Arthur Ransome - Swallows and Amazons (Complete Series)

“He used to be,” said Titty.

It was always a shock to the Swallows to hear Captain Nancy, the Terror of the Seas, called Ruth. But to-day Nancy did not seem to mind.

“How are you?” she asked. “And how’s the adder? Do let’s see it now we’re here.”

“It was in the wigwam all last night, but I slept just the same,” said Roger. “And he had it out this morning. . . . Hissing like anything.”

“We really ought to be getting back at once,” said Susan; but after all, there was nothing much wrong with Roger, and there was the adder in the hut, and it would be a little hard if Nancy and Peggy were not to see it if they wanted to. So the old man went back into the hut and came out with his box, told Titty not to let the parrot come too near, and lifted the lid at one side, when the adder poured out like a stream of some quick, dark liquid, and was picked up on a stick and hung there, hissing, with his forked tongue darting out between his narrow, bony lips. Susan herself, with all her native worries about being late, was glad to have a chance of looking at the snake again, but oh, how dreadfully easily these Amazons did seem to forget about the time.

At last the adder was dropped back into its box, and the lid closed. Nancy turned to the ship’s boy.

“Now then, let’s see how you fit into the stretcher.”

“I can get along like anything with a crutch,” said Roger.

“Get into the stretcher at once,” said Susan. “Mother’s on her way to Swallowdale, and we’ve got to get you back before she comes.”

The stretcher was laid on the ground, Roger lay down on it between the two tent-poles, with his crutch beside him. John and Nancy lifted the ends of the poles. The old man came with them to show them the best way up out of the wood.

“Thank you very much indeed for looking after him,” said Susan.

“And I had a lovely ride round on the big tree,” said Titty.

“That’s all right,” said young Billy. “Be seeing you again one of these days.”

“Good-bye, and thank you very much,” said Roger.

“Good-bye,” called the old man from the edge of the wood.

“Lie down, you little donkey,” said Captain Nancy, as Roger suddenly tried to sit up on the stretcher and wave his crutch.

“If you get tumbled out, you’ll go and hurt the other foot and then you’ll be no good for anything,” said John.

The stretcher-party hurried up the moor until they found the track the Amazons called High Street, when they went along it at a good pace.

“I shall get pins and needles in both my legs if I don’t do some hopping,” said Roger after a bit.

Light as he was, the stretcher-bearers were glad to have a rest from him, and so, though most of the way Roger travelled as a badly wounded man, he was allowed sometimes to caper along on one foot and his crutch as a very active kind of Long John Silver. Of all the party, perhaps the parrot liked the stretcher best. Its poles were just the thing for him to perch on, so he was ready to travel all the way on the stretcher whether Roger was in it or not.

Mother and the ship’s baby were a little disappointed when they found no one to meet them in Horseshoe Cove. “Perhaps we are a bit early,” mother said. “No. There’s no need to wait, thank you very much.” Mr. Jackson, who had rowed them down from Holly Howe, rowed out of the cove and away, and mother and the ship’s baby looked at the Amazon pulled up on the beach, with her painter tied to a tree, and then at the new mast for Swallow, thinking every minute that they would hear the shouts of the explorers hurrying down through the wood.

For a moment mother thought she might have mistaken the day, and that they were not yet back from Kanchenjunga; but no, she had seen Captain Flint that morning and he had told her that Miss Turner was gone, and that Nancy and Peggy had joined the camp in Swallowdale. Well, perhaps John’s watch had gone wrong again. It often did. It was a pity that none of them were there to help her with the big basket of good things from Holly Howe, but it couldn’t be helped. She would probably meet them before she got to the top of the wood. And she would not be going very fast, because of Bridget. “Come along, Bridgie,” she said, “let’s see how far we can get before they meet us.”

They got the whole way. They crossed the road, not being in the least afraid of natives, since after all, mother was a native herself. They climbed up through the wood on the other side. They rested at the top of it, looking up to Swallowdale, and wondering why there was no smoke. “Of course, it’s a long way to carry wood, and Susan probably doesn’t light the fire unless to boil a kettle.” They went on up the beck, and then, carefully, Bridget going first on all fours, and mother close behind, lest the ship’s baby should slip, they climbed up by the waterfall. And there were the four tents and the empty parrot-cage and the empty fireplace, and no sight or sound of a human being.

“Ah, ha,” thought mother. “Hiding in that cave of theirs.” And she and Bridget waited outside it, very quiet, with fingers on their lips, to surprise the first explorer who should come crawling out; but none came, and mother at last went in and found nobody there, and a can of milk, left by Mary, keeping cool in the shade of the doorway.

It was not till then that, coming back into the sunlight, she noticed the scrap of paper inside the parrot’s cage. She looked at it.

“STOP HERE TILL WE COME BACK.”

“Hm,” said mother, “short and sweet. It sounds more like Captain Nancy than Captain John. Not John’s writing. And Susan would certainly have said ‘Please.’ ‘Stop here till we come back.’ We won’t, will we, Bridgie?” And she walked on up Swallowdale to the bathing-pool, and then she and Bridgie climbed up out of Swallowdale and looked up towards Trout Tarn. And there, in the distance, hurrying towards them, they saw the stretcher-party.

Susan was in front and seemed to be hurrying the others. And then came John and Nancy, carrying something between them, something white and long. And then came Peggy and Titty. But where was Roger? And then mother saw the parrot, clinging to the thing that John and Nancy were carrying. And suddenly something moved on that thing, and in a moment mother was running to meet them. What had happened to Roger? It wasn’t safe, after all, to let them do things by themselves. Broken arm? Broken leg? Both legs broken?

But there was a sudden cheer from the stretcher-party. It stopped. There were wild jerks of something on the stretcher . . . she knew now only too well what it was . . . and in another moment there was Roger, hopping towards her with tremendous hops, swinging first on his crutch, then on one foot, and shouting “Yeo ho, ho” at the top of his voice.

“Oh, mother, I’m so sorry we’re late,” said Susan. “We did try to be in time.” But somehow lateness did not seem to matter. Mother was thinking of nothing but Roger’s foot, and at the same time was laughing with happiness to find things were so much less terrible than for one dreadful moment she had feared. Titty had run on to poor Bridgie who had not much liked being left suddenly behind. Roger was trying to explain how it was that his foot was bound up in a ball of bracken as big as his head. Nancy was trying to persuade him to get back on the stretcher and be carried into camp properly. The parrot was complaining because the stretcher had been dumped on the ground and nobody was taking any notice of him. Susan ran on and down into Swallowdale to get the fire lit at once. All talking together, mother, Bridgie, Roger and the rest of the stretcher-party came down into the camp.

“Shiver my timbers,” said Nancy, looking about her. “It isn’t half a camp without our tent. Come on, Peggy. It isn’t wanted as a stretcher any longer.”