THE MAN-COVER
discarded the two pigeons and the dog. I had only to choose
between the three sailors and the man-whose-nose-sings-at-
will. As the latter was of great help to us, and kept the
negroes amused for hours with the harmonious though plain-
tive accords springing at will from his nasal organ, there
remained only the sailors. The natives were, of course, totally
unfit for such a fate. They could find no inner delectation in
the perpetual sufferings occasioned by so dreadful an ordeal—
or doom !
Of the three sailors, one was much too short to prove of
any use. If I could easily shorten, lop, prune, and curtail a
too big substitute, I could not possibly add anything to that
small pattern of our race. I decided, in consequence, to slay
him, during his sleep, so that a useless impediment be done
away with. As the four men, since the wreck of our ship,
were sunk in a state of torpor and only stared at me with vacant
looks, it proved easy to settle this slight matter. I removed
the body; and left to time and the natural dryness of the air
the care of dividing its various elements.
The man-whose-nose-sings-at-will was the first to notice
the absence of the sailor, but he said nothing to me. In fact,
I believe him to be mad also. He is continually looking
anxiously towards the east, and seems lost to this world, since
his friend or master has disappeared in the wreck. From the
middle of his face gushed a sad tune, and from his eyes many
a bitter tear; but, as I said before, he addressed me not. I
was not a little surprised, as he is the only one with me to
know the secrets of the box. But I respected his silence.
The two others were more suitable for my purpose. One
was a strongly built fellow, with a certain air of intelligence
I 2A 369