The Wonder Island Boys: The Mysteries of the Caverns

by Roger T. Finlay

"But this beet is very small; is it also wild?"

"There are four varieties of the beet. This is the most common of them all, and grows in a wild state in many parts of the world. The Mangelwurzel is a larger beet, and coarser, and is much used for cattle feed. If you want to give your cows a treat, this would be the food to give them. Then there is a kind called the chard, also a good variety. If possible, we should try and get John to show us where he found them. Undoubtedly it was along the sandy part of the island."

The first real surprise manifested by John was when the yaks were hitched up and he was invited to join them on a trip. His eyes seemed to show some glimmer of intelligence when he slowly crawled up into the wagon. Their course was directed toward the forest to the west, and the trip there, which occupied nearly two hours, was a constant source of pleasure to all.

On the way the animals were stopped at intervals to allow the Professor and George to collect specimens of plants and to seek for ores. And here occurred the first real symptoms of returning consciousness on the part of John. As the Professor was moving toward a hill, with a small pick, he was seen to pick up one of the little hammers and follow.

Without seeming to notice either of the party, he undertook to explore on his own account, moving here and there along the hillside and occasionally stopping to examine and chip off samples, which he carefully laid down, but when this was done, entirely forgot to collect them. The act of procuring the samples seemed to be the absorbing element. He thus went on, never returning to the places where they were deposited.

"That action on his part shows a remarkable phase of his malady. Notice how carefully he puts them down and how uniformly he forgets that he has done so. The mind, in his condition, is so disordered that it cannot reason with any degree of sequence. He recalls only one thing at a time; but if I am not mistaken, he is a man of culture, and his every act shows that he was a man of broad intellect. I hope we shall be able to restore him to his normal condition."

The guns had been taken along, as usual, in order to do some hunting, and while the Professor and John were engaged in prospecting, the boys were after game, in which they were more than ordinarily successful, the bag for the first hour being a half dozen pheasants and several squirrels.

When the Professor returned to the wagon with several loads of samples which the two had gathered, George insisted on penetrating the forest still farther, their direction being toward the falls in South River. Before long they came across the trail which had been taken by the yaks when they made their flight some three months before. They were now not to exceed two miles from the falls.

Angel, who was with them, now began one of his peculiar chattering exhibitions which betokened alarm, and the yaks exhibited a restless disposition. Harry moved forward to ascertain the cause, and before he had gone two hundred feet, saw the cause of the disturbance. It was one of the largest bears which they had so far seen, standing alongside of a large fallen tree and vigorously working his immense paws.

He ran back to the party and gave the information, and the Professor seized a gun, but John instinctively, as it were, grasped one of the spears and darted forward in the direction Harry had taken. The bear paid no attention to the party, and when the Professor came up, he said: "How fortunate it is that we shall be under obligations to the bears for our second treat of honey. I do not think we ought to attack him after rendering us this service."