Guy in the Jungle; Or, A Boy's Adventure in the Wilds of AfricaGraydon, William Murray
General
Guy in the Jungle; Or, A Boy's Adventure in the Wilds of Africa
Graydon, William Murray
Adventure stories; Africa -- Juvenile fiction; Jungles -- Juvenile fiction
That same night, after a sumptuous repast, Guy Chutney, at Sir Arthur's
request, modestly related the story of their adventures to the most
interested audience that ever graced the walls of the residency. A
breathless silence greeted the speaker as he showed the damnable proofs
of Manuel Torres' guilt and treachery, and described with thrilling
effect the awful journey through the bowels of the earth. When he
concluded the tale that made him a hero in spite of himself, a burst of
applause fairly made the residency tremble.
Then Sir Arthur rose to his feet.
"Gentlemen," he said, in a voice which quivered with emotion, "I deem
this to be a fitting time to express my--to express _our_--admiration of
my young countryman. All my comrades, I am glad to say, displayed a
heroism, during our days of trial and suffering, which has never been
surpassed by any men in any clime. But, if one man is worthy of special
mention for cool bravery, for dogged perseverance, for unflinching,
unwavering fortitude and unselfishness, that man is Guy Chutney.
Gentlemen," he continued, raising his glass, "I ask you to drink with me
to the health of the bravest man I ever met--Guy Chutney."
Again a frantic outburst of applause shook the building, and the toast
was drunk with indescribable enthusiasm. But Guy strove to make himself
heard above the uproar.
"It is unfair," he said earnestly, when quiet had been partially
restored, "of Sir Arthur to credit me with what I am aware is far more
than my just due. Truthfully, it should be said that no one of us
surpassed his fellows in displaying the qualities Sir Arthur has just
enumerated. Such an experience is enough for a lifetime, but if I am
ever again called upon to face such perils as we encountered while under
Africa, may God grant that I have for comrades such true-hearted, loyal
friends as these."
Carrington, Forbes, and Canaris each spoke briefly in turn; and Bildad,
under the undue excitement of some wine he had managed to secure,
attempted to perform a Galla war-dance on the table, and was promptly
relegated to the guard-house to sober up.
At midnight a steamer left Zaila for Aden with the glad news, and
twenty-four hours later the streets of London were blocked with crowds
of people reading the amazing telegram that the newspapers had posted on
their bulletin boards.
Colonel Conyers Gordon, of course, was not governor of Zaila at all, and
though it must have been a sore disappointment to the brave old soldier,
he readily and gladly installed Sir Arthur in the residency and assumed
his former command of the troops.
Sir Arthur, however, had very different views. "Do you mean to say,
Gordon," he demanded, "that the government actually gave me up for lost,
and had no intention of sending an expedition after me at all?"
Colonel Gordon hesitatingly admitted that such was the case.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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