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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 19. A Fresh Peril |
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_ CHAPTER NINETEEN. A FRESH PERIL Shaddy's advice was easier to give than to execute. For though by holding on to the boughs they were able to anchor the boat, it proved to be a difficult task to force it in among the submerged stems to the spot where the clear space of elevated ground offered a satisfactory landing-place. Thanks to the skill of the boatmen, however, a landing was at last achieved, and as soon as Brazier leaped ashore he was followed by Rob and Shaddy, the latter giving his men a few sharp orders before joining the others, who were trying to force their way back along the bank toward where they had last seen their companion. This was difficult, but possible for a short distance, and they pressed on hopefully, for, consequent upon the sudden turn of the river here forming a loop, they had only to cross this sharp bend on foot, not a quarter of the distance it would have been to row round. But before they had gone fifty yards the high-and-dry land ended, and Rob, who was, thanks to his activity, first, was about to wade in and continue his way among the submerged roots. But Shaddy roared at him,-- "No, no, my lad; don't make matters worse! You mustn't do that. The things have moved out of the river in here to be away from the rush and to get food. We don't want you pulled under." "But we must go on, Naylor," cried Brazier in agony. "It ain't the way to help him, getting ourselves killed, sir," retorted Shaddy. "Let's get more in. Water don't go far." He was quite right, for after about ten minutes' struggle along the edge they found themselves as nearly as they could guess about opposite to the spot where their unfortunate companion had been swept out of the boat, but about a hundred yards inland and separated from the regular bed of the stream by a dense growth of trees, whose boughs interlaced and stopped all vision in every direction, more especially toward the river. "You see, we must wade," cried Rob; and he stepped into the water with a plash, but Shaddy's strong hand gripped him by the shoulder and drew him back. "I tell you it's madness, boy. If he's alive still you couldn't reach him that way." "If he's alive!" groaned Rob. "If he's alive," said Shaddy, repeating his words. "Steady a moment! He may be up in one of the boughs, for he's as active as a monkey in rigging and trees." Then, putting his hands to his mouth, he shouted in stentorian tones,-- "Ahoy! ahoy!" But there was no response, and Rob and Brazier exchanged glances, their faces full of despair. "Ahoy!" shouted Shaddy once more. Still no reply, and a cold chill ran through Rob and his eyes grew dim as he thought of the bright, handsome, dark-eyed lad who had been his companion so long, and with whom he had been such friends till the miserable little misunderstanding had thrust them apart. "It must be farther on," said Brazier at last, when shout after shout had been sent up without avail. "Think so, sir?" said Shaddy gloomily. "I thought it was about here, but p'r'aps you're right. Come on. River made a big twist there, and it's hard to tell distance shut up half in the dark among the trees. I did hope," he continued, as he forced his way in among the trees and held boughs aside for them to follow, "that the poor lad had swung himself up and would have made his way like a squirrel from branch to branch till he reached dry land, but it don't seem to be so. There, sir, we must be 'bout opposite where we saw him. Can't be no farther. Ahoy! ahoy! ahoy!" They all listened intently after this, but there was no sound of human voice, only the shrieking of parrots and chattering of monkeys. Shaddy shouted again, with the result that he startled a flock of birds which were about to settle, but rose again noisily. They all shouted together then, but there was no response, and feeling that their efforts were useless, they went on a short distance, and tried once more without result. "He'd have answered if he had been anywhere near, sir," said Shaddy gloomily. "I'll go on if you like, but take my word for it he ain't here." Rob looked at both despairingly, but he was obliged to take the guide's words for those of truth, and, feeling utterly crushed, he slowly followed the others as they began to return, feeling the while that if it had not been for the edge of the water by which they walked it would have been impossible to find their way back through the dense wilderness. Their guide returned by their outward steps as accurately as he could, but it was not always possible, for in coming out the bushes had been forced on in the same direction and then sprung back together, after the fashion of the withes in a fish-trap, and presenting their points, thorns, and broken stems in a perfect _chevaux de frise_. In these cases Shaddy had to select a different path, the exigencies of the way forcing him more inland, and at last, in spite of his experience, he stopped short, looked about him and then upwards, seeking to make out the sky, but it was completely shut off, and they stood in a twilight gloom. "What's the matter, Shaddy?" said Rob at last, after looking at the man's actions wonderingly; but there was no reply. "For goodness sake, man, don't say that you have lost your way," cried Brazier excitedly. Shaddy still remained silent, and took off his hat to scratch his head. "Do you hear me, man? Have you lost your way?" "Don't see as there's any way to lose," growled Shaddy. "I ain't seen no path. But I have gone a bit wrong." "Here, let me--" began Brazier, but Shaddy interrupted him. "Steady, sir, please! Don't wherrit me. I shall hit it off directly. You two gents stand just as you are, and don't move. Don't even turn round, or else you'll throw me wrong worse than I am. You see, the place is all alike, and nothing to guide you. One can't tell which way to turn." "But tell me," said Brazier, "what are you going to do?" "There's only one thing to do, sir: find the river, and I'm going to make casts for it. You both stand fast and answer my whistles; then I shall know where you are and can come back and start again. If we don't act sensible we shall lose ourselves altogether and never get out of it." "And then?" said Brazier. "Oh, never mind about _then_, sir. I've lost my way a bit, and I'm going to find it somehow, only give me time." "Which way do you think the river lies?" said Rob gloomily. "I'm going to try out yonder, sir. You see we've turned and doubled so that I can't tell where we are." "But it's out that way, I'm sure," said Rob, pointing in the opposite direction. "Why are you sure, sir?" Rob shook his head. "Ah, to be sure, dear lad!" said the guide; "you only think it's out that way, and I daresay Mr Brazier here thinks it's out another way." "Well, I must confess," said Brazier, "that I thought the river lay behind us." "Yes, sir, that's it. I've been lost before with half a dozen, sir, and every one thought different. One wanted to go one way; one wanted to go another. Fact is, gentlemen, we neither of us know the way. It's all guesswork. Once lost, there's nothing to guide you. I can't recollect this tree or that tree, because they're all so much alike, and it's as puzzling as being in the dark. There's only one way out of it, and that is to do as I say; you stand fast, and I'll cast about like a dog does after losing the scent till I find the right track. Only mind this: if I don't have you to guide me back with whistle and shout I shall be lost more and more." "You are right, Naylor," said Brazier; "we leave ourselves in your hands. Go on." "Cheer up, Mr Rob, sir; don't be down-hearted. I shall find the way out of it yet." "I was not thinking about myself, Shaddy," said Rob in a choking voice. "I was thinking about poor Joe." "Ah!" said Shaddy in a suppressed voice. Then sharply, "I shall whistle at first, and one of you keep answering. By-and-by I shall shout like this." He uttered a peculiarly shrill cry, and they all started, for it was answered from a distance. "Why, that's Joe," cried Rob joyfully. "Ahoy! ahoy!" he cried, and paused to listen. "Nay, sir, that wasn't Mr Jovanni, but one of the wild beasts. Sounded to me like one of them little lions. Stop a bit, though; let's try a shout or two to see if the boys in the boat can hear us now." He hailed half a dozen times at intervals, but there was no reply. "Thought not," he said. "Only waste of breath. We've wandered away farther than I thought, and the trees shuts in sound. Stand fast, gentlemen, till I come back." He paused for a few moments, and then forced his way in amongst the trees in a direction which Rob felt to be entirely wrong, but in his despondent state he was too low in spirit to make any opposition, and after marking the spot where Shaddy had disappeared, he turned round suddenly, placed his arm across a huge tree trunk, rested his brow against it, and hid the workings of his face. "Come, come, Rob, be a man!" cried Brazier, laying his hand upon the lad's shoulder. "Never despair, my boy, never despair!" "Joe! Joe!" groaned Rob; "it is so horrible!" "Not yet. We don't know that he is lost." "He must be, sir, he must be, or he would have answered our hails." At that moment there was a shout from out of the forest, and Rob started round as if thinking it might be their young companion, but the cry was not repeated; a shrill whistle came instead. Brazier answered it with a whistle attached to his knife. "It was only Shaddy," groaned Rob. "Mr Brazier, you don't know," he continued. "We two had quarrelled, and had not made friends, and now, poor fellow, he is gone." "No, I will not believe it yet," cried Brazier; "for aught we know, he may have escaped. He is too clever and quick a lad not to make a desperate effort to escape. We shall run up against him yet, so cheer up. Ahoy!" he cried in answer to a hail, and followed it up with a whistle. "Naylor said he should whistle for a time and then hail," said Brazier, trying to speak cheerfully. "Come, lad, make a brave fight of it. You are getting faint with hunger, and that makes things look at their worst, so rouse up. Now then, answer Naylor's signal." "I can't, not yet," said Rob huskily. "I am trying, Mr Brazier, and I will master it all soon." Just then the peculiar cry they had first heard rang out again from a distance. "Was that Joe?" whispered Rob, with a ghastly look. "He must be in peril." "No, no; it was a jaguar, I think. There goes Naylor again! Whistle! whistle!" Rob only gazed at him piteously, and Brazier responded to the signal himself. "Come, come, Rob," he whispered, "be a man!" The lad made a tremendous effort to conquer his weakness, and turned away from the tree with his lips compressed, his eyes half closed, and forehead wrinkled. "That's right," cried Brazier, clapping him on the shoulder. "Who says our English boys are not full of pluck?" He whistled again in response to a signal from Shaddy, and then they listened and answered in turn for quite half an hour, during which the guide's whistles and cries came from further and further away, but sounded as if he were at last keeping about the same distance, and working round so as to come back in another direction. Then for a time all signals ceased, and they heard the cry of the wild beast, followed by quite a chorus of shrieks and chatterings, which ceased as suddenly as they had begun. "He has gone too far, Mr Brazier," cried Rob suddenly, a complete change having come over him, for he was once more full of excitement and energy. "I hope not." "But he is not signalling." "I'll try again." Brazier raised the little metal whistle to his lips and gave out a shrill, keen, penetrating note. Then they listened, but there was no answer. Brazier's brow wrinkled, and he refrained from looking at Rob as he once more raised the whistle to his lips, to obtain for answer the unmistakable cry of some savage, cat-like creature--jaguar or puma, he could not tell which. "No guns! no guns!" he muttered; and moving away from Rob, he opened the long, sharp blade of his spring knife, one intended for hunting purposes, and thrust it up his sleeve. Just then Rob whistled as loudly as he could, and they both listened, when, to their intense relief, there came a reply far to their left. "Hurrah!" cried the boy excitedly, and then, "Oh, Mr Brazier, what a relief!" Brazier drew a long, deep breath. "Whistle again, boy," he said; but before Rob could obey there was another distant whistle, and on this being answered the signals went on from one to the other for quite half an hour, and at last there was a breaking and crashing noise, and Shaddy came within speaking distance. "Hear that lion prowling about?" he shouted. "Yes, several times." "Ah, I began to feel as if a gun would be handy. He came too close to be pleasant." "What have you found--the river?" cried Brazier. "No, sir, not yet. I went far enough to be sure it ain't that way." A few minutes later he forced his way to their side, looking hot and exhausted. "Why didn't you answer me when I whistled and shouted?" he cried. "We did, Shaddy, every time we heard you." "Nay, my lad, didn't seem to me as if you did. S'pose the trees kep' it off at times. But all right, gentlemen, I shall soon hit it off, and we'll get to the boat, have a good feed, and go to work again. Don't look down, Mr Rob, sir! How do we know as Mr Jovanni isn't there already waiting for us?" Rob shook his head. "Ah, you don't know, sir. Seems queer, don't it, to get so lost! but it ain't the fust time. I've known men go into the forest only a score of yards or so and be completely gone, every step they took carrying 'em farther away and making 'em lose their heads till their mates found 'em." "Stop! Which way are you going now?" "This way," said Shaddy. "But that's back--the way we came." Shaddy laughed, and without another word forced his way again in among the trees. "I give up," said Brazier in despair. "It is too confusing for ordinary brains. I could have taken an oath that he was wrong." He answered a whistle, and they stood waiting till the crackling and rustling made by their guide's passage ceased. "I couldn't have believed that we came so far," said Rob, breaking the silence. "I don't think we did come very far, Rob," replied Brazier; "it is only that the place is so hopelessly puzzling and intricate. Time is getting on, too. We must not be overtaken by the night." Rob could hardly repress a shudder, and, to make the dismal look of the narrow space, darkened by close-clustering trees, more impressive, the peculiar exaggerated cat-like call of the beast they had heard or another of its kind rang out hollowly apparently not very far-away. Almost simultaneously, though, came Shaddy's whistle, and this was answered and repeated steadily at some little distance, but at last growing quite faint. As they were waiting for the next call there was a rustling sound overhead, which took their attention, but for some time nothing but moving leaves could be made out in the subdued light, till all at once Brazier pointed to a spot some fifty feet above them, and at last Rob caught sight of the object which had taken his companion's attention. "Looking down and watching us," he said quickly, as he gazed at the peculiar little dark, old-looking face which was suddenly withdrawn, thrust out again, and finally disappeared. "There is quite a party of monkeys up there, Rob," said Brazier; "and the tree-tops are thoroughly alive with birds, but they are silent because we are here. Ahoy!" he shouted as Shaddy now hailed from somewhere nearer, and after a few shouts to and fro they heard him say,-- "Found it!" A thrill of joy ran through Rob, but it passed away and he felt despondent again as they started to rejoin their guide, for the thoughts of poor Joe were uppermost, and he began thinking of the day when they should go back and join the schooner to announce the terrible accident that had befallen the captain's son. But he had to toil hard to get through the trees, and this work took away the power of thinking much of anything but the task in hand. Shaddy, too, had stopped short, waiting for them to come to him, and they had to squeeze themselves between trees, climb over half-rotten trunks, and again and again start aside and try another way as they found themselves disturbing some animal, often enough a serpent. "'Bliged to stop here, gen'lemen, and mark the direction," rang on their ears all at once. "You see, one can't travel in a straight line, and I was afraid of losing my way again." "How far is the river away?" "Not quarter of a mile if you could go straight, my lad, but it'll be half a mile way we have to twist about. But come along. Once we get to the water's edge, we'll soon make the boat." He turned, and led on slowly and laboriously, the difficulties increasing at every step, and more than once Rob was about to break down. The last time he took hold of a tree to support himself, and was about to say, "I can go no further," when, looking up, there was Shaddy pointing down at the water, which had flooded over right in among the trunks. Rob dropped upon his knees directly, bent down, placed his lips to the water, and drank with avidity, Brazier following his example. The discovery of a guide which must lead them to the spot where they had left the boat, and the refreshment the river afforded, gave Rob the strength to follow Shaddy manfully along the margin of the flood over twice the ground they had traversed in the morning--for their wanderings had taken them very much further astray than they had believed--and the result was that just at sundown, after being startled several times by the cries of the jaguar or puma close on their left apparently, Shaddy suddenly gave a hoarse cheer, for he had emerged upon the clearing at whose edge the boat was moored. _ |
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