Then I began to think of how hot it was, and that as near as I could guess it must be two hours after noon. Then about how pleasant it would be to begin rebuilding our house, and how long it would take, and about Hannibal and Pomp, and what a gentleman the former seemed to be by nature in his stern, quiet way; always willing to do anything for us, and watching me whenever he saw me, to know if there was anything I wanted; and so big, and strong, and brave.
Then I thought of our terrible experience under the great cypress tree, and at one time it was very horrible, but directly after not at all so.
“It seems very terrible to kill any one, but Han knew that if he did not kill them they would kill us, and I do believe he would sooner be killed himself than let any one hurt either father or me. And what a rum little fellow Pomp is,” I thought; “and how he gives up directly Hannibal says anything in his language.
“I wonder what his language is! One can’t call it black language, because it isn’t black—only what black people speak. I wonder whether I could learn it. Seems to be all ing, and ung, and ang, and ng, without any letters before it. I’ll make Hannibal teach me to speak like he does. He would if I asked him. S’pose I should have to learn it without books, and one couldn’t write it, and— Oh, dear me! How hot, and tired, and thirsty I am!
“I wish Pomp wouldn’t buzz so.
“No, I mean I wish the flies wouldn’t snore so.
“No; I mean the Indians—the—”
I started up, and looked round confusedly, to see the flies darting here and there, and buzzing more loudly than ever, while Pomp had settled into a decided snore. It was hotter than before, and great drops stood on my face, and tickled as they ran together and made greater drops. The children too were still playing about, and laughing merrily, and I went on thinking that the flies must be teasing Pomp very much, and that those children would laugh and play if the Indians came and buzzed round the tent; and that one which had settled on the canvas just over my head didn’t frighten them by swelling out so big, and opening and shutting his great jaws with such a loud snap. What a number of fish he must eat in a day, and how I should have liked to watch him when he beat the water with his tail, so as to stun the fish and make them easy to catch!
“And so that’s where you live, is it, my fine fellow? Pomp and I will come with a stick, and thrust it down the hole, and make you bite, and drag you out. We should want a rope ready to put round your neck, and another to tie your jaws, and one of us would have to slip it on pretty quickly before you spread your wings and began to fly round the tent, and began talking in that ridiculous way. Whoever heard of an alligator imitating Morgan, and trying to deceive me like that, just as we were going to catch him on the canvas where it was so tight? Eh! What say? Why don’t you bellow? What!—no, I shan’t. He is very comfortable here, and— Ah!”
That alligator had crept over into the tent, planted its foot upon my chest, and was moving it heavily, as it said out of the darkness in Morgan’s voice—