In the Eastern Seas Part 28

All the party were eager to examine the snake which I had brought in.

Emily and Grace, however, shuddered when they saw it, and still more so when they heard the risk to which Mr Sedgwick had been exposed. He again complimented me on the coolness I had displayed when firing at the animal.

Before leaving the camp, we had persuaded Oliver to lie down. My uncle examined his arm, and bathed it in the cool water which we brought from the river.

"You are in good health, or it might have been a serious affair," he observed. "However, I hope, after a night's rest, you will be able to proceed on the journey."

Oliver said nothing, but I saw by the expression of his countenance that he was suffering a good deal of pain; indeed, it seemed surprising, when I looked at his slight arm, and thought of the big jaws of the mias, that it had not been bitten through. As may be supposed, after the warning we had received, we kept up a blazing fire all night, and instead of one watchman, we had two, always awake--either Roger Trew and I, or the boatswain and Potto Jumbo. All night long our ears were a.s.sailed with strange sounds--the croaking of frogs, the shrieks of night-birds, and the terror-inspiring cries of beasts of prey. I went to sleep with them still ringing in my ears, and when I awoke, the same sounds were heard. I had been seated on the ground for some time, carefully making up the fire, when a loud rustling among the dried leaves and shrubs at a little distance reached my ears. I started up, fowling-piece in hand, and telling Roger Trew to be on his guard, advanced carefully towards the spot whence the sound had proceeded. I was standing near the camp, behind Emily and Grace's hut, when I saw the head of a huge creature with glaring eyes fixed on me. Still I did not like to arouse my friends. I kept my hand, however, on the trigger, ready to fire should it advance, for it seemed as if it was about to make a spring towards me. There I stood gazing at the animal, with the animal gazing at me, and wondering, probably, what sort of a creature I was. I doubted whether it would be wise to fire; for though my gun was loaded with ball, I might possibly miss it, when it was likely to become more furious than if let alone. I cast one glance behind me at our leafy village, towards which I slowly retreated. As soon as I got near enough for Roger Trew to hear me, I asked him to accompany me to the spot where I had been, that we might be sure what the creature was. He was soon by my side.

"Why, a tiger, to be sure!" he exclaimed, levelling his musket.

He fired, and there was a loud rustling among the trees, as if some large creature were bounding through them. I caught a glimpse of it, and fired. In an instant the whole camp was alarmed. The girls looked out of their bower with scared looks, wondering what had happened, while my uncle and d.i.c.k Tarbox came out with their guns in their hands.

"I thought it would be so," said the former; "but you have done well to keep the creature at a distance. However, he is perhaps not far off, and we may before long have another shot at him."

We had some difficulty in persuading the girls to return to their bower after this, while my uncle and Roger Trew insisted on remaining on watch for the remainder of the night. We added fresh fuel to our fire, and loaded and frequently fired our muskets, and kept, as may be supposed, a very strict watch. Next morning we found some hair of the creature in the spot where he had been observed clinging to the bushes, while drops of blood were seen for some distance in the direction he had taken.

At an early hour we proceeded on our road to the house. The banks of the river were very picturesque, though there was not much water in it.

It was, however, my uncle supposed, the only full stream in the island.

He had discovered the beds of several others, which remained perfectly dry. We were eagerly looking out in the hope of seeing another mias, my uncle being as anxious as any one. He had some time before, he told us, captured a couple; but one of them had managed to escape, and the other, left alone, had pined for his mate, while he evidently resented the close captivity to which he was subjected. Proceeding down the banks of the river, we came to a part where, though not much increased in width, it was evidently deeper, with two or three calm pools, over which the trees threw their boughs, clearly reflected on the smooth surface. At the lower end of one of the pools I caught sight of what appeared to be a log floating on the water. Presently I saw it moving against the stream. "There must be a powerful eddy there," I thought. I pointed it out to Mr Sedgwick. After looking at it for an instant, he made a sign to the rest of the party to keep back. We were all collected together behind a bush, through the branches of which we could observe the banks of the river below us. Presently there was a rustling in the underwood in the direction we were looking, and we caught sight of a huge orang-outan making his way down to the water. Some fruit-bearing tree hung over it, in the branches of which he took his seat, and began to eat away at his leisure, letting the husks and rind fall into the water, and now and then a whole fruit. The log, so it still seemed, was coming close under where the baboon was seated, and remained stationary. The orang-outan apparently took no notice of the object in the water.

"If we were nearer, we should see a pair of wicked eyes looking up out of the end of that log," whispered my uncle, "with some rows of formidable teeth, and a huge mouth below it."

"What! is that log a crocodile?" I asked.

"No doubt about it," was the answer. "The creature expects to make its dinner off the mias; but from what I have heard, the mias will be too clever to be caught by it. But we will see."

After a time, the mias, having eaten as much food as he required, descended the tree towards the edge of the water, holding on to a branch with one of his powerful hands, while he stooped down to spoon out the water with the other. By an almost imperceptible motion the crocodile approached; but the mias, although he appeared to be only intent on quenching his thirst, had evidently a corner of his eye resting on the seemingly harmless log. The crocodile thought it was sure of its prey, and opening its huge jaws, attempted to seize the mias. The latter, however, swung himself quickly up the tree with his arms, and remained looking down on the crocodile within a few feet of its jaws. Then quietly stooping down, he held out a hand within as many inches of his enemy's nose. This, evidently, excited the crocodile's desire to get hold of him, and the amphibious monster began to climb up the bank of the river. The mias waited quietly till it was within two feet of him, and then swung himself along a short distance above it from bough to bough, stopping again when the crocodile had got securely up the bank.

As the crocodile got near him, he proceeded on a little further; and thus he went on till he had allured the monster to a considerable distance from the stream. What he was going to do we could not conjecture; indeed, so daring had the mias become, that it seemed very likely, after all, he would fall into the crocodile's jaws. Suddenly, however, we saw him climb up a tree to some distance, and run along a branch which hung directly over where the crocodile was crawling. Then suddenly he flung himself off the branch right on the animal's back, and with his powerful fists began belabouring away at its head and eyes. It seemed, from the movements of the crocodile, that it was already blinded. In vain it snapped its enormous jaws--the loud sound, as its huge teeth met each other, reverberating through the woods. The mias had not the slightest difficulty in keeping his position on the scaly monster's back, as its movements were far too slow to throw him off. He continued belabouring it with his fists till it ceased to move. Then, as the upper jaw was lifted up, he seized it in his powerful grasp, and placing his feet upon its neck, with a power which his lever-like position and prodigious strength made irresistible, he literally tore back the monster's jaw. Having done this, he sprang up a tree, and awaited the result of the injuries he had inflicted. The creature was, however, not completely dead; but though it struggled violently and moved its tail about, its once formidable jaw had lost its means of doing harm. After sitting there a little time we saw him, as if content with his triumph, move off through the forest among the lofty branches of the trees, swinging himself from one to the other with an ease which gave almost grace to his movements.

"The fellow deserves his victory. We will not attempt to shoot him,"

said Mr Sedgwick.

Indeed, I suspect by that time he might easily have escaped our bullets, had we attempted to kill him. We now hurried out from our shelter, eager to see the injuries which the mias had inflicted on his antagonist. There it lay, utterly helpless, and we could stand by and examine its huge proportions and strong coat of armour without danger.

Its struggles became fainter and fainter, and in a short time it seemed perfectly still and dead. Knowing the strength of the crocodile, it gave us a good idea of the immense power of muscle exercised by the mias; and Oliver said it made him feel doubly grateful that he had escaped from the creature which had so nearly killed him. His hurts still gave him pain. We stopped every now and then that a cooling lotion might be applied to them, and he got over the ground as well as the rest of us.

Our return journey gave us rather more anxiety than we had felt on the previous days. The knowledge that there were wild beasts on the island kept us constantly on the alert; but, for my part, I dreaded those huge serpents more than anything else. They none of them gave signs of their approach, as the rattlesnake of America does, while several were of a most venomous description.

We had been going along, keeping a bright look-out on either side, when, being ahead as usual, my uncle looking out for game, I saw a number of birds flying round and round a tree in a curious fas.h.i.+on. I was on the point of levelling my gun and firing, when I thought I would refrain, that I might ascertain what they were about. My uncle just then came up, having observed the same unusual movement of the birds. Most of them were wood-pigeons.

"Look up there," said my uncle in a whisper. "Do you see that seeming branch, and the huge lifeless creeper clinging to the trunk?"

I earnestly watched the object he pointed at, when I perceived that what I took to be the stump of a branch was in reality the head of a huge serpent, whose body was coiled round the tree. The birds came nearer and nearer. One beautiful pigeon was standing on a bough directly above the serpent's head, while others of gay plumage flitted round and round, evidently brought there by some fascinating power it was exerting. The upper part of its body was not coiled round the tree, but simply pressed against it, so that in an instant it could reach to a considerable distance. We watched without uttering a sound, and suddenly its tongue projected from its mouth, and, quick as lightning, it darted forward its head and seized the beautiful pigeon on the nearest branch. So rapid was the movement, that I thought the bird had fallen to the ground; but, as we looked, we saw by the swelling in the creature's throat that it had secured its prey. Again it drew back into its former position, where it remained perfectly motionless; while the other birds came nearer and nearer, and one at length took the place of its unfortunate fellow which had been captured. After a little time the first bird was swallowed, and another caught in the same manner. I was anxious to shoot the serpent. I fired, but missed, I suppose, for the creature did not move. My uncle then took aim at its head. He killed it apparently; but instead of falling down, it remained coiled up, the head as it fell catching in the fork of a branch, which held it securely. There it hung, and we were unable to reach it to ascertain more particularly the species to which it belonged. The birds, frightened by the report, flew away.

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.

AN EXPEDITION ALONG THE COAST--PIRATES APPEAR.

The nature of the ground had led us somewhat out of the course for the house. We now struck across the country, hoping to reach it, the ground being less covered with trees and underwood. We had gone for some distance, when we saw before us a high mound. It could not be called a mountain, but it was of considerable elevation, and of a conical shape, with a flat top. My uncle believed that it had been formed by volcanic action, though now being covered with brushwood and herbage and a few tall trees, it was evident that it had been thrown up some time. We climbed to the top of it, expecting to find a view of the sea beyond; but the trees which clothed the base were too lofty to allow us to see to any great distance. Here and there, however, there was a small gap, through which we caught a glimpse of the ocean.

"This would make a fine place for a fort, if any of those pirate fellows come this way," observed d.i.c.k Tarbox as I was standing near him. "I would undertake to fortify it against all comers, if we had a little time to make ready. I have seen some work of that sort in my younger days, when I served aboard a man-of-war; and it would require daring fellows to get inside such a place as we could make it, if we defended it with the spirit which I know we should. Why, bless you, Walter, the young ladies and the old Frau would load our muskets for us, and we might blaze away till we had picked off every Malay who might attempt to get up the hill."

"But why do you think pirates are likely to come here?" I asked.

"As to that, they are cruising about in these seas, and are as likely to come here as to any other place, if they think they can get anything by coming. Your uncle did wisely to build his house in the forest out of sight, or he would have been carried off long ago; and as they have not been here for some time, it is the more likely that they will come soon."

There was a hollow in the centre of the cone which had probably formed the mouth of the old volcano, if volcano it had been, thus making a rim or bank all the way round; and on the top of this Tarbox proposed erecting palisades, and a stage, from which we might fire. By making hollows in the earth where we might store our goods and provisions, and where the ladies might remain free from the risk of shot, our fort would be perfect. My uncle overheard our conversation. "I hope there is little risk of such an event," he observed carelessly. The wood below us was so thick, that it seemed scarcely possible we could penetrate it.

However, we were compelled to get there some way or other, or we should have had to go back the way we had come. While hunting about, we found what appeared to be the bed of a stream, though perfectly dry. My uncle, on examining it, said he was sure it led in the direction we wished to go. After proceeding a little way, we found that it was entirely free of trees or shrubs. The bottom was covered with stones, rounded by the once boiling torrent which poured down from the high ground during the rainy season. They were, however, not spheres, but disk-shaped fragments of slate, very thin, the sharp corners rounded off by the water. Here and there, too, we found boulders of opaque, milk-white quartz. Generally the bed was level, but occasionally there were holes where the torrent had been wont to rest in its course towards the ocean. We proceeded along it at a far more rapid rate than we had hitherto been able to move. The shadows which came across our path had been growing longer and longer, when my uncle recognised some trees which grew in the neighbourhood of the house. We had once more to use our axes, and by exerting them actively, we cut our way through to the path which he had formed. It was almost dusk when we saw the high pointed roof of the house before us. Our shouts brought out the inmates, the Frau leading the way, though not accustomed to running.

She clasped Emily and Grace in her arms, bursting into tears when she saw them.

"Oh! so glad you come back!" she exclaimed. "We so frightened that you have been carried away by de pirates!"

What she could mean we could scarcely understand, nor was Tanda at first very explicit. Mr Hooker, however, after our greetings were over, told us that as Tanda had been on the sea-sh.o.r.e, collecting sh.e.l.l-fish as a variety to their repast, he had seen, at no great distance from the land, several prows, which, from their build and general appearance, he was sure were those of Sooloo rovers, or perhaps pirates from the coast of Borneo. He had just arrived with the alarming intelligence, and he was afraid they were coming to land on the island. The fading light would scarcely enable us to discover them, for though a few minutes before it had been broad daylight, darkness comes on so rapidly in that lat.i.tude, that day, as it were, leaps into night in the course of a few minutes. We hurried down, however, to the beach; but when we got there, we could only distinguish in the far distance some shadowy forms, which might have been the piratical vessels. Which way they were steering, however, the most practised eyes among us could not discover, and directly afterwards they were totally hid from sight. We returned to the house to consult what was to be done.

"If you would take my advice, gentlemen," said Mr Thudic.u.mb, "you will have provisions done up, and arms and ammunition ready for a quick march, and anything else that you consider most valuable to carry away.

We will then station a look-out down on the beach, or at the end of Flagstaff Rock, to give us early notice of the approach of the enemy.

If they come, they are pretty sure to find this house out; and, if they get hold of us, to knock us on the head or cut our throats. As, however, you have explored the interior of the country, we shall know in what direction to go, and we shall be able to have the start of them, and may therefore get away into a safe place, where they cannot find us.

Probably they will be content with such booty as they can find here-- though there is not much to their taste--and will, after a time, take themselves off."

Mr Thudic.u.mb's advice was considered good, and my uncle and Mr Hooker agreed to adopt it.

"If they do come, though, what a grievous pity it would be to have all our collection destroyed," said Mr Hooker. "Is there no place where we can stow them in safety?"

"We may hide them away, certainly," answered my uncle; "but the pirates are pretty sure to ferret them out, thinking that some treasure is within; and though they may not carry them away, they will break open the cases, and then the contents will very soon be destroyed."

"Still we must give them a chance of safety," said Mr Hooker; "and after we have made the arrangements for our flight, we must see what can be done with them."

The poor Frau was in a state of great agitation and alarm, but Emily and Grace were very far from frightened.

"We will help you to fight the pirates, if they come," said Emily; "and with so many brave men, I am sure we shall beat them off."

"And you must teach me to load a musket," said Grace. "I think I know how to do it, but I am not quite certain. I hope, however, they will run away before we have to fire at them. I don't like the thought of your having to kill people. It is very dreadful!"

Before we sat down to supper all arrangements were made. The girls were excessively busy. Each had made up a large package of various articles which they thought it would be necessary to carry--provisions and other things. It was arranged that two men should go down to the beach at a time to watch. Tanda and d.i.c.k Tarbox agreed to go first, and Potto Jumbo and Roger Trew were to take the second part of the night.

"I think, however, you need not trouble yourselves, my friends," said Mr Sedgwick, "for they will scarcely attempt to approach this coast in the dark. There are but few places that I have visited in the neighbourhood where boats could come ash.o.r.e without risk, and they would scarcely find them out, unless with daylight."

This remark somewhat comforted the Frau, and we had supper before Tanda and Tarbox started. Mr Hooker and the mate had much recovered. The former was in much better spirits than he had been since he landed.

Altogether we had a very pleasant meal, and no one would have supposed, seeing us seated round the table, that a piratical fleet was in the neighbourhood, likely to attack us.

After Tarbox and Tanda had set off, however, the spirits of the party began to flag. No one cared to go to bed, as we did not know at what moment we might be roused up. As the night drew on we became more and more anxious. It was indeed a trying time, for even should they not land at night, it was too probable that they would be down upon us before daybreak. Still we could not help anxiously waiting for that time. The hours appeared very long. Now and then I fell off to sleep, and was awoke either by the noises of the animals in my uncle's menagerie, or by some strange sounds from the neighbouring forests--the voices of night-birds or beasts of prey. At last the two men who had taken the first watch came back, reporting that they had seen nothing; then Potto Jumbo, who had been lying down snoring loudly, started up, and with Roger Trew went down to the sh.o.r.e. The second part of the night appeared even longer than the first. Still I knew that it would have an end. At length the streaks of early dawn appeared in the eastern sky. The usual sounds of returning day came up from the forest.

The birds began to sing their cheerful notes, and ere long the sunbeams lighted up the topmost branches of the lofty trees above our abode.

Just then the black and Roger Trew returned. "Hurrah, hurrah!" sung out the black, "dey all sail away, and no come here!" Roger corroborated his companion's statement; and Oliver and I, running down to the sh.o.r.e, caught a glimpse of the pirates' sails, if pirates they were, just sinking below the horizon. It was some time, however, before Frau Ursula's mind could be tranquillised. She insisted that if they were in the neighbourhood they would very likely return.

"Why do you think they will come here, good Frau?" said Mr Hooker.

"They are not likely to be aware that anybody is on this island, and their object is to attack well-laden traders or towns, where booty can be obtained. Even if they knew of our existence, we have little here to tempt them."

It was, however, but too probable that had they caught sight of the wreck, a large portion of which was still above water, they would have come in, and we might have suffered severely, had they not either carried us off as captives or put us to death. We had therefore great reason to be thankful that they had pa.s.sed by without visiting the island.