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Rob Harlow's Adventures: A Story of the Grand Chaco, a fiction by George Manville Fenn |
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Chapter 15. Foe Or Friend? |
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_ CHAPTER FIFTEEN. FOE OR FRIEND? It was still dark when Rob awoke, and lay listening to the heavy breathing of the other occupants of the boat. Then, turning over, he settled himself down for another hour's sleep. But the attempt was vain. He had had his night's rest--all for which nature craved--and he now found that he might lie and twist and turn as long as he liked without any effect whatever. Under these circumstances he crept softly out and looked at the cool, dark water lying beneath the huge leaves, some of which kept on moving in a silent, secretive manner, as if the occupants of the lake were trying to see what manner of thing the boat was, which lay so silent and dark on the surface. It had been terribly hot and stuffy under the awning, and the water looked deliciously cool and tempting. There was a fascination about the great, black leaves floating there, which seemed to invite the lad to strip off the light flannels in which he had slept, to lower himself gently over the side, and lie in and on and amongst them, with the cool water bracing and invigorating him ready for the heat and toil of the coming day. It would be good, thought Rob. Just one plunge and a few strokes, and then out and a brisk rub. But there were the alligators and fish innumerable, nearly all of which had been provided by nature with the sharpest of teeth. He shuddered at the thought of how, as soon as his white body was seen in the water, scores of voracious creatures might make a rush for him and drag him down among the lily stems for a feast. "Won't do," he muttered; "but what a pity it does seem!" He sat watching the surface, and, as he saw how calm and still it was, the longing for a bathe increased. It would, he felt, be so refreshing--so delicious after the hot night and the sensations of prickly heat. Surely he could get a quick plunge and back before anything could attack him; and as he thought this the longing increased tenfold, and plenty of arguments arose in favour of the attempt. There were numbers of great fish and alligators, he knew, but they were not obliged to be there now. Fish swam in shoals, and might be half a mile away one hour though swarming at another. "I've a good mind to," he thought, and as that thought came he softly unfastened the collar of his flannel shirt. But he went no farther, for common sense came to the front and pointed out the folly of such a proceeding, after the warnings he had had of the dangers of the river teeming as it did with fierce occupants. "It will not do, I suppose," he muttered. "I should like to try it, though." He glanced around, but no one was stirring. The men forward were silent beneath their blankets, and the occupants of the canvas cabin were all sleeping heavily, as their breathing told plainly enough, so there was no fear of interruption. "I'll try it," said the lad, in an eager whisper. "No. There is no one to help me if I wanted any. And yet is there likely to be any danger? Most likely the alligators would swim away if they saw me, and would be more frightened of me than I should be of them. While as to the fish--Bah! I'm a coward, and nothing else. Dare say the water's as cool as can be, while I'm as hot as any one could get without being in a fever." He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt above the elbow, and, leaning over the side, thrust it down between the curves of two lily leaves which overlapped. "It is delightfully cool," he said to himself, and he thrust his arm down farther, when his fingers came in contact with something rough, which started away, making the water swirl in a tremendous eddy, and caused the sudden abstraction of the lad's arm, but not so quickly that he did not feel a sharp pang, and a tiny fish dropped from the skin on to the bottom of the boat. "The little wretch!" muttered Rob; and the lesson was sufficient. He did not feel the slightest desire to tempt the cool water more, but applied his lips to the little bite, which was bleeding freely, thinking the while that if one of those savage little fish could produce such an effect, what would be the result of an attack by a thousand. Day was near at hand as Rob sat there, though it was still dark, and a cold mist hung over the water; but the nocturnal creatures had gone to rest, and here and there came a chirrup or long-drawn whistle to tell that the birds were beginning to stir, instinctively knowing that before long the sun would be up, sending light and heat to chase away the mists of night. Now and then, too, there was a splash or a wallowing sound, as of some great creature moving in the shallows, close up beneath where the trees overhung the water, and the boy turned his head from place to place, half in awe, half in eagerness to know what had made the sound. But he could make out nothing that was more than twenty or thirty yards from where the boat swung to her moorings; and, turning his head more round, he sat thinking of the adventures of the previous day, and wondered where the puma might be. "It was a stupid thing to do to run right before that gun," he said to himself; "but I hadn't time to think that Mr Brazier would fire, and I didn't want the poor beast to be killed." Rob sat thinking of how gentle and tame the great cat-like creature seemed, and a curious sensation of sorrow came over him as he thought of it crawling away into some shelter to die in agony from the effects of the deadly wounds inflicted by Brazier's gun. "And if I had not tumbled down," he said to himself, "it would have been me instead;" and now he shuddered, for the full truth of his narrow escape dawned upon him. "It would have been horrid," he thought; "I never felt before how near it was." He leaned back and looked around at the misty darkness and then up at the sky, where all at once a tiny patch began to glow and rapidly become warmer, till it was of a vivid orange. "Morning," said Rob half aloud; and feeling quite light-hearted at the prospect of daylight and breakfast, he sat up and looked round him at the positions, now dimly seen, of his companions, and was just thinking of rousing up the men to see to the fire, when the latter took his attention, and he turned to see if it was still glowing. For some minutes he could not make out the exact spot where it had been made. It was in a little natural clearing about twenty yards from the bank, but the early morning was still too dark for him to make out either bank or clearing, till all at once a faint puff of air swept over the lake, and as it passed the boat, going toward the forest, there was a faint glow, as of phosphorescence, trembling in one particular spot, and he knew that it must be caused by the fanning of the embers. That faint light was only visible for a few moments, then all was dark again, but it was a transparent darkness, gradually growing clearer. Then a tree seemed to start up on the scene, and a clump of bushes nearer the fire. Soon after he could make out a great patch of feathery green, and this had hardly grown clear enough for him to be certain what it was, when something misty and undefined appeared to be moving along the bank close to the tree to which the boat was tethered. The next moment it melted away into the soft darkness. "Fancy!" said Rob to himself. But directly after he knew it was not fancy, for he could hear a peculiar scratching, rending sound, which put him in mind of a cat tearing with its claws at the leg of a table. And now as if by magic there was a soft warm glow diffused around, and, to his surprise and delight, he saw again the object he had before noticed, but no longer undefined. It was grey, and looked transparent, but it was a warm-grey, and grew moment by moment less transparent, gradually assuming the shape of his friend of the previous day, alive and to all appearances uninjured, as, with its soft, elastic, cat-like step and undulating body and tail, it walked slowly down to the edge of the bank, and stood staring at Rob as if waiting for him to speak. For a few moments the lad was silent and motionless, as he strove hard to detect signs of injury upon the soft, coat of the puma, but nothing was visible, and the animal remained as motionless as he, save that the long tail writhed and curled about as a snake might if gently held by its head. The next minute Rob had decided what to do. Creeping silently astern, he unfastened and paid out a good deal of the line which held the boat to the grapnel. Then refastening it, he went silently forward, and began to haul upon the other line, which was secured to the tree ashore, thus bringing the boat's head close up to the bank and within half a dozen yards of the puma, which stood watching him till the boat touched the bank, when, without hesitation or fear of consequences, Rob stepped ashore. "Fine chance for him if he does mean to eat me!" thought Rob, with a laugh. But the next moment he did feel startled, for the animal suddenly crouched, gathered its hind legs beneath it, and he could see them working as the agile creature prepared to spring. Rob's heart beat heavily, and a cry rose to his lips, but was not uttered, for he felt paralysed, and he would have proved to be an unresisting victim had the puma's intentions been inimical. But the lad soon knew that they were friendly, for the great bound the creature gave landed it at his feet, where it immediately rolled over on to its side, then turned upon its back, and with touches soft as those of a kitten pulled at the boy's legs and feet, looking playfully up at him the while. "Why, you are a tame one," said Rob, with a sigh of relief. "There's no danger in you whatever," and sinking on one knee, he patted and rubbed the great soft head which was gently moved about in his hand. So satisfactory was this to the puma that it rolled itself about on the ground, pressed its head against Rob's knee, and finally turned over once more, couched, laid its head against him, and gazed up in his eyes as he placed his hand upon the soft browny-grey head. "Well, there's no mistake about this," said Rob aloud; "you and I are good friends, and you must be a tame one. The thing is, where is your master?" Rob had hardly uttered the word "tame" before the puma's eyes dilated, and it uttered a low, deep growl, staring fiercely the while at the boat. Rob followed the direction of the animal's eyes, and saw that it was watching Brazier, who had just stepped out from the canvas cabin, holding a gun in his hand. "Don't! don't do that!" cried Rob excitedly. "It's quite tame, Mr Brazier. Look!" He was about to bend down and caress the puma again; but as he turned it was only to see its soft, tawny skin and outstretched tail as it made one bound into the thick, low growth of bush and feathery grass, and it was gone. "Why, Rob," cried his leader, "how could you be so foolish as to go near that savage beast?" "But it isn't savage," said the lad eagerly; "it's as tame as any cat. It must belong to some one near." By this time Shaddy had heard the talking and risen, rather apologetic for sleeping so long, and as soon as he had called up his men and sent them ashore to see to the fire the case was laid before him. "Nay, Master Rob," he said, "there's no one about here to tame lions. It's a wild one sure enough. Dessay he never saw a man or boy before, and he's a young one perhaps, and a bit kittenish. Wants to make friends." "Friends with a dangerous beast like that, man?" cried Brazier. "Absurd!" "Oh, they're not dangerous, sir; that is, not to man. I never heard of a lion touching a man unless the man had shot at and hurt him. Then they'll fight savagely for their lives. Dangerous to monkeys, or dogs, or deer; but I'm not surprised at its taking to Master Rob here, and don't see no call to fear." "Well, of course your experience is greater than mine, Naylor," said Brazier; "but I should have thought that at any moment the beast might turn and rend him." "No, sir; no, sir; no fear of that! I daresay the crittur would follow him anywhere and be as friendly as a cat. The Indians never take any notice of lions. It's the tigers they're a bit scared about. Lions hate tigers too; and I've known 'em fight till they were both dying." "Ah well, we need not discuss the matter, for the puma has gone." "Thought you were going to shoot at it again, sir," said Rob in rather an ill-used tone, for he was disappointed at the sudden interruption to his friendly intercourse with the beautiful beast. By this time Giovanni was out of the boat, and stared rather at the account of the morning's adventure; but the announcement soon after that the coffee was boiling changed the conversation, and for the time being the puma was forgotten. The great natural clearing at the edge of the lake and the opening out of the river itself gave so much opportunity for Brazier to prosecute his collecting that he at once decided upon staying in the neighbourhood--certainly for that day, if not for one or two more, and in consequence the fire was left smouldering, while the boat was forced along close in shore, which was no easy task, on account of the dense growth of lilies. The heat was great, but forgotten in the excitement of collecting, and, with the help of his young companions, Brazier kept on making additions to his specimens, while Rob's great regret was that they were not seeking birds and insects as well. "Seems such a pity," he confided to Joe. "The orchids are very beautiful when they are hanging down from the trees, with their petals looking like the wings of insects and their colour all of such lovely yellows and blues, but we shall only have the dried, bulb-like stems to take back with us, and how do we know that they will ever flower again?" "If properly dried, a great many of them will," said Brazier at that moment. Rob started. "I didn't know you were listening, sir," he said. "I was not listening, Rob, but you spoke so loudly, I could not help hearing your words. I can quite understand your preference for the brilliant-coloured and metallic-plumaged birds, and also for the lovely insects which we keep seeing, but specimens of most of these have been taken to Europe again and again, while I have already discovered at least four orchids which I am sure are new." "But if they do not revive," said Rob, "we shall have had all our journey for nothing." "But they will revive, my boy, you may depend upon that--at least, some of them; and to my mind we shall have done a far greater thing in carrying to England specimens of these gorgeous flowers to live and be perpetuated in our hothouses, than in taking the dried mummies of bird and insect, which, however beautiful, can never by any possibility live again." "I didn't think of that," said Rob apologetically. "I suppose not. But there, be content to help me in my collecting; you are getting plenty of adventure, and to my mind, even if we take back nothing, we shall carry with us recollections of natural wonders that will remain imprinted on our brains till the end of our days." "He's quite right," thought Rob as he sat alone some time after; "but I wish he wouldn't speak to me as if he were delivering a lecture. Of course I shall help him and work hard, but I do get tired of the flowers. They're beautiful enough on the trees, but as soon as they are picked they begin to fade and wither away." The conversation took place at the end of the lake, just where the river issued in a narrow stream, walled in on either side by the trees as before, and the intention was to cross this exit and go back by the other side, round to the wide clearing where they had passed the previous night. Plans in unknown waters are more easily made than carried out. They had halted for a short time at the foot of a majestic tree, one evidently of great age, and draped from where its lower boughs almost touched the water right to the crown with parasitic growth, much of which consisted of the particular family of flowers Brazier had made his expedition to collect. Here several splendid specimens were cut from a huge drooping bough which was held down by the men while the collector operated with a handy little axe, bringing down as well insects innumerable, many of which were of a stinging nature, and, to the dismay of both boys, first one and then another brilliantly marked snake of some three feet long and exceedingly slender. These active little tree-climbers set to at once to find a hiding-place, and at once it became the task of all the band to prevent this unsatisfactory proceeding, no one present looking forward with satisfaction to the prospect of having snakes as fellow-travellers, especially poisonous ones. But they were soon hunted out and thrown by means of a stick right away into the water, but not to drown, for they took to it, swimming as actively and well as an eel. "Why, that last fellow will reach one of those boughs and get back into a tree again," cried Joe. "If a fish does not treat him like a worm," said Rob; and he did not feel at all hopeful about the little reptile's fate. But the next minute he had to think of his own. One minute the boat was being propelled gently through the still waters amongst the great lily leaves; the next they were in sight of the exit, and something appeared to give the boat a sudden jerk. "Alligator?" asked Rob excitedly. "Stream!" growled Shaddy, seizing an oar and rowing with all his might just as they were being swept rapidly down the lower river, the trees gliding by them and the men appearing to have no power whatever to check the boat's way as it glided on faster and faster, leaving the open lake the next minute quite out of sight. _ |
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