“You’ll discover stranger things than that, Muldoon, before we have been very long in New Guinea,” said Captain Sparhawk.
“Faith, so long as they’re not snakes, oi dunno thot I care much,” said the Irishman. “Begob, o’im thinking that St. Pathrick would be a good man to have along in a counthry where the craturs are. Wun wave uv his sthick and away they’d all go, bad luck to thim.”
CHAPTER XXIV.—WIRELESS AT WORK.
For two days they traveled thus, making fresh discoveries constantly. Once, for instance, Billy triumphantly pounced on what seemed like a fine bit of fire-wood for the noon-day halt. But he dropped it with a yell, as the “stick” suddenly developed legs and on being dropped walked off.
“Begorrah, there’s a shillalegh come to loife, so it has,” yelled Muldoon, as he observed the phenomenon; but the “shillalegh” was only one of those strange “stick insects” that abound in that part of the world and sometimes fool even the natives.
At noon of the third day they found themselves approaching a settlement, as cleared ground, where grew maize, sugar cane, yams and other plants, testified. The village proved to be a large one where white traders and animal collectors often stopped and there was a native hostelry in it conducted by a greasy-looking Frenchman who had a native wife as dirty-looking as he was. The native huts were all of bamboo hung with cocoanut mats. Natives squatted in front of them chewing betel nuts, the juice crimsoning their lips and chins. All ages and both sexes indulged in the habit, which is universal throughout Polynesia and the South Seas generally.
There appeared to be a lot of rivalry among the men as to who could grow the fuzziest, most outstanding crop of hair.
“Faith, a barber would starve to death in this country,” declared Muldoon.
Just then a young woman came down the “street,” if such the muddy track between the huts could be called. She held something in her arms that they thought at first was a baby. But it turned out to be a young pig!