Great Britain -- Social conditions -- 19th century -- Fiction
“Where I first fell in with you. You made one in a hunt that day, only
instead of hunting you was hunted and pretty close, too, and if I hadn't
been a good cricketer and learned to fling true--Why, I do declare I
think he has forgotten the whole thing, shark and all!”
At the word shark a gleam of intelligence came to the black's eye; it
was succeeded by a look of wonder. “Shark come to eat me--you throw
stone--so we eat him. I see him now a little--a very little--dat a long
way off--a very long way off. Jacky can hardly see him when he try a
good deal. White fellow see a long way off behind him back--dat is very
curious.”
George colored. “You are right, lad--it was a long while ago, and I am
vexed for mentioning it. Well, any way you are come back and you are
welcome. Now you shall do a little of the light work, but I'll do all
the heavy work because I'm used to it;” and indeed poor George did work
and slave like Hercules; forty times that day he carried a full-sized
sheep in his hands a distance of twenty yards and flung her into the
water and splashed in and rubbed her back in the water.
The fourth day after Jacky's return George asked him to go all over
the ground and tell him how many sheep he saw give signs of the fatal
disorder.
About four o'clock in the afternoon Jacky returned driving before
him with his spear a single sheep. The agility of both the biped and
quadruped were droll; the latter every now and then making a rapid bolt
to get back to the pasture and Jacky bounding like a buck and pricking
her with a spear.
For the first time he found George doing nothing. “Dis one scratch um
back--only dis one.”
“Then we have driven out the murrain and the rest will live. A hard
fight! Jacky, a hard fight! but we have won it at last. We will rub this
one well; help me put her down, for my head aches.”
After rubbing her a little George said, “Jacky, I wish you would do it
for me, for my head do ache so I can't abide to hold it down and work,
too.”
After dinner they sat and looked at the sheep feeding. “No more dis,”
said Jacky gayly, imitating a sheep rubbing against a tree.
“No! I have won the day; but I haven't won it cheap. Jacky, that fellow,
Abner, was a bad man--an ungrateful man.”
These words George spoke with a very singular tone of gravity.
“Never you mind you about him.”
“No! I must try to forgive him; we are all great sinners; is it cold
to-day?”
“No! it is a good deal hot
“I thought it must, for the wind is in a kindly quarter. Well, Jacky, I
am as cool as ice.”
“Dat very curious.”
“And my head do ache so I can hardly bear myself.”
“You ill a little--soon be well.”
“I doubt I shall be worse before I am better.”
“Never you mind you. I go and bring something I know. We make it hot
with water, den you drink it; and after dat you a good deal better.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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