Martin Rattler Read online

  CHAPTER IX

  THE HERMIT

  It was now quite dark, and the whole country seemed alive withfire-flies. These beautiful little insects sat upon the trees and bushes,spangling them as with living diamonds, and flew about in the air likelittle wandering stars. Barney had seen them before, in the West Indies,but Martin had only heard of them; and his delight and amazement at theirextreme brilliancy were very great. Although he was naturally anxious toreach the light in the valley, in the hope that it might prove to proceedfrom some cottage, he could not refrain from stopping once or twice tocatch these lovely creatures; and when he succeeded in doing so, andplaced one on the palm of his hand, the light emitted from it was morebrilliant than that of a small taper, and much more beautiful, for it wasof a bluish colour, and very intense,--more like the light reflected froma jewel than a flame of fire. He could have read a book by means of itquite easily.

  In half an hour they drew near to the light, which they found proceededfrom the window of a small cottage or hut.

  "Whist, Martin," whispered Barney, as they approached the hut on tiptoe;"there may be savages into it, an' there's no sayin' what sort o' cratursthey are in them parts."

  When about fifty yards distant, they could see through the open windowinto the room where the light burned; and what they beheld there was wellcalculated to fill them with surprise. On a rude wooden chair, at a roughunpainted table, a man was seated, with his head resting on his hand, andhis eyes fixed intently on a book. Owing to the distance, and the fewleaves and branches that intervened between them and the hut, they couldnot observe him very distinctly. But it was evident that he was a largeand strong man, a little past the prime of life. The hair of his head andbeard was black and bushy, and streaked with silver-grey. His face wasmassive, and of a dark olive complexion, with an expression of sadness onit, strangely mingled with stern gravity. His broad shoulders--and,indeed, his whole person--were enveloped in the coarse folds of a longgown or robe, gathered in at the waist with a broad band of leather.

  The room in which he sat--or rather the hut, for there was but one roomin it--was destitute of all furniture, except that already mentioned,besides one or two roughly-formed stools; but the walls were completelycovered with strange-looking implements and trophies of the chase; andin a corner lay a confused pile of books, some of which were, fromtheir appearance, extremely ancient. All this the benighted wanderersobserved as they continued to approach cautiously on tiptoe. Socautious did they become as they drew near, and came within the lightof the lamp, that Barney at length attempted to step over his ownshadow for fear of making a noise; and, in doing so, tripped and fellwith considerable noise through a hedge of prickly shrubs thatencircled the strange man's dwelling.

  The hermit--for such he appeared to be--betrayed no symptom of surpriseor fear at the sudden sound; but, rising quietly though quickly from hisseat, took down a musket that hung on the wall, and, stepping to the opendoor, demanded sternly, in the Portuguese language, "Who goes there?"

  "Arrah, then, if ye'd help a fellow-cratur to rise, instead o' talkin'gibberish like that, it would be more to your credit!" exclaimed theIrishman, as he scrambled to his feet and presented himself, along withMartin, at the hermit's door.

  A peculiar smile lighted up the man's features as he retreated into thehut, and invited the strangers to enter.

  "Come in," said he, in good English, although with a slightly foreignaccent. "I am most happy to see you. You are English. I know the voiceand the language very well. Lived among them once, but long time pastnow--very long. Have not seen one of you for many years."

  With many such speeches, and much expression of good-will, the hospitablehermit invited Martin and his companion to sit down at his rude table, onwhich he quickly spread several plates of ripe and dried fruits, a fewcakes, and a jar of excellent honey, with a stone bottle of cool water.When they were busily engaged with these viands, he began to makeinquiries as to where his visitors had come from.

  "We've comed from the sae," replied Barney, as he devoted himself to amagnificent pineapple. "Och but yer victuals is mighty good,Mister--what's yer name?--'ticklerly to them that's a'most starvin'."

  "The fact is," said Martin, "our ship has been taken by pirates, and wetwo swam ashore, and lost ourselves in the woods; and now we havestumbled upon your dwelling, friend, which is a great comfort."

  "Hoigh, an' that's true," sighed Barney, as he finished the last slice ofthe pineapple.

  They now explained to their entertainer all the circumstances attendingthe capture of the _Firefly_, and their subsequent adventures andvicissitudes in the forest; all of which Barney detailed in a mostgraphic manner, and to all of which their new friend listened with graveattention and unbroken silence. When they had concluded he said,--

  "Very good. You have seen much in very short time. Perhaps you shall seemore by-and-by. For the present you will go to rest, for you must befatigued. I will _think_ to-night,--to-morrow I will _speak_"

  "An', if I may make so bould," said Barney, glancing with a somewhatrueful expression round the hard earthen floor of the hut, "where-aboutsmay I take the liberty of sleepin'?"

  The hermit replied by going to a corner, whence, from beneath a heap ofrubbish, he dragged two hammocks, curiously wrought in a sort of lightnet-work. These he slung across the hut, at one end, from wall to wall,and, throwing a sheet or coverlet into each, he turned with a smile tohis visitors,--

  "Behold your beds! I wish you a very good sleep,--adios!"

  So saying, this strange individual sat down at the table, and was soon asdeeply engaged with his large book as if he had suffered no interruption;while Martin and Barney, having gazed gravely and abstractedly at him forfive minutes, turned and smiled to each other, jumped into theirhammocks, and were soon buried in deep slumber.