Presently a cry from Franz alarmed me. `Look! Look!' he shrieked. `The villain is in Fritz's cajack. I can see the walrus' head.'
Ernest alone remained unmoved. He took the speaking-trumpet: `Fritz, ahoy!' he shouted. `Welcome, old fellow!'
The words were scarcely out of his mouth when I, too, recognized the well-known face, beneath its dusky disguise.
In another minute the brave boy was on board, and in spite of his blackened face was kissed and welcomed heartily. He was now assailed with a storm of questions from all sides: Where had he been? What had kept him so long, and why had he turned blackamoor?
`The last question,' replied he, with a smile, `is the only one I will now answer; the others shall be explained when I give a full account of my adventures. Hearing guns fired, my mind was instantly filled with ideas of Malay pirates, for I never dreamed that you could be here in the yacht, so I disguised myself as you now see me, and came forth to reconnoitre. When you addressed me in Malay you only added to my terror, for it left not a doubt in my mind that you were pirates.'
Having in our turn described to him our adventure with the cachalot whale, I asked him if he knew of a suitable spot for the anchorage of the yacht.
`Certainly,' he replied, casting towards me a glance full of meaning. `I can lead you to an island where there is splendid anchorage, and which is itself well worth seeing, for it contains all sorts of strange things.' And after removing the stains from his skin, he again sprang into his canoe and piloted us to a picturesque little island in the bay.
Now that there could be no doubt as to the success of Fritz's expedition, I no longer hesitated to give to my wife an account of his project, and to prepare her mind for the surprise which awaited her. She was greatly startled, as I expected, and seemed almost overcome with emotion at the idea of seeing a human being, and that being one of her own sex.
`But why,' she asked, `did you not tell me of this at first? Why wait until the last moment with such joyful news?'
`I was unwilling,' I replied, `to raise hopes which might never be realized; but now, thank Heaven, he has succeeded, and there is no need for concealment.'