Left on Labrador Part 23

"We must get out of this!" exclaimed Raed; for they were beginning to brandish their harpoons menacingly, and shout and howl still louder.

"If we turn, they'll set upon us before we can get into the boat!"

muttered Kit.

"Fire over their heads, to gain time!" shouted Wade. "Ready!"

The three muskets cracked. A great _ta-yar-r-r_ and screeching followed the reports; under cover of which and the smoke we legged it for the boat, and, tumbling in, were shoved hastily off by Weymouth.

Before we had got twenty yards, however, the savages were on the bank, yelling, and throwing stones, several of which fell in among us; but we were soon out of their reach.

"That's what I call a pretty close shave!" exclaimed Donovan, panting.

"We couldn't have stood against them much longer," said Kit. "I didn't suppose they had so much ferocity about them. Those we saw down at the middle islands were kittenish enough."

"These may belong to a different tribe," replied Raed.

Palmleaf, completely exhausted, lay all in a heap in the bow. We pulled off to the schooner. The savages and their dogs kept up a confused medley of howls and shouts: it was hard distinguis.h.i.+ng the human cries from the canine.

Capt. Mazard and the men were leaning over the rail, waiting. They had been watching the fracas, and understood it as little as we did.

"What's the row?" demanded the captain as we came under the stern.

"What's all that beastly noise about?"

"Ask Palmleaf," said Wade.

"I saw you fire," continued the captain. "You didn't kill any of them, did you?"

"Oh, no!" said Raed. "We fired high to frighten them."

"I'm glad you didn't kill any of the poor wretches."

"Tell us how it happened, Palmleaf," said Kit.

"Did you come upon them? or did they come upon you?" I asked.

"Why, I was gwine arter dat hawk, you know," said the African, still sober from his terror and his race.

"Yes."

"He was fell down ober behind de crag, as you said he'd be; but he flew up 'fore I'd gut near 'im, an' kep' flyin' up."

"And you kept following him," added Raed. "Well, what next? How far did you go?"

"Oh! I went a long ways. I meant ter fotch 'im."

"Half a mile?"

"Yes, sar; should tink so."

"Did you fire at the eagle?" Kit asked.

"Yes, sar: seed him settin' on a ledge, an' fired. He flew, and I chased arter him agin."

"But how did you come to meet the Huskies?" demanded the captain.

"Well, sar, I'se runnin' along, payin' all my 'tention to de hawk, when all ter once I come plump onto two ob dere wimin folks wid a lot ob twine tings in dere han's."

"Snaring birds," said Raed. "Go on!"

"Dey seed me, an' stud lookin', wid dere hair all ober dere faces."

"That stopped you, I suppose?" said Wade.

"I jest halted up a bit, an' cast my eye t'wurds dem."

"You paid the most of your ''tention' to them, then?" continued Wade maliciously.

"Jest stopped a minit."

"To say a word to them on your own account, I'll warrant."

"Thought I'd jest speak an' tell dem dey needn't be ser 'fraid on me."

"Shut up, Wade!" interposed Kit. "Let him tell his story. What did the women do?"

"Dey turned an' haked it, an' hollered as loud as dey cud squawk."

Wade and the captain began to laugh.

"A black man with a black dog was too much for them!" exclaimed Raed.

"Well, what next, Palmleaf?"

"Dey run'd; an' twan't a minit 'fore a whole gang ob de men c.u.m runnin' up, wid dere picked bone tings in dere han's."

"That'll do," said Kit. "We know the rest."

"What became of my musket?" I asked.

"I dunno. I tink I mus' ha' dropped it."

"It does look like that," Kit remarked.

"See here, you 'Fifteenth Amendment'!" exclaimed the captain, turning to him: "you had better stay aboard in future."

"I tink so too, sar," said Palmleaf.

The crowd on the sh.o.r.e had grown larger. There could not have been much less than two hundred of them, we thought. The women and children had come. A pack of wolves could hardly have made a greater or more discordant din. We went to dinner, and, after that, lay down to rest a while; but when we went on deck again at three, P.M., the crowd was still there, in greater numbers than before.

"I wonder what they can be waiting for so long," said Wade.