"Oh, massa!" he gasped, looking piteously at Fred, "I'se seen de debbil, and I not want to stop any more all by myse'f near the sea."
"Seen the devil, Kashie! What do you mean, boy? When did you see him? What was he like, eh?"
"Oh, sah, he like one awful big fish, bigger than a boat, sah! He jump right up out ob de sea one, two, tree time. Jump right high up in de sky; and he all black, wid awful eyes, sah, and, oh! sah, he had nuffin on but his head. It was de debbil, sah, fob true."
Fred and Frank both burst out laughing, but the poor child seemed really and truly scared nearly out of his wits.
"Well," said Fred, "it is evident Cassia-bud has seen something. But surely the island is haunted! What a fearful apparition! The head of a fish as big as a boat, and awful eyes, or, as Kashie calls it, a fish with 'nuffin on but his head,' leaping black against the blue of the sky. Horrible!"
It took quite a long time to comfort Kashie; but when at last Fred said, "Well, come along, Kash, I'm hungry, bring out the cold fish," then Kashie wriggled out of Quambo's arms, and off he ran in front.
It would be hard to say whether our hungry heroes were more pleased or surprised to find that the boy had cooked them a capital dinner of roasted fish, crab, and plantains. The latter ate like mealy potatoes. Moreover, he had been up in the bush, and had found plates growing on the trees, big broad scented leaves of the lemon Hibiscus, and beside each plate stuck in the soft sand was a green cocoa-nut all ready to drink.*
* The green cocoa-nut contains scarcely any kernel, but about a quart of most delightful, cool, and delicious water.
Poor little Kashie gradually grew happier now, and was soon his laughing white-toothed rolling-eyed little self again. And as for the others, they had not felt so cheerful and merry since they had been accidentally marooned.
I must say here at once, and be done with it, that one cause of the extra jollity exhibited by Quambo and Magilvray, was rooted in the fact that on this very day the giant negro had found a species of wild tobacco growing on the mountain side. I think it is called krava or grava by natives of Polynesia. I only judge by the sound. However Magilvray said to Fred more than once that evening that a load was lifted off his mind.