The meeting between Flora and me was truly joyful, for I
was now convinced that my mother and Francis were not far off, though
certainly not on the same island, or their attached friend would not
have quitted them. I concluded that the chief who had taken my mamma's
handkerchief had also taken her dog, and brought her on this excursion,
and that she had here met with her friend Turk, who had rambled from us.
"After caressing Flora, and taking up my bag, I ran off full speed to
the spot where my dear Jack was trying to divert the barbarians. As I
approached, I heard cries,--not the noisy laughter of the savages, but
cries of distress from my beloved brother,--cries for help, addressed to
me. I did not walk--I flew till I reached the spot, and I then saw him
bound with a sort of strong cord, made of gut; his hands were fastened
behind his back, his legs tied together, and these cruel men were
carrying him towards their canoe, while he was crying out, 'Fritz,
Fritz, where are you?' I threw myself desperately on the six men who
were bearing him off. In the struggle, my gun, which I held in my hand,
caught something, and accidentally went off, and--O, father, it was my
own dear Jack that I wounded! I cannot tell how I survived his cry of
'You have killed me!' And when I saw his blood flow, my senses forsook
me, and I fainted.
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