Part 2 (2/2)

”I think there'd be room for him in your big s.h.i.+p. It's warm weather, and he could lie on deck, you know; and we could cover him up at night with matting and old sails; and he'd be so tickled at the idea of going to sea, and seeing strange countries, and we'd show him such whales and porpoises, and tell him such good stories, that I think he'd keep pretty quiet till we reached America. To be sure, it's a long voyage, and we'd have to lay in an awful sight of provisions, for he's a great feeder; but we can touch at different ports as we go along, and replenish our stock.

”One difficulty will be, how to persuade him to leave his wife--for there wouldn't be room for two of them. We must think the matter over, and it will be time enough to decide what to do when we get there.

Even if we find it impossible to get him to go with us, we'll get somebody to write his history, and an account of our adventures, and make a book that will sell.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

THEY SAIL FOR HUGGERMUGGER'S ISLAND.

So Little Jacket sailed with Mr. Zebedee Nabb.u.m, in search of the giant's island. They took along a good crew, several bold elephant-hunters, an author to write their adventures, an artist to sketch the Huggermuggers, Little Jacket's six comrades, grappling-irons, nets, ropes, harpoons, cutla.s.ses, pistols, guns, the two young elephants, the lion, the giraffe, the monkeys, and the parrots.

They had some difficulty in finding the island, but by taking repeated observations, they at last discovered land that they thought must be it. They came near, and were satisfied that they were not deceived.

There were the huge black cliffs--there were the rocky promontory--the beach. It was growing dusk, however, and they determined to cast anchor, and wait till morning before they sent ash.o.r.e a boat.

Was it fancy or not, that Little Jacket thought he could see in the gathering darkness, a dim, towering shape, moving along like a pillar of cloud, now and then stooping to pick up something on the sh.o.r.e--till it stopped, and seemed looking in the direction of the s.h.i.+p, and then suddenly darted off towards the cliffs, and disappeared in the dark woods.

CHAPTER TWELVE.

THE HUGGERMUGGERS IN A NEW LIGHT.

I think the giant must have seen the s.h.i.+p, and ran home at full speed to tell his wife about it. For in the morning early, as Little Jacket and Nabb.u.m and several others of the boldest of the crew had just landed their boat, and were walking on the beach, whom should they see but Huggermugger and his wife hastening towards them with rapid strides. Their first impulse was to rush and hide themselves, but the Huggermuggers came too fast towards them to allow them to do so. There was nothing else to do but face the danger, if danger there was. What was their surprise to find that the giant and giantess wore the most beaming smiles on their broad faces. They stooped down and patted their heads with their huge hands, and called them, in broken English, ”pretty little dolls and dears, and where did they come from, and how long it was since they had seen any little men like them--and wouldn't they go home and see them in their big house under the cliffs?” Mrs.

Huggermugger, especially, was charmed with them, and would have taken them home in her arms--”she had no children of her own, and they should live with her and be her little babies.” The sailors did not exactly like the idea of being treated like babies, but they were so astonished and delighted to find the giants in such good humor, that they were ready to submit to all the good woman's caresses.

Little Jacket then told them where they came from, and related his whole story of having been s.h.i.+pwrecked there, and all his other adventures. As he told them how Huggermugger had carried home the big sh.e.l.l with him in it, sound asleep; how he had let himself down from the mantel-piece, and had tried to escape by cutting at the door; and how, when he heard Huggermugger coming, he had rushed into the boot, and how he had p.r.i.c.ked the giant's toe when he attempted to draw his boot on, and how the boot and he were taken to the cobbler's--then Huggermugger and his wife could contain themselves no longer, but burst into such peals of laughter, that the people in the s.h.i.+p, who were watching their movements on sh.o.r.e through their spy-gla.s.ses, and expected every moment to see their companions all eaten alive or carried off to be killed, knew not what to make of it. Huggermugger and his wife laughed till the tears ran down their faces, and made such a noise in their merriment, that the sailors wished they were further off. They, however, were in as great glee as the giant and giantess, and began to entertain such a good opinion of them, that they were ready to a.s.sent to anything the Huggermuggers proposed. In fact, except in matter of size, they could see very little difference between the giants and themselves. All Zebedee Nabb.u.m's warlike and elephant-trapping schemes melted away entirely, and he even began to have a sort of conscientious scruple against enticing away the big fellow who proved to be such a jolly good-humored giant. He was prepared for resistance. He would have even liked the fun of throwing a noose over his head, and pulling him down and harpooning him, but this good-humored, merry laughter, this motherly caressing, was too much for Zebedee. He was overcome. Even Little Jacket was astonished.

The once dreaded giant was in all respects like them--only O, so much bigger!

So, after a good deal of friendly talk, Huggermugger invited the whole boat's crew to go home with him to dinner, and even to spend some days with him, if they would. Little Jacket liked the proposal, but Zebedee said they must first send back a message to the s.h.i.+p, to say where they were going. Huggermugger send his card by the boat, to the rest of the s.h.i.+p's company--it was a huge piece of pasteboard, as big as a dining-table--saying, that he and Mrs. H. would be happy, some other day, to see all who would do him the honor of a visit. He would come himself and fetch them in his fish-basket, as the road was rough, and difficult for such little folks to travel.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

HUGGERMUGGER HALL.

The next morning Huggermugger appeared on the beach with his big basket, and took away about half a dozen of the sailors. Zebedee and Little Jacket went with them. It was a curious journey, jogging along in his basket, and hanging at such a height from the ground. Zebedee could not help thinking what a capital thing it would be in America to have a few big men like him to lift heavy stones for building, or to carry the mail bags from city to city, at a railroad speed. But, as to travelling in his fish-basket, he certainly preferred our old-fas.h.i.+oned railroad cars.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A NEW MODE OF CONVEYANCE.]

They were all entertained very hospitably at Huggermugger Hall. They had a good dinner of fish, frogs, fruit, and vegetables, and drank a kind of beer, made of berries, out of Mrs. Huggermugger's thimble, much to the amus.e.m.e.nt of all. Mrs. Huggermugger showed them her beautiful sh.e.l.l, and made Little Jacket tell how he had crept out of it, and let himself down by the fis.h.i.+ng-line. And Huggermugger made him act over again the scene of hiding in the boot. At which all laughed again. The little people declined their hosts' pressing invitation to stay all night, so Huggermugger took them all back to their boat. They had enough to tell on board s.h.i.+p about their visit.

The next day, and the day after, others of the crew were entertained in the same way at Huggermugger Hall, till all had satisfied their curiosity. The giant and his wife being alone in the island, they felt that it was pleasant to have their solitude broken by the arrival of the little men. There were several dwarfs living here and there in the island, who worked for the giants, of whom Kobboltozo was one; but there were no other giants. The Huggermuggers were the last of their race. Their history, however, was a secret they kept to themselves.

Whether they or their ancestors came from Brobdignag, or whether they were descended from Gog and Magog, or Goliath of Gath, they never would declare.

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