下载辰思小说免费APP
wantingtogoandseehisfamilyinthebush-’Buthehasnofamilyinthebush，’saidLloyd。’No，’saidMitaiele。
Theywenttotheboy’sbed(theysleepinthewalled-incompartmentoftheverandah，oncemydressing-room)andcalledatonceforme。Helaylikeoneasleep，talkingindrowsytonesbutwithoutexcitement，andattimes’cheeping’
likeafrightenedmouse；hewasquitecooltothetouch，andhispulsenotfast；hisbreathingseemedwhollyventral；thebuststill，thebellymovingstrongly。Presentlyhegotfromhisbed，andranforthedoor，withhisheaddownnotthreefeetfromthefloorandhisbodyallonastretchforward，likeastrikingsnake:Isay’ran，’butthisstrangemovementwasnotswift。LloydandImasteredhimandgothimbackinbed。Soontherewasanotherandmoredesperateattempttoescape，inwhichLloydhadhisringbroken。Thenweboundhimtothebedhumanelywithsheets，ropes，boardsandpillows。Helaythereandsometimestalked，sometimeswhispered，sometimesweptlikeanangrychild；hisprincipalwordwas’Faamolemole’-’Please’-andhekepttellingusatintervalsthathisfamilywerecallinghim。Duringthisinterval，bythespecialgraceofGod，myboyscamehome；wehadalreadycalledinArrick，theblackboy；nowwehadthatHercules，Lafaele，andamanSavea，whocomesfromPaatalise’sownislandandcanalonecommunicatewithhimfreely。Lloydwenttobed，Itookthefirstwatch，andsatinmyroomreading，whileLafaeleandArrickwatchedthemadman。SuddenlyArrickcalledme；Iranintotheverandah；
therewasPaatalisefreeofallhisbondsandLafaeleholdinghim。Totellwhatfollowedisimpossible。Wewerefivepeopleathim-LafaeleandSavea，verystrongmen，Lloyd，I
andArrick，andthestrugglelasteduntil1A。M。beforewehadhimbound。Onedetailforaspecimen:LloydandIhadchargeofoneleg，wewerebothsittingonit，andlo！wewerebothtossedintotheair-I，Idaresay，acoupleoffeet。Atlastwehadhimspread-eagledtotheironbedstead，byhiswristsandankles，withmattedrope；amostinhumanebusiness，butwhatcouldwedo？itwasallwecoulddotomanageitevenso。Thestrengthoftheparoxysmshadbeensteadilyincreasing，andwetrembledforthenext。AndnowI
cometopureRiderHaggard。Lafaeleannouncedthattheboywasverybad，andhewouldget’somemedicine’whichwasafamilysecretofhisown。Someleaveswerebroughtmysteriouslyin；chewed，placedontheboy’seyes，droppedinhisears(seeHamlet)andstuckuphisnostrils；ashedidthis，theweirddoctorpartlysmotheredthepatientwithhishand；andbyabout2A。M。hewasinadeepsleep，andfromthattimeheshowednosymptomofdementiawhatever。Themedicine(saysLafaele)isprincipallyusedforthewholesaleslaughteroffamilies；hehimselffearedlastnightthathisdosewasfatal；onlyoneotherperson，onthisisland，knowsthesecret；andshe，Lafaeledarklywhispers，hasabusedit。
Thisremarkabletreewemusttrytoidentify。
Theman-of-wardoctorcameupto-day，gaveusastrait-
waistcoat，taughtustobandage，examinedtheboyandsawhewasapparentlywell-heinsistedondoinghisworkallmorning，poorlad，andwhenhefirstcamedownkissedallthefamilyatbreakfast！TheDoctorwasgreatlyexcited，asmaybesupposed，aboutLafaele’smedicine。
TUESDAY。
AllyesterdaywritingmymailbythehandofBelle，tosavemywrist。Thisisagreatinvention，towhichIshallstick，ifitcanbemanaged。WehadsomealarmaboutPaatalise，buthesleptwellallnightforabenediction。Thislunaticasylumexercisehasnoattractionsforanyofus。
Idon’tknowifIrememberedtosayhowmuchpleasedIwaswithACROSSTHEPLAINSineveryway，insideandout，andyouandme。Thecriticsseemtotasteit，too，aswellascouldbehoped，andIbelieveitwillcontinuetobringmeinafewshillingsayearforawhile。Butsuchbookspayonlyindirectly。
Tounderstandthefullhorrorofthemadscene，andhowwellmyboysbehaved，rememberthatTHEYBELIEVEDP。’SRAVINGS，theyKNEWthathisdeadfamily，thirtystrong，crowdedthefrontverandahandcalledonhimtocometotheotherworld。
TheyKNEWthathisdeadbrotherhadmethimthatafternooninthebushandstruckhimonbothtemples。Andremember！wearefightingthedead，andtheyhadtogooutagainintheblacknight，whichisthedeadman’sempire。Yetlastevening，whenIthoughtP。wasgoingtorepeattheperformance，IsentdownforLafaele，whohadleaveofabsence，andheandhiswifecameupabouteighto’clockwitha
