“I do,” replied the other; “and intend to search for it to-morrow morning, as soon as I turn out!”
“It was lucky we have poor puss, papa,” said Florry just then. “We would have had all our things eaten up by the mice only for her.”
“Dear me!” ejaculated Mrs Major Negus, drawing her skirts closer to her in alarm, “you don’t say so? Mice! gracious goodness that I ever should have come to such a place. Of all the things I hate, those nasty creatures are the worst.”
“Ah! ma’rm,” put in Mr Lathrope, seeing his chance of revenge for the lady’s comments on his chimney; “if all Mister Meldrum kalkerlates comes true about the shortness of our provisions, I guess you’ll be glad to eat ’em bye and bye! I’ve seed the Chinee immigrants gobble ’em up in Californy often enough!”
“Disgusting!” ejaculated Mrs Major Negus, raising her nose in the air with an expression of intense scorn. “I for one, sir, will never descend to adopt Chinese fashions and live on rats and mice, whatever you may have learnt to do in your travels.”
“Pray, do not alarm yourself,” interposed Mr Meldrum, laughing. “Can’t you see that Mr Lathrope is only joking! I do not dread our being reduced to such a sad extremity as he pictures! Are you sure about the mice, Florry?”
“Oh yes, papa,” answered that young lady. “Pussy killed four not long ago, and brought them purring, one after another, to Kate and me—as if to show us what she had done! Besides, I’m sure I heard them squeaking behind the boxes last night.”
Florry’s statement was true enough, for on hunting amongst the stores it was found that the corners of the bags containing the small supply of biscuits they had left had been nibbled through and their contents scattered on the ground; in addition to which there were other evidences of the presence of the little depredators. The mice must have been originally introduced into the island by some whaling ship; and, they had evidently multiplied considerably since then, for they were now very numerous and puss would have all her work cut out for her in keeping them down.
In spite of the mouse diversion, Mr Meldrum did not forget what he had said about the “Kerguelen cabbage.”
Instituting a search next day, it was not long before he came across the plant in a little hollow, close to the fresh-water tarn adjoining their hut and just peeping out from a thin covering of half-melted snow that lay on the ground.