Ole Fred had
frightened her: Mr. Peters had at first seemed ridiculous and then
cruel. Most of the people on the ship seemed cruel, when she came to
reflect about it. Something cruel had happened that very morning. She
had noticed, when they came aboard at Tilbury, a very romantic figure
standing on deck; he fitted in much better with her conceptions of
travel in far lands than did the very respectable, commonplace fathers
of families she saw scattered about the deck. He was a man in knee
breeches, leather leggings, a bright blue shirt and a claret and buff
blazer. He wore a wide-brimmed brown hat and a fierce expression. From
his leather belt hung a huge clasp knife and two small pistols. She
thought him very funny, but very much like herself when she had dressed
up as King Arthur. She sympathized entirely with his dressing a part.
Later she heard shouts of cruel laughter as he explained valiantly that
he had never in his life been from his native village in the Welsh
hills--that Australia was a new country that needed to be "opened up." He
quoted Manville Fenn and other writers of boys' adventure stories thirty
or forty years old to show the dangers of Australia and his own
indomitable courage in tackling them: he told of Captain Cook's heart
and many other blood-curdling tales, and was greeted with ironical
cheers and laughter.
Pages:
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160