CHAPTEE XVIII. 



JIMCRACK AND THE JUMBIES. 



Prostrate with fever — Providence sends a nurse — A mystery ex- 

 plained — My parrot's early life — A case of original sin — A 

 bird of great sagacity — A believer in witchcraft — How the 

 King of the Woods scared Sam well Jones — Who stole the 



eggs? 



I HAD occasion to prove the correctness of Cru- 

 soe's observation upon the danger of being abroad in 

 the rainy season during the week that follov^ed my 

 adventure vrith the peccaries, for a tormenting fever 

 laid hold on me, racking my joints and consuming my 

 strength. 



Then I had cause for thankfulness to Providence 

 in sending me such a deliverer as came in the person 

 of my black friend, who not only had rescued me from 

 the wild hogs, but attended me assiduously through- 

 out the progress of the disease. That Tobago fever 

 is one of the worst of the diseases with which the 

 islands of the West Indies are afflicted, being painful 

 and acute, and never leaving its victims altogether 

 without a change of climate. 



Eeaching my house with diflBculty near the close 

 of the day following my encounter, I was assisted by 

 my new friend to my hammock, only to sink into de- 



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