“Oh, but I not like to lose sight of them,” she answered; and indeed she was afraid that they might meet with some accident, or suffer from the hardships of the journey.
They, however, pleaded their cause so well, that at length it was arranged they were to go with us.
“I have read that Lady Raffles accompanied her husband, Sir Stamford, in many of his excursions through Sumatra and other islands of these seas, and I do not see why we should be afraid of any of the hardships which she had to go through,” observed Emily.
We now busied ourselves in making preparations for our journey. Our party consisted of our uncle as leader, Oliver and I, Dick Tarbox, Roger Trew, and Potto Jumbo. Merlin evidently understood that we were going on an expedition, and wagged his tail and looked up in my face as if to ask if he might accompany us. First he went to one, and then to another, making the same request.
“If you can spare him, Hooker, we will take him,” observed my uncle. “He seems so well trained, that I think he will not range too widely and disturb our game.”
“Speak to him, and he will do whatever you tell him,” said Mr Hooker; and so Merlin was added to our party.
We promised the Frau that should the difficulties we might meet with be too great for the girls to encounter, we would at once return, and leaving them, set off again by ourselves. We each of us earned a fowling-piece, an axe, and a knife, with flint and steel, and a bag of sago-cake, prepared as have before described. We felt very sure that we could provide ourselves with an ample supply of animal food, as also vegetables, wherever we might go. Nature has been lavishly bountiful in that region in her supply of food for the wants of man; indeed, there are no parts of the world where a little labour will produce such an abundance of all the necessaries of life as in most of the islands of that archipelago.
Several streams ran down from the neighbouring mountains fertilising the land, and, in the intervals, cocoa-nut trees grew, with fruit now sufficiently ripe to afford a delicious draught of cool liquid whenever we might want it.
We rose before daybreak to breakfast, that we might commence our journey in the cool of the morning. Our friends collected in the verandah to wish us good-bye. Mr Hooker, however, seemed very unhappy at being unable to accompany us.
“Cheer up, friends,” said our uncle. “We shall be back, probably, in two or three days; and having stretched our legs, we shall be the better able to make another excursion, and I hope by that time you will be of the party.”