Page:Twenty Thousand Verne Frith 1876.pdf/209

 Ned Land was well acquainted with this fruit; he had eaten them on former occasions, and he knew how to prepare them. Thus the sight of them excited a desire to possess them, and he did not long delay the attempt.

“Monsieur,” he said, “I shall die if I do not taste a little of this bread-fruit.”

“Eat at your leisure, Ned,” I replied. “We are here to experimentalise. Get them down.”

“That will not take long,” replied the Canadian; and, armed with a match, he lit a fire of dead wood, which crackled joyously. Meantime, Conseil and I chose the best fruits. Some had not yet reached maturity, and their thick skin was covered over with a white fibrous pulp. In other places great numbers, yellow and gelatinous, had not waited to be gathered.

These fruits do not contain noyau. Conseil brought a dozen to Ned Land, who placed them on the fire, after cutting them in thick slices. In so doing he kept saying:

“You will see how good the bread will be.”

“Particularly as we have been so long deprived of it,” said Conseil.

“It is even better than bread,” added the Canadian. “It is like fine pastry. Have you ever eaten it, Monsieur?”

“No, Ned.”

“Well, then, prepare yourself for something very nice; and if you do not enjoy it, I am no longer the king of harpooners.”

In a few moments the part of the fruit exposed to the