CHAPTER XIII
That afternoon I went up the mountain sides for a short distance and found some good reeds that would make a basket. It took me several days to weave what I wanted. I made a basket five feet long by two and a half feet wide, and put a false bottom in it, leaving a compartment underneath deep enough for me to crawl into. I put a hinge on the side of this bottom compartment so that I could let the side up and down, and lock it from the inside. When the basket was finished I wove a strong openwork cover for the top, leaving spaces just a little smaller than a peach, and fastened it securely to the basket.
"I took my basket to the edge of the desert, hid it in a tree, and went to purchase peaches enough from the nearest farmer to fill it. I carried several pails before it was full, taking care to put the most luscious ones on top, and after fastening the cover with the clamps I had put on it, crawled into the bottom compartment, fastened up my side opening and lay still to await results.
"It must have been two hours, and I was beginning to feel very much cramped when I heard a whirring of great wings, and then the toucan alighted on the ground beside me. He had evidently spied the basket and was curious to know what it was. He came over and then I could feel him pecking at the peaches through the woven covering.
"It was only a moment before somebody saw him, for every farmer had a boy watching, and the cry rang out, 'The toucan, the toucan!' I could see people running hurriedly towards us waving shovels, scythes, hoes, and various other implements. The toucan did just what I had hoped he would. He seized the basket by the handle and flew away over the desert with it, and I lay in the bottom looking down at the desert sands below, and thinking of what a dreadful death I should have if he dropped me.
The toucan . . . seized the basket by the handle and flew away.
"On we sailed, leaving the village far behind. I turned my head and looked towards the center of the desert. We were nearing the oasis, and I could see great trees with something silvery shining between them which I supposed must be a lake. Nearer and nearer we drew, and now I could see quite plainly the tree tops waving in the wind, but no water. The top of the wall appeared under me suddenly. Then we were quite a distance past the wall and settling down among trees upon a green space. The toucan alighted on the grass, put the basket down and again began pecking at the peaches through the cover. I opened my side fastening, crawled out and jumped to my feet sword in hand, supposing the toucan would attack me, but I evidently startled him, as he gave a loud clack, seized the basket again and flew with it over a tall hedge a short distance away.