Last of the Huggermuggers | Page 8

by miracle. Come, come
with me--here--under the rocks--in this cave--quick, before he sees us!"

So Little Jacket hurried his friends into a hole in the rocks, where the
giant would never think of prying. Huggermugger did not see them.
They were safe. As soon as he had filled his basket, he went off, and
left nothing but his footprints and the smoke of his pipe behind him.
After all, I don't think the giant would have hurt them, had he seen
them. For he would have known the difference between a sailor and a
shell-fish at once, and was no doubt too good-natured to injure them, if
they made it clear to his mind that they were not by any means fish: but,
on the contrary, might disagree dreadfully with his digestion, should he
attempt to swallow them.
CHAPTER EIGHT.
HOW LITTLE JACKET AND HIS FRIENDS LEFT THE GIANT'S
ISLAND.
Very soon the sailors found a nice, large, dry cave in the rocks. There
they brought dry sea-weed and made it into beds, and lived on the fish
and fruits, which they had not much difficulty in obtaining. They even
dragged their beautiful shells into the cave, and made little closets and
cupboards of them. Their cups and plates were made of smaller bivalve
shells. Their drink was clear spring-water, which they discovered near
by, mixed with the juice of fruits.
They lived in this way for several weeks, always hoping some good
luck would happen. At last, one day, they saw a ship a few miles from
the shore. They all ran to the top of a rock, and shouted and waved their
hats. Soon, to their indescribable joy, they saw a boat approaching the
shore. They did not wait for it to reach the land, but being all good
swimmers, with one accord plunged into the sea and swam to the boat.
The sailors in the boat proved to be all Americans, and the ship was the
Nancy Johnson, from Portsmouth, N. H., bound to the East Indies, but
being out of water had made for land to obtain a supply.
The poor fellows were glad enough to get on board ship again. As they
sailed off, they fancied they saw in the twilight, the huge forms of the
great Mr. and Mrs. Huggermugger on the rocks, gazing after them with

open eyes and mouths.
They pointed them out to the people of the ship, as Little Jacket related
his wonderful adventures: but the sailors only laughed at them, and saw
nothing but huge rocks and trees; and they whispered among
themselves, that the poor fellows had lived too long on tough clams and
sour berries, and cold water, and that a little jolly life on board ship
would soon cure their disordered imaginations.
CHAPTER NINE.
MR. NABBUM.
Little Jacket and his friends were treated very kindly by the Captain
and crew of the Nancy Johnson, and as a few more sailors were wanted
on board, their services were gladly accepted. They all arrived safely at
Java, where the ship took in a cargo of coffee. Little Jacket often
related his adventures in the giant's island, but the sailors, though many
of them were inclined to believe in marvellous stories, evidently did not
give much credit to Jacky's strange tale, but thought he must have
dreamed it all.
There was, however, one man who came frequently on board the ship
while at Java, who seemed not altogether incredulous. He was a tall,
powerful Yankee, who went by the name of Zebedee Nabbum.
He had been employed as an agent of Barnum, to sail to the Indies and
other countries in search of elephants, rhinoceroses, lions, tigers,
baboons, and any wild animals he might chance to ensnare. He had
been fitted out with a large ship and crew, and all the men and
implements necessary for this exciting and dangerous task, and had
been successful in entrapping two young elephants, a giraffe, a lion,
sixteen monkeys, and a great number of parrots. He was now at Java
superintending the manufacture of a very powerful net of grass-ropes,
an invention of his own, with which he hoped to catch a good many
more wild animals, and return to America, and make his fortune by
exhibiting them for Mr. Barnum.

Now Zebedee Nabbum listened with profound attention to Little
Jacket's story, and pondered and pondered over it.
[Illustration: MR. NABBUM HEARS LITTLE JACKET'S STORY.]
"And after all," he said to himself, "why shouldn't it be true? Don't we
read in Scripter that there war giants once? Then why hadn't there
ought to be some on 'em left--in some of them remote islands whar
nobody never was? Grimminy! If it should be true--if we should find
Jacky's island--if we should see the big critter alive,