The Gurnet, then, had called at Grey Town, Central America, and had been detained there for about a fortnight; so to pass the time a picnic and big pigeon-shoot were determined upon.
On the swampy island on which the party landed—the party consisting of the A.P. Gribble, the sub-lieutenant, Dr. Reikie, and Jack himself, with a boat's crew, and plenty of prog and grog—there were any number of pigeons on the trees, and almost an equal number of alligators in the swamps. As sly as sin these horrid brutes looked—they seemed to watch every movement of the sportsmen; and slow in movement though they appeared to be at the edge of the water, had any one fallen in they would have darted on him from every point of the compass with lightning speed, and torn him limb from limb more quickly than could be described.
The gunning went on all the forenoon, and by mid-day a very big bag had been made. The exercise, too, had made the sportsmen hungry; so what more natural than that they should light a fire and have a good dinner? Pork and roasted pigeons go well together, and neither biscuits, butter, nor the salt had been forgotten. The birds were spitted on ramrods and done to a turn, and all hands admitted it was the best meal they had eaten since they had left old England.
Then all sat round the camp fire smoking and yarning just as sailors will.
But suddenly the sky began to grow dark; the wind began to moan, and drive the smoke and fire about. A brilliant flash of lightning followed, and a startling peal of thunder. Then big drops of rain commenced to fall, and in a minute more a tropical shower burst over them in all its fury. Dr. Reikie was fain to confess that this shower beat all the showers ever he had known, including even a Scotch mist. There was no shelter, and in a few minutes' time every one was drenched to the skin.
Almost as speedily as they had banked up did the clouds go drifting away seaward, and once again the sun blazed out with redoubled fury.
Now, to permit one's clothes to dry on one's back in cases of this kind is not the best of policy. But what were they to do? Well, there was only one alternative, and that was adopted. They speedily built up a huge fire therefore, though being wet the wood took some time to ignite; then they stripped to the skin, retaining only a kind of kilt or cummerbund depending from the waist, and while the clothes were drying they all ran off to the woods and spent the time in playing at being savages.
The result of this shooting expedition in the dismal swamp was, that in a few days all who had taken part in it were down with ague.
The doctor himself and Jack soon threw off their attack, but on the arrival of the ship at Port Royal, both the A.P. and sub-lieutenant had to be sent to hospital.
Gribble got better from the day he entered, but it was soon apparent to every one that the sub-lieutenant would not get over it, and one forenoon Dr. Reikie returned on board with the melancholy intelligence that the poor fellow was no more.