Bunyip Land | Page 4

cried. "Why, my dear Mrs Carstairs, it is five years since I have had anything even approaching a holiday. This will be a splendid opportunity; and I can take care of Joe here, and he can take care of me."
"That I will--if I can," I cried.
"I know you will, Joe," he said. "And we'll bring back the professor with all his collection of new plants for that London firm, on condition that something fresh with a big red and yellow blossom is named after me--lay the Scarlet Grantii, or the Yellow Unluckii in honour of my non-success."
"You're never going to let him start, Miss Eleanor?" cried nurse.
"Would you have me stand between my son and his duty, nurse?" cried my mother, flushing.
"Dearie me, no," sighed the old lady; "only it do seem such a wild-goose chase. There'll be no one to take care of us, and that dreadful black, Jimmy"--nurse always said his name with a sort of disrelish--"will be hanging about here all the time."
"Iss, dat's him, Jimmy, Jimmy, here Jimmy go. Hi--wup--wup--wup, Jimmy go too."
"Nonsense, Jimmy!" I said; "I'm going to New Guinea to seek my father."
"Iss. Hi--wup--wup--wup, Jimmy going to look for his fader."
"Why, you said he was dead," I cried.
"Iss, Jimmy fader dead, little pickaninny boy; Jimmy go look for him, find him dere."
"Be quiet," I said, for the black was indulging in a kind of war-dance; "you don't understand. I'm going across the sea to find my father."
"Dat him. Jimmy want go 'cross sea find him fader bad. Hi! want go there long time."
"Why, you never heard of the place before," I said.
"No, never heard him fore; want to go long time. Jimmy go too."
"Why, what for?" I said.
"Hunt wallaby--kedge fis--kill black fellow--take care Mass Joe--find um fader. Hi--wup--wup--wup!"
"He would be very useful to us, Joe," said the doctor.
"And I should like to take him," I said eagerly.
"Iss, Jimmy go," cried the black, who contrived, in spite of his bad management of our language, to understand nearly everything that was said, and who was keenly watching us all in turn.
"He would be just the fellow to take," said the doctor.
"Hi--wup--wup! Jimmy juss a fellow to take."
"Then he shall go," I said; and the black bounded nearly to the ceiling, making nurse utter a shriek, whereupon he thrust his boomerang into his waistband, and dragged a waddy from the back, where it had hung down like a stumpy tail, and showing his white teeth in a savage grin, he began to caper about as if preparing to attack the old lady, till I caught him by the arm, and he crouched at my feet like a dog.
"Come long," he said, pointing out at the sun, "walk five six hour--all black dark; go sleep a morning."
"All in good time, Jimmy," I said. "Go out and wait." The black ran out, and crouched down upon his heels in the verandah, evidently under the impression that we were about to start at once; but Europeans bound on an expedition want something besides a waddy, boomerang, and spear; and with nurse shaking her head mournfully the while, my mother, the doctor, and I held a council of war, which, after a time, was interrupted by a curious noise between a grunt and a groan, which proved to be from Jimmy's throat, for he was preparing himself for his journey by having a nap.
CHAPTER TWO.
HOW WE PREPARED TO START, AND STARTED.
You will have gathered from all this that my father had been missing for pretty well three years, and that he, a well-known botanist, had accepted a commission from a well-known florist in the neighbourhood of London to collect new plants for him, and in his quest he had made his last unfortunate trip--which had followed one to Carpentaria--to New Guinea.
We had heard from him twice, each time with a package of seeds and plants, which we had forwarded to London. Then there was an utter cessation of news; one year had become two--then three--and it would soon be four.
Quite a little fellow when he started, I had cried with disappointment at being left behind. Now I had grown into a big fellow for my age; I had dreamed incessantly of making the attempt to find my father, and now at last the time had come.
I believe I was quite as excited over the proposed journey as Jimmy, but I did not go about throwing a spear at gum-trees, neither did I climb the tallest eucalyptus to try if I could see New Guinea from the topmost branches. Moreover I did not show my delight on coming down, certain of having seen this promised land, by picking out a low horizontal branch and hanging from it by my toes.
All of these antics Jimmy did do, and many more, besides worrying me