Schillie.—"Indeed Sybil and Serena are too stupid for anything. They learn all their books, they like all their lessons, they agree to all Madame's crinkums crankums, and they are so horridly good, it quite puts me out."
Mother.—"Pooh, nonsense. If we had three Gattys here we should find the island too hot to hold us. Be content at having two of the best girls in the world to deal with."
Schillie.—"I must say Serena is a tip-top girl, she makes Miss Gatty look about her; but I must be off."
During her absence, I sat down upon an old stump of a tree, and by and by I heard a little rustling in the bushes, out of which came a sort of animal like a large rat, but it had a flat tail, and each side of this tail was adorned with hair like fringe. It looked at me steadily, and, except its tail, was not an ugly creature. I did not choose to be frightened; but still as another and another came, and all stood steadily gazing at me, I had a sort of qualm that some rats fly at one's throat, and, though not really injured, I might perhaps get severely bitten if they attacked me. I was therefore glad to hear the merry voices in the distance coming nearer and nearer; and, as the rats heard the unusual sounds, they slunk away as if by magic, for I could hardly perceive the movement by which they disappeared.
Schillie (quite breathless).—"Well, here you are quite safe. I am always so afraid when I leave you that you get into some mischief. But you have seen something, I know by your face."
Mother.—"Then don't look as if I was injured. I have only seen some odd-looking sorts of rats with flat tails."
Schillie.—"Then Otty must come with his gun and shoot them, for I dare say now that snake is dead the animals of all kinds will increase very much. I only wish there was a snake among the gnat tribe. Anything like the way in which I am teased by things biting me is not to be described."
The girls were delighted with the business set before them, and even Madame appeared with a hatchet in her delicate fingers, but without being able to make even an apology of a stroke.
When the tree was down, we proceeded to shoe ourselves, intent upon delighting and surprising Jenny. But we never regarded a gummy substance exuding from all parts of the tree, which plagued us for some time afterwards, destroying the stockings, and very, very difficult to get off, also blistering the skin a little, but these sheathes for the leaves of the Ita palm really made capital shoes. We had only to dry them a little in the sun. They did not however last very long, and it was no uncommon thing for the boys to want a new pair every day. Notwithstanding there being such an abundance of these naturally-growing ready-made shoes, we were not sorry at the ingenious invention of Sybil and Serena, who, after repeated efforts, contrived to plait most excellent shoes out of grass.
One day, penetrating a little farther than usual, we came to a rich little glen, running down to the sea. Here, digging up some plants, as was our usual custom, to make fresh discoveries, we found the mould of a beautiful bright red colour; this shaded off into deep chocolate or bright yellow. We could not discover any metallic substance in it, or that it tasted of anything, but it painted our fingers whenever we touched it, and when first turned up was glossy and shining. Near this place grew some sugar canes, curiously striped, and a tree or shrub, seven or eight feet high, with an oblong hairy pod; something like a chestnut, hanging to it; inside were about thirty or forty seeds, buried in a pulp of bright red colour, smelling rather fragrant. We found out afterwards that these seeds were good for fevers, and the pulp made very good red paint.