Page:RMBallantyne--Martin Rattler.djvu/62

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CHAPTER VII.

Martin and Barney get lost in a great forest, where they see strange and terrible things.

On gaining the beach, the first -thing that Barney did, after shaking himself like a huge New- foundland dog, was to ascertain that his pistol and cutlass were safe ; for, although the former could be of no use in its present condition, still, as he saga- ciously remarked, " it was a good thing to have, for they might chance to git powder wan day or other, and the flint would make fire, anyhow." Fortunately the weather was extremely warm ; so they were enabled to take off and wring their clothes without much inconvenience, except that in a short time a few adventurous mosquitoes probably sea -faring ones came down out of the woods and attacked their bare bodies so vigorously that they were fain to hurry on their clothes again before they were quite dry.

The clouds began to clear away soon after they landed, and the brilliant light of the southern con-