Part 53 (2/2)

But no more trace of the lost Frank could be found.

A whole fortnight went past, and he was mourned for as one dead, and even Carrambo gave up hopes.

Frank, he told them, must have been throttled by the gorillas and hung up in a tree.

But lo! and behold, one forenoon who should appear again _in propria persona_, but the laughing little c.o.c.kney boy himself.

By the hand he led a little long-armed hairy gorilla, that clung to him in terror when Viking began to growl.

Jeannie, as she was called, sprang trembling into Frank's arms, but he gently soothed her, and after having a cup of coffee he told his marvellous story.[2] It was briefly as follows:--

[1] This is no sailor's yarn, but founded on fact.

He had been captured by the awful gorillas, having been first stunned by a blow from a club. Then carried deep into the forest and up into a very high tree. There he found a shelter, quite a hut in fact, and far from being unkind to him, the gorillas fed and tended him every day, only guarding him at night.

”And this is my little pupil,” he added. ”Jeannie was given me to educate, I suppose; but early this morning the gorillas went off to do battle with some neighbouring tribe, and Jeannie and I slipped down the tree and ran for it.

”So here I am!”

”Heaven be praised!” cried Duncan with tears in his eyes. ”You come to us as one risen from the dead.”

”And what are you going to do with Jeannie?” asked Conal.

”Oh!” said Frank, ”Jeannie is a sweet child. She shall go with us wherever we go.”

”I hope,” said Conal, ”her parents won't come for her. It might be rather inconvenient.”

Two long months pa.s.sed away, and our heroes were almost weary of this lonesome and wild land.

But they had not been idle all the time of their sojourn here. On the contrary, they had commenced to dig in the fort itself for buried treasure.

There was plenty of excitement about this, but for many a weary week no luck attended their excavations.

The excitement, however, was somewhat like that of gambling, and once begun they felt they could not give it up until they came to something.

So they dug and dug.

But all in vain.

They still spent much of their time in fis.h.i.+ng and shooting, however.

These were necessary sports. Food they must have.

A rather gloomy time arrived later on, when they had finally abandoned all hopes of finding any buried treasure. Tremendously heavy banks of clouds had rolled up from the horizon and overspread the heavens.

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