The Grateful Indian, and Other StoriesKingston, William Henry Giles
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The Grateful Indian, and Other Stories
Kingston, William Henry Giles
Children's stories; Juvenile literature; Poetry
"Why, Harry, we are as safe up here as on the ground," he answered, in
his usual sweet tone of voice, "God is still watching over us!"
I need scarcely say how tightly I held on to his clothes, trembling lest
he should fall. I felt no inclination to go to sleep, indeed I soon
found that I must have slept the greater part of the night, for before
Malcolm again opened his eyes, I observed the bright streaks of dawn
appearing over the distant hills in the east. Daylight quickly came on.
It was again perfectly calm, and on looking down, we could see the
blades of grass rising above the water. Malcolm woke up, saying that he
felt much better. Looking down below us, he said that he thought the
water had decreased since he went to sleep. He might have been right, I
could not tell. At that moment there was only one thing I thought of,
the pain I was suffering from hunger. "I shall die! I shall die!" I
exclaimed. Malcolm cheered me up.
"Help will come though we cannot now see how," he observed; "God will
protect us. Trust in Him."
Still I felt that I should die. It is very difficult to sustain gnawing
hunger, such as I then felt for the first time. I have no doubt that
Malcolm felt the same, but he was too brave to show it. Hour after hour
passed by; the water did not appear to be rising; the blades of grass
were still seen below us round the tree. I however felt that I could
not endure many more hours of suffering. "I must fall, indeed I must,"
I cried out over and over again. I should indeed have let go my hold,
had not my brave brother kept me up. Even he at last showed signs of
giving way, and spoke less encouragingly than before. He was silent for
some time. I saw him looking out eagerly, when he exclaimed--
"Cheer up, Harry, there is a canoe approaching; it will bring us help."
I gazed in the direction towards which he pointed. At first I could
only see a speck on the water. It grew larger and more distinct, till I
could see that it was certainly a canoe. Then we discovered that there
were two Indians in it. We shouted, but our voices sounded shrill and
weak. The Indians heard us, for they waved their paddles and turned the
head of the canoe towards the clump of trees. The canoe could not get
under the tree, but one of the Indians jumped out, and Malcolm told me
to slide down. The Indian caught me and carried me in his arms to the
canoe, for I was too weak to walk. Malcolm followed, and the Indian
helped him along also. It was not till we had been placed in the canoe
that we recognised in our preserver the young Indian, Sigenok, whose
life we had saved. We pronounced his name. He gave a well-satisfied
smile.
"Ah, you have not forgotten me, nor I you," he said in his own language.
"Favours conferred bind generous hearts together. Sigenok guessed that
you were in distress. Your elder brother has long been looking for
you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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