They slept well, considering that they had no couch, nor any covering, but the tattered5 clothes they wore upon their bodies. But they had become accustomed to this kind of bed; as to one even less comfortable, and certainly not safer—on the hard planks6 of the pinnace. Nor did the cold discomfort7 them; for although the nights are colder on land than at sea, and in the tropics sometimes even chilly8, that night was warm throughout; and nothing interfered9 with their slumbers10 except some horrid11 dreams, the sure sequence of suffering and perils12 such as they had been passing through.
The morning rose bright and beautiful, as nearly all Bornean mornings do. And the castaways rose from their recumbent position, feeling wonderfully restored both in strength and spirits. Henry and Helen—these were the names of the young people—were even cheerful, inclined to wander about and wonder at the strange objects around: the beautiful beach of silvery sand; the deep blue sea; the white breakers beyond, rising over it like along snow-wreath; the clear fresh-water stream alongside, in which they could see curious fish disporting13 themselves; the grand forest-trees, among them stately palms and tall lance-like bamboos;—in short, a thousand things that make tropical scenery so charming.
Notwithstanding the scenic14 beauty, there was something needed before it could be thoroughly15 enjoyed, and this was breakfast. The contents of the great oyster had given full satisfaction for the time; but that was nearly twenty-four hours ago, and the appetites of all were once more keenly whetted16. What was to take the edge off them? This was the question that occupied their thoughts, and the answer was not so easy.
Saloo went in search of another Singapore oyster; Murtagh started along the bank of the stream, in the hope of beguiling17 some of the red and gold fish he saw playing “backgammon” in it, as he had seen the trout18 and salmon19 in his native Killarney; while the captain, having procured20 a rifle, that had been brought away in the boat, and which he well knew how to handle, wandered off into the woods.
Henry and Helen remained under the tree, as their father did not think there could be any danger in leaving them alone. He was well enough acquainted with the natural history of Borneo to know that there were neither lions nor tigers in the island. Had it been on the neighbouring island of Sumatra, or some desert coast of the mainland—in Malacca, Cochin-China, or Hindustan—he might have dreaded21 exposing them to the attack of tigers. But as there was no danger of encountering these fierce creatures on the shores of Borneo, he told the children to stay under the tree until he and the others should return.
The young people were by this time rather tired of remaining in a recumbent position. It was that to which they had been too long constrained23 while in the boat, and it felt irksome; moreover, the oyster, wonderfully restoring their strength, had brought back their wonted juvenile24 vigour25, so that they felt inclined for moving about a bit. For a time they indulged this inclination26 by walking to and fro around the trunk of the tree.
Soon, however, weariness once more came upon them, and they desired to have a seat. Squatting27 upon the ground is an attitude only easy to savages28, and always irksome to those accustomed to habits of civilised life, and to sitting upon chairs. They looked about for something upon which they might sit but nothing appeared suitable. There were neither logs nor large stones; for the beach, as well as the adjacent shore, was composed of fine drift sand, and no trees seemed to have fallen near the spot.
“I have it!” exclaimed Henry, after puzzling his brains a bit, his eye guiding him to a settlement of the difficulty. “The shells—the big oyster shells—the very things for us to sit upon, sister Nell.”
As he spoke30, he stooped down and commenced turning over one of the shells of the immense bivalve—both of which had been hitherto lying with their concave side uppermost. It was nigh as much as the boy, still weak, could do to roll it over, though Helen, seeing the difficulty, laid hold with her little hands and assisted him.
Both the huge “cockles” were speedily capsized; and their convex surfaces rising nearly a foot above the level of the ground, gave the young people an excellent opportunity of getting seated.
Both sat down—each upon a shell—laughing at the odd kind of stools thus conveniently provided for them.
They had not been long in their sedentary attitude, when a circumstance occurred which told them how unsafe a position they had chosen. They were conversing31 without fear, when Henry all at once felt something strike him on the arm, and then, with a loud crash, drop down upon the shell close under his elbow, chipping a large piece out of it.
His first impression was that some one had thrown a stone at him. It had hit him on the arm, just creasing32 it; but on looking at the place where he had been hit, he saw that the sleeve of his jacket was split, or rather torn, from shoulder to elbow, as if a sharp-tooth curry-comb had been drawn33 violently along it. He felt pain, moreover, and saw blood upon his shirt underneath34!
He looked quickly around to ascertain35 who had thus rudely assailed36 him—anxiously, too, for he was in some dread22 of seeing a savage29 spring from the bushes close by. On turning, he at once beheld37 the missile that had rent his jacket-sleeve lying on the sand beside him. It was no stone, but a round or slightly oval-shaped ball, as big as a ten-pound shot, of a deep-green colour, and covered all over with spurs like the skin of a hedgehog!
He at once saw that it had not been thrown at him by any person; for, with the sharp, prickly protuberances thickly set all over it, no one could have laid hand upon it. Clearly it had fallen from the tree overhead. Helen had perceived this sooner than he; for sitting a little way off, she had seen the huge ball drop in a perpendicular38 direction—though it had descended39 with the velocity40 of lightning.
Beyond doubt, it was some fruit or nut, from the tree under which they were seated. From the way in which the jacket-sleeve had suffered, as well as the skin underneath—to say nothing of the piece chipped out of the shell—it was evident, that had the ponderous41 pericarp fallen upon Henry’s skull42, it would have crushed it as a bullet would the shell of an egg.
Young as the two were, they were not so simple as to stay in that spot an instant longer. On the tree that could send down such a dangerous missile there might be many more—equally ready to rain upon them—and with this apprehension43 both sprang simultaneously44 to their feet, and rushed out into the open ground, not stopping till they believed themselves quite clear of the overshadowing branches that so ill protected them. They looked back at the seats they had so abruptly45 vacated, and the green globe lying beside them, and then up to the tree; where they could see other similar large globes, only at such a vast height looking no bigger than peaches or apricots.
They did not dare to venture back to their seats, nor, although tempted46 by a strong curiosity to examine it, to approach the fallen fruit. In fact, the arm of Henry was badly lacerated; and his little sister, on seeing the blood upon his shirt sleeve, uttered an alarm that brought first Saloo, and then the others, affrighted to the spot.
“What is it?” were the interrogations of the two white men, as they came hurrying up, while the impressive Malay put none—at once comprehending the cause of the alarm. He saw the scratched arm, and the huge green globe lying upon the ground.
“Dulion!” he said, glancing up to the tree.
“Durion!” echoed the captain, pronouncing the word properly, as translated from Saloo’s pigeon English.
“Yes, cappen; foolee me no think of him befole. Belly47 big danger. It fallee on skull, skull go clashee clashee.”
This was evident without Saloo’s explanation. The lacerated arm and broken shell were evidences enough of the terrible effects that would have been produced had the grand pericarp in its downward descent fallen upon the heads of either of the children, and they all saw what a narrow escape Henry had of getting his “cocoa-nut” crushed or split open.
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1
oyster
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| n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人 | |
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lengthened
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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5
tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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6
planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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7
discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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8
chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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10
slumbers
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| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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12
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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13
disporting
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| v.嬉戏，玩乐，自娱( disport的现在分词 ) | |
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14
scenic
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| adj.自然景色的，景色优美的 | |
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15
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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16
whetted
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| v.（在石头上）磨（刀、斧等）( whet的过去式和过去分词 )；引起，刺激（食欲、欲望、兴趣等） | |
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17
beguiling
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| adj.欺骗的，诱人的v.欺骗( beguile的现在分词 )；使陶醉；使高兴；消磨（时间等） | |
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18
trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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salmon
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| n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的 | |
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procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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21
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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22
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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23
constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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juvenile
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| n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的 | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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26
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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27
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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30
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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32
creasing
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的现在分词 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹； 挑檐 | |
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33
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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35
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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36
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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37
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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38
perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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39
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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40
velocity
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| n.速度，速率 | |
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41
ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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42
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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43
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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44
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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45
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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46
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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47
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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