After the first moment of astonishment, the three convicts, reassured by the minister's words and by the presence of the poisonous Bis-cobras in the next room, lit a torch to look at what all those cages contained.
The minister had not lied, each was occupied by a pair of hens, the size of the common ones, with shiny black heads and a beautiful yellow crest, large eyes, surrounded by a blue circle of beautiful effect, and the belly of 'a red with white specks.
Some were dozing; others, abruptly awakened by the light, had risen and widened their hands.
«I've already seen these strange hens» Blake exclaimed «they are the tou-cheouky, they were in the backyards of the rich on some islands lost in the ocean».
«And what are they for? Are they eaten?» asked the driver.
«Also, they are very exquisite but they prefer to keep them to see them throw up the silk wad».
«These chickens are throwing up silk!» Jody exclaimed «What will you tell me Mr. Blake?».
«Mind you, they don't give real silk. During the hottest season, the tou-cheou-ky, at a certain moment, start spinning and jumping, then they send out a kind of tangle, of a beautiful deep blue color, with tiny red spots, which then little by little they withdraw».
«Isn't it silk?» "Only after being spun, and it is marvelously beautiful in its colors."
«They are wonderful birds then!»
«Extraordinary also for their singular customs. They are also called Pyschon-ky, which means «bird that escapes the trees», because they are afraid of the woods».
«Is that why they keep them in cellars here? But why did these hens are on this island?».
«Who knows why the princess takes so many precautions to protect them against thieves?»
«No Jody», Kaj said «to eat them alone, if it's true that they are so delicious, she'll keep them for special occasions!».
«Too bad there isn't a fireplace here and wood to cook some» said the engineer.
«You will taste them on my wedding day» Blake said «We'll run away after the big lunch». «What big lunch, Mr. Blake?»
«Leave it to me, Jody. Is it part of my plan? And what a superb plan! The queen will take it badly, but the devil will take her. I don't already want to end up like her first two husbands, nor to...»
Two new cannon shots, fired one after the other, interrupted him.
«What is the vessel doing?» Jody asked «These shots are not a good omen».
«Shots in white» said the former Golden Hind officer, with an expert ear to the two detonations that had echoed inside the underground room.
«What do they mean, Mr. Blake?» Kaj asked, still anxious.
«An intimation, for now.» Blake answered «Or a threat».
The islanders who had already confessed to the commander the arrival of three men, including a white, will have denied afterwards, and the crew will try to scare them by making the guns thunder» Blake guessed.
«Will they come here to make sure we're there?»
«I don't doubt it» said Blake.
«Who will dare to challenge all those Bis-cobras? As soon as the sailors see them, they will flee like lightning. Wow! There are hundreds of them in the first room and they are worth better than all the warriors on the island. Shut up and listen if the cannon continues to thunder».
Instead of the detonations, they heard piercing cries from the hen room skylight. It seemed that the entire population had become furious.
«Maybe they attacked the village, the steamboat sailors?» Kaj asked, listening carefully.
«I don't hear any rifle shots» Blake replied. «Maybe the squad sent by the commander to look for us will have already arrived, I don't doubt it».
«He should take the queen away» Jody said.
«So I am a widower before marriage?» Have you no mercy on my heart? It would bleed for many years!».
«You are a joker, Mr. Blake»
«Shut up» Kaj said.
The screaming had stopped; but there was a confused noise, as if a great number of people were walking around the village and talking. It lasted a while, then all was profound silence.
It seemed that the whole population had retreated to the huts.
«Do you understand anything, Mr. Blake?» asked the pearl fisherman.
«I think the squad has camped in the village and postponed the search until tomorrow.»
Blake speculated «Since we are not in any immediate danger, I propose to prepare a comfortable bed and sleep too».
«I don't see any bed, Mr. Blake» Jody said.
«And the cages? We are used to sleeping on the penitentiary table.»
«Great idea, Mr. Blake. I was worried about sleeping on the bare earth, having seen a centipede with a thousand poisonous points turning in that corner».
They removed some cages which they placed in the middle of the room, one next to the other, covered them with some mats that had been brought along with the baskets, and lay down on them, convinced that no one would disturb them, with those ugly beasts that occupied the next room .
They were so tired that they woke up only at dawn. A beautiful beam of light descended from the chimney on the top of the dome, enough to illuminate all corners of the underground room.
With the light a hum also descended, mixed from time to time with shrill cries. Even the population of the village must have woken up and certainly protested at the presence of the sailors of the steamboat.
«Let's let them hurry up and have breakfast» proposed Jody jumping out of the cages «I feel a tiger appetite on me».
He discovered two baskets and found half a dozen small roasted turtles, slices of breadfruit fruit, a magnificent baked pigeon, and several partially cracked coconuts, which were to provide a delicious drink.
The three friends were about to attack that hearty breakfast when they heard formidable knocks, as if men were trying to knock down a door. Jody dropped the coconut he was emptying, while Blake and Kaj jumped to their feet, both very pale.
«They break down the outer door!» Blake exclaimed, looking around for a weapon.
«There are Bis-cobras, Mr. Blake» Jody said, picking up the nut and starting to drink.
«Don't spoil my appetite with fears.»
«I tell you, they break down the door to the first bedroom.»
«And they'll get those ugly lizards biting their legs. I guess the islanders won't be stupid enough to give them those fronds.» Jody continued hopefully.
They approached the door that separated them from the room from the Bis-cobras, listening. The blows of the ax or the ice ax followed furiously against the door of the room occupied by the dangerous lizards; the large teak boards offered a very long resistance, the wood being very resistant.
Knock and spite, the door finally gave way and the three convicts heard it fall with a great crash. Immediately screams of fear echoed outside.
«Back!»
«It's full of bis-cobras!»
«Hell bring all these idiots of islanders!»
«Legs! Legs!»
Those words, spoken in English, warned the three convicts that they were really the sailors of the steamboat. But the lizards had been more than enough to put them on the run.
«They are gone» Blake announced, sighing «I confess, Kaj, I was scared for a moment».
«The islanders had a wonderful idea hiding us in here. In fact, who could suppose that we are here, with all these poisonous beasts?»
«This time too we have escaped.»
«So let's take the opportunity to finish breakfast» said Jody who had his mouth full «I have already spoiled my appetite, those curious, that the sea swallows them all, along with their carcass».
The three convicts, certain that the English would never come back to disturb them, sat down around the baskets and provisions.
«Here is a real royal breakfast, Mr. future husband». Jody ironized «If I had a pipe I would be the happiest man in the world».
Foreseeing that the islanders would not free them too soon, they went back to lie down on the cages, trying to rest.
Invited by the silence that reigned in there, since the hens made no noise, and by the coolness of the underground room, they did not take long to snore, and who knows how long they would have continued, if the creaking of a bolt had not woken them with a start.
The minister who had led them in there entered in the company of some warriors, armed with those mysterious tree branches.
«The English?» Blake asked, leaping out of the cages.
«They are gone. However, it took a long time to make them decide. They went south».
Blake frowned. They might still have met them in the Indian Ocean.
«Did they commit any violence?» Kaj asked.
«No, sir, but they threatened to set the village on fire and take the queen away.»
«What a pity they didn't really take her away» Jody grumbled.
«Gentlemen, the queen is expecting you for lunch. We will have to discuss the feast on the wedding day».
«Yes, they must remain memorable» Blake reached out a little ironically.
«It will be up to you, as future ruler, to give the appropriate orders, and your every wish will be an order for us».
«I want the whole population to be very cheerful that day, and since cheerfulness needs to be aroused, you will have aak prepared in huge quantities. Real rivers must flow on the square. I'll take care of the rest» Blake motioned for Jody to contain the laughter.
«We'll put all the sugar cane plantations belonging to the state at your disposal, so we can prepare enough arak to flood half the island. Follow me».
They left the ancient building, parading between two thick wings of people who greeted them with screams and clapping and fooling around so comical that Jody couldn't resist and burst out laughing.