Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1899-07-28
DICK r CD
o. The Adventures OF
An Eton Boy.

N00040DGe0o04 &6o&0l01u0
CHAPTER xxx. (Continued.)
Sc The wild boars that lurked In the
woods banned our efforts for e long
time. BY the edge Of the Ratchet Ne
possessed I fashioned for my own use
kind az spear. about six feet Ions.
hewn out Of . piece Of fine teak WOOL
which I found upon the beach.
This weapon made and pointed
with great care, and armed With y
frequently lay in watch for the sea
lions. but without success. 4
On the shore. at this season, wnen
the sunshine was reflected from the
slipping faces OF the volcanic rocks ana
from the surface OF the sea, the heat
was beyond all observation-disclosures,
GREATNESS and suffocating, SO that the
lungs would collapse painfully In the
dihiculty Of respiration.
To breathe was like attempting u
at the mouth Of a newly opened fur-
mace, and SO usually retired inland
and sought the cool solitude OF the
deep thickets, or wandered through
groves Of solemn, impressive and ma
jestic old trees; for some were there
60 old that they must have cast the
shadows Of their foliage on Alphonso
de Albuquerque or Tristan da Cunha
and their bearded followers.
How many ocean storms had swept
their leaves into the waste Of waters
since then! /. 5ss
We had now been Ave days on the
island without q sail being seen,
though more than half our time was
spent in watching the horizon; and SO
Tom Lambournes' old shirt still waved
in vain fEom the boom-end on the
$mountain-top. .5z5
On the fifth day, however, to our
surprise, the signal was no longer Wis
ible, so we supposed that gust OF
wind had overthrow 1t in the night
Lambourne, Carlton and Probar
started for the mountain-top to re-
store it, while Hislop and rambled
into the woods. where we had view
of the shining sea to the westward.
The waves came In long rollers, as
there was fresh breeze blowing from
the west, and the foam rose white and
high on the tremendous bluffs of the
Inaccessible Isles, as we named them.
All the water between them was a
sheet Of sparkling and snowy froth,
amid which, had we been nearer, we
should doubtless have seen the black
heads OF the sealions, as they sported
in the spray and sunshine.
On asking Hislop how far he thought
we were from the continents Of Africa
and South America, he replied, without
hesitation: IA
I'VE are about fifteen hundred miles
from the mouth Of the Rio de la Plata
on the westward, and twelve hundred
odd from the Cape Of Good Hope on
the east; but there is land nearer to
us-..--" e'.ss 81
Land nearer!" I reiterated. 4
There are the three isles Of Tristan
do Cunha. and about hve hundred miles
southwest Of us q desolate rock called
the Isle Of Diego Alvarez; and fortu-
nate 1t is indeed for us that we were
not cast away there, as it yields only
messy grass and now and then few
seals or sea-elephants may be seen up
on the reefs about it. Dut, Dick Rod
ney, does it not make one long to be
afloat again, with a good ship under
foot, both tacks and the breeze, too,
alta cloud Of canvas, carrying the
three masts into one when seen astern
the lower studding-sail booms rig
ged out and dipping in the flying
spray as she rolls from side to side
does 1t not, say, bring all this to
mind, when from here we can watch
the waves that rose. perhaps, between
the shores of Mexico. rolling in foam
between these rocky isles? Do you
remember Homer's description Of the
curling wave?" And without waiting
my reply he began to recite from the
1liad with wonderful facility: !
".As on the hoarse, resounding shore,
when blows the stormy west, i
The billowy tide comes surging wide,
from oceans dark blue breast; I
First in mid-sea ills born, then swells
and RACES more and more,
And rolling on with snowy back,
comes laundering near the shore;
Then rears 1t crest, firm and sublime,
and with tumultuous bray J.
smites the grim front Of the rugged
rock, and splits the briny sprayL'
How far Hislop, in his classical eh-
thusiasm might have pursued his free
translation, till we had all the deeds
Of Agamemnon and others on that tire
mendous day before the walls of Troy,
l cannot say, had not crashing sound
in the adjacent thicket reused and
alarmed US.
We started up and had just timei to
conceal ourselves behind the trunk Of
tree when herd Of seven wild bears
came plunging out Of the thicketj to
drink at runnel which flowed tow ard
the sea. ~
They were unlike any Of the swim
ish race we had ever seen before, land
but for our vague sensations of alarm
we could have watched them with
pleasure, as they inserted their long,
fierce shouts in the water that sparkled
under the forest leaves.
They were all broad-shouldered ami
mails, with high crests and thick,
hristly names, and all were black in
color or darkly brindled.
Unlike those Of the styled hogs, to
which we had been accustomed at
home, their erected bristles shone like
silver or polished steel in the rays of
sunshine that fell through the waving
branches, their eyes were flashing and
clear, and their skins were all clean,
as II washed for show of prize pigs.
Thin thanked, active and strong, they