"Soldiers they are--that's flat!" cried Peterkin, gazing at them in the
utmost amazement.
And, in truth, Peterkin's remark seemed to me to be correct; for, at
the distance from which we saw them, they appeared to be an army of
soldiers. There they stood, rank and file, in lines and in squares,
marching and countermarching, with blue coats and white trousers. While
we were looking at them, the dreadful cry came again over the water,
and Peterkin suggested that it must be a regiment sent out to massacre
the natives in cold blood. At this remark Jack laughed and said--
"Why, Peterkin, they are penguins!"
"Penguins?" repeated Peterkin.
"Ay, penguins, Peterkin, penguins--nothing more or less than big
sea-birds, as you shall see one of these days, when we pay them a visit
in our boat, which I mean to set about building the moment we return to
our bower."
"So, then, our dreadful yelling ghosts and our murdering army of
soldiers," remarked Peterkin, "have dwindled down to penguins--big
sea-birds! Very good. Then I propose that we continue our journey as
fast as possible, lest our island should be converted into a dream
before we get completely round it."
Now, as we continued on our way, I pondered much over this new
discovery, and the singular appearance of these birds, of which Jack
could only give us a very slight and vague account; and I began to long
to commence our boat, in order that we might go and inspect them more
narrowly.
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