They certainly were enormous creatures; and there must have been a good two hundred of them.

“Here they are,” said the porpoises, poking their heads out of the water.

“Good!” said the Doctor.  “Now just explain to them, will you please? that this is a very serious matter for all the living creatures in this land.  And ask them if they will be so good as to go down to the far end of the island, put their noses against it and push it back near the coast of Southern Brazil.”

The porpoises evidently succeeded in persuading the whales to do as the Doctor asked; for presently we saw them thrashing through the seas, going off towards the south end of the island.

Then we lay down upon the beach and waited.

After about an hour the Doctor got up and threw a stick into the water.  For a while this floated motionless.  But soon we saw it begin to move gently down the coast.

“Ah!” said the Doctor, “see that?—­The island is going North at last.  Thank goodness!”

Faster and faster we left the stick behind; and smaller and dimmer grew the icebergs on the skyline.

The Doctor took out his watch, threw more sticks into the water and made a rapid calculation.

“Humph!—­Fourteen and a half knots an hour,” he murmured—­“A very nice speed.  It should take us about five days to get back near Brazil.  Well, that’s that—­ Quite a load off my mind.  I declare I feel warmer already.  Let’s go and get something to eat.”

THE FIFTH CHAPTER

War!

On our way back to the village the Doctor began discussing natural history with Long Arrow.  But their most interesting talk, mainly about plants, had hardly begun when an Indian runner came dashing up to us with a message.

Long Arrow listened gravely to the breathless, babbled words, then turned to the Doctor and said in eagle tongue,

“Great White Man, an evil thing has befallen the Popsipetels.  Our neighbors to the southward, the thievish Bag-jagderags, who for so long have cast envious eyes on our stores of ripe corn, have gone upon the war-path; and even now are advancing to attack us.”

“Evil news indeed,” said the Doctor.  “Yet let us not judge harshly.  Perhaps it is that they are desperate for food, having their own crops frost-killed before harvest.  For are they not even nearer the cold South than you?”

“Make no excuses for any man of the tribe of the Bag-jagderags,” said Long Arrow shaking his head.  “They are an idle shiftless race.  They do but see a chance to get corn without the labor of husbandry.  If it were not that they are a much bigger tribe and hope to defeat their neighbor by sheer force of numbers, they would not have dared to make open war upon the brave Popsipetels.”

When we reached the village we found it in a great state of excitement.  Everywhere men were seen putting their bows in order, sharpening spears, grinding battle-axes and making arrows by the hundred.  Women were raising a high fence of bamboo poles all round the village.  Scouts and messengers kept coming and going, bringing news of the movements of the enemy.  While high up in the trees and hills about the village we could see look-outs watching the mountains to the southward.