Old Gold Part 33

"What do you say, Brace?" said his brother, turning to him.

"Well, at first I didn't like the idea at all: it sounded so much like being beaten and having to make a fresh start; but I think now that it's just what we as good as planned to do when we set off. When shall we start?"

"It seems to me," said Sir Humphrey, smiling, "that Briscoe's motion is carried unanimously. As to starting, we might take a boat and begin exploring at once, making day excursions. The longer ones would depend upon how soon Captain Banes could get the longboat ready."

"By to-morrow morning would do for me, sir," said the captain bluffly.

"But you would not be able to fix up the boat in such a short time."

"There's really nothing to do, sir. There's a hole in the thwart fore and aft for a short upright to carry the spar the length of the boat, and we'd make that do for mast as well. Dellow could soon cut us up a bit of canvas that would do for sail and extra cover to rig up o'

nights. You'd better have the stern covered in with a regular awning.

We'll be ready for you by daylight, gentlemen."

"That will be capital. Can you let us have one of the other boats, so that we can row up towards the falls at once?" said Brace.

"You can sail, squire, and save the men's arms in the hot sun. Plenty of wind for that."

"Capital," said Brace. "You might come with us, Free."

"No," said his brother; "I had better wait a few days longer before I begin."

"What will you occupy yourself with whilst we are away?" asked Brace.

"Oh, I shall find something to do. I'll stop and help Captain Banes, and see to the stores for tomorrow's expedition."

"Do you feel strong enough?" said Brace anxiously.

"I am getting stronger every day. There, take the guns with you and try and knock over a few ducks. I've noticed several fly up the river since we've been here."

"All right," said Brace. "We'll try to get some for the cook."

"And I say, squire," cried the captain, "when I was a boy, whenever I got a chance I was off fis.h.i.+ng, and I learned from experience that the best place, and where the fish gathered most to feed upon what came down a river, was just where the water fell below a weir."

"Yes," said Brace; "I should think that would be the best place for fis.h.i.+ng."

"Well, then, as the old saying goes, 'A nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse.' You don't want me to tell you that you're going to sail to a great natural weir of rock, up to which the fish from hundreds and hundreds of miles of big river swim in great shoals to feed."

"You mean that we should take some tackle with us?"

"That's right, and, by Jingo, the very thought of it makes me want to come with you and have a try."

"Come, then," cried Brace, "and have a good day's sport with us."

"Nay, nay, nay, my lad: duty first, pleasure after. I've got to put out anchors and see to the provisioning of that boat."

"Let Mr Dellow do it. He'll be able to see to that all right."

"No," said the captain shortly. "You go and try. Another time I should like to go with you and be a boy again."

"Well, you know your own business best; so we must put off the pleasure of having you with us till another day," said Brace.

"Yes," the captain replied; "but I warn you to take care, my lad. No going overboard. I wouldn't give much for your chance of getting out of the water again."

"But there are not likely to be any alligators or crocodiles there."

"I dunno," said the captain. "I shouldn't like to risk it. There's likely to be plenty of all kinds of dangerous fish or reptiles up yonder, and size don't count. A thousand of the little tiny sticklebacks of fish in these rivers are more dangerous than one big fellow ten foot long."

A quarter of an hour after the meal was finished, Lynton, Dan, and four of the sailors, with their faces full of suns.h.i.+ne, had taken their seats in a boat which had been lowered, while the men left on board looked down at them as if through clouds.

"I hope you will be careful, my lad," said Sir Humphrey.

"You may trust me, Free; I shall not do anything rash," said Brace, laughing.

"I shall look forward to a pleasant evening over your specimens, Briscoe," said Sir Humphrey, speaking more warmly to the American than had been his custom.

"I hope I shan't disappoint you, sir," was the reply.

"Got all your guns and ammunition, squire?" cried the captain.

"Yes, quite right."

"And fis.h.i.+ng-tackle and bait and everything else you will need?"

"Yes; I believe we have taken everything aboard," was the reply.

"I'll tell the cook to have a good fire made up in the galley for roasting the ducks you are going to shoot and the frying-pan ready for the fish you are going to catch."

"All right," cried Brace merrily. "Ready, Mr Lynton?"

"Ay, ay, sir."

"Then push off."

The man holding on with the boat-hook gave a good thrust, and the boat glided away from the brig's side with the swift stream, which rolled over the sandbank, caught the boat, and whirled her away. But the little mast was already up forward and the rudder hooked on, so that when the lug-sail had been hoisted and had bellied out, the boat, answering quickly to a touch of the tiller, glided through the water, soon recovering the ground she had lost, and, careening over, swept by the motionless brig, whose sails were now furled.

"Hah!" cried Brace, as they began to race before the breeze, "this is the sort of river I like. Look, Briscoe, how clear it is. You can see the bottom now and then."

"And the fish," said the American. "Brace Leigh, I begin to think we're going to have plenty of sport up here."

CHAPTER TWENTY.

BRACE LEIGH'S SPORT.

"So we're to think of the pot and pan as well as of our specimens," said Briscoe, loading both barrels of his gun.

"I fancy we shall have plenty of chances for doing both," said Brace, following suit. "How well the boat sails! Why, we have got quite a long distance from the brig already."