Part 34 (1/2)

”He will be leagues ahead of us, man, before nightfall,” says I, in desperation.

”No matter for that; we'll be leagues ahead of him before daybreak. I warrant we'll be at Valetta a day before he arrives.”

”Where is Valetta?”

”Valetta is a town on this river that he must pa.s.s through. 'Tis four days' march from here by road--a shorter journey than by the river; but we must advance while he is resting, journeying by night as well as by day. Turn and turn about, we need never stop at our oars save to eat our meals together.”

”But we have no boat,” says I.

”We must make one,” says he.

I laughed, yet not merrily, and asked him if he expected we could make a boat in four days, when it had cost me four months and more to make a raft.

”Lord love you, master,” says he, ”we'll be afloat in four hours.”

CHAPTER XLIV.

IN WHICH MATTHEW PLAYS THE BEGGAR AND I THE FOOL.

My comrade had no sooner made promise that we should be afloat in four hours than he started about carrying out his design.

There was in that swamp that bordered the river an amazing quant.i.ty of great cane-reeds, some twenty feet in height and more, and of these he began to cut down with his sword such as were most proper to his purpose, bidding me do the like, and choose those of last year's growth, which were dry, light, and of good girth. Nothing loath, I waded into the mora.s.s (with a care that I trod on no water-serpent) until I was pretty well up to my middle in water, and there I laid about me with a will, until I had cut as many as I could carry, which I then took to a point where the water was deep and free from this growth, and laid them beside Matthew's store. In this way we proceeded until we had laid up a good stock of these canes.

”Now,” says Matthew, eyeing them, ”I judge we have enough; so do you go, master, and cut me one of those plaguey vines that gave us so much trouble this morning, while I set these reeds s.h.i.+pshape.”

Perceiving his object, I went up into the wood and cut ten or a dozen fathoms of the lianes, which, as I say, are like any s.h.i.+p's tackle for toughness and soundness. While I was about this, Matthew sets the canes out, with the thick end of one overlapping about three parts of its length the thick end of another in such a manner that (all being served and tightly bound with the liana at both ends, and again in two or three places towards the middle) they made a huge bundle about a yard through at its largest girth, and four yards long, tapering off at each end like a fis.h.i.+ng-float. This being done, and the lianes bound securely to Matthew's mind, he begs me to lend him a hand at cutting away certain of the canes in the middle with my knife, which was tough work indeed (for the canes were prodigious hard), and labor we might have spared ourselves had we bethought us to dispose the canes differently before we bound them up; but this did not occur to us till we were pretty nigh the end of our job.

However, having cut out of the middle a s.p.a.ce about four feet long by two broad, and as much in depth, our business was done.

This was the boat which was to carry us up the river, and Matthew was not a little proud of it; though I was still in a taking for fear it should turn over when we set foot into it, and capsize us both into the water; but this it did not, but carried us as steadily as we could wish, and capital good we found it for such a boat as it was.

For our sweeps or paddles we bound two stout canes together, stretching them asunder at one end and covering that part with a broad tough gra.s.s.

In this craft we made our way up that river three days and four nights, only stopping to take such rest as was needful and to procure refreshment. Many difficulties and perils we encountered by the way, but of these I have no s.p.a.ce to tell had I the inclination, for it seems as I write that I have the same burning impatience which urged me on then to come to my Lady Biddy. Every obstacle that delayed progress enraged me. I could scarcely bring myself to let my comrade get his fair and necessary amount of sleep, but would be twitching him to awake ere he had got soundly asleep; for as to one sleeping in the boat while the other rowed, that we found impossible, because there was no room to lie down there, and necessary it was, for fear of cramps, at times to take our feet out of the water, which we had no means to keep from coming in betwixt the reeds.

But Matthew bore with me, seeing my great anxiety of mind, and that I did not rest a quarter as much as he; and though he grumbled again (but chiefly in pretense), he roused himself after the second or third twitch, and did all man could to give me hope. Indeed, a fellow of gentler temper, a more cheerful, kind friend, I never knew of his s.e.x.

Soon after daybreak on the fourth day, having been at our sweeps a couple of hours maybe, we spied some fis.h.i.+ng-canoes moored by the sh.o.r.e, and some little cot-houses hard by, by which we judged we had come to the outskirts of Valetta. Whereupon we drew into the bank, and going up through the woods to the top of a little hill, came upon tilled fields, beyond which lay the town, very gray and quiet in the creeping light of that early morning.

”Now, master,” says Matthew, ”the first thing is to learn if De Pino and his train have yet arrived in the town; and we can't do that standing here looking at it.”

”Nay,” says I, ”I'm ready to go into the town at once if you are. But we must be secret.”

”Ay,” says he; ”and for that reason you will have to bide here.”

”I can not do that,” says I. ”Think, Matthew--she may stand in need of my help. I shall be mad if I stay here idle.”

”Not so mad,” says he, ”as if you venture into that town. Look at your state. Could any man clap eyes on you without pointing you out to his neighbor?”