"Well,Miranda,"saidtheDoctor."I'mterriblysorrythishashappened. Butyoumustn'tmindCheapside;hedoesn'tknowanybetter. He'sacitybird;andallhislifehehashadtosquabbleforaliving.Youmustmakeallowances.Hedoesn'tknowanybetter." Mirandastretchedhergorgeouswingswearily.NowthatIsawherawakeandmovingInoticedwhatasuperior,well-bredmannershehad.Thereweretearsinhereyesandherbeakwastrembling. "Iwouldn'thavemindedsomuch,"shesaidinahighsilveryvoice,"ifIhadn'tbeensodreadfullywornout—Thatandsomethingelse,"sheaddedbeneathherbreath. "Didyouhaveahardtimegettinghere?"askedtheDoctor. "TheworstpassageIevermade,"saidMiranda."Theweather—Wellthere.What'stheuse?I'mhereanyway." "Tellme,"saidtheDoctorasthoughhehadbeenimpatientlywaitingtosaysomethingforalongtime:"whatdidLongArrowsaywhenyougavehimmymessage?" ThePurpleBird-of-Paradisehungherhead. "That'stheworstpartofit,"shesaid. "Imightalmostaswellhavenotcomeatall.Iwasn'tabletodeliveryourmessage.Icouldn'tfindhim. LONGARROW,THESONOFGOLDENARROW,HASDISAPPEARED!" "Disappeared!"criedtheDoctor."Why,what'sbecomeofhim?" "Nobodyknows,"Mirandaanswered."Hehadoftendisappearedbefore,asIhavetoldyou—sothattheIndiansdidn'tknowwherehewas. Butit'samightyhardthingtohideawayfromthebirds. Ihadalwaysbeenabletofindsomeowlormartinwhocouldtellmewherehewas—ifIwantedtoknow.Butnotthistime. That'swhyI'mnearlyafortnightlateincomingtoyou:Ikepthuntingandhunting,askingeverywhere. IwentoverthewholelengthandbreadthofSouthAmerica. Buttherewasn'talivingthingcouldtellmewherehewas." Therewasasadsilenceintheroomaftershehadfinished;theDoctorwasfrowninginapeculiarsortofwayandPolynesiascratchedherhead. "Didyouasktheblackparrots?"askedPolynesia."Theyusuallyknoweverything." "CertainlyIdid,"saidMiranda."AndIwassoupsetatnotbeingabletofindoutanything,thatIforgotallaboutobservingtheweather-signsbeforeIstartedmyflighthere. Ididn'tevenbothertobreakmyjourneyattheAzores,butcutrightacross,makingfortheStraitsofGibraltar—asthoughitwereJuneorJuly. AndofcourseIranintoaperfectlyfrightfulstorminmid-Atlantic. IreallythoughtI'dnevercomethroughit. LuckilyIfoundapieceofawreckedvesselfloatingintheseaafterthestormhadpartlydieddown;andIroostedonitandtooksomesleep. IfIhadn'tbeenabletotakethatrestIwouldn'tbeheretotellthetale." "PoorMiranda!Whatatimeyoumusthavehad!"saidtheDoctor."Buttellme,wereyouabletofindoutwhereaboutsLongArrowwaslastseen?" "Yes.AyoungalbatrosstoldmehehadseenhimonSpidermonkeyIsland?" "SpidermonkeyIsland?That'ssomewhereoffthecoastofBrazil,isn'tit?" "Yes,that'sit.OfcourseIflewthererightawayandaskedeverybirdontheisland—anditisabigisland,ahundredmileslong. ItseemsthatLongArrowwasvisitingsomepeculiarIndiansthatlivethere;andthatwhenlastseenhewasgoingupintothemountainslookingforraremedicine-plants. Igotthatfromatamehawk,apet,whichtheChiefoftheIndianskeepsforhuntingpartridgeswith. Inearlygotcaughtandputinacageformypainstoo. That'stheworstofhavingbeautifulfeathers:it'sasmuchasyourlifeisworthtogonearmosthumans—Theysay,'ohhowpretty!' andshootanarroworabulletintoyou. YouandLongArrowweretheonlytwomenthatIwouldevertrustmyselfnear—outofallthepeopleintheworld." "Butwasheneverknowntohavereturnedfromthemountains?" "No.Thatwasthelastthatwasseenorheardofhim.Iquestionedthesea-birdsaroundtheshorestofindoutifhehadlefttheislandinacanoe.Buttheycouldtellmenothing." "Doyouthinkthatsomeaccidenthashappenedtohim?"askedtheDoctorinafearfulvoice. "I'mafraiditmusthave,"saidMirandashakingherhead. "Well,"saidJohnDolittleslowly,"ifIcouldnevermeetLongArrowfacetofaceitwouldbethegreatestdisappointmentinmywholelife. Notonlythat,butitwouldbeagreatlosstotheknowledgeofthehumanrace. For,fromwhatyouhavetoldmeofhim,heknewmorenaturalsciencethanalltherestofusputtogether;andifhehasgonewithoutanyonetowriteitdownforhim,sotheworldmaybethebetterforit,itwouldbeaterriblething. Butyoudon'treallythinkthatheisdead,doyou?" "WhatelsecanIthink?"askedMiranda,burstingintotears,"whenforsixwholemonthshehasnotbeenseenbyflesh,fishorfowl." 
