304

READY'S NARRATIVE.

took his paw out again fast enough. It was laughable to see him hold out his hand to the others, and then taste the blood with the tip of his tongue, and such a chattering I never heard -they were evidently very angry, and more came into the cave and joined them; then another put in his hand, and received a cut just as before. At last two or three at once tried to pull us out, but we beat them all off with our knives, wounding them all very severely. For about an hour they continued their attempts, and then they went away out of the cave, but remained at the mouth, shrieking and howling. We began to be very tired of this work, and Romer said that he wished he was back in prison again; and so did I, I can assure you; but there was no getting out, for had we gone out the animals would have torn us to pieces. We agreed that we had no chance but the animals becoming tired and going away; and most anxious we were, for the excitement had made us very thirsty, and we wanted water. We remained for two hours in this way imprisoned by baboons, when all of a sudden a shrill cry was given by one of the animals, and the whole herd went galloping off as fast as they could, screaming louder than ever. We waited

for a short time to see if they would return, and then Hastings crawled out first, and looking out of the cave very cautiously, said that they were all gone, and that he could see nothing but a Hottentot sitting down watching some cattle which were browsing; we therefore all came out, very happy at our release. That was our first adventure, Master William; we had plenty afterwards; but I think it is now time we should go to bed. It is my opinion we shall have a fine day to-morrow, sir; but there's no saying."

"I do so want to hear what happened to you afterwards, Ready," said William.

66

Well, so you shall, sir; but there's a time for everything, and this is bed-time, unless you like to go with me, Master William; the weather has cleared up, and I want to catch a fish or two for to-morrow."

"Yes, I will, Ready, for I'm not at all tired." "Well then, here are the lines: good night, madam; good night, Mr. Seagrave."

As Ready had predicted, the weather set in fine for several days after the violent storm of which we have made mention. Juno was weak, and suffering for some time. She had been struck down by the lightning, but she was able to cook the dinner and do light work. Poor Juno appeared to be very sensible of the wonderful preservation which she had had from the lightning.

BUILDING STOREHOUSE.

307

She had always been a good girl, and attentive whenever the Bible was read, but now she did not appear to think that the usual morning and evening services were sufficient to express her gratitude, and several times when Ready went out first in the morning, he had perceived Juno kneeling down under a cocoa-nut tree, secretly and devoutly returning thanks for having been so mercifully spared. Ready, of course, did not appear to notice her, but he said more than once to himself, as he walked away, "There's more good under that dark skin than under many a white one, and her prayers are as acceptable to the Most High as those of kings and princes."

For a fortnight, with little intermission, the weather was fine, and during that time, Ready, Mr. Seagrave, and William worked from daylight till dusk at the storehouse, which they were so anxious to complete, and were so tired when their work was over, that even William did not ask Ready to go on with his history. At last the storehouse was complete, thatched and wattled in on three sides, leaving one open for ventilation; the lower part, which had been arranged for the folding of the stock at night and during the rainy season, was also wattled in with cocoa-nut boughs

on three sides, and made a very comfortable retreat for the animals. The winding path to the storehouse was also cut through the cocoa-nut grove, but the stumps were not removed, as they could not spare the time. All the stores that they had brought round were put into the storehouse, and they were now ready to take up some other job. It was, however, agreed that, on the day after the building was finished, they should all have a day's holiday, which they certainly did require. William caught some fish, a turtle was speared and wheeled up to the house; and they not only had a holiday, but a feast. Mr. Seagrave and William had been walking on the beach with Mrs. Seagrave and the children, while Ready was assisting Juno in cutting up the turtle; they had shown Mrs. Seagrave the storehouse, and the goats with the four kids had been led there, as there was no longer any occasion for them to remain in the house. The weather was beautiful, and they agreed to go and examine the garden. They found that the seeds had not yet commenced sprouting, notwithstanding the heavy rains.

"I should have thought that so much rain would have made them come up," said Mrs. Seagrave.