I drifted ashore next day, and there, lying in the shadow of a
pandanus-tree on the shore line, his nose buried in his fore-trotters,
and his eyes closed in weary waiting and sorrow, was Dennis. He looked
up mournfully as I entered the ship-chandlers, and gave me a grunt of
sullen recognition, as if he felt I were the author of his misery, or at
least an aider and abettor of those who had sent him into exile. His new
owner said he had moped from the beginning, at first wistfully roaming
about, and at last settling into the morbidly melancholy condition in
which I found him.
It happened, fortunately, to be liberty week for the men, and whilst we
were discussing his woes the voices of some of our crew came from the
landing. The transition was marvellous. Dennis sprang to his feet, gazed
inquiringly seaward for a moment, and then as the men's voices grew
nearer and louder, he twisted his tail into the rigidity of a corkscrew
and bounded beachward, where the liberty party was skylarking by the
jetty under the palm-trees.
No need to describe the meeting or the subsequent festivities. Dennis
followed each party that came ashore, trotting after them into the back
country, sleeping in the bush, and I believe enjoying the holiday more
than they did. He was the first to welcome the coming party, the last to
speed the going, filling his part of host with a grace and dignity in
town, and an abandon and a freedom in the country, that awoke in
after-days the tender regrets of his companions.
The frolic of Dennis and his friends lasted a scant week, and when the
last boat-load left the beach he turned mournfully shoreward, unheeding
the re-echoing cheers they gave him, and crawled, swaying port and
starboard in his grief, slowly towards the loneliness of his new home.
He fell into gloomy ways; he lost his fat and dignity; he seemed on the
verge of a decline; he took himself seriously as a persecuted exile in a
far land. Finally it was thought best to send him afield to his new
labors, and his master tried to woo him countryward, but in vain. He had
won his way into this American's heart, for when force was suggested he
declined to tie the pig's legs together, and throw him into a cart as he
would have done with a pig of less degree. He declared that Dennis was a
gentleman by instinct, a little low in his mind, but still a gentleman,
and that he could wait until Dennis might, as if in the gayety of a
holiday, idly stray with him on some early morning to the plantation
inland. But Dennis was obdurate and unhappy; and so the day before the
ship sailed for Apia his old master, the ship's cook, and the
boatswain's mate were sent to him, for it was known he would follow the
trill of the bosun's call. When he heard the familiar voices and saw the
blue shirts of his shipmates, and caught the bird-like whistle of the
mate, he jumped to his feet, gave an ecstatic grunt, and ran among the
trees wildly, with the fire of youth rioting in his trotters.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account