第8章 The Cannibal Island(1)

Doubtless the adventures of the day had tired Rob, for he slep. throughout the night as comfortably as if he had been within his ow. room, lying upon his own bed. When, at last, he opened his eyes an. gazed sleepily about him, he found himself over a great body of water. moving along with considerable speed.

"It's the ocean, of course," he said to himself. "I haven't reache. Cuba yet."It is to be regretted that Rob's knowledge of geography was s. superficial; for, as he had intended to reach Cuba, he should hav. taken a course almost southwest from Boston, instead of southeast.

The sad result of his ignorance you will presently learn, for durin. the entire day he continued to travel over a boundless waste of ocean. without the sight of even an island to cheer him.

The sun shone so hot that he regretted he had not brought an umbrella.

But he wore a wide-brimmed straw hat, which protected him somewhat. and he finally discovered that by rising to a considerable distanc. above the ocean he avoided the reflection of the sun upon the wate. and also came with the current of good breeze.

Of course he dared no stop, for there was no place to land; so h. calmly continued his journey.

"It may be I've missed Cuba," he thought; "but I can not change m. course now, for if I did I might get lost, and never be able to fin. land again. If I keep on as I am I shall be sure to reach land o. some sort, in time, and when I wish to return home I can set the indicato. to the northwest and that will take me directly back to Boston."This was good reasoning, but the rash youth had no idea he wa. speeding over the ocean, or that he was destined to arrive shortly a. the barbarous island of Brava, off the coast of Africa. Yet such wa. the case; just as the sun sank over the edge of the waves he saw, t. his great relief, a large island directly in his path.

He dropped to a lower position in the air, and when he judged himsel. to be over the center of the island he turned the indicator to zer. and stopped short.

The country was beautifully wooded, while pretty brooks sparkle. through the rich green foliage of the trees. The island slope. upwards from the sea-coast in all directions, rising to a hill tha. was almost a mountain in the center. There were two open spaces, on. on each side of the island, and Rob saw that these spaces wer. occupied by queer-looking huts built from brushwood and branches o. trees. This showed that the island was inhabited, but as Rob had n. idea what island it was he wisely determined not to meet the native. until he had discovered what they were like and whether they wer. disposed to be friendly.

So he moved over the hill, the top of which proved to be a flat. grass-covered plateau about fifty feet in diameter. Finding it coul. not be easily reached from below, on account of its steep sides, an. contained neither men nor animals, he alighted on the hill-top an. touched his feet to the earth for the first time in twenty-four hours.

The ride through the air had not tired him in the least; in fact, h. felt as fresh and vigorous as if he had been resting throughout th. journey. As he walked upon the soft grass of the plateau he fel. elated, and compared himself to the explorers of ancient days; for i. was evident that civilization had not yet reached this delightful spot.

There was scarcely any twilight in this tropical climate and it gre. dark quickly. Within a few minutes the entire island, save where h. stood, became dim and indistinct. He ate his daily tablet, and afte. watching the red glow fade in the western sky and the gray shadows o. night settle around him he stretched himself comfortably upon the gras. and went to sleep.

The events of the day must have deepened his slumber, for when h. awoke the sun was shining almost directly over him, showing that th. day was well advanced. He stood up, rubbed the sleep from his eye. and decided he would like a drink of water. From where he stood h. could see several little brooks following winding paths through th. forest, so he settled upon one that seemed farthest from the brushwoo. villages, and turning his indicator in that direction soon floate. through the air to a sheltered spot upon the bank.

Kneeling down, he enjoyed a long, refreshing drink of the clear water. but as he started to regain his feet a coil of rope was suddenl. thrown about him, pinning his arms to his sides and rendering hi. absolutely helpless.

At the same time his ears were saluted with a wild chattering in a. unknown tongue, and he found himself surrounded by a group of native. of hideous appearance. They were nearly naked, and bore spears an. heavy clubs as their only weapons. Their hair was long, curly, an. thick as bushes, and through their noses and ears were stuck the teet. of sharks and curious metal ornaments.

These creatures had stolen upon Rob so quietly that he had not heard . sound, but now they jabbered loudly, as if much excited.

Finally one fat and somewhat aged native, who seemed to be a chief. came close to Rob and said, in broken English:

"How get here?"

"I flew," said the boy, with a grin.

The chief shook his head, saying:

"No boat come. How white man come?"

"Through the air," replied Rob, who was rather flattered at bein. called a "man."The chief looked into the air with a puzzled expression and shook hi. head again.

"White man lie," he said calmly.

Then he held further conversation with his fellows, after which h. turned to Rob and announced:

"Me see white man many times. Come in big boats. White man all bad.

Make kill with bang-sticks. We kill white man with club. Then we ea. white man. Dead white man good. Live white man bad!"This did not please Rob at all. The idea of being eaten by savage. had never occurred to him as a sequel to his adventures. So he sai. rather anxiously to the chief.

"Look here, old fellow; do you want to die?"

"Me no die. You die," was the reply.

"You'll die, too, if you eat me," said Rob. "I'm full of poison.""Poison. Don't know poison," returned the chief, much perplexed t. understand him.