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Page 53
"'Pardon my prolixity; but, as I talked, I became more interested in the
fate of my countrymen, even than in that of my fellow-exiles and myself.
You understand me, my old friend? I know that you will speak for us.
Good-by.'
"And then wishing the exiles good-by, the party in the boat moved from
the shore--at first by paddle-power; but on reaching the outlet of
Volcano Bay the sails of their boat were spread for the run across the
open sea."
Here Doctor Bainbridge paused for a moment in his narration, lighted a
cigar, took a whiff or two, and then continued:
"You must pardon me for entering so fully into the affairs of Medosus
and his fellow-exiles. It was only by tact and patience that, little by
little, I gathered from Peters the facts. My excuse for this verbosity
is, that from the speech of Medosus--whose words show that he supposed
Pym and Peters would never be allowed to leave Hili-li--we obtain,
better than from all other sources of information which were opened to
Peters, an insight of the geographical knowledge, and of many of the
peculiarities, of a strange, isolated people--a people which, beyond all
doubt, I think, is descended from the pure imperial Roman stock; and
also because it explains the means by which the exiles afterward
obtained their liberty, and were thus enabled to assist their relatives
and friends in the City of Hili-li, at a time when, though of brief
duration, the islands of Hili-li were threatened with depopulation. It
seems that the message of Medosus, joined with the lesson of Lilama's
abduction, carrying as it did a suggestion of future possibilities
should the exiles continue to increase in number whilst growing more
reckless, and at the same time no strangers be at hand to assist in
overcoming them--these considerations, and the influence of Pym, who
described the quality of English, German, French, and American soldiers
that were produced in lands where, he said, sports and games similar to
those of Hili-li (he explained the nature of sparring, cricket, etc.)
were in no manner restricted by law. (This, you will remember, was in
the year 1828.)
"The rescue party were met at the Duke's landing by all the residents of
the palace, and by many relatives and friends of Lilama, who had
gathered to receive her. As soon as Peters' wonderful feat was
explained, he became the hero of the island.
"The Hili-lites showed themselves in one respect much like other races.
They had no sooner decided to rescind the interdict against the hitherto
obnoxious athletic games, than all classes began to patronize these
sports, and immediately they became very popular; and to the other games
was added that of contests at leaping. Some of the feats performed at
this time by Peters were certainly astonishing. One of his performances
which took place during an exhibition in the presence of the �lite of
Hili-li, was to leap from an improvised platform, placed eighty feet
above the ground, grasp the limb of a tree which projected about thirty
feet beneath and several feet away from the platform, instantly drop to
another limb, twenty-five feet lower, and then to the ground. To an
observer he appeared to jump from the platform, to strike one limb and
then another in his descent, and to fall, a mass of bruised flesh and
broken bones, upon the earth; the real climax being when, instead, he
fell lightly on his feet, and walked away to prepare for his next act in
this public display.
"But we must hasten on. And before proceeding to subjects of greater
interest, I will tell at once what was the future of Ahpilus. He had
when a boy been noted for a love of study, and now when he could no
longer walk, he turned his attention to literary pursuits. Masus�lili
took an interest in the unfortunate young man, and allowed him at first
to be brought occasionally to the studio which the reader has already
visited, and later to become an assistant in his researches. Peters and
Pym felt very kindly to the poor fellow, and evinced their regard by
inventing and making for him a sort of chair on two main wheels and a
small third wheel, upon which he could sit and guide himself with ease
and comfort from place to place in the city, and that, too, with quite
as great speed as he had in the past been able to attain by walking. The
last thing heard of him by Peters was, that he had begun a history of
the Hili-lite people, from the settlement of Hili-li to 1828. And this
reminds me to say that, to Pym and Peters, one of the strangest things
in Hili-li was their count of time, which appeared the same as our own.
It was not in fact the same, however, though Peters insists that it was;
for whilst we, of course, count time according to the Gregorian
calendar, the Hili-lites must have counted time according to the Julian
calendar. This would have placed the Hili-lites about eleven days in
arrear of Pym's count--a difference which, under the circumstances,
Peters might easily have overlooked.
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