Page:Dick Sands the Boy Captain.djvu/278

 2SO DICK SANDS, THE BOY CAPTAIN. " For sevcral days I succccded well enough. I mans^^ed to palm off the country as the forest of Atacama, whîch you may recollect I once visîted ; but when the youngster began to ask for gutta-percha and hummîng-birds, and hîs mother wanted quînquina-trees, and when that old fool of a cousin was bcnt on finding cocuyos, I was rather nonplussed. One day I had to swcar that gîraffcs were ostrîchcs, but the young captain dîd not secm to swallow the dose at ail easily. Then we saw traces of éléphants and hîppopota- muses, which of course are as often seen în America as an honest man în a Benguela penitentiary ; then that old nîgger Tom discovered a lot of forks and chains left by some runaway slaves at the foot of a tree ; but when, last of ail, a lion roared, — and the noise, you know, is rather louder than the mewing of a cat, — I thought it was time to take niy horse and dccamp." Ncgoro rcpcatcd his expression of regret that the whole party had not becn carricd another hundred miles into the province. " It really cannot be hclpcd," rcjoîned the American ; " I havc donc the bcst I eould ; and I think, mate/* he addcd confidentially, "that you havc donc wisely in follow- ing the caravan at a good distance ; that dog of theirs evidcntly owcs you a grudge, and might prove an ugly customcr." " I shall put a bullet into that bcast*s hcad bcforc long," growled Ncgoro. " Take care you don't gct one through your own first," laughcd Ilarris ; " that young Sands, I warn you, is a first- rate sliot, and bctwecn oursclvcs, is rather a fine fcllow of his kind." " Fine fcllow, îndccd ! " sncercd Ncgoro ; " whatcver hc is, hc is a young upstart, and I hâve a long score to wipe off against him ;" and, as he spokc, an expression of the utmost malignity passed ovcr his countcnance. Marris smîled. " VVelI, mate," he said ; " your travels havc not împroved your temper, I see. But come now, tell me what you havc been doing ail this time. When I found you just after the