Swiss Family Robinson

kill would be of no use to us, while his shot would not drive away the rest, even had we wished it.
    Both we and the dogs were at length satisfied, and as it was getting late, I determined to give up for the present the search for the ass, and to return to our camp.
    We again made our way through the bamboos, but before we left the thicket, I cut down one of the smallest of the reeds, the largest of whose joints would form capital little barrels, while those near the tapering top would serve as moulds for our next batch of candles.
    The buffalo, with a dog on either side and the rope through his nose, was following us passively, and we presently induced him to submit to a package of our goods laid upon his back. We pushed rapidly forward, Jack eager to display our latest acquisition.
    As we repassed the rocky bed of a stream we had crossed in the morning, Juno dashed ahead, and was about to rush into a cleft between the rocks, when the appearance of a large jackal suddenly checked her further progress. Both dogs instantly flew at the animal, and though she fought desperately, quickly overpowered and throttled her. From the way the beast had shown fight, I concluded that her young must be close by, probably within the very cleft Juno was about to enter.
    Directly Jack heard this, he wished to creep in and bring out the young jackals. I hesitated to allow him to do so, for I thought it possible that the male jackal might be still lying in wait within the cave. We peered into the darkness, and after a while, Jack declared he could discern the little yellow jackals, and that he was quite sure the old one was not there.
    He then crept in, followed closely by the dogs, and presently emerged bearing in his arms a handsome cub of a beautiful golden yellow and about the size of a small cat. He was the only one of the brood he had managed to save, for Turk and Juno, without pity for their youth or beauty, had worried all the rest. I did not much regret this, however, for I firmly believe that, had he saved them, Jack would have insisted upon bringing up the whole litter. As it was I considered that one jackal was, with our young bull, quite sufficient an addition to our livestock.
    During the halt we had made, I had fastened the buffalo to a small tree, and as I now was again about to move on, I recognized it as the dwarf-palm, whose long sharp leaves form an excellent barrier if it is planted as a hedge. I determined to return and get some young plants to strengthen our hedge at Tentholm . It was late before we reached our camp, where we found our family anxiously awaiting our return.
    The sight of the new animals delighted the children immensely, and in their opinion amply compensated for the loss of our poor donkey. Jack had to answer a host of questions concerning their capture, and to give a minute account of the affray with the buffaloes. This he did, with graphic power certainly, but with so much boasting and self-glorification, that I was obliged to check him, and give a plain and unvarnished account of the affair.
    Supper-time arrived, and as we sat at that meal, for which Jack and I were heartily thankful, my wife and her party proceeded to give an account of their day's work.
    Ernest had discovered a sago-palm, and had, after much labour , contrived to fell it. Franz and his mother had collected dry wood, of which a huge heap now stood before the tent sufficient to keep up a fire all the rest of the time we should stay on the spot.
    Fritz had gone off shooting and had secured a good bag. While they had been thus variously employed, a troop of apes had visited the tent, and when they returned, they found the place ransacked and turned upside down. The provisions were eaten and gnawed, the potatoes thrown about, the milk drunk and spilt, every box had been peeped into, every pot and pan had been divested of its lid, the palisade round the hut had been partly destroyed, nothing had been left untouched.
    Industriously had the boys worked to repair the damage, and when we returned not a sign was to be seen of the disorder. No one would have guessed what had occurred from the delicious supper we were eating.
    After matters had been again arranged, Fritz had gone down to the shore and, amongst the rocks at Cape Disappointment, had discovered a young eaglet which Ernest declared to be a Malabar or Indian eagle; he was much pleased with his discovery, and I recommended him to bring the bird up and try to train it to hunt as