lovely than ever. At other times, taking him on her shoulders, she would bound nimbly as a wild goat upthe steepest places, springing from crag to crag, and dancing gailyalong 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 andtrees began to creep over the mountain, and he had eaten the fruitsand honey and other wild delicacies she provided, she would make himlie on her bosom. Playing with her loose hair and listening to hersinging as she rocked herself on a stone, he would presently fallasleep. 

In the morning on waking he would always find himself lying stillclasped to her breast in that great dim cavern; and almost alwayswhen he woke he would find her crying. Sometimes on opening his eyeshe 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 tookhim 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 roundhe seemed to see the whole world spread out beneath him. Below, half-way down, there were some wild cattle feeding on the mountainside, and they looked at that distance no bigger than mice. Lookingeastwards he beheld just beyond the plain a vast expanse of bluewater extending leagues and leagues away until it faded into theblue sky. He shouted with joy when he saw it, and could not take hiseyes 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 mountainhe refused to move from the spot; nor would he speak to her nor lookup into her pleading face, but kept his eyes fixed on that distantblue ocean which had so enchanted him. For it seemed to Martin themost wonderful thing he had ever beheld. 

At length it began to grow cold on the summit; then with gentlecaressing words she made him turn and look to the opposite side ofthe heavens, where the sun was just setting behind a great mass ofclouds--dark purple and crimson, rising into peaks that were likehills of rose-coloured pearl, and all the heavens beyond them a paleprimrose-coloured flame. Filled with wonder at all this rich andvaried colour he forgot the ocean for a moment, and uttered anexclamation 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 couldfly with you, clinging to my bosom like a little bat clinging to itsmother when she flies abroad in the twilight?"

"What?" asked Martin. 

"Only dark dark clouds full of rain and cutting hail and thunder andlightning. That is how it is with the sea, Martin: it makes you loveit 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 terriblethan the thunder and lightning in the cloud. Do you remember, whenyou first came to me, naked, shivering with cold, with your littlebare feet blistered and bleeding from the sharp stones, how Icomforted you with my love, and you found it warm and pleasant lyingon my breast? The sea will not comfort you in that way; it willclasp 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 nevernever see the blue sky and sunshine and flowers again. "

Martin shivered and nestled closer to her; and then while theshadows of evening were gathering round them, she sat rockingherself to and fro on a stone, murmuring many tender, sweet words tohim, until the music of her voice and the warmth of her bosom madehim sleep. 

CHAPTER XIV

THE WONDERS OF THE HILLS

Now, although Martin had gone very comfortably to sleep in her armsand found it sweet to be watched over so tenderly, he was not thehappy 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 dosomething to make him forget that great blue water. She could do manythings, and above all she could show him new and wonderful things inthe 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 heslept at night--all that was less to him than the sight of somethingnew and strange; she knew this well, and therefore determined tosatisfy his desire and make his life so full that he would always bemore than contented with it. 

In the morning he went out on the hillside, wandering listlesslyamong the rocks, and when the big cat found him there and tried totempt him to a game he refused to play, for he had not yet got overhis disappointment, and could think of nothing but the sea. But thecat did not know that anything was the matter with him, and was moredetermined to play than ever; crouching now here, now there amongthe stones and bushes, he would spring out upon Martin and pull himdown with its big paws, and this so enraged him that picking up astick he struck furiously at his tormentor. But the cat was tooquick for him; he dodged the blows, then knocked the stick out ofhis hand, and finally Martin, to escape from him, crept into acrevice in a rock where the cat could not reach him, and refused tocome out even when the Lady of the Hills came to look for him andbegged him to come to her. When at last, compelled by hunger, hereturned 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 itwas, she said that it had gone from them and would return nomore--that she had sent it away because it had vexed him. This madeMartin sulk, and he would have gone away and hidden himself from herhad 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 downthe mountain-side until they came to a small dell, green withcreepers and bushes, with a deep carpet of dry moss on the ground, and here she sat down and began to talk to him. 

"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 youwill 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 andplay with you, he is very fierce and powerful, and all the otherbeasts are afraid of him. So long as he was with us they would notcome, but now he has gone they will come to you and let you go tothem. "

"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 nothinghappened, Martin sitting on the mossy ground began to feel a strangedrowsiness stealing over him. He rubbed his eyes and looked round; hewanted to keep very wide awake and alert, so as not to miss thesight of anything that might come. He was vexed with himself forfeeling drowsy, and wondered why it was; then listening to the lowcontinuous 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 theywere like humble-bees in shape but much smaller, and were all of agolden brown colour: they were in scores and hundreds coming andgoing, and had their home or nest in the rock a few feet above hishead. He got up, and climbing from his mother's knee to her shoulder, and standing on it, he looked into the crevice into which the beeswere streaming, and saw their nest full of clusters of small roundobjects that looked like white berries. 

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

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

He looked up into her face wondering and troubled at her words, andshe smiled down so sweetly on his upturned face, looking verybeautiful and tender, that it almost made him cry to think howwilful and passionate he had been, and climbing on to her knees heput his little face against her cheek. 

[Illustration: ]

Then, while he was still caressing her, light tripping steps wereheard over the stony path, and through the bushes came two beautifulwild animals--a doe with her fawn! Martin had often seen the wilddeer on the plains, but always at a great distance and running; nowthat he had them standing before him he could see just what theywere like, and of all the four-footed creatures he had ever lookedon they were undoubtedly the most lovely. They were of a slim shape, and of a very bright reddish fawn-colour, the young one with dappledsides; and both had large trumpet-like ears, which they held up asif listening, while they gazed fixedly at Martin's face with theirlarge, dark, soft eyes. Enchanted with the sight of them, he slippeddown from his mother's lap, and stretched out his arms towards them, and the doe, coming a little nearer, timidly smelt at his hand, thenlicked it with her long, pink tongue. 

In a few minutes the doe and fawn went away and they saw them no more;but they left Martin with a heart filled with happy excitement; andthey were but the first of many strange and beautiful wild animalshe was now made acquainted with, so that for days he could think ofnothing else and wished for nothing better. 

But one day when she had taken him a good way up on the hillside, Martin suddenly recognized a huge rocky precipice before him as theone up which she had taken him, and from the top of which he hadseen the great blue water. Instantly he demanded to be taken up again, and when she refused he rebelled against her, and was firstpassionate and then sullen. Finding that he would not listen toanything she could say, she sat down on a rock and left him tohimself. He could not climb up that precipice, and so he rambledaway to some distance, thinking to hide himself from her, because hethought her unreasonable and unkind not to allow him to see the bluewater once more. But presently he caught sight of a snake lyingmotionless 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 orcoloured glass. Resting his elbows on the stone and holding his facebetween his hands he fell to watching the snake, for though itseemed fast asleep in the sun its gem-like eyes were wide open. 

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

"Yes, " said Martin eagerly, forgetting his quarrel with her; thentaking him up in her strong arms she walked rapidly away, andbrought 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 murmurof the bees; and in a moment she put her hand in the crevice andpulled 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, ofa violet colour, and tasting it he found it was like very sweethoney in which a little salt had been mixed. He liked it and hedidn't like it; still, it was not the same in all the cells; in someit was scarcely salt at all; and he began to suck the honey of cellafter cell, trying to find one that was not salt; and by and by hedropped the cluster of cells from his hand, and stooping to pick itup forgot to do so, and laying his head down and stretching himselfout 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 sunshining right into his eyes, and filling his whole being with itsdelicious heat! He wished for nothing now--not even for the sight ofnew 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 feelingthe sun in him, and seeing it above him; and seeing all things--theblue sky, the grey rocks and green bushes and moss, and the woman inher 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 keepingwatch over him, and when it passed off, and he got up again, histemper appeared changed: he was more gentle and affectionate withhis mother, and obeyed her every wish. And when in his rambles onthe hill he found a snake lying in the sun he would steal softlynear it and watch it steadily for a long time, half wishing to tastethat strange purple honey again, so that he might lie again in thesun, feeling what the snake feels. But there were more wonderfulthings yet for Martin to see and know in the hills, so that in alittle while he ceased to have that desire. 

CHAPTER XV

MARTIN'S EYES ARE OPENED

[Illustration: ]

One morning when they went up into a wild rocky place very high upon the hillside a number of big birds were seen coming over themountain at a great height in the air, travelling in a northerlydirection. They were big hawks almost as big as eagles, with verybroad rounded wings, and instead of travelling straight like otherbirds they moved in wide circles, so that they progressed very slowly. 

They sat down on a stone to watch the birds, and whenever one flyinglower than the others came pretty near them Martin gazed delightedlyat it, and wished it would come still nearer so that he might see itbetter. Then the woman stood up on the stone, and, gazing skywardsand throwing up her arms, she uttered a long call, and the birdsbegan to come lower and lower down, still sweeping round in widecircles, and by and by one came quite down and pitched on a stone afew yards from them. Then another came and lighted on another stone, then another, and others followed, until they were all round him inscores, sitting on the rocks, great brown birds with black bars ontheir wings and tails, and buff-coloured breasts with rust-red spotsand stripes. It was a wonderful sight, those eagle-like hawks, withtheir blue hooked beaks and deep-set dark piercing eyes, sitting innumbers on the rocks, and others and still others dropping down fromthe sky to increase the gathering. 

Then the woman sat down by Martin's side, and after a while one ofthe hawks spread his great wings and rose up into the air to resumehis flight. After an interval of a minute or so another rose, thenanother, but it was an hour before they were all gone. 

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

She told him of a far-away land in the south, from which, whenautumn comes, the birds migrate north to a warmer country hundredsof leagues away, and that birds of all kinds were now travellingnorth, and would be travelling through the sky above them for manydays to come. 

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

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

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

"Because your eyes are not like mine. Look, can you see this?" andshe 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!" shesaid. "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 thepalm of her hand. It was thick and white as milk; then taking someon her finger tip, she made him hold his eyes wide open while sherubbed it on the eye-balls. It made his eyes smart, and everythingat first looked like a blue mist when he tried to see; then slowlythe mist faded away and the air had a new marvellous clearness, andwhen he looked away over the plain beneath them he shouted for joy, so far could he see and so distinct did distant objects appear. Atone point where nothing but the grey haze that obscured the distancehad been visible, a herd of wild cattle now appeared, scattered about, some grazing, others lying down ruminating, and in the midst of theherd 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 tofeed on the hillside, and when I see him here another time I shalltake you to him, and put you on his back. But look now at the sky, Martin. "

He looked up, and was astonished to see numbers of great birdsflying north, where no birds had appeared before. They were mileshigh, and invisible to ordinary sight, but he could see them sodistinctly, their shape and colours, that all the birds he knew wereeasily recognized. There were swans, shining white, with black headsand necks, flying in wedge-shaped flocks, and rose-colouredspoonbills, and flamingoes with scarlet wings tipped with black, andibises, and ducks of different colours, and many other birds, bothwater and land, appeared, flock after flock, all flying as fast astheir wings could bear them towards the north. 

He continued watching them until it was past noon, and then he sawfewer and fewer, only very big birds, appearing; and then these wereseen less and less until there were none. Then he turned his eyes onthe plain and tried to find the herd of wild cattle, but they wereno longer visible; it was as he had seen it in the morning with thepale blue haze over all the distant earth. He was told that thepower to see all distant things with a vision equal to his mother'swas now exhausted, and when he grieved at the loss she comforted himwith the promise that it would be renewed at some other time. 

[Illustration: ]

Now one day when they were out together Martin was greatly surprisedand disturbed at a change in his mother. When he spoke to her shewas silent; and byand-by, drawing a little away, he looked at herwith a fear which increased to a kind of terror, so strangelyaltered did she seem, standing motionless, gazing fixedly withwide-open eyes at the plain beneath them, her whole face white anddrawn with a look of rage. He had an impulse to fly from her andhide 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 movefrom her, for the hill itself seemed changed, and now looked blackand angry even as she did. The ground he stood on, the grey oldstones covered with silvery-white and yellow lichen and prettyflowery, creeping plants, so beautiful to look at in the brightsunlight a few moments ago, now were covered with a dull mist whichappeared to be rising from them, making the air around them dark andstrange. And the air, too, had become sultry and close, and the skywas growing dark above them. Then suddenly remembering all her loveand 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 feeton 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 rubbedthe white thick liquid on his eye-balls, and in a little while, whenthe mistiness passed off, she pointed with her hand and told him tolook there. 

He looked, and as on the former occasion, all distant things wereclearly visible, for although that mist and blackness given off bythe hill had wrapped them round so that they seemed to be standingin the midst of a black cloud, yet away on the plain beneath the sunwas 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, andthough they were miles away he could see them very distinctly. Theywere dark, black-bearded men, strangely dressed, some withfawn-coloured cloaks with broad stripes, others in a scarlet uniform, and they wore cone-shaped scarlet caps. Some carried lances, otherscarbines; and they all wore swords--he could see the steel scabbardsshining in the sun. As he watched them they drew rein and some ofthem got off their horses, and they stood for some time as iftalking excitedly, pointing towards the hill and using emphaticgestures. 

What were they talking about so excitedly? thought Martin. He wantedto know, and he would have asked her, but when he looked up at hershe was still gazing fixedly at them with the same pale face andterrible stern expression, and he could but dimly see her face inthat black cloud which had closed around them. He trembled with fearand could only murmur, "Mother! mother!" Then her arm was put roundhim, and she drew him close against her side, and at that moment--Ohow terrible it was!--the black cloud and the whole universe was litup with a sudden flash that seemed to blind and scorch him, and thehill and the world was shaken and seemed to be shattered by an awfulthunder crash. It was more than he could endure: he ceased to feelor know anything, and was like one dead, and when he came to himselfand opened his eyes he was lying in her lap with her face smilingvery tenderly, bending over him. 

"O, poor little Martin, " she said, "what a poor, weak little boy youare to lose your senses at the lightning and thunder! I was angrywhen 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. Theyare gone, and the storm is over now, and it is late--come, let us goto 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 theautumn 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 bynight and spread over all the country, covering it like a cloud; toa soaring bird looking down from the sky it must have appeared likeanother sea of a pale or pearly grey colour, with the hills risinglike islands from it. When the sun rose in the morning, if the skywas clear so that it could shine, then the sea-fog would drift andbreak 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 theHills, without coming out of her chamber, knew of it, and she wouldprevent Martin from leaving the bed and going out. He loved to beout on the hill-side, to watch the sun come up, and she would say tohim, "You cannot see the sun because of the mist; and it is cold andwet on the hill; wait until the mist has gone and then you shall goout. "

But now a new idea came into her mind. She had succeeded in makinghim happy during the last few days; but she wished to do more--shewished to make him fear and hate the sea so that he would never growdiscontented 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 Martinwhen 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, andsee how it dims and saddens the earth, you will know better than towish 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: themist had blotted all out; he could hardly see the rocks and bushes adozen yards from him; the leaves and flowers were heavy laden withthe grey wet; and it felt clammy and cold on his face, and he tastedits salt on his lips. It seemed thickest and darkest when he lookeddown and lightest when he looked up, and the lightness led him toclimb up among the dripping, slippery rocks; and slipping andstumbling he went on and on, the light increasing as he went, untilat last to his delight he got above the mist. There was an immensecrag there which stood boldly up on the hillside, and on to this hemanaged to climb, and standing on it he looked down upon that vastmoving sea of grey mist that covered the earth, and saw the sun, alarge crimson disc, rising from it. 

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

Now, looking abroad over the earth, it appeared to Martin that thethousands and tens and hundreds of thousands of fragments of mist, had the shapes of men, and were like an innumerable multitude ofgigantic men with shining white faces and shining golden hair andlong cloud-like robes of a pearly grey colour, that trailed on theearth as they moved. They were like a vast army covering the wholeearth, all with their faces set towards the west, all moving swiftlyand smoothly on towards the west. And he saw that every one held hisrobes 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. Thisobject was a shell--a big sea-shell of a golden yellow colour withcurved 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, andit sounded in his ear--a low, deep murmur as of waves breaking on along shingled beach, and Martin knew, though no word was spoken tohim, that it was the sound of the sea, and tears of delight came tohis eyes, and at the same time his heart was sick and sad withlonging for the sea. 

[Illustration: ]

Again and again, until the whole vast multitude of the mist peoplehad 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, andfloat away and disappear in the blue sky, he sat down on the rockand cried with the desire that was in him. 

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

One morning on waking he found her still asleep, although the tracesof tears on her cheeks showed that she had been awake and cryingduring the night. 

"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, movingvery softly lest she should wake; but though he knew that if sheawoke she would not let him go, he could not leave her withoutsaying goodbye. And so coming near he stooped over her and verygently kissed her soft cheek and sweet mouth and murmured, "Good-bye, sweet mother. " Then, very cautiously, like a shy, little wild animalhe stole out of the cavern. Once outside, in the early morning light, he started running as fast as he could, jumping from stone to stonein the rough places, and scrambling through the dew-laden bushes andcreepers, until, hot and panting, he arrived down at the very footof the hill. 

Then it was easier walking, and he went on a little until he heard avoice crying, "Martin! Martin!" and, looking back, he saw the Ladyof 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, " shecalled, stretching out her arms towards him. "Oh, Martin, I cannotleave the hills to follow you and shield you from harm and save youfrom death, Where will you go? Oh me, what shall I do without you?"

For a little while he stood still, listening with tears in his eyesto her words, and wavering in his mind; but very soon he thought ofthe great blue water once more and could not go back, but began torun again, and went on and on for a long distance before stopping torest. Then he looked back, but he could no longer see her formstanding there on the stone. 

All that day he journeyed on towards the ocean over a great plain. There was no trees and no rocks nor hills, only grass on the levelearth, in some places so tall that the spikes, looking like greatwhite ostrich plumes, waved high above his head. But it was easywalking, as the grass grew in tussocks or bunches, and underneaththe ground was bare and smooth so that he could walk easily betweenthe 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 thathe could scarcely lift his legs to walk. Then, as he went slowly onin the fading light, where the grass was short and the eveningprimroses were opening and filling the desert air with their sweetperfume, he all at once saw a little grey old man not above sixinches in height standing on the ground right before him, andstaring fixedly at him with great, round, yellow eyes. 

[Illustration: ]

"You bad boy!" exclaimed this curious, little, old man; whereuponMartin stopped in his walk and stood still, gazing in the greatestsurprise at him. 

"You bad boy!" repeated 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, greyface. He began to feel a little afraid, and was almost inclined torun away; then he thought it would be funny to run from such a verysmall 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 tohimself, and throwing out his arms he shouted at the top of his voice, "Go away!"

And away with a scream he went, for it was only a little greyburrowing owl after all! Martin laughed a little at his ownfoolishness in mistaking that common bird he was accustomed to seeevery day for a little old man. 

By-and-by, feeling very tired, he sat down to rest, and just wherehe sat grew a plant with long white flowers like tall thin gobletsin shape. Sitting on the grass he could see right into one of theflower-tubes, and presently he noticed a little, old, grey, shrivelled woman in it, very, very small, for she was not longerthan the nail of his little finger. She wore a grey shawl thatdragged behind her, and kept getting under her feet and tripping herup. She was most active, whisking about this way and that inside theflower; and at intervals she turned to stare at Martin, who keptgetting nearer and nearer to watch her until his face nearly touchedthe flower; and whenever she looked at him she wore an exceedinglysevere expression on her small dried-up countenance. It seemed toMartin that she was very angry with him for some reason. Then shewould turn her back on him, and tumble about in the tube of theflower, and gathering up the ends of her shawl in her arms begindusting with great energy; then hurrying out once more she wouldshake the dust from her big, funny shawl in his eyes. At last hecarefully raised a hand and was just going to take hold of the queer, little, old dame with his forefinger and thumb when up she flew. Itwas only a small, grey, twilight moth!

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

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

It made him remember his beautiful mother, now perhaps crying alonein 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 endureit 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 grassand went to sleep. 

CHAPTER XVII

THE OLD MAN OF THE SEA

Next day Martin journeyed on in the old way, jumping up and taking agood long run, then dropping into a trot, then a walk, and finallysitting down to rest. Then up again and another run, and so on. Butalthough feeling hungry and thirsty, he was so full of the thoughtof the great blue water he was going to see, so eager to look uponit at last after wishing for it so long, that he hardly gave himselfany time to hunt for food. Nor did he think of his mother of thehills, alone to-day, and grieving at his loss, so excited was he atthe prospect of what lay before him. 

A little past noon he began to hear a low murmuring sound thatseemed in the earth beneath him, and all about him, and in the airabove him; but he did not know that it was the sound of the sea. Atlength he came to a place where the earth rose up in long ridges ofyellow sand, on which nothing grew but scattered tufts of stiff, yellow grass. As he toiled over the loose sand, sometimes sinkingankle-deep in it, the curious deep murmuring sound he had heard forso long grew louder and louder, until it was like the sound of amighty wind in a wood, but deeper and hoarser, rising and falling, and at intervals broken by great throbs, as of thunder echoed andre-echoed among the distant hills. At length he had toiled over thelast ridge of sand; and then all at once the world--his world ofsolid earth at all events--came to an abrupt end; for no more groundon which to set a foot was before him, but only the ocean--thatocean which he had wanted so badly, and had loved at a distance morethan the plains and hills, and all they contained to delight him!How wide, how vast it was, stretching away to where it melted intothe low sky, its immense grey-blue surface broken into ten thousandthousand waves, lit with white crests that came in sight andvanished like lightning flashes! How tremendous, how terrible it wasin its agitation--O the world had nothing to compare with it, nothing to hold his heart after it; and it was well that the earthwas silent, that it only gazed upon it with the sun and moon andstars, 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 edgeof the awful cliff, which is one of the highest in the world; andthen the sight of the sea swirling and beating at the foot of thatstupendous black precipice, sending up great clouds of spray in itsfury, made him shudder, it was so awful to look upon. But he couldnot stir from that spot; there he stayed lying flat on his chest, gazing and gazing, feeling neither hunger nor thirst, forgetful ofthe beautiful woman he had called mother, and of everything besides. And as he gazed, little by little, that great tumult of the wavesgrew 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 longnarrow strip of sand and shingle exposed to sight. A solemn calmfell upon the waste of waters; only near the shore it continued tomove a little, rising and falling like the chest of a sleeping giant, while along the margin small waves continued to form and break inwhite foam on the shingle with a perpetual low, moaning sound. Further out it was quite calm, its surface everywhere flushed withchanging violet, green, and rosy tints: in a little while theselovely colours faded as from a sunset cloud, and it was all deepdark blue: for the sun had gone, and the shadows of evening wereover land and sea. Then Martin, his little heart filled with a greatawe and a great joy, crept away a few yards from the edge of thecliff and coiled himself up to sleep in a hollow in the soft warmsand. 

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

Keeping close to the edge, occasionally stopping to lie down on hischest and peer over, he went on and on for hours, until theafternoon tide once more covered the strip of shingled beach, andthe waves rising high began to beat with a sound like thunderagainst the tremendous cliff, making the earth tremble under him. Atlength he came to a spot where there was a great gap in the line ofthe cliff, where in past times a portion of it had tumbled down, andthe stupendous masses of rock had rolled far out into the sea, andnow formed islands of black jagged rock, standing high above thewater. Here among the rocks the sea boiled and roared its loudest, churning its waters into masses of white froth. Here a fresh wondermet his sight: a number of big animals unlike any creature he hadever seen before were lying prone on the rocks just out of the reachof the waves that beat round them. At first they looked like cows, then he saw that they had neither horns nor legs, that their headswere like dog's but without ears, and that they had two greatflapper-shaped feet on their chests with which they walked orcrawled upon the rocks whenever a wave broke on them, causing themto move a little higher. 

[Illustration: ]

They were sea-lions, a very big sort of seal, but Martin had neverheard of such a creature, and being anxious to look more closely atthem he went into the gap, and began cautiously climbing down overthe broken masses of rock and clay until he got quite near the sea. Lying there on a flat rock he became absorbed in watching thesestrange dog-headed legless cattle of the sea; for he now had themnear, and they could see him, and occasionally one would lift itshead and gaze earnestly at him out of large dark eyes that were softand 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 soloud as if in wrath, had its big beasts too for him to love, likethe hills and plains with their cattle and deer and horses!

But the tide was still rising, and very soon the biggest waves beganto come quite over the rocks, rolling the big beasts over and evenwashing them off, and it angered them when the waves struck them, and they roared aloud, and by and by they began to go away, somedisappearing beneath the water, others with heads above the surfaceswimming away out into the open sea, until all were gone. Martin wassorry to lose them, but the sight of the sea tumbling and foaming onthe rocks still held him there, until all the rocks but one had beencovered by the waters, and this one was a great black jagged rockclose to the shore, not above twenty or thirty yards from him. Against this mass of rock the waves continued to dash themselveswith a mighty noise, sending up a cloud of white foam and spray atevery blow. The sight and sound fascinated him. The sea appeared tobe talking, whispering, and murmuring, and crying out aloud to him insuch a manner that he actually began trying to make out what it wassaying. Then up would come a great green wave rushing and moaning, to dash itself to pieces right before his face; and each time itbroke against the rock, and rose high up it took a fantastic shapethat began to look more and more the shape of a man. Yes, it wasunmistakably like a monstrous grey old man, with a vast snow-whitebeard, and a world of disordered white hair floating over and aroundits head. At all events it was white for a moment, then it lookedgreen--a great green beard which the old man took with his two handsand twisted just as a washerwoman twists a blanket or counterpane, so as to wring the water out of it. 

Martin stared at this strange uncouth visitor from the sea; while hein turn, leaning over the rock, stared back into Martin's face withhis immense fishy eyes. 

Every time a fresh wave broke over him, lifting up his hair andgarments, which were of brown seaweed and all rags and tatters, itseemed to annoy him somewhat; but he never stirred; and when thewave retired he would wring the water out once more and blow a cloudof sea-spray from his beard. At length, holding out his mighty armstowards Martin, he opened his great, cod-fish mouth, and burst intoa hoarse laugh, which sounded like the deep laughter-like cries ofthe big, black-backed gulls. Still, Martin did not feel at allafraid of him, for he looked good-natured and friendly. 

"Who are you?" shouted Martin at last. 

"Who be I?" returned the man-shaped monster in a hoarse, sea-likevoice. "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 theycalled me afore: but I got promotion, and in consekence I'm calledthe 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, Iknowed 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 mycows, as I calls 'em. Of course I knowed as you was Martin. "

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

[Illustration: ]

"Ho, ho, ho!" laughed the giant, blowing a great cloud of spray fromhis lips. "I don't mind telling you that. You see, Martin, I ain'tpressed for time. Them blessed bells is nothing to me now, not beingin the foc'sle trying to git a bit of a snooze. Well, to begin, Iwere born longer ago than I can tell in a old town by the sea, andmy father he were a sailor man, and was drowned when I were verysmall; then my mother she died just becoz every man that belonged toher was drowned. For those as lives by the sea, Martin, mostly diesin the sea. Being a orphan I were brought up by Granny. I were verysmall then, and used to go and play all day in the marshes, and Iloved the cows and water-rats and all the little beasties, same asyou, 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 hada 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 Igoes, and boy and man, I was on a many voyages to Turkey and Injyand the Cape and the West Coast and Ameriky, and all round the worldforty times over. Many and many's the time I was shipwrecked andoverboard, but I never got drowned. At last, when I were gitting aold man, and not much use by reason of the rheumatiz and stiffnessin the jints, there was a mutiny in our ship when we was off the Cape;and the captain and mate they was killed. Then comes my turn, becozI went again the men, d'ye see, and they wasn't a-going for topardon me that. So out they had me on deck and began to talk abouthow they'd finish me--rope, knife, or bullet. 'Mates, ' says I 'shootme if you like and I'll dies comforbly; or run a knife into me, which is better still; or string me up to the yard-arm, which is themost comforble 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 'emlarf a most tremenjous larf. 'Old Bill, ' says they, 'will have hislittle joke. ' Then they brings up some iron stowed in the hold, andwith ropes and chains they ties well-nigh half a ton of it to mylegs and arms, then lowers me over the side. Down I wrent, in course, which made 'em larf louder than afore; and I were fathoms andfathoms under water afore I stopped hearing them larf. At last Icomes 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 aold sea-sarpint along of the rocks, but warm and comforble like. Last of all, the ropes and chains they got busted off becoz of mygrowing so big and strong down there, and up I comes to blow like agrampus, for I were full of water by reason that it had soaked intome. So that's how I got to be the Old Man of the Sea, hundreds andhundreds 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, Ican tell 'ee. That were a hard life, with nothing good except perhapsthe baccy. I were very fond of baccy once before the sea put out mypipe. Likewise of rum. Many's the time I've been picked up on shorethat 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 mymouth wide and takes down a big gulp of sea water, enough to fill ahogshead; then I comes up and blows it all out again just like a oldgrampus. "

And having said this, he opened his vast cavernous mouth and roaredout his hoarse ho, ho, ho! louder than before, and at the same timehe rose up higher above the water and the black rock he had beenleaning on, until he stood like a stupendous tower above Martin--aman-shaped tower of water and spray, and white froth and brownseaweed. Then he slowly fell backwards out upon the sea, and fallingupon the sea caused so mighty a wave that it went high over theblack rock and washed the face of the cliff, sweeping Martin backamong the rocks. 

When the great wave retired, and Martin, half-choked with water andhalf-dazed, struggled on to his feet, he saw that it was night, anda cloudy, black sky was above, and the black sea beneath him. He hadnot seen the light fade, and had perhaps fallen asleep and seen andtalked with that old sea monster in a dream. But now he could notescape from his position down in the gap, just above the roaringwaves. There he had to stay, sheltered in a cavity in the rock, andlying there, half sleeping and half waking, he had that great voiceof 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 bruisedprisoner among the rocks, it was nice to see the dawn again. Nosooner 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 therocks and masses of hard clay, and shut in there he could not see thewater nor anything excepting a patch of sky above him. Now he beganclimbing over the stones and crawling and forcing himself throughcrevices and other small openings, making a little progress, for hewas sore from his bruises and very weak from his long fast, and atintervals, tired and beaten, he would drop down crying with pain andmisery. But Martin was by nature a very resolute little boy, andafter two or three minutes' rest his tears would cease, and he wouldbe up struggling on determinedly as before. He was like some littlewild 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 up trying to find one. And at last, after somuch trying, Martin's efforts were rewarded: he succeeded in gettinginto the steep passage by which he had come down to the sea on theprevious 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 tofeel glad and happy at the sight before him: there was the glorioussea again, not as he had seen it before, its wide surface roughenedby the wind and flecked with foam; for now the water was smooth, butnot still; it rose and fell in vast rollers, or long waves that werelike ridges, wave following wave in a very grand and ordered manner. And as he gazed, the clouds broke and floated away, and the sky grewclear and bright, and then all at once the great red sun came up outof the waters!

But it was impossible for him to stay there longer when there wasnothing to eat; his extreme hunger compelled him to get up and leavethe cliff and the sandy hills behind it; and then for an hour or twohe 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 goneto them. They looked like yew-bushes, and when he got to them hefound that they were thickly covered with small berries; on somebushes they were purple-black, on others crimson, but all were ripe, and many small birds were there feasting on them. The berries werepleasant to the taste, and he feasted with the little birds on themuntil his hunger was satisfied; and then, with his mouth and fingersstained purple with the juice, he went to sleep in the shade of oneof the bushes. There, too, he spent the whole of that day and thenight, hearing the low murmur of the sea when waking, and whenmorning came he was strong and happy once more, and, after fillinghimself with the fruit, set off to the sea again. 

Arrived at the cliff, he began walking along the edge, and in aboutan hour's time came to the end of it, for there it sloped down tothe 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 heran down to the margin, and the rest of that day he spent dabblingin the water, gathering beautiful shells and seaweed andstrangely-painted pebbles into heaps, then going on and on again, still picking up more beautiful riffraff on the margin, only to leave, it all behind him at last. Never had he spent a happier day, andwhen 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, lowmurmur of the waves on the beach. 

Many happy days he spent in the same way, with no living thing tokeep him company, except the little white and grey sanderlings thatpiped so shrill and clear as they flitted along the margin before him;and the great sea-gulls that uttered hoarse, laughter-like cries asthey soared and hovered above his head. "Oh, happy birds!" exclaimedMartin, 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 littlerestless sanderlings that ran and flitted before the advancing waves, and so never got their pretty white and grey plumage wet: often hewould turn to meet the coming wave, and let it break round and rushpast him, and then in a moment he would be standing knee-deep in themidst of a great sheet of dazzling white foam, until with a longhiss as it fled back, drawing the round pebbles with it, it would begone, and he would laugh and shout with glee. What a grand oldplay-fellow the sea was! And it loved him, like the big spotted catof the hills, and only pretended to be angry with him when it wantedto play, and would do him no harm. And still he was not satisfied, but grew bolder and bolder, putting himself in its power and trustingto its mercy. He could play better with his clothes off; and one day, chasing a great receding wave as far as it would go, he stood upbravely to encounter the succeeding wave, but it was greater thanthe last, and lifting him in its great green arms it carried him highup till it broke with a mighty roar on the beach; then instead ofleaving him stranded there it rushed back still bearing him in itsarms out into the deep. Further and further from the shore itcarried him, until he became terrified, and throwing out his littlearms towards the land, he cried aloud, "Mother! Mother!"

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

Struggling still with the great wave, struggling in vain, blindedand half-choked with salt water, he was driven violently against agreat black object tumbling about in the surf, and with all thestrength of his little hands he clung to it. The water rolled overhim, and beat against him, but he would not lose his hold; and atlast there came a bigger wave and lifted him up and cast him righton to the object he was clinging to. It was as if some enormousmonster of the sea had caught him up and put him in that place, justas the Lady of the Hills had often snatched him up from the edge ofsome perilous precipice to set him down in a safe place. 

There he lay exhausted, stretched out at full length, so tossedabout 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 befloating suspended between two vast, starry skies, one immeasurablyfar 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 daringto 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 oldraft of black, water-logged spars and planks lashed together withchains and rotting ropes. But alas! there was no shore in sight, forall night long he had been drifting, drifting further and furtheraway from land. 

A strange habitation for Martin, the child of the plain, was thatold raft! It had been made by shipwrecked mariners, long, long ago, and had floated about the sea until it had become of the sea, like ahalf-submerged floating island; brown and many-coloured seaweeds hadattached themselves to it; strange creatures, half plant and halfanimal, grew on it; and little shell-fish and numberless slimy, creeping things of the sea made it their dwelling-place. It wasabout as big as the floor of a large room, all rough, black, andslippery, with the seaweed floating like ragged hair many yards longaround it, and right in the middle of the raft there was a largehole where the wood had rotted away. Now, it was very curious thatwhen Martin looked over the side of the raft he could see down intothe clear, green water a few fathoms only; but when he crept to theedge of the hole and looked into the water there, he was able to seeten times further down. Looking in this hole, he saw far down astrange, fish-shaped creature, striped like a zebra, with longspines on its back, moving about to and fro. It disappeared, and then, very much further down, something moved, first like a shadow, thenlike a great, dark form; and as it came up higher it took the shapeof a man, but dim and vast like a man-shaped cloud or shadow thatfloated in the green translucent water. The shoulders and headappeared; then it changed its position and the face was towards himwith the vast eyes, that had a dim, greyish light in them, gazing upinto his. Martin trembled as he gazed, not exactly with fear, butwith excitement, because he recognized in this huge water-monsterunder him that Old Man of the Sea who had appeared and talked to himin his dream when he fell asleep among the rocks. Could it be, although he was asleep at the time, that the Old Man really hadappeared before him, and that his eyes had been open just enough tosee him?

By-and-by the cloud-like face disappeared, and did not return thoughhe watched for it a long time. Then sitting on the black, rottenwood and brown seaweed he gazed over the ocean, a vast green, sunlitexpanse with no shore and no living thing upon it. But after a whilehe began to think that there was some living thing in it, which wasalways near him though he could not see what it was. From time totime the surface of the sea was broken just as if some huge fish hadrisen to the surface and then sunk again without showing itself. Itwas something very big, judging from the commotion it made in thewater; and at last he did see it or a part of it--a vast brownobject which looked like a gigantic man's shoulder, but it mighthave been the back of a whale. It was no sooner seen than gone, butin a very short time after its appearance cries as of birds wereheard at a great distance. The cries came from various directions, growing louder and louder, and before long Martin saw many birdsflying towards him. 

On arrival they began to soar and circle round above him, allscreaming excitedly. They were white birds with long wings and longsharp beaks, and were very much like gulls, except that they had aneasier and swifter flight. 

Martin rejoiced at seeing them, for he had been in the greatestterror at the strangeness and loneliness of the sea now that therewas no land in sight. Sitting on the black raft he was constantlythinking of the warning words his mother of the hills had spoken--that the sea would kiss him with cold salt lips and take him downinto the depths where he would never see the light again. O howstrange the sea was to him now, how lonely, how terrible! But birdsthat with their wings could range over the whole world were of theland, and now seemed to bring the land near him with their whiteforms and wild cries. How could they help him? He did not know, hedid not ask; but he was not alone now that they had come to him, andhis terror was less. 

And still more birds kept coming; and as the morning wore on thecrowd of birds increased until they were in hundreds, then inthousands, perpetually wheeling and swooping and rising and hoveringover him in a great white cloud. And they were of many kinds, mostlywhite, some grey, others sooty brown or mottled, and some whollyblack. Then in the midst of the crowrd of birds he saw one of greatsize wheeling about like a king or giant among the others, with wingsof amazing length, wild eyes of a glittering yellow, and a yellowbeak half as long as Martin's arm, with a huge vulture-like hook atthe end. Now when this mighty bird swooped close down over his head, fanning him with its immense wings, Martin again began to be alarmedat its formidable appearance; and as more and more birds came, withmore of the big kind, and the wild outcry they made increased, hisfear and astonishment grew; then all at once these feelings rose toextreme terror and amazement at the sight of a new bird-likecreature a thousand times bigger than the largest one in thecircling crowd above, coming swiftly towards him. He saw that it wasnot flying but swimming or gliding over the surface of the sea; andits body was black, and above the body were many immense white wingsof various shapes, which stood up like a white cloud. 

Overcome with terror he fell flat on the raft, hiding his face inthe brown seaweed that covered it; then in a few minutes the seabecame agitated and rocked him in his raft, and a wave came over himwhich almost swept him into the sea. At the same time the outcry ofthe birds were redoubled until he was nearly deafened by theirscreams, and the screams seemed to shape themselves into words. "Martin! Martin!" the birds seemed to be screaming. "Look up, Martin, look up, look up!" The whole air above and about him seemed to befull of the cries, and every cry said to him, "Martin! Martin! lookup!lookup!"

[Illustration: ]

Although dazed with the awful din and almost fainting with terrorand weakness, he could not resist the command. Pressing his hands onthe raft he at last struggled up to his knees, and saw that thefeared bird-like monster had passed him by: he saw that it was aship with a black hull, its white sails spread, and that the motionof the water and the wave that swept over him had been created bythe ship as it came close to the raft. It was now rapidly glidingfrom him, but still very near, and he saw a crowd of strange-lookingrough men, with sun-browned faces and long hair and shaggy beards, leaning over the bulwarks staring at him. They had seen withastonishment the corpse, as they thought, of a little naked whiteboy lying on the old black raft, with a multitude of sea-birdsgathered to feed on him; now when they saw him get up on his kneesand look at them, they uttered a great cry, and began rushingexcitedly hither and thither, to pull at ropes and lower a boat. Martin did not know what they were doing; he only knew that theywere men in a ship, but he was now too weak and worn-out to look ator think of more than one thing at a time, and what he was looking atnow was the birds. For no sooner had he looked up and seen the shipthan their wild cries ceased, and they rose up and up like a whitecloud to scatter far and wide over sky and sea. For some moments hecontinued watching them, listening to their changed voices, whichnow had a very soft and pleasant sound, as if they were satisfiedand happy. It made him happy to hear them, and he lifted his handsup and smiled; then, relieved of his terror and overcome withweariness, he closed his eyes and dropped once more full length uponhis bed of wet seaweed. At that the men stared into each other's face, a very strange startled look coming into their eyes. And no wonder!For long, long months, running to years, they had been cruising inthose lonely desolate seas, thousands of miles from home, seeing noland nor any green thing, nor dear face of woman or child: and nowby some strange chance a child had come to them, and even while theywere making all haste to rescue it, putting their arms out to takeit from the sea, its life had seemingly been snatched from them!

But he was only sleeping. 

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NOTE

_When I arranged with Mr. Hudson for the publication of anAmerican Edition of_ A Little Boy Lost, _I asked him to write aspecial foreword to his American readers. He replied with acharacteristic letter, and, taking him at his word. I am printing iton the following pages_. 

 ALFRED A. KNOPF. 

 _Dear Mr. Knopf_:

 Your request for a Foreword to insert in the American reprint of the little book worries me. A critic on this side has said that my Prefaces to reprints of my earlier works are of the nature of parting kicks, and I have no desire just now to kick this poor innocent. That evil-tempered old woman, Mother Nature, in one of her worst tantrums, has been inflicting so many cuffs and blows on me that she has left me no energy or disposition to kick anything--even myself. 

 The trouble is that I know so little about it. Did I write this book? What then made me do it?

 In reading a volume of Fors Clavigera I once came upon a passage which sounded well but left me in a mist, and it relieved me to find a footnote to it in which the author says: "This passage was written many years ago and what I was thinking about at the time has quite escaped my memory. At all events, though I let it stand, I can find no meaning in it now. "

 Little men may admire but must not try to imitate these gestures of the giants. And as a result of a little quiet thinking it over I seem able to recover the idea I had in my mind when I composed this child's story and found a title for it in Blake. Something too of the semi-wild spirit of the child hero in the lines:

 "Naught loves another as itself. .. . And, father, how can I love you Or any of my brothers more? I love you like the little birds That pick up crumbs about the door. "

 There nature is, after picking up the crumbs to fly away. 

 A long time ago I formed a small collection of children's books of the early years of the nineteenth century; and looking through them, wishing that some of them had fallen into my hands when I was a child I recalled the books I had read at that time--especially two or three. Like any normal child I delighted in such stories as the Swiss Family Robinson, but they were not the books I prized most; they omitted the very quality I liked best--the little thrills that nature itself gave me, which half frightened and fascinated at the same time, the wonder and mystery of it all. Once in a while I got a book with something of this rare element in it, contained perhaps in some perfectly absurd narrative of animals taking human shape or using human speech, with such like transformations and vagaries; they could never be too extravagant, fantastic and incredible, so long as they expressed anything of the feeling I myself experienced when out of sight and sound of my fellow beings, whether out on the great level plain, with a glitter of illusory water all round me, or among the shadowy trees with their bird and insect sounds, or by the waterside and bed of tall dark bullrushes murmuring in the wind. 

 These ancient memories put it in my mind to write a book which, I imagined, would have suited my peculiar taste of that early period, the impossible story to be founded on my own childish impressions and adventures, with a few dreams and fancies thrown in and two or three native legends and myths, such as the one of the Lady of the Hills, the incarnate spirit of the rocky Sierras on the great plains, about which I heard from my gaucho comrades when on the spot--the strange woman seldom viewed by human eyes who is jealous of man's presence and is able to create sudden violent tempests to frighten them from her sacred haunts. 

 That's the story of my story, and to the question in your publisher's practical mind, I'm sorry to have to say I don't know. I have no way of finding out, since children are not accustomed to write to authors to tell them what they think of their books. And after all these excuses it just occurs to me that children do not read forewords and introductions; they have to be addressed to adults who do not read children's books, so that in any case it would be thrown away. Still if a foreword you must have, and from me, I think you will have to get it out of this letter. 

 I remain, Yours cordially, W. H. HUDSON. 

 November 14, 1917.