“Come along, then, my darkies; more clothes, perhaps!” laughed his brother.
When they turned the point of the cliff it was clothes, sure enough, that they found, but clothes enveloping a corpse.
“The poor old doctor!” murmured Mat, as he went down on his knees beside the body, and recognized the portly form. “He’s awfully battered, but not been touched by the fish or anything. He wasn’t on the poop, so there’s a small hope yet for the skipper and those we left with him. Let’s bury him right up there, above high-water mark.”
Up to this the blacks had held aloof, but now made signs that they would divide the body or burn it, and seemed offended when the brothers showed that they could not have their own way in this. Mat wished to bury his old comrade without making them angry, so he pointed to the body, then to the sky, shaking his head solemnly, upon which the natives fell back, and did not attempt to interfere again.
The brothers then bore the corpse up the low cliff, scooped as deep a hole as they could in the sand, placed it there, rolled a great rock on the grave, and walked away silently from the spot.
Many an anxious glance did they cast seawards that day in hopes of seeing a vessel, but not a sign of one was visible on the placid ocean.
Returning to the scene of the wreckage, the black fellows shouldered everything that had been found in or on the wreck, and the whole party returned to their camp in the woods without further adventures.
Our foresters had hoped that when they should have arrived at what, for the present at any rate, they designated “Home,” they would have had ample time to rummage into the chests and casks which had been saved. But what was their astonishment to find some fifty or sixty strange natives assembled at the camp. These had evidently arrived from some distant part, and had only come into camp shortly before the brothers and their friends, for the “jins” had not all disencumbered themselves of the children, whom they carried on their backs, the infants’ legs hanging straight down, according to the native custom.
Directly these freshly-arrived blacks saw our white lads—who were now clothed—they scampered off in every direction, only returning when the friendly natives went after them and explained matters, when they at length summoned up courage to come up to where the brothers were standing. They finally felt them all over, looked into their mouths, and with gestures begged them to strip. This request being also acceded to, their examiners seemed satisfied, and squatted themselves on the ground to talk the white men over.
But it was soon evident that these visitors had arrived for a special purpose, for, on a signal being given, every man assembled was formed up so as to make a large circle. A corroboree on a grand scale was about to take place.