Captain Salt in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
Author:Ruth Plumly Thompson [Thompson, Ruth Plumly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Speculative Fiction
ISBN: 9780929605487
Publisher: Books of Wonder
Published: 1936-01-01T00:00:00+00:00
CHAPTER 10
THE CITY OF BRIDGES
The days that followed always seemed to Tandy the happiest he had known.
He
wondered how he had ever endured his long, tedious, pent-up life in
Ozamaland. There was so much to see and do on a ship that the hours were
not half long enough. Being a full-fledged member of the crew, he took
his
turn on watch, his trick at the wheel, and had besides other duties on
deck. After a bit of practice, he could scramble aloft like a monkey and
liked nothing so much as perching in the rigging looking far out to sea.
The Read Bird has fastened a special rope to the mizzenmast so that
Tandy
could swing out and drop down on Nikobo's raft, and much of his free
time
was spent with the faithful hippopotamus. Sea life agreed enormously
with
Nikobo, especially since Ato had solved the largest item of her diet.
Noting the tangled mass of seaweed often floating by on the surface of
the
sea, the clever cook let down the ship's nets daily. The seaweed, crisp,
tender and green, was dragged on deck, where Roger and Tandy went
carefully
through it, removing all crabs, small fish and seashells which seriously
disagreed with the hippopotamus. A huge hamperfull was lowered to her
every
evening, and with this plentiful supply of green food and with the bread
and delicious vegetable scraps Ato saved from the table Nikobo fared
better
than she had on the island. The largest tub on the boat served as a
drinking cup, and this Tandy kept full by playing down the hose from the
deck, giving her a daily shower of fresh water at the same time. So,
lacking nothing in interest or comfort, Nikobo enjoyed herself hugely
and
to the fullest extent.
On calm mornings, with the $$Crescent Moon&& hove to, all hands would go swimming. Nikobo loved to swim and to roll over and over like a mighty
porpoise, even though the salt water made her eyes sting. Since Tandy
had
given Samuel the drawings of the Leopard Men, the ship's Captain could
not
do enough for his young cabin boy, and among other things had made a
rope
harness for Nikobo so Tandy could hang on when he perched upon her
slippery
back. At first he had been satisfied to ride Nikobo, but after several
days
he was splashing recklessly with the others and Samuel had taught him
all
the swimming strokes he knew and had Tandy diving over and under the
hippopotamus in a way to make Roger scream with envy and approval.
Swimming
was the only part of a sea voyage the Read Bird could not really enjoy,
but
he was always on hand to give advice, roosting on Nikobo's head so long
as
she stayed above water and taking hurriedly to his wings when she
mischievously tried to duck him.
The hippopotamus made a really splendid raft when they tired of swimming,
and Ato, who did not care for water sports so much as Samuel or Tandy,
fished for hours from her back, his feet hooked through the ropes of her
harness to keep him from falling into the sea. The only thing Tandy
regretted was Nikobo's great size and that she could not come aboard
ship
and join them in the cabin. On cool evenings he and
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