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True; but that was in the hurry of the rising, and without orders from Rosco, as far as I know. Besides, mother, have you not often told me that God will never forsake His own children? Surely, then, He will not forsake father.
No, oh, no! the good Lord will never forsake him. He will certainly deliver his soul from sin and death; but God sometimes sees fit to allow the bodies of His children to suffer and die. It may be so now.
Yes, mother, but also it may not be so now. Let us take a hopeful view, and do what we can to find outto findto
Poor Orlando broke down here, laid his head on his little mothers shoulder, and wept for his mind had suddenly run itself blank. What was there to find out? what could they do? Nothing, absolutely nothing, except pray; and they did that fervently.
Then Orley went out to consult again with his friends. Alas! there was no other outlet for their grief, save prayer and consultation, for action was, in the circumstances, impossible.
Bin tink, tinkin horroble hard all last night. Couldn sleep a wink, said Ebony one day, some weeks after the return of Orlando, when, according to custom, he and the native missionary and his wife, with the chiefs Tomeo and Buttchee, assembled for a consultation in the palm-grove.
What have you been thinking about? asked Orley.
Yous fadder, ob course.
Of course, repeated the boy, but what have you been thinking about himanything new?
Not zackly noo, returned the negro, with a very earnest look, but ole toughts turned in a noo drection. Sit down, Tomeo, an I will tell youan try to forgit yous hat if possble. Its xtroarnar good lookin, amost as much good lookin as yousself, so you got no occashin to be always tinkin about it.
We may remark here that both Tomeo and Buttchee understood a little of Ebonys English, though they could not speak a word. The reader will understand, therefore, that when we put words in their mouths we only give a free translation of their language. In like manner Ebony understood a little of the Ratinga tongue, but could not speak much of it, and Waroonga, who himself spoke uncommonly bad, though fluent, English, interpreted when necessary.
Well, you mus know, said Ebony, dat jus before I goes to bed las night I heat a little too much supper
You doos that every night interrupted Buttchee, with a grin.
Ebony ignored the interruption, and continued
So, you see, I dream berry badmos drefful dreams! Yes. Well, what I dream was dis. I see Massa Zeppa forced by de pierits to walk de plank
Whats that? asked Tomeo.
Waroonga looked at Ebony for an explanation, and then translated
When pirates want to kill people they sometimes tie up their eyes, and bind their hands, and make them walk along a plank stickin over the ships side, till they fall off the end of it into the sea, where they are left to drown.
Tomeo looked at Buttchee with a grin and nodded, as though he thought the mode of execution rather a good one; then, recollecting suddenly that any mode of slaying innocent men was inconsistent with his character as a convert to Christianity, he cast a glance of awful solemnity at Waroonga, and tried to look penitent.
Well, hims walk de plank like a man, continued Ebony, hims dood eberyting like a man. An wen hims topple into de sea hims give sitch a most awful wriggle dat his bonds busted. But hims berry sly, was Massa Zeppaamazin sly. I tought him lie ons back zif him be dead. Jest move a leetle to look like drownin, an wen he long way astern, he slew round, off wid de hanky fro hims eyes an larf to hisseff like one oclock. Den he swumd to a island an git ashore, and climb up de rocks, an sit downanandats all.
What! be that all? asked Waroonga.
Dats all, repeated the negro. I no dream no more arter dat, cause I was woked by a fly what hab hoed up my nose, an kep bumblin in it like steam inside ob a kittle.
Well, Ebony, asked Orlando, what conclusions do you draw from that dream?
I dint draw no kungklooshins from it cos I dunno what de are. Nebber hab notin to do wid what I don understan. But what I was tink was dis: in de days ob old, some time after Adam an Eve was born, a sartin king, called Fair-ho, or some sitch name (Waroonga there knows all about him) had a dream, that siven swine came up
Kine, Ebonynot swine, interrupted the missionary, with a good-humoured smile, which is all the same as cows.
Well, den, siven fat cows come up out ob a ribber, an hoed slap at siven thin cowsmisrable skinny critters that
All wrong, Ebony, again interrupted Waroonga. Its just the other way. The skinny ones went at the fat ones.
Well, ob course you must be right, returned the negro, humbly, though Id have spected it was tother way. But I spose the skinny ones was so hungry that the fat ones hadnt a chance wid em. However, it dont matter. What I was goin to say was that a good man, called Joseph, went to Fair-ho an splained all his dream to him. Now, if Joseph could do dat, why shouldnt Waroonga splain my dream to me?
Because Is not Joseph, Ebony, an youre not Pharoah, returned Waroonga promptly.
Tomeo and Buttchee turned looks of inquiry on Ebony as if to say, What dye say to that, you nigger? But the nigger said nothing for some moments. He seemed not to have viewed the matter in that light.
Well, I donno, he said at last with a deep sigh, I tought Id get hold ob suthin when I kitch hold ob dat dream. But, I do blieve myself, dat part of it means dat Zeppa hims git on an island, anyhow.
If my dear father got upon anything, it must have been an island, said Orlando sadly.
Thats troo, remarked Mrs Waroonga. Keep your mouth shut, my dalin.
She referred to her brown baby, which she placed with some violence on her knee. It is well to remark here that little Zariffa had been supplied with a coal-scuttle bonnet proportioned to her size, made by her mother out of native straw, and that she did not wear anything else in the way of costume.
After Ebonys dream had been thoroughly discussed in all its bearings, and viewed in every possible point of relation to their great sorrow, the council adjourned, as usual, to various duties about the flourishing little village, and Orlando went to lay the result before his mother, who, although she could not believe these deliberations would end in anything practical, found it impossible, nevertheless, to resist the influence of so much faith and strong hopefulness, so that she was somewhat comforted, as it were, in spite of herself. Time flew by, and upwards of three years elapsed without anything happening at Ratinga Island to throw a single ray of light on the fate of the lost man.
During that period, however, much that was interesting and encouraging occurred to comfort the heart of the native missionary and the sorrowing Marie Zeppa. In the first place they received several visits from the mission-vessel, with small supplies of such luxuries as sugar, tea, and coffee for the body, and, for the spirit, a few bundles of tracts and books printed in the native tongue, among which, you may be sure, were many copies of the Book of books, the blessed Bible. Carpenters and smiths tools were also brought to them, so that they not only carried on their house-building and other operations with greater ease than heretofore, but even essayed the building of small boats with considerable success.