登陆注册
19471600000176

第176章

He looked round anxiously for the expected Indian; but he was nowhere to be seen; and, in the meanwhile, as he stept cautiously along the island, which was some fifty yards in length and breadth, his senses, accustomed as they were to such sights, could not help dwelling on the exquisite beauty of the scene; on the garden of gay flowers, of every imaginable form and hue, which fringed every boulder at his feet, peeping out amid delicate fern-fans and luxuriant cushions of moss; on the chequered shade of the palms, and the cool air, which wafted down from the cataracts above the scents of a thousand flowers.Gradually his ear became accustomed to the roar, and, above its mighty undertone, he could hear the whisper of the wind among the shrubs, and the hum of myriad insects; while the rock manakin, with its saffron plumage, flitted before him from stone to stone, calling cheerily, and seeming to lead him on.Suddenly, scrambling over the rocky flower-beds to the other side of the isle, he came upon a little shady beach, which, beneath a bank of stone some six feet high, fringed the edge of a perfectly still and glassy bay.Ten yards farther, the cataract fell sheer in thunder: but a high fern-fringed rock turned its force away from that quiet nook.In it the water swung slowly round and round in glassy dark-green rings, among which dimpled a hundred gaudy fish, waiting for every fly and worm which spun and quivered on the eddy.Here, if anywhere, was the place to find the owner of the canoe.He leapt down upon the pebbles; and as he did so, a figure rose from behind a neighboring rock, and met him face to face.

It was an Indian girl; and yet, when he looked again,--was it an Indian girl? Amyas had seen hundreds of those delicate dark-skinned daughters of the forest, but never such a one as this.Her stature was taller, her limbs were fuller and more rounded; her complexion, though tanned by light, was fairer by far than his own sunburnt face; her hair, crowned with a garland of white flowers, was not lank, and straight, and black, like an Indian's, but of a rich, glossy brown, and curling richly and crisply from her very temples to her knees.Her forehead, though low, was upright and ample; her nose was straight and small; her lips, the lips of a European; her whole face of the highest and richest type of Spanish beauty; a collar of gold mingled with green beads hung round her neck, and golden bracelets were on her wrists.All the strange and dim legends of white Indians, and of nations of a higher race than Carib, or Arrowak, or Solimo, which Amyas had ever heard, rose up in his memory.She must be the daughter of some great cacique, perhaps of the lost Incas themselves--why not? And full of simple wonder, he gazed upon that fairy vision, while she, unabashed in her free innocence, gazed fearlessly in return, as Eve might have done in Paradise, upon the mighty stature, and the strange garments, and above all, on the bushy beard and flowing yellow locks of the Englishman.

He spoke first, in some Indian tongue, gently and smilingly, and made a half-step forward; but quick as light she caught up from the ground a bow, and held it fiercely toward him, fitted with the long arrow, with which, as he could see, she had been striking fish, for a line of twisted grass hung from its barbed head.Amyas stopped, laid down his own bow and sword, and made another step in advance, smiling still, and making all Indian signs of amity: but the arrow was still pointed straight at his breast, and he knew the mettle and strength of the forest nymphs well enough to stand still and call for the Indian boy; too proud to retreat, but in the uncomfortable expectation of feeling every moment the shaft quivering between his ribs.

The boy, who had been peering from above, leaped down to them in a moment; and began, as the safest method, grovelling on his nose upon the pebbles, while he tried two or three dialects; one of which at last she seemed to understand, and answered in a tone of evident suspicion and anger.

"What does she say?"

"That you are a Spaniard and a robber, because you have a beard.""Tell her that we are no Spaniards, but that we hate them; and are come across the great waters to help the Indians to kill them."The boy translated his speech.The nymph answered by a contemptuous shake of the head.

"Tell her, that if she will send her tribe to us, we will do them no harm.We are going over the mountains to fight the Spaniards, and we want them to show us the way."The boy had no sooner spoken, than, nimble as a deer, the nymph had sprung up the rocks, and darted between the palm-stems to her canoe.Suddenly she caught sight of the English boat, and stopped with a cry of fear and rage.

"Let her pass!" shouted Amyas, who had followed her close."Push your boat off, and let her pass.Boy, tell her to go on; they will not come near her."But she hesitated still, and with arrow drawn to the head, faced first on the boat's crew, and then on Amyas, till the Englishmen had shoved off full twenty yards.

Then, leaping into her tiny piragua, she darted into the wildest whirl of the eddies, shooting along with vigorous strokes, while the English trembled as they saw the frail bark spinning and leaping amid the muzzles of the alligators, and the huge dog-toothed trout: but with the swiftness of an arrow she reached the northern bank, drove her canoe among the bushes, and leaping from it, darted through some narrow opening in the bush, and vanished like a dream.

"What fair virago have you unearthed?" cried Cary, as they toiled up again to the landing-place.

同类推荐
  • 佛阿毗昙经

    佛阿毗昙经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 题家园新池

    题家园新池

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • PHYSICS

    PHYSICS

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 须发门

    须发门

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 出关与毕侍郎笺

    出关与毕侍郎笺

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 柯岩文集第四卷(中短篇小说)

    柯岩文集第四卷(中短篇小说)

    《柯岩文集》第四卷,主要是柯岩的中、短篇小说集。作品充满了纯真的童心和女作家常有的细腻情感,反映了现实生活中的一些问题,既有着力对光明的歌颂又不回避光明下的阴影,写出了主人公的苦恼、忧虑、复杂的心理变化等。
  • 新定诗格

    新定诗格

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 佛说大方广善巧方便经

    佛说大方广善巧方便经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 末代天策

    末代天策

    叹一声江山如画,一时多少豪杰!问一句世道诡谲,能否不忘初心?一百余载,山河变幻沧海桑田,只待承启;丰庆六年,英雄并起风云聚散,归看青鱼。鸿渐于陆,夫征不复,利御寇。
  • 亲爱的鬼公子

    亲爱的鬼公子

    一张据说能招桃花的人皮面具,一只在世界上存在了千年的鬼物,一个看似平凡的宁静古镇……只是我没有想到,这个身份扑朔迷离的千年鬼物,竟然就是我的桃花运;而这个古镇里,更是鬼影玄机重重……在这个随时都会降临死亡的古镇里,我该怎么办?是该逃离?还是该留下来?亲爱的,你还记得吗?我对你说过:“那一树的山花烂漫时,我喜欢看你无忧无虑笑着的样子。”
  • 软萌娇妻:总统求放过

    软萌娇妻:总统求放过

    一场大火烧掉全家,父母挚友收养她,凭着父母留下的一纸婚约,毫无血缘关系的哥哥成了她扑倒的目标。K国高居世界巅峰,两个副总统各掌握一半实力,总统却迟迟不肯露面,全国上下人心惶惶。她不小心睡了总统,第二天一跃成为总统夫人,她却问总统:“哥哥,我可不可以毁约?”“你先问问你儿子。”
  • 诗经

    诗经

    《诗经》在中国乃至世界文化史上都占有重要地位。它描写现实、反映现实的写作手法,开创了诗歌创作的现实主义优良传统,历代诗人的诗歌创作不同程序地受到《诗经》的影响。《诗经》曾被译为多国文字,日本、朝鲜、越南、法国、德国、英国、俄国都有译本,流传非常广泛。作为创造民族新文化的基石,我们一定要很好地继承这一光辉灿烂的文化遗产。孔丘编选的《诗经》对诗经的诗篇进行了翻译和解说,是一本很好的研读《诗经》的工具书。
  • 断掌

    断掌

    一入此途身难覆,从此再见已江湖。也许老爹对自己的评价同样适用于我:“我是个罪孽深重的人,死后入不得祖坟……”
  • 冷王的野蛮王妃

    冷王的野蛮王妃

    凤兮凤兮非无凰,山重水阔不可量。梧桐结阴在朝阳,濯羽弱水鸣高翔。凤兮凤兮归故乡,遨游
  • 妃你不渴:太子宠上瘾

    妃你不渴:太子宠上瘾

    血药灵,断情长,不如远走见他乡。圣器全,谁人怜,身负傲气爱未央。离离散散三年半,谁苦相思仙难炼。多少烦闷起波澜,我愿长情人常安。【情节虚构,请勿模仿】