The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-02-12
CHAPTER Xxx.

b confident were we of its
"a that, although we had on the
evel storehouses and SO on sur
i'd by stockade and earthwork
IL Knight serve as a fort in case of
AIyvH we built our own dwellings on
5eau above. A zigzag path from
gre led one to the upper level in
IAN five minutes, and once there
niger from the fevers which the
ny night mists of the harbor
Z give birth to was averted. The
u.as, built Of bamboo and matched
Id broad leaves, lay in and among
rove Of graceful feathery palms
Use waving fingers famed the hot
INTO GOODNESS, and the natural gar
around them remained as much as
,Sible undisturbed.
iovely flowers grew everywhere,
Stned in slender fern fronds. Orchids
rohy from the trees in twisted masses
bolainbow tinted color. The leaves |
boihe shrubs were hidden in cloak !
prajch blossom. A myriad scents
Goyningled, and the breeze was fra
> 1t with the essence Of paradise. Nor
20 the luscious picture confined to
an life only. Strange insects like
Bonated jewels hummed through the
nj Painted butterflies whose color
q no human brush could reproduce
toated sensuously from bloom to
loom. Lizards, like flashes of pale
Green fire, shot across from the shadow
81 one great plant to the shadow Of
(, nd fhn ,-lU
(plumaged birds futtered about or
ffpperched on the branches and sang to
the sun throughout the whole of bis
daily course.
Had it not been for the droNes of
steel jawed mosquitoes which haunted
our fairy grove l think few of us
would have asked better than to spend
his days on such 4 favored spot But
the insatiate blood thirst OF these in
sect enemies prevented us from de-
generating into mere lotus eaters. al
the first spark of dawn was our call to-
work
We worked hard-the English urged
by habit and hope, the Spaniards by ex-
ample and rod. A second boat was
lying in a rock pool stove in, but
loon S,ble, and with this and the other
camehich we, already possessed the
carrack's stores and cargo and the jet
sam from the galley were safely housed
ashore. Then began the heavier toll OF
unpiecing the vessels, stripping off the
unsplintered planks and frames, the
unbrokeh knees and elbows and trans
porting them to the site wherein we
Intended to lay stocks for our new keel.
1t was slow work, as any one who
has broken up ship will know, for
bolt and clamp and treenail had each to
be drawn with curious care lest tim
hers for sheathing should be split and
so rendered unfit for further use. But
time and perseverance We're the chief
factors toward success, and by lavish
ing both freely we at length finished
the dismantling of the two wrecks and
carried or towed their contents to the
beach In front of the cave.
1t was then that the great discussion
took place as to the form In which our
new bark should be built.
Ever since we had settled in our up
land village among the palms Alec had
been employing his spare time in cary
ing and rigging a succession of toy
ships Nobody had taken much notice
of him, for it was not his habit to court
public applause and as yet he had not
asked for public criticism. He woul6
work by the Pickering freight Tar into
the night and appeared so wrapped W
in his labors that sometimes we would
speak three or four times to him anf
not get an answer. More than once
fancied that he was under spell ant
wondered whether Don Miguel had thu
power of the evil eye. For indeed IN.
sworn shipmate's manner was Otter
strangely distracted.
Sometimes he would sit gazing mood
lily at his work; sometimes he woul'
stare intently at the fantastic SHADOW
pictures which the jerky flames cast O
the dark bushes at the edge of the Gil
Gle of light, and then he would set t
and destroy greater part of the fail
ric he had toiled over and start patient
ly to fit and carve it all afresh.
And the old man, who, when not o
guard below, seemed always to b
watching these attempts, would ru
his shining hands and burst out into
weird ooh. no, ho" of approval.
Now and again the modeler woul
take one Of his tiny craft to q seclude
part of the harbor and openly sayin
he wanted no company would test
so we supposed And how his pla.
things had behaved in these trials "
could always guess by the look on h
grave face when he returned, please
or gloomy according to the result.
His knife had fashioned simil'
strange vessels in the old days at VIII
by. where the unbelieying jeers Of Il
shipwrights had made him destrt
them, and though and the other
looking at his new designs with tt
critical eye of sailors rather than wi
the partial one of comrades, point'
out to him grave defects and usele
innovations, he would quietly bid
wait, wait, wait, and not criticise t
unfinished work until we could ba
our Judgment on shown results rath