Part 9 (2/2)

”Oh, dear! Oh, dear! I wish we had never come out to this horrible country. We shall be starved, to a certainty,” moaned Hector; ”I'm desperately hungry already.”

”Are you? Poor fellow! then you will have to come to 'possum, or have to eat a tree-lizard, or our friend the laughing jacka.s.s, or her eggs, if she happen to have a nest in this tree. We must set off on a voyage of discovery directly.”

”I wonder you can joke, placed in so fearful a position as we are,” said Hector, in an angry tone.

”What would be the use of moaning and sighing, I should like to know?”

asked Harry. ”I always like to make the best of things. The flood won't last for ever. It is sure to go down in two or three days or a week at the most, and in the meantime we must make ourselves comfortable where we are.”

”Comfortable, indeed! up a fig-tree with nothing to eat,” groaned Hector.

”Well, well, old fellow, things are not so bad as that. Here's a bit of damper to stay your appet.i.te until we can catch a 'possum or a laughing jacka.s.s for dinner;” and Harry produced one of the dampers which he had stowed away in his pocket.

This somewhat consoled Hector, who had hitherto declared that he could never touch such doughy stuff, although he ate his share eagerly, as did Reggy his.

”It may be a satisfaction for you to know that I have got some more,”

said Harry; ”but it won't do to eat them all up at once; we must put ourselves on an allowance, or we may have to starve at last. Now let us see how things are getting along.”

Harry looked out from the leafy covert in which the three lads had ensconced themselves high up among the forks of the huge tree. The flood was still surging on, setting towards the south-east, and spreading farther and farther over the country. He was grieved to see a number of bullocks floating by, showing that the flood must be sweeping over some of the pastures, and have carried them off before they could be driven on to the higher ground. They were in all probability his father's. Their loss must inevitably be very heavy. Their house and the greater part of their furniture was gone. How many heads of cattle he could not calculate. Other settlers farther down must have suffered in the same degree, perhaps in a still greater.

”We ought to be thankful that the lives of all the family have been saved, and three drays full of property. If father hadn't been wide awake, they would have been lost too,” said Harry. At last he caught sight of some pigs feeding on the sh.o.r.e. ”Well, those fellows have saved themselves, at all events, and I see some hens, too, in those trees; well, matters might be worse, we must acknowledge that.”

Reggy agreed with him, but nothing would comfort Hector; his only remark was that--”It is a horrible, detestable country; if I can once get out of it I won't come back in a hurry.”

”Three little blackbirds sat in a tree--Singing, heigh-ho, heigh-ho, fiddle-de-dee,” sang Harry. ”Now I vote we make a nest for ourselves; as to the water sinking low enough to allow our getting on sh.o.r.e to-night, that's out of the question. Come, Reggy, help me up with the ladder, we must not let that go; we may find it useful in getting down some day or other, and the rope will help to make our nest.”

They hauled up the ladder and placed it horizontally across the boughs.

”Stay,” cried Harry, ”if we get it up into this fork it will serve as a back to our sleeping-place, and the rope pa.s.sed two or three times backwards and forwards will secure the sides.” Harry had his axe in his belt. ”We must cut some boughs to raise the sides, lest we should stray in our sleep and tumble overboard.”

By creeping along one of the boughs they were able to reach some small branches suited to their purpose. These were secured by means of some of the fine vines which hung about the boughs. Harry and Reggy declared the nest they had formed was perfect.

”I vote we have an annual feast here in commemoration of this flood,”

said Harry, ”and we will invite our friends to join us.”

”It will hold all who come,” growled Hector. ”I would rather try to forget so disagreeable an event.”

”There are some fellows who are never satisfied,” said Harry, looking away from Hector.

Harry did his best to keep up his cousins' spirits and his own by talking away. Their conversation was interrupted by feeling some heavy body strike the tree, and looking down they saw a bullock, which had come down the torrent, driven against some of the lower branches, on which the poor animal was endeavouring to find a foot-hold; it succeeded, and remained fixed in the boughs. Its struggles soon ceased, and it was pretty clear that, overcome by its exertions, it was dead, for its head hung over the boughs into the water.

”No fear of starving,” said Harry; ”we may have as much beef-steak as we like.”

”Thank you! I'd rather not eat such horrid stuff,” said Hector.

”As you please,” answered Harry. ”The time may come when you will change your tone.”

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